King James Bible
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to be Putin!
I can't answer to the latter, but to the former, there were very many books, manuscripts & other writings around throughout history, and particularly in the inter-testamental period (i.e. after Malachi's prophecy & the entrance of Jesus Christ at Bethlehem). Some of these writings were known to the Jews, but ultimately they only accepted the Word revealed through Moses (i.e. the Torah: the five Books of Moses); the Nevi'im (or, the Prophets), and the Ketuvim (or, the Writings). And within those broad divisions, we get our Bible (i.e. the same books as in the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible), but variations in order of appearance, & other minor changes).
So, the Jews rejected the apocrypha & other spurious writings as being the Word of God, from God, & likewise, when the NT Canon was brought together, similar rules were applied, where authors, textual examination, falsehoods, etc., were reasons for post-New Testament writings being rejected. Now some Churches, e.g. the Roman Catholic & orthodox, do accept the apocryphal books as valid, but in mainstream Christianity, we believe that what we have now is God's Word, and that to fully accept these other writings, severely prejudice the Truth, as revealed to us.
I can't give you all the errors in these books, but if you look at a couple: Tobit 12:9 (speaks of almsgiving purging sin & saves from death). 2 Maccabees 12:41-45 (place of purgatory & a monetary sin offering). Just these two references go against the teaching of Scripture. Of course, there are truths written in these books, but the evidence of errors therein, should cause us to be very wary & alert.
I can't answer your second question - depends on which Fellowship you attend.
Job for my husband and son.
Thank you.
During Paul's second missionary journey, Luke connected with Paul in Asia Minor ( Acts 16:6-11. Verse 10 particularly indicates this: "WE endeavoured to go into Macedonia"). Luke was then left in Philippi ( Acts 17:1: "THEY", Luke excluded) and then re-connected with Paul to travel with him on the third missionary journey ( Acts 20:5: "US").
Luke also accompanied Paul on his journey to Jerusalem & then to Rome and was with Paul during his imprisonment there ( 2 Timothy 4:11: which you had quoted). So, you can see that Luke, with many others (in the Church & on the 'mission field'), played a vital role in Paul's ministry & provided him with fellowship & encouragement. And of course Luke's medical knowledge, no doubt would have been useful to both Paul & maybe those in such need in their travels.
It has always astounded me about needs of church members that seem to be ignored; or perhaps are quietly helped on occasion by a few in private. I won't get into specifics as to those who are aided on the outside; I sometimes would get reimbursed other times not. We need to be careful though not to give money to those who are going to use it to perpetuate their sinful lifestyle. I have seen that situation before as well.
As to things such as building issues; I have seen poor planning investing in a building with foundation issues that a former pastor has had to fork out well beyond his initial assessments. Wisdom should be utilized; and obviously we don't need a "crystal cathedral" building. On the other hand; there are local churches such as the first one I attended some 40 years ago which had a pastor with medical expenses for his wife that weren't being covered despite rather wealthy people in the church very little money was given.
Our own investments. Wisdom is waning in this age. There are practical ways to invest; including within our own families that can not only be a legacy for them but also honor the Kingdom of God. There are good lessons to be learned in disciplining children early on; admittedly against a backdrop of a selfish; materialistic age.
I have known individuals with wealth who have been quite generous in giving; although it is common knowledge that well to do individuals tend to give less than others in proportion quite often. That seems to be different among those of the world with wealth these days and their many causes.
We need to remember that "He who is faithful with a few things can be trusted with much" ( Luke 16:10 not verbatum). Also there is scripture indicating faithfulness in earthly things and how it relates to Him trusting us with heavenly riches. Our reward is in reaping a great harvest of souls and relates to our faithfulness. Let us not hide our talents either.
Amen to that! I have said this before and this is what I believe about prayer:
To me, prayer is the means by which I express my submission to Gods will in whatever it is I am praying for.
What that means is when I petition the Lord in prayer and ask for His will to be done, I have the promise according to 1 John 5:14-16 that He will answer my prayer.
It doesn't matter what it is, He will answer if I ask according to His will. Now, I know that doesn't mean I'm always going to get what I expect, and my situation might even get worse, but it will be according to His will, and I must accept it and thank Him either way!
Often times people pray for things, whether it be for better health, better finances, new job, or whatever they are praying for, but in their prayer, the do not pray for His will to be done, and then wonder why their prayer was not answered.
But if we pray anything according to His will, that prayer will be heard and answered. And we have to submit and accept whatever His will is.
Here is Part 2:
After the one year separation, they had what is called the CHUPPAH which is the actual wedding ceremony. CHUPPAH is the Hebrew word for wedding, and KIDDUSHIM was the betrothal period.
Here's something else that is important to know. When the KIDDUSHIM takes place, they are married. The only way you can break the espousal, the engagement, is by divorce.
So this is how this whole thing plays out. Mary was his wife, even though the official wedding ceremony, the CHUPPAH had not yet taken place. They had already entered into the KIDDUSHIM, the engagement and time of purity.
Remember that is a one year period, but they are still married. Some of the more modern translations will say take Mary as your wife, and they will put "as" in italics to kind of give you something.
But they completely go against the whole KIDDUSHIM/CHUPPAH arrangement because as soon as you get engaged, their version of engagement, it took a divorce to break it.
But according to Jewish custom, once the KIDDUSHIM (1-year separation/time of purity) began, they were considered married, even though the marriage ceremony took place after the 1 year separation.
That is why Joseph was about to divorce her when he found out she was pregnant during the KIDDUSHIM period. They were considered married even before the CHUPPAH took place.
Hope this helps!
I am going to say yes, and here's why. In Matthew 1:18, we have the social circumstances surrounding Joseph and Mary.
It says when Mary his mother was espoused to Joseph, and in the Greek text, it is in the passive voice which means that you are receiving the action from somebody else.
This is very important and here's why.
Joseph and Mary were espoused, not because they were engaged or betrothed, or espoused to each other. The passive voice from the Greek means that they were brought together in an arrangement. They were the recipients of the betrothal.
Back in those days in Jewish tradition, contracts were made between two families for marriage. Girls were betrothed at the age of 12 and 13, and the boys were older. And they (Mary and Joseph) were betrothed together by the parents, not by their own choice.
It also says that "before they came together," which is a Greek word that means before their marriage was consummated. And the main verb is "she was found to be with child," again passive voice.
Here is how this worked back in traditional times, the time when all this was taking place:
They had what was called the KIDDUSHIM, which was the betrothal period. It's not exactly the same as our engagements. This is called KIDDUSHIM which means separate, or to separate.
And what happens is that when you became betrothed or espoused or engaged, you stayed separate for a whole year. This was called the time of purity to make sure that the woman wasn't pregnant.
Well, it was during this time of KIDDUSHIM that she was found to be pregnant.
During this whole year that they were separated, and even though they had not yet had a marriage ceremony, they were considered to be married.
I will continue in another post to further explain this.
The word tithe apparently is not found in the New Testament. The Book of Corinthians probably covers giving more than anywhere else. The clear principle from Ananias and Sapphira is NOT to commit something to the Lord then retract (as their deaths afterward attested). Where our treasure is our heart is also. ( Matthew 6:21). If we are to side with the "love of money" then we can either be cheapskates or give for causes that make us "feel good". Thus; a "prosperity gospel" church tickles people's ears and offers opulent settings for meetings and worship.
There is no sin in asking for a financial report for a church. Members should be concerned about 401c status and any compromising that a Pastor has made in order to retain that status. They should see how much is spent on entertainment; fancy building projects; etc. and what is spent on missions; for instance. Those who have jet planes themselves probably aren't as concerned about ministers that insist on such luxuries for themselves if they continue to attend such churches.
We should certainly consider what Paul said in scripture as to his often extreme need and apparent appalling giving where he said he was "robbing churches" ( 2 Cor. 11:8). Even good churches tend to give extremely low percentages of moneys to missions effort overseas from my experience. This has caused me to give to a few when able myself. This is not to boast; but again to emphasize the need. In my case I am supporting someone overseas busy working in the medical field in a new hospital struggling to find enough staff; as well as doing other ministry work on the side. Previously on the side some of us supported a young man in Uganda who had prison ministry; library ministry and other things going on. Generally; giving should also benefit real needs in a church. These days it seems there is more emphasis on outside needs from people more often than not not very reliable.
If I could see in someone's eyes or by their fruit that they were indeed possessed or using occult practices then I could make the case of demonic influence. Many other times it is the power of suggestion; or outright manipulation and fakery. God sometimes does also work dspite false teachers invoking Him (as in the case of Judas Iscariot when he went out with the 12 to do wonders apparently).
As to Christ not saying who it was; He was God in the flesh and also had a timeline for things to be revealed so that the crucifixion would occur exactly when and where it did. To avoid early martyrdom as it was He had to avert about 10 attempts on His life. He also used parables and weeded people out; not wanting followers who weren't going to count the cost. This also kept people out who didn't really recognize His divinity but saw all the benefits of a free meal; and perhaps healings as well (note when only 1 person of 10 came back to thank Him afterwards falling at His feet).
Hope that clarifies things somewhat.
1. You wrote "or something that actually IS caused by demons;"
We should be extremely careful and avoid call a "healing" as something done by a demon, isn't that what the Pharisees were saying about Jesus? There is always the danger of blaspheming the Holly Spirit. It is better to say that a healing may be fake rather than it is caused by demons. The latter is risky.
2. You wrote "It is important to remember also that Christ would tell many especially early on in His ministry NOT to tell anyone who He was." What was the reason for that? One (maybe not the only one) is stated in Mark 2:45. "But he(the man who was healed) went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus COULD NO MORE OPENLY ENTER INTO A CITY, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter."
GBU