Under @ MindSay

I am blessed beyond measure. I have been able to slep, picked up on overtime and have had more peace in the last week that this entire drama. I came home the other night to Mr. Howard once again smoking in the shared portion of the house, but i did niot say anything...did not even bother to look at him. You know when you see someone that you can tell is a little off, special or just straight mean? Well I have decided thats him. I will pray for him as well pray him out of my life, but other than that I am free.

The count down has started and I have five days to go till the fall of the wall, I can see the sunrise and the sunset and its a blast!

Ok, like the only  reason i said i was drunk was because i am acting really like CRAZY!! but i guesss that dosnt mean that i am drunk but... you know what forget this shit cause i am getting real confused but whatever the next blog  i write it will be  alot better!!

I haven't been on here in a very long time. And in that time I have changed a great deal.

I have found the absolute love of my life. But, I didn't know he was. He was always in my life. Always making me happy. Always helping me with any problems. But I turned him away when he told me he loved me... because I was immature and stupid. He was different. He didn't dress like everyone else, he didn't think like everyone else, he was his own person, but I didn't want that because I was afraid of what people would think. So, I told him he was like my little brother. And that's what he was for a few years. And then... I went to a movie with him and his friend. The movie turned out awful so we talked the whole time. And then I realized this boy was the one I'd been looking for and he was right here under my nose the entire time.

It will be six months on the 17th of this month. The longest and happiest relationship I've ever had. I may be young, 18, but I know that if everything works out the way we both want it to, he will be in my life forever. No matter what. And we'll be happy and have a wonderful life together.

This is the first relationship where I've never had any doubts. And I'm going to hold on to this for as long as I can, which if it were up to me, would be the rest of our lives.

I looked away  

 Then I looked back at you   

You try to say   

The things that you can't undo  

 If I had my way   

I'd never get over you   

Today is the day   

I pray that we make it through   

Make it through the fall   

Make it through it all     

And I don't want to fall to pieces   

I just want to sit and stare at you   

I don't want to talk about it   

And I don't want a conversation   

I just want to cry in front of you   

I don't want to talk about it   

'Cause I'm in love with you     

You're the only one   

I'd be with 'til the end   

When I come undone  

 You bring me back again   

Back under the stars   

Back into your arms     

And I don't want to fall to pieces   

I just want to sit and stare at you  

 I don't want to talk about it   

And I don't want a conversation   

I just want to cry in front of you   

I don't want to talk about it   

'Cause I'm in love with you     

Wanna know who you are   

Wanna know where to start   

I wanna know what this means   

Wanna know how you feel   

Wanna know what is real   

I wanna know everything   

Everything 

I'm in love with you   

I'm in love with you 

This item is available on the Apologetics Press website at: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2966

AP Content :: Bible Bullets

Two Different Questions: What and When?
by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

“Do you believe that baptism is essential for salvation?” “Yes.” “So you believe in water regeneration?” “No.” “But you believe that you must be immersed in water before your sins are washed away?” “Yes.” “So you believe that the power to wash away your sins is in the water?” “No.” “How can you say you do not believe in water baptismal regeneration if you think that a sinner is not saved until after he is baptized?” “Because when one is saved and what saves a person are two different questions.”

The Bible makes clear that Jesus saves. “[A]ccording to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5). It is by His grace that we have hope of eternal life (Ephesians 2:5,8-9). We are “justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:9). We are “redeemed...with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). “Jesus Christ...loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5). As Jesus ate with His disciples the night before His crucifixion, He said, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). What is it that saves a sinner from eternal separation from God? What is the remedy for sin? Without any doubt, “the blood of Christ” is what saves us (Hebrews 9:14). The idea of water having some kind of spiritual regenerative power is never taught in Scripture, nor have I ever met a member of the Lord’s church who believed such.

Another question altogether is when something happens. Naaman was healed of his leprosy (by the power of God!) when he washed in the Jordan River seven times (2 Kings 5:1-19). The blind man of John chapter nine was healed of his blindness (by Jesus!) when he washed in the pool of Siloam. And what about a sinner? When does the blood of Christ save one who is separated from God spiritually? The answer to that question is found in such passages as Acts 22:16 and Acts 2:38 (among others), which discuss water baptism. Once Saul (later called Paul) came to believe and confess that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, and expressed sorrow for his sins (cf. Acts 9:5-11), Ananias, whom God had sent to Saul, instructed him to “arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). A sinner has his sins washed away when he is “baptized.” [NOTE: The participial phrase, “calling on the name of the Lord,” describes what Paul was doing when he was baptized and had his sins washed away (cf. Acts 2:21,38)—see Miller, 2003; Lyons, 2004.] Sadly, many have read Acts 22:16 and rejected the necessity of baptism because they approach their study of this verse with the wrong question in mind. This verse does not tell us what saves, but rather when a person is saved, i.e., has his sins washed away. Passages of Scripture such as those previously noted (e.g., Matthew 26:28, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Revelation 1:5) answer what saves, but in order to find out when a person is saved, one must consult passages like Acts 22:16 and Acts 2:38.

In short, the blood of Christ is what saves a sinner. But the blood of Christ washes away sins when a sinner confesses faith in Christ, repents, and is baptized “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 22:16). May God help us to understand the difference between what and when, especially in regard to salvation.

REFERENCES

Lyons, Eric (2004), “Calling on the Name of the Lord,” [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/597.

Miller, Dave (2003), “The Bible is its Own Best Interpreter,” [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2293.

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