Willa

I think of religion as man trying to reach or appease a god. Christianity is God reaching out to man to initiate a relationship and to provide propitiation for sin.

Having said that how about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Amen I thought it was ther to give us a choice. God wants a people who choose to love Him and obey Him out of love.

It sometimes helps me to remember that but for God in my life, I might be just as perverted, corrupt and heartless as that man. I deserve the death penalty for my sins, too, but Jesus took that upon Himself for my sake, so I might live in His righteousness. I do hope that he gets the death penalty because our God is also a God of justice and righteousness. But I am so thankful that He is a God of grace. It is hard to believe that He could love such and evil person and come to die for him. But it does help me to get a glimpse of how deep and wide and high God's love is--so beyond our comprehension. Willa

Due to his poor vision Paul often dictated his letters. Luke was one who helped him as did Mark and others. He mentioned signing one with his own hand. He was also in the habit of converting his guards, as did Watchman Nee during his 20 some year confinement in Chinese prisons where his books were written.

These are not the gifts, these are the fruits. Where in scripture does it list the gifts... wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord (wonder and awe). Even the domons believe intellectually, but they do not trust in and rely on Jesus, which is the Christians' definitionn of believe. And she made satan her lord, not Jesus. So she was never truly saved. You are possibly thinking of Isaiah 11:2 v1 There shall come a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of His roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. NKJV These are known as the 7 fold Spirit of God, since they reveal the attributes of the Holy Spirit and prophecy that He shall rest on Jesus. The "people gifts" such as pastors, teacher, evangelists are listed several places. The "power" gifts are listed in 1 Corinth. 12:4-11. These are the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to believers to empower us to witness and do the work of the church. They are useless without love (Cor.13). Among those listed are "discernment of spirits". God has given me this awareness a few times; I believe it was to warn me of dangerous people. But by it I suddenly became aware of body language, expressions on the face, and especially the eyes. (Believers usually look into peoples eyes with kindness in their relaxed faces. There are a lot of people who won't look others in the eye due to shame or fear, or they will look away. Christians usually return the kind look with a smile. But I have also seen con men look directly into your eyes with wide unblinking eyes and a frozen smile and a nod to bait you and lead you on. And I have seen evil people gaze at me with piercing eyes, their faces stoney, grim, twisted and agressive. Then there are those who are on drugs, and they may include the latter or they may be in la la land or a stupor.) I never saw gargoyles or anything wierd like some people claim, so maybe it was not a gift. But it is how God has helped to guide and protect me. So with me it has been a sudden hyper awareness like being on alert. Some people grew up in ungodly families where they had to read the body language and expressions of others to survive. I didn't and pretty much took people at their word. For that reason I had asked God to give me the gift of wisdom, not realizing that I meant discernment. But He was gracious to also give me wisdom both in how to answer people and in how to procede in decision making in church situations. Anyone can pray for wisdom, but for me it came by inspiriation immediately. Only once was I given a word of knowledge as to identify an evil spirit, and that was in a shamen. I hope this helps. Perhaps it is more than you wanted to know.

You do not save people from hell by outlawing actions, a change of heart is required. You are so very correct. But when we condone sin we see no need to share the Gospel so that God can change a heart. And when the law condones sin it promotes the kind of ungodliness that brings shame to a nation and for which judgement came upon the nation of Israel. It also becomes permissive toward the persecution of Christians for not condoning such immoral but now legalized behavior such as adultry, lying, homosexuality, fornication, pornography, abortion, euthanasia and the like. If our values are not the standard, the world's values are made the standard and we, by law, may be forced to conform to the world or face lawsuit. We now face an uphill battle where we once had the law supporting us.

Who's morality should we impose on others? Which brand of Christianity should get to choose which morality we codify into law? Should we be stoning women for wearing pants? Some would tell you that even a single drink is a sin, that R rated movies are immoral and should be banned. Dancing, well that is a for sure a sin. How about outlawing lust? To lust is a sin and is immoral. Is there anything less moral that sex outside of marriage? I assume you think we should make this action illegal as well to "impose our morality" on others. The 10 commandments would be a good start. They are a framework for morality. How about teaching them in gradeschool instead of what is a "politicly correct" family or how not to offend any minority but bible believing Christians.

Our church believes that there is progressive revelation. That means that there is greater understanding of end times events as they draw near. It is based on the end of Daniel when the book is locked till the end.

We attend 2 services a week, health permitting. Note psalms 84 in my attached verses. It was a solo at our wedding and it has always been a cry of my heart. If we don't like to worship in the congregation now, heaven won't be much fun.

Yes, God led me to repentance when I was in the 8th grade. Now that we are 70ish our health is not as good and we can't be relied on to participate as regularly to serve as sunday school teachers or sit on boards.. But we still try to attend 2 services a week. We probably rely more heavily on the Lord now than ever before. Life wouldn't be worth living without Him. I miss the fellowship in the womans' groups now, which is why I have turned to the net, and I miss being able to contribute my time and gifts. There is nothing more exciting than knowing that God is using us and giving us gifts of wisdom in decision making or even witnessing. There are times that I look back and think did I say that? I need to listen to that!

Do you think it is OK for a person to commit suicide because he is only harming himself? That is simply not true. All our actions affect others and there is nothing more defestating to family or aquaintences than a suicide. Even when we don't know a person very well, we always blame ourselves a little for not having done something to make a difference. The drunk also causes family and friends grief. They feel so helpless because there is little they can do to prevent it or change them, and it hurts to see them waste their lives. We know they are miserable or they would not find it such a good way of escape. And those of us who are Christians know such a wonderful alternative in the love of God. Some even become violent when they are drunk and cause a great deal of harm to people and property. Then there is the example and influence on younger or more impressionable people who would this as an excuse to also make bad decisions. Some poet said that no man is an island unto himself. There is some truth in it. In some countries we have a lot of freedom to do evil things. This is not necessarily a good thing. People ask why God allows evil. Why do our governments change our laws so as to allow evil? God has left some of these things up to us to regulate. And so many of these evils have grown at a huge rate after they were legalized. The statement that you can't legislate morality is a falicy. You either support morality with laws or you hinder it. It is high time we did impose morality on others who have never been taught good values. Just my humble opinion lol.

OK I confess to having once been a chronic worrier. There are certain scriptures that I have practicly memorized because I have lived in and leaned on them so much, applying them to my circumstances. The whole chapters help, but some (default NKJV) highlights are: Psalms 34, I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalms 37 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret, it leads only to evildoing (NASV) Matthew 6:19-34 Store up treasures in heaven Father takes care of the birds but we are of more value than they The lilies of the field--O you of little faith Your heavenly Father knows you have need of all these Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Don't worry about tomorrow--Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Philippeans 4:5-9 Rejoice in the Lord always--The Lord is at hand!!!! Be anxious for nothing----with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God; And the peace of God, which passes understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brethern, meditate on GOOD stuff, even if it means to turn off the news and bury the newspaper. (My paraphrase.) These do, and the God of peace will be with you. Hebrews 13:5-6 Let your manner of life be without love of money, being satisfied with your present circumstances. For He himself has said, and the statement is on record, I will not, I will not cease to sustain you and uphold you. I will not, I will not, I will not let your down. So that, being of good courage we are saying, The Lord is my helper. I will not fear, what can man do to me? Wuest, Amp., ALT3 agree. (The empasis in the Greek is not usually fully translated.) Romans 8: 26-39 (Pray earnestly from the heart with the help of the Holy Spirit); He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. All things work for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. If God is for us, who can be against us. It is Christ, who died, and furthermore is risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. In all these things we are more than conquerers through Him who loved us. (Nothing) shall serperate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And so, once again I preach to myself. Thank you for the reminder, folks. These passages bring much peace to the soul, especially the Phil. Passage about praying with thanksgiving, remembering all answered prayers and the promises mentioned above. Then, to train my mind to meditate on positive stuff. I can get in such a rut of moaning and complaining, worrying about Target sending me a notice that my personal info may have been stolen, and about my root canal that I have on Wednesday. But God is so good to help me get my eyes back on Him Who is my hope and my strength. His love surely does cast out all fear and fill me with His rejoicing. The LORD is at hand! It is the enemy who tries to steal my joy and destroy my effectiveness in the lives of others by weighing me down with the cares of this life and with worry.

GE, my son taught me how to do it yesterday. DUH! I press and hold a word till the word highlights, then spread the area with the tabs that also appear. The cut and paste options appear at the top of the page. No, I did not find it in the manuels, and we have 3, because they were for early versions. Thanks. It is sooo easy!.

The biggest problem that I have with word of faith theology is that I am not God, nor am I a little god. It is my choice to walk in obedience to Him as I hear His voice and walk in the Spirit. This is how Jesus walked in obedience to the Father and said and did only what He heard and saw the Father say and do. Only I do so much more imperfectly even when I do my best to see and hear correctly. Yes, I love His great and precious promises. He also promised us that those who seek to live Godly lives in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted, and that we would be treated the same way Jesus was treated, and He suffered many things: tauntings, ridicule, abandonment by friends, false accusations and unfair illegal trial, beatings, etc. Paul also did not live in wealth and prosperity, but learned how to be content in all circumstances, to be abased and to abound, because there is much godliness in contentment. Nor did Paul live in perfect health but he kept Luke the physician handy to treat his many beatings. Nor did God heal his eyes. He also talked about how we must suffer with Christ so that we might know the power of the resurrection. So I continue to ask God to be glorified in our circumstances and to use even them to save souls and accomplish His will. And I continue to watch my word of faith friends become disheartened when God does not jump through their hoops and provide for them a perfect triumphant life. They suffered much when their pastors told them they did not have enough faith and that is why God did not perform. We need to recognize that He is Sovereign and we need to jump through His hoops. When I was told to practice positive confession and confess that I was healed even though I was still in great pain, , (knowing that it had been accomplished in eternity), I did obey and confessed the healing. But as I walked home from the meeting God convicted me of lying because as in a court, I can only witness to the things that I have seen and heard in my time. So I repented and confessed my lie. A few hours later God did heal my neck, but only because I had truly seen the error of the lie I had been taught at that meeting. So, friend, that is how I learned that it was the word of faith pastors that had taught God's word less correctly. Satan also takes the truth of God's Word and twists it a bit or uses it to tempt us as in the temptations of Christ. Blessings, Willa

1 Thess. 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us , that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Luke 21:36 Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (In context of Lukes' account of the end times). 1 Thess. 1:9-10 how your turned --to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus Who delivers us from the wrath to come. Luke 21:28 Now when these things BEGIN to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." We are also promised that all who seek to lead godly lives in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted. We are promised horrible wars, famine, pestilences, and earthquakes before the wrath of God. So we are not promised a cake walk. But I do believe that born again Christians who keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit soas to walk in the Spirit, hear His voice and follow our Good Shepherd, are NOT destined to endure the wrath of God in the final 3 1/2 years of the great tribulation period. The snatching away of the Church seems to occur sometime at the beginning of or during the first 3 1/2 years. But we are not told when exactly He will come, only that He will come as a thief in the night, and that we should be ready and looking for Him. There is also mention of the conversion of many during the wrath especially when the 3 witnesses in the streets of Jeruselem are resurrected. (This may even be telecasted to that people around the world witness it). There will be a final gathering of living believers who will inhabit Jeruselem for Christ's thousand year reign as discribed in Revelations 20. During that time satan will be bound, and then unleashed at the end. That is when the new heavens and new earth are revealed. On the other hand, we are told in 2 Thess. 2 that day shall not come till the "falling away" comes first, and the "man of sin" is revealed, the son of perdition, who sits in the temple showing himself to be god.. Every eye will see Christ's return WITH His church and his angels to kill His adversaries with the breath of his mouth. The armies of the nations will be alligned against Him. This will be no surprise. He will arrive at the eastern gate of Jeruselem, we are told. Using NKJV Every year our pastor gives a prophecy update that tells how world events are falling into place and fulfilling Bible prohecies. It usually lasts 2-3 hours, and the events are happening so fast now that he can only use a few months of newspaper clippings and current events news. 15 years ago it was a years worth. So it is exciting to watch the day of the Lord approach. But all the more I pray that friends and family have their hearts ready for His coming. This is my understanding of end times events and the Day of the Lord. They are, of course, subject to change as God sheds further light on my limited understanding of His Word.

Humm. It really comes down to personal preference of music styles. I love ancient hymns--the really old ones that often were to music created without rythem, such as, Great is the Lord, the Almighty King of Creation. Or the ancient Irish hymns. The Halleluia Chorus, There are so many, but the ones that exalt God or proclaim the way of salvation are wonderful. Many of the old spirituals are favorites, too, like I see the Lord a coming. Some contempory Christian is worshipful, like Revelation Song. But the old Rez or Resurection Band hard rock can really preach a sermon about our lack of compassion for the poor and the people ensnared by sin.. I do enjoy Christian hard rock and some of the alternative and metal. Not so much rap because of the monotany. But then I was also around when Elvis and Fats Domino first came on the radio, and liked them much better than the "show tunes" that were popular back then. But generally I don't like southern gospel. Most sounds too much like country to me and I don't like the old country stuff at all. Barber shop quartets do absolutely nothing for me. Yuk. I also hate minuettes. Mozart is not a favorite either. I love bluegrass and Cajun as long as they don't sing through their noses and are not raunchy lyrics. But that again is entertainment since I have have never heard Christian music in either. I love Swan Lake, Scherazade, and Die Moldeau, Peter and the Wolf, Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F, and Bugs Bunny in the Barber of Seville. Again, entertainment. But I would not presume to tell anyone that listening to Southern Gospel is sinful. These things, as said, are a matter of preferance and conscience, and I won't impose my likes and dislikes on others, either. It is all opinion.

Most marriages in bible times were arranged by parents. Paul gives instructions (probably to parents) to not mismatch a believer to a non believer. Otherwise, women in particular are to adapt themselves to their husbands and endeavor to fill in the areas where their husband lacks soas to be the helpmeet. As one preacher said, that way, between the two of you, your kids get one good parent. So there is no such thing as a soul mate as used today. That is probably another way of saying you are attracted to each other and enjoy being in each others company. This is something that can quickly die as you learn the other person's faults and weaknesses. In reality you can learn to become a soul mate. You can be determined to bear with those faults. Love is commitment, not emotion. Emotions follow the commitment. We choose to love and we choose to forgive. We can learn new hobbies and interests to adapt to our husbands'. It does help to have some interests in common at the outset, such as both desiring Christ to be a big part of your marriage. That being said, I thought hubby was an idiot when I first met him, as well as the second time, and the third time, but he was very persistant. I grew to like him and felt very comfortable with him. I could be myself. 50 years later he is my perfect soul mate. God has molded us together but it took time and effort for us to learn to become what the other needed. And he is still a bit of an idiot. By that I mean that he says and does goofy things that make life fun and never boring. I had to learn to lighten up and become more spontaneous to appreaciate that, so he was very good for me and balanced me. On the other hand he grew to be more like me as well.

Frequently people have very unreal expectations of their spouse. They want things that only God is able to provide, not the spouse. That is one reason why I suggest godly marriage counseling. They also may be able to help you to drop the baggage of your past. While God does make us new creatures in Christ, change can come slowly as we give every area of our lives to Him. Most women want a best friend in their husbands. They enjoy doing things with them. However, as a Christian your interests are supposed to be different than that of an unbeliever and you need to be a good example for children. As your grow in Christ you will no longer want to do many things that she likes. Even your friends may ridicule you or dump you as your seek to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. So growing closer to God can put a strain on a marriage, but you will never be able to be a good husband to her without having Him come first in your life and being filled with His Spirit again. You need God to pour His love for her through you so that you can love her just as she is.. You need godly wisdom to guide your kids and love them with a godly pure love. So you are in a very difficult situation. You cannot compromise your relationship with Him. As for bible college, You might get much more from an interdenominational bible study like Bible Study Fellowship if you just want to come to know and understand the Bible better. As far as drawing close to God and humbling yourself to become more Christ like, fasting and praying by yourself might be a good way. Some bible colleges or seminaries challange or even destroy your beliefs instead of drawing you closer to God. They may not be what you are looking for in your heart. And if your wife does not support you in this, It probably is not be the best decision. God usually tells you to put Him first,, your family second, and your career 3rd. Scripture requires you to provide for your family. So, as your heart is drawing you to do, you need to work on your family relationships. It sounds more like college was a temptation to me, especially since this overwhelming desire to be a good husband and dad as well as a man of God came after that phone call came. It sounds to me that God clearly answered your prayer for guidance. You might tell your wife that you have been praying that God would bless her and help you to learn how to be a better husband to her. TELL HER YOU LOVE HER. Women need you to put your arms around them, hold them affectionately and tell them this regularly without it necessarily leading to the bedroom. Ask her to forgive you for the hurtful things you have said and for being selfish. Tell her you want to change and ask her to be patient with you as you learn. Be quick to admit when you were wrong. Rules of arguing: No name calling or insulting, stick to the problem at hand, don't bring up past junk, and don't say "you always". Try to be reasonable--don't back yourself into a corner. Always hear her out. Respond with "this is what I hear you saying" and ask if what you heard is correct. Tell her how what she is saying makes you FEEL. Tell her that her feelings are important to you. Often we women just need to express our frustrations and after doing so we see a way to solve it and we feel better. But NEVER say "do you feel better now" if she is expressing a concrete complaint--that is condescending and dismissing it. She is not necessarily asking you to fix everything. Many of the things bothering her can't be fixed or solved and she is just telling you what is bothering her. You can even ask her if this is something you can help with or if it best you just leave it alone. Most men think women want them to straighten it all out. On the other hand, dealing with banks, creditors, identity theft, errors in her check book, household repairs, kids teachers complaints and conferences, consistant discipline that fits the crime (the goal being to instruct or help make them teachable), are all things you should handle as much as possible. Pray and ask God to help you be consistant and to make you aware when you are not, even if it is your wife telling you (and thank your wife for telling you.) I always tell people that I learned to raise kids by taking the dog through AKC dog training. I learned to speak with authority in my voice (not anger), to reward good behavior and how to correct bad behavior effectively (but I am not advocating a choke chain on kids lol), and the rest I learned from the Bible since my goal was that they come to faith in God. Men tend not to deal much with feelings and learning to do so is part of learning to live with your wife according to knowledge. She wants you to be tender to her and concerned about her feelings, and to feel protected and safe with you. But this is just my opinion, since you asked.

Sorry, I disagree. I don't believe the very early stages of pregnancy is murder. I had a miscarriage years ago, and I don't see that as a death, I see it as a very common occurrence in many women. What if full pregnancy endangered the mothers life? What if the pregnancy was the result of a traumatizing sexual assault and mother couldn't mentally cope? What if the mother was too young (12-15)? What if you were in the eastern part of the world, and feared being being a victim of an honor killing for shaming your family because you were pregnant. Sorry but when there is trauma, or a good reason, I see it as being responsible. Even if it isn't the number one option, I have no judgement or condemnation towards anyone who has had, or promotes it. If you can't imagine yourself being in that situation, then don't condemn someones decision who has had to be in that situation. For example: You eat eggs, don't you? It is not a chicken when you eat it, it is still an egg. That chick doesn't exist yet. That is my firm standpoint Stir stick, no one is without sin. All have sinned. No human being is without sin, and every person on the planet is going to hell unless they accept God's free offer of salvation provived by Christ when He died on the cross.. That ratified the new covenant of the undeserved favor of God. No one deserves to go to heaven. We all deserve to die on a cross as Jesus did. But He took the rap for us. And all we have to do is confess our sinfulness to Him, ask His forgiveness, and accept that Jesus provided that forgiveness for us because He loves us. That being said. I eat unfertilized eggs. No sperm, no chick. But I also eat chicken. Lol And, when taking Physiology in college we carefully studied the development of the embryo in the womb. Did you know that the fetus will respond to the emotions of the mother? They can hear, which is why some people play classical music for the developing fetus. They recognize the mothers voice and voices of those who are in her life. In the Bible, John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mothers womb. As in the photo, they suck their thumbs. They feel pain and are fully aware when they are burned alive by chemicals or pulled apart limb from limb by the abortionist. It is not just death, it is torture. What is worse, I once agreed with you. I thought it was worse to bring unwanted children into the world. Then my pastor read from an early book used by many early churches, the Didache. It was written as basic instructions for new Christians about baptism and the Lords Supper that all churches do and celebrate, and also about the 10 commandments and other fundamental beliefs. It was written at the same time as the rest of the Bible and was included with the Bible by some eastern churches. It plainly states "You shall not murder nor commit an abortion." They were considered one and the same act by Christians way back then. I immediately changed my mind and agreed with God about abortion. This is called repentance. Mary was an unwed girl who might have been 14 years old when she found herself pregnant. This was such a taboo; since she was engaged, Joseph could have had her stoned to death. She was the perfect candidate for an abortion. Instead Jesus was born. We don't know but that the fertilized egg of the tiny person in us will not grow to become a great blessing to mankind or what we are destroying by purposely refusing to give birth to him or her. We do know that God created and treasures all human life, especialy you. He desires all to grab His hand that is reaching out to pull us out of this cesspool that is bound for hell. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:17-18 Believe means to trust in and rely on. Are you relying on Jesus to buy you back from satan's dominion? There are only 2 camps. God's and satans', and by default you are in satan's. It is your choice to join God's.

Since the books of the New Testament were written to different churches and even different people, and then circulated to nearby churches, it took a little time to for some books from the east to be recognized in the west, for instance. It was in the latter 300s that they all started getting together to arrive at such agreements. In the 100s, after the apostles had died, false gospels and letters were written claiming to be authentic but had the names of the authors forged. The people who studied under the apostles were still alive and were able to authenticate those that were truly from the apostles. But it is as previously said, that there is consistancy in those that were inspired by God. Most people who are filled with the Holy Spirit and who are very familiar with the true gospels can easily spot false ones, which don't reveal God's character. There is a curse on those who change the Gospel so no true book has been written after the year 100 or the death of the Apostles, nor can there be anything added. Some cults have done that, such as the Muslims and the Mormons, and the Jehovah Witnesses have changed words in the Bible to fit their beliefs as did the ancient Gnostic cults which wrote so many false gospels as well. That is one way to tell that they are false religions.

Some people cannot handle the attention of being in front of the congregation but are tempted by pride as was satan the choir master. For that reason in our church we must stay in our seats and contribute the gift God has given. Perhaps it helps to remember that the gift is from God and you are just the vessel or bond slave who delivers in obedience. One of the best song leaders I have enjoyed would turn his back to the congregation as though he was one of us and, looking up, and his arms raised, just sing to bless the Lord. It encouraged us in the congregaion to join him in the same way. We would be caught up as though to sing before the Father. This is genuine worship. But as a special gift, I have to agree that singing from behind or while seated might make you more inconspicuous. I also agree that healing is God's business. God uses our pastor to heal but it is usually done in private so people don't readily know about it and even complain that these gifts don't go on in our church. Once when he preached in India, afterwards, not knowing the needs or speaking the language, he just prayed "God meet their needs". Thousands were saved, healed, marriages restored, people delivered from drugs and alcohol. He was later told this by the local pastors who had bussed the people to the open air meating. No one was more astounded than our Pastor. But a heart that desperately wishes that God meet the needs of the people, whatever they may be, probably had a tiny bit to do with it, as was his desire to simply obey God whether He uses us or not. Sometimes here in the USA people just want to see something spectacular or be entertained. God rarely performs. Jesus said that the children played the pipes but he did not dance. He did not come to entertain or even to fulfill their expectations. Nor should your desire be to entertain. It should be to simply obey God and to minister a blessing to the people in some way. Sometimes a word of encouragement through your music is what was needed more even than a healing. It is not important who conveys the message, only that God sent it and someone obeyed to deliver it. Sometimes it is better that we do not know how God uses a contribution so we don't get the idea that WE are something special. It would be sin if the people become thankful to us rather than to God.

Many of us are going through this. The amplified version concurs with Kenneth Wuest's Expanded Version of Hebrews 13:5-6 Let your manner of life be without love of money, being content with your present circumstances. For He Himself has said, and the statement is on record, I will not, I will not cease to sustain and uphold you. I will not, I will not, I will not let you down. So that, being of good courage, we are saying, The Lord is my Helper. I will not fear. What shall man do to me? And I am leaning heavily on the above promise because I am terrified of dentists. And since I broke my molar yesterday and a large filling fell out, I have mixed feelings about going to the dentist tomarrow. Maybe he will fix it with a temp, but I will certainly need a crown. Right now it is hard to eat and the tooth is very sharp. I stuffed wax into it, Oh, well. This too shall pass. I do identify with your grief of loss of function. We used to enjoy birdwatching and traveling in WA and OR. But we have been able to do very little in the last 3 years either. Often I miss church, too, and as my favorite psalm expresses, I love praising God in the assembly. It is even grievous to be unable to do so. The inversion caused me to lose my voice. Some gravely squeeky sounds have come back since the wind has come through. I guess we need to rejoice in what we are able to do. I can still: use my fingers to post, walk into church without help, praise God in my heart. I can hear fairly well, drive, see better after catarac removal, breath with the help of medication, and manage pain with meds. God has been faithful to His word. I can still enjoy the photos that hubby took in the past. God has answered so many prayers: saved hubby and our sons, their wives and most of our grand kids (but I continue to pray for them to make strong commitments to Him). How dare I be afraid with such a faithful and loving Father at hand?

I have two very close friends who had abortions. The guilt and grief the felt is what brought them both to Christ. But they still grieve the loss of those children. One even had a memorial service for hers in an attempt for closure. It never occurred to the Jews that the baby in the womb was not a child. They even counted the age from conception rather than from birth. I guess you would have had to sing "happy conception day to you." I learned this in cultural anthropology. Sorry, but when the sperm and egg combine to make a unique genetic code and the cells begin to divide, it becomes a unique human life. Dividing cells = life. It is not just a piece of tissue if it is living and growing. And that is what I learned in biology. As to the OP, the woman seems truly deluded and reprobate.

One time many years ago I was having a bad asthma attack and great difficulty breathing. As I prayed, God spoke to me in that still small voice. What are you afraid of, dying? That is like falling backwards into Daddy God's arms! Now when I was very young, my daddy would have me fall backwards and l learned to trust that he was always there to catch me. How much more our loving Daddy in heaven will be there to catch us, and suddenly that warm feeling swept over me. The fear was gone.

A gurgling brook in the quiet of the mountains. Western Meadowlarks announcing spring. Crickets--as long as they are outside. The song of the Swainson's Thrush.