Total Pageviews

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Some strange experiences from my life.

Today, I want to share some very strange experiences from my life. These experiences nearly ruined me, and it was through these experiences that I felt led to seek the gift of spiritual disscernment. God answered.
Lately, I have felt the need to question, at large, why we do things in a particualar way and even why we believe certain things.
  The word says to "Test all things." Even, as you are reading the pages of this blog, I encourage you.."test all things, seek God and His kingdom above all else."

The truth is that man is falliable. Many will use the word of God and twist the scriptures..but Christ sends His Holy Spirit to help us understand the Word. It is important that we seek God and pray for His guidance..

. The Bible says that there will be many false teachings and false prophets in the world. They will be disguised as wolves in sheep clothing. They can sometimes perform miracles and can fool even the elect.  The truth is that the enemy knows every weakness that we have. He will try his best to deceive us or harm us in any way that he can. He will try to destroy us if at all possible.

I am going to share some personal stories in hopes that you will understand what I am talking about,but first reflect upon these verses

.
Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves. .

Matthew 7: 21-23
 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 24: v 4-5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5   For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.


Mark 13: v 21-23 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
22   For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.



As always, I am open to your thoughts, comments, and opinions. Silence profits noone when someone percieves an offense.

strange experience number 1

When I was a teenager I went to a retreat at a church from a different denomination. I'm not going to name demoninational names in this post because they are irrelevant. I believe that wherever there are falliable humans, the enemy has an opportunity to work.

Anyway, I was at a retreat and a man comes up to me and begins to tell me that God  told him that I was going to meet a man. He told me that the man will have dark hair and that when I meet him, I won't need to wear my "mask" anymore. I can take off my "mask"..

Well, as teenager wanting to find Mr. Right ..anxious and eagar..I was all ears. I wanted to find this man.
A few years later, I was living in Baton Rouge, La. I was attending school there. I went through a time of lonliness and depression. I met a man during this time of depression. We became friends and I slowly began to trust him. He fixed me dinner and was kind to me. One night we were sitting on his couch and he began to talk about "the mask"..He talked about the "masks" we wore and he told me that I could take off my "mask"..almost in the exact same words as the man "prophesied" to me at the retreat. Then the man I met and was slowly falling in love with...began to talk about the love of God and things like that.   In retrospect, the entire experience was almost like a strange dream.
I thought it was a "sign" that I was meant to be with him. I ignored my gut feelings because I saw a "sign from God." God tells us to seek His will above all else. Seek Him...He tells us in His word not to look for signs.  In Mark, Chapter 8..Jesus was dismayed with the Pharisees for their seeking of a "sign."

"And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation...."

Jesus also tells us in Deuteronomy 6:16 to not look for signs....

The truth is that I am not calling this man a false prophet..but, in this case, I was told something that "tickled my ears." I trusted in this promise rather than listening to the God who simply wanted me to walk away from the situation. In all essence,. Our hope should always be in God, not in man, and I feel as if this "word" attempted to put my hope in finding "Mr. Right rather than focus my sight on God.. " God says, Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.." 

Here's another verse for your relflection..

 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

The second experience is a little harder to talk about. This one almost ruined me and nearly led to me to suicide.

I was at a church service one Sunday. A pastor began to speak of something that he felt was going to happen. He said that he had a bad feeling about something and that someone needed to turn their life around or someone could possibly die.He was referring to a physical death.  Of course, fear  gripped my heart. I felt as if he were talking to me. I went home that day and cried my eyes out. I worried for my children and the people in my life. I talked long and hard to God. I knew that things would have to change in my life in order for me to truly follow Christ..so I began to make those hard hard changes. I spoke to my boyfriend, who I loved very much, and told him that I needed to make some changes. I  told him that I no longer wanted to live the way I was living. During the course of the next few weeks, my some very strange things began to happen. Some men from my boyfriend's job began to harass him. He became paranoid and crashed his vehicle into a bridge. He died. I was crushed, and felt as if I was to blame for this tragedy.  I thought that perhaps he died because I hadn't heeded the pastor's words and nearly commited suicide over it.

 I went through a time of immense anger at God and church. I associated the  two. I thought that if I sought God, then I  would have to go to church...and I was afraid to go to church because of my experience. I was afraid of who might die. I was afraid of the fearful words that might be spoken.

 The truth is that God had nothing to do with this situation. God was there with me, even during my time of immense suffering and suicidal state that followed. This was all a  trick from the enemy to destroy my life. It almost worked. The course of the next few years, proved to be a living hell. But one day, I finally came to seek God..and He answered. He showed me more grace and love than any that I had ever known. He wasn't the one who had spoken those words at church. He wasn't the one who had driven the fear into my heart. He wasn't the one responsible for the death of my loved one. But somehow, I could see how He wanted to heal it all and bring me to level of understanding. And He is doing that to this very day.

 Howver, If I had discernment, I could've avoided so much fear and pain. I could have recognized things for what they really were, a work of the devil, instead of getting angry at God.
The truth is that God longs to heal us. He longs to lead us to water to drink. "For I know the plans I have for  you says the Lord..Plans to give you hope and future. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you."

The enemy comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.

The truth is that I believe that where there are humans, the enemy has a way to infiltrate. Not everything you hear or percieve to be true is in fact true. THe Bible tells us to test the spirits.

"Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. - 1 John 4:1
Please note that I'm not calling the pastor who said these things a false prophet. I'm not saying that at all, only that discernment was needed in this situation..to this very day I wonder what beneift those words served and I wondered if they were even necessary. Is Christ the only one who knows when our time on earth will expire? Does Christ long to instill fear in our hearts and threaten that if we do not turn to Him that we will die a physical death? Here's a verse to consider, "I have come to save the world, not to condemn it."


Strange experience number three:

I've written a lot over the course of the past few years how the demonic has tried to destroy my life. I have seen that they are very real, just as the Bible says they are. I've gone through a lot of strange things and have dealt with the demonic in various ways. In the past, I have said a prayer that God would send someone to help me with this issue.

I was sitting at a church service a few weeks ago and a guest speaker came to speak. He had served time as a missionary.. As I was listening to the man speak, I truly thought that this man sounded like the real thing. He was not begging for money. He was not telling me that God wants me to be rich. He was talking about helping people in Haiti..He then begins to talk about people he has encountered in the area who are dealing with the demonic. He explains how God uses him to help them. My first reaction was.."this is an answer to prayer..Thank you, Jesus!" But, truthfully, God has been and still is helping me in this area.

So, the man asked if there was anyone in the service who needed help in this area. I went up to the front. The man put his hands on my head and started talking about negative thoughts. He said something about negative thoughts coming against me....but truthfully, there hadn't been any negative thoughts...
Then another man gets up to pray for me.. I think it was the missionaries friend..., He asks me if there is any area where I need healing... I told him that I had a mild thyroid issue. He puts his hand on my stomach and as he is praying for me, he keeps asking me..."Do you feel that? Do you feel that? Do you know what that is? What he was trying to ask me was if I felt God healing me.. Well, I believe that God is still the same. God still heals..but , as he was asking me this, I didn't feel anything... I became slightly confused...ummm, maybe I feel something? He asked, "Do you know what is," Confused, I said in a voice that was more of a question, "God?" He said, yes... He told me that I was going to start losing weight because God was healing my thyroid.

The men began praying for more people in the church and declaring healings and I wondered, and not based on a lack of faith, but I truly wondered if any miracles were taking place...

Truthfully, I have come to a place in my Christian walk where I can recognize God. In Him, there is clarity, truth, peace, and understanding...The encounter with these men left me confused. God is not the author of confusion..  However, I am not speaking against these men.Perhaps, these men are the real thing. I pray they are.. .. I am only saying that this situation left me confused. Perhaps, it was simply the enemy who left me confused.

Over the course of the next few days, negative thoughts and confusion came against me in such a way that I literally did not want to get out of bed. My stomach was twisted in such knots that I wasn't hungry and didn't want to eat. Subsequently, I started losing weight.

The truth is that I believe in miracles. I have seen the power of God in many ways,...But I do believe that if God is healing someone, it will be an undeniable experience, unlike any other. It will something wonderful and unmistakeable...Because that is who God is...IF God arrives to heal, there will be no questions about it....but am I wrong? IF so, please tell me...The truth is that this entire night confused me ..


After this experience, in my confused state, I felt led to do a lot of praying and fasting. I asked for the gift of discernment...If you aren't familiar with discernment, it is a gift from God that helps Christians test the spirits around them. Discernment brings clarity whereas the enemy brings fear and confusion.

Throughout the course of the next week or so, God truly began to work on my behalf.. I began to see many things in a new light and began to question why we do certain things in our churches today. Most people are willing to accept practices that they have been comfortable with for years, but how much of what we have learned and have been taught is truly of God?

Anyhow, I am posting this because I want us all to suceed. There is a part of me that realizes that some things aren't right. Look around. This world is a dark place. It doesn't hurt to question our experiences.. It doesn't meant that we are questioning God when we do.

I have heard a lot of people say that if you speak against their minsitry then you will be cursed.
But God says to test all things. I believe that God wants us all to be a the finish line...but I encourage you to Test all things.

Please stay tuned to my blog. I have some other very important things to consider.
Love you :)



 

No comments:

Post a Comment