pezzaroo

ohhh my goodness. my heart hasn't ached this much in a while.. how can you guys be so mean? i'm not going to defend michael nor will i critisize him.. but i will say all your negative comments are completely unnecessary. he's passed away for goodness sake - how can you talk about him like this? none of us have ANY idea if he actually did things with little boys because we were not actually THERE - you, my friends, are READERS AND BELIEVERS OF THE TABLOIDS!! only God knows what went down, and we shouldn't need to worry about it! most importantly, we shouldn't be judging him on it! some of these comments absolutely sickened me. this is how i see it, he was always worked as a young child and never got to be a kid / hang out with other kids.. so once he was finally granted his own 'freedom', he made up for lost time! he could also just have a passion for kids--what's wrong with that? what about your average babysitters at church, don't they have a passion for kids too? it also seems like you see nothing wrong with older women taking care of children, but when it comes you older men you automatically call them a pedophile.. no wonder michael liked hanging around kids - adults are SOO MEAN! i also think it's pretty safe to say none of you actually knew michael jackson personally, and only know him through the press. WHEN HAS THE MEDIA BEEN TRUTHFUL? they always try to skew facts and data.. and YOU just LOVE eat it all up! so no, none of you are allowed to call michael jackspon a pedophile, simply because you 1) are being judgemental and 2) don't know him! get over it! i'm sorry if i seem heated - it's just not fair to be so harsh, unloving, unkind, and so disrespectful to the dead - to one of God's CHILDREN. he may have gone astray, but all we can do is hope God brought him back in.

exactly! God will never turn his back on you..

I'd say Philippians. I love Chapter 2:5-11, about having the same mind as Jesus who gave up His rights as God to become human and die for me. I love Chapter 3:8-14, where Paul talks about the fact that everything is rubbish compared to knowing Jesus, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. I love Chapter 4, where we are told to be anxious for nothing, but pray for everything with thanksgiving, that God meets all of our needs, and that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. I'd follow that closely with 2 Corinthians 3-5, where it speaks of our transformation by the Spirit, God shining in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, that we are bondservants to others, and all things are for their sakes, so that grace, having spread through the many may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God, and that we are all new creatures in Christ Jesus, ending with that glorious passage "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21) i needed those verses for encouragement. thank you

I'm not removed from the picture, and you know that.. I'm still here, always. And I want to help you, just am not sure how..

what's your favorite book of the bible? this may be discriminatory to other books, but which do you like most? i'm not sure what my 'favorite' is just yet, but i enjoyed reading Leviticus recently because some section caught my eye.. it was about how and what to eat! i had no idea a set of 'dietary laws' was formed by God! but apparently there are permitted and forbidden foods.. i reccomend reading it, it's interesting.. like how we're not supposed to eat among those who 'chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves' and then it gives all kinds of examples of animals of those kind like camels, rabbits, etc. who could eat a camel, though?? it made me giggle, but made me think, what if some societies do this? they're sinning and they might not even realize it! just by eating food! weird thought for me. and then it says to eat fish but not those 'without scales or fins' - so like, eel and stuff. again, who would want to eat that?? heh.. then Leviticus basically writes out every law there is.. i suppose like commandments, but different? it goes on about rituals after childbirth (what the mother must do), what to do about bodily discharges (as gross as that sounds, still good to know what's right and wrong), laws restricting incest, laws restricting homosexuality, then sort of ends the 'law' section with a 'what will happen if you break the laws' sort of thing. it was just interesting to read. well, at least the footnotes and notes from the editors made it interesting and easier to understand. if you ever need to brush up on what's right and wrong, turn to Leviticus! tell me what you think! just read over all of chapters 11-12, 15, and 18-20.

I would completely agree with this, but Poke feels differently. I don't think he feels like he can talk to me like he can talk to you guys online here.. And I agree that he shouldn't be posting such personal information and expecting to get a completely unbiased answer from someone 'wiser' on here.. He does appear to be the victim, but what about my story? You haven't heard it, nor will I tell it, because it's personal, and I feel it's best to work things out and talk things out in real life rather than asking the internet for advice.. I read the responses to his prayer requests and they sting a little from what you all can say about me. I remember someone saying 'run, run as fast as you can!'... It may see mappropriate, but no one really knows this situation better than Poke and I, no one knows who I am and know one knows how Poke and I function together.. But that all doesn't matter now. Just thought I'd get that off my chest. I do feel like we should take a break to grow and not rely so heavily on one another, but there's no reason why we shouldn't be friends and siblings of Christ. Pezzaroo, no one does know how you function together, of course they don't. And you are right, sometimes on the boards we see things from one perspective because thats the only one we are given, so often we comment from that singular foundation. The old adage, there is your story, my story, and somewhere between the truth, often rings true. But we muddle through, and if we bring the subject back, and keep it centred on Jesus, it usually works itself out. I pray that the situation between you and Poke works itself out, and that both of you emerge stronger, and wiser for the experience. And you are also right that sometimes we let our emotions overcome our walk, and if we could only always centre on Jesus a lot of misconceptions would be cleared up. Pity we are only human, and we err at times, but the truth usually comes out in the end, no? Blessings thank you.

I would completely agree with this, but Poke feels differently. I don't think he feels like he can talk to me like he can talk to you guys online here.. And I agree that he shouldn't be posting such personal information and expecting to get a completely unbiased answer from someone 'wiser' on here.. He does appear to be the victim, but what about my story? You haven't heard it, nor will I tell it, because it's personal, and I feel it's best to work things out and talk things out in real life rather than asking the internet for advice.. I read the responses to his prayer requests and they sting a little from what you all can say about me. I remember someone saying 'run, run as fast as you can!'... It may see mappropriate, but no one really knows this situation better than Poke and I, no one knows who I am and know one knows how Poke and I function together.. But that all doesn't matter now. Just thought I'd get that off my chest. I do feel like we should take a break to grow and not rely so heavily on one another, but there's no reason why we shouldn't be friends and siblings of Christ.

It struck a nerve because you are that girl and felt that Alan was saying that you were being pruned off of me. That's not the case. The analogy is that of comparing our soul/heart to a messy, unruly bush. Through trials and hardship (the pruning) we start looking more the way God wants us. It had nothing to do with you personally, but rather the trial itself. Then I suppose I am sorry for misinterpreting it. Very sorry.

I apologize to anyone I offended, I actually wasn't intending to call anyone names here - I just said what OneLight said was insensitive and ignorant.. Simply because I looked up 'pruning' and found that it pretty much means to 'weed out unwanted or unnecessary things', which I thought was very harsh to call her 'unwanted' and 'unnecessary'.. Just bugged me. And just doesn't seem like the appropriate words to even desrcibe a human being! And Believer, I know much more about this relationship than you or anyone else. Trust me on that one.

I think this is partially because you feel obligated to keep your distance, when in fact, you don't have to! She's always going to be there for you as a sister in Christ and a best friend. Or at least a close friend. It could be a little awkward, but only if you make it awkward. It doesn't have to be that way at all. And OneLight, that is very insensitive and ignorant for you to say such a thing about her. God did not 'prune' him of her.

God's love is a GIFT! how awesome a gift! of course it's there, it's wrapped up all pretty with a big bow on top! never doubt God's love; God IS love (john 4:8)!! john 3:16 - "Fod God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." faith trumps all when you're in trouble or feeling 'down'.. romans 5:5 - "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the holy spirit who was given to us." while all else fails, God's love never fails (1 corinth. 13:8); love is a permanent, unconditional concern for others that results from the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, rather than from human effort or desire. might I ask you this - do you love others? do you experience love on a daily basis? if not, perhaps that is why you simply cannot feel God's love. hope this helped some - i'll be praying for you.