Materialistic Christians

[Imagican]

Imagican,

Here you go again, focusing away from the fruit. :roll:

I must just be really confused as to what 'fruit' your looking for. Bananas? All I stated was that like false prophets, there will be false fruit that many will think is fruit of the Spirit. It's from a spirit alright. The question then becomes: what spirit?

The most that one could hope for on their participation on a forum is to offer what one understands. Hopefully it's valid and those that read it take it to heart.

I am well aware that there are many among us that think that what I have to offer is misguided. So be it. I can say this in my defense though. The lessons I have learned have come at quite a high price. Not only have there been long hours spent reading and studying, but many many hours of prayer also. I am not bragging, I am simply stating the truth. And if one were to take into consideration the Way in which all of this started, it then begins to take on a whole new meaning. Fortunately for most, their understanding came much easier with much less sacrifice.

So far, all I have asked is the same that anyone else would that questioned whether to accept something offered by another or not. Validation. You have moaned and groaned about all the poor people that need our help. I am really curious as to how you can feel this strongly about something and then not take whatever is at your disposal and go out and do what you can to make up for the rest of us that you see as not doing what we should.

Either you aren't really as concerned as you state your convictions are or you are just here with some other agenda. Since you refuse to reply with any kind of sensible answer to the same question that you've been asked by a number of posters, I am lead to assume that it's probably a bit of both. You are just talking and this for some personal reason that has little to do with any will other than your own.

 

[gingercat]

Imagican,

You said your church is your family, who else do you support besides them? Jesus wants us to carry each others' burden. I am wondering if you are not attending church just because you dont want to perticipate in helping other brethren. All of a sudden you started act so strangely since you joined my thread "materialistic christians". :-? :-? :-?

 

[destiny]

gingercat,
God gives to each person as He wills, He places each person where He wants them to be so that they can minister within the realm that they are placed in (if they are in relationship with Him). Someone elses walk might not look like what (you) think it should...believe it or not!
If a person is happy with their church you shouldn't try to get them out of it, if you know for a fact a church is in left feild...then you warn, and let God do the rest.
Blasting churches or individual people blindly doesn't help your cause, it hurts it.
Me nor anyone else owes you the details of how or where we give. God will judge the motives of our hearts.
These types of threads sure seem to bring out a lot of self righteousness.

 

[gingercat]

Thank you for your input. Everone is entitled to their own opininons. Isn't that why we are here?:D

 

[destiny]

Thank you for your input. Everone is entitled to their own opininons. Isn't that why we are here?:D

Opinions are good, they don't bother me at all. We all got'em.

 

[mutzrein]

Gingercat

Obviously the calling of God and the gifts that enable you to fulfill it are different to my calling and gifts. You are obviously responsible to your master and I need to be responsible to mine also.

 

[gingercat]

Gingercat

Obviously the calling of God and the gifts that enable you to fulfill it are different to my calling and gifts. You are obviously responsible to your master and I need to be responsible to mine also.

Thank you Ed, :angel:

 

[Imagican]

I choose to build my treasures in heaven, not here on earth. What I offer to my brothers and sisters is between myself and God and I offer NO justification to others concerning this matter.

Other than any charity that I may or may not offer, I will say this, I offer the testimony of the changes that God has wrought in my life to anyone that will take the time to listen, (and you can believe that I encounter many that won't). I expound the need for EVERYONE to read the Bible. I have my own way of doing this which I believe wholeheartedly is inspired by the Holy Spirit.

You have yet to hear me boast of what I do to help the less fortunate, and you won't. I rather choose for these things to be rewarded in a much greater way than anyones praise here on this planet.

I am here to offer what understanding I may in relation to love, and to expose what I believe to be 'false doctrine' that many have accepted without question. We were specifically commanded to test ALL things. I am here to remind all of this.

And ginger, the fruit you seek you see not for you seem to be looking for the wrong thing. The fruit is MOST often of the heart and not the works that you so desperately insist one must exhibit.

 

[gingercat]

You have yet to hear me boast of what I do to help the less fortunate

end of quote,


Imagican, do you know that no one can do anything good, not even one?

If you think one is boasting the Lord and you see it as they are boasting themselves, you have to learn a lot more about God and examine your self- righteouse attitude.

We should take every oppotunity to boast God when some one askes your evidence of God. It is not you doing the good works: It is God working. If you don't recognize that you dont recognize God.

You should praise God instead of accusing them being boasting.

When we don't live close and people cannot see our private lives, we have to give them evidence how God is working in you: This is the only way to tell if one is true follower. The Bible tells to watch out for false prophet. There are many wearing sheep's clothing in the forums. Looking for the fruit is the only way to tell. Why are you refusing to do so?

 

[Imagican]

You have yet to hear me boast of what I do to help the less fortunate

end of quote,


Imagican, do you know that no one can do anything good, not even one?

NO, I don't know that. What I do know is that there is not one that 'is' good, no not one. But we are certainly capable of doing that which is good and that is nothing more or less than love.

If you think one is boasting the Lord and you see it as they are boasting themselves, you have to learn a lot more about God and examine your self- righteouse attitude.

I know that when anyone boasts of their deeds, they are boasting of themselves.

We should take every oppotunity to boast God when some one askes your evidence of God. It is not you doing the good works: It is God working. If you don't recognize that you dont recognize God.

I guess you just make up stuff as you go along. Even satan disguises much of his works as good. So I guess from your perspective even the good that satan does to fool even the very elect is from God.

You should praise God instead of accusing them being boasting.

You say this as if you have any idea of my relationship with the Father. I know what Christ stated about those that do for themselves in His name. And I have not accused 'them' of anything other than what I have witnessed.

When we don't live close and people cannot see our private lives, we have to give them evidence how God is working in you: This is the only way to tell if one is true follower. The Bible tells to watch out for false prophet. There are many wearing sheep's clothing in the forums. Looking for the fruit is the only way to tell. Why are you refusing to do so?

ginger,

you post is ridiculous. As far as I know you are a man posing as a woman. As far as either of us knows we haven't told a shred of 'truth' and are just here playing a game. So your premise that you can 'prove' anything about yourself on a forum is totally bogus. As close as we can come is to show that our understanding conforms to the Word.

I do know this though. We are told that when we give we are not to let one hand know what the other is doing. We are also told to pray in private and NOT be as the hypocrites who like to receive their reward in others believing that they are so 'righteous'.

So you believe that you have the ability to judge the hearts of others that you don't even know? If you have scripture to offer that would show that what I have stated is against the Word then you accusations would be valid. Since you offer nothing other than personal opinion, who is the deceiver or attempting to deceive? I have offered you nothing other than the 'truth' as I know it. Perhaps your 'truth' is something completely different but that still doesn't make my understanding any less valid than what you think you understand.

At this point ginger, I will bow out by saying that it's obvious that we will have to simply agree to disagree. I have come offering valid points and from my perspective all you choose to do is argue for the sake of arguing. I offer you an apology for any offense that I have offered and ask for your forgiveness. God Bless,

Your brother in Christ,

MEC

 

[gingercat]

Imagican,

I was asked many times that to prove if I am a true Christian: I offered my testimony. Then all of my opposers like you are taking it as boasting. You have to make up your mind. You are persecuting Jesus when you accuse His faithful ones's works as boasting. You are the one who are being ridiculous when one is talking about fruit and you are twisting it by saying boasting. This is another satan's tactics. I am asking you simply where is you fruit? I urged you before this thread to give testimony and you did not respond. It is very strange as christian.

You seem very eloquent talking and quoting the Bible. Talk is cheap no matter how eloquent you are. Even satan used Scriptures to attempt Jesus.

 

[BeforeThereWas]

We always talk about love. One of the biggest aspects of love is giving. If we cannot help other brethren in need we are not being loving.

Well, I guess different people have a different definitions of that love of which you speak. Most think that handing over the primary portion of their giving to organized religion (which is mostly guilty of the theft of God by not meeting the needs of needy believers with what's given to them) is "love".

What a strange and hypocritical world we live in...

BTW

 

[gingercat]

Thank you before. :D

 

[Imagican]

Imagican,

I was asked many times that to prove if I am a true Christian: I offered my testimony. Then all of my opposers like you are taking it as boasting. You have to make up your mind. You are persecuting Jesus when you accuse His faithful ones's works as boasting. You are the one who are being ridiculous when one is talking about fruit and you are twisting it by saying boasting. This is another satan's tactics. I am asking you simply where is you fruit? I urged you before this thread to give testimony and you did not respond. It is very strange as christian.

You seem very eloquent talking and quoting the Bible. Talk is cheap no matter how eloquent you are. Even satan used Scriptures to attempt Jesus.

Ok, ginger, I had bowed out of this thread but i did come back just to see how it was going. I only respond to let you know that I missed your asking for my testimony. Honestly. I would have NOT ignored a request such as this on purpose. I missed it somehow. But if you are curious about my testimony, you will find that it is posted under 'General discussion' 'My testimony, "Warning" it's a long one. So, if you are curious, by all means...........check it out.

 

[tim-from-pa]

A lot of controversy here over giving. Let me just chime in with a basic fact: depending on who you ask, it seems that the average 'Christian' gives 2.5-4% of their income to church. That's deplorable.

Now Abraham was very rich, and along with the Messianic promises included promises of multitudinous (physical) seed, power and wealth. The Bible is full of dualistic sides--- old man, new man, Old covenant, New Covenant, Law and grace. The Jewish part of Israel retained the law. The rest, lost to history, have the 'grace' component. In other words, the promises to Israel and their characteristics sound identical to Christians and nations that traditionally accepted Christianity. I go one step further than the church by saying the church is not only the spiritual seed of Abraham, but also (unbeknownst to them) many are the physical seed as well thus fulfilling the promises to Abraham.

That being said, this puts Abraham's descendents in a position to be a blessing to the world (e.g. Genesis 12:3), and amongst the seed are the lesser number of faithful ones spreading the gospel (spiritual seed). What I am saying is this: I agree wholly with Gingercat that we ought to be giving more. What I disagree with is the idea that to be good Christians we have to be scrappy strugglers and make ourselves poor doing it. On the contrary, we are rich to give, and then have more riches to give even more! Just as the Jews (Judah) retained the law and a ruler was to come from them, Joseph had the birthright. The birthright included the blessing that we are so fortunate to have here in America that said:

But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

We are supposed to be wealthy, but we are supposed to give as well.

 

[gingercat]

Tim, are you a member of prosperity church? (Word of faith) I mean.

 

[tim-from-pa]

Tim, are you a member of prosperity church? (Word of faith) I mean.

Nope. I am a member of a mainline church, but I do extensive bible study, have my own site, and saw in the scriptures things like this regarding blessings.

The main idea I was trying to convey was that we did not inherit all these blessings out of the blue, or because we were just Christians, per se. These are national promises as well.

 

[gingercat]

Tim, are you a member of prosperity church? (Word of faith) I mean.

Nope. I am a member of a mainline church, but I do extensive bible study, have my own site, and saw in the scriptures things like this regarding blessings.

The main idea I was trying to convey was that we did not inherit all these blessings out of the blue, or because we were just Christians, per se. These are national promises as well.

We should share our blessings to all who needs it. We have many many people can use our matelial blessings. Jesus is expecting us to hsare our blessings. It should not be just 10 % of our income. Most of us can afford to give much more than 10% of our income.

 

[HisFriend]

Tim, are you a member of prosperity church? (Word of faith) I mean.

Nope. I am a member of a mainline church, but I do extensive bible study, have my own site, and saw in the scriptures things like this regarding blessings.

The main idea I was trying to convey was that we did not inherit all these blessings out of the blue, or because we were just Christians, per se. These are national promises as well.

We should share our blessings to all who needs it. We have many many people can use our matelial blessings. Jesus is expecting us to hsare our blessings. It should not be just 10 % of our income. Most of us can afford to give much more than 10% of our income.

Jesus would really like it if we gave up everything. Love does not try to justify how much; it just goes all the way.

 

[gingercat]

Tim, are you a member of prosperity church? (Word of faith) I mean.

Nope. I am a member of a mainline church, but I do extensive bible study, have my own site, and saw in the scriptures things like this regarding blessings.

The main idea I was trying to convey was that we did not inherit all these blessings out of the blue, or because we were just Christians, per se. These are national promises as well.

We should share our blessings to all who needs it. We have many many people can use our matelial blessings. Jesus is expecting us to hsare our blessings. It should not be just 10 % of our income. Most of us can afford to give much more than 10% of our income.

Jesus would really like it if we gave up everything. Love does not try to justify how much; it just goes all the way.

You are so right. But we have to live too, you know? All we can do is lower our standard of way of living. for instance, we are using computer to do much effective communication. We cannot give up everything in this already advanced techonology. We have to do our best with what we got. We have high tech; we use it for His purpose.