This Rejoice & Praise God Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.
It’s also a place to read, post, and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.
In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts, and not by agenda-driven accusations and pronouncements.
We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.
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In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores, and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.
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https://www.theqtree.com/2019/01/01/dear-maga-open-topic-20190101/
On this day and every day –
God is in Control
. . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . .
Keep Looking Up
Hopefully, every Sunday, we can find something here that will build us up a little . . . give us a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.
“This day is holy to the Lord your God;
do not mourn nor weep.” . . .
“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared;
for this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not sorrow,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
God Told Me . . .
“God told me…” “I have a word from the Lord for you.” “I am a prophet of God.” “I know what the Bible says, but God spoke to me and…”
Claims like the above are increasingly common these days. Sadly, most people who say them do not understand how dangerous they are. Claiming direct revelation from God is essentially putting yourself in a place of equal authority with the Word of God. If God speaks, it is always going to be 100% inerrant, authoritative, true, holy, and perfect. If God truly told you to tell me something, I better listen or I am in direct rebellion against God.
The problem with this idea that God is directly speaking to people, and through people, today, is the fact that the messages attributed to Him are everything but inerrant, authoritative, and true. They are almost always a jumbled mess of confusion, inconsistencies, and outright contradictions of the Word of God. Far too often, “God told me…” is in reality, “I think…and I think God would agree with me…therefore, I am going to tell you that God told me…”
In response to this, many argue that God no longer speaks outside of His Word. Period. Never. The Bible is the complete and sufficient Word of God that gives us everything we need to be saved and walk with God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, there is no need for any further revelation from God. God does not speak. Rather, God has spoken.
This is the viewpoint I was taught in Bible College and Seminary. This is still the viewpoint that I strongly lean towards. Admittedly, it is a very comforting position. It means I can ignore all the claimed messages from God. It frees me from having to use biblically informed discernment in separating truth from error in supposed messages from God. The problem for me is … I do not see solid biblical evidence on which to claim God NEVER speaks today.
Interestingly, even those who hold the “God never speaks” position seem to allow for exceptions to the rule. For example, stories of people in closed countries having dreams/visions that result in them coming to faith in Christ seem to be accepted, even rejoiced over. Accounts of people in third world countries being told to go to such and such a place at such and such a time to speak with God’s messenger, only to bump into a missionary at the exact place and time, are accepted as amazing miracles of God. The justification for the exception is usually something along the lines of, “Well, God only does stuff like that in places where they don’t have access to the Bible.”
Hmm. Where does the Bible say that God works differently based on whether a person has access to the Bible? And, the fact that the United States has tens of millions more Bibles than Yemen does not mean the average American is significantly more biblically literate than the average Yemeni. One could argue that with the massive amount of false doctrine being propagated in the United States that the United States is more in need of corrective direct revelation from God than most third world countries. I just don’t see a solid biblical or reasonable basis for the “God only does stuff like that over there” argument.
So, where does that leave us? To be honest, I’m not completely sure.
I firmly believe that the Bible is the perfect and complete Word of God. It contains everything we need to know to follow God’s will for our lives. While it does not give specific instructions related to the personal situations and decisions we face, it does provide all the wisdom we need to be able to make right judgments in those situations and decisions.
With that in mind, I do not see any reason for God to “supplement” His Word with additional revelation. But, at the same time, there is nothing in the Bible that indicates God NEVER speaks today. I do not know the mind of God, and therefore I do not claim to know every reason why God might say something to someone (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:34).
What I do know is this: if God were to speak today, what He said would be in perfect agreement with His Word. God does not contradict Himself. God does not change His mind. Compare any supposed message from God with God’s Word, and if the message in any way is in contradiction or disharmony with God’s Word, reject the message. If you think God has spoken to you, but are unsure about it, ask Him for confirmation (Judges 6:36-40; 1 Samuel 3:1-10). Seek wise counsel from men and women of God whom you respect and trust (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22).
Above all, understand that God speaking is a miracle, not a normal. Even in the Bible, God speaking directly to people, whether through an audible voice or a “still small voice,” is rare. We would all benefit from spending far more time on what God has said instead of on what God might be saying.
https://www.gotquestions.blog/God-still-speak.html
Excellent lesson! I was quite fortunate to get one that was very similar, from an assistant pastor, a long time ago!
Thank you for this open. Some people are susceptible to suggestion due to immaturity, gullibility, lack of life experience, lack of boundaries, abuses they have suffered, etc.; and if they take the word of someone else about “what God wants them to do,” the results could be very damaging.
This. There is no record in the Bible of God giving a daily message, or a continuous series of many and varied messages over an extended period, to the same person. The prophetic gift manifested intermittently and even rarely, and for consequential reasons. I believe it to be different from people’s talents and their abilities to express spiritual thought by composing and writing music, poetry, and books and articles.
“No” is right.
I missed this one when it was published yesterday, about 10 hours ago:
TRUMP NAMED THEM: The Real “Foreign Interests”
“Susan Kokinda argues Trump’s response to the Supreme Court tariff ruling points beyond China to “foreign interests” tied to the British Empire’s Adam Smith free-trade ideology, defended by the US Chamber of Commerce and Cato Institute.
She cites Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ambassador Jamieson Greer framing the administration’s approach as Hamiltonian economic sovereignty, and says tariffs will continue under other laws, including a new 10% global tariff.
She contrasts this with Thursday’s Board of Peace meeting, where 60 nations backed “peace through construction,” funding housing, security, and development, rejecting Kissinger-style managed conflict. She warns midterm demoralization risks ending Trump’s agenda.”
.
JPMorgan Chase for the first time confirms it closed Trump’s accounts after Jan. 6th Capitol attack
Revoke their charters.
Would that shut them down?
They could continue to operate, just not as a bank.
I don’t know who this man is, but in two minutes he reveals reasons why some people who got jabbed might not have the same adverse reactions as others.
This seemed like the actionable part:
“So my advice is to never, ever get one of these shots again.
And if you did get one, get your D-dimer levels checked for micro-clotting and Troponin checked for myocarditis.
These problems can be asymptomatic and result in chronic disease or death in two to five years if you don’t do something about it.”
“The problem for me is … I do not see solid biblical evidence on which to claim God NEVER speaks today.”
_____________
Is there any reason to put ourselves in a position to try to prove a negative?
If someone claims that God did speak to them, isn’t the burden of proof on them?
“One could argue that with the massive amount of false doctrine being propagated in the United States that the United States is more in need of corrective direct revelation from God than most third world countries.”
___________
What would He say that He has not already said in His Word? Is what He said in His Word insufficient for His purposes?
Did God — Who is perfect — forget something?
Did God — Who knows the end from the beginning (cf. Isaiah 46:10) — fail to foresee something?
Seems like the passage in Luke, about the rich man and Lazarus, applies:
…………………………
“Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: [28] For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. [29] Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. [30] And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. [31] And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” (Luke 16:27-31, KJV, boldface emphasis mine)
…………………………