Stepford wives revisited....

[Outcast]

Sorry I have been absent guys. Took me a while to get healed up from the bad sinus infection/throat infection/cold that I had. In all thiS, i managed to make it to Atlanta Fest for a day and keep up with church revival that is going into day 34 (we are wanting to have the same thing Lakeland florida is doing). i promise the following story is real and not dramatized or overexagerated. Anyway Wednesday and Thursday I couldnt help but noticed somethign seemed wierd inside the building the air seemed thicker and even warmer to a degree...stuffy was the word. After the final meetign on Friday night before the 4th of July weekend break, I noticed two of the ladies busy going aroudn and making sure all doors and windows were closed as the church was being locked up and secured. I found it strange that everything had been opened up as we have expensive and costly AC units running at all times to cool the place. When I asked, one of the ladies I will call Betty turned to me smiling and said, "oh, Lizzy and I discovered during the revival meetign that there may have been a gas leak so we opened up everythign so the revival wouldnt be interrupted. We arent sure where it was coming from but well, Lizzy thinks she figured out how to turn the gas off correctly so we are closing everything up again and Lizzy is going to sit in the kitchen and wait for about another hour to see if the gas smell goes away or wait until she doesnt smell anymore gas and then we will lock up and go home. You know, it is just like Satan to do somethign like this to try and scare us and stop what God is doing in our revival and send his demons to make a gas leak happen so he can attaack the beleivers. you know, about a year or two ago my daughter and her friends wnet to a retreat/senimar up in the mountains and well, Satan attacked some poor girls there. There cabin had a gas leak and no one knew about it. The cabin was full of gas and they couldnt smell it and when they tried to light the stove to cook it exploded and killed those poor girls...*babbling continues*...
I interrupted saying: "You know, Betty, gas leaks can be pretty dangerous and all it woud take is enough built up and one electrical spark to ignite it. You think maybe you might want to call the fire department and have them come and check it out to be safe and make sure everythign is turned off correctly and maybe Lzzy shouldnt be in the kitchen where she could be unknowingly inhaling gas fumes as you cant always smell it..." Betty looked at me and smiled strangely and laughed saying: "Come on, you mean call the fire department over a little gas leak? Do you even think they would bother comign for something like this? besides, the pastor didnt think it was necessary...after all, we are battling demonic forces in the heavenlies now and all this is is just one of Satan's tactics to scare us...we have the power of God on our side and the authority in Christ Jesus to take command of this situation...we have to step out in faith and fight the devil and stand up to him!" I reply, "Yes, Betty, I hear you, but God also gave us the knowledge to deal with these things in "the natural" too ...and we have organizations liek the fire department to help in these situations and make sure we are safe." Betty remained silent, looking at me with a spaced out smile and just kept "blinking" like she didnt understand or grasp what i was saying. I continued jokingly, "you know, it wouldnt be good if we discovered all the falling out in the Spirit was actually due to the gas leak and to much gas in the air...so maybe you guys might want to cal them still...just a friendly suggestion." Betty still continued smiling and blinking like she didnt hear or understand and said: Ok, Jeff, God bless you...have a good night...see you next week when the revivals start up again...i can't wait...ooo...I am just so excited about what God is doing!" I found myself asking:"God, what just happened in there and why am I suddenly so creeped out...?"

[LauraA]

I think you were 100% right. We live in a physical world, too. Unless they specifically heard a very clear word from the Lord telling them to do something like they did, (and have it confirmed by 2 or 3), I would say it was pretty foolish of them to handle a gas leak the way they did.

Wow.
blink
;)

[Outcast]

I think you were 100% right. We live in a physical world, too. Unless they specifically heard a very clear word from the Lord telling them to do something like they did, (and have it confirmed by 2 or 3), I would say it was pretty foolish of them to handle a gas leak the way they did.

Wow.
blink
;)

ROTFL...loved the "blink wink":):)
Actually, the only thing I could see them doing "logically" (if i may dare apply earthly logic which is really folly in God's eyes) instead of fooling around in the spirit realm and looking fro a demon behind every bush...or "two demons and their momma too" behind every bush in this case, would be to take authority in Christ Jesus and deal with the physical realm and command the gas to leave...you know, much like Jesus calming the storm...and to pray for God to give wisdom/knowledge to deal with the situation through the Holy Spirit. i didnt see it happening. A general tendancy that is growing here in my area more than ever before is the atitude of "reaching up to the veils of heaven and pulling down those things you ask for...receiving in other words" and now especially what they call "stepping out in faith". Under this radical belief system the fact that I dont jump up immeidately out of my wheelchair when prayed for...and try to force somethign to happen...liek dare to force my legs and jump and run around the room, etc, etc, I am seen as not wantign to recive from God and not stepping out in faith the way God wants me to...in other words failing and in sin. Same goes for when I was sick and had no money for the doctor or the medicine. People would lay hands on my and pray and I really appreciated and loved them for it, but you shoudl have seen the offended and uncomfortable looks I got when I asked several "friends" there explaining that I had no money for cough medicine and that food stamps would not pay for this, and I simply asked if they might have an extra bottle of cough syrup in their medicine cabinet they could share/give to me as my cough was so bad i would lose my breath and be unable to speak at times. the fact that i was relying on "pharmakeia" also instead of just the healing power of God alone was offensive to them. many churches caught up in the demonic roots and spiritual roots for illnesses teachings now teach that pharmakeia...or medicine...based on the old original greek meaning...is the same as potions and witchcraft. it is even becoming "socially/spiritually" taboo in my church and other churches like it to even talk about having or admit to having an illness. Fortunately, one friend and his wife slipped me 10$ in secret and recommended some things that woudl help me.
Same goes with calling the fire department for help, it woudl show a not stepping out/lack of faith and be like sin in other people's eyes. It was like the revival/cause took precendence over the welfare and safety of the people in the church. i mean, seeing it from their point of view and from the point of view of most peopel in general, if the fire department were called and they came out and news of it and the gas leak hit the community grape vine...i could see people spooked or reluctant to go there to the revival just because something bad happened there. But then i am led to ask myself, when we let that fear happen like " what will the people say or think?" or "this could ruin or undo everything we have worked for..." , are we doing it for God's glory...or our own glory?

[LauraA]

I would be concerned, too.

Luke was a physician, as you know, and I don't recall anything in the Bible rebuking him for it or forbidding him to practice.

Also, I really don't think the Lord would have given us herbs with medicinal properties if they were not to be used to give us better health. Just my opinion.

[Outcast]

You said it! especially mentioning how combining herbs has health benefits and medicinal purposes! maybe a bit off topic but well, with all the health stuff i have been going through I can defiitely vouch for this one!:)

A home-made cough remedy:

http://www.pitt.edu/~cjm6/sp99cough.html

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons water

Mix and take by the teaspoon. warning: it tastes horrible but works!:) Oh, the one warning it gave don't give honey to children unless it is pasteurized or boiled for 5 minutes.

*recites classic MacBeth by Shakespeare* "Bubble,bubble...toil and trouble...ack!*gags on the nasty taste*";)

[LauraA]

I have heard of that one, or one similar. Apple cider vinegar is good for a lot of things, as is honey.

It's amazing how He provided for us is so many ways.