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This is a very good topic! God speaks to me in many ways! When I was a small child I had stolen a nightlight( in the shape of a church lol) I wrapped a bracelet around it and plugged it in. I got a shock! Which I felt was God showing me this was wrong for me to have stolen it!
Since then. God has spoken to me mostly in visions and dreams but he also brings to my memory past experiences and then I know exactly what he's saying to me! Sometimes I get a word that I have to look up in the dictionary and then as I look it up the revelation of it comes!
How do I know this is Him? It's all about the gift of discernment I feel. You will know like you know like you know that it's Him!
Once I was praying about if I should be attending a certain bible study. When I had gone to visit, they were praying out loud, looking up words in the greek and hebrew and yes, even praying in tongues. None of those things was I doing at that time. I was a bit intimidated. My answer to my prayer came in a small sentence on the christian radio station. The words said, "If you can't be a wiseman, what better place to be then amongst wise men?" I had to laugh! His presence was all over me and I knew to go full steam ahead with this group. I remained with them for many years and learned alot about the spiritual gifts while I was there. Glory to God!
FYI!!!!!!!!!
It's almost irony,or just plain coincidence!!
But anyways, Charles Stanley did an in depth teaching on this subject yesterday
Sunday 8/26/07. It was on a few television channels but I'm sure if you wanted to, you could go on his website and get this programming info.
Thought you'd be interested...
FYI!!!!!!!!!
It's almost irony,or just plain coincidence!!
But anyways, Charles Stanley did an in depth teaching on this subject yesterday
Sunday 8/26/07. It was on a few television channels but I'm sure if you wanted to, you could go on his website and get this programming info.
Thought you'd be interested...
Location: Somewhere along the path to where I'd like to be.
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Thank you all for sharing your stories with me. It has touched me, and helped me to realize that some things I've experienced have indeed been God speaking to me.
The reason I started this thread is because I saw something on a chocolate candy wrapper the other night that is leaving me a bit perplexed, because I'm not sure if it was God trying to give me a message about something (I won't say what, but I know what it would be in reference to) - or it if was merely coincidence.
Recently I've been dealing with an ongoing personal struggle, and I've been finding myself wavering back and forth between two positions. I don't want to get this thread headed off into a totally different direction, so I won't say what the subject matter was. Since I'm desperately trying to lose weight, I'm trying to limit my intake of sweets. And if any of you know me, you know that I'm a total chocolate freak. Well, the other evening I was in the mood for a dark chocolate square. So I grabbed one and popped it in my mouth. The taste happened to be more intense than usual, which I found to be odd considering I've been having a rough time with my allergies this year and can barely taste anything. So as the chocolate was melting in my mouth, and I was savoring every last bit of it, I pondered if I should grab a couple more squares. (Heck, they're only about the size of a quarter.) Well, the taste was too much to resist and I was hoping to prolong the pleasure with a couple more squares. (Hey, what can I say? I'm human. ) So I grabbed a couple more squares and opened one. Well, the inside of the wrappers have cutesy little sayings, and I normally read them, but toss them aside without paying much attention to them. After all, I'm not the kind of person who gets into horoscopes and fortunes, etc. But this particular wrapper's message sort of stood out to me, and caused me to pause and think for a couple of moments. It said "Love without rules". Ordinarily I wouldn't think twice about seeing something like that, but this time it kinda fit in with some things I've been experiencing lately.
For example, a while back, as I was taking my normal morning walk, I was really struggling with this personal issue - and in the process of trying to sort things out in my mind, a Carpenters song popped into my head. I'm a long-time Carpenters fan, so I instantly recognized the song. It's called "Don't Be Afraid". The lyrics are straightforward and simple:
Don't be afraid to love and get love returned
Don't be afraid to tell everyone you've learned
That love is a groovy thing
It knows how to make you sing
And it fills up your life with sunshine and joy.
Don't be afraid to give all you've got to give
One of these days you'll find that's the way to live
And living is what we all were put on this earth to do
So come on and live and be happy
Don't be afraid to love.
The way the song just popped into my head made me wonder if the Lord had "placed" it there in my mind, as if it was a message He wanted me to hear. The problem is that the nature of what I was thinking about at the time would lead other Christians to believe that it may have simply been a random thing that happened - or maybe even that I was being deceived by the enemy. I honestly don't recall if I had a sense of peace come over me once the song entered my head, but I know that God has in the past spoken to me through music. Often times He has given me a message by placing a song within my mind, particularly right as I'm waking up - and it is quite out of the blue. So for Him to use a song to give me a message while I'm awake isn't something I would simply dismiss as coincidence.
Nevertheless, the nature of my struggle led me to think it may not have been Him at all. But then I saw that message inside the chocolate candy wrapper, and I'm once again wondering if He's trying to tell me something. Could it have been Him that prompted me to grab a couple more squares of chocolate? And if so, how can I be sure? I mean, the words "love without rules" aren't exactly contrary to what the Bible says. Doesn't it say something about there not being any law against love?
I'm not sure that every message we are given is necessarily going to square up with what the Bible may say. Perhaps sometimes the subject matter simply isn't addressed in the Bible, or maybe the Bible is ambiguous about something and the Lord is trying to help you understand it better. And if a sense of peace and joy - basically, the fruits of the Spirit - are encountered as a result of the message, wouldn't it be reasonable to presume it truly was a message from God?
Well, I'm getting a bit long winded here. So I'll address some previous comments and then let you carry on. I'd like to hear some more thoughts about this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blue62
Good thread Rob..Some of us have been asking for a christian forum where we could go and be nice and just fellowship---like this thread..so far. I would welcome anyone to come share ..Thanks Rob
You're very welcome! Perhaps what we need to do is simply start a Christian fellowship thread, and ask a moderator to pin it to the top of the forum?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mams1559
First of all, glad to see you're back. You haven't posted in quite a while.
I'm glad to be back. Yes, I was away for a while. Won't go into details about it, but it's all been settled.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mams1559
Second, I don't know if I can explain it. It's hard to describe, especially with just words on a screen. This is very personal, but I hope the translation comes through. There have been several times for me. The one I'll share happened one Sunday in chruch. I know, I know, kind of obvious you would think.
Anyway, this particular Sunday a year or so ago we went to church as usual and took our place. My head had been clouded and filled with uncertainty and some doubt and concern about where I was in life and how life had been going lately and all the problems, burdens, bondages, etc., etc. But as soon as we started the singing/praise portion of the service, it started with the first song. I had this feeling inside -- kind of warm and soothing. The actual lyrics to the song just kind of hit home and struck me with such truth. At first I just tried to pass it off as being tired or emotional. Then the next song began and the feeling intensified and I actually couldn't sing -- my voice quit, but my mouth still moved. I began to cry. The lyrics again were just piercing me and hitting me with their message. I had to sit down.
Then the message began. I know, I know, others say they've heard a sermon like it was directed at just them. This was like that only magnified. It was like my mind and soul were opened. For me, it was like Jesus was right beside me, whispering in my ear "Don't you hear me? Listen to what I'm telling you." It was exactly what I needed to hear. It brought my soul alive. I could feel Him. When it came time for the final song -- I just had to leave the sanctuary. I bolted for the prayer room across the hall. I just fell on my knees and prayed and cried for about 10 minutes.
When I stood up to join my family to leave (they thought I was in the bathroom), the tears were dried and I had this unexplicable calm and peace. I knew He had spoken to me. I knew He had touched me. I just know... mainly because of the truth that resonated through me. It was like what I heard and felt completely meshed with God's Word. There wasn't one thing I heard that even had a tiny margin of being out of line with His Word. I know it was Him.
On the ride home, I asked my wife what she thought of the service and if she felt anything. She didn't feel anything (like I had), but liked the service. I relayed my experience to her and she was overcome for me. I was a joyous day. To wrap up this long post, in a nutshell, I took the message I heard and applied it immediately to my life and just everything fell into place. I heard and followed and everything worked out. Is that proof? I don't know. But Glory be to God for He is ALIVE and living in ME.
Great testimony! I enjoyed reading that. Thanks for sharing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeannie216
When I was a young girl, we lived next door to a church, where, my friend and I use to like to climb up the back side of the church to a small balcony, attached to the main part of the church. A wooden railing was attached to the balcony and I use to walk on the outer edge, holding on to the railing, something, I know now I should have never been doing. One day, part of the railing snapped off....I fell to the ground, on my back, and watched the railing coming straight down towards me....suddenly, without any type of breeze or wind, the railing, in mid air, suddenly flew to my left, about six feet away from me! My friend witnessed the whole incident. Truly a miracle, and no one will ever convience me that it wasn't.
Wow! Cool story. Seems like God truly had His hand protecting you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by yhwhshalomjr
FYI!!!!!!!!!
It's almost irony,or just plain coincidence!!
But anyways, Charles Stanley did an in depth teaching on this subject yesterday
Sunday 8/26/07. It was on a few television channels but I'm sure if you wanted to, you could go on his website and get this programming info.
Thought you'd be interested...
I'll have to check out his site. I used to watch him a lot. I wonder if he has recordings on his site where you can view previous episodes of his program. If so, I'll look for that particular teaching. Thanks for letting me know about it.
I'm glad to see you back posting again, and true to form, as you might expect, I would emphasize that while I do believe God can speak to us in ways that might seem "like a sign," we need to be exceedingly careful about this kind of guidance. I know from a couple of personal experiences in the past (which I don't want to share here) that if I had heeded an experience as "a message from God" I would have been making a huge mistake. I can see only from hindsight. Thankfully, God intervened in those instance to keep me from real spiritual peril when I seriously considered taken action on the "sign." (Sorry to be cryptic but I really am not prepared to share the details on this board.) Just suffice to say...what I've already said. Blessings to you, Rob!
I'm glad to see you back posting again, and true to form, as you might expect, I would emphasize that while I do believe God can speak to us in ways that might seem "like a sign," we need to be exceedingly careful about this kind of guidance. I know from a couple of personal experiences in the past (which I don't want to share here) that if I had heeded an experience as "a message from God" I would have been making a huge mistake. I can see only from hindsight. Thankfully, God intervened in those instance to keep me from real spiritual peril when I seriously considered taken action on the "sign." (Sorry to be cryptic but I really am not prepared to share the details on this board.) Just suffice to say...what I've already said. Blessings to you, Rob!
I was thinking down the same line.. God is not the "author of confusion." He cannot contradict Himself. God, the Holy Spirit, and the Word always line up, so no matter how outstanding the sign, I would be careful if it didn't line up with those three. If it doesn't line up, it may be from a different source...
WCRob,
I not only feel the things you saw and wondered if they were God...WERE from God but I also feel you will be seeing much more of this way of communication from him in the near days to come!
I am reminded of probably the first time I heard him in such a way. I was walking in the park with my husband and children. I was witnessing to my husband, hoping he'd accept Christ right then and there. Instead he said, "I don't want to hear about any of that."
Right then, one of my children walked up to me and handed me a feather. As she did I heard the words, "Have Faith." After that I was given feathers at different times and it was always at an appropriate time for me to hear those words again, "Have Faith."
God speaks to us in so many ways and it is so personal how he does it. I hope you are encouraged today!
I was thinking down the same line.. God is not the "author of confusion." He cannot contradict Himself. God, the Holy Spirit, and the Word always line up, so no matter how outstanding the sign, I would be careful if it didn't line up with those three. If it doesn't line up, it may be from a different source...
Exactly what I was trying to communicate. When we heed "signs," as you said no matter how convincing that don't line up with the Word, I think we open ourselves for some serious deception. Good point, cg.
Wouldn't this be so much easier if God had a "Bat Phone" or something.
LOL! Absolutely! But with the amount of people trying to get through, we'd probably get a busy signal or get parked on HOLD by some angelic receptionist!
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) So I grabbed a couple more squares and opened one. Well, the inside of the wrappers have cutesy little sayings, and I normally read them, but toss them aside without paying much attention to them. After all, I'm not the kind of person who gets into horoscopes and fortunes, etc. But this particular wrapper's message sort of stood out to me, and caused me to pause and think for a couple of moments. It said "Love without rules". Ordinarily I wouldn't think twice about seeing something like that, but this time it kinda fit in with some things I've been experiencing lately.
"Signs" and other things...
Christians, how does God speak to you?
