Non-Mainstream Christianity

[dicapr]

Mamita, I agree that God is able to change the outside. However, the outside doesn't always reflect the inside. Think of Samuel when God sent him to annoint David. Samuel was guilty of judging who would be the next king based solely on the appearence of Jessie's sons. David did not look like king material, but he had a heart for the Lord. Look at Rahab the harlot. You can best believe that she was dressed according to her profession. However, she knew that Isreal was God's chosen people and had the heart to help. The bible is full of examples of those who were rightous even though the did not fit the current definition of what a rightous person should look like. The inside matters more than the outside ever will. The Pharasees (sp?) looked rightous in every way but their heart was far from the Lord. We do not always know where someone used to be, we cannot always judge if there has been a change or an improvement. It's kind of like someone being 100 lbs over weight. You may think that individual needs someone to talk to them about health living and exercise. What you may not know it that they just lost 50 lbs. That is why we need to ask the Lord to help us see the inner person while he is changing the outside.

I am actually a very modest individual by nature. I have always been that way. I believe that God wants us to be modest according to the standards of the day we live in. People make snap judgements about who someone is depending on their appearance. However there are many who use the outside to promote false advertising.

 

[Mamita]

oh i agree, i always give time for change to appear before thinking anything, I was like that myself not too long ago.

i was talking about the ones professing being already there

 

[divya]

I don't consider myself as modern, I am a new creature with the old and real christian values.
It's time to make an evaluation and come back to the origins, the Bible, the teaching of Paul : the outside reflects the inside. But, I am not for the legalism : the outside with an empty inside.

I don’t have worldly holidays. My holidays are each day with Jesus-Christ and I gather one or more days a week with other believers (assembly).

If I understand, only one feast will remain :
Zac. 14.16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

I love that...and everything else you have said.

The feasts are something that I would like to study more deeply. I have heard that the feast of the tabernacles remains, but I've always thought that to have heavenly significance - when we get there. Open to any light you can shed on the issue...

 

[Laela]

Yeah..I'd thought of doing that, too..but your thread came up and it was timely.

It's all about knowledge... educating ourselves as Christians on why we do what we do... not condemnation. Some people get that

Tell the truth! Taking the minds and hearts of the young (and old) away from Jesus Christ!

Thank you for sharing! This is should have its own thread, the closer we get to Christmas day!

 

[Laela]

Oh, I didn't know that. Funny, I understand French patois, but it may not have that connotation in our "version"

So thanks for the clarification on that...

Persistent has a light negative connotation in French.
Let’s say diligent and persevering.

And I love this verse :
Act. 17.11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

I don’t want fables or human doctrines established in x years and based on a partial view of the Bible.

With the Holy Spirit of God and the actual technology (internet and biblical search engine), our generation has no excuse.
Dan. 12.9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

 

[Poohbear]

not everybody that profess christianity are/will be saved (1st John 2:4-6, Luke 6:46, Matthew 7:21-23)

These are some powerful scriptures.

I just wonder how forgiveness of sins/wrongdoings can be aligned with these scriptures as well as God's judgement of our hearts, sincerity, and remorse. What I mean by that is this... all Christians sin and fall short of God's glory. All Christians don't do every single thing God commands us to do. So does that mean we aren't really Christians and we are deemed as evildoers? Or are these scriptures above talking about those people who claim to be Christians but have evil hearts and don't have any remorse or feel sorry for their sins?

 

[divya]

AT the bolded part, I struggle with that so much. I grew up SDA and still am SDA. Some of those who hurt me the most in my life had the right outside but nothing on the inside. By right outside SDA believe that christians are best represented with no adornemnt and simplicity in dress-no makeup, jewelry, no flashy fashions, ect. (Some even think flashy hair adorments is a no no.) Those who inspired me the most had the "wrong" outside but the spirit of God was so bright in their actions and life that their outside didn't matter because all you saw once you met them was God. I truly believe that a right inside will outshine anything on the outside, contrary to what alot of Christians believe. I believe that God's love changes us from the inside out, but there is no one "look" that defines what a christian should look like.

Yes! I'm all for the simplicity, but it is meaningless when we don't know how to treat other people. You hit the nail on the head with the bold - God's love changes us from the inside out. As an SDA, sometimes I feel some of the older/more traditional people can be harsh about appearances, especially adornment. But I do wonder if they understand the bold? While I definitely understand the importance of simplicity and modesty etc., it often best to pray for individuals and be an example.

It's funny. At one point, I had started to wear earrings. I'm a girly girl, so I just love those kinds of things. The vast majority of people didn't even say anything about it. My church isn't like that. But you know when I stopped? I went to the DMV to do something with my car, and I saw a family. Simple, beautiful people. No makeup, no jewelry, nothing flashy. They way they talked to their children was exemplary. So I felt compelled to ask? Are you Christians? Are you SDAs? Yes to both. Right then - it all made sense to me. And that was enough for me to leave it all alone. As Christians, some of us forget how far our examples can go. No need to be rude or mean about things...just live it.

 

[Mamita]

oh yeah can someone talk more about that feast of tabernacles?

summarily, if anyone minds.?

 

[Mamita]

These are some powerful scriptures.

I just wonder how forgiveness of sins/wrongdoings can be aligned with these scriptures as well as God's judgement of our hearts, sincerity, and remorse. What I mean by that is this... all Christians sin and fall short of God's glory. All Christians don't do every single thing God commands us to do. So does that mean we aren't really Christians and we are deemed as evildoers? Or are these scriptures above talking about those people who claim to be Christians but have evil hearts and don't have any remorse or feel sorry for their sins?

no i think these verses talk more about self righteous people, see something written, will twist it in front of your eyes, and say that's what I'm doing, instead of doing what's written, cause it just bothers them to do it all

also we do believe that when you have the Holy Ghost indwelling, its a weapon against sin, so sin is reduced to near 0 compared to before. God doesnt dwell in a dirty temple, we practically wont sin, it IS possible
We dont believe in we'll always sin anyway and will never be perfect cause that's not promoting change. yes we'll never be perfect, but with God inside we'll be as good as, in HIS eyes, near perfect, living HOLY

 

[dicapr]

Yes! I'm all for the simplicity, but it is meaningless when we don't know how to treat other people. You hit the nail on the head with the bold - God's love changes us from the inside out. As an SDA, sometimes I feel some of the older/more traditional people can be harsh about appearances, especially adornment. But I do wonder if they understand the bold? While I definitely understand the importance of simplicity and modesty etc., it often best to pray for individuals and be an example.

It's funny. At one point, I had started to wear earrings. I'm a girly girl, so I just love those kinds of things. The vast majority of people didn't even say anything about it. My church isn't like that. But you know when I stopped? I went to the DMV to do something with my car, and I saw a family. Simple, beautiful people. No makeup, no jewelry, nothing flashy. They way they talked to their children was exemplary. So I felt compelled to ask? Are you Christians? Are you SDAs? Yes to both. Right then - it all made sense to me. And that was enough for me to leave it all alone. As Christians, some of us forget how far our examples can go. No need to be rude or mean about things...just live it.

What a beautiful story. I first took out my earrings when I held my niece. My thought was that that precious child would never reach for me and I would move away because I was afraid that she would tear the earrings out of my ears. Something as simple as that. However, the earrings are back-I hate the way my holes are closing and leaving a black mark on my ears. I scrubbed my ears thinking I had some type of fungus only to realize that I had the type of skin when the holes closed it leaves them severly discolored. Now I wear small simple studs. I want to continue to make sure that my appearance is modest.

 

[Poohbear]

no i think these verses talk more about self righteous people, see something written, will twist it in front of your eyes, and say that's what I'm doing, instead of doing what's written, cause it just bothers them to do it all

also we do believe that when you have the Holy Ghost indwelling, its a weapon against sin, so sin is reduced to near 0 compared to before. God doesnt dwell in a dirty temple, we practically wont sin, it IS possible
We dont believe in we'll always sin anyway and will never be perfect cause that's not promoting change. yes we'll never be perfect, but with God inside we'll be as good as, in HIS eyes, near perfect, living HOLY

Thanks for your response! Makes perfect sense.

And it's sad that there are a lot of self-proclaiming Christians who have that attitude of "We'll always sin anyway and will never be perfect", but the Bible even speaks against that type of thinking in Romans 6.

 

[dicapr]

These are some powerful scriptures.

I just wonder how forgiveness of sins/wrongdoings can be aligned with these scriptures as well as God's judgement of our hearts, sincerity, and remorse. What I mean by that is this... all Christians sin and fall short of God's glory. All Christians don't do every single thing God commands us to do. So does that mean we aren't really Christians and we are deemed as evildoers? Or are these scriptures above talking about those people who claim to be Christians but have evil hearts and don't have any remorse or feel sorry for their sins?

We had a great bible story on this. We learned that as Christians we are not to willfully commit sin. However, there are times we commit sin in ignorance. God does not attribute those sins to us. However, when they are revealed to us we are to repent. The book of Leviticus outlines that God places sin in 2 categories. There are the sins that we commit with full knowledge that we are transgressing the will of God. Those are the dangerous sins that will cost us our salvation. There are the sins we commit through ignorance. God understands and takes our ignorance into account. However when we are made aware of our sins we must repent and we are then held accountable for commiting those sins.

 

[Mamita]

Thanks for your response! Makes perfect sense.

And it's sad that there are a lot of self-proclaiming Christians who have that attitude of "We'll always sin anyway and will never be perfect", but the Bible even speaks against that type of thinking in Romans 6.

and that's what i was looking for romans 6 thank you lool

very nice chapter, makes so much sense with baptism

aaah thank you Lord for your plan of Salvation even if we dont deserve it

 

[Poohbear]

We had a great bible story on this. We learned that as Christians we are not to willfully commit sin. However, there are times we commit sin in ignorance. God does not attribute those sins to us. However, when they are revealed to us we are to repent. The book of Leviticus outlines that God places sin in 2 categories. There are the sins that we commit with full knowledge that we are transgressing the will of God. Those are the dangerous sins that will cost us our salvation. There are the sins we commit through ignorance. God understands and takes our ignorance into account. However when we are made aware of our sins we must repent and we are then held accountable for commiting those sins.

Thank you for your response. Here's another question that arised from the bolded statement above. I have heard this "being held accountable for sins" several times. I just wonder will we still be held accountable for sins that are forgiven by God? If so, then is God's forgiveness really true for those who really have a remorseful heart for their sins (even if those sins are committed with full knowledge that they are wrong)? Hope that makes sense.

 

[Laela]

You now, my sis-in-law is SDA... I'm non-denominational but my pastor holds services on Saturday and Sunday. We all have our beliefs and personal convictions, yet we all serve the same God. How 'bout that? lol

But I agree with these sentiments.

Trying to control other people, what they say, how they say it, isn't something God would approve of in the behavior of his Children. The power of persuasion of his Word will come from Him, not Us. Otherwise, where is our Faith/confidence in his Word?

Still we are commanded to Love one another. To not do so is also disobedience...

Yes! I'm all for the simplicity, but it is meaningless when we don't know how to treat other people. You hit the nail on the head with the bold - God's love changes us from the inside out. As an SDA, sometimes I feel some of the older/more traditional people can be harsh about appearances, especially adornment. But I do wonder if they understand the bold? While I definitely understand the importance of simplicity and modesty etc., it often best to pray for individuals and be an example.

It's funny. At one point, I had started to wear earrings. I'm a girly girl, so I just love those kinds of things. The vast majority of people didn't even say anything about it. My church isn't like that. But you know when I stopped? I went to the DMV to do something with my car, and I saw a family. Simple, beautiful people. No makeup, no jewelry, nothing flashy. They way they talked to their children was exemplary. So I felt compelled to ask? Are you Christians? Are you SDAs? Yes to both. Right then - it all made sense to me. And that was enough for me to leave it all alone. As Christians, some of us forget how far our examples can go. No need to be rude or mean about things...just live it.

 

[Mamita]

dicapr i was just gonna add that, in case it happens we repent

simple

 

[dicapr]

Thank you for your response. Here's another question that arised from the bolded statement above. I have heard this "being held accountable for sins" several times. I just wonder will we still be held accountable for sins that are forgiven by God? If so, then is God's forgiveness really true for those who really have a remorseful heart for their sins (even if those sins are committed with full knowledge that they are wrong)? Hope that makes sense.

Held accountable means that we need to ask for forgiveness of God to have the sin removed from us. When we don't know about a sin, God overlooks it and does not attribute it to us.

 

[Poohbear]

Held accountable means that we need to ask for forgiveness of God to have the sin removed from us. When we don't know about a sin, God overlooks it and does not attribute it to us.

OHHH okay! Every time I heard "held accountable for sins", I always thought it meant we will be judged for our sins in front of God before entering Heaven. Thank you! Now I feel relieved and have more clarity.

 

[Mamita]

discard you said it

I'll just add though that usually we regularly ask God to let us know if we have sinned unwillingly

like that song "search me Lord"

so normally eventually you will know what u've done, so that you can repent and not do it again

 

[Laela]

Hmm... that's merit in this. What's inside will eventually work it's way out, that's how I understand God's Holy Spirit to operate when changing a person. Everyone's progress is different, though. So, what may be a personal conviction for one person, may not be for another.

God works on people individually, not collectively. I've found myself at fault thinking along those lines as well.

a

@ Dicapr i'll have to disagree, you're talking about "outshining" but God's power IS strong enough to CHANGE the outside, our whole CONVERSATION (lifestyle) changes to be like Christ's. Christ came as an exemple to follow among other things, and he was the humblest, and said for us to be separate from the worldl

 

[Mamita]

Hmm... that's merit in this. What's inside will eventually work it's way out, that's how I understand God's Holy Spirit to operate when changing a person. Everyone's progress is different, though. So, what may be a personal conviction for one person, may not be for another.

God works on people individually, not collectively. I've found myself at fault thinking along those lines as well.

totally, exemple, my fiance and I, both seeking, both being cleaned up, but he has HIS issues, HIS hinderances, and i have mine

i had less problems with flesh than him, and he had less problems with music than me

i always give time to see change

i know my mind was working a lot, being convisted takes time, then it shined through and took over

 

[divya]

What a beautiful story. I first took out my earrings when I held my niece. My thought was that that precious child would never reach for me and I would move away because I was afraid that she would tear the earrings out of my ears. Something as simple as that. However, the earrings are back-I hate the way my holes are closing and leaving a black mark on my ears. I scrubbed my ears thinking I had some type of fungus only to realize that I had the type of skin when the holes closed it leaves them severly discolored. Now I wear small simple studs. I want to continue to make sure that my appearance is modest.

Babies will grab anything! Thank God there was no fungus. Sensitive skin can be something else though - wow. I find studs quite simple/modest as well. It's the principle behind these matters that are most important to grasp.

 

[Mamita]

Search me Lord

Chorus
Search me Lord
Search me Lord
Turn the light from heaven
On my soul
If you find anything
That shouldn't be
Take it out and straighten me
I want to be right
I want to be saved
I want to be whole
(repeat)

You know when I'm right
You know when I'm wrong
You know where I go
You know where I belong
You know what I do
You know my little secrets too
Search me, touch me, cleanse me
Through and through

Well you know all my faults
My every word and deed
You know what I want Lord
And you know just what I need
If there's something there
That I'm not aware
Well take it, move it,
Keep me in your care

Chorus

 

[divya]

Hmm... that's merit in this. What's inside will eventually work it's way out, that's how I understand God's Holy Spirit to operate when changing a person. Everyone's progress is different, though. So, what may be a personal conviction for one person, may not be for another.

God works on people individually, not collectively. I've found myself at fault thinking along those lines as well.

Well said. It's something we all have to remember. I definitely have fallen short here too. Even when some people do or say things that are hurtful, and we wonder how and why. God just might not be working on those aspects yet. And Lord knows there are issues that He is working with me on...

Thank God for His patience and longsuffering.

 

[divya]

Here's another: Christians in the end times will not avoid the tribulation via the rapture, but will be raptired at the end of the 7 years.

Meant to respond to this. Interesting. I also agree that Christians we be here during the tribulation. However, I've never heard of a rapture after 7 years. What do you believe happens after that?

 

[blazingthru]

I love that...and everything else you have said.

The feasts are something that I would like to study more deeply. I have heard that the feast of the tabernacles remains, but I've always thought that to have heavenly significance - when we get there. Open to any light you can shed on the issue...

yes I am very interested to. In fact I haven't really heard anything about the feast I would like to study that one out. Thanks interesting.

 

[Mamita]

i was thinking about self righteous on my way home

does anyone remember that video that razb from b2k did while this whole him and chris stokes thing came out?

he did a video ill always remember cause that's when i realised some of the mess the world is into

he was saying (add *S, F, D words* all over) something like yeah i forgive him, or i wont get mad cause im saved man you know im saved, i been speaking in tongues since i was 4 man etc...

i was like, say what? come again? HUH? what the heck?

i wanna meet the people, pastors, parents that's been telling him that and are probably very proud to say stuff like that,

THAT WASNT TONGUES THAT WAS GAS YOU DIMWIT !!

self righteous are the hardest to come to Christ cause they think they're already going to heaven and dont need anything else

i was looking so stupid looking at my screen with my mouth open lol

 

[JinaRicci]

^^ The same is true for fanatics. There's a danger b/c the focus is on the person's "righteousness" instead of on salvation through Christ Jesus. I think we should never get to the point where we're so comfortable in our walk that we think we've made it. We've got to keep growing spiritually & be open to God's refinement of our characters.

 

[Crown]

Yeah..I'd thought of doing that, too..but your thread came up and it was timely.

It's all about knowledge... educating ourselves as Christians on why we do what we do... not condemnation. Some people get that

In our walk, we have to remember 3 important points :
*The characteristics of the seven churches are also actual and prevailed. (Rev. 2 & 3)
*The parable of the ten virgins is for our times. All are virgins (Christians). All have a lamp (active). But only 5 are wise and have oil (Holy Spirit) with their lamps and are ready. (Matt. 25 : 1-13)
*We don’t have the same amount of talents : unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability. We have to work with our own talent and produce individual fruits. (Mat. 25 : 14-30)

The Christian journey is a course. In a course, some participate just to be in; some want to be on the podium and some dream for the gold.
Col. 2.18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

2Tim. 4.7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 4.8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

 

[Crown]

I love that...and everything else you have said.

The feasts are something that I would like to study more deeply. I have heard that the feast of the tabernacles remains, but I've always thought that to have heavenly significance - when we get there. Open to any light you can shed on the issue...

Are you interested by the why or the how ?
God willing, I will come back during the week.
God bless your week-end, ladies !