The Bible NETWork ~ Impacting the World for Christ one post at a time!

From reading some of our Topics it is possible to get the impression that we agree on almost nothing. It is important to talk things out and search for the Truth, but wouldn’t it be a nice change to look for our areas of agreement?

For years I have listened to Christians complain about the negativity of newspapers. Yet, here we have our own Christian exchange, and we seem to be very adept at leaning that direction ourselves.

Could we have an open discussion about the things God has done, or His attributes, or His majesty or His kindness, etc. This would be a very broad Topic covering such things as the awesomeness of God and how He has displayed Himself and worked either in our personal lives, our Churches, our communities, and so forth.

The point of this Topic would be to talk about James 1:17 types of Scriptures--those good gifts, those perfect gifts, which have continued to come down from the Father of lights. It would also be a Topic where we could share personal experiences. To post on this Topic wouldn’t require a seminary degree, Hebrew or Greek language, or being part of Church leadership. Anyone who loves the Lord would be welcomed and appreciated.

What I am hoping will happen here is that we don’t have to display all our knowledge or expertise, but are willing to let those who do have wonderful stories to tell about their experiences with God feel free to do so.

This would be a Topic where we could demonstrate our love for God and for each other. I’m thinking we could call this ONLY THE GOOD STUFF! I’m envisioning a welcoming atmosphere where it would be “safe” to post without having to defend a theology or know the entire Bible word for word. Does anyone else see the need for this? If so, start in. There is no direction except that it be encouraging, uplifting, focused on God or being a Christian--or really, any other such stream. I’m praying that this Topic will be a light shining in a dark world.

_________________
Blessings in the Lord to all whose names are in the Lamb's Book of Life

We preach Christ, and Him Lifted Up!

This is a good point; I know when I teach and mention other positions or other denominations I emphasize to my class that we should look for similarities so that we can develop bridges of communication as opposed to walls of negativity.

This is just a quick, and some might consider insignificant, example of Jesus coming through for us.

One day in the 80s I was teaching a Sunday School class of 3 and 4-year olds. It was snack time, and my assistant was looking frantic. Walking over to her I asked what was wrong. We were really crowded that day--literally had kids sitting on the floor because all the chairs and tables were full. That part was great. The part that wasn't great was that there were not enough snacks to go around.

At first I was going to tell her to skip snacks for that day; but that was not God's plan. He had us lift them up, pray over them, and hand them out. She kept handing, and handing, and handing--and when she gave out the last snack, she was on the last child.

God really did multiply the snacks that day in Sunday School. There was no miscount. We did not have enough--and yet, with God, all things are possible. He is a God for whom nothing is too difficult. How compassionate is a God who would make sure that none of those children was left out!

_________________
Blessings in the Lord to all whose names are in the Lamb's Book of Life

We preach Christ, and Him Lifted Up!

I think we do agree on a lot, but it appears to be the nature of internet boards that it is very easy to be uncivil. I remember when they emerged (the late '80s was that?) that the phenomenom of 'flaming' took us by surprise and boards had to develop rules and practices to prevent flame wars.
Personally, I find the internet to be a blessing. Like everything it has to be used wisely and with moderation. It has connected me to some really wonderful people, some of whom I have subsequently met face to face and have been Christ to me in a period of despair. It is also a means by which I can do Chaplaincy Training by distance education in my little town . Give me a little time and I should be able to share with you in another post how I came to be a chaplain in training.

And I love the NetBible.

_________________
John

My soul looks back in wonder at how I got over

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

Why only the good stuff?

Job 2:10 ( Job answered his wife) But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh, What? shall
we receive good at the hand of God, and shall not receive evil? In all of this did not Job sin with his lips.

If we receive good from God ex. blessing, mercy, grace, forgiveness, salvation etc. then what is evil that we must also receive?

Revelation 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer; behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

All scripture are NKJV unless otherwise indicated.

_________________
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7

Hold your horses, Verbatim.

This is a balancing thread. It is not saying that we should not talk about bad stuff, but that there is already lots of it on this forum and not enough of the good stuff. And we would really like to hear about others' good stuff.

_________________
John

My soul looks back in wonder at how I got over

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

Hi John Chaplain,

GOD BLESS YOU, brother.

However, have I say any bad stuff, please re-read it once again and understand.

Thank you.

_________________
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7

Hi Verbatim,

I re-read your post a few times and it is still unclear to me.

It reads as though you think we should also be talking about the bad stuff as well as the good. Your "Why only the good stuff?" does not read as a rhetorical question.

And I did not say that you actually talked about bad stuff, but inferred that you said that we should also talk about bad stuff.

Without further clarification I give up.

_________________
John

My soul looks back in wonder at how I got over

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

Bro. John,
Thank you for your understanding, I really had no intention to derail the good motivation of this thread.
Wht I post are all good even the trial that we may encounter from the devil is not bad, because by that trial we will be test
and if we endured up to the last, we shall be saved.

Sorry, if I had gave you some confusion. Thank you and God bless you.

This is a really quick version of a very awesome time God worked in His mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.

The entire staff at my Church was going to Iowa to a conference and I was to man the Church while they were gone. Just minutes before their departure, a woman had called the Church asking for groceries. The secretary told me she had already pulled them and the two sacks were waiting in the pantry.

While I was waiting for her, God told me to make out a check to her from my personal account for $200. So I did.

Sure enough, she came very quickly, and was quite embarrassed. I told her we had her groceries, but could tell she was troubled and asked if I could pray for her. She said yes, but then began telling me a story about what had happened. The crux of the story was that a man had cheated her out of $200, and that was all she had to buy groceries. She was mortified, but her mother lived with her and the woman couldn't let her Mom go hungry.

So I told the lady that God had had me write something for her. I handed her the check for the exact amount he had bilked her out of. This brought her to an openness to hear about God--Whom she totally embraced.

I left feeling really good that I was used by God to help her. But the story goes on. Over the years we became friends. My Dad, who was not a Christian, was in the hospital with three kinds of cancer and no life expectancy. He was out of hospital days, so my sisters and I needed to meet to decide what to do. In the middle of our trying to figure out how to accomplish this because we would not leave him alone, she called and asked if there was anything she could do to help. I ask her if she could come sit with Dad for a few hours. She showed right up, and I left assuring her I would be back as quickly as possible.

We met, decided what to do with Dad, and I returned to the hospital. When I got there Dad was a new person. He was still dying of cancer; but he was totally different. In those few hours this woman for whom I thought I had done a favor led my Dad to salvation. The last two weeks of his life he saw angels, sang hymns, talked about God, and went Home peaceful.

There is much more to the story, and in cutting out all the details the flow seems a little different. But the truth is, God had this whole thing set up from the get go. As I thought back over it, the man who took the woman's $200 may not have been a man at all. This woman had never been one to let herself get "taken." But God had a plan. That $200 opened the way for two salvations: hers and my Dad's. So the woman I was so PROUD to have helped ended up giving our family the greatest gift ever. Our Dad's salvation.

He is a VERY GOOD GOD.

_________________
Blessings in the Lord to all whose names are in the Lamb's Book of Life

We preach Christ, and Him Lifted Up!

PLEASE post some of the good things that God has done in your life on here. We can all encourage and help each other by what He has done for us and those around us.



Back in the 1980s I was trying to help a woman who believed that she could be both a Christian and a Muslim at the same time. She was trying to tell me that the Muslims believe in Jesus and the Bible; they just believed that their religion was the next prophet in line.

One time I told her to come back the next day and we would try something. She believed that there was no contradiction between the two religions--just additional learning. So this was my suggestion. We would randomly open her Koran, and I would read through the page she had landed on and find a contradiction to the Bible. She agreed.

That night I prayed for her soul; also, I prayed for great wisdom and for God to guide me to the spot where a contradiction would be obvious, even to her.

She came the next day. She opened her Koran. I used to know the page number it landed on, but I've forgotten now. What I do remember is taking my finger, placing it down on a sentence in the Koran, then lifting my finger to read the sentence. The first sentence I touched was a direct contradiction, which I quickly showed her in the Word. We had talked the day before about what this would mean. Her cleric had been teaching her that the two religions were compatible and had no conflicts. If that was not true, which way would she go. Would she choose to believe a lie?

There is more to the story, but what I am showing here is the graciousness of God. He loved her enough in her confusion to help her find the Truth.

_________________
Blessings in the Lord to all whose names are in the Lamb's Book of Life

We preach Christ, and Him Lifted Up!

One day I was walking from Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem down towards Mt. Zion Hotel. This is the very short version of what happened. As I was walking a flatbed truck was coming towards me. I heard the straps break--all three of them--and saw the load of Jerusalem stone on the bottom and bricks on the top come flying towards me. There was no place for me to go nor time for me to move. As I began hearing the noise of the straps breaking God said for me to stand still and see the glory of the Lord.

The truck lost its entire load. It was flying right at me. When the dust settled I was standing on the sidewalk and in front of me there was a semicircle of piled up, mangled stone and brick. Not even the dust reached me. I had to climb out over the debris, but was completely untouched. As I was climbing over the mess I picked up one of the broken pieces, which I used for a doorstop and kept as a reminder that nothing is impossible for God.

_________________
Blessings in the Lord to all whose names are in the Lamb's Book of Life

We preach Christ, and Him Lifted Up!

You've shared some very encouraging things.

Good stuff - my daughter graduated from Liberty University as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army, she graduated Summa cum laude.

What's fascinating is that when she was a freshman in the ROTC program she couldn't do the 2 mile run, required time 17 minutes. She was discouraged but kept trying and we had the church congregation pray for her and she qualified so now the rest is history.

Prayer WITHOUT A DOUBT changes things! I am so glad to have a Christian in the military, especially a smart one who relies on the Lord. Let's continue to pray for her to be a lighthouse for all those with whom she comes in contact.

_________________
Blessings in the Lord to all whose names are in the Lamb's Book of Life

We preach Christ, and Him Lifted Up!

Wow! Really, really GOOD STUFF to report today! At the same time, real tragedy.

It didn't start out that way, though. My daughter and her friend from high school had gone to a wedding and were on the way back from it, traveling by car. They both had been watching road signs, and all of a sudden, they were doumbfounded because they were on the wrong highway.

Both women were astonished. The friend said she felt like they were in the twilight zone because she had been carefully watching signs--and they hadn't exited the highway they had been on.

They turned back around, got back on the highway they were supposed to be on, and the sky was getting horrible looking. Turning on the app on their phones they realized they were in a tornado watch, which then turned to warning. Looking up ahead on the map was Joplin, just about 10 minutes away. Looking at the sky, though, my daughter decided to exit, turn back around, and seek shelter.

They did. Just as they were pulling into a hotel parking lot, the van of tornado chasers pulled in also. They were as close to the tornado--which was actually three tornados--as was safe to get. The hotel had no basement, so they went to what was the supposed to be the safest place--a conference room. My daughter crawled into a cabinet and wrapped herself around sink pipes--a thing she had seen in a movie one time.

This story goes on for hours. The really good thing is that she and her friend got out safely. The tornado watchers told them about midnight that they believed there would be another series of tornados in just a few hours. So with the highways plugged up with turned over cars, downed trees, semis overturned, and just general chaos, they found an alternate route towards home, and began driving in utter darkness (no electricity) on unfamiliar roads. That was a good, but gutsy, decision because the tornado watchers were right.

All night long people from our Church and friends of both women were praying. We thank God that they were protected by the Lord. We thank God that they somehow ended up on that wrong road or they would have been right in the very middle of the destruction. We thank God that they turned back around one more time to seek shelter rather than trying to drive 10 more minutes into Joplin. And we thank God that they left the hotel when they did.

As they were driving away from the scene, the place they had eaten just hours before was gone. The stores around it were gone. But GOD! We pray for the families whose lives have been forever changed. We pray for those grieving the loss or injuries of loved ones and friends. We sorrow with those who are sorrowing. At the same time, we rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Thank YOU, Most High God, for Your mercy and answer to many heartfelt prayers.

Today they are both home hugging husbands, children, families, and friends. Both are somewhat "shell-shocked"; both are not taking life for granted today. Both are VERY appreciative of all those who prayed--one woman prayed all night long. And both are very grateful to the Lord that He will be rapturing us into His presence before the devastation of Tribulation hits this world!

_________________
Blessings in the Lord to all whose names are in the Lamb's Book of Life

We preach Christ, and Him Lifted Up!