[countmeworthy]

Originally Posted by aron

Ending up in the wilderness is a good place.

I think so too as long as your heart is fixed on Jesus. It is a good place to solely rely on HIM and His Holy Spirit to teach you, guide you and lead you. This is the only way a religious person who is trying to shed the old wine skin can truly grow and be enlightened...little by little.

When you are in Babylon you get too cozy, you get anesthetized, mesmerized, hypnotized, and march blindly into the ditch.

Let me know if you agree with the following assessment: When we got saved, truly saved, understanding the power of the Cleansing Blood in our lives, we believed we were truly set free ! We were bound by sin. Now we were free. But before too long, we became bound again by religion...be it the LC or any other denomination or fellowship group.

So back to square one we go.

At least in the wilderness you know where you are.

Yeppers...but it's also a dangerous place because it is there we are more likely to go back to our former ways, or worst, forgetting the Saving Grace of the Lord Jesus.

But if you've passed thru the cauldron of the LC, you may have a crumb or two to sustain you; moments when the Spirit seemed so real that nothing else was real; moments when the Bible seemed to contain words of life rather than dead letters; moments when the Father was speaking to you thru the person next to you.

Exactly. But let me throw a caveat here. What happened to me was I at times seemed to realize some of the things we were taught in the LC were/are true. OF COURSE some of it is ! We used the Bible not the Quran or a buddhist book ! So, being I wasn't BURNED like many of the former LCrs were, I would ask myself if I ought to return to the LC ! But the few times I went to the meetings in the last few years, the answer was perfectly clear: NO !

So you stagger on, and if a faint flicker remains in your heart you eventually realize that your crumbs are more generous than some nearby, who don't have a clue about this Jesus guy or the Father's love or the Spirit's provision.

This is EXACTLY what sustained me !! Throughout my entire time in the wilderness, I would check the eternal flame to see if it was still burning. It may not have been very bright but it sure was flickering. Thank You JESUS!

So you feed them. You assemble with them and you realize that you have some counsel for them from your crucible of experiences.

We have to..at least for a while so that we can shed the ole' wine skin. Otherwise, as much as we no longer desire to be in the LC, we still have the LC wineskin. Either we move on in Christ, fellowshipping with others unlike us OR we prefer the company of the world that could very well lead us away from Jesus into sin.

In reality, I am beginning to suspect that the "ekklesia" is that poor, pathetic guy next to me, who is seeking Christ, but hardly knows where to turn, and which way is up or down. The "ekklesia-building" occurs when I receive my neighbor in Christ Jesus and it is reciprocated, and we begin to sense the depth of the Shepherd's care for His sheep. .

Oh... have I got a 'testimony' to share with you !! The past few months have wreacked HELL on my mortal body. My body took a turn for the worst, especially the last 2-3 weeks. None of you knew of the excruciating pain I was enduring. I'm not a big girl at all. But this blasted cursed affliction..(the affliction is cursed--- NOT ME) was wreaking havoc to the point I could barely walk. On one occassion I fell trying to get out of bed because my ankles were soo weak and in much pain. I rarely cry but at this point, I did. WHERE IS MY HEALER ? WHERE IS MY DELIVERER? MY SAVIOUR ??

Now, right about this time, my childhood friend who is a 'worldly' Christian tells me God has been telling her to come over and clean my house. She had not been over in a very long time and because I have not been well, my house was a mess. To make it worst, my pets had many accidents and I barely cleaned the carpet.

Last Saturday night, the pain became unbareable and at midnight I called my friend Normie who lives 30 minutes away. I was crying with pain and asked if she could come over with some Ibuprofin. We would decide when she came if I'd go to the hospital.

When she arrived, I told her how embarrassed I was for my house to be this way. What came out of me was the reason I wouldn't ask for help even though she already had heard from God was I feared rejection.

Long story...she was a GOD SENT. She cleaned and scrubbed my house, checking on me every hour to see how I was. While I did not go to the hospital, she was very worried about me.

On Wednesday, we were outside when my next door neighbors came to check up on me. Dan told me if I guzzled down a few beers, I'd be just fine. So my friend says she could use a beer and so he went and got her one.

The entire time she was here, while she prayed and I prayed, she refused to read the Word or listen to any teachings from me or anyone else.

At the end of the 'day'........she proved to be a true blue Christian friend. She heard the Voice of GOD and told me TWICE He told her to come over. She stayed with me the entire week taking good care of me and by Friday, the worst seemed to be behind me. So WHAT she likes to have a beer or 2 now and then !! So what if she does not like going to 'church'. I am not out of the woodworks whatsoever but I can at least walk slowly, not dragging my feet, afraid to fall.

I had to share this experience because for all the 'bible studies', church gatherings...at the end of the day, WHO do you think God is going to reward ?

You bet our GOD is going to reward and bless my friend who took extra good care of me !