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Pastimes : JESUS and FINANCIAL FREEDOM -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Richard Babusek who wrote (68)	11/9/1997 5:23:00 PM
From: gregor	Respond to of 1283

Dear Richard : Brother in Christ, joint heir to the Kingdom of God, partaker of the grace that we find in Christ, welcome to the thread... Please bookmark and feel free to answer any question, keep us posted on your newfound freedom in Christ, we welcome you with open arms !! May I personally extend to you the right hand of fellowship..I can promise you one thing... you will be loved in so many ways.. at least one of them will be right.. Seriously, welcome.! If there are any questions I personally would love to respond to you.. I have been a Christian 30 years and find that I forget at times what it was like.back then..although I need to take the time more often to think of the " voyage that I embarked on 30 years ago and to think of the faithfulness of God to bringing me to where I am now ". As far as your'e wondering about free will Vs. pre -destination now that you are a Christian. I can only tell you my own experience. Christ is the true shepard that will leave the 99 to care for the one outside the fold. Yes, God has an absolute will for your life, NO, we, you, will not always be in his will but he is the shepard. Many times the way ahead will be overcast or foggy and we willingly submit to his direction. Other times on those clear days when you can see 50 miles, you will be convinced that you know exactly where to go. And if by chance you guessed right he will not interfere. But many times on those clear days he will insist that you travel the hilly, rocky, steep pathway because he sees a danger ahead on the way you would have chosen,.. No he doesn't want you to close your eyes because there are many dangers he will give you the discernment to distinguish for yourself. Basically , if you have trusted him for your salvation then you have trusted him unto the greatest trust. Gradually , he will show you the areas of your life that you are holding back on, and through the love and leading and guiding of the holy spirit you will see that it is in your best interest to also hand over to our Lord these areas also... In Christ who brings us into the knowledge of all truth ............gregor

To: Richard Babusek who wrote (68)	11/9/1997 6:31:00 PM
From: Cisco	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1283

Richard, I believe you are so correct. Things are not inherently evil or good. I believe that God looks at the motive of the heart. Perhaps some of us haven't been clear in what we have posted. I don't believe that there are many on this thread that view God as an celestial butler. At least I certainly hope not, because I believe they are in for a big suprise. As I posted to Gregor earilier, I believe that God has given to each specific talents, i.e. the gift of music, the gift of leadership, the gift of discernment, the gift of speech, etc. As we are faithful in the exercise of our gifts, I believe God enhances them and gives us new ones. God is the celestial master, we are the butler. As a Christian our life is to be one of service to God and our fellow-man. From the parable of the talents in Matt. 25:14-30 which Gregor and I have been discussing it is clear that if one does not use his talents he will lose it. Is this not a universal truth? I use to be somewhat proficient at the game of Chess. I haven't played a dozen games in the last 20 years. A couple of weeks ago my nine year old daugther almost beat me. The two servants in this passage who had been faithful were not told to lean back and rest on their laurels. They were given greater responsibilites. For example the missionary who has been faithful in the field may be given a larger mission field as his reward. Those who are expecting gold and silver as their reward better take another look at what they are reading. Following Christ often means coming outside our comfort zones and taking risks. The useless servant was unwilling to risk being faithful to his master. ********************************* Please remember that all commentaries are biased. I have three sets I use at home. One is of the devotional type which is The Daily Study Bible Series by William Barclay The second set I own is The Broadman Bible Commentary Series which is written from a moderate/conservative Baptist view point and is no longer in print. The third is The Interpreter's Bible Series. This commentary many would consider liberal in its thelogy and difficult to understand. I would not recommend it to any new Christian. Other commentaries are written from a fundamental conservative viewpoint or a charismatic viewpoint. I guess what I am trying to say is be careful which commentaries you choose to read at the beginning. Perhaps a good Study Bible is a better place to begin. I would recommend asking the paster of your church to help you choose the proper resources for your needs at this time. I hope you have already established a relationship with and are active in a local church. In my opinion, this is the first and most important thing a new Christian can do. I don't know much about online Christian sites, but I have come across the following which you may find helpful. Some do offer various translations of the Bible, study aids, and commentary. mit.edu:8001/people/aaronc/christianity.html gospelcom.net students.uiuc.edu students.uiuc.edu students.uiuc.edu These sites looked promising to me, but I haven't reviewed them. Cisco