I will be praying for you Tigerlily. I am still praying for you Him4All. May God Bless and comfort you both and your families as well.

Welcome Y'all!
 I am fairly new myself. These folks seem to be a great bunch.

All of Creation crys out of the Creator. But only to the ones who will listen.
This verse to me has more than one layer of meaning. Not only do I think the stones would cry out their worship of God, I think they are crying out through the archeological evidence that supports the truth of the Bible.

Luke 19:39And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

There is so much in our everyday lives that go back to rituals of Darkness that even the best Christians  do things that go back to paganism and don't even know it.
Wish upon a star.
Carry a rabbit's foot.
How about a lucky fishing hat or golf shirt?
Then the one so many don't even think about. Make a wish and blow out the candles.
Don't walk under a ladder or cross the path of a black cat.
Many of the seemingly harmless jesters go right back to Dark Rituals.
You really have to watch what the designs are on clothing and jewelery to. Old Satan is trying to get to us as hard as he can. We can never let our guard down or he will slither right on in.

A little church humor.
They're Back!
Those wonderful Church Bulletins!

Thank God for church ladies with typewriters.
These sentences
actually appeared in church bulletins
or were announced in church services:
(Summer, 2006 Release)
--------------------------
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
--------------------------
The sermon this morning:
"Jesus Walks on the Water."
The sermon tonight:
"Searching for Jesus."
--------------------------
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale.
It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house.
Bring your husbands.
--------------------------
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community.
----------------------
Smile at someone who is hard to love.
Say "Hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.
--------------------------
Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
--------------------------
Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again,"
giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
--------------------------
For those of you who have children and don't know it,
we have a nursery downstairs.
--------------------------
Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir.
They need all the help
they can get.
--------------------------
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church.

 So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
--------------------------
A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church
hall. Music will follow.
--------------------------
At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?"
Come early and listen to our choir practice.
--------------------------
Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several
new members and to the deterioration
of some older ones.
--------------------------
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled.
Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
--------------------------
Please place your donation in the envelope
along with the deceased person
you want remembered.
--------------------------
The church will host an evening of fine dining, super
entertainment and gracious hostility.
--------------------------

Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM -

prayer and medication to follow.
--------------------------
The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every
kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
--------------------------
This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park
across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
--------------------------
Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM.
All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall
after the B.S. is done.
--------------------------
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him
their electric girdles for the pancake
breakfast next Sunday.
--------------------------
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM.
Please use the back door.
--------------------------


The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM.
The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
--------------------------
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church.
Please use large double door
at the side entrance.
--------------------------
The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing
campaign slogan last Sunday:
"I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."

[not]

I have heard that reading books on the occult can definitely open a door to the wrong spirits....and I would think this is even more dangerous when one is "searching" for answers in them.   I hope you have gotten rid of (hopefully destroyed) these books.  I've heard that keeping such books can keep that influence in a person's life.

I do not agree that the pastor should have called you "spawn of the devil"!!  It's good that you left that particular church.....but I wish you would have sought out another more caring pastor to talk with, rather than search in occultic books.

As others here have said, spiritual gifts should bring glory to God.  Also, I find when using my spiritual gifts, I have joy in ministering to others with them.  When these occurrences of seeing people and touching items happen to you, do you have joy or fear?  We know that the Holy Spirit will not cause fear in one's life.

 It doesn't cause fear. It startles me at times, but has never scared me. I take that back. I recieved feelings of evil from a place we went one time. We had planned on having a family picnic in a clearing on the Arkansas Riverin Colorado. I kept getting the feelings of evil so strong that we packed up and left. Later that week the news told of a body that had been found there and they thought some local Satanic group had sacrificed the person. It scared me to think of what might have happened if we had happened upon them.
 As for seeing the people, it used to bother me. Not scare me, but it bothered me that there may be souls trapped somehow. After much praying and reading the Bible, I don't believe that could happen. So what do I see? I think it is simular to a recording. I mean, the Earth is a big magnent. Magnetic fields are what makes recordings on tapes. Maybe some kind of sun spot or something beams enough of a past time recording  through so that I somehow pick it up. I really don't know.

 
 

Thanks PR. I have been looking at some other forums that have athiest. It is amazing to me at what lengths they go to to disbelieve. They say the same about the lengths Christians go to to defend the Faith.

I agree. I really wasn't trying to hijack the thread or get an argument going.

I was thinking about this thread. You know, in a way Buddha can be considered a servant of Christ. Him and a whole slew of other fellers are serving to fulfill prophecies aren't they?

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Now just a minute here. I think there has been a little misunderstanding. I was asked if I had EVER read any occult books. I answered yes, but I guess I didn't go far enough. Yes I have read those books, but it has been over 30 yrs since I read any and never did find any kind of answers there. The Bible has given me partial answers, but not a concrete answer as I would find about let's say murder.
I have studied and prayed about this for years. What I have come up with is this. It is either (A)a God Given gift that I don't know how to put to use for the Glory of God,(B) One of the gerational things that is from sins of the Fathers, (C) one of the mysteries God tells us we are not to understand.
I tend to lean toward (c).

Okie, just an honest question as I also do not wish to put a "label'' on this.

Have you ever been involved in the occult in any way?  Or have you ever read any books on the occult?  These answers might provide more insight.

As others have recommended, I would plead the Blood of Jesus in prayer, that if this is not of God, that the Lord would protect you and remove it.

Yes, I have read many books on the occult and similar things. I started reading the books to see if I could figure out what this was after my Preacher told me I must be spawn of the Devil.(I also quit going to that Church.) 
As for reading the books. I was already a true believer in our Lord Jesus Christ as Savior before I read any books on the Dark Powers that exist.
It may help you to know that most members of my family on my Daddy's side have some sort of "extra" sense. This goes back for at least four generations. We have some that are finders. They find lost objects and lost people. We have those that can move objects without touching and many of us can locate water with  wire rods or willow limbs. We have weather forecasters that will beat the guy on TV everytime.
There are many other "Gifts" that are used for good. I don't know of any of the clan that have used their gifts for dark causes or for any kind of money making thing.

I think this thing bothers me so much because it does involve so many family members.
I was full grown with kids before I knew about  other family members having something extra. It is something we just don't generally talk about. Cyber space makes it easier to discuss. In fact, I found out about the past generations of special people in my family on a family web site.
I appreciate all input on this, but will probably always wonder if it is a genetic thing or a  gift/curse thing bestowed on a past ancester.

True justice isn't in our court systems either. JMO

Ok, now convince a scientist who leans toward evolution and the big bang theory.

My 7 yr old great niece started having blackout and blind spells a while back. The x rays and MRI showed a huge mass right behind her eyes.
  I asked for prayer on several forums I go to. Her Grandma had her on the prayer list in several local Churches.
   As with so any medical problems today, one doctor sent her to another and he sent her to a specialist and so on. This went on for several months. They did several more tests. As time passed, each test had a better prognosis. She went back to see the specialist for the results of the lastest test. He can't explain why the mass has dissappeared. Surely all of those other test had been wrong somehow. It is nothing short of a miricle he say's. I say it was a miricle. One of the many miricles God works through prayers.

This is always a fun topic to discuss.
Can the existance of God be proven?
If you are trying to prove the existance of God to a skeptic that will only except cold hard facts, can the existance of God truely be proven? 

God grant me the Serenity, to except the things I can not change,
The courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

Read it, learn it, live it. Peace will be yours.