bible-truths.com/forums

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Need Account Help?  Email bibletruths.forum@gmail.com   

Forgotten password reminders does not work. Contact the email above and state what you want your password changed to. (it must be at least 8 characters)

Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: I'm a new member  (Read 6473 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

doug

  • Guest
I'm a new member
« on: April 06, 2012, 09:21:32 PM »

Hey!

I'm Doug, a first year "baby boomer", retired, single, former church member (Reformed Protestant), former Harold Camping follower (severely chastised for date-setting).  Am presently not aligned with any religion, church fellowship, group or tradition  - only with Jesus Christ  - the Way  - the Truth  -  and the Life.  I currently reside in Ohio, the mid-west, USA. 

Within the past decade the Holy Spirit has shown me the truth of one God (no trinity), soul sleep (no souls now in a place called heaven or a pagan place called hell) and a progressive salvation (ongoing sanctification with the Lord  -  it's not a one time deal).  and within the past year I have been pondering the scriptures for "universal salvation" as opposed to my current understanding of annihilation for the un-saved after judgment.  O course that would then entail a major paradigm shift in my view of judgment for the unsaved, a millennial reign (or some equivalent period) for what I used to call the "non-elect" of God who then after judgment would have been annihilated for all eternity.

So then, after I do my research on the web for biblical terms and bible study, I had the site of L. Ray Smith bookmarked for quite awhile now and have just recently returned to read his bible studies and apologetics and am convinced he (LRS) teaches with the correct hermeneutics and am now seeing through God's progressive revelation that there is another piece of the puzzle, if you will, into the understanding of the unfolding of His plan for all eternity.  I basically agree with all of the tenants proposed (tremendously difficult to find a like-minded believer with the same biblical understandings) and see more clearly now this doctrine of universal salvation by comparing scripture with scripture.

Hopefully now the Holy Spirit has shown me a path (through much prayer and supplication) to more understanding of the "meat" contained in His Word and to apply His Logic when He says to "come, let us reason together".

Logged

Dave in Tenn

  • Bible-Truths Forum Member
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4311
    • FaceBook David Sanderson
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2012, 09:54:01 PM »

Good to meet you, Doug. 
Logged
Heb 10:32  But you must continue to remember those earlier days, how after you were enlightened you endured a hard and painful struggle.

Rene

  • Administrator
  • Bible-Truths Forum Member
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1531
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2012, 10:04:42 PM »

Hi Doug,

Welcome to the forum. :)


René .
Logged

Kat

  • Guest
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2012, 10:37:37 PM »


Hi Doug,

I'm glad you have joined us  :)
Very few of us here have others in our area that we can study with, but God does provide and I believe the forum has been a tremendous blessing for me. It is a great place for like minded believers from all over the world to fellowship and study and "reason together." It's nice to sit down with somebody and talk, you can see their expressions and hear the inflections of their voice, it's easier to communicate, but there are people at this forum that have become very dear friends even though we can't meet in person.

Here are links to the different boards that you can look into when you so desire.

Check out the forum rules, it will help you understand how this forum is moderated.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3.0.html
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,4558.0.html
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3614.0.html

General discussion board, this is to ask questions and discuss what is presented at the Bible-truths.com site.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/board,3.0.html

Child board for General discussion board - FAQ
(most frequently asked questions)
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/board,23.0.html

Forum Indexes & Info.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/board,14.0.html

Ray's Videos
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,8227.0.html

Ray's Audios 
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,2641.0.html

Ray's 2008 Audios
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,8256.0.html

Transcripts of Audios
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/board,12.0.html

Off Topic board, this is to discuss things that do not directly relate to BT, you will find a good bit of humor here.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/board,4.0.html

child board on Off Topic board
Inspirationals, Writings, Poems, Etc.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/board,15.0.html

Testimonies / Prayer Requests / Fellowship board, this is mostly for personal posts.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/board,5.0.html

Child boards (only available to members) on Testimonies board
Who Am I? (members pics and other stuff)
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/board,16.0.html

Members Recipes, for sharing recipes and food tips
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/board,22.0.html

mercy, peace and love
Kat
Logged

deblynn

  • Guest
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2012, 02:03:00 AM »

God bless ya, Doug.  Welcome.
-Debra
Logged

cherokee

  • Guest
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2012, 09:09:02 AM »

Hey Doug,

Welcome to the forum from South Central Kentucky.
Glad to have you here.

Blessings,
Suzie
Logged

arion

  • Bible-Truths Forum Member
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 736
  • Marquette, MI
    • Big Bay Michigan Weather
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2012, 09:15:26 AM »

Welcome to the board from another Doug.  I think you'll find that many of our testimonies are very similar.  I came across the BT website through the tithing paper teaching and the author nailed it and bookended it and I couldn't argue with it.  Then I started reading about universal salvation and no 'hell' as I understood it and thought Ray to be a heretic.  But about 6 months later I 'stumbled' across the website again and started to go through the Lake of Fire series and the scales fell off my eyes as it were.  And as they say the the rest is history.  That was about 6 years ago.  Needless to say a lot has happened in these past 6 years.  It all harmonizes so wonderfully now and all the apparent contradictions of the bible and the contradictions of the Christian teachers have melted away in the refining fires of God's truth.
Logged

doug

  • Guest
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2012, 10:16:28 PM »

Hey Everyone!

Very friendly community indeed!  Glad to be here!  I'm sure I'm going to spend countless hours reviewing videos and discussions.  If I see where I might contribute some ideas I will jump in.  I'm fairly "low-key" as I have never been a bible teacher or even one to seriously debate an issue for that matter, but I do consider myself  an informed student of the bible... correctly informed? Well that's a different matter :).  Anyhow - thanks again for your warm welcomes.

Thank you web-masters, Dave in Tenn, Rene', Kat, for your courteous invitations to this forum community.  I was questioning myself why all the protocol in the procedures to join.  Now, through briefly checking out this thread on new member introductions, I understand it is to keep the "flim-flam", "carnal minded" and "spiritually immature" out.  There are certainly thousands of other places for them.  I can see where some here have gone through trials of fire to remove the dross.  Wow! Doesn't God surely know what He is doing for His saints for the next era!  Sometimes very painful now... but on what bliss there is to be!

Also web-masters, this is my first time on a forum of any type and I'm still going to have to figure out what all these "gadgets" on this and other pages are for and how to copy and paste other's responses to my replys.  This is embarrassing for me to say but it even took me ten minutes, or so, to figure out how to get where I was supposed to send my greeting up above.
Question: where do you stand on allowing teaching by women over the internet?  (I'm for but most "reformed" forums and even some blogs are against). Any teachings you can send me to?  I'm sure I'll find out when I navigate past threads but have you had a discussion on "when you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place...  flee to the mountains"? Or "has the church age ended for true believers in this sinful and apostate time"?

Debra ~ Hi, nice meeting you!

Suzie ~ Hey! nice meeting you also.  We're almost neighbors!

Doug - Thanks for your testimony as how you found the BT website and what it means to you.  My dad was a michigander and I have spent many a summer as a boy near Jackson.  I can pick a Michigan native from a crowd by their accent.  I also "love" the U.P. and have vacationed there several times.  I believe I even camped at a state park near Marquette.  Lake Superior is very cold swimming!  Nice meeting you.

Janie ~ Your sharing about HC and the 15 yrs. is worth alot to me!  Sometimes as negative and hurtful times tend to make one hold back with sharing that experience (it does me), it may mean well to others by encouraging and building them up to "keep on keeping on".  And that is what your sharing has done for me.  I would appreciate it if you would share even more of the positives and some of the negatives about that time.  I could discuss and listen to your experiences for hours and I also could probably write a book on the 18 yrs. that I was a "campingite" and diligently "tithed" to that "ministry".  I thought I was on the pinnacle of my learning experience while listening to the Open Forum radio program every night for an hour and a half. God reminded me - oh so wrong - you never get there in this life. Thank you so much for your encouragement to the future blessings of this site.





Logged

Dave in Tenn

  • Bible-Truths Forum Member
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4311
    • FaceBook David Sanderson
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2012, 02:59:37 AM »

Hi again, Doug.  It's almost time for me to shut my 'puter down, but I wanted to address one thing.  Maybe another can answer you about materials here that adress your doctrinal questions.  If not, feel free to post them in the "General Discussion" area.

The 'sign-up' regimen isn't so much there to keep people out, but to ensure that those coming in are aware of the purpose of the forum.  "Carnal minded" and especially "spiritually immature" are relative terms in this ongoing process of salvation, I think.  Though I'm all for keeping flim-flam artists out.   ;D  Even they can join, if they are willing to abide by the rules.

It's not too difficult to figure out the gadgets.  The 'quote' button is top/right of the box you want to quote from.  Just make sure you type after the "[/quote]" tag, or your words will appear in the 'gray' also.   
« Last Edit: April 08, 2012, 03:03:25 AM by Dave in Tenn »
Logged
Heb 10:32  But you must continue to remember those earlier days, how after you were enlightened you endured a hard and painful struggle.

Dave in Tenn

  • Bible-Truths Forum Member
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4311
    • FaceBook David Sanderson
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #9 on: April 08, 2012, 06:12:21 PM »

Here's a link to the thread GodIsGracious referred to.

http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,13301.0.html
Logged
Heb 10:32  But you must continue to remember those earlier days, how after you were enlightened you endured a hard and painful struggle.

doug

  • Guest
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #10 on: April 09, 2012, 12:36:49 PM »

Hello Dave

Thanks for looking up and sending me the link to the testimonies thread.  I read them all and maybe I will contribute mine someday.  Possibly it could edify someone.  I know I am inspired by reading them.

Hey Journey!  Nice meeting you too!

If you don't mind me saying ~ I would like to "steal" your nickname.  How true and appropriate it is for our lives!  I meditate on my journey alot.  I've seen this name "journey" elsewhere (very recently infact) on the web and I believe regarding to a news article I had read.  It was from a commenter with your name who gave an answer that was from a "christian" perspective which made it stand out to me.  I am wondering if that was you?

Your name also stands out to me because I was going to use that as my "trail name" when I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in '09.  But, instead I used the name "Watchman" because I wanted to spread (please don't laugh or ridicule  ;D ) the (false) information/declaration to "repent" Judgment Day was coming and the "Rapture" would be here on May 21, 2011!  (I hear you! I told you not to laugh!)  I repeated (in a more lengthy version) written in all the shelter journals and to those who I had met through all the 14 states.  Hope I never have to bump into those people again.  Especially the atheist I had lengthy discussions with!  God continues to teach each of us many lessons on our "journey".  I never want to be humiliated again by sticking my neck out as a date-setter!   I followed a wrong teaching by a well meaning person along with thousands of others by ignoring plainly stated scriptures and also unknowingly "twisting" many others for what I thought for sure was the "truth".

Again, thanks for your welcome Journey. 




Logged

Kat

  • Guest
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2012, 01:51:20 PM »


Hi Doug,

Don't beat up on yourself too much over your church past, I was in church 25 looong yrs. We need that dark backdrop, we all have personal experience in being deceived now, we can relate to those still there very well. It will also give us a love for the truth (when we finally see it) that we could not have had otherwise. After those church yrs this truth is so preicous to me, that I cling to it/God with all my strength and heart, soul and mind too :D  It will do that to you, praise God!

mercy, peace and love
Kat
« Last Edit: April 13, 2012, 09:12:28 PM by Kat »
Logged

chav

  • Guest
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #12 on: April 10, 2012, 03:39:02 PM »

Hi Doug
Welcome to the forum.I always enjoy reading about other peoples experiences of finding the truth.

Dave
Logged

mmijares

  • Guest
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #13 on: April 13, 2012, 08:58:41 PM »

Hi Doug,

Welcome to the forum!

Indeed, that God will save all is the grandest news ever.  My "born again" friends could not believe that I no longer believe in hell... prompting them to send me links of youtubes, testimonies, etc. of those who allegedly saw, experienced hell.  Wow!  From my end, I just sent them Ray's latest article about hell.

I'm glad I have been freed from such doctrine (even the doctrine of total separation and annihilation) and now able to share and teach the good news of God's love to my wife and children.

Regards and see you more here in "home"  :)

-Mike
Logged

indianabob

  • Bible-Truths Forum Member
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2144
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #14 on: April 17, 2012, 03:20:11 PM »

Hello Doug.
I'm from Northern Indiana and have relatives near Detroit,MI.
Background is Presbyterian, Methodist, Worldwide Church of God (30 yrs.)
Released from slavery in 2000 and been making some progress ever since on BT.
Hope to hear more from you and share some of the challenges of our journey of faith.

Regards, Old "indiana bob"
Logged

iris

  • Guest
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #15 on: May 13, 2012, 06:58:40 PM »

Hello Doug,

Welcome to the forum!
Glad your here.


Blessings.
Iris
Logged

doug

  • Guest
Re: I'm a new member
« Reply #16 on: May 15, 2012, 09:22:48 PM »

Hello Iris ~

Thank you for your welcome and yes I am glad to be here too!

I am also happy to hear that your recovery from the hospital is a positive one.

Well, it's that time of year for me to get out all of my hummingbird feeders and supply those beautiful little creatures with some sugar water.  It looks as though you enjoy them as much as I do.  Not knowing where you live, I get the Ruby Throats which are the only ones east of the Mississippi River.  I've even gotten some to land on my finger!  I climbed high upon a tree once and retrieved a used hummers nest which I have on display in my humble abode.  It is about the size of a half walnut shell made of lichens and spider webs.  Pretty neat!

I never did tell Kat that I have also put up dozens of Blue Bird houses and they too are one of my favorite birds.  I love to hear their "truely"-"truely".... "truely"-"truley".  Lets you know that spring has arrived!

Later.... doug
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
 

Page created in 0.042 seconds with 24 queries.