Hold fast Raul. He'll be with you, just lean on Him. I've seen Him TRULY work miracles this entire week. 1st, my dearest friend got the woman that stole her identity. 2nd, a wonderful, beautiful man in our church has been in a wheel chair for years. They said he had some kind of muscle degeneration and would never walk again, BUT, Praise be to God, this man walked from his hospital bed to the door. We shared tears and laughter over this miracle. Go find and listen to Mercy Me sing "Hold Fast" it's a beautiful song and will help you calm your nerves. God bless you And my prayers are always with you. Luv, Debby
Hey Debs ! Thanks girlie ! All is going well. I am resting, resting and doing more resting of the leg, and its responding with getting feeling much better. Still sore, but that will be for a week or so more, the doctor said. I go for a followup next Tuesday with the doc.
That is a really interesting verse. What exactly do you think God means when he says he wants us to prepare a meal in front of his enemies ? That we prepare to battle and that he will feed us the strength we need to win ?
hey bro, its been all good in the recovery. No ill effects except soreness, but even that is not too bad anymore.
Raul, you have my best dude !!!!! You can, and will do this. God and your DolFan family are 100 % behind you. No need to panic, and just rely on His strength to guide your answers. YOU WILL DO THIS !
I'm very glad to hear that. A good recovery can last a long time. The soreness should pass in time as you get used to it.
I'm not entirely sure to be honest. I'm working on that verse for my sermon this coming weekend and am struggling with all its nuances. Mostly I think it is about how God is with us and thus our enemies pale in the light of our "friend".
I'm surrounded by wise guys when I'm looking for wise men! Yeah its that letting my enemies live part that still baffles me, well not baffles, but let's be honest we all would love to call down hellfire and brimstone on some folks occasionally. The problem is sometimes that want to call it down on ME! So I guess God has figured some better way.
OK folks, let me share with you the gist of my research. First of all, the "enemies" according to Martin Luther when he wrote a commentary on the Psalms in the 15teens, are the devil, the world, and ourselves. The table is the eucharist. Now I am sure that a Hebrew scholar would be repelled by that very Christian interpretation but........ Look at that idea from each of our perspectives. The "enemy", be it evil itself, a world that pulls at us to ignore our committments and choose bad priorities, and our own lusts for wealth, power, and/or influence pulls us away from our primary relationship which is to God. And what does God do but provide us a simple meal of bread and wine to remind us that life best lived is lived in sacrifice and service. I think this will "preach" come the weekend and I wanted to share it with you who helped me focus during the week. Pax vobiscum & Xapis umiv!
Have to share this. You know I told you about the man in my church who was never supposed to walk. Well, he has several times now. They have sent him to a rehab center in Phenix City, AL to hopefully get him on his feet for good. You guys, he is a true "walking miracle". They found, finally why he was de-hydrated and even malnurished. His food was going to his lungs, even drink was doing him no good. Well, week before last he started throwing up and they took him to the hospital In LaGrange (he had been going to a VA hospital before) and they tested until they found out exactly what has been going on. And now, praise God, he's being really taken care of and on his way up. He is one of the most humble, kindest and gentle men. He never complains, just does all he can to help in the church etc. Please remember him in your prayers. This is a man to admire for the things he's been through and never gave up on the Lord or himself. I'll keep you posted as I find out things. I'm just so thrilled I can't contain it.
Update on Comprehensive Exams Just wanted to thank you all for your support. I finished my tests today and now in two weeks, I'll be defending my answers in front of my professors. I'll update you soon enough.
This is from Padre Pio. It may be a little Catholic in some parts but it always helps me. GB, brother. PM me if you need anything.
To me there are no differences in Protestant and Catholic when it comes to loving our Lord and Saviour. I loved it Raul. GB you for your constant prayers and thoughts of us.
Amen! On a separate thought, I have been having this feeling that I wanted to share with all of you. I keep feeling called to preach more, especially around this election time when this country is going through so much turmoil. I don't want to take a stand on a candidate (this is not the place) but I think that the Lord is calling us back to Him. I think it is time we made God matter again in this country. With all the political talk, the real challenge is seeing God in all of this. The process just seems to blurring up the picture of God. I think we need to pick a candidate that will represent Christ on Earth or as close to his mission on earth. Some will say that we need to distinguish between church and state (and maybe we should) but I just think that this election will be very telling for years to come. I speak of this here not to endorse any candidate or political party but to hopefully call us to prayer for our present and future leaders and how they represent us in this country as citizens and Christians.
I know where you're coming from. We've been talking about this on Wed. nights at church. We also pray for our country and Gods' will to be done. And pray that Christians will vote and vote wisely. I've made up my mind on voting. This is the first time I ever remember being this afraid of the out-come of an election. I just have to trust the Lord to take care of us in all this, He's the only one who can. If you are called to preach that's wonderful, my prayers will be with you and your family. Take care and God Bless you and your family. Love, Debby
My first dabble into this thread, probably more than anything because I keep my spirituality very private. Thats just what works best for me. Raul, I think you have once again hit an absolute home-run here brother. I also won't go into endorsement, but agree that these are VERY "Challenging" (For lack of a better word) for our country, and obviously our faith. I am once again, putting MUCH faith in the powers that be as I dont feel comfortable with the future I see, regardless of whom is elected. In past years, It probably wouldnt bother me so much, but with my young daughters lives affected, this sheds a much different light than in the past. Heck, I knew that if things went bad in the past, I could easily hybernate into the backwoods and ride out the storm...I dont have that option now. Guess I will continue my silent prayers and keep my nose to the grindstone
I appreciate the line of prayer/inquiry you have started Raul. I try to remember that a political party and the Kingdom of God are both important, they are simply not interchangable! I was deeply offended four years ago when political pundits told me that the only things Christians vote about is abortion and gay rights! Now are those important issues? Of course they are! BUT, I also think war and peace, security, economic justice, care for the poor, etc. are ALL issues in which my faith informs my voting. I do not and will not check my faith at the door when I vote, it goes into the polling place with me. I acknowledge that other Christians will also vote their consciences and come to a different conclusion than I do. I'm OK with that. I simply want Christian folks to examine all of creation under the light of the cross and our own falleness. In fact some of what I just said is in this weekend's sermon as I try and distinguish between Forgiveness and Repentance. Being forgiven is not the same thing as turning your life from excercising your own will towards being an instrument of God's will. Again, both are important, they are simply not the same.
I see I am going to easily get drawn into this thread Keith, I think that if you are truley living your religion, regardless of what that religion is, you by default take it into the Voteing both with you. A person I think primarily votes by what is going to directly affect his/her life. By studying the issues at hand, and how the MAJORITY of them directly affect our own personal life we make that "Judgement" on who we want as president Your point of 4 years ago also infuriates me at times. The stereotyping is ironic to say the least I feel.
While you are correct that folks aften vote by what most affects them, I would hope that folks also go a step beyond your point and look to what is best for the people around them as well.
You know I love this topic, Keith. It's like what Jesus told the woman who was about to be stoned , "Go and sin no more." Forgiveness and repentance all in one sentence. I always think of his forgiveness as this: He forgives you and sin automatically falls off like going through a car wash at which point you yell, "I'm clean!! Now, how can I get dirty?" What was the point of asking for forgiveness if there was no act of repenting our life? Forgiveness was won at the cross but repentance makes that sacrifice real. If not, what was the point? Kenny, my heart smiles that you found us, here. You are welcome anytime, my brother. I think what will be hardest in this election for me is that the education system is so messed up that is frustrating and hurting our children. As an educator, one candidate seems to be on par on how to fix it. The other candidate seems to be more on par with my values and morals. There lies my conundrum. What do I do? Pray,pray, and pray.
It's so good to have you here Kenny. I hope you stick around. This is a good topic guys. Much better than being in pofo. I am not informed enough to even have a debate on the candidates. I do know from what I've heard etc. that this is going to be awfully close and I pray the man that gets in is 100% for the U.S. and her people. I pray he will be God's man and let the spirit guide him all the way. Is this possible? Yes, I think so. I'm sure there's many who nay say the whole concept of a Godly man running our country, but I pray for that daily and I believe it can happen. My beliefs have my vote only going one way and I've not wavered on that from the beginning. Let's all just be in prayer, constantly, for God's will to be done.
Please accept my edit of your post but this is all I wanted to comment about. I hate to keep using Luther quotes but.... "I would rather be ruled by a wise Turk, than a foolish Christian". By all visible levels (always a hard thing to quantify), Jimmy Carter was far and away the President who was most active in his faith before becoming president. The closest second would be George H. W. Bush who I like to remember helped open a congregation in Beijing was he was our ambassador there. History will likely not mark either of them as particulary strong presidents even if they are remembered as great people. None of the four faces on Rushmore were particularly active Christians if at all (Jefferson was a diest!). What does all this mean... Frankly I am not sure. I will vote my whole conscience going into the poll on each race. I will continue to pray for the occupants of each office. And I will continue to speak out when I believe the occupant of any office is doing a bad job. My definition of "bad job" will mean, not best serving ALL people. An American president has a unique oppurunity to serve the whole planet in the way heads of other states do not. My God is the God of all creation and that plays a factor in how I vote also. btw, all of you have a great Sunday. Last night's services went very well and I'm looking forward to leading worship again in a couple of hours.
Chances are good I will spend more time in here, probably more of a lurker, but can't help to NOT after reading Keith's last post. Much much truth in the things you say Keith, and you truley have a way verbalizing these very good points.
I am honored and humbled. Thank you. God has given me a gift of communication and I strive to use it to His glory! Thank you for the affirmation.
Raul, this is one of the things that has always fretted me more than anything else as a Christian, when I hear someone invoke, "Well I accepted Jesus at 8 and was baptized at 9 and it doesn't matter what I do, Jesus will forgive me". I stare at those people in utter disbelief. Being saved is not an invitation to commit as many sins as you can against God, so he will forgive you. Being saved by our Lord means trying to live your life as close to Christ as you can, and that means living up to the 10 commandments and all of His other laws he laid down. What those laws are, can be open to interpretation but many times its very black & white, and you'd better choose the right one.
Hi Raul, mending and feeling lots better. Still using the crutches if I go out of the house, but limp around the house a bit I've had some rough patches here and there, and had some personal issues going on, but all in all doing good, and getting strength through it all from our Lord. He is soooooooo good to me. I had a great breakthrough with my panic disorder just this morning, and I attribute His strength through prayer in helping me to overcome a fear of mine. I do so love the Lord, and sometimes, I just wanna tell everyone about him......it reminds me of this song ......... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmu1eUouaA]YouTube - Nicole Mullen - Redeemer - Video[/ame]
If you remember, please keep some good thoughts and prayers for me tomorrow at around 3:00 p.m. I will be defending my doctoral exams I took a couple of weeks back--orally I'll let you know how it goes, afterwards. Thanks, Raul
