| Author | Message | ||
| Chyna |
thanks for the encouragement, Maryann. i've been sending him e-mails of studies i've been doing on sabbath, michael the archangel, etc., and he told me he was going to be passive aggressive about it and not read them. i just hope that he doesn't delete them, and one day, when he reads over them, maybe some light will start to dawn. all i can think right now is that he is the one missing out. i'm prayin', Chyna | ||
| Billthompson |
Chyna, SDAs do not like to read negative things about their church. Many if not most have refused to look the evidence of EGW's plagirarism in Walter Rea's book. Even though it has been out for 20 years. They prefer to read SDA rebuttals to this book without ever seeing the book itself. Rea's book made national headlines and was a great embarassment to the SDA church in the early 1980's. In 1889, almost 100 years earlier, however, D. M Canright wrote of her plagiarism in his first book, "Seventh-day Adventism Renonunced" and later around 1919 he published a book about Mrs. White where he covered this in greater detail. His books went through many printings and were widely read by people outside the SDA church but people indside the church were afraid to even touch his books believing he was demon possessed. If SDAs had read his books in 1889 or 1919 they could have saved themselves the embarassment of the 1980's. I imagine many will not touch Rea's book for the same reason, they think he is demon possessed. I've spoken with him personally. He sees what he did as a favor to the church, so they'd know the truth about her writings and not go on believing a lie. A crucial point here is the fact that most SDAs have no assurance of their salvation. They fear they could lose their salvation if their faith is weakened, thus they'll avoid anything threatening their beliefs. A firm assurance of salvation would solve many of these problems. I feel they could be more open to honest investigation of facts if they did not fear losing everything, lifestyle, friends, family and even salvation. To be fair, probably no group likes to hear things which challenge their long held beliefs. It is very frieghtening to have to rethink some of these things. For me though it was much easier when I got the "main thing" (assurance of my own salvation) firm in my mind then exploring other doctrinal areas was not nearly so threatening. I try to talk to people about their salvation first. Try to help them reach a frim, solid assurance of their salvation first and then these other areas are easier to talk about. Secure In The Finished Work Of Christ, Bill Thompson | ||
| Colleentinker |
Good advice, Bill! So true. Colleen | ||
| Billthompson |
You'll find it hard to stick to the basic gospel message when talking to most SDAs. They will almost always want to brush past that and go on to discuss the sabbath, health issues, state of the dead, etc. We must understand why. These peripheral issues are familiar ground. The gospel message is what they really need most, it is the "main thing". Never allow them to just quickly agree that salvation is by grace alone and then forge on into debatable issues like the sabbath. Go back again and again to the basic gospel message, see if they truly have assurance. If they do not work on that and nothing else...NOTHING else! If you think about it (I know this from doing it the wrong way many times) it is very cruel to come in and destory the things they were trusting in without first giving them a firm foundation in the gospel. This will wound them deeply and possibly drive them away from Christianity altogether if you are successful in destroying their faith in their denomination without first seeing to it they are FIRMLY grounded in their relationship with Christ and have solid assurance of their salvation. Again, I learned this by doing it the wrong way and in recent times (I've been a Former SDA for 21 years now) I have had much better experiences and seen a much greater harvest by sticking to the basics of the gospel for a long time. Most of the time that is all I have to do. Lead them to a firm assurance of salvation and the Holy Spirit takes over from there, the vail is lifted and suddenly they are seeing things the same way I do on these peripheral issues without our ever having to debate or argue them. This approach relies more heavily on our own trust in God and belief in what we are preaching when teach about salvation by grace alone, the sealing that takes place at salvation, sealing by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can open eyes that our arguments and debates would never open. Learning As I Go, Bill Thompson | ||
| Sherry2 |
Lori, your story is such an encouragement again. Is there a chance I could e-mail you personally from time to time - a sounding board and help to keep me on track with my SDA hubby? I left the church in May so this is still new ground for me. Anyhow, if you'd like to, my e-mail is SherryL233@aol.com. Thanks! | ||
| Chyna |
Lori, that was an awesome testimony. Dear friends, I have a prayer answered :), well partially, but in a good partial way? I'm applying to medical school right now and OHSU needs prove of my residency that I need to send in with my application. while I have been trying to get my applications out as soon as possible, it seems like one thing or another hinders me from finishing them. anyway, I was all set to send them last night when I realize I didn't have proof of my residency! I couldn't find my green card! (i'm canadian btw) so I had my mom send three and I kept the one at home. I only needed a photocopy of my card for evidence, and I thought my workplace had a copy but when I asked them they didn't have it :(. but my mom called and left a message saying that we do have a photocopy of my alien card (yup I'm a resident alien), phew. praise God, He takes care of me. Chyna p.s. also pray i find the card too, coz i have to renew it. | ||
| Louise |
Heavenly Father, Thank you for showing me that I needed to leave the SDA Church. The final red flag you showed me was that my beloved husband would never have assurance of his salvation as long as he was SDA. You know I wanted to just "slip away", but that was not Your plan. Your plan of extensive research & PERMANENT separation is much better. Thank you for my husband's love & support during this difficult time for both of us. Thank you that he has been willing to share my research & that he will separate from SDA soon. And special thanks that You have now given him more than 90% assurance of his salvation. During this time, You have wooed me & taught me to trust You more. I love You, my Awesome God. | ||
| Louise |
Father God, thank you for also bringing my husband out of SDA. | ||
| Maryann |
Hi Guyz, I just got my lab results and the problems I was worried about were negative;-)))))) Patti, My prayers are still with you and your brother Jerry. Maryann | ||
| Max |
Praising God for you, Maryann! | ||
| Cindy |
Maryann, I'm happy for you and your lab results! I feel energized just reading about your adventures! You are a very interesting woman with all the things you can do... and experiences you've been through! Grace always, Cindy | ||
| Patti |
Good news today! Jerry's vital signs are all stable, normal and strong. They are discontinuing 24 hour dialysis and going to 4 hour dialysis, hoping that his kidneys will kick in. They were concerned that he had not responded since the anesthesia was discontinued yesterday morning, but they got a response from him today. And both eyes are dilating simultaneously. My sister-in-law said the blood count looked good also. So we have indeed had a miracle! Praise God! Now all we have to do is conquer the leukemia. Fortunately acute leukemia is much more curable than chronic. Thank you for your prayers. I feel very blessed this evening. | ||
| Cindy |
Patti, Hi...I pray that God's Presence and Peace will be real to all of your family at this time. Glad to hear that your brother is doing better. Grace always, Cindy | ||
| Maryann |
Hi Patti, I'm so glad to hear that your brother is doing better;-)) Your sis.....Maryann | ||
| Patti |
God is good. Dear friends, I didn't make it up to the hospital today, but I will give you the word on Jerry according to my sister-in-law. He opened his eyes today and responds to commands, such as blinking, moving his jaw, etc. He still has not shown any movement below the neck since Saturday when he moved his right leg twice. They are hoping that he is just fighting off the anesthesia still. Liver function still not good. Still on dialysis. All other vital signs still strong. PLEASE CONTINUE PRAYING THAT HE PICKS UP NO INFECTION FROM THE VENTILATOR (or any other source, for that matter). His wife will give WBCs tomorrow. Hopefully I can give the next day. (The blood bank misplaced my test results. They told me that they will know something tomorrow.) I was very depressed last night. I sat me down and had a little talk with the Lord. I told Him I felt like I couldn't take much more. Well, you know the saying; be careful what you ask! Today He proved to me, not only that I can take a lot more, but also that He is the One in control, that He can be trusted, and that my priorities were a bit skewed and I am being very selfish. My sweet Dutch hubby had a car accident today. He hit a 10 ton flatbed truck with a backhoe on it in a Geo Metro. (Fortunately it was not the other way around.) The truck ran a red light. Ron was following me to Denny's for breakfast. I went through the light and Ron was following me. I heard a crash and saw the little green Geo doing circles on the pavement in my rearview mirror. A moment I do not care to relive EVER. If I had been going through the intersection slower, I would have been plastered by the truck on my side of my van; if Ron had been a half second earlier, he would have been plastered. As it is, our poor little Geo bit the dust for a final time. If the devil was out looking for victims today, I am glad God gave him the Geo instead of my sweet hubby. Ron ended up in about a 6 foot culvert and had to be pulled out. Fortunately, he had the presence of mind to turn the car off and take the keys out. So we waited until the EMTs got there and pried the car door open. They took him to the ER where he was X-rayed and released. He is very very sore, especially on his left shoulder and back, but it appears, at least at this time, to be soft tissue injuries only. The state trooper told us that he didn't know whether we were religious people or not, but if we were we should drop on our knees and thank the Lord for His merciful deliverance of Ron today. Our poor Geo never had a chance against that truck. God has been so good to me. I cannot tell you how thankful I am to Him today. Not only for Ron, but also for Jerry's steady progress. I believe that He will pull Jerry through this one; He has a purpose for him yet on this earth, as He does for Ron (and me, also, I suppose.) Please continue praying for Jerry. And please send up a multitude of prayers of thanksgiving for Ron and me this evening. My older brother and my mother will be coming down on Wednesday, so please remember them in your prayers. I have told the Lord that I have learned my lesson now; no need to test me further! :) I will be going up to the hospital tomorrow and will send you more details tomorrow night. Tonight I am so thankful that Jerry is conscious and that Ron is alive and griping! And our prayers are with each of you wonderful people who have been so supportive. With love, Patti | ||
| Maryann |
Hi Patti, You said: "I have told the Lord that I have learned my lesson now; no need to test me further! :)" Please don't think any of this is your fault! Please don't think any of this is specificly for the purpose of teaching YOU a lesson! Remember Romans 8:28: (NIV) "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." For some reason, even though we both believe in grace + nothing = salvation, we still don't see eye to eye;-) BUT, I will say that I believe with all my heart that you love the Lord with all your heart. I have a bit of mouth surgery to deal with tomorrow so will try to get back with you on your questions as promised in a day or two. I'm so glad that Ron walked away from that near canning experience in the Geo!!;-)) That sorta goes with the Van accident you had earlier this year with your daughter!!! God IS watching over you and yours and has a plan for your life. As to Jerry, wow, what an experience for your whole family! It must really be difficult to hold still and watch God in action;-) Upward and onward.......Maryann | ||
| Denisegilmore |
Dear Patti, I am so grateful to the Lord that He is watching over Jerry and also for you and your husband Ron! Let us all praise His Mighty Name! Things, like Maryann quoted, do work out for the good for those in the Lord. Amen, amen and amen. Through all of this I can imagine you are all taxed to the hilt but never ever forget that our Lord God will ALWAYS be with you. I smiled while reading your post knowing that He is in control and showing Himself in mighty ways. Praise Him, all you people, Praise His Holy Name. God Blesses us so much. And too, I'm always blessed to hear of His ways. I'll bet that state trooper had something to talk about at dinner tonight! :) God is good. Love in Christ, Denise | ||
| Cindy |
Dear Patti, My thoughts and prayers are with you. I know the gratitude you have that Ron is alive and with you, (even "griping"... ;-)))). Life is so fragile. We all need to remember to treasure each moment with our loved ones. We really do not know what a day may bring. I read somewhere that we can even live life more devoutly by realizing it could be our last day! Remembrance of death acts like a filter... helping us to hold on to the essential, and let go of the trivial. The assurance that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" really is wonderful! The diffficulties of life have overwhelmed me often, especially in the last couple of years; I cling to these promises of God so much! Psalms 142:3 "When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way." Grace always, Cindy | ||
| Patti |
Thank you, Cindy. I am a very grateful wife today. (Even with the griping being worse this morning! :) Thank you, all of you, for your prayers. Patti | ||
| Chyna |
hi everyone :) well ... i'm back from Thailand and what a really wonderful time I had there. letsee, first I thank God for the time I got to spend with the cool missionaries (and my own consideration to being a missionary also) second for all the ways I got to plant seeds with my thai family. I had the most wonderful time in Thailand probably mostly because of them thirdly God totally protected me in Thailand when I was traveling alone for the last week I was there. fourthly for the strength that God gave me to finish up my opposing SDA webpage and the courage and the constant prayers to be bold enough to send it to my ex and his family and friends. and fifthly, I thank God for healing. all of you know I was suffering from a broken heart, but now I think if not fully healed, I'm patched and on the mend. only this week i finally wrote down this: 1. he is a cultist 2. he broke up with me b/c I did not want to become a cultist (there was nothing wrong with me) 3. he does not want you and then i did a brief paragraph of thinking of how it isn't even proper of him to want someone who isn't an Adventist. and finally, then I could: not want him. part of me is sad that it is a true statement, but i know it will make me happier because even though I know for sure God will bring him out of Adventism (i have faith, and i pray constantly for him), i think it was a real toll on me wondering whether i should wait for this man that i love when he has already rejected me and totally cut off all ties to me. but now, i feel good about not wanting him, before i thought b/c i loved him i still had to want him to be a really important person in my life, but now I see that I can only give him to God. love, Chyna |
