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TRUTH SEARCH 2
TRUTH SEARCH 2philosophy
THE GREATEST CHALLENGEQUOTES AND SAYINGS
QUOTES AND SAYINGSDEPRESSION
DEPRESSIONLOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS
LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPSMUSIC AND ART
MUSIC AND ARTPOEMS AND STORIES
POEMS AND STORIESTHE GOOD NEWS
THE GOOD NEWSWORLD CHRISTIANITY
WORLD BIBLE CONCERNSWEIGHT PROBLEMS
WEIGHT PROBLEMS|
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| WORLD BIBLE CONCERNS |
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| Searching Beyond Tradition |
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| It should be pointed out that I do not claim to be a better or worse Christian than anyone else, I am simply a Christian that feels that there is always room for improvement and room for us to grow closer to God, this is what has motivated me to search beyond tradition and write the sometimes unsettling things that I have written below. Jesus was persecuted for telling people things they did not want to hear. He was persecuted for pointing out that people were not living the good, Godly lives, that they believed they were living. It has always been the tendency of mankind to stray from God without realizing it. Proverbs 21:2 All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart Over the last ten years of much quiet time with the Lord, I have observed what I feel are some serious problems that we as Christians are facing. ____________________________ THE ANALOGY OF FROG AND THE HOT WATER . A frog in a pot of cool water does not notice any danger as the pot is heated. Because of the gradual increase in the water temperature, the frog does not sense danger until it is too late, and it dies. It is possible that for many years, spiritually unhealthy things have been introduced into our lives in gradual, slow, steps? Is it possible that because this has happened slowly, that we have not noticed any serious spiritual danger? Do we as Christians have a responsibility to examine this possibility? ________________________________ MATERIALISM Materialism is a difficult topic, we all know that we need and want material things, so at what point does our wanting material things become something contrary to what our Heavenly Father wants of us? THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR Do we treat others differently based on what they do or do not own? Do we feel differently towards them? Do we take greater pride in who we are based on what we do or do not own. If we continue to always want more material things, it may be safe to say that we have a problem. A constant desire for more and more material things tends to take our thoughts away from God, and away from Godly things. It is very important to not put too much value on material things. Matthew 6:19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money ____________________________ If we truly accept Christ into our lives, we are transformed. At this point material things are no longer a priority. Our love for God and our desire to serve Him should be our greatest motivation, we are a new creation in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? ____________________________ The following verses give us a idea of what attitude we, as Christians, should have regarding our futures. We need to continually remind ourselves of how temporary our time on earth is. We need to focus more on where we will spend eternity. In doing this, we will not stray as far from God. James 4:13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. ______________________________________ ARROGANCE We as Christians often take a great deal of pride in what we have achieved here on earth. We tend to forget that it is because the Lord has blessed us with talent and abilities that we were able to achieve anything. Romans 11:18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. ACCOMPLISHMENTS ?? People all over the world are taking a bow for their accomplishments, when the truth is, a natural chemical in our brains, called serotonin, is largely responsible for our accomplishments. Often those who achieve the most are those who are fortunate enough to have a natural, healthy, God given amount of serotonin. Most of us do not understand how ignorant, arrogant, and fortunate we are, to have the healthy God given amount of serotonin that we have. ____________________________________ MORE CHRISTIAN DANGERS Another area of serious spiritual concern to me is entertainment that promotes or makes light of promiscuity, violence, and profanity. ADVANCING THE HUMAN RACE Unfortunately, we often mistakenly believe we are raising the bar when in fact, we are lowering our morals. Especially in the entertainment industry, we believe we’re raising the bar or pushing the envelope, when we push sex, violence, and offensive language and behavior to it’s next level. _________________________________ LYING ON GOD'S BEHALF If we want to win people over to becoming believer's in God, is it right for us to lie on God's behalf? My guess is that it is not. My guess is that though our intentions are good, God does not need or want our lies. Regarding our Christian beliefs, it is my opinion that we hinder God's influence on this planet when we lie on His behalf and that if we strive to practice absolute truth ( the only truth that can pass a polygraph test) that Christianity would thrive to a higher degree than it ever has. GOD DOES NOT NEED OUR CONSCIOUS OR SUBCONSCIOUS LIES IN ORDER TO SURVIVE In all of our differing beliefs, if we were to strip away everything except absolute truth, (the only truth that can pass a polygraph test) that which would remain would be an environment rich in humility and integrity, a fertile environment in which God could plant seeds in our hearts. The effects would benefit each of us, our families, and the entire world and would lead to a greater happiness and peace than we have ever experienced. NOT NECESSARY TO KNOW IN ORDER TO BELIEVE. John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." *I don't care whether or not the shroud of Turin is real or fake. *I don't care if anyone ever finds evidence of Noah's Ark. *I choose to believe in God, I need no proof. ________________________ GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS PRAYERS If a person is in need of something, and they pray for help but God does not give them what they ask for, how should this be interpreted? I believe that whether or not God gives us what we ask for, He still loves and values us, our job as Christians is to remain faithful until the end. *Sometimes God does not give us what we want. That is His will, we must accept it. He still loves us. *Sometimes God gives us what we ask for but not when we ask for it. We may have to wait. That is His will, we must accept it. He still loves us. *Sometimes God gives us what we ask for promptly and without delay. That is His will. _________________________ A GRAY AREA It seems to be widely believed that there are times when our free will is neither influenced by God or Satan. I am wondering if it is possible that this one seemingly small issue has been a big factor in allowing us to stray spiritually. This one gray area where we feel we are not being influenced by Satan or God allows us freedom to stray from God without concern of being held accountable. And from there we can stray further and further. I choose to believe that there are only two sources that influence us in every thing that we do, say, or think, these two sources are Satan or God. I choose to believe that there is nothing that I can do that will go unnoticed by God, I will be held accountable for anything and everything. _____________________________ YESTERDAYS HONOR Most of us will do at least some honorable things during our lives. Often these honorable things are mentioned at appropriate times. In a way, we use them as badges to prove our honorable character. It is a mistake for us to believe that yesterdays nobility is proof that we are still that same person. Honor and integrity are things we need to continually work on for the rest of our lives. They can, and often do, slip away unnoticed, and we deceive ourselves by holding up a badge of yesterdays honor, a badge that represents something that may no longer exists. ______________________________ FAVORITISM James 2:1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? _______________________________ PREPARING THE SOIL Regarding wanting to be as receptive to God's will as much as humanly possible, I feel that the best thing that any of us can do to achieve this is to strive to have the highest possible degree of humility, integrity, and responsibility. I think that in doing so, we will have prepared the soil for the seeds that God can then plant in our hearts. I think that a persons ability to be in touch with the Lord largely depends on what degree of humility, integrity, and responsibility they have. It should be pointed out here that just about everyone would claim that they have a high degree of all three characteristics, as the verse says "every man's way is right in his own eyes" It is the human way to be able to concoct a idea and then convince oneself that this is God's will, this being the case, we must be careful. In order for us to have a high degree of these characteristics we must first learn to be honest with ourselves, a concept that few people are even aware of. If we can learn to do this, I believe that we will be able to live out our full potential for God, ourselves, and the world and that we will learn and experience happiness and peace beyond what we have today. In all of this, I believe that God gives us a free will to decide what He wants us to do and that the best thing we can do is prepare the soil and try to keep it as fertile as possible. It's a very big responsibility. _____________________________________ THERE IS BACKSLIDING THAT WE ARE AWARE OF AND THERE IS BACKSLIDING THAT WE ARE UNAWARE OF. The verses below are some examples of how we can know God and then turn away. Sometimes we are not aware of this happening. Galatians 4:9 But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? Matthew 12:43 "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, `I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." _________________________________________________ EASY ANSWERS The new age belief system has a abundance of easy, pleasant sounding answers to many questions. Those answers are not always responsible or honest. Conclusions are often the result of us thinking about a topic until we find a answer that sounds good to us. As Christians, let us be responsible and honest when seeking our answers, let us not be influenced by what is easiest to believe. TO LOOK WITHIN ONESELF Proverbs 21:2 All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart I LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING VERSES AS WARNINGS OF WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO US WITHOUT US BEING AWARE OF IT. Matthew 13:14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "`You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ________________________________________ CHANTING TO ESCAPE I once witnessed a young man who was being lectured because he had been living in a vacant house without the permission of the owner. The owner found out that he was there and proceeded to tell him that he could no longer live on the premises and that he should get a job and become more responsible. Upon hearing this, the young man immediately began to audibly chant words and a melody that were unfamiliar to me. He obviously was attempting to make enough noise so as to block out this information that he did not want to hear. He likely believed that he was serving his god and showing faith in his god in doing this. Do each of us tend to do the same thing when we hear a idea that we do not like? We may not audibly start to chant, but do we, in our own way, mistakenly believe that we are serving our God when we block out what we do not want to hear? ____________________________ There are likely other areas that we as Christians should be examining. I would like for all Churches to start pondering and discussing this issue. It does involve some sacrifice, it does involve leaving our comfort zone and speaking of unpleasant possibilities. But there is gain in doing so. We love and want to serve and please the Lord. If my concerns are valid, let us not be as the alcoholic which remains in denial but rather let us take the first step towards recovery and admit that we may have a problem. Let us pray that our hearts will be open to God's instruction and influence. God bless all of us in our Christian walks and may we have it within us to take a closer look at our responsibilities as Christians. A DIFFICULT RIDDLE There is a gift that can be given to people that will never exist, what is it? A necessary hint for finding the answer to this riddle can be found in the following passages.--- Luke 23:28-30 Matt 24:19 If anyone shares my concerns or feels my concerns are unwarranted, please write and share your thoughts with me. Thank-you, jim martin TRUTH SEARCH 1 -- HOME PAGE http://maxpages.com/truthsearch TRUTH SEARCH 2 http://maxpages.com/truthsearch/TRUTH_SEARCH_2 POEMS AND STORIES http://maxpages.com/truthsearch/POEMS_AND_STORIES QUOTES AND SAYINGS http://maxpages.com/truthsearch/QUOTES_AND_SAYINGS DEPRESSION http://maxpages.com/truthsearch/DEPRESSION WEIGHT PROBLEMS http://maxpages.com/truthsearch/WEIGHT_PROBLEMS THE GOOD NEWS http://maxpages.com/truthsearch/THE_GOOD_NEWS MUSIC AND ART http://maxpages.com/truthsearch/MUSIC_AND_ART LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS http://maxpages.com/truthsearch/LOVE_AND_RELATIONSHIPS WORLD BIBLE CONCERNS http://maxpages.com/truthsearch/WORLD_BIBLE_CONCERNS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE http://maxpages.com/truthsearch/THE_GREATEST_CHALLENGE  |
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