Christ's Free Servant

Thank you! I liked that one. May I quote you?

Sorry. You are correct. I did not mean it to apply across the board, only that it is very prevalent today. I'm glad to hear that your church upholds the full gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen! And, I agree with your last statement, as well.

I think you all have valid arguments, but I have to mainly side with the OP on this one for this reason. He is right. The gospel has been altered to state that one can "receive Christ" and still continue in sin. We all sin and yes, we are all at varying levels of maturity, but I think what he is talking about is a heart issue and one of willful sin in the face of God feeling as though a prayer that was prayed at an altar somehow gives them a free ride to heaven with no responsibility on their part to obey God. I've had so many people tell me that repentance is not necessary for salvation at all, but that all one has to do is "believe." But, then, define "believe." You can not separate faith from repentance. James is quite clear on the fact that our lives must be evidence that we have faith. So, faith that is not faith in action is dead. If I say I believe Jesus died for my sins so that I could be free and yet I willingly continue in a sinful lifestyle in full defiance of our Lord, then I don't really believe at all, do I? The scriptures support this over and over again. I John 1:5-6:This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. I John 2:3-4:We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4The man who says,

You have gotten some really good advice here. There may be many reasons for your sons nightmares, so if I were you, I would talk with a pastor whom you respect in the area of Christian counseling and then have him talk with your son in your presence. There may have been an incident at school, a movie he watched, or any number of reasons he is having nightmares. He may not even know what made him afraid. Do you know the nature of the nightmares? I mean, are they the same or different or what is the thing in the nightmares that frightens him? This may also be a clue as to why he is afraid and to why he is having the nightmares. If there is some kind of demon activity, your pastor should be able to help you with that, too, though not all pastors are equipped to handle it. I think you've gotten some good advice on that, too, but I'd make sure first that I was "barking up the right tree." It may be something else entirely. But, certainly praying for his protection from the evil one is appropriate no matter what the situation is. I'm sorry to hear that he is going through this. It is very tough when a child is hurting and you don't know what to do to make it better. I've been there before. So, I'll pray that God will give you wisdom to know what to do and that you will get to the bottom of the problem and that the Lord will deliver this child from these nightmares and set him free!

I saw that on the news. It is wonderful when God's people can praise him in the storms of our lives.

Times sure have changed, haven't they?

Me, too!! All in God's plan and purposes for our lives!! You talking about being 13 reminded me of two things - My aunt and uncle buying me my first Diary and my first pink transister radio. That was so cool!! We were really, really poor, so anything was a treat. When I first began writing in my Diary I wrote like this: "Today I went to school. Today we had gym. We played basketball. I went home." I was not much of a writer at all until I was in my late 20's or early 30's. My sentences have gotten a little longer since then.

My husband and I have gone to purchasing old TV series that we loved when we were younger. One of our favorites is "Hogan's Heroes." Our 21 year old son-in-law loves that series and often will call and ask to come over and watch some of the shows with us. It is timeless!! Nonetheless, we have tried some of those old shows and have found them to be really "dorky." One of my favorites was "Greatest American Hero." I loved the theme song: "Believe it or not I'm walking on air, I never thought I could be so free-e-e. Flying away on a wing and a prayer, who could it be? Believe it or not, it's just me!"

I loved the Lawrence Welk show, but my husband hates it. He did like to watch Mitch Miller's sing alongs, though. Remember those with the bouncing ball? My favorite group on the Lawrence Welk show was the Lennon Sisters. I loved to hear them sing in harmony. My two sisters and I sang together some, but mostly it was me and the sister right after me and many people said when we sang in unison that it sounded like one voice. I met my husband at University Singers at Akron U and we've been singing together ever since - duets, quartets (w/other people, obviously), ensembles, choirs, etc. All of our kids sing but one, so we had a lot of family sings, too. So, I'm partial to anything with music - loved Annette and Frankie. I think I've watched all their movies. I love Rock 'N Roll, too. I stay away from stuff with bad lyrics, but I just love the sound of that style of music. It makes me happy inside!! It's like I'm a kid again when I hear it.

This I know, for the Bible tells me so...

Laura, That does bring back many memories from the past. I loved the Carol Burnett show!! My mom was not what I call a funny person, but she would get such a kick out of Carol Burnett and my mom had this really funny laugh, which I think I'm now inheriting because I hear her when I laugh now. Yes, I am familiar with Chagrin Falls. If you are from Akron, it is like being from Cleveland, because all of our TV stations pretty much came out of Cleveland and we went up there for so many things, like to watch the Indians play or go to the Zoo or the Rain Forest. Oh, and I'm a fan of Bing Crosby, too. I loved to hear him sing "White Christmas." One of my favorite childhood memories was of our church camp at Beaulah Beach, OH on Lake Erie. I went there every summer for summer camp. I loved the sound of the lake and the feel in the air of the lake nearby. I loved to just sit on the top of the hill on a bench under a nice shade tree and look at the water and spend time in prayer and meditation. It was so peaceful! In fact, that is my picture of peace - grassy hill, under a nice shade tree near the water. I think it is so worshipful. Well, thanks for the trip down memory lane - oh, do you remember Captain Penny and Captain Kangaroo? I loved both of those shows, and Howdy Doody, too. And, I always wanted to be Anette on the Mickey Mouse show. She was my idol.

Laura, Thank you!! Yes, we saw all the ones you mentioned. We left Akron in 1982 and have lived in the south ever since then, but I think Big Chuck and Little John were still on when we left. I had forgotten about them, so another memory.

I was born on December 31, 1949 in Akron, Ohio, the third child born to my parents and the first girl. We were a poor family living in a lower-class section of town. From the time I was born until I was five years old, we lived in at least five different houses. During that time period, I also gained two younger sisters. My parents had grown up on the same street and were born in houses on that street, so they knew each other their whole lives, but did not date and then marry until after WWII was over - they were 31 yrs of age, and then they had five kids. Ouch!! My mom told us she never wanted children, but my dad insisted. She was emotionally withdrawn from us, but she took good care of our physical needs. My dad was an abuser. He wasted his entire life trying to prove he was the best, the smartest, the strongest, the most talented, etc. but he never found peace. I hope he did in his last days on this earth. My parents both died in 2000. On my mom's death bed all she wanted to do was sing songs about Jesus, so that is what we did. My dad did not keep jobs well because of his temperament, so we moved a lot, all in the same city. And, then my husband's job has taken us several different places, so I've averaged a move every 2.5 years of my life, and in my adult years, they were in different cities and states. So, my whole life was moving, leaving friends behind and starting over. My parents were very legalistic and we went to church every time the doors were open, but we did not sense the love of God in our home. It was not until I married and had children of my own, that I understood what it was like to have a loving family. My husband tells people that when he married me I was "old," but that the older I have gotten, the younger I have gotten. I think that has to do with the freedom in Jesus. Ok, now to the happy memories. We lived in this one neighborhood for four years that was really nice - middle class, lots of kids my age to play with, etc. and those were the happiest years of my childhood. We had a neighborhood club and a clubhouse and we put on plays for nickles and dimes and we had bake sales and lemonade stands and car washes. We played team tag, softball, marbles, table games, dolls, jacks, jump rope, chinese jump rope, roller skated, rode bikes, etc. I don't ever remember getting bored. There was always something to do. Oh, and we would get together with the neighborhood kids and sit on our front porch and sing hymns out of the hymn book from cover to cover. We sang a lot of silly songs, too, like "I don't want no more of army life, gee Mom I wanna go home." When I got a little older, there was a Friday night after the news TV show on (that's back when the TV shut down after the evening news and it was not on 24-7). The show was called Goolardy (sp?). He was one of the pioneers of those movies where they always have people talking in between scenes of the movie. He was really funny and it was a real treat if we got to stay up and watch him. The movies were usually those old monster movies, but that was part of the fun of it. We also had Larry, Curly and Moe during my era, too, which we thought was funny, too (my husband's parents would not let him watch it). Oh, and my first pizza was one of those Chef Boyardee things out of a box and I thought it was wonderful!

And, thank you for sharing how it blessed you, because that is an encouragement to the rest of us, at least to me. I cried when I read your post.

Yes, I've not heard anyone mention that song in a really long time. What an awesome message!! And so encouraging, too!! You (the OP) have blessed my heart with this, so thanks!!

I am very sceptical of your so called prophetic dreams as being prophesy messages for the body of Christ from God. I think your dreams are your own subconscious and for you only and not the body of Christ at all. Ok, you are entitled to your opinion, but on what basis do you make this judgment? Are you the judge of my heart? How do you know they are not for the body of Christ? Are the messages contained in them not scriptural truths that are applicable to us all? My judgments are made on things not coming to pass that you have said. And no I am not the judge of your heart nor am I trying or passing any kind of judgment upon you. But I do read what you say and it is your words that I am in doubt that you are delivering to the body of Christ as I point out in the thread of yours in the prophecy section called "Visions of devastation" Repost in which I point out that you missed it coming to pass now for two months. I am listening to your words as a part of the body of Christ that you are giving out and saying they are prophetic messages from God. I have a biblical right to question the things and messages that I hear. OC This is a quote from the body of the writing to which you referred. Nowhere in there did I prophesy a specific event to happen on a specific date. I was merely sharing my journal and what I believed the Lord was saying, and I was completely honest that I did not understand it all nor had I come to any definite conclusions in some cases, one of which was on the meaning of the "two years," so I don't know how you could walk away from reading this feeling as though this was a prophecy from God:

I am very sceptical of your so called prophetic dreams as being prophesy messages for the body of Christ from God. I think your dreams are your own subconscious and for you only and not the body of Christ at all. Ok, you are entitled to your opinion, but on what basis do you make this judgment? Are you the judge of my heart? How do you know they are not for the body of Christ? Are the messages contained in them not scriptural truths that are applicable to us all?

OC, What's your point? Please read what I wrote under "Unmasked," because a lot of that was in response to your comments here. If you have a specific issue with something I've said, I will discuss it with you. As far as how often I hear from God, we should all be hearing from God every day and in the NT they met every day in the temple courts and they shared in fellowship with one another and they shared their gifts with one another for the building up of the Body of Christ so that we may all become mature and complete, so I'm not doing anything that we should not all be doing as far as sharing from my quiet times with God messages he has given me to share with his church. We all (those who are true believers in Christ) have the ability to hear God's voice speaking to us through His Word.

To some extent, I identify with both of these songs. Do you? Have you been hurt a lot by people and so you put your walls up and are afraid to let people see your pain? Have you been the girl that no one hears (or guy)? I've been there. Have you ever shared your weaknesses only to have them thrown back up in your face later? So, you learn to keep your walls up? I really see a lot of my life in both of these songs, both past and present. Anyone else identify?

I got out my Casting Crowns CD and after the song "Does Anybody Hear Her" is this song, so I think I was hearing both songs in my head: Stained Glass Masquerade Casting Crowns Is there anyone that fails Is there anyone that falls Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small Cause when I take a look around Everybody seems so strong I know they'll soon discover That I don't belong So I tuck it all away, like everything's okay If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too So with a painted grin, I play the heart again So everyone will see me the way that I see them Are we happy plastic people Under shiny plastic steeples With walls around our weakness And smiles to hide our pain But if the invitation's open To every heart that has been broken Maybe then we close the curtain On our stained glass masquerade Is there anyone who's been there Are there any hands to raise Am I the only one who's traded In the altar for a stage The performance is convincing And we know every line by heart Only when no one is watching Can we really fall apart But would it set me free If I dared to let you see The truth behind the person That you imagine me to be Would your arms be open Or would you walk away Would the love of Jesus Be enough to make you stay

Sometimes it is!

That's not it. It is Does Anybody Hear Her by Casting Crowns. Sorry, my la la la stuff was not as helpful as I had hoped. But, this is neat, because we are getting lots of songs here that talk about lonely people, so maybe that will help to make us all a little more sensitive to those around us who are hurting and lonely. We need to hear them.

Yes, it is true of our society today, but I think even truer of generations before. I think our society is much more aware of and in tune to ministering to the needs of people like this than in years gone by, but we still have a long way to go.

OK "steeple" and "people" rhyme, so they both have an "eeple" sound to them.

OK Chalk it up to old age! I was close - it was about lonely people.