Amen
@Abdicate ,
I want to add some things to what you said and not be taking anything away from what you said. I hope it is seen this way too.
The problem starts when "men" decide this is only for these people and not for us or this is not for us now but only the 11 and so forth.
When we became born again we entered into a covenant with God sealed with the blood of Christ. In this covenant you will find promises of God that are very much for us today as they were when He first said them and in many ways even more so for us in this generation.
People think all you need is to be saved and it all either happens or it does not depends on Gods mood that day. lol There are a lot of IF'S in His word......
If you obey me here I
will do this
If you walk this way you
will have this
If you do this then these results you
will see
It works both in the good and in the bad or for you or against you.
People tend to leave out the if parts ( what is required of us ) and then to excuse what they dont have or get or see, as it must be Gods will for me......
Example...... God says to forgive if we have aught against any when we stand praying............. this means must be done now.....
If we forgive then God
will forgive us our trespass's or wrong doings.......So then
If we dont he
wont and you wonder why your prayers are not getting answered........
Take faith for another example.........with out Love your faith is useless... Patience is also a key in your faith. Forgiveness is a key to your faith. You can claim you have faith.........however do you have His kind of faith or complete faith ? Is your faith lacking any of these things ? Are you harboring un-forgiveness or hate towards some one ? There aremany things that hinder your fiath........the problem is.......most christians either dont believe this or dont spend enough time learning these things and developing their faith.
God Bless
Jim