| Author |
Message |
Darrell
| | Posted on Friday, April 06, 2001 - 1:23 pm: |     |
For information on how to get the Matthew videos check out the Heavenly Conspiracy Foundation website. They are now offering them for only $30! I would highly recommend them even at 3 times the cost. |
Violet
| | Posted on Friday, April 06, 2001 - 3:56 pm: | |
Thank you so much for all of the imformation. I don't know what I would do without you all.
I run into a friend from high school yesterday, raised SDA, but questioning, her husband is Baptist. Please pray with me that she will be satisfied with Jesus only. I refered her to this web site and also Grace Place. Hopefully we will see her on the forum.
In Christ
Vi |
Lydell
| | Posted on Friday, April 06, 2001 - 6:30 pm: | |
Darrell, have you ordered from these folks before? How reliable is the "4-6 weeks" delivery prediction. |
Violet
| | Posted on Sunday, April 08, 2001 - 2:57 pm: | |
I spent about 4 hours yesterday at the local SDA church. They had a state wide youth musical program. My niece was in it. The program was nice, but way too long, 2 1/2 hours. As I was reading through the program I found the usual but they had inserted a quote. You guessed it the quote was not a Bible text but a quote from Education. Inbetween the songs they gave out temperance awards for posters and essays, ect. They read one of the essays, it was on smoking. The youngster said that smoking caused "moral decay". Now I know smoking causes a lot, lung cancer, shortness of breath, and a host of other problems but "moral decay"? I wonder where he found that "fact"?
After the program was over I stayed to talk with some old friends from school. One woman was concerned about what to do with her 7th grade boy. He had to skip the 6th grade because he was not being challenged and wanted to skip the 9th. And go to boarding school. Mom was concerned that when she went to this school back in the late 70's there was pot smoking and sex that it would even be worse now. And that the other option was another boarding school right in the same town as the SDA college. She called it Sodam and Gomorrah. When I asked her what was the enticement to spend 5-8K a year to send her child there instead of the solid public school here in our home town, she said, "well he will have a better chance of marrying an Adventist and staying in the church".
I wanted to shake her. It never ceases to amaze me if Adventism is so great then why do they have to go to such great leangths to keep the children in the church. Must they have those extra years of brain washing, instead of securing thier kids a solid eduction?
The longer I am out, the more I see, I wonder how I could of been so blind for all of those years. |
Colleentinker
| | Posted on Sunday, April 08, 2001 - 9:24 pm: | |
Violet, I know exactly what you mean. We are in the middle of our elder son making college choices for next year. The process outside Adventism is much different from inside. Outside, you have to apply to all the schools you might wish to attend and wait to be accepted. Then you choose which one you want to go to.
It was a noticeable shift of attention, a couple years ago, when we began to realize that college would no longer be an extension of our denominational experience. College, in Adventism, was the place where you married an Adventist and laid out the course of your life within Adventism.
At first we shifted to thinking, "He'll go to a good Christian university." Now, however, we realize that college isn't necessarily what guarantees if your child remains or marries a Christian. We have all been praying about where he should go and what he should major in, and Richard and I are both beginning to realize that God has our son's life in his hands. He has a plan for him, and He is sovereign to reveal it. To our amazement, we are finding ourselves at peace with the idea that he may go to a public university.
He wants to be an engineer, and the Christian university he most wants to attend does not offer an engineering degree. Richard and I are coming to terms with the realization that our son's experience with God is real. We really do not fear that he will lose it because of his environment. Further, we don't have to manipulate his environment to ensure that he meets a Christian wife. God knows whom he should meet when, and we can leave that in His hands. Further, if he goes to a public university, he would still live at home and be involved in a ministry internship under the tutelage of an awesome youth pastor at our church. He also wants to do graduate work in a seminary.
So, we still don't know which school he will choose. But this is one more area in which God is calling us to submit to him and trust him. It is so wonderful to know we don't have to manipulate our circumstnaces anymore! God is in control, and if we let him lead, he will. He loves us more than we can love each other, and he will guide us to what will be best for us.
By the way, Violet, a huge percentage of kids who go to Adventist schools do not stay Adventist. And most who leave do not become Christian. They fall away into nothing, unable to believe Adventism and unable to leave.
It's such a challenge to let go of our control and trust God with our kids, our careers, our choices.
Colleen |
Darrell
| | Posted on Monday, April 09, 2001 - 11:10 am: | |
Lydell, the "4 - 6 weeks delivery" from Heavenly Conspiracy Foundation is generally very pessimistic, and is in case something needs to be back ordered. I gave one person involved a call and she said they have Matthew in stock now and it takes about a week to ship. When I have purchased material from them it was not shipped, since I occasionally meet one or two of the people involved. |
Sherry2
| | Posted on Monday, April 09, 2001 - 11:28 am: | |
Have you blessed an Adventist today? :)
With Val's topic here, I have been studying more about what it means to love your enemies. Love agape is based on goodwill and action, not feelings necessarily. It was interesting to note that when he said love your enemies, Jesus then lists 3 things in the next verse - sort-of like "and here is what it looks like". I've been repeating daily to myself "Bless and do not curse" and asking God for ideas to bless an SDA every day. Love is cultivated in the soul. I think reading in Cor. and Acts where both mention the veil being over the hearts of those who read the law of Moses every Sabbath, I came to realize how it is possible for Stephen and Jesus to both ask God's forgiveness for they know not what they do. If they are blind, then they are blind. How can they see what I see till the veil is ripped away? I found that when I see it that way, it takes the bitter edge off, and I can say those words myself. I'm sure someone has had to pray that for me before too...praying forgiveness for me 'cuz I didn't know what I was doing that was so hurtful to them. I've got such a long way to grow in His love. Some days I'm so discouraged by the ugliness that still is in me. I just read "Fresh wind, fresh fire" by Jim Cymbala. And I see how desperately I need that fresh wind of the Holy Spirit, and how I need to be in prayer....Prayer prayer prayer...God says His house is a house of prayer...and in prayer the battles are won.
Blessings to you all! |
Sherry2
| | Posted on Monday, April 09, 2001 - 11:29 am: | |
By the way, thanks for your prayers, Colleen |
Violet
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2001 - 7:12 am: | |
Sherry, thanks for the tip on the book I just ordered it from the library. so I should be able to start in a couple of days.
This love is so beyond my comprehension, but just the thought of catching hold of just the tail end of it is so inspirering.
You just made me wonder who prayed for me to have the veil lifted from my eyes. One day I will know and what thanks I want to give that person.
I think this is going to be my new mission, praying for Adventists every day. Naming names and lifting them to the Lord. |
Colleentinker
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2001 - 9:50 am: | |
Good point, Violet. I remember Dale Ratzlaff saying once when he visited Redlands and spoke on Friday night that we need to pray for our Adventist friends.
"Each of you had somebody praying for you before you found the Lord," he said.
Oswald Chambers makes the point that a Christian's work is prayer. Many of us grew up thinking of prayer as a sort of esperate last-ditch effort that we had to do if we wanted results, but it probably wouldn't be very effective if we didn't help it out with our efforts.
Approaching God directly is what Jesus' death and resurrection were all about! We celebrate Easter this weekend because we can actually be in God's presence through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and we can speak directly to Him. Prayer is the most powerful "thing" available to us!
Colleen |
Lydell
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2001 - 3:50 pm: | |
Thanks for the info Darrell. I have been wanting those videos for a long time. |
Sherry2
| | Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2001 - 2:11 pm: | |
And if you ever want ACTS vidoes, the next part of the Visual Bible, I sell them. :)
It seems to me prayer comes before doing. I like to do before I pray....I'm not very submissive at that. And then when I've prayed in the power of the Holy Spirit, I've seen awesome things happened. And then it takes not thinking pridefully about. I pray to be humbled regularly cuz I need it. Human arrogance and self-righteousness are too instilled in me. But then I have to remember I am a new creature in Christ, and am dying to self daily. |
Sabra
| | Posted on Sunday, November 25, 2001 - 8:18 pm: | |
With the holidays coming, my SDA relatives will be visiting. This is going to be very uncompfortable I'm afraid. My mother has been better than I expected but she think this is a phase I'm going through. I guess, according to Paul, I shouldn't offend my neighbor (or mother) by watching TV on Fri. night or having bacon and eggs for breakfast. I'm hoping we can have a big, happy, enlightening bible study guided by the power of the Holy Spirit. I will keep in mind not to argue and pray to show love and a christian example. I have to admit, I feel towards the SDA's like I did the "Sunday keepers" when I was SDA. (treat 'em like the plague and keep my distance) ha! I know there is a dark spirit of deception working in them and I don't know how it going to react with the spirit of enlightenment in this house!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! bah humbug, not really, maybe I'm stressing for nothing.
Anyone else facing this? I don't know how long all of you have been out of Adventism, but I have just announced to my family recently, like 4 months ago.
Sabra |
Lori
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2001 - 7:03 am: | |
Sabra, I hope thinks went well with your family.
It is a stress to be around them at times. And there are certain things that you have to do in order to keep peace in the family!!
But on the other hand there are certain things that you must leave behind and make it known that you have left that behind in order to show that your confidence is strictly in Jesus Christ and not placed upon some form of self-righteousness.
I "made it known" to my family about two years ago. All hell broke loose!! My best friend relationship with my mother was shattered--things have improved but that relationship has not been restored to what it was. There are so many things that I can no longer share with her--all the wonderful things that I am finding in my Bible Study are "off-limit" topics. And Bible study has become a prominent part of my life over the last 5 years!!
My parents response to me two years ago was: if you reject the SDA doctrines than you are rejecting us. Period.
That was hard for me process at the time. I really didn't think they would do that. I thought they would have respected me--been more confident in my decision. I've always been "stable"--I thought that since I was telling them this that based on my past attitudes and behavior that they would see some validity in what I was telling them simply because it was coming from me. --I was wrong-- : )
I recently asked for my membership to be removed--I hadn't really expected much to be said from the church. I expected my request to be tabled, ignored, etc... Do you know what the pastor did?--he called my parents!!!! My parents "gave" him permission to remove my name-they told him not to contact me and not to prolong it.
I was livid!!! I'm 37 years old!!! I have been married for 16 years; I have children. I haven't lived under my parents roof for any length of time since they sent me off to school when I was 15! And, it really got under my skin that they were "giving permission" for my membership to be removed!
All this was brought to my attention by my mother the day before Thanksgiving. I immediately was bitter--I didn't want them to be around me and I certainly didn't want to have them attack me on Thanksgiving day.
But I'm thankful about what happened because I found out that I can give all those emotions to God. I repeatedly had to keep giving God the flood of bitterness and anger that I wanted to wallow in. But it worked!!! I was able to surrender all those emotions--I was able to put them behind me and by doing so I was able to greet my parents with the love God.
I had a really nice day with my family on Thanksgiving day. It was like things used to be!!! It was wonderful!
But the only reason it was wonderful was because the Holy Spirit was at work within me. If I had held on to the sin of bitterness and anger I would have ruined the day. But by giving those things over to God and acknowledging them as the sins they were I was set free, by the grace of God, from the bondage of those emotional sins!!
Hang in there Sabra!!! God has supplied you with every thing you will need--all you have to do is utilize it. And if you fail,(I have failed MANY times!!!) stand up, acknowledge your failure to God and press forward!!!!
Lori |
Sabra
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2001 - 4:40 pm: | |
Thanks Lori,
Thanksgiving was the easy one-in-laws which aren't SDA, the BIG ONE is coming at Christmas when my mother and step-father come. My cousin filled me in on the Thanksgiving gossip that went on. She says my mother is concerned but happy that I am apparently closer to God than I have ever been and she is sure the Lord will lead me in the "right" way. My cousin and aunt are very open-minded SDA's, like I said they go to a charismatic SDA church which is sure to be thrown out of the conference at any moment. They even go to the Church of God some Sundays to hear my 2nd cousin preach! They believe in speaking in tongues and not so sure of Ellen White, they wear jewelry and don't believe SDA's are the only ones going to heaven. Strange huh? Well, I know the Holy Spirit is working in their lives. They still hold on to the food laws and Sabbath-keeping but my mother on the other hand is sure we are all 3 lost! My cousin told her she would save her a spot in heaven when we all get there.
My cousin also told me that my mother has started wearing jewelry! That is a BIG shocker!!! I don't know what is going on!!! Maybe the Spirit is moving more than I imagined! I plan to keep the discussions to a minimum and try to enjoy the holidays! God Bless you and best of luck with your family too. I know if they see the light of Jesus in our lives they can't help but be blessed!
Sabra |
Rich_2
| | Posted on Monday, January 07, 2002 - 1:25 am: | |
Dear Sabra,
I'm curious where there is a charismatic SDA
church? I've heard of several but just
wondering if this is one I haven't heard of yet.
Bless you,
Richard |
Richardjr
| | Posted on Monday, January 07, 2002 - 7:18 am: | |
Rich_2, I have heard there is one in Oregon Ciy, Oregon. I have never attended. A person that is a member there states that it is a "charismatic SDA church". I have also heard there is one in the L.A. Calif. area. |
Sabra
| | Posted on Monday, January 07, 2002 - 4:46 pm: | |
Rich_2,
My cousin attends Mt. Dora SDA in Mt. Dora FL. They actually have a man who has been paralized for years walking. They have all of the praise music, believe in laying on of hands and speaking in tongues tho she says no one has yet. Her son is 12 and confronted the pastor with his understanding that the food laws were only given to the Israelites. The pastor kept putting him off (probably not knowing how his parents felt) and when he kept asking finally told him that it had absolutely nothing to do with your salvation and that yes, it was only given to the Israelites. WOW!! That prompted my cousin to schedule a meeting to discuss the information I've been sharing with her and her mother (my aunt) has accepted. I am anxious to see what he says. There's been some talk of them leaving or being asked to leave the conference. Pretty interesting! |
Grok
| | Posted on Monday, January 07, 2002 - 8:05 pm: | |
Hey Sabra,
I lived near Leesburg, FL for about 4 years...are you familiar with that part of FL?
Grok |
Lydell
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 - 6:14 am: | |
Doesn't it seem like all the congregations that become "charismatic SDA" eventually end up leaving the denomination? I think it has to be because they have invited the Holy Spirit in, and He immediately begins opening their eyes to truth. |
Lydell
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 - 6:15 am: | |
Doesn't it seem like all the congregations that become "charismatic SDA" eventually end up leaving the denomination? I think it has to be because they have invited the Holy Spirit in, and He immediately begins opening their eyes to truth. |
In_his_service
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 - 12:14 pm: | |
Hi Grok,
How exciting to have an EX-SDA in this area. I knnow a LITTLE bit about Leesburg. I live in Ocala. |
Grok
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 - 12:50 pm: | |
In_his_service,
I am so sorry to have led you astray! I lived in Orlando from 1967 - 1979, then near Leesburg from 1979 - 1982.
Now I live in NC.
I used to love driving to Ocala and looking at all the horse farms! |
Sabra
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 - 4:04 pm: | |
Grok-
I grew up in Orlando. Moved to NC to go to Pisgah in 11th and 12th grade, then went to school in Orlando again for a year and have been in Tn since I graduated from the grand Dental Assisting school! My aunt and Cousin have lived in the Leesburg/Tavares area for about 15 years and I know a little about it. Fl is a good place to be FROM! I love TN. |
Sabra
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 - 4:07 pm: | |
Lydell,
I think you are right about the Holy Spirit working to open their eyes, it is working!! Glory!! |
Grok
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 - 4:39 pm: | |
Sabra,
I lived on Lake Howell (Maitland) and went to Forest Lake to church. We had a summer home in Candler, NC and went to Pisgah to church during the summer!
Small world...when I went to the SDA church, no matter where I went, from the east coast to the west coast I always met someone who knew someone I knew. When I moved to NC, the first person I met at church was the niece of the pastor I had at the church I went to in CA.
Grok |
Sabra
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 - 4:44 pm: | |
I went to Forest Lake 10th grade....wild school!
You're right about meeting people, I go there to visit and still run into the same people, they kinda have to stay in their SDA community...Pisgah was actually fun, I loved the dorm life. |
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