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April 25, 2024, 06:23:02 PM

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Our Lord Jesus Christ loves you.
286805 Posts in 27568 Topics by 3790 Members
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16  Theology / General Theology / Worshiping God on: October 17, 2007, 10:18:07 PM

  To worship God is to offer our entire life as a sacrifice to Him.  As sinners we are incapable of making this sacrificial offering.  However, Jesus, who is pure and sinless, made a perfect sacrifice of His life to the Father on our behalf and allows us to join in His sacrifice by sharing with us His sacrificial body in the form of bread and His sacrificial blood of the new and eternal covenant in the form of wine (Matthew 26:26-28).  Furthermore, He asks us to continue to offer this sacrifice, as often as possible so that His presence in our heart is never lost (Luke 22:19) and we may thereby have life (John 6:53). Therefore, every time we offer this sacrifice at the Lord’s Supper we re-enter into Jesus’ sacrifice. His sacrifice is the only pure sacrifice.  Therefore, when the Lord’s Supper is celebrated through out the world, it fulfills Malachi’s prophesy (Malachi 1:11) which stated that, from the rising of the sun to its setting, in every place a pure sacrifice will be offered to God. By receiving His sacrificial body and blood we accept His sacrificial life. By accepting His sacrificial life we offer our life to the Father, to unconditionally love and serve others. 
 surrendersacrifice
web site: surrendersacrifice.com
17  Theology / General Theology / Formula for love on: July 06, 2007, 01:27:24 PM

1) We must want to love others unconditionally.
2) We must at all times meditate on God’s unconditional love for us; which he expressed by accepting suffering and death on the cross in order to save us from sin.
3) We must imitate Jesus in all our thoughts, words and actions.
4) We must surrender our will to God, sacrifice our self interest and serve others without expecting anything in return.
18  Theology / General Theology / Formula for forgiveness on: June 24, 2007, 04:10:18 PM
1) We must remember that although we betrayed God and sinned against Him He died for our sins. In other words, He the victim, compensated for the offenses we the affenders committed against Him.
2) We can accept God's forgiveness only if believe in His forgiveness by forgiving others the way He forgave us. We must, therefore,
compensate for the offenses of our offenders against us by our prayers and sacrifices. We must sacrifice our pride by not holding the offenses against them. We must also go out of our way to help those who hurt us.
3) When we find it impossible to forgive, we must ask Jesus to take control of our life and do it for us.
19  Theology / General Theology / Love is a one way street on: May 31, 2007, 11:09:41 PM
Love is a one way street because love is unconditional. God loved us although we rejected Him, were unfaithful to Him and killed Him.  When we are nice to some one because they are nice to us, it is not love; because, our niceness is conditional to the other party being nice. Similarly, if we love, only if the other party loves us back, it is not love, because it is conditional. Those who exercise true love, love, because, they love love.  In other words, they love, because, they love God who is love.  Furthermore, they love God; because, in Jesus they have seen the fullness of God’s love.
20  Theology / General Theology / The reward of love on: May 26, 2007, 08:48:43 AM
To those who exercise love, the privilege to love and serve others itself is the greatest reward; because, that is the only desire they have in their hearts. They are, therefore, exceedingly thankful to God, for performing acts of love through them. God gives us a free gift. This gift is the gift of His own life, which He gave us by sacrificing His own life. It is the only gift that is real, because, it is the only gift that gives us life and is eternal. This gift is the intense desire to empty our own interest and unconditionally serve others.To accept this gift, is to live Jesus’ life.
21  Theology / General Theology / How to find peace? on: April 30, 2007, 10:15:29 PM
When we trust God and love Him we find peace.  Trust in God takes away fear and anxiety, because, we are sure that in the end God will make everything right in our life. Even when events in our life are not going well, we will still have an inner peace, because, we will realize that in order for us to mature and get strong God may not grant our favors immediately. When we love God, we will also love all His children. We will, therefore, find it easy to forgive and reconcile with others.  Furthermore, we would want to live a life similar to God’s.  We would therefore, be willing to not only forgive our offenders but also be willing risk our own life in the process of helping them.

In order to love and trust God we need to know Him.  We can know Him by listening to His voice deep in our heart.  It is the voice of love and compassion which we often hear but ignore. To hear His voice, we must block off all other noises in our life.  We must, therefore, be still and meditate on His love and sacrifice.  We must, find as much time as possible each day to do this, because, it brings life, peace and joy to our life. In addition, when we do this, we are opening our heart to the God, who is reaching out to us.

Most of us try very hard to control our own life; so that when events in our life do not go the way we want them to go we get frustrated and angry.  However, if we take a pause and think, we will realize that our control of our life is very superficial, because, there are so many things over which, we have absolutely no control.  For example, even if we try to maintain a perfect health, we can still get suddenly incapacitated by traumatic injuries or catastrophic illness. We should, therefore, relax and give complete control of our life to God. We can do this by doing His will (which is to love and serve others) and accepting in our heart what ever He wants to happen in our life.
22  Theology / General Theology / True justice on: April 23, 2007, 09:40:27 PM
True justice does not prefer one person’s right over another person’s right; rather, it makes sure that both sides are treated with love and dignity. It therefore, helps both the oppressors and the oppressed, and does not fight or condemn the oppressors. Since everything we have is God’s, and we are all God’s children, we have to share everything we have with others. True justice therefore, helps the needy generously; helps friends and foes alike; does not ask back what has been borrowed; loves one’s enemies and prays for their happiness; gives without expecting anything in return; forgives others unceasingly; and keeps one’s good deeds secret (Matthew 5:38-42, Luke 6:27-38). True justice is merciful because mercy (which comes from God) is above all laws (James 2:13) and God demands mercy (Matt. 9:13). True justice therefore is never revengeful.
23  Theology / General Theology / Divine Mercy on: April 14, 2007, 07:33:34 PM
We must be merciful, just as our Father is merciful (Luke. 6:36), because, He is our God. If we truly are followers of Christ, we too will forgive as He does (Eph 4:32). He forgave by sacrificing His life for those who betrayed Him, were unfaithful to Him and killed Him.  In other words, the victim compensated for the sins of His offenders.  This is a very important fact, because, this is true forgiveness. If we have to accept His forgiveness, we must believe in it by doing like wise.  In other words, we must not only write-off what our offenders owe us, but also put our lives on the line in the process of helping them.  If we do not forgive others in this manner, how can we accept God’s forgiveness (Matt 18:21-34)?

  In the Old covenant people lived by the laws that were written on stone (2 Cor. 3:7).  They, therefore, followed the letter of the law.  It was, therefore, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Lv. 24:20).  In the New Covenant, we live by the Spirit; which means, that the Spirit of God is imprinted on our fleshy hearts (2 Cor. 3:3).  Or, in other words, the Spirit of God, which is unconditional love, is our hearts desire.  We are therefore, taught (Matt. 5: 39-40; Luke 6: 30; Matt. 5: 44) to offer no resistance to the person who is evil; offer the other cheek when struck on one; if any one sues us for our tunic, hand him our cloak as well; give to everyone who asks and do not demand back what others have taken from us; love our enemies; and pray for those persecute us. Jesus showed us that to truly love and forgive, is not only to give up resentment or claim we have against our offenders, but also to compensate for their wrongdoings. Jesus did not sue those who hurt and killed Him.  He offered them salvation by dying on the cross. He, thus, offered the other cheek.  We have only two choices, to live like Jesus did or to reject His life. 
24  Theology / Prophecy - Current Events / Why does the media try to discredit Christianity? on: February 26, 2007, 11:11:39 PM
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    Time and again the media claim that they have made startling discoveries about Christianity. To the common people who have not been educated in the history of      Christianity, such presentations seem like eye openers, because, the presentations have scholarly pretenses. In reality, they are full of false information, unrealistic speculations and fiction. The De Vinci code was history mixed with fiction that made fiction appear like real history. Judas' Gospel, that were written by Gnostics (who were at odds with Christians) long after the real Gospels were written, had been discredited by scholars a long ago; yet it resurfaced as some new discovery in the media. More recently, they took an archeological findings of the early nineteen eighties, in which grave of a Jewish family was discovered, and tried to imply that it was the grave of Jesus and his family; although none of his family members lived in Jerusalem (where the grave was discovered) and the chief archeologist of the excavation found no connection between Jesus and the grave.

  The media is anti-Christian, because, they are opposed to Christian teachings. Christianity teaches about unconditional love, in which, Christians, like Jesus, are called to love their enemies and compensate for the offenses of their offenders by sacrificing their own interest. Christians are also called to protect every human life, including those in the fetal and embryonic stages, and respect marital union as holy, permanent and life-giving. Christians, therefore, oppose contraception, artificial reproductive techniques, destruction of embryo for any reason, euthanasia, divorce, fornication, sexual immorality and perversities, gay union, and self-interest. The media, which espouses all these things, therefore, does not like Christianity. To them, Jesus is the stumbling block, because, in Jesus the reality of God, as pure, sacrificial, all forgiving is revealed. Jesus, therefore, is their prime target.
25  Theology / General Theology / About Love on: February 20, 2007, 09:28:40 PM
Since true love is unconditional and selfless, true love goes beyond friends and relatives (who are our own, whom we like, who have either helped us in the past or from whom we expect to get something in return).According to Jesus (Luke 6:27-25) we must love our enemies, do good deeds to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us. If anyone slaps us on one cheek, we must let him hit the other one too. We must give to everyone who asks for something; because, God is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. We must be merciful, just as our Father is merciful (Luke 6: 35-36). We must remember that mercy triumphs over law (James 2; 13); and it is mercy, and not sacrifice, that God desires (Matt. 12, 7; 9, 13). Furthermore, Jesus did not come to call righteous but sinners (Matt. 9, 13). We must not take revenge on those who do us wrong. If someone takes us to court to sue us for our shirt, we must let him have our coat as well. We must walk an additional mile if the occupation forces ask us to carry their pack for one mile (Matt 5; 39-41). If anyone borrows something from us we must not ask for it back (Luke 6:27-30). We must be willing to lay down our life for others, including for those who cause us grave hurt; just as God in His Divine mercy sacrificed His life for us, although we gravely hurt Him (by our sins). Christian life, therefore, is a living cross. This means that we have to live a life of unconditional love, sacrifice and surrender. We are also to make none of our own desires our god. Rather, we have to make God, who is love, our only desire.
26  Theology / General Theology / How to find God on: February 11, 2007, 09:46:08 PM
 Most people know that there is a God. However, He is abstract to them; because, they do not know what He looks like, and have never seen Him, felt Him or heard Him.  Many believe that He is a spirit.  However, they are not even sure what a spirit is.  Fortunately, it is not difficult to find Him, because, He reaches out to us and is knocking on every human heart, begging us to allow Him to enter our heart, and bring us peace and joy.  God is Spirit and Love. His Spirit fills the Universe.  Spirit is like a force or energy, which we cannot see; but feels its effect. While force and energy affects only material objects spirit, also affect thoughts and minds.  The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love that lead human minds and thoughts to acts of sacrificial love, and the energy that sustains human spirit to stay faithful to unconditional love during the most painful trials in life.  It brings sublime and enduring love in human hearts.

  We often feel godless and do not hear God’s voice, because, our minds and thoughts are clouded by the business of the world. The world is full of selfishness. Selfishness is the source of evil in the world. Selfishness leads to competition, deceit, lust, betrayal and fear.  Fear leads to hate, jealousy and revenge.  All of them lead to turmoil in our heart and in our relationships with others. To hear and feel God we have to be quiet, free our self of all desires of pleasures and open our heart to His love. To free our selves of the desires of pleasure is very important, because, such desires tend to block our heart from being fully open to His voice. Most importantly, because God is love, we must meditate on His love which He expressed by becoming one of us and dying on the cross for our sins. This will fill us with joy and peace, His words become real to us and we will see His presence in the acts of unconditional love by human beings.

  When the storms of earthly misfortunes destroys our stability and security, and there is no one to help us, we feel very alone and helpless.  Even our prayers and meditations seem to become sterile and fruitless. Our cries seem like, they go unheard and our faith begins to crumble.  Even our friends begin to say, “Why doesn’t God help him”.  However, we should not fear, because, this is the time when God in our heart can triumph, because, when we are the weakest, we are the strongest. When everything fails, we become very helpless. This helps us to surrender our will completely to God. This makes us the strongest, because, we allow God to be in charge of our life. Furthermore, when we are humble, we care about others, because, pride does not interfere in our effort to express /which is natural in us-which is love. In other words, the humility within us allows unconditional love (which is God) to show forth.
27  Theology / General Theology / Why is there evil in the world? on: December 28, 2006, 10:51:45 PM
God created us, so that we can share His life of unconditional love, and thereby find peace and joy. To love is a decision; it, therefore, needs a choice. Without a choice, we can not love. The choice is to love or not to love. The latter means, selfishness; which is the cause of all evil. Because, God is all knowing, He knew that some people will choose evil. However, in order that we may be able to love, He had to give us a choice. If he had created us in such a fashion, that we would only choose love, then it would not really be a choice and we could never love. Obviously, evil hurts people and destroys life. Fortunately, our life on this earth is not the final story; it is only an infinitesimal part of our life where we finalize our choice. If we choose love, we will have peace and joy for all eternity; so that the hurt and suffering in this life would be nothing compared to the peace and joy for all eternity.

Many a times, when we are hurt by others, we wants to choose hate and selfishness; however, Jesus, who is God in human form, showed us by His life as a human being, that, love and forgiveness are the only positive responses to hate. Furthermore, by rising from the dead he also showed us that, if we choose love, death has no power over us.
28  Theology / General Theology / How to forgive on: November 07, 2006, 10:31:41 PM
Here are few ideas about how to forgive.

1)   Perfect forgiveness comes through Jesus, who compensated for the offenses we committed against Him by sacrificing His own life. In order to forgive, we must, therefore, surrender our will to God by desiring nothing except to do and accept His will.
2)   Sacrifice our hurt and pride, just as Jesus humbled Himself and sacrificed His life for us, in order to bring forgiveness and healing to those who offend us.
3)   Constantly remember that we are sinners who are forgiven by the sacrificial body and blood of Christ.
Please feel free to add some more.
29  Theology / General Theology / Attributes of forgiveness on: October 29, 2006, 09:59:03 PM
Here are some of the attributes of forgiveness that I was able to find.
1)   To forgive is to compensate for the offenses of those who offend us by sacrificing our own life in order to bring healing and redemption to those who offend us.
2)   Forgiveness has no limit.
3)   If we do not forgive as Jesus did, we do not have love in our heart.
4)   We accept God’s forgiveness by making forgiveness our way of life.  Therefore, if we do not forgive others as God does, we reject His forgiveness.
5)   Forgiveness is sacrifice and love.
Are there any more?
30  Theology / General Theology / Trust in Jesus on: August 05, 2006, 11:26:56 PM
To trust in Jesus, is to accept His life. His life is the life of unconditional love, which enabled Him to sacrifice His life for those who were unfaithful to Him and betrayed Him. If we don't accept this life, we do not have faith in Him. When we accept His life, He rewards us with the opportunities to live His life. This means that He gives us opportunity to unconditionally serve and forgive others (including those who are unfaithful to us). This further means that our trials and challenges in life are our rewards, because, through them we get close to Jesus (who underwent trials and suffering for our sin) and allow Him to purify our soul.
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