You have no reason not to continue reading, you are probably sitting in from of your puter by yourself, you are probably curious, and no one will know. You do not have to tell, or worry about persecution from your friends. But I'll tell you what, if you accept Jesus into your heart you will want to tell everyone...the persecution?? I have been persecuted for my personal and religious beliefs. No fun either! I have been wronged for no particular reasons, maybe vengeance, hatred, I really don't know and am not going to waste allot of time on it, this too I have to handed over to the Lord. Don't worry about old friends they won't want to be around you anyway. and you will make plenty new friends in Christ.
I was dedicated Nazarene as a baby , and raised Lutheran, confirmed Lutheran and excommunicated Lutheran for not attending church . The audacity of the
heads of church having the authority
to excommunicate me from the Lords House was the icing on the cake ...I ran far from the church, churchianity became a dirty word to me.
Before I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I was burning the candle at both ends , had been for years. I still believed there was a God
but he never answered my prayers Typical male pattern,
Why on earth would I want another father figure in my life, one dad left me , two bad marriages and this one who I couldn't even see, didn't stop any of it.
But because of my upbringing I stilled believed there was a God which created alot of guilt in me
for the way I led my life. I always managed to push the guilt into my little guilt file and slam the drawer shut. With the help of drugs I managed quite well, until it surfaced again
Matthew 10:32-33 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men , I will disown him before my father in heaven"
This is Jesus speaking, and I do believe He's made it quite clear!
I have a sister who was born again many years ago, attended Bible College where she met her husband. They've been praying (interceding )for the whole family forever.
Even My husband had been saved when I first met him. I thought he was a nut because all he did was pray, it drove me crazy. I returned home to Tahiti and All I could think of is , he has given himself to God, how can I compete with God?? Eight months later I moved to Canada where we were married by a JP and then moved to Florida.
After we settled in to a new place there we began attending my sister's church Winter Haven. Week after week at church, I noticed people around me were so happy and they had something I didn't have.
What ever this something was I wanted it but had no clue how to get it or even what it was. Maybe if I asked God to forgive my sins and come into my heart and accept him as my Savior, I would
become one of these happy glowing people. But how could I ask God to forgive my sins?? At the time I was 45 years old and I had racked up a slew of sins so great
He couldn't possibly forgive me , I couldn't forgive myself. And then there was the fear of, "what if I turn into a Bible thumping born again Christian", you know the kind,
fanatical! What if I wasn't me anymore? What would my friends think ? Would I be mocked ?
I wished my husband would quit praying all the time its was getting on my nerves!
I knew in my heart God was the right road but I just wasn't ready to give up my sinful life ..I was having to much fun.
I searched for years for that special glow , that inner happiness, that , “what ever it was”
I didn’t feel I had when You accept Christ as your Savior. I had mental blocks from
churchianity that had been ingrained in me as a child. I knew one had to be born again
I think the fear of loosing oneself, and being
ridiculed by friends stops allot of people from being “born again” and asking the Lord to
be you personal Savior. Let HIM in!!!!! I’m still me, changed for the better, but still me.
I’ve lost allot of friends but made allot of new ones.
I was finally Baptized in 1996 after an amazing thing happened to me while reading the Bible . It’s hard to explain , it was if God’s word became 3 dimensional. I called my sister the next day and told her the urgent need to be Baptized.
My sister Beth and her family have been praying for our family for over 30 years that we may be saved. Thank you thank you thank you for never giving up on me or the rest of us.
A year later we moved again and we were
with out a church home. I still didn't feel I had that inner glow . Some times I can be caught up
in the moment of emotional events. I could feel myself changing not knowing at the time it was
the Holy Spirit changing me. Now that I look back,I can see what my problem was, although I was born again,
I was not committed. My walk with the Lord was like Jello, firm as long as you didn't shake it. It was now 2001
and I was still a baby Christian.
Matt. 13:20-21 Here was me in a nut shell... (Jesus speaking) "What was sown on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy . But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away."
One day, while sitting on bench out side of Mc Cory’s a homeless man I had seen around before was befriending a elderly man sitting on the bench with me. I made a comment to the homeless guy how nice it was to see someone care for someone else. He told me he was a Christian. I told him we were church hunting , he told me I had to check out the Vineyards. I did the next Sunday and we have been here ever since. Did an angel intervene through this man? I believe so!
The Vineyard was totally different than any church I had ever been to, Their own theme was "Come As You Are" and people did . This really hit home for me as I always thought it was really sad some people didn't go to church because they would be ridiculed for not dressing up, or dressing different. I do not believe this to be a priority with God and definitely not with me. So much for Christians judging others! What was really weird was I had played Bingo In a building right across the street and had never noticed the church. The things we miss that are right in front of us. It was a down to earth place in a big building that use to be an American Legion Hall. The first time we heard Pastor Jamie preach we both sat with our mouths open For the first time in my life , the word of God was being preached so every word sliced right through me. We became regulars.
When I reflect on my childhood experiences with Church's I feel really sad. Not once we were taught about having a relationship with Christ or of spiritual gifts. How dare the heads of church keep this to themselves. People who are NOT taught this, miss out on allot. It's difficult for me to believe The heads of church did not have a relationship with Christ, but then on the other hand, who knows?
A few months later they offered an Alpha Course.......
For more info about Vineyard Church's please click on this link: Vineyard USA
Before I was introduced to Alpha, I was still struggling with my walk to the point where felt I was on a tight rope teetering. I was told in Alpha we would make new friends and we would be divided into small groups . One wasn’t required to verbally participate and no question was too silly or stupid, I had no clue the effect the Alpha course would have on life.
Yes I did make new friends which I am very thankful for. I asked my silly questions that had eaten at me my whole life, I ranted, I cried and I laughed. I found my self in a “ safe comfort zone” . I truly believe it doesn’t matter where you are in your walk you can benefit from Alpha , whether you are giving or receiving or just listening.
I really didn’t know what to expect from this ALPHA Course since I hadn’t really been to any Bible studies but I was hungry , I had been a baby Christian for 5 years. So I went ahead and enrolled. During the coarse I felt as though some one had thrown me some solid food, I grabbed it and devoured it ...I wanted more, I still want more ! Now I’m spiritually starving, but in a good way.
The spiritual weekend cemented my faith . I now proudly wear the armor or God. My fears and doubts flew out the window. For the first time in life I Actually felt the Holy Spirit working in me and through me. I watched it working in others. I didn’t know the Lord had gifts for us I thought any gifts we received would not be until we entered HIS kingdom. WRONG!! Matter of fact I had not really given any thought to the Holy Spirit with the exception that it was part of the Trinity. You know the Bible verse..”ask and ye shall receive”, well I asked , received and was filled with awe of the Lords hand. Praise God!!
For those of you who have been filled with the spirit, you understand what I am attempting to explain, for those of you who have doubts, fears, questions no matter how trivial, Take the Alpha course. In these classes you can stomp out the doubts, subside your fears and ask away. Who knows maybe the questions you ask are the same questions the person next to you has and is too afraid to ask. Then your inquiry will be twofold. You will hear different theories and interpretations, The Lord will provide the manna so you will understand. I feel so passionate about the Alpha Course because of its effect on my life that if I were rich I would even pay people to attend. You may not get exactly what I got out of it, everyone is different in their needs, but you will definitely get something. The friendships alone are unique and special .
Throughout the course I had epiphany after epiphany! In one class I was asked “Can I be sinless” That was easy ..No way! I announced so boldly “ If I whittle away at all my sins I will get to the point where I will cease to exist.” Later that night at home I was thinking about what I had said and the Spirit of the Lord enlightened me ..”the old me will cease to exist and the new me will be released to grow without the boundaries of Duh!!! 2 by 4 again!!
If your church offers ALPHA sign up for it , you won’t regret it and it will only enrich your life no matter where you are in your walk with Christ. If you don't have a walk I suggest you get one real quick! Just ask The Lord to come into your heart and confess your sins.
This will make you think for a while. At a certain college there was a professor with a reputation for being tough on Christians. At the first class, every semester, he asked if anyone was a Christian and proceeded to degrade them and to mock their statement of faith. One semester, he asked the question and a young man raised his hand. The professor asked, "Did God make everything young man?" He replied "Yes sir, he did!" The professor responded, "IF God made everything, then he made evil." The student didn't have a response and the professor was happy to once again proved the Christian faith to be a myth. Then another man raised his hand and asked, "May I ask you something, sir?" "Yes, you may," responded the professor. The young man stood up and said, "Sir, is there such a thing as cold?" "Of course there is, what kind of a question is that? Haven't you ever been cold?" The young man replied, "Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist. What we consider to be cold, is really an absence of heat. Absolute zero is when there is absolutely no heat, but cold does not really exist. We have only created that term to describe how we feel when heat is not there. "The young man continued, Sir, is there such a thing as dark?" Once again the professor responded, "Of course there is." And once again, the student replied, "Actually, sir, darkness does not exist. Darkness is really only the absence of light. Darkness is only a term developed to describe what happens when there is no light present." Finally, the young man asked, "Sir, is there such a thing as evil?" The professor responded, "Of course, we have rapes, murders and violence everywhere in the world, those thing are evil. "The student replied, "Actually, sir, evil does not exist. Evil is simply the absence of God. Evil is a term developed to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. It isn't like truth, or love which exist as virtues like heat or light. Evil is simply the state where God is not present, like cold without heat or darkness without light." The professor had nothing to say.................
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A limestone burial box, almost 2,000 years old, may provide the oldest archeological record of Jesus of Nazareth, experts announced Monday.
The ossuary, as the bone boxes are known, dates to A.D. 63 and has an inscription in Aramaic which translates to: "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus," said Andre Lemaire, an expert in ancient writing who identified the box in Jerusalem last spring.
Aramaic, an ancient Semitic language, was the lingua franca of the Middle East for many centuries. At the time of Jesus' life, Aramaic was the common language of the Jews.
Writing about his findings in the new issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Lemaire, who teaches at the Sorbonne in Paris, called it "very probable" that the box belonged to Jesus' brother James, who by Christian tradition was the leader of the early church in Jerusalem.
Some scholars expressed doubt that the box, which is 20 inches long by 11 inches wide, could be definitively linked to Jesus, a Jewish carpenter by trade revered by Christians as the son of God.
"We may never be absolutely certain. In the work I do we're rarely absolutely certain about anything," said Kyle McCarter, a Johns Hopkins University archaeologist, who said that the finding was probable, but that he had "a bit of doubt."
While most scholars agree that Jesus existed, no physical evidence from the first century has ever been conclusively tied with his life.
Two scientists from the Israeli government's geological survey tested the box last month, inspecting the surface patina and inscription under a microscope. They concurred that the object is more than 19 centuries old, the archaeology magazine reported.
"It's hard to avoid the conclusion that these three names refer to the personages so identified in the New Testament," said Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review.
Writing provides answers
Many of the conclusions reached by experts relied on the inscription written on the ossuary. The boxes commonly were used by Jewish families between 20 B.C. and A.D. 70 to store the bones of their loved ones.
Lemaire said out of hundreds of such boxes found with Aramaic writing only two contain mentions of a brother. From this, scholars infer that the brother was noted only when he was someone important.
James, Joseph and Jesus were common names in ancient Jerusalem, a city of about 40,000 residents. Lemaire estimates there could have been as many as 20 Jameses in the city with brothers named Jesus and fathers named Joseph.
But it is unlikely there would have been more than one James who had a brother of such importance that it merited having him mentioned on his ossuary, Lemaire said.
Lemaire found the box in June by accident, said Shanks, who was able to inspect the box personally.
'Didn't realize the significance'
The owner is reported to be a collector of ancient Jewish artifacts. The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, bought the box some 15 years ago from an antique dealer for $200 to $700, Shanks said.
The boxes "are not popular on the market because ... people don't want a bone box in their living room," Shanks said.
The collector, who is Jewish, was not aware that Jesus had a brother. He discovered the interest in the object only when he met Lemaire at a dinner party last spring and asked him to decipher some Aramaic written on a number of collectibles, Shanks said.
The box owner "didn't realize the significance," Shanks said. "He threw up his hands, 'How could the Son of God have a brother?'"
I can't believe he said this. Jesus grew up with family. Of course they were not full brothers but half brothers in sense, which ever phase you want to use , but yes, he had brothers. Mary had more children unless of course you are catholic then you would believe mary never consummated her marriage to Joseph and stayed a Virgin her in entire life.
Plans are under way to exhibit the box at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, during the annual meeting of Bible scholars in November, Shanks said.
But he said whether the box belonged to Jesus' brother, it still provides a powerful link with the past.
"This is something that provides a bridge over time," he said. "My reaction is not so much excitement as it is awe."
NOTE: It is now March 2004 and like many other important tidbits of news this is another one that seems to have slipped throught the cracks or been deliberatly "hushed Hushed" NEWS FLASH...... finally, something about this on TV Easter Sunday night April 10,2004 It was put on displayed at the Toronto at the Royal Ontario Museum. After a being mended (it broke during transport) and put through a zillion tests for authenticity, It was proven to be The BOX or Ossuary of James brother of Jesus" Why this didn't get more news is beyond me.The bone box or ossuary which bears the Aramaic inscription, "Ya'akov bar Yosef akhui diYeshua," which, translated reads, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.
The Passion of the Christ and Growing in Christ con't
View my Guestbook
