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Post by firstborn on Aug 29, 2007 16:59:35 GMT -5
Saw a couple of current 2x2s at the store the other day..Yes, I said Hi! And I thought back to when I was in this fellowship and held on to the exclusive belief of the only way. Toward the end, every time I would be with masses of people as in the store, I would get this sick feeling in my gut thinking all these people are lost! How could God send all these people to a lost eternity It really started to wear on me. To all that hold on to this belief in this fellowship how do you handle it?
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Post by ranman77007 on Aug 30, 2007 5:23:55 GMT -5
God sent all kinds of people, just read the bible.... but to a lost eternity? is that like saying, "Go to hell", except they actually obey? i make a joke about your serious question. i probably do that too much. i can always try harder to be a better person, even if they won't allow me in the chatroom...... i just have to accept that there is a whole gang of people in there that don't like me, even though i want to be their friend.... i can relate to your question... i can't picture God actually burning people forever, so that belief led me to Gods mercy, which is greater than that of the most merciful man that ever lived...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2007 6:00:47 GMT -5
quote - "To all that hold on to this belief in this fellowship how do you handle it?"
I handle it fine. I take the view that God gives people what they want. There are millions who have no love of God, and they won't change their mind in eternity. Such people might wail to see Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, but they don't want to sing the song of the lamb, don't want to wear the correct garment, don't want to surrender their will to God and don't want the fellowship of people they most likely would have hated had they still been on the earth.
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Post by no compassion on Aug 30, 2007 8:33:44 GMT -5
quote - "To all that hold on to this belief in this fellowship how do you handle it?" I handle it fine. I take the view that God gives people what they want. There are millions who have no love of God, and they won't change their mind in eternity. Such people might wail to see Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, but they don't want to sing the song of the lamb, don't want to wear the correct garment, don't want to surrender their will to God and don't want the fellowship of people they most likely would have hated had they still been on the earth.If Christ had taken that view, He could have save himself the agony of the cross.
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shushy
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Post by shushy on Aug 30, 2007 8:41:49 GMT -5
Personally, I do not want to see anyone perish..I do not want to look down from heaven and see a soul I knew or did not know in a firey pit screaming for mercy when it is too late. I agree, no compassion. He suffered so much for each one of us. I will always be grateful for what he did for me no matter how many mistakes I make.
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Post by withopeneyes (Mandy) on Aug 30, 2007 13:28:03 GMT -5
God loves us, and the bible says he does not want to see any of us perish, which is why he sent his son.
Bert, your response is very disappointing. We are to reach out to the lost, not just once, not just twice. It is the great commission. We are instructed to make disciples of all men.
Jesus does not give up on us... even if we're not in his fold.
But, I also realize that God does not send us to hell. It is our own choosing. Still, Jesus reaches out to us until our last moment on earth.
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Post by withopeneyes (Mandy) on Aug 30, 2007 13:29:59 GMT -5
(And ps, to answer the original question:)
As a kid, I was extremely stressed out day to day with the burden of being the only professing child in my school. I was constantly reminded by my parents, the friends, and the workers that I was probably the only bible they'd ever read, and it was my job to be a good example.
The tough part was I was basically told I was to preach through my life, not through my mouth- and so I didn't know how to share Jesus with others. I only knew how to tell people about what we did.. and I truly believed what we did (meetings in the home, dressing a certain way, homeless ministers) was what saved us.
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Post by negative boy on Aug 30, 2007 14:14:04 GMT -5
WOE, at least you got the positive slant. I got the negative side more often; it was what we didn't do that saved us. We didn't own a TV, we didn't play cards, we didn't smoke, drink or dance.
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Post by really on Aug 30, 2007 16:15:37 GMT -5
I take the view that God gives people what they want. There are millions who have no love of God, and they won't change their mind in eternity. and thus bert admits to his belief that all non-2x2s are doomed to a lost eternity. in doing so, bert condemns himself for being judgmental regarding the salvation of others.
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Post by withopeneyes (Mandy) on Aug 30, 2007 17:28:28 GMT -5
negative boy- I got that part too... Funny though, since many people did a lot of this behind the scenes.
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Post by firstborn on Aug 30, 2007 17:59:52 GMT -5
quote - "To all that hold on to this belief in this fellowship how do you handle it?" I handle it fine. I take the view that God gives people what they want. There are millions who have no love of God, and they won't change their mind in eternity. Such people might wail to see Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, but they don't want to sing the song of the lamb, don't want to wear the correct garment, don't want to surrender their will to God and don't want the fellowship of people they most likely would have hated had they still been on the earth.If Christ had taken that view, He could have save himself the agony of the cross. AMEN! Funny Bert, Paul hated Christians, And did not want to sing the song of the lamb until Jesus changed his mind.. Luke 15-10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over ONE sinner who repents. God is good all the time!
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Post by wanttobewithGod on Aug 30, 2007 19:06:32 GMT -5
negative boy- I got that part too... Funny though, since many people did a lot of this behind the scenes. I'm def. not arguing with you..if you saw this, you saw it. I know here in Wisconsin/midwest though...things are certainly still pretty strict as far as those things go. They weren't going on 'behind the scenes' (I must admit, of course..that I KNOW of) as far as any of us knew...at our house anyway, or any of our close friends' homes when I was growing up... nor are they now. I have heard through friends on this board that the midwest is a lot more strict than say the far west or east..but who knows? Anyway..that's all. M.
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Post by freespirit on Aug 30, 2007 20:47:11 GMT -5
Oh, the cards reminds me of a funny story. My parents weren't much on cards--I mean they didn't have poker night out or anything--but they didn't see the cards themselves as any more than 52 pieces of paper with ink. Anyhow... I had a set of cards and my dad taught me how to play solitaire. And so this one time when the workers were over and we were all sitting around at the dinner table for the after dinner yak-yak, I bee-bopped into my room and came out with the cards. (I was clueless that this was a no-no.) Of course, my mom was cringing. Sooooooo.... I (in complete oblivion) set out on a game of solitaire. The rest of this was told to me because I was too young to hear or understand any of it: The worker takes a deep breath and starts hammering in on the evils of cards and all. He keeps going on and on and on. My parents sit there and listen politely. They do not tell me to get up. I'm not listening, so I don't hear a word. Finally, at the end of his tirade, a pause came into the conversation. So my dad (not missing a beat) turns to me and says, "Hey, freespirit, if you play that red four on the black five you can lift move that stack there." ;D And this is how "visits" of this nature were handled in my family. No wonder I'm a freespirit. My dad still laughs about that. peace, freespirit
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Post by chrisy on Aug 30, 2007 21:23:42 GMT -5
freespirit loved your story. What a loving heart your dad has & wisdom to boot!!!!!!!!
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Post by ah on Aug 31, 2007 15:31:51 GMT -5
JMO... I know my relationship with God and Have know Idea about anyone elses. Just because they may not "look" like their going to heaven.. that is not for me to judge.. It is not anyones place to judge the soul, IMO Its not right to judge a persons heart by their looks either...
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Post by withopeneyes (Mandy) on Aug 31, 2007 17:55:43 GMT -5
wanttobewithGod-
Nowdays most of these things aren't done behind the scenes in the particular area I grew up in- but when I was a kid... it was a lot of older folks in our area and few young couples.. therefore a lot of things were hidden.
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Post by to wtbwg on Sept 1, 2007 6:49:35 GMT -5
You are so right... I think that is the one thing that surprises me the most ... the difference between the positive and the negative way of presenting the gospel to our children.
I think we as children knew the negative side of a lot of things that we experienced, and it may be why as adults most here are so negative... they dwelt on it and it became the message, the thing they hated, the thing that to fight against.
For us it was the positive things that we understood were the real message and were a blessing to us not the negative things controling our lives.
Jesus has given us the opportunity for salvation. He longs for us all to be there in heaven with him.
We will never see those people in the other place... it is total darkness... they may see us in the light... but I don't think we will be looking into the darkness if we are in the light of God and Jesus in heaven.
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shushy
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Post by shushy on Sept 1, 2007 15:05:14 GMT -5
[We didn't own a TV, we didn't play cards, we didn't smoke, drink or dance.]
No kidding. Now it seems common place. I know people who were shunned for having a record player in their lounge. My husbands bedroom was full of beer empties before we married, and they had meetings in their home. Not to mention the porn and half G's of sherry. His parents never said a word to him. They were staunch as well. All I wanted to do was dance as a child. Im still cheesed at this.
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Post by unPC bert on Sept 1, 2007 16:24:30 GMT -5
Bert - Political_Correctness =
I handle it fine. In fact, it gives me cause for celebration because the masses of people around me deserve to burn in hell because they aren't making sacrifices like I am and they aren't one of the chosen few. The thought of eternal hell fire continuously burning the flesh from their bodies makes me down-right giddy. Weeee. I take the view that God gives people what they want. I wanted salvation so I found Truth. The rest of you want something else so you get it, with a side order of hell-fire. There are millions who have no love of God, and they won't change their mind in eternity. I'm better than these people. Most of the people on earth are worthless scum. Just a few of us are of any count. Most of you on TMB are going to burn. I'm glad to, because you've been mean to me for no reason. Such people might wail to see Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, who was one of the workers by the way, but they don't want to sing the song of the lamb, which was written by a worker and is in our hymn book for all who are willing to see, don't want to wear the correct garment, or follow any of the other dress-code requirements set forth by the workers, don't want to surrender their will to God as interpreted by the workers and don't want the fellowship of people they most likely would have hated had they still been on the earth.<Enter singing: to the tune of na-na-na-boo-boo; You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell, You're going to he-ell... (fade out)>
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Post by wanttobewithGod on Sept 1, 2007 18:16:09 GMT -5
freespirit, I loved your story too. Cards were never a no no in our house, either. My dad was pretty strict *(his dad was an ex worker) but had become a little bit more loose by the time I came along (I was number 7. 6 kids in 7 years..10 years later, lil' me. heh. can you say spoiled?) but really though...I still had to follow the rules..no dances, jeans, late nights out, etc...but I was given more slack than my brothers and sis. Gambling was the thing that was disallowed in our home, not cards. Cards, as you said freespirit, are just paper with ink on them...it's what people DO with them that I (regardless of 2x2 religion or not) I still think can get people in trouble. (and like anything, not everyone..if you don't do things in excess they are usually fine. People who can drink socially but aren't alcoholics don't have a problem with it, you know?) Anyway, yeah....I like what your dad said there...not out of any disrespect to the workers or anything because though I believe in GOD and not the workers, per say, I still respect the workers to this day. Most of them that is...there aer all sorts of *individuals* who don't deserve our respect, worker or no! Anyway, sorry this post was all over the place! Just wanted to say cool story, free, and withopeneyes...yes, things are much different with the younger generation nowdays...and I grew up with very very few young people in the area..it was almost all older people...still is down there in that field to this day. Maybe why I always got on so well with older people...don't know! Anyway, the point I was making was that many were very good friends of my parents at that time...so I honestly believe we would have known if they had a tv behind the scenes or etc etc...I know we certainly didn't. Maybe some did, but here it is still pretty strict. Most of the younger generation has a computer which is very similar imo, but not many have tvs around here unless one or the other of a couple doesn't attend meetings. M.
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