I might join Facebook... just to join our group there. Cause I'm not a fan of these things normally. Mainly because of my bad experience with Myspace.
my myspace is only for archival purposes and to keep track of my best friend's band in all myspace is a suckfest and facebook rules
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
I like the "church of the dropouts" idea, because it gives me a sense of community.
maybe instead of dropouts,
Church of the Prodigals
I love that, because of Luke 15:20 "And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him."
The love that the Father has for us prodigals is phenomenal.
As soon as we start turning back towards Him, God RUNS to us and scoops us up in a loving embrace in His strong, secure arms...
We don't even have to have the strength to go all the way to Him, He meets us where we are {which i'm sure we'll all agree is a long way from where we should be}.
*end of mini-sermon*
I like the "church of the dropouts" idea, because it gives me a sense of community.
maybe instead of dropouts,
Church of the Prodigals
I love that, because of Luke 15:20 "And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him."
The love that the Father has for us prodigals is phenomenal.
As soon as we start turning back towards Him, God RUNS to us and scoops us up in a loving embrace in His strong, secure arms...
We don't even have to have the strength to go all the way to Him, He meets us where we are {which i'm sure we'll all agree is a long way from where we should be}.
*end of mini-sermon*
church of the dropouts comes from a line from the beautiful letdown
by switchfoot
Quote:
We are a beautiful let down, Painfully uncool, The church of the dropouts The losers, the sinners, the failures and the fools
see
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
hey i think a facebook group sounds really cool! i dont have anyone as a friend on facebook but if you make the group i'll join :) I really like the idea of church of the... then i dont know what lol maybe fighters, survivours, hopeful or maybe just church of the faithful or free or something.
'The nights of crying your eyes out give way to the days of laughter' Psalm 30 v 5
i have a facebook....but i may or may not join just cuz my dad's on facebook and i don't want him asking questions...cuz he would...but if the name isn't very obvious or something he would ask questions about then i would join :)
you joined by coming into the thread we love on anyone who comes.
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
I am listening to this song - I learned it in 9th grade church choir. I really think it "fits" us as a group.
Carry You To Jesus
Stephen Curtis Chapman
I will not pretend to feel the pain you’re going through
I know I cannot comprehend the hurt you’ve known
And I used to think it mattered if I understood
But now I just don’t know
Well, I’ll admit sometimes I still wish I knew what to say
And I keep looking for a way to fix it all
But we know we’re at the mercy of God’s higher ways
And our ways are so small
But I will carry you to Jesus
He is everything you need
I will carry you to Jesus on my knees
It’s such a privilege for me to give this gift to you
All I’d ever hope you’d give me in return
Is to know that you’ll be there to do the same for me
When the tables turn
And if you need to cry go on and I, I will cry along with you, yeah
I’ve given you what I have but still I know the best thing I can do
Is just pray for you
I’ll carry you
I’ll take you to Jesus on my knees
"When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place." - Anon
"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. " - FDR
Thankyou very much
Its so hard to be a christian and harm yourself.
i have never met a christian who doesnt look down on me in disgust and judgement.
But God is our only judge and Christ walked amoung the sinners and loved them all
much love
this might be hard to believe but at my church there are 12 christians that are/were self harmers
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
actually, there are a lot of people at my church who used to self-harm, as well. i'm very lucky to have them around, i think, because the rest of the church doesn't get it at all. so when we were being treated badly by the youth pastor and everyone else, we became our own support group and got through it on our own. infortunately, though the others have admitted that they still struggle occasionally, i'm the only one who's stuck around to help out others. which is sad, because there aren't enough people who are willing to say "i used to be there...and i'm still not perfect". so, lesson to be learned, even if you ever think you're "cured" for good, stick around. the rest of the world needs you. don't hide what God has done in your life simply because you're ashamed of who you were.
So, I'm doing a bible study on Tuesday on 1 John: 2v28 - 3v10 and I noticed in 3v6 there is a bit that says "Anyone who goes on sinning has never really understood Christ and has never known him" and wondered what your thoughts were on this?
I mean, I'm clearly a self harmer or I wouldn't be here. And I do it knowing that God doesn't like it and if you take the black and white meaning of this then I don't know Christ. But what about a more greyish interpretation, like putting yourself in a certain situation. Like if you struggle with sex before marriage for example and after becoming a Christian you still allow boys to stay over in your bed, maybe that's what it means? Because you aren't making reasonable steps to change your life? But sometimes I find myself on here, almost looking for a reason to feel triggered. I'm not so much interested in how this applies to me personally, but just your thoughts in general. I know this is something that is going to be a big part of the study on Tuesday and was just wondering if you guys could help me out a little bit.
Any comments on any part of the passage would be appreciated :) Thanks,
Luce x
oh, and it's been a while, we've got some new people, so it's probably time for another round of introductions! :)
I'm Jacie, 18 and I live in NJ. And I want all of you to add me on facebook/myspace/whatever, so if you need the link, just PM me. Um...I think that's it.
and now i feel compelled to make a list of songs that remind me of you guys :)
Jars of Clay--Faith Enough
mewithoutYou--Torches Together
and this bit from Derek Webb's Lover:
Because I am My beloved's
And My beloved's Mine;
So, you bring all your history,
I'll bring the bread and wine.
Then we'll have us a party
Where all the drinks are on Me
And as surely as the rising sun
Oh, you will be set free,
Oh, you will be set free.
So, I'm doing a bible study on Tuesday on 1 John: 2v28 - 3v10 and I noticed in 3v6 there is a bit that says "Anyone who goes on sinning has never really understood Christ and has never known him" and wondered what your thoughts were on this?
Any comments on any part of the passage would be appreciated :) Thanks,
Luce x
I'm going to be annoying and give you the greek for this verse, and then explain it.
abides: μένω means...
1) to remain, abide
2) not to depart
a) to continue to be present
b) to be held, kept, continually
1) to remain as one, not to become another or different
2) to wait for, await one
sins; ἁμαρτάνω meaning
1) to be without a share in
2) to miss the mark
3) to err, be mistaken
4) to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong
5) to wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin
seen: ὁράω means
1) to see with the eyes
2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know
3) to see, i.e. become acquainted with by experience, to experience
4) to see, to look to
a) to take heed, beware
b) to care for, pay heed to
knows: γινώσκω,
1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel
2) to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of
a) to understand
b) to know
3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman
4) to become acquainted with, to know
In other words...
The person who perfectly understands God will not sin. One who sins does not perfectly understand God. The more we get to know God [and the use of γινώσκω here implies a very deep form of knowing, so much so that it was used as a euphemism for sex] the more we are tranformed by this knowledge to be without sin. If we have misconceptions about who God is, of course we are going to be in error, because we are acting on false information.
Personally, I've thought to myself many times, "If only I really understood the implications of the crucifiction." And God has seen fit to bring revelations of meaning in my life, but the meaning is still so much deeper than we can grasp, wounded and scarred as we are. But, when we understand, it brings healing to our souls. For instance...I spent a very long time stuggling with self-hatred. It was a good part of what drove me to self-injure. After praying for an entire summer to better understand the cross, God pretty much hit me over the head with a new understanding of things. My self-hatred mostly came from the abuse I went through at the hands of my father. I felt ashamed, worthless. God taught me that loving myself was tied up in forgiving my father, in letting go of my desire for things to be made right (aka for him to be punished). It's going to be hard to grasp but I'll try to explain...Jesus died for everyone. Whether or not we accept this is up to us, but the offer is there for all of our sins to be washed away, as if they never happened. My self-hatred wasn't because of my own sins, but because of his. God showed me that in his eyes, there was nothing left of those sins--no stain, no anything. My father is still living in his sin and death because he chooses to, but in God's eyes, I am made holy through Christ's death on the cross--for my sins and those committed against me. It took months before I could express what God had shown me in words, because it wasn't an intellectual type of knowledge...it was based somewhere deep in my heart and soul, at my very core. That kind of knowledge changes you. So many people, for instance, say they know God loves them and has forgiven them...but they don't know it intimately, in the core of their being. When you know God like that, there is no reason for sin. You are able to see and follow his way, and know that it truly is the best one...way down deep. And why would you do anything you didn't really think was for the best? We do stupid stuff all the time, but it's generally because in our minds, the pleasure outweighs the consequences. Knowing God changes our views on things like that.
Wow thanks! Need some time to chew that over but will try and respond soon!
Since we were doing intro's...
I'm Lucy (or Luce). I'm 21 and at university in Swansea (Wales, UK) studying Maths. I've been a Christian for a long time but have only just started going back to church and immersing myself into Christian life.
i am a christian and i have been cutting since i was 14, i stopped going to church and now that i am in college i have joined campus crusades for christ and they have been very helpful, i am going to church this sunday with one of the members. i am kind of nervous i haven't gone to church for awhile.
Jacie~ So have you taken greek? or you have some sort of book that explains the greek/hebrew in the Bible?
Cause I really really dig looking at the greek/hebrew, but I don't see myself ever having time to take greek or hebrew...
And I LOVE Derek Webb!!!
Current favorite= Medication
"I don't want medication, just give me liberation
even if it cuts my legs right out from underneath
I don't want medication, I want the real sensation
even when living feels just like death to me...
don't paint my face, i need to see the scars,
so I don't forget the back of my tutor's arm
cause I just can't keep it straight,
which kills and which one saves"
Aaah! love it!
&& I'm Salanna. I'm 16 and a student at the University of North Texas.