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Post by JohnMark on May 7, 2010 21:00:12 GMT -5
I am new to the forum and my name is Mark.
Recently I had an experience that I wanted to share here.
Some weeks ago I knew I was not where I ought to be with the Lord.By this I don't mean it just happened all of a sudden. It had been going on a long time. Bit by bit God had been showing me that various things in my life needed to change. Being the stiff necked person I can be sometimes, I resisted.Still, He worked on me, showing me how short I had fallen of the goal.
One morning I was looking up something on line and came across a book in my wanderings. You know how it is: you look up one thing and after a while you are into something else entirely.
Anyway, I started reading through this book and just couldn't quit. It was a collection of testimonies concerning answers to prayer. It was written in the 1800s. The more I read the more I realized that these people had a walk that I didn't have. I wasn't even close.
It really affected me, like strong preaching that just hits you in the heart and crushes any opposition.I started to cry as I realized I had gone my own way and failed to walk with the Lord in so many ways. I mean, I had just deceived myself for so long that I was shocked by the realization of how bad it had become.
I started to repent and the more I did, it seemed the more the Lord brought to my mind that I should repent of, if that makes sense. I eventually reached a point that I guess you could say was where He wanted me to be. Not that I have "arrived" in some way, more like I was ready to walk with Him like I should. I guess it is hard for me to fully explain.
I can't recall the name of the book or where it was. I didn't save the page. I suppose when this experience was over I just wasn't thinking that I should favorite it.I can say that I have a walk with Jesus that reminds me of when I got saved some 34 years ago.It feels new. I think that describes it best.Singing hymns isn't just singing anymore. It is praise in the fullest sense. Hearing a Bible message is so much more than it used to be. Not just words but the Word. It is all like a personal talk with the Lord. It makes me feel so alive to praise, pray and get into the Bible. Like, this is the way it ought to be and would have always been if I hadn't been so determined to have my way instead of His way. I learned a powerful lesson and I hope that my relating it here will be of some help to someone.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2010 16:16:41 GMT -5
Hi and welcome to the forum!  I agree! I feel that way when I read praise reports from fellow Christians, just a comfort from the Holy Spirit is how I'd put it I guess. I'm looking forward to talking with you on the forum! Katrina |
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Post by maggie on May 8, 2010 21:18:55 GMT -5
dear brother in Christ, i have found myself where you were, your testimony helped me in reminding me we all struggle, also to never give up our Lord is faithful. i will be praying for you and your wife, i am a old "georgia girl" whose husband being from tennesee transplanted me. I pray for you both to be blessed, and your needs met in every way. I miss those ga pines but not that heat!
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Post by JohnMark on May 9, 2010 7:21:38 GMT -5
Thanks for the encouragement.Not sure where we will be in 6 months but we have the promise of eternal life which helps us go on.
The Georgia heat is quite intense, no doubt about that. We are about 65 miles south of Macon. To us it is pretty much tropical and sometimes overwhelming.A real change from the mountain area of Virginia!Even after a year here I don't think we are used to it.
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Post by Brother Ben on May 10, 2010 9:09:29 GMT -5
Hi, Brother Mark!
Welcome aboard, brother. Thanks for sharing how the Lord dealt with you. It is our prayer that we all will seek him for significant personal revival. Looking forward to more conversations with you.
Ben
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Post by George on May 10, 2010 16:55:45 GMT -5
Ah my Brother I certainly welcome you to the forums. Thank you for sharing that testimony. You and I share so much it is unreal or rather very real in that is is of the Lord.
One of my favorite "hobbies' traditionally has been arguing with the Holy Spirit or as you put it resisting. You see my Brother I don't win but I don't seem to learn either. I must not in that I go back to it so often.
Your testimony that the more He revealed to you the more you saw that needed to be dealt with also strikes a chord with me. I believe the Holy Spirit carriers around a big old 2X4 that has my name on it. Every once in a while He applies it across the back of my shoulders while saying, "Wake up boy!" Please understand I am not attempting to put words in the mouth of the Lord but merely telling what it feels to me when this happens.
In the Book of Hebrews it is written: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and every son he receiveth he scourgeth. Heb 12:6 The application of the 2X4 is His method of scourging me. If you have not been scourged by the Lord numerous times you are not doing something you should be because we as sinners lead despicable lives. There have been many times in which I could no more than lay my head on my desk in absolute tears while being only able to say the words of the publican in Luke 18:13:
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (emphasis added)
You have found your way to a small group of people who truly love the Lord and love the Lord's Word. You are welcome here and I know that you will enjoy your time spent with us.
In Christ,
George
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2010 18:32:45 GMT -5
Thanks for the encouragement.Not sure where we will be in 6 months but we have the promise of eternal life which helps us go on. The Georgia heat is quite intense, no doubt about that. We are about 65 miles south of Macon. To us it is pretty much tropical and sometimes overwhelming.A real change from the mountain area of Virginia!Even after a year here I don't think we are used to it. My folks live in Georgia and I was raised there. Do you guys still have the massive huge bugs down there? My sis is going to college near Macon. She says it always rains, some how and some way every day lol. Katrina |
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Post by JohnMark on May 10, 2010 20:33:57 GMT -5
It is good to hear that others have been through the sifter as I have. I didn't figure I was unique but still it is reassuring to know. I think, from my personal experience only, that we men tend to be more resistant to the leadings of God.
When we were trying to discern the Lord's will as to our moving here, the biggest problem was a place to stay. We had looked long and hard without success. After several days of fruitless search, I left my wife at my brother's house and walked off to think and pray.As I walked I felt that God spoke to me. I did NOT hear an audible voice but it was a strong inward understanding that I should not worry because it would all fall into my lap.
Now being a typical man, I tried to argue with God. I recall thinking/saying,"No, it doesn't happen that way. I have to work, to plan, there are all these things I must do!" Yet, the longer I walked I began to see how wrong, silly, useless it was for me to think that way. I finally said," Your will, not mine." Not perhaps the most obedient thing to say.
When I got back to the house my sister-in-law called a woman to see if she knew of anything. Turns out she had a huge house just down the street from where we were (we had actually walked past it earlier) for the right price. She didn't want a lease or a deposit. It just fell into our lap.Early this year we moved into a trailer, smaller but more energy efficient by far. God's will is the best.
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Post by JohnMark on May 10, 2010 20:40:19 GMT -5
Thanks for the encouragement.Not sure where we will be in 6 months but we have the promise of eternal life which helps us go on. The Georgia heat is quite intense, no doubt about that. We are about 65 miles south of Macon. To us it is pretty much tropical and sometimes overwhelming.A real change from the mountain area of Virginia!Even after a year here I don't think we are used to it. My folks live in Georgia and I was raised there. Do you guys still have the massive huge bugs down there? My sis is going to college near Macon. She says it always rains, some how and some way every day lol. Katrina My brother has informed me that since Marie and I moved here it has been: 1. The coldest winter 2.The wetest winter and spring 3.The most pollen filled spring I told him to stop making it sound like we brought all this on or someone will beat me like a rented mule. I feel like the constant bearer of bad news! As for massive bugs: To me it looks like the Virginia mountains have many more bugs of all sizes than Georgia generally. However, in gnats Georgia excels, if that is the proper term.I think VA had one or two gnats but Georgia has two gnats per grain of sand! |
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2010 16:54:20 GMT -5
Weather has been crazy all around. We got twice more snow than average and we're at least 3 weeks behind on the growing season up here. My folks got tons of rain in GA and many little towns near ours had flooding pretty bad.
Whoa! I always wanted to see the Blue Ridge Mountains, I plan on it some day. I know we have a Blue Ridge GA but I don't think that counts lol.
That's true! I hate gnats, blech. Have you tried the apple cider vinegar trap? Take a glass of cider and put in 1-2 drops of dish cleaner (the liquid kind for washing dishes by hand) and swirl it around. It attracts the gnats but they can't fly out. That usually helps.
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