Christ's Free Servant

I can not narrow it down to just one person, so I'm going to name the five people who most affected my life for Christ: 1) My pastor's wife when I was in my early teen years: She always came up to me, put her arm around me and would hug me. She was just so loving, and it was a time in my life when I needed love. She died of cancer while I was a teen. 2) My youth pastor when I was 14-17: He and his wife showed me love and acceptance and he taught me so much about the Christian life. He made it so down to earth where I could understand it. 3) My (male) best friend's older sister: She invited me to come visit her anytime. That is when I was 18. I took her at her word and I spent many hours at her kitchen table drinking tea and talking. She was so loving and kind to me. She became like a surrogate mother to me. I did not know that kind of love from my own mother. My mom had trouble expressing love emotionally. She did things for us as her way of showing love. But, I needed someone to care about the 'real' me, and Barb did that. We had a 30 year long friendship before she died of cancer. My mom died of cancer two years later. 4) My pastor when I was ages 17-27: He taught me so much about God and His Word. He would be equal in teaching style and content to Chuck Swindol. I remember sitting on the edge of my seat and could not wait to come back for the Sunday night service to learn more, and he preached at the minimum of 45 minutes, but that was the fastest 45 minutes I've ever had. I sat through his teaching Sun mornings, Sun evenings, Wed evenings and Thurs mornings and I took notes upon notes upon notes that I still have nearly 30 years later and I've taught the same stuff to others that he taught me. 5) A lady missionary who stayed with us for two weeks in 1976: She taught me a Bible study guide and how to hear from God through His Word. That is when I first really started hearing God speak to me personally through His Word - when the Word of God truly became ALIVE to me when I read it during my quiet times with God. I began journaling my quiet times then, and have accumulated a whole cupboard full of journals by now that are my records of my conversations with God over the past 30 years.

I'm sure that it was. I've never "cried out" to Jesus in a dream before...it was very real. sierra, You will find many differing viewpoints on this subject, and some will disagree with me no doubt, but I will tell you what I believe. Two years ago the Lord began giving me visions and dreams of a disaster/war/devastation to come to America that would be unlike anything we have ever before experienced and it would be a judgment of God on us because we have forsaken our first love and are following after other 'gods'. Two years later he continues to give me the same message - it has been consistent these past two years - and look at where the world is right now and how much of this began in just the past two years. Look at the president of Iran who is on a mission to destroy both Israel and the USA or all Zionists in order to bring the Muslim's messiah back and look when he came to power - in 2005. Look at what is going on in Israel and its borders and how much of that has happened in just the past two years. And, I could go on and on. I read today about Rick Warren's work toward global religion and his trip to Syria, and how he began this whole idea of global peace in 2005. So, I believe your dream is real and is a depiction of what is soon to come upon America. I believe we will be invaded by foreign armies, that there will be much devastation both through war and through natural disasters and disease and that America as we know it now is soon to be a thing of the past. But, you should not take my word for it. I would suggest that you spend some time on your knees before the Lord in prayer and then in his word (where you are reading in your quiet times right now) and listen to hear what he has to say about it. If the dream was from him, then he has the interpretation. Just ask him. He'll show you.

It may be that this is what it will take to truly return Israel back unto her LORD. imagin ewhat will happen if they find their deliverance through the name of Yeshua! I believe they will! I can hardly wait to see it!!

It certainly seems that way. I don't remember any time like this before.

Amen!

Candi, You are so right. I know you know this, but KNOW that God is in control and none of this is happening without his permission and/or direction and purpose. I have been witnessing to some Jewish young men who sell stuff at our local mall, and one of them told me that only about 25% of Jews believe in God, i.e. are religious. I believe prophecy is being fulfilled here and that Israel must go through this in order for God to show them that He alone is God and that he wants to turn their hearts back towards him. That does not make it right for people to do this to Israel, and what you said about God judging those who are against Israel is so true, but I believe with all my heart that God has a purpose in it and that he will get the glory and that lives will be changed for good when all is said and done. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done here on earth as it is in heaven."

It seems like everyone is against Israel. That has to be a God-thing... I mean it has to be fulfillment of scripture and prophecy, because it does not make sense. When I look at the globe and see little tiny Israel in comparison to the rest of the world it is like "WOW!" How can one little itty bitty country invoke so much hatred from the rest of the world? I mean, I can see why the world would hate America because of our wealth and power, but why Israel? She has so little, and what little she has is being taken away from her. They want to choke her out until nothing is left of her. But, God has the final word in this matter!! Hallelujah!!

I hear you!

I read yesterday on the DEBKAfile that Russia has sent some independent military units to Lebanon aimed at "improving Moscow's image in the Arab and Muslim world." They are not working with the UN peace-keeping force and, in fact, Washington, Paris, Berlin, Rome and the UN were not informed of this, though the Lebanese PM was informed. After I read that from the DEBKAfile and then read this article about a UN Peace-keeping force to be deployed to the Gaza Strip, I could not help but think of this passage of scripture found in Luke 21:20-28:

EU to send troops to Gaza Published: 11.16.06, 14:29 The European Parliament passed on Thursday a proposal to send a multi-national force to Gaza designed to pressure Israel to "stop all its military operations" in the region. The vote, which was passed by a vast majority, called for a force similar to the one stationed in southern Lebanon. European representatives also condemned Israel's "disproportionate use of force and the economic siege laid on Gaza." (AFP) http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3329049,00.html

Me, too!! I am a third generation C&MAer. I was with the C&MA at birth and continued with them for about 39 years. Since then we've been in Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and non-denominational churches. I grew up in Akron, Ohio. A. W. Tozer pastored a church in my town and he is buried there. I used to spend every summer at Beaulah Beach camp on Lake Erie and I attended Life Investment Camp in Estes Park, Colorado in 1967, I think. I have friends and family who have attended Toccoa Falls College in GA and Nyack College in Nyack, NY. I am mentioning all of this in case our paths have crossed somewhere.

I was brought up in the Christian & Missionary Alliance. Basically, I'm a religious mutt, since the C&MA was founded as a mission society comprised of people from all denominations and was never intended to become a denomination itself. It actually was not recognized as a denomination until it had been around 75 years or so. The founder was a Presbyterian minister who had a call to evangelize the world. When he invited some (I believe) Italian immigrants to the church, the church turned them away. That is when he knew that he must leave the church and become "Christ's Free Servant." His story inspired me so much that I took on that name, as well. Some of you might be familiar with one of the C&MA's greats - A. W. Tozer. If you have read any of his writings, it should give you some idea of the teaching I came out of. Holy living was very strongly emphasized and so was missions. The gifts of the Spirit were alive and well within the church, as well, although in the church I attended, we did not see much of the demonstrative gifts other than healing. Our church believed very much in divine healing. We had a statement that was considered the four-fold gospel: Jesus Christ, Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King. Our statement of faith reads much like a non-denominational statement of faith for non-profit religious organizations. We don't make strong statements on most of the controversial issues presented here. We moved south (from the north) 25 years ago, were in a C&MA church in Raleigh for 4 years, attended one in Greenville, SC for about 6 mos., but it had some spiritual unhealth issues, tried our hand at church planting twice - once in Cleveland, TN and once here in Rock Hill, SC, but the Lord closed both of those doors. We've attended Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian churches and have visited at the Church of God with our daughter and son-in-law. Presently we are regular attendees and participants at a PCA church. The reason we did not stay with the C&MA is that there are not C&MA churches where we live. They are sparse in the southern states. Other than that, that is probably still my denominational leanings, though I disagree with them in one area.

Are you saying that Iran has no plans to attempt to take out Israel?? Candi, He followed that paragraph with this statement: I believe his first paragraph was sarcasm, if I read what he said correctly.

I hear you!

We could begin on our knees!

LightofJesus, Thank you so much for those thoughts!! I love you, too!! God bless!!

Bob, God sent his judgment on Israel many times over, not because they did not believe in God (they did), but because they chose to follow after other gods, as well. They did not make God their One and Only God. They allowed themselves to follow not only after other gods but the patterns of the world around them. They adopted the customs of people who followed after other gods. This, I believe, is a picture, not only of America but of the Church in America. We have become too worldly and we have adopted the culture of the world even in the Church. We have forsaken our first love and God is not our One and ONly God in America and in the Church in America. We are following after the gods of this world; the gods of our stomachs. We have become apathetic to the sin condition of our nation and of the Church. And, we follow the teachings of men more than we do the teachings of God. Case in point: Your response when I asked you where you learned methods of prayer. You learned them from the teachings of men, not from God and His Word. But, that is where you need to learn how to pray - from His Word. I don't recall the statistics, but there are more abortions done in the USA than in the rest of the world. I think it is like 1/3 of the population of NYC that has been aborted, or something really close to that. We don't know all the things that are going on in the government, either, but God does. There is so much going on in America and in the Church in America that we don't even realize, but God does, and he is willing to show you what he sees through his eyes if you will let him show you. You see, my knowledge of what God thinks about America does not come from my own thinking, it comes through His revealing it to me through time spent with him at his feet daily. The Bible says we have the mind of Christ, and God is willing to show us what is on his mind if we will just ask him. Why not take some time with Him and ask Him what he thinks about all of this?

Bob, The only guide any of us were handed when we became believers in Jesus Christ is the Bible. That is our ONLY guide. Though it is certainly true that God knows our thoughts and that he knows what we are going to ask even before we ask it, still His Word teaches us over and over again to 'ask'. This is important to God, because it opens those doors of communication between us and him. He wants us to ask. Think of our relationship with God like a marriage. Imagine if I never expressed to my husband what I wanted, I never talked directly with him, but I just expected that he would know what I wanted. That would not work, it would cause a lot of confusion and frustration, and there would be no communication between us. Or, imagine if I said the question out loud kind of like thinking out loud, but I never directed the question to him. What would that say to him? Or, what if I stated the question but then just went on about my day without really waiting to hear his reply? You see, Jesus wants to have time with us. He wants us to ask him questions and he wants us to listen for the answers. That is why we need to sit at his feet, not literally, but figuratively. It means to spend time quietly with him each day in prayer and in His word. We have to be in His Word if we want to know his answers to our questions. Yes, sometimes he will put the answers in our heads, but that comes from spending a lot of time with him at his feet, listening to his voice so that we are able to discern his voice from our own thoughts, but we should never rely on this as our guide because it is so subjective and our own thoughts and feelings can enter in and can even override his. It is true that prayer is not some method or position, though the Lord has certainly been encouraging me of late to literally get on my knees before him. I have really bad knees and sometimes they hurt so badly that I can't sleep, but I have found recently that when I get up, if I just get on my knees in prayer, they don't hurt. Amazing! Well, that is where God has me, but I don't think you have to be on your knees or even closing your eyes or hands held together to pray. I talk with God all day long, just as though he is right there beside me. Sometimes I will think a thought like you said but not really directly ask him and he will sometimes give me an answer in my head, but that is not the norm. The Bible is our guidebook on how to live the Christian life and how to pray. I don't know where you got your information on how to pray when you said that you looked it up and you are praying the right way, but again, the Bible tells us to ask, to seek, to knock, to inquire, etc. So, again, I encourage you to earnestly seek God's face, to ask him what he thinks, and then to spend much time in his word listening for his answers.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does" (James 1:5-8). "You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (James 4:2b-3).

Bob, Have you ever tried asking God that question? Do you ever ask him what he thinks about all of this? I'm not assuming you don't, but I wonder if this is just your reasoning or if you feel God has given you this understanding of his will for America.

Romans 3:1-6: "What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. 3What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God

I think that is a bad assumption. Just because something has not happened YET does not mean it will not happen, nor does it assume there is no cause for it to happen. God is a very patient God. But, he is also a jealous God.

NO! He will do with us what he did with Israel until we repent of our sin and turn back to Him.