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Post by a believer on Jul 16, 2006 17:30:25 GMT -5
have you reached the seventy times seventy re forgiveness? Does God count how many times he has forgiven you. You sound like every other human that has ever lived. We have to ask God daily to forgive us and he is faithful to forgive us if we ask.
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Post by selah on Jul 16, 2006 19:29:21 GMT -5
I repent of my sins over & over, and I mean it at the time...then weakness & temptation overcome me...and "there I go again"...doing the same things. I feel like I have zero credibility with The Lord. It is discouraging. Now, I try not to make promises to God: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. I don't think God wants to hear any more of my worthless promises. God remembers we are dust. He does the work in you...especially when you are able to acknowledge your own inability, as you've done here. It's true...none of us have the capacity to be sinless. God knows that, and He covers our sin with His righteousness. That's the meaning of grace. Isn't that amazing?! Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. One promise you can make to God and know that you'll keep it, is the promise to return to Him often, in need of His forgiveness and love again and again. We all need to make that promise, and when we do, His work will begin to blossom in us. You know already that you cannot depend on yourself, but when you get the revelation knowledge that you CAN depend on God...He is ALWAYS faithful, even when you are not, you will be rejoicing! Understanding that will carry you through when you fail, and will motivate you to trust Him more as He is revealed in you. Remember, it's Christ IN you, your hope of glory! Blessings, Linda
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Post by Simple on Jul 16, 2006 19:38:48 GMT -5
I repent of my sins over & over, and I mean it at the time...then weakness & temptation overcome me...and "there I go again"...doing the same things. I feel like I have zero credibility with The Lord. It is discouraging. Now, I try not to make promises to God: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. I don't think God wants to hear any more of my worthless promises. You might try loving someone. Putting them before yourself. We do better for the sake of others than we do for ourselves.
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Post by wondering on Jul 16, 2006 22:38:28 GMT -5
To receive Christ means to accept a free gift from God (Eph. 2:8-9). For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” I don't see where accepting is written here? It says God gives you the faith that allows you to be saved by His grace. How does God choose who to give faith to? If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrightousness" ACKNOWLEDGE that you have sinned, admit all the sins you can think of; and promise you will turn away from your sins and not sin any more. This makes sense. I presume God would be that fair. I know I would be toward someone who repents like that. B. BELIEVE in Jesus Christ. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life.” you must believe, or recognize what God did: that He loved you so much He gave His Son to die on the cross. Read John 3:16 and substitute your own name for "the world" and "whosoever". (ADMIT to God and yourself: "I am a sinner who will perish (John 3:16) or go to Hell if I do not believe that Christ bore my sins and died for me." You must understand that the Blood of Christ cleanses you because Christ died in your place—it was you who deserved to die for your sins. He was your substitute. Your sins are either on you or on Jesus--it's up to you--it's your choice. I'm not sure what you mean to believe in Jesus Christ? I can believe that Jesus existed. I can believe that God loves me enough to accept my repentance. Why would Jesus be guilty of my sins and have to die for me? He isn't guilty, I am, I am willing to admit it? To say otherwise would be like a sin of lieing and a sin of false accusation that I could never do.
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Post by a believer on Jul 16, 2006 23:06:24 GMT -5
Jesus died for me, in my place and whoever believes on the name of the Lord shall be saved. That is scripture, it is not of our works that we are saved. It is through believing on what Christ has done for us. Adam sinned, you might say why should we all be doomed to sin because of Adam. The fact is we are, the same as through Jesus we are cleansed from sin. If you don't believe that Jesus died for your sins then you are placing your faith in your own works and not in what Christ has done for you.
This board is not working properly today, anyone else got that problem?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2006 23:09:41 GMT -5
Wondering... you see, if it wasn't for Jesus shedding His blood for those who accept his gift & sacrifice...we would all still be sacrificing animals on alters to gain God's forgiveness. After all those years of God's people shedding the blood of animals to God...God comes to earth as a man, and sheds His blood for man. What a concept!
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Post by guest on Jul 16, 2006 23:11:25 GMT -5
I'm not sure what you mean to believe in Jesus Christ? I can believe that Jesus existed. I can believe that God loves me enough to accept my repentance. Why would Jesus be guilty of my sins and have to die for me? He isn't guilty, I am, I am willing to admit it? To say otherwise would be like a sin of lieing and a sin of false accusation that I could never do. Lol! Sheesh, When you think about it Christian salvation IS based on a lie and false accusation! Weird.
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Post by Greg Lee unplugged on Jul 16, 2006 23:54:43 GMT -5
Wondering... you see, if it wasn't for Jesus shedding His blood for those who accept his gift & sacrifice...we would all still be sacrificing animals on alters to gain God's forgiveness. After all those years of God's people shedding the blood of animals to God...God comes to earth as a man, and sheds His blood for man. What a concept! Maybe. If you are a Jew. Or of a church that adopted that practice.
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Post by guest on Jul 17, 2006 0:21:16 GMT -5
I repent of my sins over & over, and I mean it at the time...then weakness & temptation overcome me...and "there I go again"...doing the same things. I feel like I have zero credibility with The Lord. It is discouraging. Now, I try not to make promises to God: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. I don't think God wants to hear any more of my worthless promises. God remembers we are dust. He does the work in you...especially when you are able to acknowledge your own inability, as you've done here. It's true...none of us have the capacity to be sinless. God knows that, and He covers our sin with His righteousness. That's the meaning of grace. Isn't that amazing?! Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. One promise you can make to God and know that you'll keep it, is the promise to return to Him often, in need of His forgiveness and love again and again. We all need to make that promise, and when we do, His work will begin to blossom in us. You know already that you cannot depend on yourself, but when you get the revelation knowledge that you CAN depend on God...He is ALWAYS faithful, even when you are not, you will be rejoicing! Understanding that will carry you through when you fail, and will motivate you to trust Him more as He is revealed in you. Remember, it's Christ IN you, your hope of glory! Blessings, Linda It's all well and good to use the God method to help you in this, but it might be useful too to recognize that it is actually a physiological trick to give yourself permission to try again. Allowing God to forgive you is simply you accepting your failure, repenting, and trying again, whether you involve God or not. You maybe have heard the expression that the only way to fail for sure is to fail to try again. If you don't simply ignore the judgments of others and allow yourself permission to fail and try again the alternative is for others to beat you up, and for you to beat yourself up as well. That may have some value in helping you quit, but it can also become a dead end. One of the problems I have with Christianity is that they preach that unless you repent and forgive through God or Christ, it's not sufficient. This is a very harmful and coercive doctrine. You are perfectly capable of repenting and giving yourself permission to go again. It is often good ignore anyone who puts conditions on this. I often find that people who are hard on themselves, are just as hard on others. To allow yourself to be forgiven, or forgive yourself, would mean (if you don't want to be a hypocrite) that you would have to give others the same liberty as you give yourself. Some people aren't willing to do this. Perhaps they feel that would be lowering the standard? It's not. What's right is right. We all need to learn to wisely extend the liberty toward others that can also sets us free. The recognition and understanding of our personal frailty is important to give us compassion; and more importantly, to give us understanding capable of helping others struggling with the same kind of problems. That's why addicts are the best support group for other addicts, God or not. Religion or a “higher power” is a way through which to channel these issues, but compassion and understanding are human traits that can be cultivated within and between most any of us.
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Post by Guest on Jul 17, 2006 0:42:24 GMT -5
Wondering... you see, if it wasn't for Jesus shedding His blood for those who accept his gift & sacrifice...we would all still be sacrificing animals on alters to gain God's forgiveness. I doubt it. Do even the orthodox Jews do much if any of this anymore? After all those years of God's people shedding the blood of animals to God...God comes to earth as a man, and sheds His blood for man. What a concept! It is a strange and very barbaric concept. The follow-up custom of drinking his blood via the wine and eating his body via the bread is downright cannibalistic. On the other hand, I understand some tribes in South or Central America do eat the bodies of their deceased relatives in order that their spirits can live on in them. I guess such ideas do not uniquely spring form Jewish or Christian minds.
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Post by a believer on Jul 17, 2006 1:50:28 GMT -5
The Muslims sacrifice a sheep at the end of Ramadan (the month of fasting) because they do not accept the sacrifice of Jesus. So it still happens in the Middle East. I'm not sure if it happens amongst Jews.
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