| Author |
Message |
River
Registered user
Username: River
Post Number: 5781
Registered: 9-2006
| | Posted on Friday, December 04, 2009 - 7:35 pm: |     |
And we have no other choice in life but to start from where we are.
This statement is taken from a website of a young woman who explains why she is still Adventist.
She explains how the Sabbath, being SDA, family, has give her education, life and happiness.
Her statement is correct when she said “We have no other choice, but to start from where we are, we cannot change the past.
But her reference to that statement is that she has no other choice, then to stay with the religion that bread her and raised her and gave her the Sabbath.
I am afraid that is not quite true, but it is typical of the crazy making thinking, and talk that proceeds from every Adventist I ever heard speak.
It is not about a church, and way of life that pointed her to the Lord, but a church, and way of life, that pointed her to the Sabbath.
She does have a choice; she can obey the word of God or the Seventh Day Adventist organization, and she can do that right where she is…today.
In the book of Acts, the Jailor asked this question Acts 16:30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
Acts 16:31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."
That was their answer, not happiness in the Adventist church, or any other church, not what the church has given, but what Christ has given, eternal life to those who would believe on him.
I am very sure this person has her own Bible; in fact Adventism is swimming in Bibles.
What will be the reason for not accepting what it says? I didn’t know better?
She stated that after so many years of asking questions…blah, blah, blah, and still an Adventist. I wonder what questions this person asked.
Was it “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” doesn’t seem likely.
What is more important, family, friends and church, or eternal life?
In the book of Mark we find a scribe answering Jesus…Mark 12:32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.
Mark 12:33 "And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
Mark 12:34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him.
The scribe was not far from the Kingdom Of God, he was getting ‘warm’ as we say, but what did he lack? I think it was belief in Jesus. Did he dare to believe in the God man that stood in front of him? The Bible doesn’t say, but I can imagine the questions that went thru his mind, do I leave family, church, friends, education to follow this man’s teachings? Accept this man as the Son Of God?
The young woman was not far from the real Jesus when she made her statement. Yet not there yet, because Adventism is too important to her, yet it will wither and disappear, and let her down at the most crucial time in her life.
Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may not come. I hope that at sometime in her lifetime, she will ask the right question, “What must I do to be saved?”
River |
8thday
Registered user
Username: 8thday
Post Number: 1367
Registered: 11-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 - 9:43 am: | |
This sounds very dangerous for her. She knows there are issues -but she is not willing to pay the price for honesty and truth.
re: Adventism is swimming in Bibles.
yes.. I believed that Baptists didn't read theirs, and if they only did, they would see the obvious.. that Saturday was the Sabbath, because that was the most important thing everyone needed to learn from the Bible- in order to not be deceived in the end.
I truly believed we were the true students of the Word. We ridiculed other Christians as "ignorant" because they didn't read the Bible (which sadly, most really don't), but ours were marked all through with our chain reference doctrinal studies. We knew our Bible!
That is what is so blinding.
I had my first ever dialog with an atheist last week. To me, the distinction seemed so much easier to make. I found so much joy in speaking of the joy and reality of God to someone who doesn't think He exists. Trying to open the eyes of someone who has a false "Christian" god based on twisted scripture seems so much harder - although it's probably not. But it's almost like an immunization. They got the killed version so the live one doesn't have any affect on them. I know atheists have false gods too - but the battle line is so much clearer.
I have been asking for God to bring unchurched unbelievers into my life that I can witness to, and He is answering that prayer for both my husband and I. We will probably go on a double date with a homosexual couple here after the holidays. God has brought them into my husbands life (met one of them at work) and he has had a chance to speak truth to them, in love - and God has given us a heart to show them the love of God. I feel like we are being moved into a new arena now - and that what I have learned here has really helped to prepare me for a wider experience in standing for truth than arguing with sda's. ha. Not that I won't always take the opportunities when they arise with families and friends - but my focus is widening. I am really indebted to this forum and the amazing people here for so much I have learned, not just in a knowledge sense, but just in my growth as a believer in Christ.
Love ya'll very much!
Sondra
(Message edited by 8thday on December 08, 2009) |
8thday
Registered user
Username: 8thday
Post Number: 1368
Registered: 11-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 - 9:47 am: | |
New sda female trio coming out with a new CD. They call themsleves "Twisted Scripture Sister"
haha. Sorry. I just couldn't pass that one up. :D
For those of you who were REALLY good sda's - and wouldn't know about such things - there was a heavy metal band in the olden days called "Twisted Sister." |
Bb
Registered user
Username: Bb
Post Number: 617
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 - 9:58 am: | |
" But it's almost like an immunization. They got the killed version so the live one doesn't have any affect on them."
Wow, that is a very profound thought, Sondra! I totally agree!
It's awesome that God is bringing these different people into your lives! May He bless you in this! |
Colleentinker
Registered user
Username: Colleentinker
Post Number: 10735
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 - 10:02 am: | |
Posted on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 - 10:02 am:
Ha!
I resonate with your "innoculation" metaphor, Sondra. I've often thought that false gospels innoculate people against reality. It seems harder to help someone see the truth when they have proof texts to support a false doctrine than if they come to the Bible without any previous belief.
Colleen |
Hec
Registered user
Username: Hec
Post Number: 834
Registered: 3-2009
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 - 10:20 am: | |
" They got the killed version, so the live one doesn't have any effect on them."
WOW! this is good. When one think about it, it's the way all cults operate. They kinda bullet proof their followers.
So, I have a new name for the evangelistic teams: "SDA immunization team."
Hec |
Doc
Registered user
Username: Doc
Post Number: 485
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 - 1:40 pm: | |
That is so true Colleen, and so sad. I am meeting with this right now, and from Pentecostals, not SDAs.
But God is working!
Adrian |
River
Registered user
Username: River
Post Number: 5784
Registered: 9-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 - 4:35 pm: | |
I was working with a man yesterday, somehow the subject of cults came up, and I explained to him a little bit about Adventism.
I also explained the difference between the old and new covenants. When you explain the new covenant, it is a wonderful opportunity to tell about Jesus.
I went from the old covenant to the new covenant and then explained how the Lord paid for our sins and the simplicity of the gospel.
It went so smoothly and I could have gotten the big head off that, I could have said, "River, you slipped all that in there so slick."
But I knew this man was listening closely as I preached to him the gospel of Christ, and I knew it wasn't me. God sent that man a message yesterday.
All I did was pick up my little water can and water a tiny bit. It is the Spirit that draws men to Jesus. God arranged it and all I did was flap my lips.
But is is fun to preach Jesus, when you know you have a captivated audience.
River |
Colleentinker
Registered user
Username: Colleentinker
Post Number: 10740
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 - 6:05 pm: | |
You're so right that telling the gospel is an amazing blessing.
Last Thursday, as we reached the date Proclamation was supposed to be mailed, we ran into a completely unforeseen hurdle. This crisis resulted in Richard speaking to the owner of the press that prints the magazine, and for 45 minutes the man asked Richard questions.
"Why do you produce this magazine? What motivates you?" he asked.
Richard replied, "We were raised in Adventism; we had a prophet, and we learned all sorts of things that aren't in the Bible. But we have found out what the Bible really says, and we have met the real Jesus of the Bible and the true gospel."
Then Richard said, "I don't know if you're a Christian or not…"
The man said nothing, silently waiting. Richard said to me later, "I don't think he's a believer."
At any rate, Richard continued to talk to the man: "In Christianity, assurance of salvation is a really big deal. As Adventists, we had no assurance that we were saved. Now that we have come to know Jesus, we KNOW we are saved. This is a HUGE deal!"
He also told the owner, "This is God's money, and this is God's magazine. He will take care of it."
The upshot was that between Thursday and Tuesday, the magazine was printed, labelled, and mailed...in an almost unheard-of minimum of days.
And in the middle of a potentially fatal [for the magazine] crisis, God provided an absolutely "random" opportunity to give the gospel to an unsuspecting man who needed to know Jesus. So we are praying for the owner to come to faith.
So, all this to affirm what you said, River--it is fun to preach Jesus when you know you have a captive audience!
God is faithful, even if we are faithless, for He cannot disown Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). We serve an awesome God.
Colleen |
Flyinglady
Registered user
Username: Flyinglady
Post Number: 7793
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 - 8:21 pm: | |
I love it when God gives me the opportunity to tell others about Him. Right now God has given me the job of telling others what adventists believe. I do that gladly as I do not want others to get caught up with them. The little brochure that was left in my door, I gave to the pastor who is my patient. I told him Nevada has been targeted. He ordained some new ministers and has told them about sdaism. Now he has something to show them. I am so happy when I am doing God's work. And Yes, we do serve a very awesome God.
Diana L |
River
Registered user
Username: River
Post Number: 5785
Registered: 9-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 - 9:41 pm: | |
Right now I am in a 'down turn'. If you don't know what a 'down turn' is, it is one of those times when you feel that God is far from you.
Yet even in those times, God makes a way to witness, or encourage someone, or to help someone in some other way.
I've got to remember to notify him when I am in a 'down turn'. Apparently he is not 'hip' to whats going on! 
River |
Colleentinker
Registered user
Username: Colleentinker
Post Number: 10742
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 - 10:48 pm: | |
River, I know that feeling. Yes, He's got you covered, River. Nothing can snatch you out of His hand. Just thank Him for that.
With prayers for you,
Colleen |
Nowisee
Registered user
Username: Nowisee
Post Number: 203
Registered: 5-2009
| | Posted on Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 1:07 am: | |
God is with you in your valley, River. Your stories really spoke to my heart (and your encouragement lifted me up) when I was in my 'down time' a while ago. Just a reminder that God is walking beside you, (and carrying you, and all of His children,) even when He seems far off.
For any of you that haven't read River's stories, I have to tell you that "Mr. Cherrybooks" and the one about the fields of grain (sorry, don't have the books near me right now to check up on the correct titles!) touched my heart. So, River, know that God has and is using you to minister to others when we are hurting and be encouraged!! I even thank you when you take us to task--and thank you, too, for sharing your gift of humor. |
Philharris
Registered user
Username: Philharris
Post Number: 1924
Registered: 5-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 5:22 am: | |
Well River & Y’all,
I also have “down times”. Right now I am somewhere in the middle but pointed up. Maybe I am different from most others but this is what “lifted” me last night:
I am at an age (probably right after I knew I “knew it all”) where I tend to forget things and struggle to at least get the important things done in a timely fashion. For instance, I should have insulated my well house piping last summer. Two days ago it hit the mid-teens and is still down there this morning. Anyway, I paid the price with frozen pipes and a heat strip that wasn’t working.
Anyway, how was I “lifted”?
Last night, I had a series of emails with Colleen that revealed her “human” side. She would have no idea how this “lifted me” and brought a smile to my face with a “Thank you Lord for giving us Richard and Colleen”.
Fearless Phil |
Gcfrankie
Registered user
Username: Gcfrankie
Post Number: 658
Registered: 1-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 9:54 am: | |
River,
I know that when I have a down turn and think God is so far away from me I have Footprints In The Sand hanging in my office and read that to remind myself of two sets of foot prints and then there is only one because Jesus is carrying me through those hard times.
Gail |
Hec
Registered user
Username: Hec
Post Number: 837
Registered: 3-2009
| | Posted on Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 11:49 am: | |
River,
God is with you. I will tell you something, and you tell me if this is coincidence or a message.
Today I went to the County Court Clerk to get a copy of my house Deed. When I was coming back, I saw a bird eating out of an armadillo that was killed on the road. At that point I said, I got to tease River on FAF about the road kill and ask him if he has a recipe for armadillo. Right there in the car, with my eyes open, I prayed for you, River. Is that a coincidence that the armadillo, road kill, reminded me of you, or was it a message that somehow I should pray for you at that time? You decide, but, please know that God loves you, and so do we.
Hec |
River
Registered user
Username: River
Post Number: 5789
Registered: 9-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 1:08 pm: | |
Hec,
It may not be too complimentary to me for the lord to use road kill to speak to you to pray.
But however he did it, its ok, I did need the prayer, because I have been feeling like a piece of road kill.
I don't think it was a coincidence you just don't know how much I appreciate the prayer's.
River |
Hec
Registered user
Username: Hec
Post Number: 839
Registered: 3-2009
| | Posted on Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 7:49 pm: | |
River, don't take it wrong. The road kill stuff is related to our joke about the 'possum. You're not the road kill, the 'possum, armadillo, is. We've been kidding about the recipes, and that's what came to my mind.
Hec |
River
Registered user
Username: River
Post Number: 5790
Registered: 9-2006
| | Posted on Friday, December 11, 2009 - 3:54 am: | |
I didn't take it wrong Hec, I thought it was kind of amusing and I knew what you meant.
River |
Colleentinker
Registered user
Username: Colleentinker
Post Number: 10744
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 11, 2009 - 3:25 pm: | |
River, I know what you mean. Isn't God amazing? He impressed Hec to pray for you when you needed it--and He threw in some humor along with the impression.
Speaking of "Hec", I'd say "hectic" describes our situation this past week or so. Goodness, everything converges at once! I am so thankful that God knows how to work with us to accomplish what He wants done and to teach us to let go of what is not necessary.
Sabbath rest is a miracle. If it doesn't work in the places our lives are most out-of-control, it isn't any good. But it DOES work in those places! His strength is made perfect in weakness.
I'm thankful to Him--not sure how to get through the next month or so, but thankful that the Lord Jesus is holding me in that deep place that used to feel relentlessly anxious.
He is good.
Colleen |
Asurprise
Registered user
Username: Asurprise
Post Number: 1116
Registered: 7-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, December 12, 2009 - 12:53 pm: | |
River, when I was a Seventh-day Adventist, I NEVER felt God's Presence and I thought that was NORMAL! It wasn't until I became a Christian that I even started to sense His actual Presence with me - not continuously, but from time to time.
Dave Wilkerson called those times where it seems He is faraway, as "dry spells." I think he said that God uses those times to "grow us" or something. Those times aren't pleasant, but they teach us patience and stuff. If I had heard about "dry spells" as an Adventist, I would have been totally mystified since I never sensed God's Presence anyway. |
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