Pipit

I am reading this, and am reminded of a dream I had that had much spiritual significance. It involved a group of us (Christians) crossing a field--we were leaving a wooded area at one side and heading to a wooded area on the other side. It was a familiar place (in fact, the place was on my farm, where I grew up). Half way across the field, we saw a bunch of people coming out of the woods on the other side of the field. We thought it was an enemy army, and many people became afraid. Some of us decided that we would stay and hold our ground, so others could escape back to the other side. However, when these people came out of the woods, instead of coming to fight us, they asked us how to be saved... ...at the end of my dream, we had a celebration. I remember waking up from it speaking in tongues. -------- the meaning of that dream was given soon after: That we will be in a familiar place, preparing to move into a wilderness--one that we are also familiar with, but only because we are close to it. From this wilderness people will come, and many of us as Christians will feel fearful about these people, thinking that persecution will come from it, and so many will shrink back, not in denying their faith, but in their pursuit to witness. But the people in the wilderness will instead desire after Christ, and will want to know about salvation, and we will see from it many saved, and have reason to rejoice. This dream was meant for a specific group of people (a campus group of Christians), for a specific place (the univserity we attend... a familiar place, yet also a wilderness in regards to the things that happen there). I believe for those who are involved we are seeing this dream starting to come to pass, as we begin to step forward to minister to those on our campus. As for your dream, there are a few things that stand out, that I feel confident in giving an interpretation for (and I say this with much prayer and thought--and if not for a strong spiritual prompting, I would not reply, even if I had an interpretation given to me). I also write this without having read anyone elses posts--if there be agreement with them, than it stands as a witness. ------- The bringing of the cross upstream to a place of 'worship' represents this: you are bringing the message of the cross to others--or, as it is being brought to a place of worship, you are brining the message of the cross BACK to others. Yet that message is resisted, and so it is an upstream journey. Yet Christ is with you, and so the journey is easy, though it is long. The golden grass on the hill, which is the place of 'worship' is this: it represents vanity. Though it is golden in color, it is only grass, which is here today, and tomorrow burned. It is a church that thinks it has much, but really has nothing, and what it has is parishable. It once was a beautiful place spiritually, but it has lost its beauty... The difficulty you have with proping the cross up while on the hill has two meanings: one is that the people you are seeking to reveal the truth of Christ to have hardened their hearts. The cross no longer stands in the center of their lives, and so the cross no longer stands in their lives. Yet it also represents the folly of trying to declare the message of the cross thru our own efforts. You are trying to prop the cross up with sticks or stand it in a hole, but are not relying on the Holy Spirit to uphold the cross. Your display of truth, though noble, is being done under the wrong power--your own, and not Christ's. The people attacking you are those who resent the message of the cross and hate the truth--both within the 'church' and outside of it. They will seek to attack you on a spiritual and emotional level, and force you from the place of 'worship'. They will seek to hinder you even after you flee, yet you will overcome them, and even in overcoming them show them mercy. These attacks upon you, for holding to the truth of the gospel, will continue--they will not cease, even if you seek refuge in other places (in a house). In regards to your escape down the tunnel: God will continue to provide a means out--though His method of rescue is not meant to be revealed at this time... Again, I write this only with great prayer and thought being taken before doing so, and in making certain that my mind and spirit are in the right place, and only with knowing that there is a Spiritual prompting for me to do so.

Hey Dan... Firstly, there is much good advice already posted here... hopefully mine would be fitting enough to add to it, and that all that is said will encourage and challenge you. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we are to beat ourselves down--either physically, spiritually or emotionally--or to hate ourselves. Nor does it say anywhere we are to love ourselves. In reading what you have posted, two things come to mind: condemnation (and not just condemnation, but self-condemnation), and legalism. I am going to venture with some questions: Do you feel that you are more aware of your shortfallings, your sins and inabilities, then you are of God's grace? Do you see yourself as not being good enough to deserve the salvation afforded to you through Christ Jesus? If so, you are dealing with condemnation. Don't worry, most of us deal with it at one time or another, and unfortunately, some people think it should be a lifestyle. What is condemnation (as an emotional complex)? For us as Christians, it is the feeling that we have failed to live fully in Christ, and because we have failed, that we have seriously ticked off God. More so, we often forget about God's grace, or feel that we cannot accept it or accept forgiveness. This is not guilt--guilt is different. Guilt is the feeling we get when we have done wrong that informs us that this should be something we repent of and seek grace for. Condemnation doesn't inform us to seek grace, but makes us instead hide from it. Now, I mention Legalism because often, we feel that we need to do something in order to earn or maintain or make good on the salvation deal. We think that we have to maintain a consistent prayer life, read the Bible daily, learn Hebrew and Greek, and be involved in 5 church ministries in order to be 'Christian.' And when we can't do that, or we miss out on devotional time, or have a bad week, well... we enter into that mindset of condemnation. So why Condemnation and Legalism? Because both deny or forget about the completeness of Justification that we as Christians have in Christ Jesus! And Justification is something we often say but don't really understand. We think Justification is an ongoing thing, but it isn't. When we accepted Christ, we where Justified--and not just justified, but freely justified, meaning we can't and do not need to do anything to earn it (Romans 3:23-26). It was Christ's work, for us. Condemnation and Legalism also forget that we as Christians undergo sanctification--the ongoing process of being made righteous in Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is Christ's work, in us. So, know this: you, if you are a Christian, are Justified--your sins are forgiven, and you do not need to beat yourself up when you mess up or when you feel you have fallen short (but you can fall on your knees and pray for God to strengthen and help you!). Now, as for all the bad things told about you: If you are a Christian, you are first and formost a Child of God. You are a New Creation, with your old self passed away. You are not a loser (you have Victory in Jesus), you are far from useless (hey, you have a job: You are Christ's ambassador!), you will succeed (you can do all things through Christ who is your strength!), you are loved (for God so loved the world... and if God's love is not enough, I love you as a brother in Christ!) . Those lies are not so, do not place any weight on them! Dave, place your worth in Christ, and in Christ alone. Know that He has paid for your sins, and that you need not walk in condemnation, nor believe the lies that say you are not worthy.Remember the promises that you as a Christian have in Christ! And remember that there is Grace for those times when you feel less than zero in your Christian walk.

It is sad, especially regarding History, that we are losing our depth of knowledge. It seems the more we are exposed to and know and experience, the less we want to learn about it or pass it on to the next generation. And this is a big problem. As a generation grows up not knowing the heritage of the previous generations, it fails to respect the lessons of history that the previous generations learned through struggle and perseverence. And when it fails to respect those lessons, sadly, it will most likely find itself either unable to rationally come to terms with world events that effect them--such as wars, economic fallout, political upheavels, genocide--or they will become the perpetrators themselves of such things. Winston Churchill was right in his philosophy, and history proves it right. The further back we look into history, the better can understand the future. And the more we understand the past, the better we are to safeguard present from follies. One only needs to look at Isreael in the Book of Judges to see what can happen when a generation forgets and neglects the heritage it is part of. And we are seeing a similar development here in North America. Maybe not a spiritual neglect (though one certainly sees that!), but a neglect of the lessons already learned. "We have become smart, but we have destroyed all knowledge and wisdom in order to do so..."

I think I know the reason why some of the students aren't just that bright. Look at the watered down misinformation found in text books. These are things that have been found in text books approved for use in school: Americans dropped the Atomic bomb... during the Korean War. That the Plains Indians unprovokedly attacked peaceful American settlers (no mention of how the Indians where treated) That the Americans won the War of 1812. (Hey... the best the Americans did was raid Toronto. The British and Canadians did better by burning down parts of Washington, including some of the White House! The war was a draw) That Russia did not fight in World War One. That Ford invented the automobile. That birds migrate north for the winter (maybe in the southern equator and their winter... but this was refering to north american birds... and it was repeated a few times!) and there are others... many others. Of course, much else is dumbed down, not fully explained if even partly correct in its explaination. So no wonder we have students asking if the Iron Curtain was really made out of iron, and what the holocaust was. And sadly, it doesn't look like things are going to get much 'smarter' any time soon....

Hmmm... find one word to describe and sum up what Christianity means to me. I find it hard enough to describe my salvation in Christ Jesus and my relationship with God using less then a thousand words! But if I could find one word to describe it all, the best I could find is a reverent and awe inspired "Wow"

Oh Baz... Shy people usually don't make eye contact with people they do not know (I use to be a really shy person... hardly made eye contact with people I did not know while going thru highschool). So, don't be too concerned about that. If there is anything to be concerned about, it is in finding something meaningful beyond the weather to talk about, and to hit on a subject that you can actually have a conversation with. Add to that the difficulty of seeing each other beyond passing in the hallways makes for opportunity to talk difficult (lets face it, unless you have class together or share some other common activity, the chances of you getting to talk to someone and know someone are fairly slime without putting effort into it. Which is a pity... ) As for things to talk about... you could ask her what her interests are, what she plans to go to college or university for, etc. Trick is to ask her without sounding like the Gestapo or KGB.... talk about common interesting. hey, you can ask her why she was at the costume party at school--if she is in the Athletic Council or not, if she likes sports and activities. Make your conversation enough about her so she knows you are genuinly interested in knowing about her without trying to know everything (or that you are not just someone trying to get into her pants-- sadly, girls face alot of that from guys---what is worse, enough girls allow themselves to fall for it!), while sharing enough about yourself (but not too much unless she asks!) so it isn't one sided (you asking questions, her answering them) and so that she will know you are not just some psychotic nutcase who is stalking her. Other then that, and BEFORE all of that, pray and seek God's direction... and hey... my mom is 5 years older then my dad... and there is nothing in the Bible that says you cannot marry an older woman! not that that should be your intention....

Excites you and scares you horribly??? Yep, that's Him! If you get that warm "spiritual adrenaline rush" after following His will, you'll know for sure. Gotta love those crash courses... they leave you wrecked and vulnerable yet elated and refreshed, scared and excited... like that moment just before you dive into a pool for the first time, unsure but wanting to, wondering what the experience will be like. That is a shadow of what life in Christ is like!!! And it is awesome watching you "grow up," and it really encourages us (at least me!) to hear what is happening to you spiritually Disconnected!! THank you for keepign us posted on your journey!

What happened? I guess she decided to remain constant....

I think my mom was smart, in that she had her house build on the farm beside her parents. As such, my grandma was the one who kept the house from becoming a disaster zone. Can Do, it is an honorable goal to want to keep a clean house: Proverbs 31:10-31 speaks of a wife of good character, one who keeps her house in order. Yet a house in order is not a house that is spotlessly clean--it is a house in which the family is in harmony, with Christ as its center, and love as its foundation, and in which fond memories abide. As it has already been said here, be motivated to love your Children, and place them well before housework. Stand in awe of those mothers whose houses may not be the neatest, but whose family is close, and who are loved and honored by their children!! And seek to be such a mother!! My hope, when I have kids, is that I will never place the value of my carpet above the value of fond memories, that I will not be worried about the crayon on the wall too much, but will charish the artwork (aww, that's nice sweety! Can you draw it again on paper for me?), or that how clean my clothes are and how well they are folded will take precedence over playing with my kids even if it means getting dirty! Can Do, as said, it is honorable to keep a tidy house, yet the greater thing is found in creating and keeping a loving family! That was a great post. I have a twenty year old daughter you need to meet. OK, just kidding....... (she's in college in Florida....) That's okay Island Rose!! I'm a bit of a northern boy!! If I don't see snow by early December, it means I'm too far south! And well, Florida doesn't get any snow!! (what college in Florida?? )

Hey Disconnected!! Its encouraging to hear how God is doing a work in you and how He is bringing you to a deeper understanding of what it is to walk with Him!! Blessings to you!!

just don't be too silent!!!

Hmmm... it will take a little bit of getting use to Constant... I mean, Lords Marine! Or should we call you LM for short? Anyways, all these name changes! Sooner or later we are going to start forgetting who's who!!

I think my mom was smart, in that she had her house build on the farm beside her parents. As such, my grandma was the one who kept the house from becoming a disaster zone. Can Do, it is an honorable goal to want to keep a clean house: Proverbs 31:10-31 speaks of a wife of good character, one who keeps her house in order. Yet a house in order is not a house that is spotlessly clean--it is a house in which the family is in harmony, with Christ as its center, and love as its foundation, and in which fond memories abide. As it has already been said here, be motivated to love your Children, and place them well before housework. Stand in awe of those mothers whose houses may not be the neatest, but whose family is close, and who are loved and honored by their children!! And seek to be such a mother!! My hope, when I have kids, is that I will never place the value of my carpet above the value of fond memories, that I will not be worried about the crayon on the wall too much, but will charish the artwork (aww, that's nice sweety! Can you draw it again on paper for me?), or that how clean my clothes are and how well they are folded will take precedence over playing with my kids even if it means getting dirty! Can Do, as said, it is honorable to keep a tidy house, yet the greater thing is found in creating and keeping a loving family!

An awesome thing you can do is to bring to the man the Law of Moses--the 10 Commandments. As a muslim, he should have a great respect for those. Ask him if he considers himself as good enough to make it into Heaven, and than use the commandments--or at least some of them, ask him if he ever told a lie or stole something or if he has always obeyed his parents--to show him that he falls short of deserving Heaven on his own merit or works, and that because we have broken God's law, we deserve death (remember also: you can bring up the point that even if the best of people break the laws of man--such as speeding etc--all their good deeds does not get them off the hook! They must still pay the fine or serve the time!). From there, take time to explain to him how Jesus came to pay the fine for us, to take the death penalty we deserve so that we may have eternal life in Him, if we repent of our sins and put our faith and truth in Him. Best of blessings to you! I pray that God will open this man's heart and eyes to the truth, and that we can celebrate his salvation!!

Wow.. good word everyone (even I am encouraged!!) I think an awesome thing we have as Christians, as a brother or sister of Christ and a son or daughter of God, is that our heart and mind are continually being renewed, and conformed so that our desires begin to reflect God's desires for our lives (this is not to say that we will still have selfish or sinful desires!). As we allow ourselves to be sanctified and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, we become more and more Christ like (2nd Corinthians 3:17-18). And so our thoughts and desires reflect God's will for our lives--though we should still take time to pray that God will guide us! We are also admonished by Paul to think and seek after those things with are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admiralbe, excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8-9). And if our thoughts are on those things (not as the world defines them, but as God defined them!), we can be confident that we are His light-- and if we are willing to walk in His light, He will guide our path and conform our desires and will to bring us to the places He desires us to be! Set your mind on things above, let the Word of Christ dwell in you, and whatever you do in word and deed do it in the name of the Lord Jesus! (Colosians 3)

The law after salvation is to remind us that our righteousness is not our own, but of Christ through our salvation. It also serves as a standard we are to strive to live by, but not in our own efforts! Even though we are no longer under the law, as Christians, we are still required to obey the law.

Greetings Baz, Try visiting this site: www.xxxchurch.org It is a web site dedicated to helping those who wish to recover from porn. Blessings, Dad Ernie Thank you. Although there was an interesting program I downloaded, there was nowhere on that site where I can find a male to chat with everyday. I read 'Every Young Man's Battle' inside/out and it told me to do something like this (which is a great idea). I'm just looking for a Christian male I can chat with everyday on MSN. Hey Baz. Know the porn struggle all to well--been there myself. And even though it has been a while, the temptation is often great to go back to it. If you are really looking for someone to talk to, my msn is available-- though I would recommend first trying to connect with someone in your church, maybe your youth pastor or another male who is in leadership and who can hold you accountable and help you. next to the X3Church site, www.pureintimacy.org is another good site. For a good filter, I would suggest KidsGoGoGo by Maki-- it is a effective filter that isn't overly pricey that you can download off the net.

I do not think I could give you any advice, but I will certainly pray that God will give you wisdom and the words to say that will allow you to speak to her the words of Truth and Life. I will also pray that God will open her heart and mind to those words, that she may hear them and receive them and believe them! Wish I could give more...

hey Baz: What are your reasons or intentions in wanting to get to know her? You say she is attractive: Is her being attractive the only reason you want get to know her? Are you thinking along the lines of "I find her attractive, and because I find her attractive, I want to date her"? (kinda like the Sampson complex "There's a cute girl, I want her to be my wife!"). Be careful with your motives and reasons for wanting to get to know this girl and making a good impression on her. It's not wrong to want to make new friends and get to know people-- but you can have VARY wrong and ungoldy motives for doing so!

Hey Disconnected!! First, WhySoBlind is right... don't worry about it. don't worry if you are unable to lead a prayer group. Don't worry that you cannot speak in tongues. Don't worry about your past--- you are a new Creation in Christ!! And that makes you much much much more than useless! I want to say this: our value is not dependent upon our ability or how well we can serve others or how 'Christian-like' our lives are. In fact, on our own we are all useless! It is in Christ we find our value, it is in Christ we are made valuable, and as a Son or Daughter of God we have value of incredible worth--regardless of how useful we feel we are. As for our abilities: We can't... but then, God never said we could. God can... and He always promised that He would! And we need to remember that--it is not us, we can't... its God... and we need to let Him lead us. I also want to say this: You are a mother of four children. Not many people can manage that. You are far from useless to them. You have a testimony that can serve as a lesson to many that Christ's love is far reaching, no matter what they have done in life--that is a marvelous thing! It will be used in life to touch others! You do not have to be useful at church to be useful in life--and useful for Christ! It may be that you being in that church is to prepare yourself to greater things outside of the Church. But regardless, you are more than useless... and you are not a hindrance or a burden, and any church that passes you off as one is not a worthy place to be, because they fail to understand what fellowship is about!

Tweet tweet... I'm a bird. I got my name from being a staff worker at Northland Bible Camp (in northern Ontario, Canada). All the staff are given bird names as nick names, and Pipit was one of the few that seemed to suit me (a cute bird commonly found in wooded areas... I was a cute guy commonly found in the woods ). That was 12 years ago (half my life's summers spent staffing at camps!), and the name has stuck... both at Northland, through highschool (where I was more often called Pips), into chatrooms, at university and yea... almost as many people know me as Pipit as they do my real name...

The only program that quits is Safari, my web browser, and only with the Worthyboard site. Yea... of course, with it being a microsoft add-in, it would be so complicated and confusing and loaded with viruses that our Mac's are intellegent enough to close down the connection before they become infected. Not that we get viruses on Macs... our security and virus protection is so much better than Windows..and so much easier to use... ..oh, and we don't get any 'blue screen of death' either, cause our computers don't crash at random

I am having the same problems with my webbrowser crashing. I am using Safari on a iBook G4. Every once in a while it will crash when loading or switching pages in Worthy Boards. Hmmm.... could it be that the people at Worthy Boards have something against Mac users? This started when the forum was redone a few weeks ago.

I am sad to hear that you have faced so much, though my hope is that in your trails you have learned to put your hope and trust in Christ. I also hope and pray that as you seek prayer and advice, you will find yourself encouraged and challenged in your faith, and that you will continue to learn to lean on Christ. It breaks my heart to see and read of some of the choices that you have made in your former relationship, and how some of those choices are bearing out their consequences now. Sadly, though thankfully, we often have to face the consequences that come with choices that we have made that are not pleasing to God (such as living with someone out of marriage). Yet I am glad to hear that from this, you are seeking to renew and deepen your relationship with God. Let that be your focus and your prayer, that your heart and mind will be focused on Him, and that in Him you will find healing for your heart. As I read your post, I also note that you are praying that he, your former boyfriend, will call and apologize. I do believe that yes, he should apologize for how he has betrayed you, that may be a long time in coming, if ever. Yet regardless if he apologizes or not, yours, as a Child of God, is to forgive him, even if you do not think he deserves forgiveness. Yet that is what grace is. It is forgiveness received, though not deserved, and this is what we have received in Christ, through God's grace: forgiveness that we do not deserve, and that we did not ask for (while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us). Jesus told us to forgive, and that if we forgive, we too will be forgiven. If you want closure, and healing of your heart, that is the most important step you must do. As well, I note some bitterness (forgive me though, if I am wrong in that presumption) despite that you still love him. You are bitter towards your ex because of what he has done to you. Please bring that to God, lift it up to Him, ask Him to forgive you for any bitterness and resentment you may have towards your ex, and ask Him to replace it a heart felt compassion for his salvation and his well being. As for still loving him, my prayer is that you will learn to let go, and in doing so to place him in God's hands, and that your love for your ex will be a compassion for his salvation, and that of his family. Again, my hope is that as you seek advice and help here you will be able to deepen your trust in God and His will, and that you will be able to deepen your faith in Him. My prayer is that you will be blessed in your time here. agape--->

CCM Magazine has an online site that lists recent and upcoming releases. Here's their list for October: 10.4 L.A. Symphony: Disappear Here [Gotee] Sara Groves: Add to the Beauty [iNO] Hawk Nelson: Letters to the President (Deluxe Edition) [Tooth & Nail] Underoath: Chasing Safety (Deluxe Edition w/ DVD) [Tooth & Nail] Point of Grace: Winter Wonderland [Word/Curb] The Fold: This Too Shall Pass [Tooth & Nail] Various WOW Christmas [Word/Curb] 10.11 Ginny Owens: Long Way Home [Rocketown] Brother's Keeper: Beyond Beautiful [Training Union/Ardent] Kevin Max: The Imposter [Northern] The Katinas: Timeless [bHT] George Huff: Miracles [Word/Curb] Chris Rice: Inside Out DVD [eb+flo] Derek Webb: How to Kill and Be Killed DVD [iNO] Kildare Celtic Carols [Martingale] The McRaes: Perfect Love [Daywind] Life In Your Way: Ignite and Rebuild [Floodgate] Eric Wyse: Carols of Christmas [Martingale] Various The Message: Psalms [bHT/eb+flo] Various Caroling! Caroling! The Voices of Children at Christmastime [Martingale] 10.18 Whitley Phipps: Favorite Hymns of Billy Graham [Discovery House] 10.25 Falling Up: Dawn Escapes [Tooth & Nail] Natalie Grant: Believe [Curb] BeBe and CeCe Winans: Treasures [EMI CMG] Judy Jacobs: Almighty Reigns [Daywind] Sandi Patty: Duets [Word/Curb] Smokie Norful: Nothing Without You Live (Special Edition) [EMI] Demon Hunter: The Triptych [Tooth & Nail] Randy Travis: Glory Train [Word/Curb] John Tesh: Red Rocks Platinum [Garden City] Fresh Digress: Fresh Digress [beatmart] Oak Ridge Boys: Christmas Cookies [spring Hill] Jontez: And So It Is... [soul2Seoul/Lightyear] Various A Musical Tribute to C.S. Lewis [Maranatha] Various Happy Christmas 4 [Tooth & Nail] Various Holy Hip Hop, Vol 3: Takin' the Gospel to the Streets [ForeFront]