For Rosa Vera

As you may know by my own writing that i attend and worship in a Roman Catholic church, by choice no longer because i was brought up in it... not many people understand the rosary and how it puts the person praying it in a state of mind close to God... it helps many that have emotional or other problems... when prayed with fervor it actually changes the brain waves and puts the person in a ''higher state of mind'' which they say is an intense adoration and they feel so very close to God...

This is what the rosary is about:
The rosary is made up of two things: mental prayer and vocal prayer. In the Holy Rosary mental prayer is none other than meditation of the chief mysteries of the life, death and glory of Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Vocal prayer consists in saying fifteen decades of the Hail Mary, each decade headed by an Our Father, while at the same time meditating on and contemplating the fifteen principal virtues which Jesus and Mary practiced in the fifteen mysteries of the Holy Rosary.

In the first five decades we must honor the five Joyous Mysteries and meditate on them; in the second five decades the Sorrowful Mysteries and in the third group of five, the Glorious Mysteries. So the Rosary is a blessed blending of mental and vocal prayer by which we honor and learn to imitate the mysteries and virtues of the life, death, passion and glory of Jesus and Mary.

i do not really practice the Rosary but when i hear it i pray along. So, what is really the harm in praying the rosary, if any i ask...
 
Well, you given some great examples of how God is more than able to turn the hardest into believers of the Lord Jesus.
RosaVera said:
i do not really practice the Rosary but when i hear it i pray along. So, what is really the harm in praying the rosary, if any i ask...
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That would depend on who you ask, and if you really wanted to know why the Rosary might not be the best route to go when it comes to praying. Also should the question be about what harm? Lots of Catholics pray the Rosary and seem fine to me. I think the question would be, is there a better and more direct way to the Father that gets answers. If there is, then I'll sign up for that one.


Blessings.

Michael.
 
MichaelH said:
You almost sound like one of those tongue talking believer types. :)

Your blessed!!! and favored!!!

Michael.
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indeed I am very blessed by Him .. I don't speak in tongues, nor do I prophesie, nor do I heal .. He gave me a gift that I prize above anything in my life (well, next to His love) .. one that would break my heart if I ever lost ..

and indeed you are blessed by Him .. the gift of healing is very special .. and I bet you feel the same way as I do .. because the gift is a very special connection to God ..
 
MichaelH said:
That would depend on who you ask, and if you really wanted to know why the Rosary might not be the best route to go when it comes to praying. Also should the question be about what harm? Lots of Catholics pray the Rosary and seem fine to me. I think the question would be, is there a better and more direct way to the Father that gets answers. If there is, then I'll sign up for that one.
Blessings.
Michael.
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I love talking about prayer ..
one of the most important things we need to remember is ..
HOW to put the power of a mustard seed into your prayers ..
Jesus told us ASK AS IF YOU HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED ..

but going back for Rosa's sake, Jesus also gave us the Lord's prayer as a format ..
so if you repeat that prayer, and understand the format below ..
it indeed pleases Him ..

here is the format Jesus gave us within the Lords Prayer ..
Adoration ..
Contrition ..
Thanksgiving ..
Supplication ..

ACTS is the format that brings your heart into communion with Him .. you can speak your heart plainly to Him, but when you use this format as you speak from the heart,
it indeed pleases Him ..

may God Bless All ..

btw: you guessed it :)
 
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ixoye_8 said:
indeed I am very blessed by Him .. I don't speak in tongues, nor do I prophesie, nor do I heal .. He gave me a gift that I prize above anything in my life (well, next to His love) .. one that would break my heart if I ever lost ..

and indeed you are blessed by Him .. the gift of healing is very special .. and I bet you feel the same way as I do .. because the gift is a very special connection to God ..
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Bless God!! I like talking about gifts and prayer also. As for the Gift of healing........................ You know, the best gift is the gift someone needs to get free. This might be a 2 hour talk with them, some money to help pay a bill. God can empower us to help in so many ways if we just have a heart to do His will and Help those Jesus Gave his life for.

I was driving my truck several years back and I had not heard the Lord say a word to me for months. Not that I get upset about those things, I can't force the Lord to speak and I know He is always there. However, I asked.......... "Lord, I have not heard a peep out of you for a few months, what's up with that?"

The Lord then spoke and said, "What do I have to say to you? Are you not doing well? Who have you spoken to for me these last few months?"

Ever have one of those Holy Ghost moments where 100 questions about things are filled in, in less than a second? The key to the blessing and hearing God is going out and doing his will. Everything you get comes from being focused on the Kingdom of God, not yourself or your stuff. (I could write a page of what I learned in that second)

So I says to the Lord, "Fine, the next person you tell me to speak to, I will. No problem."

(Amazing story after that, but it would be a bit long)

The point is, as a believer if we will step out on the Word, the gifts are there for someone. I am not talking about the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist, Pastors or Teachers. Some of those ministries by appointment have the Holy Spirit operating in Healing, Prophecy and such almost when they get up to speak, it's part of their calling.

Normal believers though can be used at any time with any gift.

Those that believe on my name shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover................................... That is Word!!


Do you believe on the name of Jesus? Then you qualify.

Now this is not the Healing Anointing but underneath it's written the Lord went with them and performed his WORD with signs following. Recover here does not mean instant always like we see with the Gift of healing, but it does mean recover. Much like James where the Lord shall RISE them up as the prayer of faith shall save the sick.

I encourage believers that the next time your in a situation where there is the sick, minister to them the Lord's will about healing then ask them if you can lay hands on them so they will recover. Tell them Jesus said it, and that is just how it always ends up, nothing doubting.

When we are willing to step out and just believe the Word, God can use you more and more. Think how impressed Jesus was with the Centurion when He said.......... NOPE, don't bother coming to my place, all you have to do is speak the word only and my servant shall be healed. No question about it!!!

There is so much we are all lacking that the Lord would Love to do through us. I pray we see it more and more every day just how great and powerful our God is.

Paul prayed that for his own followers.......... So it must be something believers need more and more revelation about or else Paul would have never prayed it.

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
(Eph 1:18-19)

What is that exceeding great power for those that will believe? Lets try to find out :)

Michael.
 
ok .. this thread just got high-jacked as a praise thread .. I talked to Rosa and told her, she may want to spend more time on this thread ..

I had to laugh when you said .. "I haven't heard from you" ..
I'm like that too .. but my gift requires Him to communicate ..

I do want to add something to what you said .. that is not everyone that believes in Jesus will receive a gift .. BUT .. what he does give to one, belongs to all .. and the person that receives the gift, becomes a servant to all (you must invest that "talent" the master gave you to invest or it will be taken back from you) .. indeed, you are correct that the HS can use anyone at anytime, BUT a person does not receive the HS until their belief is confirmed as real .. what confirms that you do believe (and not just lip service) is when you obey him ..

Act 5:32 “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

ok .. so once you obey Him, now you are eligible for a gift of the Holy Spirit ..
yet any of THESE who obey Him can be used by Him at any moment, because THESE are the ones through their obedience have proved they are His .. God works within a mutual relation .. those who think "I have the HS" yet live their lives for self, delude themselves .. He doesn't like "luke-warm" .. remember what Jesus said .. you must love God with your ALL .. I belong to Him, so He belongs to me .. it wasn't just some coincidence He used the words bride and bridegroom .. He was telling us the TYPE OF RELATION that He requires from us ..

another one of my favorite subjects to speak on, is "what are God ears, and how to get them" .. which of course ties into what we are talking about .. anyway, by all means .. please tell the other story ..

one last note .. doubt is a crippler ..
remember the woman who was confident that all she had to do was touch His robe ??? .. I see you have the same confidence in your relation with God .. and that is paramount ..
 
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MichaelH said:
The Lord then spoke and said, "What do I have to say to you? Are you not doing well? Who have you spoken to for me these last few months?"

So I says to the Lord, "Fine, the next person you tell me to speak to, I will. No problem."

What is that exceeding great power for those that will believe? Lets try to find out :)

Michael.
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that reminds me of the day I was talking to Rosa on the phone while was she was driving, and I told her .. "you are going to pass a homeless guy, stop and help him, it is imperative you do" .. she looked over and saw him, so she went around the block and he was gone .. it was funny as she hunted him down and finally found him .. she spoke to him and gave him some money, and he took the money and snubbed her .. that was her first lesson after she had received the HS .. she too goes through "dry spells" as you mentioned, but her gift is serving and all parts of the body are needed and as such, equal .. the body cannot function effectively as it should, when parts are missing ..
(God is training her for more, and perhaps even lead her to you as He did her to me)
my ministry has always been to the believer (yes I sow seeds too) because to me, there is nothing more sad then the one who says "what must I do to be complete" and then because no one helped them, walks away ..

God bless all .. as we learn to put on our God ears ..
 
ixoye_8 said:
that reminds me of the day I was talking to Rosa on the phone while was she was driving, and I told her .. "you are going to pass a homeless guy, stop and help him, it is imperative you do" .. she looked over and saw him, so she went around the block and he was gone .. it was funny as she hunted him down and finally found him .. she spoke to him and gave him some money, and he took the money and snubbed her .. that was her first lesson after she had received the HS .. she too goes through "dry spells" as you mentioned, but her gift is serving and all parts of the body are needed and as such, equal .. the body cannot function effectively as it should, when parts are missing ..
(God is training her for more, and perhaps even lead her to you as He did her to me)
my ministry has always been to the believer (yes I sow seeds too) because to me, there is nothing more sad then the one who says "what must I do to be complete" and then because no one helped them, walks away ..

God bless all .. as we learn to put on our God ears ..
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I don't know why, but that encouraged me. I am glad your used for believers as they need help and revelation in the Word. I am convinced that every believer has available to them what you described. Without the ability to hear the Holy Spirit, our effectiveness is cut drastically low. Had you not expected to hear, then how does this Homeless man get help?
I have heard it said "Get in the plan of God!!!" That sounds great, but how does that work? It can be frustrating to someone that knows there is more and not even know where to start. I hope to be a part of keeping them from walking away, some may not like my strong "Faith" stance but I never seen anyone trust God and not win. I want people to win and get that well done faithful servant when its all done.

Michael.
 
ixoye_8 said:
please tell your other story ..
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That story....... OK. Had to think a minute and read up. I am convinced that we need the Holy Spirit to be effective. If I am talking with someone, I have to hear the Lord. I mean that is what we do right? We can look at the natural and give scriptures and ideas, but nothing like Hearing the Lord for them.

I told the Lord I would speak to the next person he directed me to. I was on my way to deliver a load (Semi driver) and I have just gotten through the gates and backed in my spot. The Dock supervisor was a real jerk, He told me if he feels like it he may unload me since I came in so late, otherwise I would have to spend the night in their nice parking lot.

I got out and stretched, walked around the warehouse a bit and that supervisor was a mean cuss. I just observed his mistreatment of some of his employee's and his foul mouth. I just wanted to get unloaded and get out of there.

Now take a guess who the Lord wanted me to talk to?

You never think ahead of time what you will say as the Holy Spirit will give you what to say when you step out. If we rehearse then we end up adding our stuff in there and we just want the Lord's stuff. I know the drill, so I had to stop coming up with 10 different ways to approach this guy. All 10 could not be right, the 11th one might be and I did not think of that one.

So I just bit the bullet, I told the Lord I would, so I have to do it. I walk up and in a flash I knew everything about this guys childhood, everything.

So I says, "You always went to church with your grandma as a boy."

This took him by surprise and he said "What?" So I repeated and kept talking.

When you were young, you always went to church with Grandma and in your teens you were a leader at a church youth camp. After Grandma passed away you stopped serving the Lord and got into a bad crowd. I know that was years ago, but the Lord just wanted me to ask you when your going to come back to him.

Wow, this big tough guy had tears running down his face, and he asked me how I knew all that. (He was brought up Baptist so.....He never seen nothing like that) I told him I did not know a thing, but that the Lord that you use to serve sent me over here to ask when your coming back to him.

Well, we sat down and went over his church options for his area and I prayed over him and He told me he felt a burden lift from him that he did not even know was there and felt lite or not as heavy. He also got me unloaded right away and he asked me to tell God that He was coming back and doing what he thought he was suppose to do. (He felt as a teen God called him to preach or teach)

I looked at him and said, NO, now you can tell him your back. Your going to make it.

Anyway, that was what happened. Off to get a lost sheep. God is so faithful to send the life raft of those that have jumped the pen. I had a new faith or whatever you call it concerning the will of God and those that left.

Blessings.
 
MichaelH said:
You never think ahead of time what you will say as the Holy Spirit will give you what to say when you step out. If we rehearse then we end up adding our stuff in there and we just want the Lord's stuff. I know the drill,
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that's a great story .. I know the drill too ..
our stuff may be good, but never right .. because only God knows exactly what is needed to tip the scales .. but it's great too, because it takes the burden off us too .. don't stress it .. just trust Him, and let Him speak through you ..

I am non-denominational .. but I don't like that term .. I call myself dominional .. because I am under God's dominion only ..
Rosa is a Catholic, and her Priest has the indwelling, so I tell her a couple days early what he will talk about on Sunday .. interesting enough, when she received the HS, she at first asked me if she needed to leave her church .. I told her no .. God needs his people everywhere in all churches ..

thank you for relating it ..
I'm tired so ttyt .. blessings ..
 
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ixoye_8 said:
that reminds me of the day I was talking to Rosa on the phone while was she was driving, and I told her .. "you are going to pass a homeless guy, stop and help him, it is imperative you do" .. she looked over and saw him, so she went around the block and he was gone .. it was funny as she hunted him down and finally found him .. she spoke to him and gave him some money, and he took the money and snubbed her .. that was her first lesson after she had received the HS .. she too goes through "dry spells" as you mentioned, but her gift is serving and all parts of the body are needed and as such, equal .. the body cannot function effectively as it should, when parts are missing ..
(God is training her for more, and perhaps even lead her to you as He did her to me)
my ministry has always been to the believer (yes I sow seeds too) because to me, there is nothing more sad then the one who says "what must I do to be complete" and then because no one helped them, walks away ..

God bless all .. as we learn to put on our God ears ..
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Thank you, and i pray that God's will be done and mold me in the way He sees fit for me...

just to add to that little story, as i approached the man, though i had no fear, but i saw that he had a small knife in his hand which he did not use and i didn't feel he would either, but i just let him know that i just wanted to give him something to help him, but in the end as with all of us it is the receiver that helps us more than we do him...

i truly love the way this forum is so open in talking about God and our testimony of Him in our lives... i would love to have more and more of stories and events that happened which brought us closer to our Savior...
 
What is denominational... Catholic or more specific Roman Catholic is a denomination, but we see in our Bible that there were churches called by their name such as:
Maybe the Catholic church should have just called herself the church of Rome like the ones listed above, after all Paul did write to the church of Rome...

As we all know the word ''catholic'' just means for everyone as God instructed us all that His church is a church for all... the English wanted to punish the church which stopped the king of England from his wishes thus they coined the word Roman Catholic. We have today those that call themselves Evangelists, Protestants, Baptists, Methodists, etc... i see in my streets so many different names for so many different churches which are storefronts with names like The Church of Christ, or Bethesda, or so many other names with the names of the pastors listed alongside most of the time... i feel that each of these store front churches, and i pray and hope that most of them are preaching the Word as intended by Christ, but who is to say what they are preaching to their congregation...? At work i knew of a woman who said she was a preacher and preached in one of these small churches, we were talking about abortion and the role of a person of faith... she said in her opinion a woman should have ''choice'' in the matter of abortion, i said a woman of faith has no choice and that i hoped she would not preach this to her congregation. She no longer works in my office, but it sticks in my mind her answer and i am appalled to hear this coming from a leader, a preacher, no matter how small a church to be stating this...

Everybody knows exactly what the leaders of the Catholic church preaches, or when we see preachers on TV, but who is looking over these many many small congregations and monitoring what the pastor is preaching to them beside God... ?
 
RosaVera said:
What is denominational... Catholic or more specific Roman Catholic is a denomination, but we see in our Bible that there were churches called by their name such as:
Maybe the Catholic church should have just called herself the church of Rome like the ones listed above, after all Paul did write to the church of Rome...

As we all know the word ''catholic'' just means for everyone as God instructed us all that His church is a church for all... the English wanted to punish the church which stopped the king of England from his wishes thus they coined the word Roman Catholic. We have today those that call themselves Evangelists, Protestants, Baptists, Methodists, etc... i see in my streets so many different names for so many different churches which are storefronts with names like The Church of Christ, or Bethesda, or so many other names with the names of the pastors listed alongside most of the time... i feel that each of these store front churches, and i pray and hope that most of them are preaching the Word as intended by Christ, but who is to say what they are preaching to their congregation...? At work i knew of a woman who said she was a preacher and preached in one of these small churches, we were talking about abortion and the role of a person of faith... she said in her opinion a woman should have ''choice'' in the matter of abortion, i said a woman of faith has no choice and that i hoped she would not preach this to her congregation. She no longer works in my office, but it sticks in my mind her answer and i am appalled to hear this coming from a leader, a preacher, no matter how small a church to be stating this...

Everybody knows exactly what the leaders of the Catholic church preaches, or when we see preachers on TV, but who is looking over these many many small congregations and monitoring what the pastor is preaching to them beside God... ?
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I like this. It's something that has always bothered me, especially as I see it so often on this site. I walk by a Baptist church, I know what they are going to teach. I won't be surprised if I hear a sermon on eternal security. If I walked into a Methodist church, that same sermon would shock me. I would know they were teaching against what they claim to believe. If I were to attend a Catholic Mass, I would know what to expect. If I were offended by what I heard, it would basically be my own fault for walking into a place that was likely to offend me. If I were somehow invited to speak at a Baptist Church, I would conform to what we have in common and preach on something that unifies. There is a time to disagree, but the flocks should not be involved in that battle.

However, with the little McChurches I see all over town...I don't know what they teach. I've spent time at some, and they often seem harmless enough, but over time I've seen a few of the more peculiar beliefs show their head. I don't like that. I don't like to invest my time into a church that ultimately is on a very different road than I should be traveling. While there are many, many denominations, there really is a pretty distinct set of differences. In the end, if your personal doctrine isn't close enough to ANY of the other existing denominations that you couldn't be part of them without directly becoming a heretic or hypocrite, then you should probably examine why you read the Bible SO much differently than every Preacher and Bible Scholar since Peter and Paul. That isn't to say that majority rules, or that any one is 100% right, but seriously, with all the denominations out there, why do we need SOOOOOOOO many that are afraid of being up front about what they believe?
 
Banarenth said:
I like this. It's something that has always bothered me, especially as I see it so often on this site. I walk by a Baptist church, I know what they are going to teach. I won't be surprised if I hear a sermon on eternal security. If I walked into a Methodist church, that same sermon would shock me. I would know they were teaching against what they claim to believe. If I were to attend a Catholic Mass, I would know what to expect. If I were offended by what I heard, it would basically be my own fault for walking into a place that was likely to offend me. If I were somehow invited to speak at a Baptist Church, I would conform to what we have in common and preach on something that unifies. There is a time to disagree, but the flocks should not be involved in that battle.

However, with the little McChurches I see all over town...I don't know what they teach. I've spent time at some, and they often seem harmless enough, but over time I've seen a few of the more peculiar beliefs show their head. I don't like that. I don't like to invest my time into a church that ultimately is on a very different road than I should be traveling. While there are many, many denominations, there really is a pretty distinct set of differences. In the end, if your personal doctrine isn't close enough to ANY of the other existing denominations that you couldn't be part of them without directly becoming a heretic or hypocrite, then you should probably examine why you read the Bible SO much differently than every Preacher and Bible Scholar since Peter and Paul. That isn't to say that majority rules, or that any one is 100% right, but seriously, with all the denominations out there, why do we need SOOOOOOOO many that are afraid of being up front about what they believe?
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As a Catholic by choice, i wonder also at all the names i see of pastors calling themselves 'prophets and prophetess', to me a prophet is someone like Isaiah, but God did tell us that as His children and servants we would also prophesy and dream of dreams... is the title given them because possibly they did prophecise... ? Then they are blessed with an incredible gift. Lots of these churches may be afraid to state their belief for fear of losing people, or hurting sensibilities ... should we then call these politically-correct churches or should i say religiously-correct churches...? and are they churches...?

Some churches i see have no problem declaring where they stand drawing the line in the sand as the Pope does for all the Catholic churches, and he does not use double meaning words that anyone can take them either way, he states and if the media repeats it differently as they have done many many times, he does confirm his words and clarifies (in my opinion if the media was not so dirty they would not twist words as they do and not just with the Pope but will all others they don't agree with either religious or political)... and we also know what the major churches like the Baptists and Methodists and Mormons, etc... all stand for and they do make it known, but the little street strewn churches may not always preach scripture of peace, love and obey God, for if they preach that a woman has the right to choice and if by choice she wants an abortion she should, to me that is not of God and should not be preached or even given subtly as okay to their congregation... i have told many times to those who profess to be Christian, Catholics no exception, that they cannot think themselves to be such if they adhere to the belief of abortion, or even voting for someone that is for all that is against God.
 
Banarenth i agree that the flock of the church should not be involved in ''we are right they are wrong'' ... too many feel they have it and no other has it like them, and yet Christ admonished against this when he told the Apostles not to stop the preacher that invoking His name was healing people, and how wonderful that just His name is so blessed as to be used by those with a true heart and heal, how wonderful this gift... God bless all that have gifts and use them in the glory of God... <><
 
I've met a few people that I would generally accept has having some form of the gift of prophecy. At the very least, they have a connection and are able to present claims accurately that I wouldn't be so bold as to make myself. I've also met a number of people who claim to be Prophets. The problem that I usually face is that neither of these two groups seem to overlap. It has taken me five years to just begin getting comfortable with anyone calling me Pastor. Even Reverend makes me feel completely uncomfortable. I can't imagine the amount of pride I would have to take into myself to proactively call myself "Prophet".

Yet, at the same time I'm reminded of a few instances in the Bible where teachers of the Gospel, even though doing so in error, were permitted because they indeed taught the Gospel. In particular, I remember Philippians 1. "Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice."

Paul rejoiced, even for those who taught the Gospel out of impure motives, because Christ was being proclaimed. I tend to view a person who calls themselves Prophet to be arrogant and prideful. It is something beyond my ability to understand. To claim such a title seems to be drawing attention to self rather than Christ. Not knowing the heart of these people, I cannot make a judgement. I just know that I couldn't make such a claim in humility.
 
hi Banarenth .. the 7 churches in Asia were more then just that, in the book of Revelations .. they are symbolic of the 7 major denominations of the Church today ..

as to prophets .. demons can give accurate prophecies .. but they are easy to discern
1 they are all short term prophecies ..
2 (and most important) they have nothing to do with God's plan for His people as a whole, as God's prophecies pertain/have relevance to ALL His people ..
3 they are involving things that demons can manipulate ..
4 as I have seen by some, they are not given in lieu of personal gain ..
(which is exploiting God)
5 (and equally as important as #2) they can not contradict that which God has already given ..
 
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Banarenth said:
"I just know that I couldn't make such a claim in humility."

Me neither... such a responsibility and such a big title knowing that at this point i don't ... would not want to misrepresent God in any way... God forbid.
 
a good example of #5 was the guy who recently claimed Jesus 2nd coming on a certain date .. that of course contradicted scripture given ..

Mat 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

it also troubles my heart to see the dissension between denominations .. I understand doctrinal differences are purely a matter of theo logia .. which is of mans reasoning .. but are we not all partakers of the Covenant of Faith ???
the Gospel of Salvation is a matter of Love of God with our all and neighbor as self .. this love of God encompasses keeping His commandments, believing on Jesus as the son of God, whom was crucified for the remission of sin, repentance of sin and obedience to Him .. are we not all united in this ???
 
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