| Author | Message | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1876 Registered: 12-2003  |
So very true! Colleen | ||
| Tisha Registered user Username: Tisha Post Number: 38 Registered: 3-2005 |
Susan, I'm keeping you and your son in my prayers. God knows just what you need to get home safely. Flyinglady, I pray for your and your sister that she will see your witness and be open to finding a true relationship with Jesus. Sabra, my heart goes out to you and I will keep you in my prayers. I know God has plans for you beyond all your dreams. Keep trusting in him! I know just how damaging emotional abuse is. I was in an abusive marriage for 20 years. I used to think that if I had a black eye I would be able to see and prove abuse! As it was, I couldn't actually see anything and so doubted my own reality! My friends couldn't see anything wrong and thought I was just crazy. When I finally got the courage to "name it" and asked for counselling, my husband immediatly filed for divorce. It turned out that he had another home and another woman in another state and she didn't know about me, or our children, either! I wish I had trusted my instinct and ended that marriage years earlier. But I didn't believe in divorce. Now I know that sometimes that is the only way to stay alive. It also was the catalyst to really question God - I had been praying for my marriage and when I didn't work out I was ANGRY at HIM! But He let me rage and cry and finally I came to know Him in a really intimate way. If I had stayed in my marriage, I don't know if I would have been brought to my knees in true surrender! God does work things out in the way that is best for us. Update on my mom - she is getting better and seems almost back to her old self. She went to Church with us this week and did well. God is so good! -tisha | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1438 Registered: 3-2004  |
Susan, Sabra, and Belva, You are all in my prayers. I could have annulled my marriage, but because the SDA's frowned on divorce, I did not do it, as I wanted to be a good Christian-SDA brand. But as Colleen has said, God has redeemed the past. He will do the same for each of us. He is an awesome God. Diana | ||
| Melissa Registered user Username: Melissa Post Number: 858 Registered: 7-2003  |
Sabra, I have a cousin and we pray her husband stays in jail. 8 of his last girlfriends have ended up in the hospital because of him, and my cousin is too scared to get a divorce blaming his outbursts on drugs. He's got 4 more years, and we hope she wakes up before then and gets "outta dodge". It is amazing to me what psychological damage can do and how long it lasts, and how we justify it. I still have to tell myself it is not "turning the other cheek" to be emotionally or psychologically abused. Sometimes I think our churches worked harder teaching women to "submit" than teaching men to love their wives as Christ loved the church. I see that changing in more recent years, but still see people talking about a woman's place as being inferior. What a story you have, Tisha. Thank God for delivering all of us. Sometimes I feel I went from the frying pan to the fire with B, but as you said, I also have an intimacy with Christ I probably never would have been driven to otherwise. | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 229 Registered: 7-2000  |
As I stated earlier, I lived this nightmare as a child. My mother was one of those abused women who stayed in her marriage despite the constant physical mistreatment. Sadly, many battered partners choose not to get out. Staying is a choice - a choice that demonstrates that both parties in such a destructive relationship are equally sick. The battered spouse may get powerful feelings of overwhelming relief when an abuse incident ends. He/She becomes addicted to that euphornic feeling. Thus, the abuser holds the key to the partner's feelings of well-being. And of course, the abused partner is shell-shocked. For more practical information on this subject, and how to help those caught in such situations, I recommend the paperback book "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker, particularly Chapter 10, "Intimate Enemies." In that chapter he lists 30 reliable indicators that a person, male or female, has the potential to be or become an abuser. Bob | ||
| Sharon_m Registered user Username: Sharon_m Post Number: 2 Registered: 1-2002 |
My prayers are for each and every one of you. Sabra, You may not remember me but you sent me a lot of scripture references several years ago. Shortly after I came out of the SDA church. I am sorry I did not keep in touch. I went through a very dark time but have came through the tunnel. I will pray that your tunnel will be short lived. Your are such a blessing to me. God be with each one here and pour out your blessing and peace into their hearts. | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 1794 Registered: 11-2002 |
The car troubles were taken care of. It cost me almost all of the money I have for this month but the good news is that the auto repair shop guarenteed the parts and labor for 60,000 miles, which should be around three years. Sadly, I didn't make it to visit my son and I know he's concerned but I wrote to him telling him what went wrong. Now, since this is the prayer site I will share with you my experience from last evening. On Monday evenings I attend the prayer and praise service over at the local Catholic church. The group is sponsered by Father Roy who has his ministry from somewhere in the Southeran California area. He has a website that can be gotten to from the search aspect on the computer. These are charasimatic Catholics. They do the "talking in the Spirit" prayer. Frankly, I have never done that but I like being around it. But, only at the Catholic church. The more Penticostal type of churches kind of scare me. I tend to be very reserved, especialy with religious expressoion. Anyway, there are several regular partisipants of the group who honestly have a hotline to heaven. One lady who had not been to the group for several months stressed that the Holy Spirit pushed her to come last night because someone who had a troubled heart would be there and she needed to do an annointing of that person and He whould tell her who it was at the meeting. Then at the service she said to me, "Susan, the Lord has told me you need a healing annointing. You have been troubled in your heart." I was just overwhelmed. It was so true. I had a healing annointing with the Holy Oil and the Sign of the Cross on my forehead. I was so at peace. Then this morning I went to visit with the person who I'd been having social/emotional problems with and that person was so nice to me that I knew immediatelly it was The Power. It was funny though when one of the men who was laying hands on me asked the Blessed Mother to interceed on my behalf. Someone interrupted him and said, "Susan doesn't believe that way. She's Lutheran". The man just said, "That's o.k. She can believe however she believes. I'll still ask the Blessed Mother to seek intercession for her." Then someone asked me if that was o.k. with me. I just said, "I'm not convinced about that but honestly I can use all the intercession I can get so go for it." And, they all started going not only to Mary on my behalf but to Saint Jude, the Patron Saint Of Lost Causes, St. Joseph, I guess all of them. It was very powerful and I got to thinking about the lady who the Holy Spirit told her to bless me. That to me is a gift of prophecy. Sometime later this summer I will be spending a weekend up at the monistary. The brothers up there are in a comtimplative prayer order. Upon entering the premisis one takes a vow of silence and devotes themselves to prayer. The monistary is only around 20 miles from my house. Also, Father Roy is coming to my area to do some healing services and annointings. It's truly wonderful. Diana, does you uncle do these things? | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1885 Registered: 12-2003 |
Susan, pleaes don't hear me trying to negate God's peace in your heart. Jesus is all-powerful, and the Father is ours! We can address Him directly with no go-between. I do want to caution you, though regarding praying to saints for intercession. Such a concept is simply not in the Bible. Jesus taught us to pray directly to our Father, and Romans 8:26-27 says that when we do not even know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit Himself "intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." He "intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." We have a completely open access to God when we are in Christ, and the Spirit of God Himself intercedes for us when we feel helpless to pray. Introducing intercession by saints puts "mediators" between us and God. The Bible is clear that we address God directly. As far as the gift of prophecy goes, however, I do believe God can grant another believer the ability to know when someone needs prayer. Praise God for blessing us through each other! Colleen | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 395 Registered: 7-2004 |
Colleen, I do so agree with your final sentence. I have experienced that type of knowingness throughout my life. I've had family members who knew exactly when to call me, and more or less what to call me about, and when that occurred it felt rather spooky, but nice--a sort of connectedness. For instance, when I was 22 I was in a traffic accident and broke my leg. It was impossible for me to contact my family 1200 miles away that night, so I called the next morning. My mother answered, and the moment she heard my voice she asked, "What happened? It was last night around sunset, right?" Like I said, spooky, but it made telling her what had happened a lot easier. Even now, especially with the members of my small group, we find that we are, from time to time, calling one another just to convey a "feeling" that we get about them. For us it validates our spiritual connection to Jesus and to each other as a support group. This, I believe, is a true blessing from The Holy Spirit. Belva | ||
| Sabra Registered user Username: Sabra Post Number: 346 Registered: 10-2001 |
Hi Sharon, I do remember you and I'm so glad to see you here! Thank you all for your support and prayers. I am so completely HAPPY it's just weird! I have had a cloud of doom over my head for so long and I guess I couldn't see it until it was gone. I have an appointment with an attorney tomorrow am, had one yesterday but I blew him away with the details and he referred me out--HA! Young guy, just scared him to death! This other guy is much cheaper, said he would work with me on the $ and that's a really good thing. Please keep praying that Ricky doesn't get out any time soon. Susan, I know and believe that God meets us where we are. I don't pray to any saints but He uses all people of all religions to reach us where we need to be reached. Stay in the word and just ask Him what He wants to do with your life, I believe He has a great plan for you! Love you all! Sabra | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 1796 Registered: 11-2002 |
No, I do not practice that aspect of prayer. However, if others want to do that for me then it is on them. Here's the way I see a lot of it. The Catholic Bibles and the Orothox Bibles have many more books in them than do the traditional Prostestant Bibles. I have read most of those books, actually read them with the purpose of studying them. If those books are believed to be truly part of the inspired holt scriptures then it is easy for me to understamd how a person would believe in intercession of the departed saints. Also, even purgatory. Frankly though I do not practice that. However, I am very drawn to a formal worship service, a comtemplative type of service, and at formal worship the lurtigical format. I attemded the Quaker meetings regurally for several years. Their service is 50 minutes of group silence. Then potluck and then 50 minutes of discussion but the discussion is interesting in that each person gets to speek only once so the person had best say all they have to say at their one and only time to speek. After everyone has had a chance to speek it's over and everyone leaves. I like quiet and I like formal. The way the Catholics talk in the Spirit is like sweet music to me. I have been in Penticostal type of church services and I get frustrated and I get a headache. I have been in what they call praise services and that's not much better. It's like organized chaos. However, since that prayer service the person I was in great distress over has been lovely to me and I know it's because of opening up my heart in the prayer service. | ||
| Sabra Registered user Username: Sabra Post Number: 347 Registered: 10-2001 |
See, We're all different and God gets to us all somehow. I love it loud! You would probably hate my church and I would definately hate formal and quiet---YUCK!! LOL!! I do wonder from time to time about the possibility of some sort of purgatory from a few verses in the bible, it's one of those things I'm just not convicted of, but not closed minded either. Different members, one body. ;) | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 240 Registered: 7-2000 |
Sabra, regarding purgatory, which Scripture verses suggest to you that it may be true? Bob | ||
| Sabra Registered user Username: Sabra Post Number: 349 Registered: 10-2001 |
I'm at work, but the one about 'turn them over to the torturers to destroy the flesh so that the soul might be saved----I know that is not a quote by any means, and all of the references to refining fires and such. | ||
| Riverfonz Registered user Username: Riverfonz Post Number: 253 Registered: 3-2005 |
This happens to be a national day of prayer for our nation, at this hour, so please be in prayer for our nation's leaders. Stan | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1900 Registered: 12-2003 |
Thanks for the reminder, Stan. Do you mean 1 Corinthians 5:4-5, Sabra? "When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord JEsus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord." This verse refers to putting someone in deliberate sin out of fellowship. There are a couple of ways it can be translated. It can mean that putting him outside the fellowship of the church abandons him to Satan--he's now in Satan's territory. Another way it can be interpreted is that Satan is allowed to afflict him thus, hopefully, bringing him to repentance. The general point seems to be putting an intractably sinning brother outside of fellowship for the purpose of affliction, thus ultimately restoring him to fellowship and preparing him for the Day of Christ by bringing him to repentance. Colleen | ||
| Speakeasy Registered user Username: Speakeasy Post Number: 222 Registered: 9-2002 |
To all! I need your prayers. I have totally left all churchs. I have struggled for more than 5 years on all church doctrine. I have given up on finding a church and friends inside the church and also a relationship with G-d that I can grow with him. When you can't find a starting point with a christian and a point were you can build a bridge that you can agree on . Then what is the point. If you know what I mean. In the 5 years of searching and studying and since I left my Jewish roots 5 years ago I have not grown in anything spiritually. I have lost all of my family and any friends that I had at the temple that I went to are all long gone. There is at this time no one in the last 5 years I have been able to turn to for guidance. I hate to say this but I had a better relationship with G-d when I was active in my Synangogue than I have since I left and excepted Jesus as the Messiah. I don't wat to go back. So prayers I am in need of. Thanks speakeasy | ||
| Riverfonz Registered user Username: Riverfonz Post Number: 255 Registered: 3-2005 |
Speakeasy, Thanks for sharing from your heart. My prayers go out to you that you will find the fellowship that will help you grow in grace and knowledge of the Messiah. He is faithful to his promises. Shalom, Stan | ||
| Greg Registered user Username: Greg Post Number: 116 Registered: 2-2005 |
Speakeasy, my prayers are with you. Please accept Psalm 22 as my prayer for you. This is taken from the Tanakh, a Jewish translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. My God, my God, Speakeasy, you are not alone. God loves you and I lift you up in prayer. If you want to talk sometime, please email me: entole@gmail.com Greg | ||
| Sabra Registered user Username: Sabra Post Number: 350 Registered: 10-2001 |
Praying for you, Speakeasy. Maybe God wants you to know that you need only Him. Colleen, That is one of them, and I understand your explanation, there are others that are more confusing to me, I'll get some time tonight and post them. |
