Hello!

[Timothy]

I guess they seek after signs like that for reassurance of their faith, although it's not faith in God's word. Jesus actually told the apostles how he would manifest himself to them in John 14.

John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The fact that you have been learning the things you have is part of how Christ manifests himself to you and I like that you are choosing to put your faith in God's word rather than gold dust and other signs like that. I think it supports what Chris was talking about earlier how the born again babe will grow in understanding while those that are of the world do not.

[Ellie]

I guess they seek after signs like that for reassurance of their faith, although it's not faith in God's word. Jesus actually told the apostles how he would manifest himself to them in John 14.

John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The fact that you have been learning the things you have is part of how Christ manifests himself to you and I like that you are choosing to put your faith in God's word rather than gold dust and other signs like that. I think it supports what Chris was talking about earlier how the born again babe will grow in understanding while those that are of the world do not.

Wow... You see, I knew those verses already but thinking about it now in the context of the false manifestations when we were not following Christ's commands it has a deeper meaning based on my own experience because I have seen the effects of doing the opposite of verse 21 and 23. Whether those manifestations were just fleshly, or if they were demonic... I don't know, it is likely a combination of both at least based on my current knowledge. But either way, those manifestations were a result of disobeying Christ's commands (that's another reason why I think it may have been demonic in a lot of instances... people could have brought curses upon themselves or opened themselves to demonic possession--like when they seemed completely drunk).

But now, I have also experienced so much of Christ's true manifestation of Himself to me. And it is so much better than any of that garbage because it actually comes with understanding and not confusion, jealousy, and pride. And when Christ uses the name "the Comforter," for the Holy Spirit, it makes sense to me. There have been times where it was really hard to follow Christ's commands in certain instances. But when I did, God comforted me. It would typically be in relation to instances of sanctification where I separated myself from people I was close to in obedience to Christ. I was sad about the loneliness I would feel but when I obeyed, I knew God was right there with me and that He was pleased that I obeyed Him in accordance with His word.

Thank you so much for sending me that verse. That was really great to think about. Praise God!

------

On another, completely unrelated note, I was wondering what the number next to "Edification" on everyone's profile means.

[Timothy]

What interested me was the fact that it could be something demonic. I have heard of the gold dust appearing on peoples hands but I didn't know what the significance was to them. Also, I wasn't sure about believing something like that actually happens when I heard about it in the past. Surely, some of them are probably hoaxes but I believe you when you say it did happened. Hearing it from a Christian who is exposing it as something not of God, I think, gives it more credibility that it is something that really happens and that's why I'm glad you got out of it.

On another, completely unrelated note, I was wondering what the number next to "Edification" on everyone's profile means.

It's sort of a  "like" or a "thumbs up". Whenever someone posts something that is really good, people usually give that person an edification point. It gives people an idea of who makes good posts on the forum. I can't remember the prerequisites to be able to give edification points but part of it is making a certain amount of posts.

[anvilhauler]

Wow... You see, I knew those verses already but thinking about it now in the context of the false manifestations when we were not following Christ's commands it has a deeper meaning based on my own experience because I have seen the effects of doing the opposite of verse 21 and 23. Whether those manifestations were just fleshly, or if they were demonic... I don't know, it is likely a combination of both at least based on my current knowledge. But either way, those manifestations were a result of disobeying Christ's commands (that's another reason why I think it may have been demonic in a lot of instances... people could have brought curses upon themselves or opened themselves to demonic possession--like when they seemed completely drunk).

And of the false miracles that will come about in the future and fool those people unless they become true believers and grounded in the Word of God.

Revelation 13 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

and their final demise

Revelation 19 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

I wouldn't be surprised if the gold dust in the church building was the same compound that companies use for the likes of gold chocolate wrappers.  Cheap to produce and cheap to purchase and ideal for the "pastors" to use for their stage show. 

[Ellie]

And of the false miracles that will come about in the future and fool those people unless they become true believers and grounded in the Word of God.

Revelation 13 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

and their final demise

Revelation 19 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

I wouldn't be surprised if the gold dust in the church building was the same compound that companies use for the likes of gold chocolate wrappers.  Cheap to produce and cheap to purchase and ideal for the "pastors" to use for their stage show. 

Yes, that is true. Thank you for sharing these bible verses. I am so glad that the Lord Jesus Christ had mercy on me and took me out of the deception despite my prideful involvement in it at the time.

[Laura]

Laura,  to continue with my post before it got cut off...
That is another reason why I am glad to come across this ministry.

I was studying English, then I switched to social work but I stopped doing that because in the code of ethics they wanted us to affirm LGBT lifestyles in our clients and I couldnt go against Gods word when it comes to that. I switched to another major but I ended up deciding I would come home and withdraw from the university (George Fox, a school in Oregon) because it didnt sit right with me because I would need to get a masters degree for that major. I have always had the desire to get married and have children and it did not seem like a wise choice for me to spend so much money (as well as my parents because they were footing almost all of at least my bachelors) on a bachelors and then a masters degree just to end up likely staying at home within several years of getting it, if the  Lord is willing to have me marry in that time frame anyways. I then applied and got accepted to Liberty online for English but then that scandal happened with the president of the school (I am guessing you guys have heard about it? It was all over the internet)  I was very disappointed in the way the university almost refused to speak against his sinful actions. That was the first straw and then in one of my first English assignments they wanted us to read literature on the Greek gods and my heart dropped because I cant handle that stuff in my conscience right now. I dont exactly know how to explain it but I just couldnt do it. So I withdrew and am currently just working a retail job while I figure out what the next move should be in that area.
And yes I have listened to the YouTube teachings on Catholicism but I will have to read the full article. Thank you for the warm welcome!

Praise the Lord you were able to have the courage and conviction to leave those degrees and universities! As you said, it will save you a lot of time and money while you figure things out and gain a deeper understanding of His word. What a blessing it is to have God's mercy and repentance at such a young age!

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Deuteronomy 7:9

[Ellie]

Praise the Lord you were able to have the courage and conviction to leave those degrees and universities! As you said, it will save you a lot of time and money while you figure things out and gain a deeper understanding of His word. What a blessing it is to have God's mercy and repentance at such a young age!

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Deuteronomy 7:9

Yes, I am thankful to God for that. There is almost no way I would have even considered leaving school before. It was always a hard-set plan for me to get a degree--now I am really not so sure. I am open to it if that is what God would have me do, but I don't necessarily believe that it will happen just because of all the factors that play into it. Possibly some sort of education like an Associate's degree or something else like that, but I don't know. I have always loved to learn, but now I can spend my time learning something much more fruitful and wonderful (God's word, of course) than any of the worthless indoctrination I got for my whole life prior to now.

And you're right, it is an immense blessing. I am so thankful that God had mercy on me when He did so I could stop wasting my life on things that didn't matter as well as things that were just going to send me to hell (deservedly). Thank you for sending that verse! Praise God.

[theAXEisLAID]

I was heavily into demonic, sexual, and perverse music by people/bands like Lady Gaga and Panic! at the Disco. When I say I loved it, I mean it. I went to lots of concerts and dressed immodestly for the occasion.

Hello Again Ellie - I came over to your intro to reread it. When I first read it I remember thinking Wow, this is refreshing.

Thanks to God's grace, being heavily into corrupt music is something we both came out of as well. I find it fitting to talk about since Chris recently released the book exposing the Christian music for what it is.  I have seen Plant and Page of Led Zeppelin twice and I am convinced now as I was then that Jimmy Page is not always the one playing the guitar, he gets taken over by the devils.  Actually no big surprise as many rock stars know this.  I attended many wicked concerts over the years like Lollapalooza and Woodstock 94 and years later, as I tried to be a better false convert, I attended a few "christian" concerts too - what a joke and actually worse for the lukewarmness.  When I was around your age, knowing this worldly music conflicted with Christ I burned my valuable music collection but without repentance it all crept back into my life.  Makes me think of the unclean spirit leaving and returning to the clean house and getting other spirits to make the man worse off.  God willing I will finish reading Chris's book and add comment to the thread if I have anything that may be beneficial to add to the discussion.

[Ellie]

Hi again David,

I have seen numerous interviews of celebrities talking about how an "alter ego" comes into them when they perform. That's what they call it, but after seeing the types of things they do on stage... it's not surprising to realize after being saved that many of them have just been possessed by devils. I haven't read the book on Christian music yet, but I hope I can sometime soon.

When I was around your age, knowing this worldly music conflicted with Christ I burned my valuable music collection but without repentance it all crept back into my life.  Makes me think of the unclean spirit leaving and returning to the clean house and getting other spirits to make the man worse off.

This is interesting to think about. I can remember certain things in my life that relate to that as well.

Glad to have you on the forum! Thanks for your response.

[Cottage Camper]

When I was around your age, knowing this worldly music conflicted with Christ I burned my valuable music collection but without repentance it all crept back into my life.  Makes me think of the unclean spirit leaving and returning to the clean house and getting other spirits to make the man worse off.

This is interesting to think about. I can remember certain things in my life that relate to that as well.

Wow, thanks to both of you! That is excellent insight. Especially:

... but without repentance it all crept back into my life.

Especially pertinent to me was this:

... as I tried to be a better false convert, ...

Thank you!