Well why this question, it's been hashed and rehashed here several times and asked by another less than a week ago in a different thread, hope that future questions will be something new or at least different than what we've seen lately. Not complaining just saying I was hoping for something different than we've seen in a while.
I will start out as blunt as I always do, "no," there is nothing that can change my mind. I have a personal relationship with God and in that relationship I have come to know God is real with no doubts. So no matter what someone digs up, believes science proves or that history might indicate none of it can change what I know as fact. It would be like denying my own existence. I want to tell you all a little bit about my Christian experience with God. When I first joined the church I now belong to (many years ago) I was able to study with some of the most dedicated Christians I've ever known. After being with them for some time we were praying for a member who was extremely ill and our pastor asked God this, if you are not going to heal this person who is suffering so much take this person and relieve their pain and suffering. I was shocked because I had never heard this before and wasn't sure it was the right thing to be asking, I was thinking where is the faith we are suppose to have that God will heal. Within a couple of days this person died and of coarse the suffering stopped. What got me to thinking was this, the family was relieved that their loved one was gone and the suffering was over they knew this person would be with God for eternity and they were blessed to have been able to be a part of this persons life. This happened again just a little while later with another member with exactly the same results, the suffering was over and the family found peace. I now saw that the faith was stronger than I could imagine my pastor knew that God doesn't always heal and so he asked god for the next best thing, stop the suffering give this person and his/her family the relief and peace they need. It took a great amount of faith to pray such a prayer and it was public prayer that the family was able to know about. Not only did my pastor pray this prayer the second time but others were asking the same thing of God, to be merciful when healing is not in His will. I wanted that deep of faith and started praying for even greater growth and soon enough I was able to join in and ask the same from God and do it with no regrets. As had happened in the past the same was granted for others, God was showing His mercy to a church faithful enough to ask for it, yes a mountain was being moved.
Well then my own family was facing a situation of suffering, it was my own father who had expressed to us many years prior that he did not want any measures taken that would extend his life and cause undue suffering and it was for us he asked this, my dad was always thinking of others. Well one day I asked God to take dad if He was not going to heal him and allow him quality of life, it was not easy putting my selfishness aside to ask this but I knew what dad desired and I respected him enough to ask God to grant his desire for his family, soon he was gone and in peace and so was I, my merciful God had seen fit to grant us both what we desired. Did this make his death easy, no, but my family had a peace and understanding from God that was undeniable. Well this past weekend I came to terms with it again and asked God to relieve my mother's suffering, I've been watching her life deteriorate for sometime now and know she doesn't want to live like this, so instead of being selfish with my last parent I asked God to take her if He wasn't going to heal her. This morning, two days later I got the news that mom will not be with us much longer and I've seen her come to a peace and so have I. For a long time now I've lived with a burden of her suffering but this morning a peace has come over me and I know exactly where it came from, my merciful God.
I've experienced many undeniable answered prayers from God and of many different kinds of prayer, so soon I'm going to lose mom as I asked and yet i have found a peace in all of it, so if anyone ever thinks they can cause me to lose my belief, faith and trust in God then they will have to show me something greater than the works of God I've experienced in my life. It will be an impossibility. So guys if I'm suddenly missing you will know why. I could give other and different examples as to why I can not be swayed, but I thought this very personal testimony the best example I could ever give. Now you see why I'm not complaining about the question, God's timing is as incredible as it gets.
GC
I will start out as blunt as I always do, "no," there is nothing that can change my mind. I have a personal relationship with God and in that relationship I have come to know God is real with no doubts. So no matter what someone digs up, believes science proves or that history might indicate none of it can change what I know as fact. It would be like denying my own existence. I want to tell you all a little bit about my Christian experience with God. When I first joined the church I now belong to (many years ago) I was able to study with some of the most dedicated Christians I've ever known. After being with them for some time we were praying for a member who was extremely ill and our pastor asked God this, if you are not going to heal this person who is suffering so much take this person and relieve their pain and suffering. I was shocked because I had never heard this before and wasn't sure it was the right thing to be asking, I was thinking where is the faith we are suppose to have that God will heal. Within a couple of days this person died and of coarse the suffering stopped. What got me to thinking was this, the family was relieved that their loved one was gone and the suffering was over they knew this person would be with God for eternity and they were blessed to have been able to be a part of this persons life. This happened again just a little while later with another member with exactly the same results, the suffering was over and the family found peace. I now saw that the faith was stronger than I could imagine my pastor knew that God doesn't always heal and so he asked god for the next best thing, stop the suffering give this person and his/her family the relief and peace they need. It took a great amount of faith to pray such a prayer and it was public prayer that the family was able to know about. Not only did my pastor pray this prayer the second time but others were asking the same thing of God, to be merciful when healing is not in His will. I wanted that deep of faith and started praying for even greater growth and soon enough I was able to join in and ask the same from God and do it with no regrets. As had happened in the past the same was granted for others, God was showing His mercy to a church faithful enough to ask for it, yes a mountain was being moved.
Well then my own family was facing a situation of suffering, it was my own father who had expressed to us many years prior that he did not want any measures taken that would extend his life and cause undue suffering and it was for us he asked this, my dad was always thinking of others. Well one day I asked God to take dad if He was not going to heal him and allow him quality of life, it was not easy putting my selfishness aside to ask this but I knew what dad desired and I respected him enough to ask God to grant his desire for his family, soon he was gone and in peace and so was I, my merciful God had seen fit to grant us both what we desired. Did this make his death easy, no, but my family had a peace and understanding from God that was undeniable. Well this past weekend I came to terms with it again and asked God to relieve my mother's suffering, I've been watching her life deteriorate for sometime now and know she doesn't want to live like this, so instead of being selfish with my last parent I asked God to take her if He wasn't going to heal her. This morning, two days later I got the news that mom will not be with us much longer and I've seen her come to a peace and so have I. For a long time now I've lived with a burden of her suffering but this morning a peace has come over me and I know exactly where it came from, my merciful God.
I've experienced many undeniable answered prayers from God and of many different kinds of prayer, so soon I'm going to lose mom as I asked and yet i have found a peace in all of it, so if anyone ever thinks they can cause me to lose my belief, faith and trust in God then they will have to show me something greater than the works of God I've experienced in my life. It will be an impossibility. So guys if I'm suddenly missing you will know why. I could give other and different examples as to why I can not be swayed, but I thought this very personal testimony the best example I could ever give. Now you see why I'm not complaining about the question, God's timing is as incredible as it gets.
GC
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
