Miles:

It was not meant as an attack. It was more about not being so casual when we are calling to the One to whom we owe everything, by name. Whether someone uses the generic "God" or Yahweh or Jehovah, they all should be capitalized. It is a matter of respect. It is common practice to use the lower case "god", when referring to someone or some occult being other than Yahweh.

BTW, how do you know what I have "seen" & not seen?

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Earthy:

Great thread. It has happened so many times in my life, that's it's impossible to deny. 1 example; many yrs ago, I was living & working in the oil fields of West Texas. I was hooked-up with a good crew all summer long. A group of 4 of us were working there for college money. The plan was to return to central Ohio after Labor Day.I liked the crew I was working with so much, I was considering staying for another school quarter. Well the rid leader wanted to be able to take more days off & hired his brother to run the rig & I was bumped out. We usually worked 6-7 days a week. Well, I didn't get along as well with the new crew I was the old 1 & decided to return with the rest of the guys as originally planned.

During the Labor Day weekend, the Shell Oil rep stopped by my former crew mates & informed them that once they finished the cleaning up the current site & set-up for the next site, they could have the rest of the weekend off. It meant they were going to have a 2 day weekend which was a rare occurrence. In their haste to get on with their weekend, when they were setting up the rig, they didn't notice the high power electrical wires & ended up electrocuting themselves. 4 out of the 5 guys were killed. I could have been 1 of them.

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Hey Sabbath:

I'm concerned about your view about how God works in mankind's existence. I had a hint that there are some problems with your understanding of the fundamentals of the faith, after reading your freewill thread & subsequent posts. It's confirmed by these comments. Unfortunately post-modernism thought is polluting your understanding. I assume you don't realize that this stance you purport is Agnostic. Meaning your willing to admit that there is a higher power, but he's not really accessible our within our grasp of understanding & after "wounding-up the clock", so to speak, he now sits back & just watches everything happen, without lifting a finger to interfere.

Without making this a long drawn out dissertation, 1 example of how that view is not true is Jesus lowering himself to become 1 of us & then dying on the cross for our sins & then being resurrected by God to give us the same hope of 1 day dwelling the presence of God. There are so many OT references, Abram & Sarai, Joseph, Moses & on & on. Many NT as well, the least of which Jesus striking Saul (Paul) blind & taking 1 of His most ardent detractors & using him to be the greatest apostle of them all.

On the contrary, God is actively involved in our lives. To what degree depends upon many factors, including but not limited to: our current spiritual condition, willingness to be made available to God & whether we are being admonished or chastised, amongst others.

I would ask you, what would be the point with aligning yourself
with a being as you describe him. I want to be aligned with a being who is actively involved with us & is virulent & NOT impudent to & unable to help us. Do not misunderstand me. It's OK to question the status quo, but be care that that questioning doesn't lead you astray. If you want my in depth discussion you can always email me.

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Hey you Christian music fans. Sorry I've been away. Time to post some more music links.

1st a group of 5 young lads from down Georgia way, Family Force 5. These guys are a blast in concert. I'm thinking that if Heaven has a designated party band, these guys will be it. They're in town this weekend in C-bus, OH.

"Love Addict"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqr8q7RheXg

D-I-E 4 You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTMrM2HSyHo&feature=related

Next is a band I really like, Decyfer Down, they're from NC way.

I was going to post "Fight Like This" but none of the audio is any good. So we'll go with "Crash"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIiJEYOqulA

Then "Desperate" is getting current air play & is a great song. The writer desperately wants God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlGsTtWhIe8

As always, enjoy.

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No it is not. Paul spoke of it & it's vividly described in the The Book of Revelation. The question is where does it fall into the end times time line.

And please MrFixit, capitalize God's name. He deserves at least that much from His followers.

Hank Hanegraaf of the Bible Answer Man show & The Christian Research Institute is a post trib rapture proponent & he makes a very strong case. Have struggled with this 1 myself. One pastor I know called himself a pan mellenist. Meaning everything will pan out as God intended.

My one concern is the OT reference of God not letting the shedding of innocent blood go unpunished. We as a nation have the travesty of abortion to answer for. I don't see how we escape without some suffering for that alone.

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Thanks for the kind words. Most appreciated.

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I agree with bad Christian examples. 2 of the worst employers I had were 1 who claimed to call Christ as their Savior. He was anything but that & it showed in their day-to-day dealings with their employees.

Lesson here? Don't be that guy, be the person that does the right thing even if it costs you everything.

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1st of all I think TBRich is trying to spell "Zionist". Not ever hearing the term before he was trying to phonetically spell what she called him.

Now on to the early church lesson. Being that most of the New Testament was written in Greek, it was not uncommon for the scribes transcribing the letters of the Apostles to use the Greek letter "X" to represent Yeshua (Joshua or Jesus) because Yeshua in Greek begins with "X". So Xmas really isn't out of line, despite the retailers & the anti-Christians' efforts to disparage Him, they are still honoring Him. Shhhh, don't tell them.

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Expound please!!

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Yes they are & I have said so with a link for one of their songs, "Savior" on pg 1. I & my middle son had a chance to meet John Cooper(the lead singer), his wife & the rest of the band 2 yrs ago after a performance. Very sold out to God. Love their message & ministry.

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Timing...

They say in life that it’s everything.

That it’s either well or ill, timed.

Like those that miss an airline flight that ultimately crashes.

The job seeker applying for a position, with all the right qualifications, who is told, “sorry we just hired someone.”

That a good comedian possesses it.

The lover who misses sending their loved off on a business trip, because of traffic delays.

The engine that purrs like a kitten, because has been well timed.

The person with depleted checking account funds missing the deadline to avoid the bounced check fees.

And then there are those of us who, are constantly behind trying to catch the “well timed” cycle of life.

An overweight, infatuated & dateless middle schooler. Who, blossoms into something wonderful in high school, only to be found to be too familiar with the current & past infatuations.

Finally becoming interested in being educated in the latest “hot” career field & finding it full.

Either entering the stock market after the latest growth period or leaving it before it ends, 6 months later.

The person who has married their “soul mate” & years later actually meet that person.

The recent divorcee who meets someone that is beautiful, charming & engaging only to be told that “It’s too soon for you, don’t catch me on the rebound, OK?”

Timing…

Wish I could catch that “well” cycle sometime before I pass from this life.

PS:

Thanks for the Rick Warren quote & I couldn't agree more.

How many Christians today know that many of the songs in church hymnals(if you can find any) with songs being credited to Martin Luther the reformer as the author, that the music was based on German beer hall songs with new Christian lyrics. He did that so that the tune was already familar to the listener & it was a matter of learning the new lyrics. All you naysayers, contemplate the ramifications of that, for awhile.

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Earthy:

You are most welcome. I'm glad you found some groups that you can relate to. Did you see Demon Hunter's "Infected" vid? Let me know what you think.

Also check out TVU on the web & JCTV on cable & satellite, for more vids. As for other groups that may interest you checkout Flyleaf & Fireflight. Both of these groups feature female lead singers with very powerful vocals. Matters of fact I'll post some links for them both so you don't have go searching.

1st Flyleaf- "I'm So Sick", then "All Around Me"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCon0QojjYA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-sNIWi2fLs

Now Fireflight- "Unbreakable", then "You Decide"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCUfHQSsC2c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhR0G7LC1FU

Enjoy,

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Hey quiet:

Anybody who's been around the blues @ knows about Tab. The blues channel on XM plays most of the artist mentioned here. Good stuff.

I'm blown away that you actually knew him. I had a chance to meet Stevie & the band after a concert at the Ohio State Fair in '89. He was very humble off stage & very open to everyone's requests for autographs. His brand of rock-blues touches me as no other. When he came back to Cols the following year (1990), I couldn't go & thought I'll catch him next time. Unfortunately, there was no next time.

When you listen to Buddy Guy, Albert King(especially Albert) & Jimi Hendrix, you hear their collective influences on him, but he had a way of taking a song & making it his own.

Here's one of my favorites- his cover of Little Wing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p-G6ebGV0w

Sorry about the lame accompanying video. This was the cleanest sound-wise of the videos on youtube.
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Do you have an accountability partner? Someone you can trust to share your darkest secrets with? Having a person in your corner helps tremendously. I know having struggled with a porn addiction. Prayer, perseverance & patience are key. You will stumble but, you have to be honest when you do, confess to God & your friend & move on. Remember, God is looking for what our intent is in all situations. Bottom line, keep striving to be the man God wants you to be, ignore the devil's lies about you & keep moving forward toward the goal as the Apostle Paul would say.

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I like: Turning Point w/ Dr. David Jeremiah,
Truth for Life w/ Alistair Begg (my personal favorite),
Rich Nathan who is a local pastor in the Cols area, he's a Messianic Jew
Insight for Living w/ Chuck Swindoll
The Bible Answer Man w/ Hank Hanegraaff

Just to name a few,
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Rasmus:

The fact that you're even questioning your motivation, means you are taking the right approach & attitude into your part worship. It's a good thing to step back & do some self-evaluation. It helps our heads on straight. Also, find someone that you trust to share so that you can vent if needed & allow them to critique your attitude s well.
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PS- keep on praisin' God, dude.

Do you not remember what Yeshua said in the book of Matthew chap 15 concerning unclean things?

1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "

15Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

16"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "

Also in a vision that Peter had in Acts 10, God told Peter that whatever He declared was clean is clean.

9About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."

14"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."

15The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

16This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

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