Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.\n\nThis IS in the Bible, but oh what a lie it is. I have asked and sought and knocked, but I haven't found answers because God chooses to ignore everything everybody does. Why does the Bible say this?\n\nIf you think it means to seek and believe in Christ, and the door to heaven will be opened, then you are yet again changing the words of the Bible into something different. Why does everything in the Bible have to be written in a way that you have to interpret to understand?
209577
You have to have faith when you ask God for something. You can't doubt that it won't happen. It will always be in God's time not yours. I am sorry you doubt he will answer your prayers but put as faith into he will as you do in doubting him...N
226771
wow,someone is actually reading the bible right.i actually see the same thing.check this out.when jesus was praying in the garden of gethsemine,if he be the only god everyones cracking him up to be.why would he go thru all the trouble to pray to himself????dosnt sound like sense to me.daaaaaaaaaah.why does he always say "he only does what he see his father do.hhhmmmm.is this the higher being that every body heard at jesus'baptism.quote "behold this is my beloved son whome i am well pleased".this must be the guy who jesus referrs to as father.isnt this a trip.wow!!!!!!!!!!!
307960
As I read the word of God, it says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God (The Father). If we have acknowledged Christ when we are here on earth, have trusted that he died on the cross to forgive us of our sins,and that he rose from the dead for our justification then we have already "bowed the knee" to him and when we die we will be "absent from the body but present with the Lord." We are saved because of what Christ has done, not anything we can do. \n\nThis question became very popular in the 70's. It was a way of getting people to think about eternity and where they will spend it. I think that many people today don't really think about where they will go, or they don't care. We all can decide for ourselves, that is the reality of having a free will. If we don't want to go to heaven, we won't. if we do, then we will, but it is under God's terms, not our own. Even here there are differing beliefs as to what is the way to heaven. \n\nAs a Christian, I choose to place my faith and my hope only in what Jesus Christ has done. He himself said that he is the way, the truth and the life and that no one can come to the Father accept through him. I choose to believe this. But others may choose not to. Again, this is the reality of having a free will.
475851
You keep asking meaning your heart is full of desire.  Jesus cannot enter in.  Put down, your heart is empty, he can enter.
37714
I think you make a good point. Many christians talk like being christian is all about being self-rightous and the right beliefs so you can get to heaven. I would invite them to review Matthew 25:31-46. I don't believe in a literal heaven and hell myself--I think those are metaphors--but I believe this passage has an important message about what Jesus really wanted his followers to care about.\n\nMatthew 25:31-46\n\n"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.\n\n"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'\n\n"Then the RIGHTEOUS will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'\n\n"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'\n\n"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'\n\n"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'\n\n"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'\n\n"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
378118
By only reading a portion of the Bible or just a verse is not the intention. Matthew 19:21 "Jesus said to him, " If you want to be PERFECT, go sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me." Matthew 19:23 " Then Jesus said to his disciples, " Amen I say to you, it will be HARD for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. \nThis was given by Jesus to a young man who had thought he had done everything to enter heaven, Jesus tells him to be "perfect" he should get rid of all earthly possessions. Secondly it says "hard" for a rich person to enter heaven, not impossible.
607005
The scripture is taken out of context as quoted above.  The verse is in I Corinthians.  It says, "There is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.  But, God is faithful.  He will not allow you to be tempted above what you can bear, but with the temptation will make a way of escape that you might be able to bear it."  (I'm quoting from memory King James version, so it's not exact)  The verse promises that God will make a way to escape temptation.  It doesn't say he will force us to take the avenue of escape.  That is entirely up to us.
472545
Before I became a born again Christian, I was in your shoes. The bible made zero sense to me. I would read it, and could not remember what I read, nor see the importance of the "dusty old book" However, the only way you will be able to understand it is if you accept Christ into your heart. To do this you must be convinced that God exists, then you must have Him dealing with your heart (which I think He is given your concern about not understanding the bible) Then when this comes to light you will see your need of a Savior due to your lacking in the eyes of God.\n\nBleesed be unto you to harken unto this call.
123393
For those who believe, the Bible is a living book.  Which means that the words today are as true as they were yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  When you find new understanding of the scripture it is a little of both going on.  God knows that no one can understand everything all at one time, and he knows that we all learn in different ways.  When scripture messages are "revealed" to you, that is a revelation that God sent to you in a way that you needed to understand it at a time you needed to understand it. Now if you interpret, and it is not God's will, he will find a way to "reveal" that too.  Because if you believe and are truly faithful, God will always provide you with the tools and the information you need.  So, even if you interpret (yourself) and it is a wrong interpretation because you got in the way of your own understanding, God will reveal it to you when you need it.  That is why being a Christian is a journey.  If we all had the ability to read, understand, and apply absolutely everything, then the journey would be over. So, sometimes you will be confused, sometimes you will stumble...but if you are a believer and you ask...he will pick you up when you fall. Just be open and accepting of your revelations as they come and keep studying. Good luck and God Bless.
88925
Some Englishs words don't stack up to the task of translation very well they just don have the same meanings as the Orginal text and Call was one of them. God (demanded)(Called ) that the people listen to his word and hear him.Jesus (Told to do or asked)(Called) upon the disciples to go and (teach, spread) the word.\n\nBut when a Person is called to the Ministry it is usualy through direction. Just things point or lead to it.\n\nI had no idea I would ever recieve the calling . I took theology in college as a minor, I never thought I would use it.
512774
And it says the windows of heaven will be opened, and pour out more blessings than we can recieve...I can attest to that. The windows of heaven really have poured out upon me and my family for following this simple teaching. \n\nThanks
408846
First, in order to understand this issue, you have to consider it context.  This can be a very long explanation, but I'll try to keep it short and sweet.  Basically, this is referring to the second coming of Christ.  This concerns His judgment at that second coming.
20041
You know, YOU take the Bible more literally than we ""Bible-thumpers"" do! You here, not us, seem to be claiming that every single verse in the Bible MUST be taken literally, and we believe that, yes, there really are verses that are meant only to be taken as allegory. Did Gd actually ""walk"" in the Garden of Eden? YOU seem to say that this, too, must be taken literally, and not us!\n\nSo, it is possible, FOR US, to ""Believe in"" the Bible without taking Every Single verse literally, although you seem to say this verse must be taken literally for us to believe in it....
367289
God won't do that.\n\nHe said as much.\n\nIf you were familiar enough with the old covenant (Old Testament) and the new (New Testament), you'd know that God will no longer ask such things of people.
642569
wow...the bible proves it self... and has to many peope throughout history...those the seek the truth find it and those that have no value in it do not...If you find the word of god as stupid then you have your answer as to why it makes no sense to you...God is there for those who find value in him..nad he reveals himself to those who seek him with all there heart...if this does not apply to you then why are you so amazed that you do not understand what others do? I keep talking to athiest who find no value in god whatsoever....this makes perfect sense to me that god has not revealed himself to these and if they are happy and you are happy why do you care that God has revealed himself to others?
89640
"I'll pray for you!" Ah yes, the classic religious person's way of saying, "F*** you." Nine times out of ten, this line comes about when you refuse to agree on something and that is their final stance - if you won't agree, they're going to get their god to MAKE you agree because you couldn't possibly know what you think or what's best for you.\n\nIf prayer is so effective, why are there millions of starving children around the world? If prayer is so effective, what of the little girl who begs Jesus for her assailant to stop raping her at night? If prayer is so effective, why did six million Jews die during Hitler's reign? If prayer is so effective, why do we need oncology departments, and why are they always full?\n\nChristians often answer that "God moves in mysterious ways" or that "God will answer 'yes', 'no', or 'maybe' and you got a no." Nonsense. The Christian Bible says:\n\nJohn 14:13-14\n"And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."\n\nMatthew 7:7-8\n"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."\n\nJohn 16:23-24\n"Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you... Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."\n\nThere are no conditions here at all. It simply says to ask and your request will be granted. Yet this does not happen. Even Christians who pray in Jesus' name do not have these verses fulfilled on a basis consistent enough to believe that Jesus is the one responsible.\n\nSo relax. Given the track record of failed prayers and desperate pleas, you have no reason to believe any prayers for you are being answered. :)
433158
I wrote something very similar to this on my blog last July. It's a little long, but here it is:\n\nI've often wondered where the belief that Jesus will "consider" peoples prayers comes from. \n\nIf you read Matthew 7:7-8, Matthew 18:19-20, Matthew 21:21-22, Mark 11:24-25, Luke 11:9-13, John 14:13-14, John 15:7, John 15:16, John 16:23-24, Jesus clearly says that if you pray in his name he will answer your prayers, not that he will think about it. Jesus claimed repeatedly that he would answer all the prayers of the faithful who prayed in his name as a testiment to Gods glory.\n\n\nTake John 14:13-14 (NAB) for example: And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.  \n\n"Whatever you ask in my name, I will do" is pretty cut and dried. There's really no room in that statement for error in understanding the meaning, nor is there room to interpret it as "Pray in my name, and I'll do what I think is best for you."\n\nNow obviously Jesus can't answer every prayer that each Christian makes in his name. Aside from just being silly, it would create chaos in the world of, dare I say, Biblical proportions. So consider the following options:\n\n1. Jesus lied. The church based on his life is a lie, and this falsehood has been passed on 2000 years too long.\n\n2. Jesus told the truth, and it is a lack of faith in Jesus ability to actually answer all prayers that keeps him from doing so. The Christian faith is no longer viable in the eyes of God.\n\nEither way, doesn't it seem like a waste of time and effort to continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah? On one hand, the myth of Jesus as the son of God would seem to be instantly invalidated. On the other hand, Jesus has clearly turned his back on the faithful for the last 2000 years. Christians must now rationalize prayer in order to ignore the fact that whether or not a prayer is answered, is sheer chance.\n\nMight as well pray to The Cat in the Hat if you ask me. It's likely to have the same results. Well, actually thats not entirely accurate. A recent Christian study showed that sick people who knew they were recieving prayer were 70% more likely to have medical complications after surgery than those who either did not know, or who recieved no prayer. Make that out however you want to, but I would think it should be pretty obvious...\n\n-SD-