Reaching Out to Ms. Carmel Marie ,


Dear Carmel Marie,
If you read this thread, please know that I was told of your interest in studying the bible and getting to know more the Word of God. I was deeply touched, and moved to tears.

I would be more than honored to help you read the bible, and open to discussing with you, with all the things you are interested in regarding the Bible and verses that you have in mind.

I was deeply moved to hear your testimony from a mutual friend of ours. Amen! The Lord is glorified in all things, and through all persons who open their ears and eyes to read and listen to His Word.

I am here ha. I want you to know that.

May the love and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be always with you.
To strengthen you, and to guide you, and to preserve your powerful faith!


Your Brother In Christ,
Bran Lorenz

Dong, I am deeply moved by your posts dedicated for Carmel Marie aka Melmel and sometimes Meow.  Yes, she is one beautiful girl, inside and out.  I am honored to have known her. 

You see, Dong, I only say a little about her and your posts tells me how connected you are already to her and her situation.  Salamat kaayo, Dong, from deepest core of my being! 

When there are things that trouble us, either it a physical object, a trauma, a situation at hand, or be it a spiritual problem, a strain, a battle in the faith, a temptation of the flesh etc, what are we told---what are we reminded about in regards to strength? How to overcome? What is the methodology? Provide the scriptural verse(s).


Come, let us discuss with one another. 

Good question. And deserves a response.

There are so many verses in The Holy Bible that reminds a faithful Christian to believe in the Lord's saving grace. One in particular is;

Be content with what you have, for God has said, "Never
     will I leave you; never will I forsake you."  So say with
     confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid."
 - Hebrews 13:5,6


And regarding trust. Trust in The Lord.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and has made the
    Lord his hope and confidence.
 - Jeremiah 17:7


Have you made The Lord Your Hope?
If you have, God Bless You!

Hello Tita!

Amen pood ko! hehehe

Hello, Bey!
Salamat sa imung personal testimony diri. Well appreciated pood lagi. Join us more in our dialogue and study sa Bibliya diri. I personally invite you to more of our dialogue, and to actively read and share with us. hehehe.

To The Lord Jesus Christ be the Glory!

We are comanded and prepared to walk in good works.

This verse in scripture completes prior verse in Ephesians that demands 'Faith' for Salvation.

God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2: 2-10)

We are reminded that by Faith in Jesus Christ we are saved, but Faith must be completed through your work. Complemented.

Ephesians 2:10 states, "We are HIS workmanship, created in Jesus Christ for Good Works, which GOD PREPARED beforehand that we SHOULD walk in them."

Faith and Good Works.
We cannot be selective in Scriptural Analysis. Ephesians 2 tells us that We are all saved by faith because Christ died for our sins, lest any man should boast. Meaning ani, is that we are saved by Christ's dying on the cross.

But as we were created by God through Christ Jesus--WHO IS THE WORD made FLESH--we were also created to walk in good works.

Ang meaning ani reiterates the same message by the concept of "Being Both Hearers and Doers of the Word." [Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.]
(James 1:22)

Answer!

When God created the world, it was perfect and good. Then he made Adam and Eve and gave them their own free will, so they would have a choice whether to follow and obey God. But they were tempted by Satan to disobey God, and they sinned. This separated them (and everyone that came after them, including us) from being able to have a close relationship with God. He is perfect and holy and must judge sin. As sinners, we couldn't reconcile ourselves to God on our own. So God made a way that we could be united with Him in heaven. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Jesus was born to die for our sins so that we would not have to. Three days after His death, He rose from the grave (Romans 4:25), proving Himself victorious over death. He bridged the gap between God and man so that we may have a personal relationship with Him if we only believe.

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3). Most people believe in God, even Satan does. But to receive salvation, we must turn to God, form a personal relationship, turn away from our sins, and follow Him. We must trust in Jesus with everything we have and everything we do. "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference" (Romans 3:22). The Bible teaches that there is no other way to salvation than through Christ. Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Jesus is the only way of salvation because He is the only One who can pay our sin penalty (Romans 6:23). No other religion teaches the depth or seriousness of sin and its consequences. No other religion offers the infinite payment of sin that only Jesus Christ could provide. No other “religious founder” was God become man (John 1:1,14) – the only way an infinite debt could be paid. Jesus had to be God so that He could pay our debt. Jesus had to be man so He could die. Salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ! “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Answer:

1.  Choose Your Friends Carefully

This first verse is the one that will tell us to choose our friends very carefully in this life. This verse should literally be burned into your memory banks so that you never ever forget this basic fundamental command from the Lord! Here it is:

    "The righteous should CHOOSE HIS FRIENDS CAREFULLY, for the way of the wicked leads them astray." (Proverbs 12:26)

Notice this verse is specifically telling us that if we do not choose our friends very carefully in this life, that we could end up choosing the wrong type of people to become friends with and they can then end up leading us astray from God and with what He wants to do with our lives. Many of God's people have lost their calls in Him because they chose to hang out with the wrong type of people or the wrong crowd.


2.  Benefits of Choosing Good God-Friends

Here are six very interesting verses showing you why God does want you to have other good solid Christian friends to share your walk with.

These six verses will show you that there is safety in the multitude of counselors, that plans can go awry without having other people to hash things out with, that war is waged by wise counsel with others, that learning is increased by listening to wise counsel, and that if you cease to listen to wise counsel - that you will start to stray from being able to acquire more knowledge in God.

    * "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs 11:14)
      
    * "A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; for by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs 24:5)
      
    * "Every purpose is established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war." (Proverbs 20:18)
      
    * "Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established." (Proverbs 15:22)
      
    * "Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days." (Proverbs 19:20)
      
    * "Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge." (Proverbs 19:27)

Once you turn the reigns of your life over to God for Him to fully handle, He will now make sure that you get matched up with the right kind of people that you can become true God-friends with.

3.  As Iron Sharpens Iron

This next verse is extremely fascinating as it tells us that two friends can help sharpen each other up as iron sharpens iron. A true God-friend can help keep you sharp in the Spirit, let you know when you are getting too far off track, help you get through and make sense of some of the downswings that can occur in your walk, confirm and help bear witness when you are on the right track, give you pep talks when needed, and help keep you in the game when you start to get too mad and too frustrated when things do not go your way.

You each serve to help keep each other up in the Lord so that you both can continue to stay on the straight and narrow road that God now has you set up on. You can also help each other out if one starts to be tempted to do something they should not be engaging in. Here is the verse:

    "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." (Proverbs 27:17)

A true God-friend will always be honest and straight forward with you. You cannot help keep each other up and sharp in the Lord unless you are both willing to be totally honest with one another.

4. Do Not Be Unequally Yoked With Unbelievers

These next seven verses will tell us not to be yoked together with unbelievers, foolish men, dogs, evil workers, those who are disorderly, reckless, contentious and always causing trouble and strife.

There is one verse in particular that tells us that "evil company corrupts good habits." This verse perfectly shows us what can happen to any of your children if they start hanging out with the wrong type of people.

Here are 7 good verses telling us to stay on our side of the fence, and to stay away from all of the bad apples who have no desire for God or anything that He stands for.

    * "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God." (2 Corinthians 6:14)
      
    * "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed." (Proverbs 13:20)
      
    * "A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, but knowledge is easy to him who understands. Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge." (Proverbs 14:6)
      
    * "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers ..." (Philippians 3:2)
      
    * "But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us." (2 Thessalonians 3:6)
      
    * "Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple." (Romans 16:17)
      
    * "Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits." Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God." (1 Corinthians 15:33)

All of these verses are giving us major warnings that we are to stay away from all of the bad apples in this life who will do nothing but try and bring us down to their lower way of living in this life. Many Christians have had their lives totally ruined and destroyed as a result of marrying the wrong people or choosing the wrong kinds of friends to hang out with.

We decide for ourselves the right friends.

And of course the Lord God judges. He is the final judge.

Please open a bible.

I invite you to read the bible more frequently. Lest false teachings permeate.