I was banned

[alanejackson]

I was banned from this forum:

1 Thessalonians 2:16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

 

[destiny]

Vic, My husband likes a good cigar too. I think a lot of the thrill is in the hunt; He loves going to cigar stores when we go out of town, just to see what he can find.

They sure smell a lot better than a cigarette.

 

[freeway]

yea I know what you mean... I have also been baned form a few sites that I used to visit.. atheist sites... they start off by disagreeing strongly.... then the verbal abuse :o like that surprised me.... then the polls who should be baned.. One question they hated was... if you don't believe in God then why every other post or two lines into a post you guys are talking about.........God... they didn't like that is guess :wink:

 

[Biblereader]

I woke up this morning, and I can't believe how hot it was!
It's a smothering hot, like you can't catch your breath, even in the shade.
Oppressive. I can feel my blood pressure rise after walking across the parking lot.
The UV index is extreme. Very dangerous. Everyone in the neighborhood,
over the age of 20 is staying indoors all day.

 

[Biblereader]

yea I know what you mean... I have also been baned form a few sites that I used to visit.. atheist sites... they start off by disagreeing strongly.... then the verbal abuse :o like that surprised me.... then the polls who should be baned.. One question they hated was... if you don't believe in God then why every other post or two lines into a post you guys are talking about.........God... they didn't like that is guess :wink:

Atheists do a LOT of talking about God.
Glad to hear I'm not alone, too!
Thanks for your replies.

 

[Biblereader]

I was banned from this forum:

1 Thessalonians 2:16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8: And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10: And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11: And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

All are damned who believe no the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness.

 

[Biblereader]

Not only is a smoker getting a required vitamin, but through the exercise of smoking he boosts his red blood cell count which allows the transfer of needed elements at a higher rate. During the act of smoking, the body senses a lack of oxygen like if you went up into the mountains, and calls for more red blood cells.

I have never believed that smoking causes cancer.
I know many older people, who smoked packs a day, for over 55 years or more, and did NOT die of cancer.

 

[Biblereader]

Hey, we could start a poll! Options are,

Do you want to get Banned?
Yes
No
I"m not sure
Other (Please explain)

Yes, if I'm standing up for the truth, yes, I want to be banned.
It means I'm doing the right thing, and the devil and his children hate that.

Just be sure to post the way to be born again, before you get banned, you'd be surprised how
many people see that. I've been mocked many times, for posting bible verses, and for sticking to
them, no matter what others say against the fact that Jesus is the ONLY DOOR into heaven.

 

[Biblereader]

Sorry to hear you were banned Br, but not surprised. I hope these verses both comfort and encourage you...

John 15:18-22
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

Thanks, and yes, they do comfort me.

 

[tim-from-pa]

yea I know what you mean... I have also been baned form a few sites that I used to visit.. atheist sites... they start off by disagreeing strongly.... then the verbal abuse :o like that surprised me.... then the polls who should be baned.. One question they hated was... if you don't believe in God then why every other post or two lines into a post you guys are talking about.........God... they didn't like that is guess :wink:

The reason atheists don't like that is because they have to talk a lot about God to convince themselves completely that He does not exist. When that goes challenged, there will be an emotionally based backlash like any person in denial. What they do not seem to understand is that saying that God does not exist is just as adamant as saying He does, but in the negative. In other words, whatever they accuse the "unreasoning" Christians of being, they are the same themselves except the polar opposite.

I'd have far more respect if they'd just be honest and say that they are not sure by taking a position of agnosticism.

 

[Carol Lowery]

I have a problem with smoking.....I'm hyper sensitive to medication, have been all my life. Meds and my body chemistry just don't mix. Meds make me crazy. So when I go through stressful times, I smoke, then put it down for years, then back to smoking. I mean they're pretty extreme times, but never the less my spirit says that's no excuse.

I asked my Pastor about it, he said Carol I've not come across anything in the Bible that says you'll go to hell for smoking....you'll just smell like you stop by hell when you get to heaven. The next thing I know, it's Sunday's next sermon. Oh Great just what I needed. The only one in heaven smelling like an ashtry, that's comforting. LOL

Any suggestions how to quit? I've tried everything, and this smoking thing is really a millstone around my neck spiritually. Helppppp!

Kudos HIM,
Carolpsalm91

 

[John]

Well smoking can be a VERY hard thing to quit, they have stuff that's designed to help you stop, I. E patches, gum? etc.

I am not addicted so it would be hard for me to relate with the addiction.

 

[Carol Lowery]

The problem John is that I'm hyper sensitive to medications, and I never know how I will react to them until it happens. Like I went to the hospital for a MRI and upper GI and they gave me this stuff berium. I asked them I'm I going to have a reaction to this, cause I am very sensitive to any type of chemical/meds. Oh no, nobody is alergic to berium. It coats the inside so it can be picked up on camera. Everything seem fine, and I went home took alittle nap, woke up to somebody knocking on the door. I opened the door they jump back and ask where's Bear and I said I work, they come in. I proceed to go to the rest room because something doesn't seem right with my eyes and I look in the mirror and screamed. My whole face was so swollen you could have blind folded me with dental floss. I looked like someone beat me and then it dawns on me why they ask me where's my hubby. They took me back to the hospital, they then gave me a shot of cordizone, and again I say I'm hyper sensitived, I'm I going to have a reaction....oh no nobody is alergic to cordizone shots. Well I go home and the next thing I know I get the gaints upstanding whelps that look like aligator skin on top of the swelling.

Same with surgery...had a alergic reaction to the anesthesa. I came out of a four hour major surgery, and they move me into the recovery room and I became very violent, OH OH strap down time. I cursed at the nurses and my husband sad I was using the "F" word every other word, telling them to get their hands off me etc. etc. My husband told the nurse please don't say anything to me about it cause it would absolutely tear me to pieces. He said he was totally shocked, and he said he didn't even recognize me, had never heard me use words like that. And of course the nurse said something to me about 3 days later in a joking manner, how sweet I was, and glad to see I was doing better. I asked her what did she mean, and she told me how I was with the staff. I was so hurt that I cried so hard and was so upset that I busted my stitches and had to go back in to surgery to be sewn up again and had an additional 4 day stay. They finally figured it out that with the anesthesa and the morphine for the pain, not a good thing.

Do you know anything about the patches John? Or does anyone? Now the only thing I can take is asprin, it don't mess with my head mentally, but it causes my stomach to bleed.

I took an antibiotic one time and the next thing I know I go into the bedroom to get something out of my dresser drawer and that's the last thing I remember. My husband said apparently I couldn't find it (whatever it was) and I pulled every single drawer out of 3 three dressers and threw them up against the walls of our bedroom. He had to call a friend up to stay with me while he was on the phone with the doctors cause he couldn't take his attention away from me for a second. I was like that all night long.

It just feels like a dog chasing it's own tail.

Kudos HIM,
Carolpsalm91

 

[John]

The patches contain the chemical Nicotine (the same as in cigarettes) and its step by step process, each step is less and less nicotine until you reach to point that you no longer need them.

btw, did you know cigarettes contain like 100 different chemicals :wink:

 

[Carol Lowery]

Then why is it that cigarettes don't do that to me. Now the calm me down, I feel alittle jittery at times, but they don't sent me over the edge and make crazy. My body confuses the crap out of me.

Kudos HIM.
Carolpsalm91

 

[handy]

Don't worry so much about being the only one in heaven smelling like an ashtray. Plenty of Christians smoke and this is one of those Christian liberty issues. My dad will be in heaven quite soon and is taking the opportunity to enjoy all the things his doctors have told him to deny himself for the past few years, one of which is smoking.

Smoking per se isn't sinful, however often some denominations preach against it. However, I cannot see where any addiction to anything is not sinful, for we are not to be mastered by anything but the Master Himself. If one is addicted to smoking, wanting to stop but totally unable to do so, then the smoking has passed from liberty into license and is indeed sin. This goes for any kind of addiction though, not just smoking.

I have two thoughts for you Carol:
One, why do you feel convicted about smoking? Is it truly the Spirit convicting you? If so, you need to stop. But, if you simply feel you need to stop because some Christians say that it is sin, then perhaps you need to prayerfully consider exactly what it is God want's you to do. Leaving off smoking for years, and only smoking when you are experiencing stress doesn't sound as though you are dealing with an uncontrolled addiction here. Everybody has different ways of dealing with stress, and more often than not, it's something we do with our bodies. I've downed quite a few more Pepsi's in the past week or so, more than I usually drink, mainly because the stress level is pretty high now. I know others who feel the same way about chocolate, Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey and some (those disgustingly healthy types :-D ) who go for a jog or do an extra half/hour on a treadmill. I truly think this is just a reaction to living in a physical body, something that Jesus fully experienced and therefore understands first hand.

The second thought is this: There are many ways to stop smoking in this era. If you truly feel that the Spirit is convicting you to stop smoking althoghether, the best thing to do is to sit down with your doctor, who should be aware of your sensitivities to medications and talk over the options.

I do know that some folks are so addicted to smoking that they never truly break the habit, but don't for a moment think that this would ban you from heaven, for God's love and forgiveness does indeed cover it.

 

[Carol Lowery]

John my friends computer won't pull up the image you left me, can you tell me the contents?

Kudos HIM,
Carolpsalm91

 

[Carol Lowery]

Dora I don't know if I'm convicting myself or if it's Holy Spirit, cause I'm ususally so in tuned to when the Spirit speaks to me.....it's just such a struggle in my spirit for me. I've talked to my doctor about it and because I'm so sensitive he perfers that I wean myself off. I've been going to accupuncture and it's seems to help, but I have to drive a 4 hour round trip to him and with the cost of gas, I see this not lasting long just because how much it cost me to go and then the cost of the visit of $60.00. Sometimes I just want to cry, it's so frustrating guys.

Kudos HIm,
Carolpsalm91

 

[stovebolts]

Any suggestions how to quit? I've tried everything, and this smoking thing is really a millstone around my neck spiritually. Helppppp!

Hi Carol.
Other than echoing what others have written so far, I only have one suggestion.

Put your mind to it, and just get it done.

I can't minimize, nor do I wish to minimize how hard it was for me to kick the habit of smoking. On those rare occasions when I find myself wanting a smoke, I reflect back on the struggle I had with breaking that addiction and decide that I don't want to go through it again.

It takes three days without nicotine or the other substances they put in cigarettes to break the physical dependence. It takes three weeks to break the mental addiction while you go through the mental withdrawals. Yes, it's hard, but it's not the rest of your life, it's only three weeks. Keep this in mind the next time you quit.

To help with the mental addiction, go to a GNC and get the big 150, or some other mega dose of Vitamin B and while your at it, grab yourself some bee pollen and some Ginko. Start taking this about a week before you commit to a quit date and begin to drink lots of water. It will help you keep your head together, but keep in mind, you've got to have the will power to persevere. Just keep looking at that three week mark and when your tempted, look back and decide that all that suffering isn't going to be for nothing when you feel tempted. Maybe look at it like this, have you ever started something and wanted to give up, except you had too much invested in it to quite? Quitting is not different. Don't let the days you suffered be for nothing. Make them count!

Your body is also going to begin to de-toxify itself and as it does, it will begin to heal. During this time, drink lots and lots and lots and lots and lots (you get the point) of water. Instead of grabbing for a smoke, grab a sip of water. When your lungs start to repair themselves, you may at times feel that you can't breath. (smoking actually makes it easier to breath at this stage sometimes because it acts in somewhat the same manner as an aspirin, it covers the pain). What's happening is that your lungs are no longer being coated with the toxins from cigarettes that have been hiding the pain caused by he destructive toxins. Feeling this pain is a good sign that your body is starting to heal itself. Think of it like a boo boo when it starts to itch. It's a good thing... it's a sign that your body is beginning to heal.

As far as the money your going to save, figure out how much money your spending each week on cigarettes, and find something comparable in price that you would like to purchase, but wouldn't normally purchase. At the end of the week, reward yourself in good conscious and use it as a token of accomplishment which will assist you in the following weeks. The next week, take the money that you saved and buy something for somebody that you normally wouldn't have, or give it to your favorite charity. Remember, when you quit, others are affected too (your going to be grumpy...) 8-)

Good luck!

 

[lovely]

I was asked to leave the widow site I was on before this one...it was not specifically christian, though it did have a christian area. It was said that I was offensive.

Carol,

My advice on how to quit is to count your cigarettes. First pray, and ask the Lord to help you take your thoughts captive, and to bring your body under submission to His will. Do this everyday when you pick up that pack. Then, If you smoke 20 a day, put 19 in your pack...just drop one. Don't skip it when you have a trigger right from the start...like after a meal, or with coffee, but drop one that you can do without. Do 19 for a few weeks, or until your body seems to have adjusted to that missed cigarette. Then, go to 18, and when you feel that you are doing well with 18, drop to 17, and so on. I think weaning is probably best for success, and better for your body. Ask the Lord to help you hate them, hate the smell of them, He will.

I would increase activity and vitamins, though, so that you do not replace smoking with food. My humble advice...the Lord bless you.