An amazing story

It's very long, but I read until she had lost her faith somewhat. From my perspective, it shows a critical truth often overlooked by people. The Lord is very serious about faith. He gives us faith, provides experiences in response to faith, and while we are working out doubts, He is gracious, but once we come to know Him, He often doesn't respond to doubt no matter how much we will or want Him to.There is a scripture in James about asking with nothing doubting but for the doubting person not to expect anything from the Lord. Now clearly, the Lord does at times answer us in our doubt, but imo, this story and the scripture indicates one can find themselves trying to get the Lord to answer based on desire and will, and be extremely disheartened with nothing happens.I have had the Lord answer so clearly many, many times, and then tried to come back and ask for something I have doubt over, and get nothing. The nothing is a response, but we don't perceive it that way. The Lord expects us to believe what we already know as true. Sometimes we don't know what we know, and I actually think sometimes the sense of no response is really a delayed response and we will get it later, but regardless, God is both loving and yet absolutely true, and the truth aspect is something we should be concerned with at times.God won't change His word or the truth to save us. It's going to be the way it is, and if we find ourselves on the wrong side of the truth, that's something to be concerned about. That's what the Bible refers to as the fear of the Lord.For the woman involved, I would ask her to do some soul-searching about her own experiences, and consider that denying the truth of those experiences in favor of men's words could indeed result in alienating her mind from the presence of God that she wanted so much.

I was surprised to, but some are more impressed with knowledge and intellectualism. I think you are right that people need to hear the intellectual responses early on, but kids can change quickly. I try to talk with my kids about ToE, but they already beleive in the Lord and I think they get bored hearing the other side and so it's hard to get them to take it all in. well-saidThis message has been edited by randman, 01-03-2006 05:17 PM

Yea, I mean the fact we hold to these beliefs is all the evidence you need to know we are right...yippee!

Faith, I agree completely. Btw, that's one reason I like the charismatic emphasis on actual hands-on experience with the gifts of the Spirit.But you cannot rely on the gifts as a substitute for a real, personal relationship with Jesus.

I really don't see this as some sort of dangers of indoctrination. By her own account, her experiences as a child with the Lord and His work are some of the best year's of her life.I think there is something to be learned on the nature of groups of people, and how groups develop an Us versus Them perspective, something I see very strongly among evolutionists in fact, and the hysteria towards one of their own that published an ID paper is indicative of the harsher aspects on how groups can react to someone within the group that is believed to be disloyal.But honestly, some aspects of the woman's account have me scratching my head. This, imo, is a very sad story. Maybe there is a lesson to not be overly strict with yourself on things like movies and moderate alcohol consumption and things like that, or you may wind up so removed from things in the world and so hard on your flesh that you break, and perhaps lose your relationship with the Lord and your faith.I think also she misunderstands Paul, and of course, once you start viewing the Bible from an unbelieving perspective, it will appear horrible. It's not designed for the unbelieving mind, and in many ways, cannot properly be understood without faith. It's a spiritual book, meant to be understood guided directly by the Spirit of God, with reason implemented of course, but human reason alone without revelation from God, imo, is totally insufficient to even understand the written words. It's as if the scripture is written in code to test our hearts.