IThere is a lot I don't understand, but I understand being alone. I understand that well. You will probably not be a very good Christian by yourself. You need other people and a shared commitment to the principles, and you need people that work with you. You need what is called an 'Equal yoke' situation; and I don't mean marriage though that can be in a marriage. I mean you need other people who will encourage you, who will annoy you, who you can help. Have you ever built a fire using small tinder like small twigs? You're like a little bit of tinder, and you're trying to make a big fire all by yourself. Its just not how things work.
There is wisdom in your words here Brick. You cannot be a Christian in isolation.....we need other Christians to act as a support system for one another. Encouragement is what we all need, and I heard it once described as...
"discouragement" means that someone, or something, has knocked the courage out of you....fellow Christians can "encourage" one another by putting the courage back into a depressed soul.
Paul's words at Hebrews 10-24-25...
"And let us consider one another so as to incite to love and fine works, 25 not forsaking our meeting together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you see the day drawing near."
This admonition was to stay in place until "the day" of judgment comes, as Jesus said....
Matthew 24:14...
"And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."
All the nations on earth must receive this "witness" before the "end" can come. Who are preaching the Kingdom message in every nation on earth? It was a
command from Jesus to preach and make disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20) It is the commission given to every Christian.
The end of this present age is approaching rapidly, according to my understanding of scripture, so its more urgent than ever to preach this "good news".....it's like a light shining in a dark place, guiding right-hearted people to the 'new world' where
God's will can "be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
The 'coming' of the Kingdom will mean a new era of peace in this world, and the end of all wickedness......who doesn't want that? But it will never come from man.....
I agree. Christians are a government to themselves. This gets confusing when they seize 'Temporal' authority, and then you get dirty politics involved with Christianity.
When we see the example of Jesus and his apostles and the admonition to be
"no part of the world", (John 18:36; John 15:18-21) it's not hard to see that a marriage of religion and politics is a recipe for division and hatreds. Christians were to avoid becoming "friends with the world" because it is ruled by God's enemy. (James 4:4; 1 John 5:19) If we are patriots before we are Christians then the emotional pull of patriotism can make us disobey the commands of Jesus. He said we must "love our enemies and pray" for them, not go to war and kill them .(Matthew 5:44-45)
A Christian can love their homeland, but not sacrifice lives to the god of war. Christians cannot shed blood.
Again I don't think that is how you should approach this and don't think its really the Christian approach. What is worth believing? Believe that. Make something good happen. Its like declaring what you want to happen and then making it happen. Absolutely you should not believe things that you don't think are true, but you should believe in what you are working towards: Do you believe world peace is a good thing? Then you should believe its going to happen and be part of the effort to bring it about.
The old saying is..."
Charity begins at home".....I believe that peace begins there too. If we can make our own inner circle a haven of peace and include others in it...it can spread from there to become wider until there is an international movement. Jehovah's Witnesses have achieved this and I don't believe that there are many who can demonstrate that their love for their spiritual brothers goes much further than their own local congregations. The divisions in Christendom keep people segregated, but true Christianity was a genuine uniting in a bond of love and peace. (1 Corinthians 1:10)
Mark 16 also indicates that they finished this task. Finish the chapter. These people did go everywhere and did preach the gospel using these signs. As and aside if you ask me these signs are not meant to be literal, but that is not even at issue here. These preachers finished says
Mark, so you are not required to walk on snakes or drink poison. I really hope you don't try walking on serpents or drinking poison, because you'll be harmed. If you think about it what really is accomplished by these empty actions? "Wee I'm drinking poison yay for me?"
Mark 16 finishes in verse 8, according to most translations. The remaining verses are not considered to be part of inspired scripture. There is therefore no picking up snakes or drinking poison as demonstrated by certain sects in Christendom, many of whom have died as a result.
As Jesus said when he was tempted by the devil....
“It is said, ‘You must not put Jehovah your God to the test.’” He was quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 (1 Corinthians 10:9) So if you do stupid stuff, be prepared for stupid things to result.
The is is not the age of miracles....it is the age of knowledge.
You should not be trying to believe things that you think are untrue, nor should you feel guilty for not believing things unless you think they are worth believing. Find your level of faith.
This is so important because belief is something that is not just in the brain, but is deep in the heart. People will not give their lives for something they don't truly believe in.....the Christian martyrs went to their deaths because they could not be swayed from their faith...this is how strong our faith must be. ...its not something we can order by the truckload....you have to build your faith one brick at a time, until it becomes an impenetrable wall. (you know about bricks.
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Peace to you.....
