What Happened?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Ask Jesus : One Thread

David's question to me in another thread caused me to wonder about everyone else's happenings.

So, here is my question in reply to David and all those who visit this forum. One day I may reveal my "happening".

What happened in your life that awakened you to have faith in Christ?

rod..

..

-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), July 29, 2003

Answers

I hope this threat proves inspirational to all.

rod..

..



-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), July 29, 2003.


I don't really remember, I've always believe in Christ since I was a little kid.

-- David Ortiz (cyberpunk1986@hotmail.com), July 29, 2003.

I've had one event as a child. Many in my weakest of faith. One in my moment of determination. Several in my hours of need. And, many that when I looked back were so obvious that a blind man could see them. I will share those events as more people reveal their "happenings". rod..

..


-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), July 29, 2003.


I wonder if that Alex guy from (banned?) the Catholic forum will show up here.

-- David Ortiz (cyberpunk1986@hotmail.com), July 30, 2003.

as a child, my family was "catholic", but we only went on Christmas and Easter. My parents sent me to Cath. school at times.

I never thought that the God that created me was in that religion. I always knew that there was a God , but did not think that there was anything that we could know about Him personally in this life.

As I got older, (around 18), I began being frustrated by this life, and was under pressure to "become a man", and "do something with my life", now that I graduated from H.S.

In my heart, I groaned to God. I remember feeling that God put me here, and I was seeking Him in the only way I knew. I "felt after God", and kind of cryed out to Him to help me!

Well, little by little, I remember that I started "seeing life differantly". I remember going up in a small plane that a friend of mine's father had (this friend ended up loosing his life in the same plane 5 years later). As I looked down on "life", and we flew over my house, I remember being VERY effected by it!

Knowing now what I didn't know then, it was the Lord and His Holy Spirit, opening my eyes, and drawing me to Him.

Anyway, right around that time, God came closer and closer to me and I just remember as I was driving in my car, and talking to Him, and FEELING HIM close to me, I just started crying and apopogizing to Him. I had to pull the car over to the side of the road, and just balled my eyes out about all the things that I had done wrong (sin!) in my life.

That night, the Spirit came into me so strongly that I was afraid to close my eyes, because I thought that I would see the LOrd!!! I cryed very deeply all night, as the realization that He forgave me and was with me sunk in!

He had come to me, as I was seeking Him with ALL MY HEART! and He revealed Himself to me, and brought me to REPENTANCE!

"God is not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance".

After that happened, I told EVERYONE I knew about it! They all thought I was nuts! My parents thought that I was on drugs! (since then, my entire family got saved, and many of my friends)

I talked to a "religious" friend of mine, and he was surprised! and said, "you have been BORN AGAIN"! That was the first time I had EVER heard those words.

Then, he got me a bible, and showed me John chapter 3, and I was EXTATIC!!! It was EXACTLY what happened to me!! I asked "why didn't I ever hear this in church?" !

ANyway, I got discipled by some really great people, and am a Bible believing Born Again Christian to this day!!

There have been many ups and downs, but I have been SAVED for approx. 28 years!! The LORD even spoke directly to me at times, and He has done many mighty works in my life since then!! "He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him"

All I can say is, every man must seek the Lord with all his/her heart, "That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us: For in HIm we live, and move, and have our being;........

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to REPENT:

Because he hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by THAT MAN (Jesus Christ), whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead."

"Do not marvel when I tell you, YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN"

In His Service,

Jay Gentile

-- jay gentile (jaygen1@prodigy.net), July 30, 2003.



I met Christ when I was very young. I fell away into "drugs, sex and rock 'n roll," in my 20's only to find that world totally void of anything substantial. EMPTINESS!! Oh, the emptiness and loneliness of that world.

After 10 years or so of that nonsense, I remember thinking "what am I doing? I hate this life." Then I thought, "Oh, but Christ wouldn't take me back, would He?" How could He forgive such a sinner as I? I remember CRAVING His presence. Unquenchable thirst I had for the things of God, as He had been gone for sooo long in my life!

The sermon on that first Sunday back was concerning the endless love of Christ. I remember the pastor saying "There's no sin to great that Christ won't forgive." And like, you, Jay, I wept and wept for the sheer joy and pain of it.

What you call "born again," Jay, we Catholics call conversion. We are continually converted as we refresh and renew our commitment to the Lord, deepening our understanding and devotion to our precious Lord, as we "die daily".

Love,

Gail

P.S. Thanks for the thread Rod!! Please share your story!

-- Gail (rothfarms@socket.net), July 30, 2003.


The highest point of my faith in Christ was through the Catholic Church at the time of my First Holy Communion. (Now, non-Catholics please don't leave the room).This was a time of innocence and pure faith. But, as we get older we get confused and that innocence gets pretty diluted. Bascially, my lifestyle has been bland and boring with minor tarnishes to my soul. But, still those tarnishes are just as bad.

I began to lose faith in my Church because of the many questions that I could not get answers to. And besides, those questions were becoming unrelated to God and center more on my career choices. It was time to set off to college. For the next ten years after high school would prove to be the most faith shaking for me, but not loss of faith in God. I lost faith in the Church.

In those ten years, I hit the bottom. I could not find a purpose in life and God seemed like a far away star that only glimmers on a moonless night. To far and forgotten I felt. Eventually, disaster struck me like a theif in the night. My life as a teacher and spouse fell through the cracks and now I was surely alone and insignificant.

When I returned home, I arrived frozen and unable to cope with my existence. I could not even talk, seriously. It seemed as if I were in a state of limbo and could not interact with my own family. The solution was to return the my Church. And, one night I went and sat and prayed, but only a very short prayer. Times had changed and the Church now had operating hours; I was not on their schedule so I was told to exit the building. Talk about rejection.

My only rescue was God. Jesus opened the door, again. He placed important people and events in my life to bring me back. He should me that certain events, which I considered bad, were really good things in my life. He continues to guide me and I continue to search and make sense of things. I am not completely convinced that the Catholic Church is bad.

There is much more to write, but I'll stop here fo

-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), July 30, 2003.


That should be "showed" instead of "should". Please ignore all of my grammatical and spelling blunders. I've enrolled in Perfection 101, but they don't meet until way later.

That last sentence is about adding more to my story as I'm sure many of us are still an open book of continual "happenings" in Christ.

rod..

..

-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), July 30, 2003.


Gail,

I don't call it "born again", the Lord does. John 3:3&7. And it happens "once", and we are "sealed until the day of redemption".

We must be careful that the teachings of the "church" are also the teachings of the "truth". If there is a choice to make, it must be made on the side of truth, and not tradition.

Rod,

Read the Word of God, and allow the Holy Spirit to "quicken" it to your spirit. Then, you will be led into all "truth".

Remember, in John 17:11, Jesus said " and I come to thee Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. GOD is the Holy Father. That is the name that Jesus called Him.

Then, later, in John 17:17, Jesus said, " Sanctify them through thy "truth": thy WORD is "truth".

"faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the WORD of GOD"

In Him,

jay

-- jay gentile (jaygen1@prodigy.net), July 30, 2003.


Hi Jay.

Don't get mislead by my post here. This is only a small portion of my awakening. There is plenty more.

I have a collection of over 18 different Bibles and a bundle of commentaries. I read many books on religion and such. I am constantly studying the Gospel and theology. Hey, I was once serious about becoming a priest. I was involved in the Pentecostal Church for awhile in my youth. I would go out and do revivals and tour the churches with a very good friend whose father is a pastor. Hey, I have a history.(grin!)

rod..


-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), July 30, 2003.



Hey Rod,

Yo brother, I just want to encourage you to read the WORD, that's all. Especially now, at this time, when things are only gonna get worse in the "church", we all need to keep our eyes on the more sure Word of God. Remember, Satan's lies will increase, as he sees his end coming.

Many shall fall away, (these will be the un-saved that have professed the Lord without having "received" Him) and wax cold. Many shall be drawn away by a "false gospel" of works and church attendance, etc.

and why will they perish ? Because they "loved not the truth, that they might be saved". What is "truth" ? "thy WORD is TRUTH".

In Him,

jay

-- jay gentile (jaygen1@prodigy.net), July 30, 2003.


I hear you. I find it much easier to see facial expressions than words on a computer screen. So, sometimes I have to ask and ask and ask before I get the message.

Yup, I hear you.

rod..

..

-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), July 30, 2003.


Thanks rod for showing me this thread!

-- Jon (atomicmidget45@hotmail.com), October 29, 2003.

I am very relieved to her your stories, but i feel out of place since i am probably much younger than any of you. I hope to be able to share a story of my own one day about how i felt the Holy Spirit awaken in me. I hate to ask in fear of being called an atheist, but there are millions of others of different religions that could probably describe what you guys have said, just with their religious figures in place of ours. My question is, Is this just the grace of God filling them and they are just confusing it with their religion? -Or- Could there be one God among the religions of the world just interpreted differently among the people? One God responsibly for all the religions of the world? -Or- Are the Christian religions the true religions supported by God and all the rest filled with people waiting doom?

-- Jon (atomicmidget45@hotmail.com), October 29, 2003.

Hi Jon.

Those questions that you have sound extrememly familiar to me. I have asked the same questions. To find the answers, we must do the research. I've spent way too many hours looking into the different religions, phylosophies, theologies, sects, doctrines, and so on. I don't think that one man can ever complete such an extensive study. Ultimately, we are gonna have to settle on faith. But, you will also find that many religions are unbelievable, as are some doctrines. Is there one God that reigns over all religions? I would like to believe that there is only one God, but many confused religions. Is Christianity the one true religion? All it takes is faith to believe in one God and His only Son.

I have piles of books on this subject you've posted here. Many cultures throughout history have their "messiahs", which have not returned. Some claim that their "messiah" has returned in the form of mortal men. The list goes on. It is obvious that these false prophets and prophecies belong to a false religion/theology/doctrine. It is somewhat easy to identify what is false. Christianity is very different.

There are many angles in which to anylize Christianity. There is extreme Good in Christianity that can be witnessed from every angle. If you can take that aproach, you will inevitably witness its Source. You will eventually come to have faith in Christ. Some will tell you to read the Bible. Well, sure! But, what about those people who have harden their hearts to the Bible? I say that they should study those things that are real to them. They need to make some sort of explanation for everything that exists. They cannot resort to simple cute answers such as " well, it is all an acciden

-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), October 29, 2003.



"analyze", oops.

Some say that Christianity is merely a social contract of sorts. Well, sure, but it goes much further that just that.

If you are into cosmology, our "doomsday" could be the day that the entire universe experiences "entropy"--complete change or destruction. I'm thinking that every sould shall look up into the heavens and see this event. Cosmology seems to point to such an event. Hey, the Bible points to such an event, but it isn't called "entropy". But, bring this to a more personal experience, each of us shall experience our own "entropy". We each have our judgement day.

rod..



-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), October 29, 2003.


Thank you rod,

That is what I was afraid of, it all coming down to faith. That is not a bad thing, but I'm sure we all know how hard it is to believe in something that we cannot see. I only hope that I will be blessed with the opportunity to feel and experience God.

Just out of curiousity what do you do as a profession?

-- Jon (atomicmidget45@hotmail.com), October 29, 2003.


Hi Jon.

You probably have already guessed.

Don't go by my grammatical errors and word wreckings, I'm a music teacher. I've taught all grade levels and was once a band director. I've worked with students for over 18 years or so. And, yes! I have a problem with authority figures. Is David listening? Just kidding around, David.(Is he laughing???)

rod..

..


-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), October 29, 2003.


Oh, I probably wouldn't have guessed.

Looking at this from a third person perspective, it seems nice how you guys discuss religion inbetween work. I would assume you teach at a private school. If so which one?

Is there a particular thread that you look at the most?

-- Jon (atomicmidget45@hotmail.com), October 29, 2003.


Before school, during my lunch break, after school, during the evening, I'll go through any thread that seems pertinent. I teach in a public school near "La La Land". My reasons for being actively involved with these forums is for searching out the truth and hopefully share enlightenments with other people. It may not seem like it after reading some of our "debates", but David and Kevin are are people I would definately pull out of a burning building (just humor, guys!). Elpidio always has some insights that really get me to thinking of things that never occurred to me. I think I know James more than he thinks. James is the kind of person I wish I had known back at my cross roads. Faith is new to these parts. If you look up the word "tenacity", you will find Faith's picture. She/he has provoked my reasoning abilities more than many times.

rod..

-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), October 29, 2003.


Sorry, Faith. Make that "she"; I read the other thread and forgot.

rod..

..

..

-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), October 29, 2003.


Interesting, I guess the reason I reciently decided to keep up with a few of the threads is to answer some questions about Catholicism and to strengthen my faith.

These threads are much more convenient then I could have guessed them to be. I think I'll take a look at all the other threads.

-- Jon (atomicmidget45@hotmail.com), October 30, 2003.


Jon,

You wrote,"i am probably much younger than any of you"

Well I am 17, how old are you?

-- David Ortiz (cyberpunk1986@hotmail.com), October 30, 2003.


JON,

This is an NOT a Catholic forum with a Single Unified 2000 year old Sacred Doctrine. This is a Protestant forum with many very young conflicting radical doctrines. There are very few Catholics here.

If you want your questions answered by CATHOLIC EXPERTS like Catholic Deacon Paul, post your questions in the CATHOLIC FORUM. Then you will get Catholic Answers to your questions.

You can also read the Catholic Forum threads for just about any Catholic question you might have.

Peace.



-- james (elgreco1541@hotmail.com), October 31, 2003.


CATHOLIC FORUM

-- james (elgreco1541@hotmail.com), October 31, 2003.

David + James,

I am 15. Thank you James, I was just interested in some of the topics being discussed, Thanks for the link.

-- Jon (atomicmidget45@hotmail.com), November 03, 2003.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ