Irishcolleen

Well, Christ considered the OT to be scripture. He quoted it often enough. If we look deep we see things in the OT that show so many truths! This is true even in the genealogies. It helps to get a chronological Bible, where the reading is divided up by the time the events occurred. When we see the history intertwined with prophecy and poetry in the order it occurred it gives a fuller picture of the scripture. For the record, most people get bogged down in the books of the law, but look at 2 Tim 3:16-17. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

Pure Life Ministries offers counseling for this issue. They do offer phone counseling, too. Pure Life Ministries Home

These are characteristics I associate with peacemakers: Slow to anger In control of their tongue, using words to edify not to tear down self-controlled Accomplishing God's will seen as more important that accomplishing their own will doesn't need to have the last word in an argument

Here is an opinion from an outsider. Take it or leave it. There is busy work connected to man-made goals and there is work for the kingdom of God. Don't confuse the two. Sometimes churches can get caught up in goals that focus more on church administration and "numbers". Frequently, these goals come at the expense of spiritual needs of the church. Remember the story of Martha and Mary. Jesus told Martha she was too busy with "serving", basically busy-ness. He told her that Mary was doing what is best- sitting at His feet focusing on Him. Ask, "is this activity busy work or is it sitting at the feet of the Lord?"

My teenaged daughter made a decision to put God 1st! She was invited to audition for a prestigious youth symphony in our area. She turned down the opportunity because they have rehearsals on Sunday, during the time we have our evening church service. She made the decision without any input from us. We may have let her skip evening service. She made a godlier decision than we would have. I learned a lot about faith, trust, obedience and honoring God.

I'm still old-fashioned enough to think that women shouldn't ask for an engagement ring or to propose.

I don't think we can understand death at all levels as this time as we have not experienced it. It's kind of like birthing your first baby. You know it's going to hurt and you know you are going to love your baby so much the pain will seem worth it, but at the same time you don't really know what it will feel like until it actually happens to you. You know the outcome is going to be a baby, but you don't fully grasp what the birth will feel like. Also, labor kind of sucks, just like dying does. The outcome of birth is an amazing baby. The outcome of death for the believer is an amazing eternity.

Why not do a digital scrapbook or just a power point with pictures and record your voice talking about memories from each photo. Whatever you do it should be homemade. I am in my forties and my parents still get as excited about my homemade gifts as they did when I was in kindergarten.

You can preserve your own marriage or prepare for marriage if you are single. I don't know if you are a guy or gal, so the advice is generic. Love your wife as Christ loves the church. Honor your husband. Train your children firmly, yet without provoking the to wrath. Practice 1 Cor. 13. Don't divorce or accept divorce as a future option except in cases of abuse or adultery (although in some cases of adultery repentance and healing can occur). Teach your children what qualities to look for in a husband or wife. Mentor newly married men/women in how to have a happy marriage.

Most denominations practice excommunication. As prisonchaplain said, if there is an unrepentant church member excommunication can help them see their sin and lead them to repentance. It also can be used to keep a devisive person or one with heretical views from corrupting the church. It isn't a pretty or painless process, but it is Biblical (1 Cor 5, Matt 18).

A friend of mine has twins with darker skin than the rest of the family. For some reason the Native American genes were expressed in them and not the other kids and previous generation. They were self- conscious about it. We would tell the how much money white women pay to get skin that looks like that. They felt better once they went to college and had guys falling all over them.

It is particularly dangerous in a solid state. It has been implicated in many motor vehicle accidents.

I'm not sure we will be able to recognize the people we know in heaven. Our glorified bodies will be so much better! It will be like what we dream we can look like at our 25+ high school reunions!

I felt so horrible the first time I thought that it would be better for my father to pass away. I felt like a monster. Now I think God gives those feelings as a way to prepare us to say goodbye (or rather see ya later) to a loved one. I also think that the pain and weakness associated with death can make people prepare to meet God by making them aware of things they need to repent of, forgiveness they need to seek or give. I also think the sickness at the end of life can emotionally and spiritually prepare a person to let go of their frail bodies in anticipation of a glorified body and make it easier for them to say goodbye. We normally fear death (not Eternal Life- just the dying process) but when a person has been sick a long time they look forward to leaving their body behind and seeing the Lord. I believe this is grace and mercy given at the end of earthly life.

[quote=Vort;736773 Am I to understand that you think killing people to spare them from pain is a good thing? Or am I misunderstanding your question? I don't think he is advocating euthanasia. I think he is simply trying to process ideas about death, suffering and end of life care. Discussing the rights or wrongs in emotional situations isn't advocating one position or another. I think it's acknowledging human reactions to suffering and the wish that the death process wasn't so difficult.

I hear you. It is difficult. I consider myself wholeheartedly pro-life, but I've wondered about euthanasia. I have always felt that God knows when our number is up and will take us home in His time. Nowadays we do so much to prolong life, it makes me wonder if are usurping God's role. At the same time I know God is powerful enough to bring death at the right time even with the most intervention. This is such an emotional issue. My dad is chronically and severely ill. We have had eight hospitalizations in 6 months. My father has type 1 diabetes, heart and kidney failure. His arteries are so blocked that open heart surgery wouldn't help as there is no good artery to attach a graft to. He also has lost blood flow to his intestines and required surgery to remover gangrenous intestine. Each time he has been in crisis he has survived, but he is home-bound, and in pain. I hate to see him suffer and at times I pray for God to take him home. I just assume there is still something God is using him for on earth that I don't understand. I do wish he didn't have to suffer. Sometimes I too have wondered if there is a place for euthanasia. But, I think when I feel that I am having an emotional reaction to watching my dad suffer. At this point I do not see a justification for euthanasia in the Bible. The Bible says that there are times we will suffer. So I have to stay pro-life even when I feel differently, because what I know is more reliable than what I feel.

Alison, I am be praying that God will give you wisdom and fill you with His peace.

Alison, I think it's going to be ok. He just needs another outlet for pent-up energy. He needs a physical challenge. One thing- I'd encourage him to work out a lot. He probably has more energy than he knows what to do with.

It sounds like he might be afraid of being treated like a second class citizen if you are LDS. You might reassure him that you will respect him and raise your children to respect him regardless of what faith group you belong to. If there is no reason for him to believe that you or your children will be taught to look down on him or be treated as unworthy, you need to let him know. Ultimatums are wrong and the word divorce shouldn't be in a married couple's vocabulary. He needs to know that. But, you also need to address any fears he may have.

Perhaps he could take up skydiving or base jumping for the adrenalin and use the art for extra income. Some people are born with a need for a rush- that's why so many are involved in extreme sports. I have an adrenalin junkie for a kid. She was born to do everything fast, she crawled fast, walked at 8 mos., runs, skates, ski's and drives fast in addition to climbing everything in sight. God just made her that way. We have just had to channel her need for thrills into a positive action. She is an aviation major and is looking forward to serving in the military after college.

If it's not a gang issue perhaps you could persuade him to paint murals for pay. Maybe get him to paint on canvas and enter art shows. Perhaps recognition as an artist would be more rewarding as "street cred."

Can you go to court and make sure he cannot drive when he has the kids on visitation? It is appalling to think he can drive at all with a DUI, but such is our world (sigh).

Genesis 1:27 says man was made in the same image as God. An image is a reflection, not a copy of an original. tselem (tseh'-lem) a phantom, i.e. (figuratively) illusion, resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol -- image, vain shew. John 4:24 says God is spirit. Col. 1:17 says He is before all things and by Him all things consist. 1 Cor 15:44-> explains that man is an earthly body 1st and a spiritual body 2nd while Phil. 2 shows Christ being in the form of God, took on the body of a man. A non-LDS Christian believes God is self-existent, without beginning and end. God is also omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent. Mankind is not. Man is carnal, created, and definitely not omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. God is spirit, Christ took on flesh while man was created first as flesh. God exists on His own. Our existence is dependent on God. So, God and man differ in more than title and level of progression. I know this is quite different from LDS teachings. We approach the nature of God from different perspectives with different assumptions. So, we come to different conclusions.

Non-LDS Christians don't believe Lucifer is a son of God. He is a creation of God, an angel to be specific, but not a son. We do not believe angels are the same as God or the same as humans. We believe that mankind can become a son of God by adoption, not by lineage. So we do not believe we are the same substance as God. We believe we can become godly in our actions and heart, but we don't believe we can become gods. I don't claim to be an expert on LDS theology, but these are differences I have noted.

I prefer celebrating ours on a Saturday no matter what day our anniversary is on. Hubby doesn't work on Saturday so we have the entire day together. That is much nicer than a couple hours between the end of work and bed-time.