Why the Church Isn't Helping

self ^ | today | self

[A2J]

"Try the Latterday Saints, there you will find many christians with resolve and patriotism."

Not to mention heretical teachings of such that teach that Jesus and Satan are brothers, prayer for the dead, and the ultimate elevation of adherents to the status of gods, to name a few.

[farmer18th]

Thanks for the encouragement, brother. I know many other believers think the same thing...

[A2J]

"All you have done is bash the church and not glorify GOD."

So, I suppose that Jesus wasn't "glorifying" God when He was "bashing" the churches in the Book of Revelation?

We need to do as He did and tell the truth about everything, even those man-made structures we wrongly call "churches."

[mag]

Farmer, while I share your sentiments to the same...I must say this, seek these things,and ask these things from God yourself...The fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much! I do not trust in the arm of man to do things for me that I can do for myself....God is no respecter of persons. What those pastors could have done is what you can do...and remember...Jesus whipped and ran the moneychangers out of the temple....Lessons will come to the shepherds of the flock, albeit sometimes the hard way. But if they heed the voice of God they will overcome. We have to remember, He who overcomes and endures to the end shall be saved. Peace be unto you and all your household. mag

[mag]

I also believe our Father was not just talking about the world when He said "Come out from among them and be ye seperate"... In His Name..... mag

[shatcher]

I have no doubt my alliance is to the creator. He created everything so He makes the rules. He deserves ALL the glory.

If you would only look, there are churches out there who serve God. I have searched out one where ever I move. I do not stick to one denomination...I look after the heart of the leadership. Are they speaking the truth? Are they watering down the Word? Do they teach their congregation to seek after the Lord? These are the many questions I ask myself.

God has done many wonderful things in my life. He has allowed me to be purified by fire and brought me to the breaking point. I thought I was going to die and go to meet the Lord one terrible night. Instead He brought me to a closer relationship with Him. I have no doubts I know God. I seek after His will, to the best of my ability. I still have a long way to go but, I rely on His strength, not my own. The more I give myself to Him, the closer I get to learning and performing His will.

I know where you are coming from. I used to be very critical of many denominations until the still, quiet voice that belongs to the Lord told me to concentrate on getting it right on my end. "Don't worry about the beliefs of others. Concentrate on YOUR relationship with me. It is for me to judge."..is a paraphrase of what He spoke to my heart. God Bless

[shatcher]

Jesus is God. You are not. He can "bash" anyone who does not have a heart for him because he knows. You dont' have the ability to judge someones heart. You see someone's actions but you don't know the heart behind them. God does. So, Glorify God in all you do and let Him take care of the heretics. He will ya know.

[AMMON-CENTRIST]

Vengence does not belong to us, but to All-Mighty God, Lord of the Universe!!! You want vengence in the name of America and you can't have that.

[farmer18th]

I know where you are coming from. I used to be very critical of many denominations until the still, quiet voice that belongs to the Lord told me to concentrate on getting it right on my end. "Don't worry about the beliefs of others. Concentrate on YOUR relationship with me. It is for me to judge."..

I don't want to offend you, but that might not have been the voice of the Lord. The Lord says, "if your brother sins against you, rebuke him..."

[ravingnutter]

Don't worry about the beliefs of others. Concentrate on YOUR relationship with me. It is for me to judge."..

What He (the Lord) said to you is exactly right...so why are you trying to judge farmer? Get a grip. You just reminded me of one of the reasons why I don't go to church. The other is I don't need a "middle man", I have a truly personal relationship with God and do not do His deeds before men, as He has requested. I follow Jesus' example and "hang" with the sinners...as He said, the sick people need the physician, not the well. Now, you might want to follow some advice I am sure He would personally give you..."Go forth and judge no more"...

[William_Rusher]

F*ck *ff pal, you don't like the response I gave the guy and you accuse me of not being a Christian?

[William_Rusher]

F*ck *ff pal, you don't like the response I gave the guy and you accuse me of not being a Christian? That Christian enough for ya?

[MeekOneGOP]

Interesting, 3C. Thanks for the bump!

Support President Bush!

[ThomasMore]

Anger and bitterness, name calling and reviling. These are not the attributes of "man created in the image and likeness of God". And these behaviors toward each other will certainly not foster unity. But then again, it is a sign that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness.

I am a revert to Catholicism. I stopped attending Church (worship) and became lazy and discontented with my faith and felt there was much hypocrisy within the clergy and congregation.  But to be honest, the biggest hypocrite was myself.  It took quite awhile to realize it.

What I eventually found out was that the ancient Catholic Church was a group of Christians bound together to "seek ye first the Kingdom".  They were called by faith to live a life in the spirit, in Christ Jesus, and to seek that happiness and salvation that emanates from the cross of Christ.  There Church worship involved going to what we commonly call "Mass".  They called it Eucharist.

The Mass is nothing less than the participation in the eternal Wedding Feast of the Lamb, with the Church Triumphant, the Church Suffering and the Church Militant all participating in Christ's Eternal Glorification of the Father through His Perfect Sacrifice.  If as a Catholic I really believe this; and I DO, then why should I not attend Eucharist (worship or Mass)?  I couldn't come up with a logical answer so I came back to Church.

Now I attend at the start of every day.  It has changed my life.  The first paragraph is not meant to be judgmental of any one individual but rather an indictment of all our spiritual conditions.  But if you fell like flaming on me, that's OK.  Just remember, for those who believe that Jesus is Lord, that when you flame me, He is standing in front of me and gets flamed first.  And of course, this works for me too!!!

Your Brother in Christ Jesus,

TM

[Donna Lee Nardo]

"He seemed to be aching to tell us about the great sins of our age, but he stopped short. He couldn’t seem to bring himself to mention abortion, divorce, homosexuality, adultery. He seemed to be hoping that we would get his drift. I felt a little sorry for him; at least he tried."

farmer18th: Now I get you. But look at the commotion caused by the "to-the-point" words of Reverend Jerry Falwell and seconded by Pat Robertson on the sins that contributed to Tuesday's events. You heard about it, right? The world hates the truth and the bearers of truth. It is a shame. Like you (and Falwell, etc.), I want to hear the truth.

[abigail2]

F*ck *ff pal,

Ah, the REAL W. Rusher comes out!

[Sueann]

"God’s Hand of Protection Over America Has Possibly Been Lifted

I cannot disagree with you more. God is pouring out his spirit upon all flesh. In Genesis 12, God told Abraham, "I will bless those who bless you".

Since we are the major supporter of Israel, WE ARE BLESSED AS A NATION.

This attack was brought on by the Clintons - who betrayed Israel. If you want someone to blame, the Clintons are your target.

But, what the devil has meant for harm, God will turn it around for good.

[follow your bliss]

Farmer if you can preach as well as you write--then perhaps it is time for you to find a way into the pulpit.

God has clearly blessed you with a special talent. Perhaps you are hearing His calling to make a difference. You understand the ‘big picture’ and can relate to those who, like yourself, would otherwise stray from the church, unfulfilled—and perhaps unsaved.

Many people attend seminary later in life. Churches everywhere are experiencing a massive shortage of ordained ministers. I would love to hear one of your sermons—as would many others.

[american spirit]

For many years, I shared the same frustrations about pastors who refuse to really speak out against the abominations of our day. The sense I got whenever we spoke about becoming more strident about abortion, homosexuality, public education, etc. is that they "didn't want to offend anyone" so the messages were pretty vanilla for a reason (the collection plate, perhaps?) Then I came upon an interview on tape with Pastor Dixon (Indiana Baptist Temple) who outlined the fact that when churches obtain an IRS granted 501C-3 status they become a corporate creature with certain tax benefits available to donors (tax deductions for donations, etc.) In exchange of this PRIVILEGE it's agreed that the church's pastor could not devote any more than a very small % of his sermon criticizing the gov't. If this were violated the IRS could revoke the church's tax-exempt status.

So you see many of the modern day churches have made a true deal with the devil and that's why we have so many "series of messages" or guilt trip sermons. It's funny, I had a chat not long ago with the pastor of a very large church in the Dallas area and when I asked why he never discussed the NWO, Communism, Goals 2000, etc. he went into his "as Christians even though we're in the world, we must not be of the world" spiel which I've heard many times over the last few years from the same people who don't mind talking incessantly about their 401K's, golf games, new cars, etc. Kind of odd...isn't it?

[farmer18th]

Thanks for your kind words and encouragement. (I'm not sure my wife will let me change careers at this point, but I do want--like all the rest of these Freepers--to make a difference through communicating the truth.) God Bless!