Why so friggin' confident?

Hi Reality Man,I like your style. You pop in and post an OP and get the EvC machine going and you disappear leaving us to fight it out.Nevertheless I must get in on this subject. How do I know you typed on a keyboard?You may be using voice recognition as far as I know.I am not going to try to speak for anyone other than myself in this response.First question, "What is Faith"?The answer to that is found in Hebrews 11:1 It is simply something I believe.As far as tangible evidence I can show you there is none.Do I have evidence that has made my faith increase? Yes.The biggest problem is most people have no idea whose faith we are talking about or how faith is obtained.Until Jesus ascended faith was by sight. People saw Jesus and believed. Well we don't have that privilege today.But we do have the Word of God. This scripture tells me that faith cometh by hearing the word of God.The only way I know of explaining that is to tell what happened to me.When I was 9 years and 11 months old I had read through the Bible one time and was in I Corinthians on my second time. But the Bible had never spoke to me.The little country church down the road from my house was having a revival so I told Mom and Dad I was going to church as they never took me I had to catch a ride. That was no problem as the first car that came by stopped and picked me up.The preacher read from the Bible and then he lit into a rage about everybody who died without receiving Christ as their personal savior was going to hell. Well there was something in my head telling me I needed to get saved but I said no thank you. Church dismissed and I went home.I went to bed and went to sleep. But sometime during the night I woke up and these verses of scripture keep going through my head. I realized God loved me.His Son died for me.I didn't have to be condemned to hell like that preacher said.I claimed God's promise by putting my spirit in His hands and trusting Him to take care of everything.At that moment God sent the Holy Spirit to seal my eternal spirit until the day of redemption.I had no clue as to what faith was.I only believed God could do what He said He could.Now I understand a little more about faith.I heard God's Word not just a bunch of words but God spoke to me through His Word. This tells me that when I heard the word and received God's offer He dealt me a measure of faith. In other words God provided the faith I have.And guess what it is not even mine. This verse tells me it is the faith of Jesus Christ that provides the righteousness of God to everyone that believes God.There have been many events that have taken place in the past 60 years that confirm God still loves me even though I am not worthy of such love.My faith has been increased over the years to the point I am very sure of what I believe.I would be the happiest man on earth if it was not for the fact that 104 people die and go out into eternity every minute and most of them will spend eternity in the lake of fire.I am so helpless to reach them with the good news that Jesus died and paid their debt and all they have to do is receive the pardon offered to everyone that believeth.I can not tell everyone but I will tell anyone who will listen that is all I can do.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Percy, Percy I would like to explain how I understand this child like faith to be. I use it as an example all the time.I don't know if you have ever tossed a child into the air and caught them or not. But I have and they love it. I had one nephew that he just did not want me to quit.I would put him down and he would come right back and put those little arms us in the air and say do it again.He had total trust in me that I would catch him everytime I threw him into the air.Never a thought entered his mind that I would not catch him.That is the kind of faith it takes to get to heaven. This says man must believe that God Is.This says man must trust God to do what he says He will do.This is the only way to come to God.Once a person has come to God in this manner God will give him all the faith and evidence he needs.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi RAZD, It does make a difference what you believe.The problem here is nobody knows what faith is.Everybody here is talking about faith as the trust I would have in my dog or my bank to keep my money safe. My wife not to poison my food, etc.When it comes to faith in God it does not work that way.When a man comes to God he must believe that God is.AndThat God will do what He says He will do. When talking about Biblical faith found in the Bible this is the only definition for faith. How does a person obtain faith? The source of faith. So man must hear the word. Be convicted by the Word.
When convicted by the Word, a man comes to God believing God.
God provide's all the faith a person needs.
He will provide all the evidence a person needs.I can be very confident in what I believe because gave me all the faith and evidence I need to trust Him to do what He says He will do.I know that there are very few that can understand what I am saying and how I can be that confident. That is OK we all make our decisions based on and for different reasons as onifre says "that is cool".God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Brian, You are referring to audible sounds I presume.If he hears it he will be convicted.Example.You are driving along a road and I am standing in an intersection you pull up and stop. I tell you that you need to go down the road to the next crossing as the bridge is out at the river on this road.You say thank you and proceed on down the road and end up in the river.You heard the noise I made trying to convey the message to you but you did not hear a word I said.Had you heeded the message you would have heard the message.God bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Mod, Why would I disbelieve you?Man has been practicing AI since 1784.We have a man that has given birth to one child and is now pregnant again with a second child.AI is a scientific fact and is practiced daily.So what is the problem with a virgin having a child?If we can do it, why should God not be the first one to use AI?Can we do something that God can't do?What I haven't figured out yet is how the first man's mom got pregnant, or who she was. You got any idea's?Oh yea, I remember I believe God formed the first man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became a living soul. God then took a rib from the man and performed the first cloning process and made a woman. They then produced offspring.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Brian, What do you call a sad existence?I have believed in and trusted God to take care of me since I was 9 years and 11 months old.I have never missed a meal that I did not choose to miss.I have always had a bed to sleep in with a roof over it.I have always had everything I needed and many of the things I wanted.I have been privileged to build tall buildings.I have been privileged to build hundreds of miles or roadway that is traveled everyday.I have been privileged to build super interchanges where 2 interstate highways intersect.I have been privileged to help build many churches and even to build a couple myself.I have been privileged to visit several countries.I have been privileged to be a member of one of God's churches that had a membership made up of people from 18 different countries for 13 years.I have friends in hundreds of countries around the world.I have a beautiful wife of 51 years 7 months.I have a lovely group of God's children that I teach the Bible too.I own my own home a van and a pickup.I do not owe anybody in the world a penny.I do not worry about tomorrow because I know who hold's tomorrow.I have peace, joy, happiness and contentment. What more could a man want?I am the happiest man alive.I do owe God everything.These are but a few of the things that I am blessed with.So Brian what " is a damn shame" about my life that makes you not know "whether to laugh or cry"?God Bless,
He sure has blessed me.

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Brian, Martin Luther King had a dream. Most said he was deluded.You say I am deluded and am living a fantasy.Then tell me what is wrong with my fantasy.What more could I desire out of existence in this world?I have everything I could ever want.Tell me what I am missing by living my fantasy.Most of my children are in their mid 20's to mid 80's and are born again children of God.So I don't have to teach them to believe in God or that Jesus rose from the dead.I do teach them how God wants us to help each other and others.I do teach them how God wants us to obey the laws of our country.I do teach them how God wants us to be an example to the world.I do teach them how we are to use our knowledge to make the world a better place to live.I do teach them if you can't be a part of the solution don't be a part of the problem.Maybe you could add a few things I should teach them.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Mod, I thought sure you said in Message 219:qs=ModulousWould you disbelieve me if I told you that my mother was a virgin when I was born?[/qs]To which my reply was: Maybe I was mistaken. Or you were confused. I have no idea how old you are so why would you jump to the conclusion that I was saying you were born in 1783.I was only pointing out that AI has been scientifically possible since 1784.Science has made great progress since then.As I mentioned the man who was pregnant with the second child. You are probably right in assuming I would have problems if you told me your mother was a virgin when you was born in 1783.But since it is scientifically possible today it was possible them. Whether man knew how to do it or not. I would agree that to make a human child it takes the sperm of a male human and the egg from a female human.But we are not talking about a human child.We are talking about a God child. Where the woman was the provider of the human body nothing else. Would that make him a lionbull?Mod is it scientifically possible for a virgin to conceive and have a child and still remain a virgin after birth today?God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Mod, At 226 you would qualify for the the oldest living human.From what I can find the oldest living person is 113 year-old Tomoji Tanabe of Japan, born on 18 September 1895.I hope that answers your why. I read your post Message 151 the first day it was posted and did not care to play.I am one of those who do not require physical evidence I can touch with my hands.If you will read Message 61 you will see my take on the OP.It should tell you the kind of faith I have.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Mod, 60 years of experience.I will assume from your questions you did not read all of Message 61.I will add just a little for your information.My mom was an alcoholic.My dad was a good man but he was not saved until I was 22 years old.They never took me to church.I began reading the Bible when I was 7 years old. There wasn't much to do on the farm in 1946 except in the spring and summer. That was the only book in the house and I loved to read. By the time I was 9 I was on my second time through the Bible. I wonder what one of those would be like as I never had one.I heard a message preached on John 3:16, 17, and 18. Plus the preacher talked about the lake of fire from Revelation.As a 9 year and 11 month old boy I believed those words, upon believing them I put my spirit in God's hands to take care of. He gave me all the faith I needed then and has supplied all I have needed from then until now.The devil has tried my faith many times but he can not win.Those trials have made my faith like tempered iron.I am truly sorry for people who have never experienced God and His love, mercy, and kindness as I have.I see so many that are hurting because of some religious experience when being a child of God is simply by accepting God at His word and then beginning on a journey to become totally like Christ.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Rahvin,Thanks for the exchange I thought you weren't talking to me. Well actually no. If you had read Message 61 you would know better.The preacher read 3 verses of scripture John 3:16, 17, and 18.After going home and going to sleep I woke up and these 3 verses kept going through my head.I realized God loved me.I realized Jesus died for me.I didn't have to be condemned to hell like that preacher said.And verse 18 which said I was condemned already.It also said, "He that believeth is not condemned".I claimed God's promise by putting my spirit in His hands and trusting Him to take care of everything.At that moment God sent the Holy Spirit to seal my eternal spirit until the day of redemption.I had no clue as to what faith was.I only believed God could do what He said He would. But I did not trust the Bible or the preacher.I was alone in my bed. Nobody in the room but me and the words going through my mind.I heard those three verses for the first time as they went through my mind. I simply believed God. You of all people should know better than to ask me did I or do I accept anything without asking questions.And no the Bible is not the only book I read. I had a 1 hr and 45 minute bus ride to school every day. It was usually the same back home but sometimes we didn't have to take 1 kid home and that made it 10 minutes less. So I read a book a day. Coming home and going back the next morning. I have never questioned God's love for me.I have never questioned Jesus buying me back out of salavery.I have never questioned my decision as a 9 year and 11 month old boy to put my spirit in God's hands. My eternal destiny.I have never questioned the fact the Holy Spirit came into my life and sealed my spirit until the day of redemption.I have never feared death from that time until now even when looking up a gun barrel.I have never questioned my Genesis explanation that I first presented at a prayer meeting on a Wednesday night when I was 10 years old. Even though nobody else believes it. Other than those above everything has been questioned.The reason I believe what I do is because the Holy Spirit leads me in all truth. I do get impatient and run ahead of Him sometimes and when I do I mess up. But if I need an answer concerning God's Word and ask for the knowledge of it He will supply that knowledge in His own time. Not when I demand it.I do not see any problems between my beliefs and reality. You experience God's love when He puts the full free pardon in your possession at the moment you put your spirit in His keeping.You experience His mercy every day as you are continually sheltered in His mercy. Well since my life has been something out of a fairy tail because it could not have been better. If I am delusional please don't wake me up. The things I mentioned above that I do not question are accurate.Cultural traditions. Lets see I was raised on a farm. When I was four it became my job to wash all the dishes for my Grandmother who had me from the time I was 2. At 5 I acquired the job of feeding the chickens plus the dishes. When I was 6 and going to school I acquired another job of shelling 3 bushels of corn every Saturday
morning. When I was 7 I was retired from all those jobs and began to work in the field with my grandfather, dad, and my 2 uncles. Farming 180 acres with mules and horses is a full time job. We did go to church once every 3 months as that was the only time the preacher was there. All I remember about those days was all the food on the table. Especially the sweets. By the time I was 9 I was contracting cropping tobacco 6 weeks each year. Normal pay was $3 per day but I could make $6 or $9 on contract for the amount of work done in a day.
So I guess those inaccurate cultural traditions could have fouled me up a bit, but I doubt it.Why do I believe? Because I have a peace that passes all understanding.That peace is given to me by the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Mod, Let's see if you needed a carpenter and you called me. I told you I was a master carpenter with 40 years of experience. Would you use the same argument? I think my post to Rahvin should answer this. Message 255Because God sent the Holy Spirit as a surety bond to guarantee the deal. Why would you think the devil trying my faith produced doubt. I have never doubted the faith God gave me.I have questioned many things.There are some things I have never questioned.Well God doesn't try one's faith as He is the one who provides it.You may try my patience but not my faith. That only leaves the devil.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi oni, Never believed in any of those. I said the Bible was the only book in the house.I did go to school.We did have a library.I did check out a book a day. Yea tell me about my reality I lived. Well actually it was only 3 verses, not a whole book. But who was the facilitator of this indoctrination?God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Brian, Should I replace it with.Well folks I want to inform you that we are here this morning. Because somehow someway life appeared on planet earth. Now don't ask where it come from or why it just did.That one life form or many life forms began to evolve and over billions of years you and I and all living things are the result of that process. Some assertion's there.I never believed in Santa Claus.I never believed in fairies.So I will take your word for their non existence.But "there is no God".I need evidence for the assertion that "there is no God".If you can not provide evidence a retraction will do.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hi Rahvin, But as a child I never heard those things. I never had a community telling me anything.Nobody asked me to go to Church.Nobody made me go to Church.And going 1 time a month and having a big feast don't say much.Everybody was too busy trying to scratch out a living on their farms.Everybody worked from daylight until dark.Remember we are talking about the time right after the war was over I started school in 1945. You talked about feelings and emotions. Most people I talk to talk about those.But I had no feelings.I had no emotions.I simply thought about the words of John 3:16, 17, and 18.I made a decision to accept the offer those words made to me.Upon accepting that offer of a full free pardon, I received the Holy Spirit and He sealed my spirit until the day of redemption.At that moment God gave me the faith I needed to trust Him.I have never questioned my decision.I know what I did.I know what God promises.I know God exists.I know the question that follows that statement also.How do I know He exists.Because I met Him, therefore I have no reason to doubt Him.I am sorry but that is the best I can do as I can not find the words to express to you how I know God IS.Let me try this.In one of our discussions several months ago you got pretty mad at me because I kept asking "where the universe at T=0 came from"? You said, "the Universe simply exists".I was never satisfied with that answer as you will probably never be satisfied with my answer concerning God.How do I know God exists and can do what He said He will do?Because God Is.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."