| Poster | Thread | iansmith
Member
Joined: 2006/3/22
Posts: 963
Wheaton, IL
| | Re: | | Guess i'm gonna have to start treating you with more respect... gramps?
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Ian Smith
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|  2007/2/27 16:38 | Profile | hmmhmm
Member
Joined: 2006/1/31
Posts: 4994
Sweden
| | Re: | | Quote:
iansmith wrote:
My Testimony.
I was born in 1982, my father was a Cobra pilot in the army and we moved around a lot. I really liked moving and didn't realize until later that it had made me very independent.
My family is very independent, my parents have very few friends, almost no close friends. Since my parents never had any friends I never really was encouraged to develop any close friendships either. Most of the time i just tormented my brothers.
When I was old enough my parents let me have a TV in my room and VCRs and comic books and novels and eventually even a computer with the internet. I was pretty tech savvy and started my own IRC chartrooms and forums and websites and created a community for myself... i didn't realize that i desired companionship, but my subconscious need to find significance in others was coming out on the internet.
Neither of my parents is Christian... it didn't take long for us three sons to find out that my father had pornography. Well the sin of the fathers and all of that... that became one of my deepest and hardest to deal with sins. (this part would be edited if i was giving the testimony in public -but may be relevant for some of the people on this forum).
I suffered greatly because of loneliness, i felt dirty because of my compulsive addiction to the internet and the filth on the internet. In high school I started dating and hanging around with the wrong crowd. I hung out with a lot of the skaters and druggies... not because I didn't have any other choice, but because I found people that seemingly accepted me for who I was.
If someone is on drugs, they're less likely to be critical of you...
I developed a lot of bad habits during this time.
A friend of my brother's invited me to church, and I attended an Evangelical Free church during my years at high school -although only occasionally. There were cliques within the church; I was the only person in the youth group whose parents didn't attend the church. I used to walk three miles to church for bible studies and Sunday worship -i guess it never occurred to me to ask for a ride, it also never occurred to anyone there over the course of more than five years to ask if I wanted or needed one.
By the time that i graduated high school i had stopped going to church altogether. I had made an emotional prayer in my freshman year of high school but there was very little change in my life (besides that I had given up fighting and my grades went from F's and D's up to B's and A's). I experienced a lot of blessings by going to church, but hadn't given my heart to the Lord.
My senior year of high school and my freshman year of college were all about chasing girls... I still thought I was a Christian so I never went past first base, but I realized that there was something wrong when I couldn't hold a relationship together for more than a couple months. I realized that I was trying to find my significance in a girlfriend.
Eventually a friend of mine would invite me to a campus ministry where I would encounter the Gospel for real for the first time and I gave my heart to Jesus. That was six years ago. Since then I've graduated college and I'm still active in the ministry and church where I accepted Christ. I've had jobs as a preschool teacher; a auto claims adjuster and most recently working full time for a Christian ministry.
God has blessed me so much in my life and he's put a burden on my heart for world missions... frankly, I've gotten really close to the edge a lot of times, whether it was through violence, peer pressure to do drugs or drink, through pride, through dating, even running away and attempted suicide... God was by my side through all of my youth -I've been blessed a lot more than others... my hand has been near to the fire so many times and God has either prevented it from going in, or put something in my heart to pull me out of those situations.
Here I am today, grateful for what God has done in my life, Grateful for his mercy and his grace and I want to share that with the world... So I've been taking classes on overseas missions and doing a lot of reading on missions ^_~ so you may notice that I talk about that a lot. Learning to be less independent, to mortify my lusts, to love Jesus and others.
brother i almost weep for joy!!! the word almost is because I'm Scandinavian lol, but seriously, what a God we serve! you know Ian? we pretty much the same , i don't know what you call it in English but my eyes get teary whit a warm fuzzy feeling of love and identification whit you brother, thank you for giving me the privilege to read your testimony
Christian(hmmhmm)
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CHRISTIAN
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| | 2007/2/27 16:40 | Profile |
| | Re: | | Quote:
hmmhmm wrote:
i will do that sister, thank you(but its not me who is angry) :-)
god bless
I wasn't thinking of you at all, why do you think that? You don't come over as angry! :-D
Jeannette |
| | 2007/2/27 16:40 | |
| | Re: | | Quote:
hmmhmm wrote:
but sister isent scripture clear on that no one is born a child of God? we must be born again... by the spirit, i dont know when the earliest age of that can take place... but im preatty sure it has to take place
Of course it does but there are some, like Ben, who maybe were too young to remember!
Jeannette |
| | 2007/2/27 16:43 | | hmmhmm
Member
Joined: 2006/1/31
Posts: 4994
Sweden
| | Re: | | ok :-) I'm slow sometimes, have patience whit me sister ;-)
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CHRISTIAN
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| | 2007/2/27 16:47 | Profile |
| | Re: | | Quote:
Guess i'm gonna have to start treating you with more respect... gramps?
Yea... well... trust me, this "gramps" could put a whoopin' on your hide that you'd not soon forget! ...lol
...in Jesus' name, of course! :-)
Krispy |
| | 2007/2/27 16:50 | |
| | Re: the way I see it...my vision of youth ministry | | Quote:
bartle wrote:
now Jeanette,this part is to you, as i wrote to you in a PM, when I close off a post "In Jesus' love", I mean that, its not some off the cuff, religious send-off, its what I feel in my heart and in my soul, so I say,
In Jesus' love, neil
Hi Neil
I know you do, you just got very hot under the collar (do you use that expression where you live? Means "steaming" mad!) over things and said things that probably you regret.
I didn't read much of the other thread, but tried to make comments, there and here, that I hoped would be helpful. I don't think you have commented on any of them - have you?
The one about why we are angry - a personal testimony re the "theory" of Evolution, may explain something... We all have subjects we feel so strongly about that its sometimes hard not to rant.
Did you feel I was getting at you personally (such as accusing you of lack of love)at any point in these two threads?
If so I apologise.
I sign off in different ways, but there is love this end too, especially having got to know some of you on this forum quite well from your posts.
Indeed, at least one "angry young man" on this Forum literally reduced me to tears because of the Lord's love for him.
Bless you Neil
love in Him
Jeannette |
| | 2007/2/27 16:55 | |
| | Re: | | Quote:
hmmhmm wrote:
brother i almost weep for joy!!! the word almost is because I'm Scandinavian lol, but seriously, what a God we serve! you know Ian? we pretty much the same , i don't know what you call it in English but my eyes get teary whit a warm fuzzy feeling of love and identification whit you brother, thank you for giving me the privilege to read your testimony
Christian(hmmhmm)
Amen, what a great testimony, Ian! Maybe we should have a "testimony" thread, but we love talking about ourselves so it might get too long :-D
Jeannette
Jeannette |
| | 2007/2/27 17:03 | | roadsign
Member
Joined: 2005/5/2
Posts: 3777
| | Re: to Neil | | Quote:
This will probably be my last post for a long
Neil, I look forward to you coming back, as you have so much to offer so much insight and freshness, and passion for God. I pray that during this upcoming season of fasting from SI God will work in you to get to the root of this besetting snare. And I know he will, as he is clearly bringing about righteousness in your life.
"A man's anger does not bring about
the righteous life that God desires." James 1:20
Getting slivers pulled out by the divine tweezers is not always a pleasant experience, but in the end, it is worth it. It brings one to a deeper sense of peace and rest in Him.
Ill be praying for you, brother!
Diane
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Diane
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| | 2007/2/28 4:08 | Profile | CJaKfOrEsT
Member
Joined: 2004/3/31
Posts: 901
Melbourne, Australia
| | Re: | | Quote:
BenWilliams wrote:
First of all, what is your definition of revealing clothing?
Second, which groups are you talking about?
...
Lastly, my dad was reading your post while I was reading it, and he wants to know why you are looking at women in revealing clothing?
I may be out of line saying this, Ben but it seems like you are seeking a means to validate your sin. Sure their is nothing sinful about music, in itself, but their is a rebelliousness in most of these bands, that reeks of "I don't care what you think about what I am doing, I am going to play loud music, and wear these clothes, and if you don't like it, then tough luck!!"
Scripture exhorts us to avoid the appearance of sin. These "drug dealers", are probably dressing more like "gangstas" (spelled as they would spell), and considering that their dress sense is one that is a kind of marketing strategy for getting kids to join gangs, wearing "colors" and the like, why would you want to direct people to that? It is one thing to dress like this to identify with the lost, in order to reach them, but we are not talking about this here.
My understanding of what ATF is all about, is mobilising Christian youth to serious life for God, that is mission minded. In other words, we are appealing to the "saved" through these events. My experience with this kind of thing, is that the "lost" think that it's all second rate to what they already have, and for the "church kids", it tends to be a bridge into the more worldly, sinful stuff (eg, from Christian Hip Hop, on to Gangsta Rap, which is a far greater quality, and therefore much more appealing).
Citing particular bands, why would you want a Christian Youth Group to go a see Skillet play, under the guise of being their to get fired up for Christ's purposes, and listen to Corey singing about how God is "Better than drugs"? Why would you want to even put that comparison in their minds, if either they have kicked drugs, meaning that you are drawing their attention back to those days (which did have their fun moments) or they have not been exposed to drugs, where ignorance provides an element of safety for them? God wisely place a tree of the "Knowledge of Good and Evil" in the garden and then said, "Don't eat". This imagery is a form of "eating" of this "knowledge".
Recently I pulled out an old Grammatrain album, and some lyrics of the lyrics stood out, "I want to know the reason...why can't you say the reason you keep your eyes away from Me." which paints God to be powerless against sin, and wondered, "Could this be part of the reason why Pete Stewart is no longer in fellowship?" Mind you, in my youth leading days, I used to cite Stewart as I would a preacher...this is the kind of sway these artists can have.
The old "Wesley and Booth used to rewrite bar room songs..." argument is redundant, because these days, the music is pumping out at a massive decibel level, causing the "hearer" to be a "feeler" as well, and then are being asked "Can you [b]feel[/b] the presence of God, here?" Much of the music is orchestrated to stimulate the emotions, and then emotions are being sold as a valid means of sensing God's presence.
Regarding scantily clad women on stage, there are two issues here. For some of us, sexual lust is the "thorn in the flesh" that God says His "grace is sufficient for.." rather than removing it. These women are flaunting their sexuality before us, making it harder to think pure thoughts. It is bad enough that "the world" does it, but when the "church" does it, what's going on? The only possible reason that I can think, for doing this, is marketing. In other words, it will help sell records to the teenage male demographic. The Bible exhorts us to dress modestly (men and women) and yet their is no modesty in flaunting your body.
The second issue is that these artists argue that they are trying to reach the lost. If this is the case, then why would they want to create the impression that dressing in revealing clothing is normal and acceptable? And do you honestly think that their minds are being directed to holiness? If you do, then you are more naive than they are.
I must admit that I have trouble reconciling the whole "Is their such a thing as Christian Rock?" question, when I consider bands like Third Day and Stavesacre (both of whom, I notice are absent from ATF's list of bands), but the fact is, there is a lot of chaff in the Christian music industry. One's mind can quickly go to a band like MXPX, who were for a long time the quintessential "Christian Punk" band. A good friend of mine went out for drinks with them while they were on tour in Australia. After having a long conversation with their manager, he asked the question, "So, what's the deal? Are Mike and the boys Christians, or what?" The response that he got was, "Look at them? Their drinking, swearing, tattoos and all. What do you think?" He went on to say that they go to church sometimes when they are home, but when they are on tour, they leave all that stuff at home.
We are often too quick to defend people, when the apostles tended to be wary until trust was earned and proven. Perhaps we need the kind of persecution that they had to endure, before we will "guard our fellowship" the way that they exhorted.
Keith Daniel wisely said, "You don't win the world by being like the world, the world will win you."
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Aaron Ireland
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| | 2007/3/6 8:04 | Profile |
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