| Author | Message | ||
| River Registered user Username: River Post Number: 5864 Registered: 9-2006  |
Mark 8:22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. Mark 8:23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. Mark 8:24 And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking." Mark 8:25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Jesus is just as active in his church body today, he is not limited by our unbelief. As he ministered to the people he used different methods to help people come to their particular point of faith. One man said, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” Doubts no doubt plagued this man even in the presence of Jesus, and doubts no doubt plague us as Christians today. But we each have our ‘point of faith’ it may be a word, or a gesture, or the laying on of hands. One lady came to our church, this was years ago, but it is still vivid in my mind, she stood up during testimony and said this, “I just had to come from the coast to get a touch from the Lord.” I thought, is she nuts? Doesn’t she know the Lord is on the coast too? Now the coast was about 125 miles away, as our little church was located in the lower San Joaquin Valley. I really felt criticism in my heart for the woman, and I felt that she may have been dumped off a turnip truck somewhere between Bakersfield and Fresno. But as I think about the scripture, Jesus didn’t criticize the ones he healed. Being the Son of God, he could have done it anyway he wanted to. But in his wisdom he knew the man needed the spit on his eyes and the laying on of hands. He (The man) was in the presence of the wisdom of the ages. Our little church was that ladies point of faith, the Bible teaches that without faith we can receive nothing from God. What is your point of faith, is it spit? A word? Laying on of hands? Or simply just receiving from him? One man said, “No Lord, just send the word, and that will be sufficient for my child to be healed.” Jesus remarked about the mans faith. But whether we need spit, or for him to just send the word, he meets us at our point of faith. We need to find that point of faith as we pray for love ones and friends. God honors faith. River | ||
| Freedom55 Registered user Username: Freedom55 Post Number: 39 Registered: 3-2008 |
This is how I understand it. Thanks for your clearly stated comments. Right now, however, I feel like I have lost my faith, or maybe I have just never found that point of faith that you mentioned in your post. | ||
| Skeeter Registered user Username: Skeeter Post Number: 484 Registered: 12-2007 |
Thank you River, I needed to hear that this morning. Lord, please spit on me and my whole family today as well as all on this forum, help us to have TOTAL dependence on you and TOTAL faith in you. Francie | ||
| River Registered user Username: River Post Number: 5867 Registered: 9-2006 |
Freedom55, Now you hang in there, we all go through the times in our Christian walk. You know, when I was young in the Lord, my pastor would exclaim, "Look up Brother, don't look down, look up." I find myself many times saying that to people who are in a low spot. We will pray for you, we on this forum need each other, tomorrow I may be the one that needs prayer. I know I don't have to request the forum members to pray, there are prayer warriors here, I am going to get off here and pray for you right now. River | ||
| Freedom55 Registered user Username: Freedom55 Post Number: 40 Registered: 3-2008 |
River, much appreciated. I know I need to keep "looking up" but just going through a hard time right now. I can identify with the fellow who cried out for Jesus to "help my unbelief". And I really like Francie's prayer. I've been going around today with that thought rolling around in my head: "Lord, please spit on me!" Anyways, thanks for your encouragement. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 10819 Registered: 12-2003  |
Freedom55, there is great grief when one leaves Adventism, especially if one also loses his or her career as a consequence. There's the loss of family often, and the loss of social ties and familiarity and one's entire worldview and personal identity. It's profoundly disorienting. After Jesus was baptized, it was the Holy Spirit who led Him into the wilderness to be tempted. The temptations there weren't "afterthoughts" or something God didn't know would happen. The Holy Spirit led Jesus there to be tempted. I'm becoming convinced that God Himself leads us into and through the despair of grief and identity-loss as we process out of Adventism. Being Adventism is so deeply a part of who were were and how we understood ourselves. For me, Adventism defined me more than any other thing: more than American, wife, mom, or even Christian. I was first Adventist; secondarily I was other things as well. All that I did and was fell under the canopy of "Adventist". Adventist defined how I did every other thing--and I had no real sense of how defining Adventism was to me until I began to exit it. Jesus promised that He would give 100 times more to all who left houses, lands, and family for Him. But that blessing doesn't just fall into our laps. Along the way, God brings us to the end of ourselves and asks us to trust HIM, only Him. I have had to learn (still learning, by the way!), that I can't predict or define how God's blessing and redemptive acts will look. I have to let go of my anxiety and fear and anger and allow His Spirit to come into that deep place of shame and fear that underlies all the pain. I can't just buck up and put on a happy face and go looking for my new life. I had to repent, literally, and ask God to remove my attachment to Adventism--I had to ask Him to remove the spirit of Adventism and to replace it with His Spirit in the place in my heart where Adventism had resided. I have had to give up my expectation of how my career or work should look and instead trust that God would bring me what He wanted me to do. And ever since I've left Adventism, God's provision for my work and income has been vastly different than I would have expected or have looked for. I am also learning that my first responsibility is to give thanks. Even when it's entirely dark in front of me and even inside my head, I have to praise God for what He is doing that I can't see. In other words, I have to choose to worship and honor and praise the almighty God who led me out of the deception that stole my identity and allow Him, as I humble my heart into thanks, to give me His identity. I so understand your sense of a loss of faith. Yet, as Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:13, "If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." God has walked with you right into this wasteland of faithlessness. He has walked with you here so that you will begin to know that He has not left; He is in the suffering with you. He can begin to reveal His comfort and provision in ways we can perceive when we allow Him to be God, even over our dark night of the soul, and give up our dreams and rights to define how our lives ought to look. When we can accept that God is, indeed, all we need, He quiets our hearts, and we begin to see His care and comfort. In the wilderness, Jesus did not directly address or engage satan in his cleverly-worded temptations. Instead, He stayed grounded in God's word, finding it to be the statement of absolute truth. It was holding onto His faith in God's word and the absolute reliability of truth that silenced satan and carried Jesus to the "other side" of the temptations. And only AFTER he had combated the temptations with truth as stated in God's word did He receive the comfort and provision of the angels. But God did not leave Him in the wilderness. God led Him there, and God was right there with and in Him as He faced satan. He felt barraged, but God kept his heart grounded in absolute truth. With prayers for you, Colleen | ||
| Freedom55 Registered user Username: Freedom55 Post Number: 41 Registered: 3-2008 |
Colleen, you are so perceptive. Having come to the conclusion that Adventism is false, I quit my employment with the church. Not only lost my source of income but most of my retirement allowance. Its been a struggle financially, but the hardest part is not being able to talk to anyone. My wife doesn't want to hear anything about it. I think she's just hoping I'll get over it. So I'm going through a dark time and appreciate your comments. I am reminded of God's faithfulness even when mine is not so good. | ||
| Foofighter Registered user Username: Foofighter Post Number: 102 Registered: 7-2005 |
Dear Freedom55, Could you explain further, if you feel free, or inclined to do so, about losing your retirement allowance. How can they do that? Is that legal? My hubby has a lot of years in the denomination, but left to pursue a job outside of church employment. Would taking his name off the books result in loss of retirement benefits? Does anyone else have information or answers to this question? | ||
| Helovesme2 Registered user Username: Helovesme2 Post Number: 2313 Registered: 8-2004  |
I don't know if it is legal or not, but I have known people who lost their retirement benefit. and heard of many others who have also - for leaving | ||
| 8thday Registered user Username: 8thday Post Number: 1425 Registered: 11-2007  |
Freedom55 - Praying for you! Sounds like a lonely trail - but God has always been faithful when I have cried out to Him in those places. I know He will for you too, because he loves us all the same! Sondra | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 7826 Registered: 3-2004  |
Freedom55, praying for you. Our awesome God knows what you need. He will never abandon you or forsake you. Diana L | ||
| Freedom55 Registered user Username: Freedom55 Post Number: 42 Registered: 3-2008 |
Well Foofighter, I didn't lose all of it. Everything done was according to the letter of the law and church policy. It's just that I chose a lesser sum so to be done with it all. But I sure feel ripped off with the paltry sum I had to settle for. As for your question, I am pretty sure that they can't legally withhold the retirement benefits to which your hubby is entitled to simply because he is or may be no longer on the church books. It would be a matter of employment law. And to Sondra & Diana, thanks for your prayers & words of encouragement. There have just been so many changes in my life - becomes overwhelming at times. | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 7827 Registered: 3-2004 |
Freedom, one thing I have learned is you can only live one day at a time. So all you can do is finish today. You cannot relive yesterday and you cannot live tomorrow as it is not here yet. So, set what ever your priorities are for today and pray lots. Let me tell you a story. I was taking flying lessons. I subscribed to a flying mazazine. There was an article in one about a flight instructor and a student. While flying the instructor gave the student different scenarios and asked what she would do in each one. The one I remember is the instructior told the student, "You are asked to fly a bag of rattlesnakes from A to Z. During the flight one of the snakes get out of the bag. What do you do?" The student starts saying, "I will move slowly, do not startle the snake and" made other comments. The instructor said "no, you will not". The student asked what she should do. The instructor replied, "all you will do is fly the plane". I told this to a friend of mine who then did a needle point sign for me with "FLY THE PLANE" on it. When ever I told her what was wrong in my life, she would tell me, "Diana, fly the ..... plane". In other words, set you priorities and do what is important or in your best interests. I hope this helps you like it has helped me. I have that needle point framed and in my front room so am reminded every day to "fly the plane". Diana L | ||
| Wolfgang Registered user Username: Wolfgang Post Number: 272 Registered: 10-2005 |
wow freedom 55 I totally know where you are,except I've been wandering for 4.5 yrs now.and I still feel like I dont know where I belong,oh my hubbys family came up last week,and have told me they know I'll be back into the church and not to pay attention to EGW in other words just get over it,and suck it up,I wish it were that easy for me. I pray,sometimes,I cry out to God,sometimes. I wonder if He's there,I know he is,but where am I?? | ||
| Philharris Registered user Username: Philharris Post Number: 1945 Registered: 5-2007  |
Wandering or is it wondering? I went through a period of over ten years not knowing God cared about me. For forty years now, I know he does care. Place you trust in the Savior and time will heal all things. It is only because of many "hard times" can I dare call myself 'Fearless'. Sometime, I will repeat the story of how God revealed himself to me on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge when I was in a major 'pitty pot' depression. Fearless Phil | ||
| Foofighter Registered user Username: Foofighter Post Number: 103 Registered: 7-2005 |
Dear Freedom55, Thanks for answering my question. I think it is terrible how the sda church treats people many times. Praying for your wife to see the light. It is lonely, because no one can understand the sda experience, if you haven't been there. Sometimes, it just all seems so weird. | ||
| Nowisee Registered user Username: Nowisee Post Number: 234 Registered: 5-2009 |
Freedom--God cares an awful lot about you and so do we! Remember, He is the Light of the World--when everything seems dark around you, He will never leave you or forsake you. He knows what you are going through--we encourage each other in Him, as we totally understand and have been there and many of us are still going through issues as they come up in our lives. There is support here. Wolfgang, I 'floated' for many years, but God never left me. I tried an 'evangelistic' type sda church & went until it started falling apart. Then I went nowhere because of Sabbath/Sunday issues. God still never left me but helped me find Proclamation magazine, then FAF. With their support, I have a marvelous Biblical church every Sunday. And miracle of miracles, my husband has left sdaism and never wants to miss Bible Study group or church. (He has so much joy in knowing he's really forgiven!) He was a very staunch believer in Sabbath. So, don't give up!!! God is really good at doing what seems impossible!!! (Although it may take time.) He's very patient! It is not easy, but it is worth every dark time we may have to go through. Just you wait and see what He does as you trust Him with your pain and difficulties. He is always watching over you & working even when you can't see what He is doing. | ||
| Blessed Registered user Username: Blessed Post Number: 368 Registered: 1-2007 |
Praying for you Freedom55. | ||
| Borninchrist Registered user Username: Borninchrist Post Number: 333 Registered: 1-2009  |
Discovering the deception of Adventism was a very exciting experience for me. I was blind and the "spit" of our Lord made me see... No man can convince you regardless of how many hours you spend talking and studying, but the Holy Spirit alone can make you see and take you out of bondage. I consider myself very blessed and thank the Lord every day. As for the discomfort of actually leaving the church, it's different for each one of us... Some are professionally involved, some have family in the church, we all have friends there still... Dear Lord, I pray for Freedom and each person who still suffers the consequences of leaving Adventism. Thank you for blessing us by revealing the truth of Your Word through Your Spirit. Give us the encouragement to continue living in the light and help those who are still in the darkness. Make us a Light for You. In Your mercy continue to provide for our needs and guide us in our daily walk. You are our Creator, our Sustainer and our Redeemer. You are God. Amen | ||
| Freedom55 Registered user Username: Freedom55 Post Number: 43 Registered: 3-2008 |
Y'all are amazing. Here I thought I was all alone in my struggles. Its been quite a journey - all over the place. But I appreciate your sharing, your advice & your prayers. You have helped more than you know. |
