Are we being too judgmental? If so, why?

[LifeHiscost]

I guess I just don't like to see someone do their absolute best and end up a loser.

I'm satisfied to believe no one that even approaches their best is ever a loser. Our self esteem needs to be based on God's gift of His effort for our well being, not our effort to be better than whatever. One man's opinion.

Joy!

[LifeHiscost]

If someone is unable to live in a competitive world ... they should become a monk in a far away land.

How about a saint in the kingdom of heaven where there are no losers?

"He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." John 12:25 NKJV

Joy!

[Bravus]

The old 'stars in your crown' thing always worried me in this connection: no competition in heaven... but some wear visible insignia of their achievements at all times?

[aldona]

The old 'stars in your crown' thing always worried me in this connection: no competition in heaven... but some wear visible insignia of their achievements at all times?

I'm with you on this one.

By the way, I'm still waiting for someone to prove to me from the Bible that the whole "stars in your crown" thing has any backing whatsoever.

(No EGW quotes please - if it's not in the Bible then I'm not interested. Besides, the old song "Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown" was written by Eliza Hewitt, who was Presbyterian, so it is/was obviously a belief held by more than just our denomination.)

aldona

[LifeHiscost]

The old 'stars in your crown' thing always worried me in this connection: no competition in heaven... but some wear visible insignia of their achievements at all times?

In the Revelation the persons with starry crowns, standing before the throne, cast their crowns before the feet of Him Who sits on the throne, indicating clearly they hold the symbol indicated by the stars for all the souls delivered,partially through their efforts, is due only to the King of kings and all the glory is truly His alone.

Joy!!

[LifeHiscost]

If you don't believe these promises from the Word, why would you believe any other fact from the Word as having validity?

"Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets."

Amos 3:6 NKJV

"Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”" 2 Chronicles 20:20 NKJV

Regards!

[phkrause]

Originally Posted By: aldona

If you don't believe these promises from the Word' date=' why would you believe any other fact from the Word as having validity?

"Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets."

Amos 3:6 NKJV

"Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”" 2 Chronicles 20:20 NKJV

Regards! [/quote']

Very interesting verse's LHC. I like them very much. Thanks for them.

pk

[aldona]

Originally Posted By: LifeHiscost

If you don't believe these promises from the Word, why would you believe any other fact from the Word as having validity?

"Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets."

Amos 3:6 NKJV

"Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”" 2 Chronicles 20:20 NKJV

Regards!

Very interesting verse's LHC. I like them very much. Thanks for them.

pk

Any idea or doctrine taught by EGW or any other extra-biblical prophet should be able to be verified from the Bible alone. (Not vice-versa, as many Adventists are prone to doing.) If it cannot, then it is not a doctrine that I will be subscribing to.

The role of a true prophet should always be to call people back to the Bible. (EGW used to say so herself.)

aldona

[LifeHiscost]

The role of a true prophet should always be to call people back to the Bible. (EGW used to say so herself.)

aldona

I can't really blame you for making sure your sources are plainly

verified in the Word. OTOH, from what I gather from your position, you'll be missing out on much from which others are benefiting.

"And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen." John 21:25 NKJV

Your welcome, Pk. Thank you for the acknowledgment.

Joy!!

[John317]

Any idea or doctrine taught by EGW or any other extra-biblical prophet should be able to be verified from the Bible alone.

I agree that any "doctrine," or teaching, must be based on the Bible, but that is different from "any idea." All doctrines are ideas, but not all ideas are doctrines.

Therefore, not all ideas must be verified by Scripture. The question is, rather, do those ideas agree with the Bible or do they contradict it?

When God inspires a prophet to write, we can expect that they will say some things that won't have been written before. Otherwise, there's no reason for them to write. While it's important to make sure all ideas agree with the Bible, it's unnecessary to make sure that all of them can be verified by the Bible. For instance, the Lord showed Ellen White many details in visions of the great controversy which are not contained in the Bible, such as about Moses and Jesus, as well as about what occurred in heaven prior to the creation of the world. These things are not in the Bible, but what she says is in harmony with what the Bible says on that subject. The same applies to what Ellen White writes on a whole host of subjects.

[LifeHiscost]

#340422

Re: #340422 Amen!!

[Dr. Rich]

It appears from what Jesus presented in Revelation, that there are three groups of people, (not to mention those who have died and saved) living in the last generation that go to heaven. The first is known as the first fruits, or the 'few' in the Kingdom of Heaven as found in Rev. 3:4. These are the servants for Jesus, therefore they are bond servants, and they number 144,000. They get to sit upon the throne with Jesus. These go through the time of trouble, but it is not a test for them for they are sealed prior to the time of trouble. I call them the gold medal winners.

The second group is the 5 wise from the Kingdom of Heaven who wake up and listen to the 144,000 and get to go into the marriage feast just prior to the time of trouble. They are the servants for the bride and it is their job to get the bride ready during the time of trouble. They are the silver medal winners and will live in the great city and eat the fruit of the tree of life.

The third group are those from every nation and race who listen to the 5 wise and 144,000 during the time of trouble and become saved because of the deeds of these saints. They are the bronze medal winners, the bride who are actually the numberless multitude standing before the throne. You can find them in Revelation 7:9-15. They live outside of the city and get to eat from the leaves of the tree of life, which is healing for them.

Is this a new concept? What do you think?

[teresaq]

Pam, God has made it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt, that for me, competition is absolutely, totally, irrevocably out of the question. Period. It took many years for me to realize that it doesn't affect everyone the same as it does me, and even longer for me to understand why it affected me the way it did, since I am not a competitive person at all. But God definitely told me that so long as I played competitive games, it would be impossible for Him to make my character fit for heaven. I understood right away that He was telling the truth, and how it affected my character to play competitive games, but it took a long time to fully understand why.

People like Alex have been critical of my position through the years, and some have ridiculed and even condemned. A lot of people seem to think that if somebody has a different conviction on anything than they do, that person is automatically passing judgment on them for living differently. But they see only how things affect themselves, and often don't believe they could affect anyone else differently. I hope they are more open to the Holy Spirit's work in their own lives than they are to His work in others' lives.

since im regularly in a dispute ive stayed away from this topic.

but i have to put my 2 cents in here.

i also have seen what "competition" can do to one tho in a different sense than you. i remember just a few years ago i was trying to "help" someone keep themselves occupied and they liked playing cards. so i played some rummy with them.

i tell you i was battling the demons of hell in trying to just play to keep him company and not trying to win.

i would say that we need to look to see if we compete in a variety of other ways, also. how about religion?

[teresaq]

Originally Posted By: Bravus

The old 'stars in your crown' thing always worried me in this connection: no competition in heaven... but some wear visible insignia of their achievements at all times?

I'm with you on this one.

By the way, I'm still waiting for someone to prove to me from the Bible that the whole "stars in your crown" thing has any backing whatsoever.

(No EGW quotes please - if it's not in the Bible then I'm not interested. Besides, the old song "Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown" was written by Eliza Hewitt, who was Presbyterian, so it is/was obviously a belief held by more than just our denomination.)

[Bravus]

The fact that some people are more competitive than others is another reason a simple rule doesn't really work: I'm barely competitive at all in games, to such an extent that I'm often no fun to play with because I don't care about the outcome...