Christian Chat

Hi @heartathome ,

Thanks for sharing! Excuse the slow response - I wanted to do a proper reply not a rushed cut off one.

I've only been to two churches that were into speaking tongues. The first one was a part of my finding the New Testament and Jesus. I think it was pentecostal. It was a huge church. It's where I got a copy of the New Testament. I remember a Bible Study with everyone babbling - I found it scary. Now, from reading the New Testament, I would consider it wrong - there's meant to be an interpreter. For a service two or three and only if there is someone to interpret. Even though I stopped going to that church I'm so thankful to that church that they gave me a copy of the New Testament!!!

The second is a much more recent experience. To their credit they stopped when there was no interpreter.

Street preaching is definitely extreme.

I think a lot of churches make the mistake of looking down at non-Christians. And it happens more than it should that that includes people who go to a different type of church. Churches have been known to encourage not honouring parents when the parents don't go to the same church. It's a serious mistake.

The level of control you describe is alarming. And the reaction to you leaving was disgusting especially with a three year old involved. But most alarming was them using prophecy in that way. You were right to get out.

Can I add one more item to the list the Christian Psychologist made. You're loved to bits by God. He adores you.

I found Jesus when I was eighteen. It was through the New Testament. One of the things I did was to take the time to read the New Testament before I decided which church. So I could assess the teaching - have some idea of whether what the pastor was saying was true or accurate or not. So I don't know what it's like growing up listening to sermons. Especially a fearful God sermons.

There's so much in your post. Thanks for sharing your church history.

I smiled at you saying you're the only smoker/vaper. That does set you apart. Christians are interesting on what we get stuck on. It's surprising how few Christians smoke.

Thanks again for sharing!

Jesus: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

I wonder what water Jesus was talking about in this sentence. Was He talking about water baptism? Even the Baptists don't believe water baptism is essential for eternal life. Is He talking about the embryotic fluid a child lives during pregnancy. Maybe. What do you think?

@Realness @DownMoreThanUp @ENKELI @Appleblossom

Thanks for replying @Realness

I did a bit of babbling myself. I agree with you about interpreting tongues in church. I don't speak in tongues anymore. I don't know if it was a gift from God, but I think He understands why I'm not taking any chances. I don't go into the subject much because it's triggering.

I'm glad you found Jesus, Realness. If you hadn't you wouldn't be on here and I would miss that!

Only our church and a few other Pentecostal churches would get to heaven in the 'cult'. The rest were luke warm and God would spit them out. Non-Christians were only there to witness to. Friends out of the church were strongly discouraged.

You're loved to bits by God. He adores you 🥹 I don't understand why He would but I'm extremely grateful! Without God, I have no hope of eternal life. What an amazing thing when God became flesh! He lived to die for us all! Dying just for me is another story.

One of the things I did was to take the time to read the New Testament before I decided which church. That was a very smart thing to do! I'm so glad you didn't get those sermons that concentrated on Gods wrath and fear. It makes it hard to see that God would love me or be happy with me as I am! I know it's all about who Jesus is and what He did for us. I know God sees us through Jesus. Like Thomas said, I believe, help my unbelief (something like that) I see myself as bad (in Jesus's eyes) while trying to like myself. It's not easy! I can spend too much time on myself and

Thanks for sharing your church history. I'll tell you how I came back to the Lord in a Buddhist Retreat in WA in the 90's in another post. That was interesting!

Thanks for being honest about me being separated from church people because of vaping. I agree with you that it does set me apart from the others! I have no plans on giving it up. If you knew of my past, it's no big deal. Plenty of other things out there that could take my interest!

I hope you have a beautiful, blessed day, Realness @DownMoreThanUp @ENKELI @appleblossom 💚

Hi @heartathome , @DownMoreThanUp , @Appleblossom , @ENKELI , @AlwaysMyself , @REDLINEZ750 ,

John 4

- Jesus' [disciples] baptising more followers than John the Baptist.

- Jesus leaves Judea to return to Galilee.

- Travelled through Samaria. Rests at Jacob's well around noon.

- A woman of Samaria come to draw water.

- Jesus: Give Me a drink.

- Woman: What are you, a Jew, doing talking to me, a Samaritan?

- Jesus: If you knew who I am you'd ask Me for living water.

- Jesus: Whoever drinks from the water that I will give them will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give them will become a well of water springing up in them for eternal life.

- Woman: Give me this water.

- Jesus: Go call your husband.

- Jesus tells the woman's history.

- Woman: Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Talks about Samaritans worshipping God on a mountain while Jews worship at Jerusalem.

- Jesus: But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.

- Jesus: God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth.

- Woman: I know that Messiah is coming.

- Jesus: I am He.

- On the return of the disciples the woman goes into town to tell Samaritans, "Come meet a man who told me all I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?"

- Jesus to the disciples who had been getting food: My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me and to finish His work.

- Jesus to the disciples: Can you see the harvest of people that is ready here?

- Jesus stays with the Samaritans for two days - many believe.

- Jesus returns to Galilee.

- Jesus heals a Royal Official's son by word: Go your son will live."

"True worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth." Isn't it great that we're no longer tied to a particular place like the Jews were tied to Jerusalem.

Hi @heartathome ,

Jesus: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

What was Jesus talking about?

I've looked it up in my two study bibles. As you'll see it gets a bit complicated but one of the possible explanations includes water being "the embryotic fluid a child lives during pregnancy" - see number 4 in the NKJV Study Bible section.

From the NIV Study Bible:

John 3:5 I tell you the truth no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

born of water and the Spirit - a phrase understood in various ways

1. It means must the same as "born of the Spirit"

2. Water here refers to purification.

3. Water refers to baptism - that of John or that of Jesus and his disciples.

The NKJV Study Bible has even more interpretations:

born of water and the Spirit

1. Jesus was referring to water baptism.

2. Water is to be understood as a symbol for the Holy Spirit.

3. Water is to be understood as a symbol of the Word of God.

4. Jesus used the phrase "born of water" to refer to physical birth. He then used the contrasting phrase "of the Spirit" to refer to spiritual birth.

5. "born of water" refers to John the Baptist's baptism

6. Jesus used the OT imagery of "water" and "wind" to refer to the work of God from above.

Thanks for checking that out for me @Realness ! People in the desert don't have access to enough water to baptise, so I don't think it's a water baptism. I don't like the expression 'baptised in the Spirit', so I'll stick with number four for the time being. It makes the most sense to me! 💚

@heartathome According to my understanding of water in Scripture it has a twofold meaning.

@Realness @Shaz51 @ENKELI @AuntGlow @Appleblossom

1) To be born of water and Spirit in this instance means to be born of The Word in Spirit. 1 Peter 1:23, 1 John 5:6-8.

Jesus tells us that if we drink from Him, that is take in His life giving words of truth in spirit we drink living waters, John 4:14, and out of our hearts will come streams of living water as well. John 7:38. Water in Jesus therefore always is about The Word/The Truth of God upon which our spiritual life/earth/Creation in Him is brought about.

2) We can also have life in our carnal self that is drinking from the waters of earth's seas, which are turned bitter by sin and have us die, and in the New the seas will be NO longer there.

While the waters of the earth are bitter, Revelation 8:11, salty, Ezekiel 47:1-11, and deadening, Exodus 7:21, instead of life giving. And we have to keep drinking to sustain our lives with it.

Peace.

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@ENKELI wrote:

@AuntGlow yaaaay! You're back! Quiet holiday break for me, how about you? Did you have a nice time?

xo

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Hello @ENKELI! 💖

Quiet sounds really, really nice. How did you nurture yourself during your downtime?

I enjoyed the moments I got to slow down too! I noticed that I was craving nature and movement a lot over the break. 🤸🏻🍃 It's so nice to be back though!

Thanks for your reply @DownMoreThanUp and looking into it for me! I appreciate it! Good to see you back on 💚

@heartathome @AuntGlow @Realness @Shaz51 @ENKELI @Appleblossom

Hi friends how is life treating you? As for myself, apart of depression and the remaining nausea, my life has been so very much better.

i have had no voices, hallucinations or psychosis. Neither have i had any anxiety, or rage, although i did still have an angry time, however there was no need to suppress, and i had no trouble dealing with it and leaving it behind. i have had no more trauma memories either. At times i'm almost feeling as if my life is unreal, and at any time now all hell will break loose again, like it always used to. However greeting Jesus in such moments brings me so much confidence and Joy instead of dreadful anticipation.

i feel that my final merging alter is going easier than all the others. However the final test is when i run out of depression meds by the end of the week. For then i will be fully back in my most vulnerable state. The calming meds do not work well when depressed, also in the past i often stopped taking them when down for it would depress me more not less. Yet we know i'm most vulnerable to psychotic rage/evil voices when down deep and not well medicated. (For we all know that almost all my major psychotic episodes have been because i ran out, (dramatically reduced, or stopped,) taking meds.)

i do have backup meds just in case. But i want to see if i'm really better, also when down deep. The last two weeks i have been mainly in a lowish mood, so it seems a good time to both of us to find out how solid my (psychotic/trauma) healing has been over the last 5 months.

Wishing you all a blessed day.

(The Word of God to me in my alters Today.)

Zechariah 7:8-14

"Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts. “But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.”

My song ALL Day long!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSRP_RGS3fk&list=RDHSRP_RGS3fk&start_radio=1