ReneeIW

I agree. I also was skeptical because he was not afraid. I would think he would have been very scared. I guess the reasoning of blessing the rooms was because his wife had been asking him to leave the house. He refused and she had divorce papers delivered to the house and his three year old son answered the door and then handed him the papers. He said he was devastated by that and that his wife’s ugliness and anger was out of control. Maybe he thought demonic spirits were in the house. I don’t know. I just hate to think that people are out there lying this way. His story doesn’t make sense at all. I know this same group praised Benny Hinn.

He had been secular and mistreating his wife. After his experience he converted and his wife agreed to drop the divorce. He is a Harvard Law grad and worked at a prestigious law firm for 20 years but left to start a law firm that focuses on helping businesses glorify God in the way they do business by treating people with “integrity and compassion.” That is on his website. So there has definitely been an outwardly change.

And if you had been gathered with another person, He would have been there for sure.

He is Catholic but his fellowship is non denominational. His “miracle” of Christ walking in his house was in a book called Miracles by Eric Metaxas.

Yes one God, three persons. The easy way to understand it is by looking at the human race/species. There is only one human species but 10 billion persons. What is unique about the human race? What characteristics do we share that are unique to us as oppose to say animals? We can speak, write, walk upright, solve math problems etc. etc. There is one God but only three persons who share the unique characteristics of God: perfection, holiness, no beginning, no end, all knowing, all powerful, etc.

What would you think of a Christian who goes around the country giving a testimony that Christ visited him in his home? He said that he was devastated that his wife had filed for divorce so he sought the advice and counsel from a Christian leader. The Christian leader told him to go home and meditate on Jeremiah 24. The leader then asked him if he had ever invited Christ into his home. He answered no and was told to invite Christ into his house that night. The next morning he said he opened the door and Christ was there appearing as a bright white figure and He came into his home and walked from room to room blessing every room. After Christ finished blessing the last room, the man thought Christ had left so he sat down at his desk trying to process what had just happened. Then Christ appeared again and the man fell down to the floor and wept while grasping Christ’s ankles. Thoughts about whether this man sounds sincere? He uses this story to recruit men to his Christian Fellowship.

Thanks omegaman for explaining the purpose of this topical thread. Also, it was interesting to read your feelings about the importance of daily Bible reading with the goal of reading the Bible in its entirety. I do tend to shy away from most of the Old Testament. I tend to stick with just the OT books that Christ quoted from.

The answer as to whether we can lose our salvation is no. Paul said he kept on sinning no matter how hard he tried. That’s the point of a Savior. That’s why God passed through the pieces in Genesis 15. Christ was then turn to pieces on the cross. The Covenant we have with God is that HE takes the punishment upon himself when we break our word. As for “them” who say Lord Lord we did this and that in your name.... First, they were trying to get in through works. Salvation is not aboout what someone else did in Christ’s name. Second, they were “practicing lawlessness.” If you are practicing lawlessness then you probably are not sincere and not in “good spiritual shape.” John said these things were written so that we may KNOW that we have Eternal Life.

The definition of cult does not fit Christianity. We are not devoted to a person, but rather God. That definition is describing a human only. Mormonism is a cult. They are devoted to the teachings of Joseph Smith. Jehovah Witnesses are devoted to the Watchtower. Just because one identifies themselves as a denomination means nothing if no one else outside of that group sees them as an actual Christian denomination.

It’s hard to give any advice on this issue because you’re basically dealing with someone who is doing something you don’t like and there is no end in sight. I went through this in my marriage. We never had any money issues or issues with friends but we had an issue with him doing something that hurt me for 18 years.We have been married for 20 years. I also got married young, have three kids and am a stay-at-home Mom. I prayed on it for years, tried the Christian counseling (didn’t like it) cried, begged and nothing changed until he thought I could be taken away from him. We had some business going on and a wealthy business man started pursuing me. Of course I would never cheat on my husband or leave our marriage, but when he saw that I had a way out he changed overnight. This doesn’t help you (sorry) but it does speak to the fact that sometimes if you are a stay at home mom you can be taken advantage of if your spouse believes he can get away with it and you have no alternative but to deal with it.Obviously there are some men that would never treat their wives this way, but your husband sounds insensitive. Also, if he is stressed out and this friend is relieving that stress, he has no incentive to give up a friend that is bringing him joy. What does he have to lose? Some men don’t change unless they believe they have something to lose. Even Christian men. My husband is a Christian and meets weekly with a men’s Bible study, reads scripture daily, listens to Christian music and teachers our kids. But did not change until he thought he could lose me. One thing that did help a bit was finding family or friends to talk to in real life(not just the Internet). Maybe even someone who may talk with you two about it if he doesn’t want to see a counselor. There are some who may say what happens in a marriage is between a husband and wife. I don’t agree with that if someone is being mistreated because there is no accountability if you keep things just between the two of you. .If you can, find a support system- friends, family a church group you can talk to. You going to counseling on your own would just be a waste of money because it’s not you with the problem. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re being over sensitive because little things add up and can hurt just as badly as something big just my opinion and will continue to pray for you. P.S. Although it was painful for me to have my husband do things that were insensitive for such a long period of time, it did make me love Christ more. Sometimes I think we are married to imperfect spouses to help us appreciate the beauty and perfection that is in Christ. If my husband were perfect I wonder if I would have been praying as much and seeking comfort from God as much. It’s easy to drift from God when you think you don’t need him.

YeahI never considered those two Christian denominations, but rather cults.

Willa pointed out the history of the divisions in the Christisn Church and someone else mentioned the Jewish sects that existed before the Church started. So there have always been factions. Obviously it seems worse now because there are more professing Christians than there were 2000 years ago or even 1000 years ago. So naturally you will have more divisions. I think the problem arises when you have one or two churches claiming to have apostolic succession and then using that claim to hold people in bondage or manipulate them. When someone tells me they are a Christian and they are living out what they believe, I never care what denomination they belong to.