Aleksander

Chance, luck and coincidence all imply that God is not in control... BAN BAN BAN those word. Well, still trying to. Anything that takes control from God, in my opinion, needs to be done away with. Especially our words. Just like when we come home from church and say things like "Oh, the service, the worship, it was so unbelieavable today!" . How is it unbelieavable if you just came from the church where it happened? And other such things.

Thank you for your prayers, you and everyone else that was praying for me. This is a big joy to finally say that I am feeling A LOT better about myself and everything that has been going on. After some unwanted conversations, lots of prayers and a lot of growing up(spiritually) by me... I am glad to say I am once again free and clear, so to say. I am finally free, completely, from the burden of my problem with porn and lust. It feels so wonderful to be free. Thank you LORD. Today I am off to the department store to chat with a manager about my job. The wheels are set in motion, so all thats left is getting there, the interviews and orientation. But I am absolutely positive that I have a new job. After 9 month of not having a major source of income, this is a welcome and refreshing change. I can finally work on paying off my debt and be free to use my newfound riches for His purpose. I am set on taking more time and money and putting it towards doing some good. I thank God for this time of chaos. Times like this drive people mad, but God has used it to help me grow in my relationship with Him, in my understanding of the Word and appying it to myself. Glory to Him fro His mercy, love, care and anything and everything I have. Anyhows, I am glad these things have happened in my life. Didnt think I'd ever say that, but I am. Thank you LORD, for I am stronger, better. All this makes for a renewed understanding of Matthew 6 and Hebrews 12, .

Interestingly enough, I read a similar piece in a book a short while back. And while I dont feel easy using a fairy tale draw paralels here, I do see what you are saying. And its a blessing of a reminder.

I am going to say YES. Mostly by attitude. Of all the people I talked to, few were impressed by my knowledge or theology. But than again, maybe that is because I am still learning and dont know that much yet.

"As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world." John 17:18 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me; because the LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn..." Isiah 61:1-2 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." John 14:12-14 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing." John 15:1-5 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16:17-18 I am not exactly sure how to fit all those here, but I a feeling that they do fit... now to figure out how.

Ay, but it seems things are never that easy for me.

Something I wanted to share: Isaiah 61. As far as I know, the first part of it(or the whole chapter?) is a prediction of Jesus' ministry here on earth. Anyways, while reading that, I remembered a part of the prayer Jesus prayed in the garden, John 17, verse 18 in particular: "As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world." This is amazing. This means we are sent the same way Jesus was sent, the only difference is we dont have to die on the Calvary(but still have to die to ourselves daily as Paul says in one of his letters). And not only that, we will do more than Jesus did, as Jesus Himself promised. And we have the same power available to us that if we ask God to be used for this purpose, the same miracles that Jesus did, we will do. Amazing. I feel like I am re-learning this all over again. This is something that I have known already, but it feels so fresh, as if I am just learning to understand that just now. As Christians, we have the same mission, the same power and authority as Jesus. The amazing things we come to realize when we not only read the Word, but also meditate on it. I know this is probably not new to some people here, but I just thought I'd share it because its something that really got my attention when I read this.

Yep, pretty much so, . I've been told I am a good listerer. I see more and more evidence that I am an artistic person.

Interesting that those 'Christian' chain mails exist even though I think they shouldnt. A pagan tradition that is being masked as 'Christian' by probably well meaning people. I dont know, I guess I just hate any and all chain letters, especially once that play the guilt card.

Now, there is something I needed to hear. Thank you.

Wow, just wow. What is wrong with these people? Congrats though.

Amazing website. I spent some time there. Ordered their evangelism course book. I might or might not be doing what those guys are doing in the same way they are doing, but the course has been a blessing so far and I am learning a lot. The course is a must-have for a Christian, I'd say. I tend to agree with them; how they reach out to people seems so contradictory to how the Gospel is preached today and one might get confused at first. But I think those guys got it right. I am proud to say that they inspired me to carry some Gospel tracts with me.

Doesnt he already know that he will lose and that fuels his rage and makes him work his evil ways with every bit of energy he has? It was always my understanding that he is defeated, he KNOWS he is defeated and canno win, he fears the day of his punishment and so thats why he is so vigilaint in his 'affairs'. That is going straight into my signature, .

Thank you for the kind words shepherdsgrace. But... Yes, I've found a way out of my problem with porn and lust, THANK YOU LORD for that. It was a long, long fight, took a lot out of me, and SO MUCH grace from God, to get out of it. And yes, I've noticed I am more and more depending on God for answers, etc and it seem I am maturing spiritually. Slowly, but little by little, I've noticed changes for the better(again, THANK YOU LORD for that). But... I dont know if its my weak faith or something, but the money problem is driving me bonkers, to say the least. Since January this year, I've made maybe a thousand dollars, at most. I had not one sourse of income since and still dont at the moment, way too much debt on credit cards(twice as much as I did last time I was in a financial, hm, situation) and other bills... I cant pick up the phone when I see one the three numbers on the caller ID cause I know they will ask for money I DONT HAVE, and because my credit history is so messed up, I cant apply for a loan... I feel REALLY HORRIBLE about complaining like this, but I dont see a way out of this mess. Whats worse is I realize that ALL of my problems were caused by MY ACTIONS at some point earlier, so I stopped blaming others for it. I cant help it but blame myself for all this mess. And it seems that every time I pray and ask for help and a way out this financial [tempted to type a choice word here, and its so hard to resist doing it]-hole, nothing happens other than things just get a little bit worse EVERY TIME I pray. THE WORSED part is that my family could really use my financial contribution if I could help them AND I have a pledge payment to CBN that will not go through because the credit card is maxed out, and I dont have enough to cover even a minimum payment. I dont know if its because I dont pray enough, or I am still in some sin thats not resolved, or I am too weak-faithed, or something else. But I am phisically, mentally and spiritually drained, out of options, and things have just been getting worse and worse. I feel REALLY HORRIBLE about complaining like this, but I am phisically, mentally and spiritually drained. Please, just pray for me you guys. And I hope soon I can come here and post a reply to this informing everyone that I out of nightmare, and finally breathing easy. Alexander.

I am already a member of a church that I am attending right now. And I am a part of the worship group in that church, so changing churches on the basis of them not having a group like Chicagoburbite dscribed... well, no, I dont think thats going to happen any time soon. And thank you for the advice and a kind words. And thanks everyone else .

If its easier, everyone can just call me Alex... Now, we dont have anything like what described in out church. But we are working on developing something within our worship group that will be a substitute of sorts. In thhe group we already share what we read from the Word on that day BEFORE we do any group activity or practise. And our pastor is strongly encouraging us to be supportive of each other, ect, almost in the same way you described. But changing churches just because we dont have a a group like you described... not going to happen. I am staing where I am for right now. --- Anyway, I am priveledged to say that I feel a lot better now. Couple of days ago I was watching TV and they were showing a clip of Christ being crusified... thats when Holy Spirit reminded me that Christ didnt just die for my sins. He died to take away all my pains and heartaches. I remembered the passage from Isaiah 53:5. Remembering that He already nailed my worries to the cross, everthing just lifted and I felt better. Its like I cant bring myself to worry about anything anymore. My mind is telling me that I am in a middle of the worsed experiences I've ever been, but I am not so worried anymore. "Thank You LORD for pulling me through. Thank You for giving me this peace. I am sorry I was so consumed by this that I was not remembering to praise You in the midst of the storm."

Thank you. Yes, I am. I am in a worship group since March this year. And I try and attend every Wendnesday when we have Bible study. Thats about it though. On that note, I am not even sure where I get the audacity to go on stage tomorrow and sing with the group... God forgive me for this. I just wish this all would stop. Or at least the financial side of this would heal. I've been through things before, and, by His grace alone, I got out of them. But now, its like, almost the same thing all over again, but this time the money nightmare is added to the mix... I am really drained right now. Mentally, physically and spiritually. I remember reading Job, chapter 10 in particular, and thinking "How can he wish for death when he knows God?" Now, I am almost ready to sign my name under everything that Job said in that chapter... Again, I know that what I am going through is cake compared to what other have to face and deal with... but reminding myself of that doesnt help much. It only adds to the guilt and shame.

I know this is a bit off topic, but here is a website that we all should check out: Click. I am guessing that this is but a begining stages of how this abomination will find its way into the church.

Hi everyone. Well, I am here cause I am totally confused about whats going on with me.... I dont know where to start... I guess I'll begin with the, hm, struggle, I have with a few particular sins that just refuse to go away. Its like a constant tag of war with porn and a couple of particular video games that I cant seem to uninstall off my computer for good. Its not that I have this addiction to the said websites. More like, I stumble, feel sorry about it, run to God and confess it. Then, some time later, BAM, same thing happens again. And the games... I had that game since like 2002 and it seems to always find its way to my computer, again and again... maybe I should just get a hammer and smash the disk right now, to avoid further pain. I suppose I brought this all upon myself though when I dont listen when God is telling me to take care of those two things. That not all of my headaches though. It gets "better" . I've caught myself on the thought that I dont pray as often as I used to. I still read the Bible and pray, but not as often as I normally do, or did. Its like I am slipping in my walk with God, but it happens so slowly, that I dont seem to notice the change untill it becomes very obvious. And this too, I suppose, I brought upon myself when I dont set aside enough time each day to spend with God. As if that wasnt enough... I am in a WORSED financial rot I've ever been. I dont want to go into details much, but lets just say I lost my job in January this year, and at the begining of July I finally found a new job... a commission based one. Turns out, I am not even cut out for it, seeing how I did not make a single penny so far. Since January, I managed to get into over eighteen hundred dollars in credit card debt, and a couple of hunded dollars more in other bills(I know it sounds so small compared to tens of thousands that some people have, but its a lot for me). All this, and I have but a dollar or two in a bank account. The car that I am currently driving is in need of some repairs and that will cost me, on estimate, at least 150 dollars... Again, 150 dollars doens sound like much. But given that the last paycheck I got was back in January... Now, I realize that all this complaining makes me sound like an ungratefull little brat. After all, I am still alive, I am still in Gods family, I have roof over my head and food on the table(courtesy of my parents). But I dont understand whats going on with me, so I had to share it with someone. All in all, I am sitting here pondering what kind of sins I got myself into that got me into this nightmare. It feels like I am one more problem away from depression. I am ashamed to admit it, but the thoughts of suicide have been showing up and staying longer than I want them to. Yes, I know better than to listen to them. And yes, I am fully aware that its not a way out and that suicide hold a price that, frankly, I am not willing to pay. And I get really worked up and wanting to punch satan in a face when these thoughts come. Such patheticly predictable sleezy underhanded tactics make me sick, I wish I could rip him into pieces everytime the snake comes knocking. And yes, I do realize I have a lot to be thankfull for. Mainly turning 25 today(happy bithday to me, ). And I know that God deserves glory regardless of my situation... What I dont understand though is whats going on with me?

Ok, so salvation by faith. Hm, well, what about the sacrifice being needed before your sins can be forgiven? Jesus died for us because someone had to die substitution death for our sins before we can be forgiven, right? Does this mean Christ died for the sins of all who lived before and after his death on the Cross?

Yeah, something that I've come across and cant seem to find an answer to: What happens(ed) to all the people that lived and died before Christ died on the Clavary? Jesus Himself said clearly that no one comes to the Father but through Him. So that begs a question of what about people that lived and died before Christ's death for our sins?

I dont like to complain about the price of gas, but when it hits US$ 4.00 a gallon... not cool. I do drive a normal car(Mirage), so I cant say I one of those guys(mine takes like $40 to fill upto the fullest). But if things keep going the way they are, we'll see 5-6 dollars a gallon. That would be a pain for anyone. On the bright side, we have G-d and His blessings are not affected by inflation, .

Shame. I dont know what esle to say.

I dont think I should start a new topic for every new thing I come up with, so I'll just add to this here topic... Atheists, Agnostics, religious folks