BrotherTony

I don't count myself as "Biblically illiterate." You seem to like to paint with that wide brush that so many Calvinists loudly proclaim against those who don't hold their belief in Calvinism. Most here hold to the "once saved always saved" position and scripturally so. You stated yourself that 1 John 2:19 talks about people who leave the faith. In all likelihood they were NEVER saved in the first place... so, that would take care of your argument against "OSAS." The poor excuse/accusation thrown around by Calvinists about others not understanding certain aspects of the Calvinists belief system is ludicrous and has an air of elitism about it. That's just MY opinion on the Calvinist mindset.

I was wondering that myself. Seems unlikely there would be access to a cell phone or a computer terminal.

It was interesting this morning in the cardiac testing center waiting area. I was listening to two younger gentlemen talking about the book of Revelation. One said that his pastor and church believed that there were several things still not accomplished yet when it came to prophecy. He was telling the second gentleman that he didn't necessarily agree with his pastor, explaining that the disciples believed that Jesus would come back in their lifetime, so why should we NOT expect the imminent return as well. The second gentleman said that his pastor didn't believe in a rapture, nor did he believe in a millennial reign of Christ. They noticed that I was listening and asked if I had an opinion on the subject at hand. As we talked on the subject I noticed that several people nearby had started to listen. So, naturally I asked if I could chase a bit of a rabbit that was related to the subject. I asked about the eternal destiny of their souls. One couple who had been listening got beet red, got up and moved to another section of the waiting room. The other two gave wonderful testimonies of salvation, at which point one asked for my testimony. I told them about my being saved while I was in Bible college preparing for the ministry. More people were listening by that time and the three of us started to inquire about others standing with the Lord. By that time I was being paged to the desk. As I was walking away one lady began asking one of the other two men what this salvation was. I was praying for hers as I went to the staging area for surgery to sit with Vivian. Praise the Lord for the opportunities he gives us to tell others about his love for us and the salvation provided for us.

Update : Vivian came through her catherization well. She has NO blockages, praise the Lord! They're going to continue tracking the left side of her heart and the myocarditis. Thank you for all your prayers.

Welcome!

We are here to pray for you and help in any way humanly possible as the Lord allows.

I was wondering that myself, unless it's some "reformed" thing.

My wife had her nuclear stress test Friday, and it didn't go well. I had my yearly with our cardiologist yesterday, and he put me on new medication. I don't have to undergo any surgical procedures yet, thank the good Lord. But, the doctor did discuss my wife's test results. They show that she may have several blockages. So she's now scheduled for an arteriogram on February 20th. They'll see if she needs stents or bypass surgery. This has been a very trying time for.my wife and I over the past year. We've both had to undergo extensive testing leaving us with quite a bit of debt, even with insurance paying their parts. We are seriously praying about whether or not we need to move back home to Augusta Georgia, or just stay put. There are many pro's and cons with each. Please pray for us to know what the Lord would have us to do. Thanks in advance. BT

Welcome!

It still doesn't say that man didn't eat meat before the flood. This is an assumption on your part. There were many things that mankind wasn't supposed to do that they did anyhow before the flood. Sorry, but we're going to have to agree to disagree on this.

This is your opinion, and I don't recall it being realistic. I do believe that it's feasible to believe that to some degree. But I also believe that man probably found a way to eat the flesh of any animal killed for food, etc.

It seemed to me and many others, including many respectable SBC and IFB pastors, believed that Jeffress was using this as a booster for Trump, following the same practice that the African American churches do. As far as your attending First Baptist of your Dallas, that's good. I have several friends who go there, and I believe one is on staff in one of the extensions of the church. It's not that I don't like Jeffress. I like him and I used to listen to him quite often in years gone by. But that not so subtle attempt at mixing politics with a worship service was beyond acceptable IMHO.

Here in our area many people are leaving IFB churches. What precipitates this event is usually abuse of members, misuse of power in these churches, or plain neglect of a certain sect of the church. Msny of the smaller SBC associated churches celebrate this type of event because of the person realizing that there are a lot of man-made traditions being held up as settled Bible doctrine. In fact many of the pastors in the SBC associated churches, large and small, have IFB backgrounds. They are always ready to point out that the IFB churches have the "big 'I', little you." I thoroughly understand that line of thought as in many of (not ALL) the IFB churches I was a member of, or helped plant, ended up having pastors who started out well but ended up being DICTATORS, or had the mind set that they were totally independent enough, saying that they didn't associate or cooperate with any other church when it was so very clear that they did, that other churches, such as the ones who associated with the SBC, weren't independent, but were wrong in doctrine and practice because they associated/cooperated in their missions programs. Even many of the IFB churches are leaving the "denomination" and becoming Community Churches, SBC churches, or other.

My wife and I were not able to have children, and I know that come Mother's Day she felt uncomfortable. On Father's Day I felt a bit marginalized. Having suffered several miscarriages and knowing how lack of children would affect the services those days we usually stayed home or met with others who had experienced what we had. We had a Bible study and prayers at these group meetings.

Interesting

They're a wonderful alternative to a full baptistry. Being that the church is being held in a home it's impossible to have a full baptistry. But, these portable ones are excellent!

Preachers who say "God told me" are automatically on my "DO NOT TRUST" list. The pastor and president of what was then Fellowship Baptist College said this about buying several duplexes adjacent to the church, saying that the Lord had told him that the church/college needed to buy them because the college was going to dramatically grow. They bought the property and though the college did go on for several years, it ended up closing without the growth the pastor had claimed God had promised. We left that church especially in light of the fact we had been set up and suspended with the help of the college administration and his son, over something we had allegedly said to others in the college study room. It was one of our friends that had made the statements and we were guilty by association whether we agreed with our friend or not. We weren't even given a chance to defend ourselves. So, to be clear, I have very little patience or interest in ANY pastor/preacher who make such claims.

Our church doesn't do anything in particular but recognize them in the morning service. Usually the oldest, youngest, the newest and the longest, etc

If I can get this to work maybe I can post a picture of my face...

This past Sunday morning, taking the garbage out to the refuse bin way down our driveway, I somehow ended up face down in the gravel. My wife saw what happened and came out to help me get up from my spill. After getting back to the house we began to assess the injuries that I had sustained. I was bleeding from both knees, and the lower half of each leg was beginning to bruise. I knew I had a concussion by the extreme headache and blood coming from my sinuses. I had a small gash on my forehead, and my nose was bleeding on the outside left. It was also clear that my right thumb was broken. My whole forehead was beginning to turn black and blue, and both eyes as well. There was sort of a thread of humor in all of this in the fact that Vivian has fallen Saturday night while bringing one of our fur babies back in from going out. We were both laughing and pretty much said at the same time that I was just trying to compete with her for the most injuries in a fall! LOL All kidding aside, though, we'd both appreciate your prayers. We don't know what God is trying to teach us through all of these events, but, we do know there's a purpose. Has anyone else experienced so many things like this at one time? Again I was joking around about changing the "J" middle initial in my name from Joseph to Job!

I don't see anywhere where it would leave the door open for that. Care to extrapolate a bit?

Not everyone who uses weed does so to get stoned. I have to disagree with you on that assertion. I have a sister who uses it for relief from the symptoms of MS. My late sister and late father used it for relief during their battles with cancer. But, I have a brother in the entertainment industry that partakes for the very reason you suggested. To make a blanket statement as you did is haphazard, my friend, and something I didn't expect from you.

This has been a week full of care for our family. It seems that sickness has been such a hard hitter . It's at this time where I know that the power of prayer is most important in the Christian Life. So I am laying these requests out for prayer knowing that people here will pray. The first prayer request is for my wife Vivian. Last week she had an appointment with my cardiologist to get clearance for surgery on her knee. They ran an EKG on her and found that she may have several blockages in her heart. They cleared her for surgery if she wanted to have the surgery on her knee first, but put the proposal before her to have an echocardiogram and a stress test before she has such a surgery. They suggested that she take that route only if she felt she could handle the pain in her knee until the results from those tests were back. She and I talked with the doctor and came to the conclusion that she needs to have the tests first to see if she needs surgery for anything pertaining to her heart. The echo and the stress test will be on February 9th. We would appreciate your prayers in this. The second prayer request is for my younger brother Mike down in Riverview Florida. He called me early this afternoon and told me he had gotten the results of his biopsies back and he has cancer. This has been an exceptionally area of concern especially since we lost our father and my younger sister to cancer. He is going for a second opinion to verify the diagnosis. At this point they are recommending an 8-week to 12 week course of radiation and possible surgery. Please keep my little brother in prayer. The third request is for myself. I have an appointment with the cardiologist on February 12th. I have been feeling very lethargic and ill lately. I thought it was from my menieres disease, but this is definitely different. My doctor suggests that I have preliminary tests for cancer. I sincerely doubt that is what it is, but he's pretty insistent. Thank you in advance BT

Not to be argumentative, but I have gone to four different Bible colleges, and not one of them taught this or would agree with your assessment. Do you have anything that we can reference for this alleged belief? Thanks.

I'd have kept my mouth shut as well. People who won't study the issue for themselves and want to live in ignorance concerning certain issues in the Bible, especially ones that don't affect our salvation, are free to remain so IMHO.