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Our Lord Jesus Christ loves you.
286777 Posts in 27568 Topics by 3790 Members
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58051  Welcome / About You! / Re:I sure am glad to be here! on: April 02, 2004, 08:20:36 PM
Oklahoma Howdy to Truatheist,

Welcome to Christians Unite. We'll be happy to share the Gospel of the Grace of God with you.

Tom
58052  Theology / General Theology / Every Spiritual Blessing Ours in Christ on: April 02, 2004, 08:11:24 PM
Hoekstra Devotion - April 2

Every Spiritual Blessing Ours in Christ:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.  (Eph_1:3)

Living day by day by grace is essentially about developing an intimate relationship with the Lord. "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." We have considered some of the radical extent of that intimacy through the intriguing phrase "in Christ." "You also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead" (Rom_7:4). Through this profound uniting with Christ, astounding spiritual riches are now ours.

This is why Paul offered grateful praise to the Lord: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul's thanksgiving was for what the Father has given to us: "who has blessed us." Notice, the verb is in the past tense — this has already happened. What is it that has already been given to us? It is "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." Think of it. This truth is staggering in its implications. Every grace resource that heaven has to offer is already ours here on earth. This does not mean that we are fully aware of all that has been given to us. Certainly, it does not mean that we are experiencing all of these blessings. Yet, it does mean that they are all ours to draw upon for fullness of life here on earth!

The reason these rich blessings are ours is that they all reside in Christ. In Christ is forgiveness, righteousness, and wisdom. Also, love, joy, and peace are found in Him. In Christ dwell victory, discernment, and courage. Moreover, compassion, strength, and perseverance are part of who He is. All this and far more is found in Christ. "For it pleased the Father that in Him [in Christ] all the fullness should dwell" (Col_1:19). Now, we dwell in the place ("in Christ") where all of this richness resides: "who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." All these spiritual resources of the kingdom of heaven are now ours "in Christ." "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for [upon] grace" (Joh_1:16).

Dear Father, I too want to bless You for bestowing all of this richness upon me. Lord, forgive me for the spiritual poverty that I too often experience. Teach me to draw upon these limitless treasures of Your grace. I want to honor You with an abundant walk in Christ's fullness, Amen.
58053  Theology / Debate / Re:Antichrist Today! on: April 02, 2004, 01:23:44 PM
See you "Purgatory" Tom

That's pretty childish, but I'll still say goodbye to you in Christian love. We should be sharing the Gospel of the Grace of God in Christian love. My simple request to do this is Biblical.

Love In Christ,
Tom
58054  Theology / Apologetics / Re:Why born again? on: April 02, 2004, 02:41:50 AM
Quote
What about the false teachings of RCism that is posted on Christian Unite?
RCism is as bad as JW's, Mormonism and Armstrongism.

Brothers, I would strongly disagree and say there is no comparison. However, I don't plan to debate it, so we can agree to disagree.

Love In Christ,
Tom
58055  Fellowship / You name it!! / Re:Restore the Constitution and Our Religious Liberty! on: April 01, 2004, 06:31:40 AM
Ebia,

That's no problem at all. I'll be happy to write the amendment for them and make it less than 1 page. Those 14% would be hollering like stuck pigs. I would bring the 86% out of the closet and put the 14% in the closet. It would be exceptionally simple. I'd have Congress, the Supreme Court, and etc. singing Amazing Grace as the start of each session just as a starter.   Wink
58056  Theology / General Theology / New Creatures in Christ on: April 01, 2004, 06:01:29 AM
Hoekstra Devotion - April 1

New Creatures in Christ:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  (2Co_5:17)

Everyone who is "in Christ," through faith in His name, is a "new creation." We are new people. We are no longer who we were before we put our trust in the Lord Jesus. We are not the old person reformed or improved; we are a "new creation." Yes, we have the same body, but that is a mere tent in which we dwell. "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2Co_5:1). Some day in glory, we will trade this temporal, earthly tent for an eternal heavenly one. Meanwhile, though we live in the same old tent we had in Adam, we are new tenants, a "new creation." We may have the same old physical brain, but we are learning to think an entirely new way. "We have the mind of Christ... be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom_12:2 and 1Co_2:16). Christ lives in us, and His Spirit also dwells in us. His Spirit takes the word of God and unfolds the thinking of our Lord for us. As we embrace God's way of thinking more and more, we are transformed to walk in the newness that is ours in "in Christ."

In all the ways that matter before God, "old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." The old guilt is replaced by new forgiveness. "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus... in whom we have... the forgiveness of sins" (Rom_8:1 and Col_1:14).
The old foolishness is replaced by new wisdom. "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God... But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God" (1Co_3:19 and 1Co_1:30). The old unrighteousness is replaced with new righteousness. "All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags... For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (Isa_64:6 and 2Co_5:21). The old hope of changing (self-help) is replaced by new hope of changing (sanctification, God changing us). "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength... You are in Christ Jesus, who became for us... sanctification" (Jer_17:5 and 1Co_1:30). This is grace upon grace.

O Lord, my hope, I thank You for making me a new person in Christ. Please strengthen my heart to spend time in Your word that I might hear more of these grand truths. Lord, I yearn to walk in more of this rich newness of life, in Jesus name, Amen.
58057  Theology / General Theology / In Christ, a New Creation on: April 01, 2004, 05:59:44 AM
Hoekstra Devotion - March 31

In Christ, a New Creation:

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.  (Gal_6:15)

In the relationship we have with the Lord through the new covenant of grace, there is intimacy, fullness of life, spiritual victory, and so much more. These blessings (that are not available to those who are related to Adam) are aspects of the new life that comes to new creatures "in Christ."

"In Christ," everything is so different from how it was "in Adam." The family of man, having only natural life from Adam, puts great significance in human heritage or personal inclinations. Whether a person is a Jew or a Gentile can be of enormous consequence to many among the unredeemed community. Whether a person is religiously inclined or secularly motivated avails much with many unsaved people. On the other hand, those who have been brought into union with Christ can learn that God's perspective on such matters is vastly different. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything."

In the kingdom of heaven, these distinctives among the sons of Adam mean nothing. Human differences do not cause the work of God or the will of God to be advanced or prevented. They avail nothing. What matters for all who are "in Christ Jesus" is not a "human category," "but a new creation."

When we come to know Christ by grace through faith, He gives us new birth. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again" (1Pe_1:3). We are created anew. We become a new spiritual being before the Lord. We have "put on the new man" (Col_3:10). In this heavenly kingdom of new men and women, "there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all" (Col_3:11). All that ultimately matters is that the Lord Jesus Christ dwells in all of His people, and He is wants to be all that they will ever need. All that matters is the Spirit of Christ is the living water that we have begun to partake of and that He makes us one. "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit" (1Co_12:13). Any person in any human category who will cry out to the Lord in faith can experience this richness. "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him" (Rom_10:12).

Dear Lord, giver of new life, my heart celebrates the wondrous fact that I am a new creation in Christ. I am delighted that my old human categories could not prevent Your work of grace from being offered to me. I praise You for Your glorious grace, Amen.
58058  Theology / General Theology / Reigning in Life Through Christ on: April 01, 2004, 05:57:56 AM
Hoekstra Devotion - March 30

Reigning in Life through Christ:

For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.  (Rom_5:17)

The Lord wants us to grow in the magnificent blessing of living victoriously through Him. Having a triumphant Christian walk can only be realized from a developing acquaintanceship with the Lord, because we are only able to "reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Significant spiritual issues are set against a victorious life: "By the one man's offense death reigned through the one." Because of Adam's sin, spiritual deadness ruled over the family of man. The enemy of men's souls uses this deadness to dominate and destroy lives. Elsewhere, Jesus likened him to a thief. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (Joh_10:10). This is why lives, households, and nations experience such deadly defeats and crushing failure. A tyrant dictator, "death," dominates all lives that are only born once in Adam. They can only draw upon Adam's fallen, sinful, inadequate life source.

A new and greater resource is needed and is found in Christ. "Much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." These heavenly provisions are "much more" than is needed to replace the defeats of Adam with the victories of Christ. The resources are two-fold: "abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness."
One of these two is possessed by every believer in Christ: "the gift of righteousness." This is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, given to us by faith. That allows us to stand accepted before a holy God: "found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Phi_3:9). Every believer has this gift, but not every believer is victorious.

Thus, the key variable is to be receiving "abundance of grace." Every Christian has been the recipient of grace. Yet, many of God's people do not live day by day by grace. They walk according to the flesh, thereby drawing upon Adam's natural bankrupt resources. Remember, living by grace involves humility and faith. God "gives grace to the humble" (Jam_4:6). Likewise, through Jesus," we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand" (Rom_5:2).

Lord God of grace, the reign of death has certainly assailed my life, bringing defeat and failure. Teach me to draw upon the abundant measures of Your grace, that I might reign in life, living victoriously, through Your Son, Christ Jesus, Amen.
58059  Theology / General Theology / Death In Adam or Life In Christ on: April 01, 2004, 05:54:59 AM
Hoekstra Devotion - March 29

Death In Adam or Life In Christ:

For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.  (1Co_15:21-22)

The new covenant of grace is a covenant of relationship. Spiritual death through Adam made this covenant of grace necessary. Spiritual life through Christ makes intimacy with God possible. Every human who has ever existed inherited a sinful, fallen, earthly life from Adam: "by man came death." Every person who has ever put their faith in Christ has received from Him a righteous, risen, heavenly life: "by Man [i.e., Jesus] also came the resurrection of the dead."

Adam began with a measure of intimacy with His Creator. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being . . . Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it" (Gen_2:7, Gen_2:15). In the garden, Adam served the Lord and had fellowship with Him, when He would walk "in the garden in the cool of the day" (Gen_3:Cool.

Adam could partake freely of all that was in the garden, except for one tree. "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Gen_2:17). For Adam, as for all of his race, "the wages of sin is death" (Rom_6:23). The day that Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate of the forbidden fruit, they died spiritually. "And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden" (Gen_3:Cool. Whereas they had enjoyed a degree intimacy with Lord, they now fled from His presence. Ever after, the natural children of Adam would begin there existence "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph_2:1).

The only remedy for the spiritually dead human family would be through a relationship to a new "family head." "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned . . . if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many" (Rom_5:12, Rom_5:15). There are only two families to which humanity can belong: Adam's or Christ's. There are only two family head's to which anyone can be related: Adam or Christ. Adam passed along spiritual death to his offspring. Christ gives to his own life eternal, life abundant — all by His glorious grace.

Creator God, my Father, I confess that I was born in Adam's sinful line. I have demonstrated my sinfulness on a multitude of occasions. I praise You for sending Your Son to rescue me from Adam's race and to place me in Christ, my new Head, Amen.
58060  Theology / Apologetics / Re:Why born again? on: March 31, 2004, 11:29:44 PM
Oklahoma Howdy to All,

I wanted to tell you that a poster in this thread was banned, and his messages were deleted. He was determined to preach and spread the false doctrine of his cult. He was only one of several who came here to convert us. I give thanks for the many who patiently tried to help him over the last months, but our help fell on deaf ears. Many of his messages were getting bolder by the day, and he started direct quotes of cult material. We could not permit the lost or babes in Christ to be exposed to his lies, so his posts were deleted.

Brothers and Sisters, I love you for trying so hard and with such patience to help him.

Love In Christ,
Tom
58061  Theology / Prophecy - Current Events / Re:Gay bashing on a forum, a neocon hobby ? on: March 31, 2004, 11:11:30 PM
Oklahoma Howdy to Butcha,

I think that you just spoke volumes of the truth. I was thinking about a dear friend of my family while reading your post. He has gone home to be with his Lord and Saviour.

He murdered a man while he was robbing a store. His young age and other circumstances were considered, and he got out of prison 18 years later after near perfect behavior and preaching the Gospel in prison. His original sentence was 25 years, so he had a lengthy parole with many obligations.

He gave his heart to Jesus while he was in prison and dedicated his life to ministry, in prison or out. He spent the rest of his life on the road from prison and jail to prison and jail, preaching the Gospel wherever they would let him. The list got huge and eventually involved numerous states. God used him and many small churches tried to help pay for his gasoline and other expenses. A host of his best friends were ministers, and the fact that he was a murderer was washed clean by the BLOOD OF JESUS.

I think that we both tried to make the same point. Who is the BOSS of your life - Jesus or the devil? Yes, my dear friend that I loved was a murderer, but Jesus was his BOSS. After he accepted Jesus Christ, he was nothing but a kind and gentle man who loved Jesus.

Love In Christ,
Tom
58062  Theology / Prophecy - Current Events / Re:Gay bashing on a forum, a neocon hobby ? on: March 31, 2004, 06:59:13 PM
So, did you not have any good replies to my post, or do you just not have the time to reply with your usual brilliance? Grin

Oklahoma Howdy to Tibby,

I'll give you some Oklahoma sunshine, but I'm keeping my brilliance.   Grin

There most certainly is a difference in types of sin in the eyes of God. There are many types of sin that Christians may be guilty of and not even know it at the time. Maybe they learn or realize later what they did was sin, confess those sins, and pray for forgiveness. This is what a Christian must do for more joy and fellowship with Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. There are no perfect Christians, and all Christians sin, but the difference is their ruler, Jesus Christ and Light.

Now, let's talk about a different kind of sin, like homosexuality. This is a continuous, on purpose, and in God's face type of abomination. There would be no purpose in confessing this sin if the person was going to continue the abomination in the eyes of God. There is no repentance if the person is going to deliberately continue in abomination. As an end result, there is no confession, repentance, or forgiveness for an act the person will intentionally live and wallow in. They are in complete darkness, and they can choose the light if they STOP, CONFESS, REPENT, AND ASK JESUS CHRIST TO COME INTO THEIR HEARTS AS THEIR PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOUR. In other words, they are lost and they will stay lost as long as they allow darkness and the devil to be the ruler of their lives. They are not Christians.

Yes Tibby, there is a difference and you are right. All Christians fight urges and desires of the devil for their entire lives. Any Christian who says they don't fight and resist the devil are either liars or in a comma.

Love In Christ,
Tom
58063  Fellowship / You name it!! / Re:Restore the Constitution and Our Religious Liberty! on: March 31, 2004, 05:24:32 PM
Quote
JudgeNot Said:

Hm.  Nuking them is bad PR – plus we’d get the good with the bad – God did spare Sodom and Gomorrah until Lot had time to ‘retrieve’ the good.  (And even then one of them turned out to be better salt than flesh.)  

Problem nowadays is – if we retrieve them, where do we put them?  

Oklahoma Howdy to JudgeNot,


Brother, we really need you to run for President. I'll vote for you. I really think that any lasting solution to our rights as Christians should be addressed with a Constitutional Convention. We could have one with the proper number of petitions and signatures. All of the wiggle room for the ACLU in our customs, traditions, and religious freedoms should be completely removed. The wiggle room for the Supreme Court and Federal Courts should also be removed so definitely and strictly that the Constitution answers it all, including the instructions for them to butt out and keep their mouths shut.

Brother, I'm far too shy on this. I could easily think of additional requirements that would be quite reasonable.

Love In Christ,
Tom
58064  Fellowship / You name it!! / Re:Restore the Constitution and Our Religious Liberty! on: March 31, 2004, 05:12:18 PM
Quote
Sincereheart Said:

Reminds me of all the 'tourist' places I've lived in the south. Yankees show up to visit and notice how beautiful it is then decide to stay and try to make it just like the place they left...  

Oklahoma Howdy to Sincereheart,

We require visitor's permits for Yankees in Oklahoma. When it runs out, they are open season for hunters. You wouldn't believe how many of them have antlers.   Grin   Grin   Grin

They make horrible looking trophies, and taxidermists charge extra fixing them up.   Grin   Grin   Grin

Just kidding..........

Love In Christ,
Tom
58065  Prayer / Prayer Requests / Re:My Baby on: March 31, 2004, 10:16:13 AM
Oklahoma Howdy to LMarsh,

I will definitely be praying for you and your family. Other than Jesus, our children are one of our most precious gifts from God. God loves to hear us when we pray for our children.

Love In Christ,
Tom
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