Posts by Craig.Geel (Page 12)

Q.    I’m more attracted to same sex people than to those of the opposite sex. How should I handle those feelings? A.    First and foremost, realise that Man’s improvisations on, and departures from, God’s original intention for His creation, always end in disaster. You owe it to Him to fulfil HIS plan for your life! A glance at 1 Tim 1:8-16 will show you that God knows that you will face the temptation to stray from Him and His ways…

Q.   What are the Fruits of Righteousness? A.   1 Cor 1:30 tells that Christ is made unto us, amongst other things, Righteousness. More than giving us Righteousness, He Himself is our Righteousness. That Righteousness should produce Fruit means that it has Life within itself, which confirms that it is the Life of Christ in us. The Fruit Righteousness produces is the very Fruit of the Indwelling Christ, the Fruit of the Spirit of Christ according to Gal 5:22-23 is love, joy, peace,…

Q.    How Many Baptisms Are There? A.    There are actually four Baptisms that must be considered. The word ‘baptism’ originates from the Greek word ‘Baptizo’ which, according to Thayer, means ‘to dip, to immerse, to submerge, to overwhelm.’ Strong’s adds ‘to make fully wet’. The first is Baptism into the Body of Christ and is the ‘one baptism’ mentioned in Eph 4:5, and expounded upon in Rom 6.This most important Baptism brings about salvation. Rom 6:4-5 Therefore we are buried…

Q.   How can I forgive when there’s no apology? A.   Choose to forgive. Develop a forgiving heart.  Then forgive as Jesus forgave you. He’ll enable you if you’re willing. Jer 33:1-9 Col 3:13. – Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Forgiveness is not inherent in the nature of Man – until he receives the Lord’s forgiveness. Have you been forgiven? Act as an agent…

Q.   Can I forgive one who has betrayed me if he is not repentant? A.   Were we to wait for those who have hurt us to repent first, we will almost certainly wait a long time. We also give ourselves ‘reason’ to remain bitter the rest of our lives. And there is already too much of that in the Church while the secular world speaks of reconciliation. Jesus taught that we should love our enemies, pray for them, and do good to…

Q.    Re ‘Forgiveness for the Unrepentant’, what about how to deal with offenders, unrepentance, and redressing the aggrieved party? A.   You’re quite right; we dealt then mainly with our responsibility to live forgiven and forgiving. Living in unforgiveness, we spread bitterness and “defile many”. We also block God’s forgiveness in our own lives. See Matt 6:14-15; Heb 12:14-15    Our last sentence said, “Accountability and correction are related issues …”, and here is some teaching on how God’s people should deal with…

Q.   How Can I Be Forgiven – and Feel Forgiven? A.   If you desire to be forgiven it’s obvious that you need to be forgiven. All of us have sinned and need to be forgiven – Rom 3:23.    God’s requirements for forgiveness are: Confession and Repentance. Tell God how you have sinned and how sorry you are for your sin. Then ask Him to change you and help you to turn away from your old life of sinning. He will do it!…

Q.   In the last days there will be False Prophets deceiving many. How would we recognise one in an Assembly, and what should we do? A.   You are right; there will be perverse men who will rise amongst us to do their own thing, seek prominence and draw people away after themselves – all for personal glory. And 1 Cor 11:19 says not to worry; ‘For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest…

Q.    Prophesying is ‘tops’ in our Church – but it’s just like fortune telling. A year ago a lady told us that we would own a house and have two of our own children – we can’t have any! To support her prophecy she told us many things about us that were true. I know she acts supernaturally but how can I tell if it’s of God or not?  A.   1 Cor 14:3 says, He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to…

Q.   Is it right to use the term “Easter” to celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection? A.   The only reference to Easter in the KJV Bible is in Acts 12:4 and should more correctly be stated as “Passover”, from pascha. Easter was originally a pagan festival honouring Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of light and spring. Sacrifices were offered in her honour. She, Eostre, Easter, has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus, His Resurrection or His people. We are wise to refer to Passover or The…

Q.    Would God ever ask us to do wrong? In Gen 22:2 He asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. A.    No, God will never ask us to do evil. But he will push to the limit the boundaries of our commitment to him. The first words of this chapter – “after these things that God did tempt”, (Some time later God tested Abraham) suggest that God never intended the sacrifice to take place. The point was the test:…

Q.   I’m gay, hate being gay and don’t know how to not be gay. I have no reason to live and want to end my life. Physically and sexually abused as a teen, I lived in a pigsty of group homes where the abuse continued until I finally prostituted myself with men before I turned 20. Now I have full-blown AIDS. Doctors told me that my death wish would soon be fulfilled and Christians hated me even more. The churches I…