Matthew 18 - Dealing with a sinning brother

There are *3* short verses in the Bible that discuss HOW we should handle interpersonal problems. Not only are there verses all over the Bible that teach this, but these *3* verses were spoken by Jesus Himself!

All of Christendom should learn these few short verses. Not only will it prevent small issues like misunderstandings, but they can prevent lawsuits, hate and even WARS if the situation isn't handled Biblically!

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Here is a short expositional view of Matthew 18:15-17: - Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

Jesus says that if your brother sins against you (upsets you, steals from you or makes you think they've done something wrong against you), you should go directly to your brother and tell him what it is that upset you. If your brother hears you (or understands your position and apologizes or otherwise explains the situation) then you have gained your brother (or fixed the problem), then you're done. This single step is missed in problem resolution 99% of the time. That old sneaky "flesh" of ours gets in the way some times and we jump to conclusions and blame people for things that didn't actually happen or if they've accidentally happened. Each of us MUST seek to give our brother the opportunity to straighten out the situation, one-on-one. If you chose to skip this step, you are absolutely going to create whole new problems, bigger than the first! If that's your intention, then perhaps you've got bigger problems than you think? This is why it's so essential to handle things Biblically.

16 - But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'

You must go to your brother with an open mind and be ready to listen to what he has to say. But if you go to your brother and he ignores you, belittles you or otherwise tells you that you're wrong and you are not able to make your brother appreciate how you feel or why you feel that way, Jesus tells us to grab 1 or 2 other brothers who are witnesses to the issue or have personal knowledge of the issue and tells us that we should attempt to make a clearer case, so that our brother may better understand what it is that they've done. If you do this and your brother hears the 2-3 witnesses, then you have gained your brother like in verse 15. If you don't approach your brother in the Spirit of love, if you approach your brother as an "angry mob", if you can't approach your brother in "all humility", again, perhaps there are bigger problems than your brother has created?

17 - And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

Jesus tells us that if you have taken 1-2 witnesses with you to speak to your brother and he refuses to admit or acknowledge his wrongdoing, you should THEN and ONLY THEN bring the situation to the attention of the church. At that point, you are devoid of actual witnesses, but you then bring it upon their hearts and their minds that they make decisions on the issues based on how they feel. This is usually a Christian's first step in the problem resolution chain and instead of amicably fixing the problem, you have now had people who weren't involved in the first place making judgment calls on things that can only be based on how they "feel about" the situation. Very rarely will the "whole of the church" decide to handle things Biblically, but instead, emotionally. Very little good ever comes from this step and should be reserved for only the most heinous and unforgivable acts. Jesus goes on to say that if your brother refuses to hear the whole of the church at this point, you should probably try to share the Gospel with your brother, because if he's not willing to love his brother as himself, then he's probably not a Christian and this may be your opportunity to evangelize him and get him in line with God's Will and not his own. Finally, Jesus says that if your brother still refuses to listen, he should THEN be treated as an outcast at that point.

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If your brother stole your oxen, your car or even your wife, I can see you going to the church as a whole. If your flesh is on fire for revenge or the ability to "put your brother in his place", perhaps you've got deeper issues than whether or not your brother has "sinned against you"?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 10, that if you get blamed or accused by your brother of something other than what you actually did, at that hour, you shouldn't worry about what you speak, because it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Following the steps the way Jesus lays out is a guarantee that we maintain the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Peace. If you've accused your brother (even in your heart), and you're in the wrong, you owe it to yourself and to your brother to obey Jesus' instructions in these verses. Amen?

I'm back!

Brothers and sisters, I have been very busy over the past few months, but the Lord has been hard at work too.

I am in the process of finally releasing my book and I've also been approached by a wonderful, Spirit filled sister to do a Radio Show!

We had our first episode tonight and it was so much fun!

Click HERE to listen to last night's show...

And also keep abreast of the rest of the shows and maybe even buy a book HERE.

I'll try to keep better updates!

Blessings,

Keith

Keep buying those iPhones and iPad's

Keep buying those iPhones and iPad's... Apple wants your money, but you can only have Apps that don't offend gays...

http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news/30539-when-christianity-offends

I haven't owned an Apple product since 1980 and now I know why... Apple was on their way into devastating failure when the liberal/homosexual population made them popular... Now the whole world is providing Apple with the perfect platform to do their dirty work...

What's next, a gay App to tell you where to have gay sex? Or maybe a gay App to unite all unrepentant homosexuals in an attempt to influence elections?

I'm disgusted...

More on Harold Camping and Judgement Day

My daughter is currently in her senior year at UF (University of Florida) and while she was waiting for the bus to go home today, an entire ARMY of trucks drove by her plastered with this stuff all over it...

I don't mind a little evangelism, but to be spreading untruths at college campuses is downright wrong...

Preach the Gospel message...

Trying to scare these college students into submission is the wrong way to go about it... When was the last time you tried to convince a NON-CHRISTIAN college kid to do something?

There is no date contained ANYWHERE in Scripture, no matter how hard you twist numbers around or misunderstand Scripture itself. It is NOT POSSIBLE to set any dates about Judgement Day or the end of the world for that matter. Unless of course you think that God is a liar... Wasn't it He that said, "No man knows the day or hour, but the Father only"?

I pray that his campaign does as little damage as possible...

Fishpocalypse ?

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past week or so, it seems as if birds from all over the world are falling out of the sky and fish have started to float to the surface like some kind of Biblically related fish apocalypse!

Dead birds, fish kills prompt doomsday theories, but scientists say they're natural...

Now It's Dead Doves Falling From Sky in Italy

UPDATE: Bible prophecy, the birds and the bees: science responds

There's plenty more to choose from HERE

Do I think it's the Fishpocalypse ?

In a word...

No...

But don't take my word for it...

Do some Google searches yourself and see what you think...

The Number of the Beast

Everybody and their grandma has an opinion as to what the "666" represented in the Bible means.

Revelation 13:18 - Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

I've heard it all:

a) It's going to be a man whose first, middle and last name are 6 letters

b) It's going to be the man whose name adds up to 666 using Hebrew letters

c) It's going to be the man whose name adds up to 666 using Greek letters

d) It's the date that the Antichrist was born: June 1966

e) Since 6 is the Hebrew number representing "man", 6-6-6 represents a false Trinity

f) It's the Pope!

g) even more stuff that we can't prove....

Well, last night I was talking to someone and I proposed a pretty unique "THEORY" as to when the Rapture might take place and at some point in the conversation, we started to talk about the whole "666" thing.

Anyone who knows me (or has read my book), knows that I LOVE the Interlinear Bibles! An Interlinear Bible is the "end all" when you don't understand your "translation" of the Bible. It basically shows you the original word used in either Hebrew or Greek and shows you the EXACT English translation of the word.

Well, I was just curious to see what the Interlinear said about the "666" piece of that Scripture.

Check this out...

The Greek word used for "666" is: χξϝ ᾿ or simply chi xi stigma or Strongs #G5516.

If you read the definition for that word, you come up with: the twenty-second, fourteenth and an obsolete letter. Refer to Strongs # G4742.

Interesting. G5516 refers you to G4742 in order to find out about the "obsolete letter"....

The Greek word for G4742 is στίγμα, or simply Stigma. The definition for G4742: from a primary stizo (to “stick”, i.e. prick); a mark incised or punched (for recognition of ownership).

Gee, that's interesting.... "A mark incised or punched". They left out, "into the skin"!

So look... Right now, I'm not saying I figured anything out, other than the interesting relationship between G5516 and G4742 with what we actually think we know about "666".

So I did a little bit more poking, and decided to do a small bit of research on Revelation 13:16 which describes one of the things the Antichrist will do...

Revelation 13:16 - He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads...

So now I decided to look up that verse in the Interlinear and what I saw next really shocked me...

The word for "mark", is Strongs # 5480 which is: charagma, which means, a scratch or etching, a carve-effect or emblem (as a badge of servitude).

AMAZING!

666 refers us to, "a mark incised or punched (for recognition of ownership)"

mark refers us to, "a carve-effect or emblem (as a badge of servitude)"

Isn't it awesome how God always chooses the perfect words to describe everything? Every time I see someone say that the Bible has errors or inconsistencies or contradictions or even that it was written by a bunch of old Rabbi's, I can't help but laugh a little bit and think to myself, "Yeah, a bunch of old Rabbi's got together and crafted the most perfect document ever written AND accidentally wrote in hundreds of Prophesies (most of which have come true already!)

Isn't our Lord awesome?!

Preaching at the Pub?

Something really wonderful happened last night and I felt like sharing it...

As many of you know, I just finished writing a book and I'm in the process of working with marketing people and a publicist and one of the things I'm doing is giving out 50 signed copies of the book to close friends, family and other people who may be in a position to assist me in doing the Lord's work.

I have a friend, who just a few short years ago was a youth Pastor. Today, he has fallen away and as a result, spends most of his life dealing with tribulation. He can quote Scripture and you can tell that he really loves the Lord, he just can't seem to "walk the walk" so instead of seeming like a hypocrite, he has tried to remove himself from God's sight. (you and I know he can't do that, but that's not the story...)

This friend of mine also happens to be a big drinker. He goes to the pub every night and averages about 15 beers every single day. Yes, WE know he has a drinking problem and I think deep down inside he knows he has one too. The only problem, is that he's in denial and he's dug his heels in good.

Well, I've had his copy of the book sitting on my desk now for about 2 weeks, but our schedules don't seem to mesh lately. Even when I cancel plans to be where he is, somehow his plans get changed and we keep missing each other.

Last night, I asked God, "Lord, he really needs to read this book and I know that the only place I can meet with him, where I know for certain that he'll be, is the Pub. Should I go to him there?" Of course God didn't waste any time and told me I should, so I did.

I get there and he's sooooo happy to see me. It was like he hadn't seen me in years! He asked me what I was doing there and I told him that I had a small gift for him. I handed him the book and he started to weep. You see, he knew that I had been writing the book. In the world that he associates himself with these days, everyone is always talking about what BIG things they're up to and nothing ever materializes. I suppose that when he heard about me writing the book, he forgot that I wasn't part of THAT world and he thought that I was just making stuff up too.

Early on in the book writing process, I had told him that he was one of the inspirations of the book, so handing him a copy of the finished book with a personalized message in it for him made him bust out in tears of joy. He jumped out and gave me a real, loving hug. The kind that men will rarely give another man. He proceeded to tell me how much it meant to him and proceeded to show it to everyone in the Pub telling them, "See this book? My friend over there wrote it and I was his inspiration!"

Of course now I'm sitting down with my head hanging a little bit low. Here I am, a member of the clergy, sitting in a bar and having someone who's on his 7th or 8th beer bragging about me AND the book.

So people started to come over, one by one asking me if I was really the author of the book and if I was really a Minister. I told them that I was and then the really drunk guy comes over and at the top of his lungs says, "HEY... You're a Pastor?" And I said yes. He then says, "HEY... What's a Minister doing in a bar?"

So I now have better than 90% of the people at the Pub looking INTO MY EYES and awaiting my answer. I looked back at them, and right into THEIR EYES and said, "Hey... Jesus himself spent time in bars with drunkards, prostitutes and tax collectors!" And they were like, "what??" And I said, "Sure... Think about it.... Jesus was trying to find people who needed him the most. Where would he find those people, IN CHURCH or at a bar?" Everyone was like, "WOW... YEAH... THAT'S SO TRUE... etc..."

What started out as a trip to quickly drop off a book turned into a FOUR HOUR impromptu Bible study! IN A BAR! I've never heard of anyone doing anything like this before and I can assure you, I certainly had NO INTENTION of staying more than a couple of minutes.

Right before I was leaving, the owner of the Pub came over to me and said, "Come back when you get your first shipment of books. I want you to sell them HERE!" I almost fell down!

What an amazing God we have! Can I get an Amen?

Question about "Sin" Answered

Q: "I hear it said all the time, that 'We, as Christians, will continue to sin until we get through the Gates of Heaven.' Where exactly is this found in the Bible? This concept is deniable and I have not been able to find any scripture to support that we "WILL" continue to sin. Please tell me the Biblical reference for this statement. Perhaps I am mistaken."

A: Sadly Brother, I see this question all too often. Most people love to read the Gospels and 1 Corinthians over and over again and don't spend a lot of study time on the rest of the Epistles. Paul goes on one of the most UNFORGETTABLE tirades about this exact issue in Romans.Romans 7:13-25 - Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God --- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

That should sum up the answer to your question...

PS: Even if your own dad said, "DON'T DO IT AGAIN!", isn't that the same as, "Go and sin no more"? How often do we disobey our parents even though we shouldn't. I think maybe you're reading into what Jesus said as a finite understanding as opposed to a logical understanding. Knowing we should "sin no more" and actually NOT sinning anymore is as far as the East is from the West. .

It's next to impossible not to sin! Think about this statement from Jesus: Matthew 12:36 - But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. We're going to have to account for every idle word? WOW!

Not sinning is what we all should strive for, but in the end, we have to be mighty thankful for the Blood of Christ!

Qur'an Burning

I've been meaning to post something about this, but I've found myself oddly without a Biblical position on this until now.

Think about it, Allah is the Pegan moon god (Satan). Their book is based on the ramblings of Mohammed the murder, whose parents were supposedly slain by Christians and who was supposedly oppressed by the Jews. The Koran is a book of death to anyone but those who worship their false god.

So the only real Biblical position one could take, is:

Matthew 5:43-48 - "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

It's my opinion, that as a Pastor, he should NOT BE THE ONE LEADING THE CHARGE... If a member of his congregation did it, that would be one thing (still wrong though), but for the Pastor to be doing it himself, shows a thorough lack of discernment.

The book is DONE!

Not going to spend a lot of time on this right now, but I just wanted to let everyone know that as of today, the book is COMPLETED.

I'm going to be finalizing my choice of book manufacturer this month and I hope to have some pre-release copies available before the end of October.

Faith healing - Real or Bunk?

At the forefront of my mind are the words:

James 5:15 - And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

and

Mark 11:23-24 - For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

And while I never doubt that, I must say that until today, I never really gave much time or attention to faith healing.

Now I'm not talking about our brothers or sisters who make a living, supposedly healing people, I'm talking about asking and receiving.

Last night, I went to bed with my throat looking 99% like this:


During my prayer before bed, I actually did something I have never done before. After I was done doing all of my normal praying, I made a special request. I said, "Father, I never pray for myself, nor do I think that I'm worthy of Your ear, but I have a special request. If You really don't need for me to be sick, please lift this sickness from me. If You do need for me to be sick, then Your will be done."

I woke up this morning, and after being awake for about a half hour, I realized that my throat wasn't dry and scratchy anymore, so I went and got the flashlight and looked in the mirror and my throat pretty much looked just like this picture:


I love Him so much I could bust!

All the Glory to God!

This dog is smarter than most Americans...

Is the Sabbath day a day of "Worship"?

As we all know, "The Sabbath day" goes back to Genesis 2:2 - And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. This said that "He rested" on the 7th day. If I understand God's Words and don't read into them, this becomes a model for us. But allow me to continue.

Here, I believe Jesus gives us some valuable insight into the Sabbath, Mark 2:27-28 - And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." If I read these verses and don't read into them, that says that "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath". If the Sabbath was truly made for us and we truly were not made for the Sabbath, then the Sabbath day is NOT a day of worship AT ALL.

In my forthcoming book, I cover this topic and suffice it to say, "If God is indeed our Heavenly Father, don't you think that your Father would want to hear from you MORE THAN one day per week? Don't you think that your Father would want to spend a lot more time with you than for just one hour while you're in some building with a bunch of people? If you truly love your Father, you'd want to spend a lot more time with Him. Therefore, don't be concerned with, "which is the Sabbath?", because that's the day God created for you, so that you could rest. Be more concerned about how much time you spend with your Father, who we should be worshiping every day!" I go into a bit more detail in the book...

This is the way that The Holy Spirit has revealed this to me...
I hope that someone finds this useful...

Jesus to be made fun of on American TV?

I've been following this for about a week, it's gaining some momentum...

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=1035054

Here's a snip:

Christian groups are rising up as a team to oppose a new Comedy Central program that denigrates Jesus.

The main character of the animated project is Jesus, who lives in New York and is intent on breaking ties with his "powerful but apathetic father."

Need I say more?

Emergent Church against the US National Anthem

If you want to know what's going on in the sick minds of these people, take a look here: http://www.jesusradicals.com/

While you're there, you can read about how they're trying to stop a local college from playing the US National Anthem. Yeah, apparently it, "glorifies war and violence"...

The division within Christianity is almost WORSE than the division among the rest of the world...

Jesus must be crying...

I'm writing a Book!

I just began work on my book.

Book you say?

About 9 months ago, I was talking to a friend and it hit me, that people have a really hard time explaining God. I'm not kidding. And when I say people, I don't just mean your average Joe, I mean Pastors and Preachers alike. Sure, they know all the basics, all the characters and the plot, but they don't do a very good job of EXPLAINING GOD to people who have NO FOUNDATION at all. Trust me, there are more people without a foundation than there are people with one.

Anyway, I'll update on it's progress as I go...

I've been thinking a lot about publishing... I know some people from my CPE days, but if that doesn't work out, I don't mind going the self-publishing route. If anyone is interested, please give me a shout...

This Blog is PRO-ISRAEL

I just wanted to take a moment to mention that this Blog is 100% Pro-Israel!

I see 1,000's of Secular-Christians out there saying nasty things about Israel and for us to focus on the United States ONLY.

This makes me sad....

Why don't most Christians EVER take the time to READ their Bible?

God blesses Israel:
Genesis 12:2 - I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.

God says that all the people of the Earth shall be blessed BECAUSE of Israel:
Genesis 12:3 - I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

You'll be amazed what you can learn in the Bible...

Interesting conversation about Mormonism

This is a continued conversation from a discussion I was having with a wonderful gentleman from THIS blog. Please visit that Blog for the origin of the discussion. I needed to post my comments here, because blogspot.com has limitations as to length of comments.

Mr Faux,

I will try to answer each of your points in turn:

Well thank you so much for throwing me a curve ball! You chose the one Translation that I knew least about. I was so disturbed by that translation, I couldn't help but want to ensure that the Greek was sound. It is my belief that the only way one can truly listen to Gods Word, is to listen INTENTLY. How can one listen conceptually? Truly listening to His Word will reveal much to those who study much.

1 Corinthians 7:7 - For I wish that all men were even as I myself.....

As for Paul being a Prophet, there is no evidence that this is so. First of all, if he were a Prophet, the name of Acts would have been, "The Acts of the Prophets" and not "The Acts of the Apostles". Secondly, it is my understanding that the things Paul wrote about AND the visions were given to him by way of The Holy Spirit. To be frank, The Holy Spirit led me to your blog to start a dialogue with you, does that make me a Prophet? I don't believe so. Granted it certainly doesn't make me an Apostle either...lol Thirdly, Paul was NOT "authorized" by the Resurrected Jesus. Jesus has already ASCENDED to Heaven by the time Paul had his "conversation while on the road with his traveling companions. Are you testing me? lol...

God is NOT limited in ANY way, EXCEPT that he KEEPS HIS WORD. Since God can not lie, He is bound by Scripture to not "change His mind"...

Malachi 3:6 - "For I am the LORD, I do not change;..."

So based on Matthew 11:13, I say no, there can not be modern Paul's. That doesn't mean God is limited, it just means that God does not change his mind... I like that about God. I never have to GUESS what He Wills, I just KNOW....

Ahh... You bring up an excellent question regarding following a "Leaderless Christianity"... The answer is simple. If you want a "human" leader, that's one thing, but why bother with a fallible human leader when God already provided you The Holy Spirit as the ULTIMATE LEADER? Hmm? Having to choose between God Himself leading me or some "elected or appointed" official telling me his machinations based on books that are not Biblical, I would most certainly make the first!

You are right, Gods Word was not captured in a single book, it was captured in 66 BOOKS! A far cry from 1, yes? Additionally, we may all be "Gods Children", but we're not all part of Gods Family...

Mark 3:31-35 - Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?" And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

Now that's family!

As for leading yourself without a "Church Organization", how could you trust yourself indeed?

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?"

God makes it clear that we can not trust our own feelings. Rely on Him alone and Trust in Him alone and you've got all you need! As for the Bible being challenging to understand, I would say this to you...

"If you approach the Bible as a book, then all it will ever be to you is a book. A book is filled with information, concepts, wonderings and such. If that's what you want, "information, concepts, wonderings and such", then you might as well check out any book from the library (or get a map at a gas station for that matter...lol). No one can know how to understand the things that are in the Bible without "The official Guide", The Holy Spirit. I am proof of that. I did not grow up Christian, I did not get Indoctrinated into Christianity, I did not "say a prayer" and by some magic I was then a Christian. Verily I say unto you, that if you pray for The Holy Spirit to guide you while you read, you WILL come to understand what is contained within that "More than a Book" indeed."

Feel free to read my Testimony in the right-hand pane on my Blog.

Ok, as for the comment about "already believing Jesus is deity, what else do you need", I say this: First, you do not need faith in RevKeith, that's just silly. Secondly, there are only 2 things you need to do..

1. You need to repent of your sins (repent - turn from)
2. You need to place ALL OF YOUR TRUST in Jesus

If you place all of your trust in Jesus, then you're not wasting any on a "Religion" or any man's interpretation within that religion as being accurate. Remember, where there's Religion, there's Opinion. If you take away the religion, all you have left is Gods Word. Think about it...

"Why do I need RevKeith, who contacts me out of the blue on the web?" A most excellent question. I have heard it said that Rabbi's say that, "coincidence is not a kosher word". I have also read that in the Ancient Hebrew, there IS NO WORD for Coincidence. As someone who trys to keep Gods Laws to the best of his ability, I shall not lie to you. I in no way shape or form sought you out, I in no way shape or form looked for any mormons to interact with and I most certainly do not make a living arguing with people. lol... As for me needing you, I would WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AGREE! I do need you! I need everyone whom God has brought into my life. I may not know why at the onset, but The Holy Spirit makes it clear soon enough...

The falling away is happening right under our noses Mr. Faux. It's not a matter of me "not liking" the New Century, it's a matter of this... When I choose a Bible to read I immediately know if I CAN HEAR GOD in the Words. I personally HEARD GOD in the NKJV, KJV, Geneva, ESV (to some degree) and even a dynamic translation like the GW, which I must admit is not very good for studying, but it's great for contrasting. The NKJV is MY favorite though. I've read the criticism regarding it from the "KJV Only" crowd and all I can say is the things they complain about do NOT effect it's authenticity. Any time devoted to reading the original Greek will PROVE to you that the over 600 changes that Mr. Smith made to the KJV Bible are not true OR accurate. The Bible explicitly warns against adding to or detracting from its teaching (Rev. 22:18; Deut. 4:2). The New Testament contains the inspired and totally accurate witness of contemporary disciples and followers of Jesus. It alone claims to be fully inspired by God and usable for the establishment of doctrine (2 Tim. 3:15–17; 2 Pet. 1:19–21)

Hebrews is most certainly Scripture. And you just used that verse WAAAY out of context. That verse was used to "Set the Qualifications for the High Priesthood". It was designed to help us IDENTIFY Christ as the High Priest. It was also written to help ensure that we understood that Aaron was appointed to the position of priest by God Himself! Those who challenged Aaron's appointing were put to death BY GOD... Again, there can be no more High-Priests, as Jesus is the last.

It is not Biblical for anyone to believe that there are "authorized Prophets and Apostles out there to be found". You are free to believe that, but it's not a Biblically accurate belief.

Being quirky doesn't concern me. Like I said in my previous post, either all of Scripture points to the same thing, or it's not Scripture. If Mr. Smith gave a Prophesy (which he did), that DID NOT HAPPEN and certainly CAN NOT happen now or ever (because he's already deceased), then by definition (not mine), that would qualify him as a "False Prophet".

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 - "If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, 'Let us follow other gods' (gods you have not known) 'and let us worship them,' you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you"

You may say the key to that verse is "follow other gods", but I say to you that anyone who would describe God or Jesus OR The Holy Ghost differently than what is contained within the OT & NT Canon is NOT the same God. Scripture backs this up, not me...

I agree with your last comment. I too am not in the same league with ANYONE listed above. I am a mere servant of God, doing my best to obey Him and His Word with every ounce of my being. God does speak in the fossil rocks, but just remember, fossils don't have offspring, nor can you prove a fossil had offspring either (but that is a whole different conversation).

Jesus did not leave anyone "hanging", he gave us The Holy Spirit to guide us, if we CHOOSE to follow...

I did not come here to "evangelize" you, that's not my intent. I just know right from wrong and accurate from deception, because The Holy Spirit has given it to me to know.

God Bless,
RevKeith

Belief in things you can't see is crazy, right?

You probably never think about it, but indulge me....

You can't SEE the wind, you can feel it, you know it's there....
You can't SEE gravity, you can CERTAINLY feel it, you know it's there...

You can't SEE God, but I can promise you, I know He's there...

Interesting article about "Catholic Fruits"

The Catholic Doctrine is a "works based" Religion.

What does this mean? It means the Catholics believe there are "things" you need to "do" in order to make it to Heaven. You know, there are these "specific works" you need to accomplish first...
Which of course IS NOT BIBLICAL...

Take a read HERE and look for my comment. (#51)