Joe Chandler

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. It only makes sense to me to present new business to the leaders first. The leaders then get feedback from family and friends in the congregation. The leaders can present the difficulties to the pastor, so that the leadership can be prepared for questions and objections. I have seen business meetings get out of hand because there are strong objections to a new agenda item that nobody was prepared for. I mean what is the point of a pastor and deacons if they can't be trusted to gather information?

He is not a thinker, he is a Unitarian. Unitarians ruined the Congregationalists in New England. The trinity is a logic trap. John Ch 1 declares it, so I believe it.

I think one just did.

Perhaps you can find a missionary to talk to.

Two of my grandchildren got saved this week. They could not wait to Facetime with Grammy and Grampy to tell us all about it. All five of my children are raising their kids in church just like we raised them. I am so undeserving!

I had my right hip replaced in 2012. Now my left hip will occasionally give me a sharp pain. I have fallen a few times because of it. Getting old is not as much fun as I had expected. Right under the picture of your bruised face is your signature. "If you are looking for perfection in me etc" I feel your pain, but I had to laugh in spite of that.

Heaven will be less about gilded streets and beautiful scenes and more about being in the presence of God. We should spend as much time with Him now as possible.

The best part of Claxton Fruit cakes is re-gifting them next year.

What Jerry said is the answer. It really is that simple. When you tell folks that you believe the Bible account of creation, that is one of the questions you might need to defend against. Do you believe the Genesis account to be true?

One of the problems with the cohabitating angels is that creatures outside of their kind cannot produce offspring. A horse and a donkey can produce a mule, But a dog and a cat cannot produce anything. I am not convinced that an angel and a woman can conceive. I cannot explain this verse. Genesis 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. So who came in unto the daughters of men? The giants? When I said what I said, I had no doubt that you would do the right thing, whatever that turned out to be.

I will pray.

Or before you allow the forum to consign this man, who none know but you, to the ignominy of both ignorance and unreasonableness you should talk to him and address your concerns man to man.

Maybe by a spiritual person you mean a Christian in general. Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Hopefully physically, but not spiritually. Amen?

Have you read "The Genesis Flood" by Henry Morris? The flood involved tectonic shifts, volcanic eruptions, and then the water assuaged and changed the whole earth. Talk about cataclysmic times! True. Evil usually has a component of destruction, like war.

I was not advocating for an in house only approach. My point was that covering up sin is the wrong approach.

2 Samuel 12:13-14 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. I have witnessed first hand sexual abuse in a church. I have seen pastors and missionaries go astray badly. But as HappyChristian pointed out, this is across denominational lines. Many things are covered up so as not to damage the cause of Christ, but that is a big mistake. The way to deal with any offense is through church discipline, which has the ultimate goal of restoration of the transgressor. That is my belief.

No doubt. Colossians 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Charity is another word for love and being kind is an expression of love. So I ask again, is somebody here not being kind? Who exactly is presenting the gospel deceptively or in a mean spirit? I don't see this as a trend in my church.

Why do we have a forum in the first place? I want to explore the Word of God. I believe it was you that helped me reconcile the "line upon line, precept upon precept" phrase from Isaiah. A good practice when used properly and a bad practice when used to hide from the truth. I want to know that I am right about the things I believe. I have studied much about eternal security, for instance. I want to not only believe it, but be able to defend it from the Bible, not just repeat it. Very early on, I was told that I wasn't saved if I didn't speak in tongues. Being brand new to being saved, I prayed and fasted for 3 days to get the gift of tongues. You'll be glad to know I never received that gift. Then I studied it out and found out why I never received it. This Bible of ours has all the answers we need to live for God. 2 Peter 1:1-11 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The only reason I have made it this far in my Christian walk is that Jesus has been faithful to me. I have taken a few steps of faith that ended in disaster, like Peter. At least that was how I perceived it at the time. Now I look back and see how God saw me through and taught me some very valuable lessons. Now I praise God for all of it!

Ok. We should be kind to each other. I think we can all agree on that. Is someone here not being kind?

if you say so.

Keep posting that Bible! Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. The first Adam died for his bride and caused the fall of all men. (She ate first.) 1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. But the second Adam died for his bride and brought life to all men. Romans 5:14-15 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Keep up the good work, Jerry. These posts encourage me greatly.