Christianity Oasis Forum

[vahn]

Though I am in a much different frame of mind (spirit) than I was say, this past week , Tue & Wed to be specific, but , the events that took place during the Memorial weekend obviously are still on my mind , for here I am still writing about them . But , like I said, in a different perspective . (Something I learnt from my AA sponsor , " If you wanna say something , DO something first and then tell us what happened , and what the results were" (what does he know huh?)

Rewind , Memorial weekend , Fri , All passes issued , the center half empty , library closed , no net , no Morning Devotion to prepare , no OASIS ,
Ok , "go to an AA meeting and see what happens" .
I shared this with a fellow COOLie (thank God for them) on Wed , I think it was , but anyway , ended up going to (AA terminology) a "meeting after the mtg." (coffee) , nothing unusual there, except for the the fact that the crowd happened to be secular (no God whatsoever), still nothing unusual , but , without realizing (it came to me later) , I usually read myself to sleep , but that night I completely brushed off Scripture oriented material and went straight to "all-information-you-will-never-use" instead .
Next morning . No in house Devotion , just the regular personal prayer found me go something like "mememe-Thank-You-C-U" and out the door I went, straight to the Club (AA) , again , nothing unusual there , only this time I found myself seeking the company I was with the day before , no one there , maybe they'll be here for the Nooner , no dice , ok evening , ahh . Suddenly , a voice saying "What're you doing ?!!! " . Well , needless to say , that voice became louder and louder , and each time I found myself annoyed more and more .
Well , more of Sat led to Sun (no church , no devotion ...) by mid day Mon I'd gone to full scale "wreck" (guilt , dissapointment , you name it ) , so thick was the cloud on Tue. that I couldn't concentrate on job at hand keeping my eye on the clock to get to OASIS , by noon I called the brass for replacement for the rest of the day , straight to the chapel "OK Pops , what's going on" . Meditation , answer ? I didn't even put up a fight by at least to walk away from the whole scene , or to change the subject or any of that !! just went along with whatever came my way . Now please dont get me wrong , all "clean" stuff , but secular (worldly) nevertheless .

Convo with COOLie , share , listen , answer , " If the bond with the Lord and His children had not been strong , why would anyone feel like they're betraying and consequently be filled with guilt ? " and followed by questions such as " Where are you with your faith ?, are you becoming more dependent on OASIS than the Lord ?" and on and on .

You know what ? The past two days my thoughts were directed toward " Where and what would I be doing if it WASN'T for this place for me to come to " Now that even scared me more , so here I am .

I believe it was Tue or Wed nite , returning from the library (sharing session) my eyes fell on a book with a marker I had left in it screaming at me to read , written by Chuck Swindoll , "Can one person make a difference" , in the chapter titled " Having freedom without abusing one's rights" talks about Paul saying in I Corin. 9 "for though I am free from all men (seculars ?) , I have made myself a slave to all , so that I may win more" (aha , there's my feeling of guilt !!) I "failed" to do so .
Snatch the Bible off my shelf and read on , answer (solution) , Verses 20-22 : "To the Jews I became a Jew , so thatI might win Jews " (v.20)
When around the pagans (seculars) he wrote ..... to those who are without Law , I came as without law , though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. (v.21)
When around the weak he wrote "To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some . (v. 22)

So , there , my all Gracious Lord put me in that situation on Memorial weekend to tell me , through the both absence then presence of OASIS and fellow COOLies and through His Spirit using you people that I finally "heard" His calling .

It's ok , to "mingle" with none-beleivers , as long as you carry out God's plan and not yours !!

OK , now I gotta double-line my helmet and put it on , for I sense some "jabs" coming my way ! But I luv you all anyway !!

[Mackenaw]

Hello Vahn

Cool lesson there. God is so very Good.

the title of your post reminded me of a song that The Holy Spirit brought to me a couple years ago. It's a very old song (secular), but of course when The Holy Spirit touches something -- it changes.

Imagine yourself singing these words to the Lord.

"What a Difference a Day Makes"

What a diff'rence a day made
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain

My yesterday was blue, Dear
Today I'm part of You, Dear
My lonely nights are through, Dear
(Since You said you were mine)

What a diff'rence a day makes
There's a rainbow before me
Skies above can't be stormy
Since that moment of bliss, that thrilling kiss

(It's heaven when you find romance on your menu)
What a diff'rence a day made
And the difference is You

(What a diff'rence a day makes)
(There's a rainbow before me)
(Skies above can't be stormy)
Since that moment of bliss, that thrilling kiss

(It's heaven when you find romance on your menu)
What a diff'rence a day made
And the difference is You


God bless you, Vahn.
Love,
Mack

[mlg]

Hi vahn, I won't jab ya...I think I've done that enough this week already

Well, I'm glad to hear you've worked this all out, and now know why God placed you in the situations He did. We can learn from every place we are led, and more so we can learn about ourselves as well. How the enemy tries to throw something in the way, and take us from our God time...and he does it in such a sneaky way we don't even notice at first.

I want you to think about something though. The Oasis is our escape from the world. When I am at the Oasis, I feel God's presence all around me. He is my focus when I am here. I don't have lots of wordly pressures bothering me when I'm here. Use the Oasis as your retreat from all that is going on around you.

luv ya my friend