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Thread: Lent

  1. #21
    Princess Sparkles Paula's Avatar
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    Oh I agree - poor Martha. She must have been devastated
    The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

  2. #22
    I am a master of trying to do the right thing and getting it drastically wrong. I am Martha.

  3. #23
    Head Groundskeeper OldMike's Avatar
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    As someone who first was believer then an atheist and is now in the don't know camp Paula I find the extracts you've posted from the bible and your interpretations very thought provoking, thanks.
    77 and counting, less of the "Old" call me "Mike"

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  5. #24
    Boss Lady ;) Suzi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stella180 View Post
    I am a master of trying to do the right thing and getting it drastically wrong. I am Martha.
    No, because you don't stand and shout about all you do and belittle someone else for doing nothing....
    Do a little of something that makes you happy every day!


  6. #25
    Princess Sparkles Paula's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OldMike View Post
    As someone who first was believer then an atheist and is now in the don't know camp Paula I find the extracts you've posted from the bible and your interpretations very thought provoking, thanks.
    Thank you, Mike, that warmed the cockles of my heart

    Quote Originally Posted by Suzi View Post
    No, because you don't stand and shout about all you do and belittle someone else for doing nothing....
    Couldn’t agree more!
    The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

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    Suzi (22-02-21)

  8. #26
    Boss Lady ;) Suzi's Avatar
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    I'm really enjoying this, I've never done any bible study apart from the "Live Lent" app that I've used for this year and last year. Thank you for this. It makes it so much more accessible and less stuffy or cliquey or scary itms?
    Do a little of something that makes you happy every day!


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    Paula (22-02-21)

  10. #27
    Princess Sparkles Paula's Avatar
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    Good, that’s what I was hoping for
    The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

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  12. #28
    Princess Sparkles Paula's Avatar
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    Luke 11:1-13
    [1] One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” [2] He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. [3] Give us each day our daily bread. [4] Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. ' ” [5] Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; [6] a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.' [7] And suppose the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' [8] I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. [9] “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. [10] For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. [11] “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? [12] Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [13] If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

    How to pray:

    It’s something that pretty much every Christian struggles with, so Jesus has provided the perfect framework.

    Martin Luther, in the 16th century, in response to a question from his barber on how to pray, wrote a 7,000 word booklet entitled A Simple Way to Pray, around the lines of the Lord’s Prayer. I’ve read it, it’s not that simple and some of it is not appropriate for life in the 21st century, but the principle behind it is good - use the lord’s Prayer as a basis for your daily prayers. After all, that’s what Jesus intended
    The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

  13. #29
    Boss Lady ;) Suzi's Avatar
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    I'd never thought of using the Lord's Prayer as a basis, then branching off... I've been trying to follow this for a while now and I find it makes things much more accessible for me..



    I'm not sure I get where the loaves fit, but I'm going to carry on thinking about it for a while..
    Do a little of something that makes you happy every day!


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  15. #30
    Princess Sparkles Paula's Avatar
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    Luke 11:14-26
    [14] Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. [15] But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” [16] Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. [17] Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. [18] If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. [19] Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. [20] But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. [21] “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. [22] But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder. [23] “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. [24] “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' [25] When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. [26] Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

    It took me years to get even the slightest handle on this. Jesus is responding to the claim that he was working with Satan by asking why, if that was the case, would he be casting out one of Satan’s evil minions (and not the cute, yellow kind!). Instead, he is storming the strong man’s fortress and throwing out his possessions - showing he is so much stronger than Satan could ever be.

    I need to say here that the Bible is not suggesting that everyone who is unable to speak has a demon inside of them. Luke (who was a doctor) is not attributing physical illness or disability to Satan - but that this particular man’s issues were rooted in a demon. The thinking, generally, is that Jesus’s presence on this earth upped Satan’s game somewhat, causing some to be possessed by a demon. I know all this sounds like the basis for a horror film, but if you believe in God, and the Son of God, of course you believe in Satan.....
    The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

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