Christianity Oasis Forum

[deetu]

I was at a Christian conference all last week. It was 45-50 minutes away so I drove everyday which made it easier on my husband.
I love the corporate annointing that happens, the message the speakers have but mostly meeting new people and being with others with like minds.
The Pastor's wife of the host church that was holding the conference, just loved me. Such a lovely, Korean woman wanting more of God's wonders for her church and people.
I believe we are still walking in miracles, signs and wonders.

I don't know if I mentioned, but the Pastor of the Presbyterian church God had me go to left it and started a new non-denominational church in the old chapel of a Seminary College that is now a Community College.
The Pastor of another church that was meeting in his home was moving out of state so his people joined us.
And a group of people who were praying for the chapel to be opened as a church again (they made it into a theater for a while) also joined.
So we had three groups of people that actually melted together into a new church. Isn't that cool?
We are 8 weeks old now.

So now the compliment.
The Pastor's wife of the host church, one of the women that was in the home church that merged into our church, her girls and I were talking when suddenly, the woman said to me, "When I met you, I trusted you" and the Pastor's wife was nodding her head in agreement.
Isn't that the best compliment someone could give you?

[mlg]

Trustworthiness is a beautiful compliment and virtue deetu. Hey sis speaking of virtues, have you ever done the Virtuous Woman program here? It's a great program, and one that will definitely be a blessing to you. It talks about trustworthiness and how God sees this to be necessary in His servants.

Glad others can see how trustworthy you are sis. It shows God in YOU!

luv ya

[deetu]

Hee hee, so many studies. I'll check it out.

[mlg]

Awesome look forward to seeing you there.

luv ya

[josinella]

God blesses us all with spiritual gifts! This may be one for you.

[comfy]

That is good and beautiful, Deetu > I have been to a Korean church and stayed a while, while I was living outside during the winter. They accepted me and offered to translate. I said for them to do their things, and concentrate on their sermons and groups, then they could tell me later. One time I was there while the pastor was praying and I just got so specially blessed with the Holy Spirit, not knowing a word of what he said. I'm thinking, who is this person who can minister like this without me knowing what he's saying? And on Friday nights the young people would be together, just delighting in joy together; one came and asked me if I understood them > "I understand the joy," I said and I was enjoying their having such joy together.

So, she could communicate deeper than words, in the Holy Spirit. That's really the only way to trust and to know people, however the Holy Spirit has us knowing people and communicating so we know what people mean. We can have a way of judging people by what they say and do and if they do what we have decided people will do "if" they love us and can be trusted; however, ones can know how to put on the act and toning the voice that we are expecting. So, I think it is good to relate deeper, and sense in the Holy Spirit.

[deetu]

So true comfy.

I am going to a church, weekly for a teaching in inner healing. (it's fantastic by the way) and as I was walking past two women, one said, "Here's the happy lady" I stopped and said, "Do you want to be happy too? I mean, rolling on the floor laughing type of happy?" She said "yes" so I hugged her, asking God to fill her with His joy. And we both start laughing. (I love it!)

I reached for the other woman and hugged her but with her, I first felt doubt but then I felt love just leaving me and going into her. I found myself asking God to give her more love. Then joy. When I let go, I told her that she needed more of the love and not to worry about the joy. She said she did need the love more now. I also explained that everyone is different when they are filled with joy... like how we are when we get drunk in the world. I was a happy drunk, getting loud; my friend is a lovey, dovey drunk; my sister is quiet, sits in the corner - which it turned out she was.

The next week, I saw them. The first woman I hugged and she started laughing, saying she brought it with her home. She told me it was the other woman's birthday so I found the second woman, hugging her and wishing her a happy birthday.
She surprised me by thanking me for how I talked to her the week before that another person would have taken her reaction differently.
Then she told me that she prayed for me all week, surprised that she remembered my name.

What a blessing!!! You bless and get blessed in return.
God is sooo good!!

[mlg]

Amen sis, I love giving away hugs...and smiles....ohhhh if we all did this imagine how happy the world would be Oh sounds like Heaven to me...

luv ya dearly deetu

[josinella]

Don't think that your love goes unnoticed (speaking to the one who sits in the corner). Just because someone isn't visually smiling and happy in the Lord, doesn't mean that they are spiritually dead. Paul was a deep thinker, even though he encourages us to be happy Christians, I don't get that he was big on the smiles, and look what he did for all of us, through the Lord. He wrote most of the books in the New Testament. Love is so important, it is too bad that sin gets all the focus.

Deetu, I feel God gave you this gift to encourage us, as you have encouraged me. His love, through you, in my situation, is very encouraging. I am one who sits in the corner, doesn't smile a lot. God's love, as expressed through other people, gives me the strength to go out and do God's will, that I wouldn't have the strength to do without it.

God has directed me to this site to get the encouragement that I'm not getting elsewhere to do His will. And yes, I feel all of you through His presence in me. I all too often have other Christians come to me and tell me to smile, and that because I don't is because I am not right with God. So when someone can connect with me spiritually, and give that wonderful gift of love through a caress, it strengthens me to do what God has called me to do. You know why? Because I feel so loved by Him that He thought enough to send someone to express His love to me.

Be encouraged, and I love you too!

[comfy]

I think that's a big point . . . that I need to first get in the love . . . loving all people and in this will be the joy. I find that when I am positive and caring for and encouraging people, I have joy.

But . . . Joselina . . . I myself can maybe be a deep thinker > not like Paul, I am sure But in my deep thinking about God and His word I can be too analyzing only the knowledge and insights and what will impress people > so this can be in ego and therefore not in joy. I can know more than I show, you might say > not showing the love that real knowledge is meant to have us living.

I think of how Paul said he related with the Thessalonians >

"Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others,
when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.
But we were gentle among you,
just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.
So, affectionately longing for you,
we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God,
but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us."
(1 Thessalonians 2:6-8)

I think of how a nursing mother can have such joy. So . . . Paul . . . loving them like he was their nursing mother . . . I can see he had joy . . . in loving. I can see that my way of knowledge can be even aborting and perverting me from love, but Paul's knowledge was coming from love being experienced.

And I now notice how he says he did not seek "glory from men" > but I have been trying to use Bible knowledge to get glory, trying to impress. And I have been able to compare myself with others and feel superior, but Paul clearly does say, "For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." (2 Corinthians 10:12)

Instead, "nor as being lords over those entrusted to you,
but being examples to the flock."
(1 Peter 5:3)

But . . . today, while I was with some guys of our church, I was feeling how they are loving and spiritual, and it just gently stunned me into awe and enjoyment and discovering them. So . . . it wasn't a matter of whether or not I had joy, but I just was appreciating how God was sharing with me. And I was brought in to their sharing, not excluded. And, later, the one I had been admiring started sharing personally about his trials, and I was saying things to give him insight and encouragement and feeling used to help him, though I had been feeling he is so more than I am.
So . . . God's ways are "past finding out", we have in Romans 11:33,
and in His love we best discover these ways

[Tam]

finding love....giving love accepting for who we are ...Isn't that what this walk is all about.
Deetu I think that is awesome that God has allowed you to minister to those 2 women just by hugging them and speaking words of encouragement to them. Keep up the God work sis and the good will follow.

[josinella]

Through our walks with God, we find ourselves. I agree with Tam, keep the focus toward His will and give God the glory. Be Blessed!