My comments link is confused; people make comments and then is disappears - so frustrating.

Thanks Tim, things are already looking up.

Thanks for the well wishes.

Yes, of course. I won't be able to have them finished by Tuesday, so pay me when they are completed. Do you need them for next Saturday? I can have them ready by then.

Angelika, that is so fantastic. He has a ministry of reconciliation, which he gave for us to do also. Amen to much prayer!

The message is addressed to the church, not to individuals who are supposedly unsaved. If things were right with that church, Jesus would be with them already, not asking to join them.

The beauty of the message is that it's not too late for the church to invite Jesus back in, but the sadness is that he's on the outside at all.

Someone who knocks at the door, instead of automatically entering suggests that he might not be welcomed.
And it certainly speaks to a break in the relationship.

I like the Quakers and much of their theological foundation but they also missed the point. Jesus is on the outside of the church - what's wrong with that picture?

We call ourselves the 'church age' and yet Jesus isn't even in the church. What we've been eating and offering to others is stale bread. When the church finally begins to receive to themselves and offer fresh manna (bread = the word of God), then I think there will be an incredible return back to God and to the church.

I truly believe long for a relationship with God but for people like yourself, it's much more plausible to believe there is no God, rather than accept what the church has been offering. It's a disservice BUT I believe the end time prophecies where signs & wonders will increase and cities and nations will repent and believe in God again and will have a real relationship with a God who really exists and his love will be made manifest through a reformed church.

I'm laughing because I have nothing witty to retort with.

Heehee, thanks for the well wishes. I'm back in the land of the living but it was a doozey.

I'm still working this out myself, so bear that in mind while I try to respond.

You are correct in saying every individual must stand before God by their own accord, but forgiveness does not equal salvation. Sin isn't what keeps us out of heaven; not believing Jesus is the son of God and making him Lord of our lives is what keeps us from heaven. That is another topic on its own.

What do you think Jesus meant when he said in John 20:23? I believe there is a responsibility for those who are Christians to forgive others so the judgement of God will be removed from them - like the story of the woman caught in adultery.

Jesus' ministry is primarily one of intercession and reconciliation, and that is also supposed to be our ministry. Jesus came to reconcile everything that was lost in the Fall. Communion with God was not the only thing that was lost but historically, the church has stuck to this one aspect and disregarded our responsibility for reconciliation of person to person, person to nature, person to himself.f

Moses, when he first was leading the people out of Eqypt, he complained about the wayward Israelites. If God had offered to Moses to start over with him, Moses might have considered and then the people of Israel would be judged and condemned as they deserved (the establishment of guilt is not the issue) BUT in Exodus 33:12-17, Moses is standing in the gap (intercession, which is what forgiveness does) and God relents from his decision to destroy the faithless people.

Other incidences where such as Nehemiah who prays a prayer of confession, seeking forgiveness on behalf of the people so that the judgement and destruction planned is turned away.

When you had a problem with your neighbour, I asked for your forgiveness on behalf of her. You refused, saying it was not me you were angry with and yet, the Bible tells us by faith, it can be finished.

Canada's treatment of First Nation peoples was terrible but through a national apology to the tribes, we see things are mending and improving.

What we loose on earth, is loosed in heaven and what we bind on earth is bound in heaven. As a Christian, I believe strongly that my actions on earth have an eternal consequence (good or bad). God is eternal and we are created in his image, eternity is written on our hearts.

I don't know if my response clarified anything or made it more confusing. I'm really seeking to understand Jesus and know what it means to live as Christ (Gal 2:20)