Pilgrimage To A Place Called Love

Jericho,

Are you talking about the Old Testament or the New Testament or both?

I will address the New Testament, since that is the foundation of the Christian faith. While the books of the New Testament were written by men, they were all God inspired...meaning that God used these men to carry out what He wanted written and passed on to the world.

The writers were doing what Jesus instructed them to do in Matthew when He said, ""All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." One way they did this was to write their first-hand accounts of Jesus' life (The Books of the Gospel - Matthew/Mark/Luke/John) and by God inspired letters to each other (Acts, Romans, Galatians, etc).

"The Church" and "religion" have given Christianity a bad rap over the past centuries, in most cases deservedly so. Jesus did not believe in "the church" or "religion" as it has come to be known. He loved people. He loved sinners. He loved people before they ever knew Him. All He wants...is for people to accept that He is God's sacrifice that paid for the sin of all those who believe in Him and accept Him as their Savior.

I respect you as a man of your faith...I welcome our civil discussion.

Thanks for stopping by! :)
Fit
 
I'll be honest in I don't follow your faith but I respect anyone who is willing to let another follow what they believe without trying to force that down your throat.

Faith is powerful. I can raise hopes and crush men. Anyone who follows that faith for peace and good, then I wish them luck.

Thank you for your answer and good luck on the weight loss journey. Accept my good will when I say Blessed Be to you.
 
I would never force my faith on anyone...if I did, it would not serve any purpose. I am open about my faith, and will defend it, but I will not push it on you.

Jesus Christ wants everyone to love Him, but only if they WANT to love Him. Forced love isn't love because it doesn't come from the heart. I believe God gives us free will to choose to love Him or not.

Feel free to come back...let me know if you have another question.

Fit
 
fitforaking said:
diamondapple,

So, when you're reading your bible..and you read the scripture below from the book of John, doesn't it mean something to you when Jesus says "I am THE way"...and not "a way"?

John 14:6 ..."I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Fit
Click to expand...


like i said before i am not deeply religious but i have faith! i do not read the bible, i did grow up in a religious family ( my uncle was a priest) and i still believe that it is a persons attitude in life that will decide their faith... however, i do not plan on getting into a religious argument or anyhthing of the sort..

so good luck in your weight loss! andi hope you achieve your goal!
 
diamondapple,

I apologize if I came across like I was arguing....I tried not to. I was just curious since you said you were a Christian...I was looking for your perspective on things.

Feel free to come back anytime...you're always welcome.

Fit
 
Anyone ever had friend who was an alcoholic or drug addict? Maybe they weren't that way to begin with...but over time they began to sink deeper and deeper? You just want to grab them...and shake them and cry out "can't you see what you are doing to yourself? You're slowly killing yourself! If you don't change, this is not going to end well!!"

That's me...I'm the friend. Except I'm slowly killing myself with food...and if I don't change (really, and truly change from the inside) this is not going to end well.

If you're reading this I hope you are blessed today.

Fit
 
fitforaking said:
Jesus Christ wants everyone to love Him, but only if they WANT to love Him. Forced love isn't love because it doesn't come from the heart. I believe God gives us free will to choose to love Him or not.
Click to expand...
Of course there is always that annoying detail about spending the rest of eternity getting tortured in hell if you don't love him. But hey, that's a good thing right?
 
Cerad,

It only seems to annoy those who choose not to believe.

I do not love Jesus to avoid hell...I love Him because of who He is and what He has done for me.

Fit
 
Perspective is a powerful thing. For example, I don't believe in the Christian versions of heaven and hell so someone telling me I will burn in hell has no effect on me. Someone who does believe, it is a powerful thing.
 
Jericho, you are right. It comes down to what people believe in their hearts.

You know, few will dispute that Jesus lived. The question is, do you believe He was who He said He was? C.S. Lewis (who was atheist, but became a Christian) wrote about what is called the "trilemma"...basically that Jesus was either a lunatic, liar or Lord. It is up to each to come to a decision as to which.

If anyone is interested...C.S. Lewis wrote some thought provoking material I could point you towards.

If you're reading this, I hope you have a blessed day!

Fit
 
You know...some days are just good...and today was one of those days.

I ate poorly...I didn't exercise...but I let God pour His love, grace and mercy on me...and it was good.

It was so refreshing to be with a group of believers this morning and hear a message about how abundant and fulfilling God's love is...especially in those times when we need it most. God is Love. And for everyone who is searching for Love today...it's there for you. An unfailing Love...that will blow your freaking socks off (to quote my pastor) :)

I hope everyone had a blessed day...if not, it's not too late to start.

Fit
 
Good morning all! Today is a brand new day...full of new beginnings if you need one.

We are blessed to be alive! I hope everyone has a great day (or night depending on where you are) :)

Fit
 
Today is off to somewhat a rough start. I woke up with a headache...I hope it doesn't work its way behind my eyes and become a migraine :( It helps me though to know that I am blessed...and there are MANY who are suffering more than me.

Anyone know what yesterday was? Monday? Some Americans may answer "President's Day"...but those aren't what I was looking for.

Yesterday was "today" yesterday. Another "today" gone. How did you do? It was the only Monday, February 15, 2010 you'll ever have. Did you make the most of it? Did you love the people around you? Did you let them love you?

So now...do you know what today is? Well crap, I gave you the answer. Today is "today". It's all you've got. We have no guarantees about tomorrow...can't change yesterday...so why not make the most of today? Aferall, it's the only Tuesday, February 16, 2010 you'll ever have.

If you're reading this...I hope your "today" is a blessed one!

Fit
 
Yesterday's headache eased pretty quickly and didn't turn into the feared migraine...that was a relief.

Got up at 3am this morning...met a buddy at 4am and drove about 25 miles to the nearest racquetball courts (well, not the nearest, but we can't play at the ones at the local college because we're not students).

I feel so much better when start my day with exercise. It's amazing at the difference...and I can just kick myself for not doing it everyday. Now, 3am everyday might be excessive, but there's no reason I can't get up at 5am and go to the gym like I used to. But hey, who can I blame? It's all on me...

But, regardless of how I've been lately, I can always change! Today is a new day!

If you're reading this, I hope you have a blessed day!
Fit
 
You are doing pretty well from what I see. You are keeping up a good attitude and doing about everything right that I can see. Way to go!
 
Hey fit,
I do not share your love for Jesus but I respect you for being so honest and open. I hope your belief helps you on the way and I am sure it will.

About the inside out thing... well for some things definitely yes, inside first, the outside will show for it, example if you love yourself you will come across more happy and selfsecure, someone people will want to talk to and love too, so your insides being whole and healthy will make your outside show for it.
However some things... well I waited for years for my inside to change me to the person I wanted to be. But it never happened, my insides were full of doubt and afraid. So I decided to change my ouside, I cut my long hair short (which you know is every girl's first huge step to change), I signed up for classes I had wanted to do but my insides were afraid of, I dressed in the way I wanted to look, even when my insides were not sure about it. And it worked, outside in... the outside looked better and made my insides feel better too. I am "dressing up" and behaving like the person I want myself to be and that is slowly turning me into her.
So the moral of the story: inside out is a great concept but not the only way of doing stuff. Outside in may as well work!

I wish a great end of the week, Camy
 
Camy,

Thanks for stopping by! I enjoy getting new visitors ;)

For me, inside out means this:

As a Christian, I believe that God created me (and you) with an insatiable desire to worship. He intended and desired that I fill that void inside my soul with worship for Him. However, for different reasons, I usually choose to worship other things (idols). I worship these things by giving them my time...my thoughts....my money, etc. In the context of this forum, food is one of my idols. There are times when I have NO control. There are times when I KNOW I am about to eat unhealthily....even binge...and I can not stop myself. In that moment, I am worshipping food. I need to figure out (or for me, allow God to show me) why I allow food to have this control over me. For others, it could be sex, pornogrophy, drugs, money, fame, the attention of people, the pursuit of "happiness" or even "church" or "the Bible".

If I don't change the "core" of the problem...everything else is window dressing. I'll regain every pound I've lost. It will truly be putting lipstick on the proverbial pig.

But the good news is that I have a justified Hope. I KNOW that while I may lose a battle here and there...the WAR has already been fought and won on my behalf. I claim victory, because it is mine.

I wish you a great rest of the week too! You're always welcome to come by!!!

Fit
 
When it comes to eating healthy, I am infamous (can one be infamous when it comes to eating???) for doing well ALL DAY long...and then just completely botching it at the end of the day. That is so frustrating to me. I set myself up to have a good calorie deficit and then wham! Why do I do that to myself? Why am I willing to sacrifice all day long but not at the end of the day? Are those french fries worth it? For some reason I make myself think they are. What do the french fries represent to me that I'm not seeing?

No shame in yesterday...so I march on!

If you had a bad day yesterday...join me in putting it behind us. We have another opportunity to do good for ourselves and for others today.

Fit
 
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