Posted on 11/14/2021 8:16:03 PM PST by Jan_Sobieski
A number of years ago I was preparing to board a flight to Miami when a mechanical failure forced me to take another plane to Jacksonville. On the new plane, I was inadvertently seated next to Dennis Deyoung, lead singer of the 70s — 80s Rock Band, Styx (his wife in the seat behind because of a seating mix-up.) I did not recognize him at first, only remembering his 1980s look, so I continued reading my A.W. Tozer book, ‘In Pursuit of God’. It didn’t take long for me to recognize my famous seatmate when passengers, flight attendants, and even pilots made their way to him for autographs. In the middle of the chaos I prayed to God for what to say when I got the chance. My answer was, “Give Dennis the Gospel of Jesus Christ because you may never see him again.”
As the plane took off and he and I were seated alone I introduced myself. I told him I loved his music growing up. After some small talk about family, his hometown of Chicago, and the name of the band (Styx means the river in hell) I said to him, “Dennis I am a Christian and I want to ask you a question…if this plane crashes today, do you know where you will go?” A little startled, he responded, “I don’t know…isn’t that the main question in life?” I responded as disarming as possible saying, “Yes, it is the main question in life, and I do know where I would go. You can know too.” At this point his agent tried to rescue Dennis from the religious onslaught but he waved his agent off and nodded for me to continue.
I continued by sharing the Gospel Message...
(Excerpt) Read more at jan-northrup.medium.com ...
no ... satan tests us ...
God calls us in every way, and yes when he calls if we don’t answer he assumes we are asleep, can’t hear, or too preoccupied with a fallen world and are choking in the weeds..
The fruit of labor which does not burn by fire..the goal
I believe they both do.
No.
Read the Book of Job.
God Tests
Satan Tempts, but no more than God allows him to
-James 1:13-17
Temptation and testing as not necessarily the same thing.
I would have sung Babe over and over until Dennis started to sing it with me.
“unsaved Dennis DeYoung” and his wife are devout Catholics and have been for his entire career. Which is why they were evidently polite and receptive to a discussion of religion with a stranger.
His faith and lyrics that often advocated hard work and traditional values were a major reason that he endured the scorn of rock critics, and ultimately parted ways with his bandmates.
It’s unfortunate that Mr. Northrup chose to misrepresent the faith of a man he barely met in his efforts at self-promotion.
When God tests us, it’s not so He will find out what we’ll do.
He knows.
It’s so we can learn from it, if we’re paying attention.
THAT’S what He wants.
He knows our strengths and weaknesses, and wants us to use the former and reduce the latter.
The Enemy tempts us with various things, because he does not know us; when he finds a weakness, he exploits it, concentrating his efforts on destroying us in that area. I suppose early temptation efforts could be characterized as “testing”, but it’s not the same.
If this article as presented by “Jamie Northrup” is not satirical in nature, then God’s plan of redemption of a soul to everlasting spiritual life through the blood of Jesus is grossly misrepresented, and the author still serves Satan’s interest by deconstructing The Spirit’s Written Word of Life that communicates the plan to mankind.
Perhaps “test” is not the best word to use in this case as it can be misinterpreted or misunderstood. Some tests have a definitive pass or fail. Some tests are just used as lessons.
I prefer to think of it as God putting us through “fire” in order to refine us, and bring out to those around us as well as to ourselves our better qualities, qualities which are in themselves reflection of what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives.
And the flight attendant was notified and the unruly (unwoke) passenger's mouth was duct tapped and the plane made an emergency landing out of fear of yet another evangelical Christian hijacking a conversation, thereby terrorizing passengers on their way to Hell.
Actually yes, evangelize, use tracts, but on a plane it is best not to mention planes crashing. We could ask instead that if you died and God asked you...
Actually as a former Catholic (altar boy, CCD teacher and lector) who actually became manifestly born from above (thru deep personal penitent repentance to the risen Lord Christ and faith in Him to save me on His account, by His sinless shed blood) while still a Catholic and who remained therein for 6 more years as a weekly Mass-going RC; and who has since communicated personally to multitudes of Catholics regarding salvation, and as a student of Scripture as well as in Catholic teaching, I can attest that relatively very few Catholics have been born again. And most (esp. priests) resent gracious attempts to talk about the need for salvation, with many being antagonistic (at least in the NE) apart from the ambivalent, which many are.
For while one need not need to know much to be saved, as it requires more of the heart, that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit (Psalms 34:18) in wholehearted repentance toward God and faith in the Divine Lord Jesus who saves us on His account, and not any credit of our own or a church, yet Catholics are told they already are Christians via the very act of baptism and treated as such, and taught a false gospel of final salvation thru merit by grace, and thus are never called to personal repentance and faith as damned sinners who are destitute of any merit that will save them, and thus cast all their faith in the mercy of God in the risen Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, and are baptized and follow Him.
The second reason is because testing naturally implies that people can fail the test. What happens when you fail a test? You do not pass, right? You flunk, you may have to take it over, or you could even be kicked out for not meeting standards! WAIT!?
since it infers a tightrope in which one failure, even such as Peter's duplicity in Gal. 2, must mean you are lost, whereas saving living faith in the Lord and Savior which is counted for righteousness is that which consequently results in obedience toward its Object, like imperfect Abraham exampled, and such repents when convicted of not doing so, (Colossians 3:1ff; Galatians 5:25; Rm. 8:16; Hebrews 6:9-10; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10; 1 Jn. 1:7-10) being effectual in both Godly behavior and repentance. Those of faith, which 1 John describes, have eternal life.
Which stands in contrast to such which knowingly, will-fully impenitently choose to continue in sin despite reproof, and deny the faith by such, and will have ultimately forfeited what faith obtained if they die in that condition, having an "evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God," drawing "back to perdition," so that Christ shall "profit you nothing," having "fallen from grace," not standing fast in "the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free," not holding fast "the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end," "the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end," so that the gospel labor on their behalf would be in vain, (Gal. 5:1-5; Heb. 3:6,12,14; 10:25-31, 38-39; 1 Thessalonians 3:5) Wherefore God chastens us to work repentance so "that we should not be condemned with the world." (1 Corinthians 11:32)
Do you hold to Arminianism, the kind that in it an individual can be saved, justified, and have been certified to progress on the path of sanctification (Heb. 12:10-11); and yet choose to slip out of Jesus' mastery reverse Jesus' proclamation (Jn:10:27-29), pluck oneself out if the saving transaction that transferred his/her ownership from Satan to the Savior, and sin him/her self out of everlasting life?
Sorry, I don't buy it, and conclude that your interpretation of Hebrews 3 is defective and ignores the major theme of the Bible. I assert that the "we" of Hebrews 3:6 is not and by virtue of the saving transaction can nevermore be the "ye" of Hebrews 3:7 and 8. If anyone denies that clear agreement with Jn, 10:27-29, they will be in a different camp than myself, is my opinion.
He, the Savior does it perfectly. I did all of the sinning attributable to me, and He does all the saving, attributable to Him Alone (1 Thess. 5:23-24). He is has done it, is doing it, and will continue forever. Amen.
he, the Savior, Who saves perfectly, does it
Wrong, for the audience in Hebrews is always that of believers, and consistent with that, the "we" of Hebrews 3:6 are directed in Hebrews 3:7 and 8 to the "ye" (supplied) of Psalm 95:7-8 that they do not become as those referred to in Exodus 17:7; cf. Dt. 6:16. This is plain and should be plain to any one who read it and what follows, along with the other conflationary texts I supplied and is willing to acknowledge what it teaches, regardless if it is contrary to what they want such to say (and I used to hold to OSAS).
" If anyone denies that clear agreement with Jn, 10:27-29, they will be in a different camp than myself, is my opinion. "
Clear agreement? That is exactly what the Scriptures I cited agree with, for indeed "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand," (John 10:27-28) and thus those who do not follow Christ are not of faith, which not only includes those who never were of faith but those who manifestly did but no longer do, and in hardness of heart refuse to repent despite correction.
"Do you hold to Arminianism, the kind that in it an individual can be saved, justified, and have been certified to progress on the path of sanctification (Heb. 12:10-11); and yet choose to slip out of Jesus' mastery reverse Jesus' proclamation (Jn:10:27-29), pluck oneself out if the saving transaction that transferred his/her ownership from Satan to the Savior, and sin him/her self out of everlasting life?"
Rather, it is neither obtaining salvation on the basis of not sinning or loosing it due to sinning, but of forsaking Biblical heart-purifying justifying effectual faith, which forsaking results in the opposite of said salvific faith, even that of persistent impenitent sinning. Meaning that I hold that the one who, by God's grace, yielded to the grace of God who convicted him, (Jn. 16:8) drew him, (Jn. 6:44; 12:32) opened his heart, (Acts 16:14) and granted repentance (Acts 11:18) and gave faith, (Eph. 2:8,9) and then worked in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure, manifesting "things that accompany salvation;" (Phil. 2:13; Eph. 2:10; Heb. 6:9.10)
can choose to do what Scripture warns the same against doing, that of developing an "evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God," drawing "back to perdition," so that Christ shall "profit you nothing," having "fallen from grace," not standing fast in "the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free," not holding fast "the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end," "the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end," so that the gospel labor on their behalf would be in vain, (Gal. 5:1-5; Heb. 3:6,12,14; 10:25-31, 38-39; 1 Thessalonians 3:5)
Eternal life is a gift obtained by effectual faith and which imperfect men such as Abraham exampled, as well as David, who immediately repented when convicted by the Holy Spirit via Nathan (though we can put our conscience on hold for some time). In contrast is such a one as the former revivalist King Asa (2 Chronicles 15; 16) who hardened his heart at reproof and tragically died in that state.
Wherefore God chastens us to work repentance so "that we should not be condemned with the world," (1 Corinthians 11:32) which would not be needed for that purpose if a one time decision meant salvation no matter what manner of faith and thus what kind of life was eventually lived later.
Do airports still have the $25,000 insurance machines in the concourse?
https://www.straightdope.com/21344297/what-happened-to-flight-insurance-kiosks
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