Why no peace?

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Frank Lee

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The Jots and tittles arm wrestling trials.

In many of the places you can post here, forums, sub forums, I look over the threads and wonder at them. There seems to be a disagreement or dissatisfaction with the word of God or over not understanding portions of it and/or a thinly veiled, if at all, anger towards others that see something differently than they see it. Very little unity or agreement. No peace.

I guess contention is the word that sums up a lot of it. I wonder where the peace of God fits into all this. Everything from Water baptism to the rapture are grounds for a religious brawl. Beating one another with pillowcases stuffed with scriptures proving your point. The time we ought to be teachers we have need to be taught again the basics of the faith as it is written.

I love love love the peace of God. I do everything I can to hold onto it. You see for 33 years I had none. I was tormented by Satan from the time I was a child and not having a Christian family I had zero help. Maybe some of you had a similar terrible childhood. I hope not. Spirits of fear and every evil thing assailed me constantly. Until I was saved I believed myself to be stupid and not as good as others, not able to dream the things they all took for granted. I believed my family to be less.

I couldn't put my finger on it being a child but only His grace brought me to the age of 33 when He graciously sent His hard conviction upon me. I've always marveled at those whose salvation consisted of going down to the altar and making a short prayer, shaking the preachers hand and signing a membership book. I'm not saying they are not saved just that God didn't let me off that easy! No no.

It began I think at a beer joint on a Saturday afternoon and evening where I sat and guzzed myself into a dejected state. That was not my habit but it was the beginning of the end of the old Frank. I think that's the very beginning of His work. Over a period of days, weeks in the fall of 1977 He began to bring the weight of conviction upon me. That word sounds so innocent, so innocuous. Like a big dog lying in the corner wagging it's tail.

Wrong. Conviction, God's variety, is fierce. It's relentless and presses in until the Lord says "enough". It attacks until His spirit says "heel".

I think that He brought up everything I'd ever done and put them on my heart and before my face. The weight of my heart was huge. I would have to pull over driving to work and pray, weep for awhile before going on. I would go to work hoping my red eyes were not noticed. I didn't know how to pray but no matter. When God puts on the pressure you'll pray all right believe me! You will Lear quickly my friends. I don't know how He deals with others, many ways and perhaps what I'm saying is familiar to you. I don't know. The bottom line of what I'm trying to say is that for me getting saved was no easy task. It was like being pulled through a keyhole or being keel hauled naked. It nearly killed me to save me. The old man didn't survive it thank God even though I still stumble on him. Nahum 3:3

But afterwards, after days even weeks of spiritual surgery by the Holy Spirit I was indeed a brand new creature. If not so serious part of it might have been funny. I always been disgusted with, even despised psychiatrists, analysts and the like. I knew they were men like me with feet of clay that had to pull out a bottle or a handful of pills after the last patient unloaded their unsolvable problems on them.

Even so when Jesus caused me to be born again and I didn't know what had happened I thought I was going insane and considered one of the despised mental analysts. After all, if everything you always did suddenly became foreign to you you must be flipping your wig right? I no longer wanted to cheat, lie, steal, connive, be unfaithful, drink, lust or practice any of my other vices. I must be wacky right? The world says if you hear voices you're wacky. In reality it would be strange not to hear them. But now by God's grace I can sort them out. One of the most astounding revelations in being saved was that the voice that I had listened to so much was not mine at all. That was a shock. When you look around for a familiar handle to grasp and find none it is scary. Very scary. You're a stranger in a strange land. A very strange land.

It took awhile to even realize that God was doing all this. I was saved. I really was born again. My gratefulness to God for coming for me outside of some denomination created by man, is boundless. I owe my salvation, my saving to God and Him alone. Read the 34th chapter of Ezekiel to see that God got tired of waiting for poor shepherds to fetch the scattered sheep and so went after them Himself. He still does by the way.


It was only then that peace began to come. Oh there were tremendous battles in the spirit. The devil fought me tooth and toenail. He hated to lose such a one as I was. But Jesus led me over the bridge of salvation and once across I could no more understand where I was than I could where I'd dwelt for the past 33 years. He told me "my son died at 33 so I chose this to be the year He begins to live in you".

I couldn't stand to be alone with myself. My mind was so filled with the world's garbage. I began to wash my mind in the water of the word. I would read the Bible hours on end. Just as I had hidden in books as a boy to escape by reading hours and hours until a splitting headache would force be to stop. I read the Bible for 8-20-12 hours at a time washing my mind and spirit. Peace be still.

God became very close and very real to me. The peace of God is important above all things. ALL things. It is an indicator. It is THE indicator. If you have that peace then all is well. I wonder how many have it? I wonder how many have the required baptism in the Holy Spirit? So many are so silent and do not say. But by many posted statements and questions I see that something is missing. Fighting over things that ought not to be fought over. Provoking others with positions that are contrary to sound doctrine. Looking for a fight and demanding to be right. Demanding to be pronounced king of the subject at hand. King indeed of the scriptures. They have not allowed God to come in and disarm the fleshly passion to climb on top of others and crow like a Banty rooster "I have prevailed and am right"! A misinterpretation if ever one was.

In all this there is a marked absence of the peace of God. I don't care how God made the universe. It's too big for me to comprehend and it's too big for those that question it yet say they are Christians. He tells us how to be baptized theres no need to start a denomination centered on it.

I don't care if the rapture is pre, post or mid tribulation. I DON'T CARE. My life is in His hands and He'll see that I get through it all OK. Can no one agree that there are many hidden things that are just not known? As soon as one declares themself an expert they can be instantly declared a know nothing.

Having His peace continually resident means you don't have to adopt every scriptural position that you feel will hide you from some kind of tribulation. Repeat that sentence please.

The evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not tongues our old pastor used to say. "it's trouble". You will have it in spades when God moves in.

I've seen tribulation. I've seen my children die. I've seen my Nieces and nephews die. I've seen my mother suffer from lupus from the age of 25. I've seen my father have to live at the VA for 25 years until his death. I've seen lots and lots of trouble. I've seen sickness, lack, death and adversity to the extreme yet I hold to His peace and it pulls me through.

My sweet wife abd I walked into an infirmary where our beautiful fifteen year old daughter Joanna lie dead on a gurney. I said at her side "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord". I managed to speak at our daughter's chapel service through God's strength. We had grief but His peace never left.

I'm not going to be afraid of what God has for me and hide behind some belief for fear that something unpleasant might happen to me. Holding to some peculiar belief in order to maintain that it will keep you from having any affliction is wrong. We are called to trouble. Think it not strange, remember.

I'm certain that this post is important only to me. I know strife and religious battles will continue. But I'm convinced most are from an ignorance of the peace of God and that from not being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And beyond that not giving Him the reins. There is a peace, a let down of the contentious nature, of the passion to be right that comes with yielding to the Holy Spirit of God.

It's a disarmament of the flesh. May every one come to know the peace of God that passes all understanding and thence sow peace. Wisdom will always spring forth from peace and never from strife.


Romans 15:1-2 KJVS
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
[2] Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
 

Helen

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<snipped> I'm certain that this post is important only to me. I know strife and religious battles will continue. But I'm convinced most are from an ignorance of the peace of God and that from not being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And beyond that not giving Him the reins. There is a peace, a let down of the contentious nature, of the passion to be right that comes with yielding to the Holy Spirit of God.

It's a disarmament of the flesh. May every one come to know the peace of God that passes all understanding and thence sow peace. Wisdom will always spring forth from peace and never from strife.

I snipped this in quote...but it was a good post.

I don't believe that we will see very much change on the outside...while people do not have peace on the inside.
All the while people believe that everything hangs or falls on doctrine, it will continue to be strife .
A few may argue their point because they wish to see the other person free of what ( they feel) is false doctrine. But for the most part the argument come via pride. " I am right, and I have the truth, and you must believe as I believe"
The mighty 'I' that is not yet dead.

A few weeks ago I was ready to leave the Forum...but there are people here we do have a love of the truth and a love for others and post with inspiration and life. Plus, I myself needed to see that peace is an inside thing, not an outside thing.
All the while we look for it from other Christians or from the world without, we will be disappointed. Peace must be unmovable in our spirit...when that is solid collectively...only then will we see peace come without.

He is our peace.
Bless you....Helen
 

Hidden In Him

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Romans 15:1-2 KJVS
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
[2] Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.

Bearing the infirmities of the weak and speaking only that which is good unto edification rather than pleasing ourselves can be a rough business sometimes. I spent the better part of yesterday entertaining a brother who was down on what seemed like the entire body of Christ. Yet after all the effort, I sometimes still get rejected and my labor comes to nothing. It was happening to others involved as well... There is a pain that comes with it and it can tempt you to anger, but it's the type of thing that you just don't want to let the sun go down on, so I remain obedient and faithful to those commands.
In many of the places you can post here, forums, sub forums, I look over the threads and wonder at them. There seems to be a disagreement or dissatisfaction with the word of God or over not understanding portions of it and/or a thinly veiled, if at all, anger towards others that see something differently than they see it. Very little unity or agreement. No peace.

The problem now is that 2,000 years of the enemy getting right in the middle of Christian theology and distorting it has led to a tremendous amount of blindness concerning the written word of God. I believe we live during the times when passages like Revelation 3:14-22 are being prophetically fulfilled; a passage which suggests that the vast majority of us now are spiritually miserable, poor, wretched, blind, and naked. It is because the cankerworm, the palmerworm, the locusts, etc. (i.e. demons) have come in and at this point stolen much of the truth away (Joel 1:4). But things will change, and this is the day I work for (Joel 2:23-29). As the scripture says, "You will keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee."

As scripture also states, "Whatsoever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely.... think on these things."

Thanks for your post. It's been on my mind lately as well.
 

Frank Lee

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I appreciate you fellow pilgrims that understand what I'm trying to relate. I'm so glad to be free of the devil I want to talk about it... Not about how you're going to hell unless you've been baptized leaning backwards instead of forward. When I see pitched battles over something that should be easily accepted on the face of what scripture says I know something is wrong with the purveyors of the I'm right and you're all wrong fleshly mentality. Not only do they stumble on their corpses they try to resuscitate them it seems...

PicsArt_06-10-11.59.44-1080x1920.jpg
 

Hidden In Him

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LoL. I'm doing better than both of them. I have 103...

strenghts.jpg
 
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Helen

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I appreciate you fellow pilgrims that understand what I'm trying to relate. I'm so glad to be free of the devil I want to talk about it... Not about how you're going to hell unless you've been baptized leaning backwards instead of forward. When I see pitched battles over something that should be easily accepted on the face of what scripture says I know something is wrong with the purveyors of the I'm right and you're all wrong fleshly mentality. Not only do they stumble on their corpses they try to resuscitate them it seems...

View attachment 2720

Haha!! Great one Frank...love it...it hit the nail fair and square.
 
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Truth

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YES! I made a statement about Rome during the Time of Our Savior, being Polytheistic, and I received a response as if I was Accusing a particular church of being pagan, never mentioned a thing about churches, only that Rome was quite Fawned of Crucifying their enemies!

To much defense!
 
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Nancy

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The Jots and tittles arm wrestling trials.

In many of the places you can post here, forums, sub forums, I look over the threads and wonder at them. There seems to be a disagreement or dissatisfaction with the word of God or over not understanding portions of it and/or a thinly veiled, if at all, anger towards others that see something differently than they see it. Very little unity or agreement. No peace.

I guess contention is the word that sums up a lot of it. I wonder where the peace of God fits into all this. Everything from Water baptism to the rapture are grounds for a religious brawl. Beating one another with pillowcases stuffed with scriptures proving your point. The time we ought to be teachers we have need to be taught again the basics of the faith as it is written.

Hello Frank-Lee! "...the peace of God that passes all understanding." <---one of my favorites. I do believe I have also finally understood and attained it! How sweet it is to "be still.." in the midst of our trials KNOWING that He has our best interests, always and will always make a way.
I love your story/test. How true that He will always leave the 99 just for you! His peace is inexplicable to those who are not saved and even to my own self it is still too awesome to wrap my mind around!
BTW-Yes, I agree there is too much snarkiness and "have to always be right's" and YELLERS! Arggghhh!.. I find the intermittent bold black posts offensiive and will not read them. I'm with you...peace :)
God Bless You and keep you in His Peace.
-nancy


I love love love the peace of God. I do everything I can to hold onto it. You see for 33 years I had none. I was tormented by Satan from the time I was a child and not having a Christian family I had zero help. Maybe some of you had a similar terrible childhood. I hope not. Spirits of fear and every evil thing assailed me constantly. Until I was saved I believed myself to be stupid and not as good as others, not able to dream the things they all took for granted. I believed my family to be less.

I couldn't put my finger on it being a child but only His grace brought me to the age of 33 when He graciously sent His hard conviction upon me. I've always marveled at those whose salvation consisted of going down to the altar and making a short prayer, shaking the preachers hand and signing a membership book. I'm not saying they are not saved just that God didn't let me off that easy! No no.

It began I think at a beer joint on a Saturday afternoon and evening where I sat and guzzed myself into a dejected state. That was not my habit but it was the beginning of the end of the old Frank. I think that's the very beginning of His work. Over a period of days, weeks in the fall of 1977 He began to bring the weight of conviction upon me. That word sounds so innocent, so innocuous. Like a big dog lying in the corner wagging it's tail.

Wrong. Conviction, God's variety, is fierce. It's relentless and presses in until the Lord says "enough". It attacks until His spirit says "heel".

I think that He brought up everything I'd ever done and put them on my heart and before my face. The weight of my heart was huge. I would have to pull over driving to work and pray, weep for awhile before going on. I would go to work hoping my red eyes were not noticed. I didn't know how to pray but no matter. When God puts on the pressure you'll pray all right believe me! You will Lear quickly my friends. I don't know how He deals with others, many ways and perhaps what I'm saying is familiar to you. I don't know. The bottom line of what I'm trying to say is that for me getting saved was no easy task. It was like being pulled through a keyhole or being keel hauled naked. It nearly killed me to save me. The old man didn't survive it thank God even though I still stumble on him. Nahum 3:3

But afterwards, after days even weeks of spiritual surgery by the Holy Spirit I was indeed a brand new creature. If not so serious part of it might have been funny. I always been disgusted with, even despised psychiatrists, analysts and the like. I knew they were men like me with feet of clay that had to pull out a bottle or a handful of pills after the last patient unloaded their unsolvable problems on them.

Even so when Jesus caused me to be born again and I didn't know what had happened I thought I was going insane and considered one of the despised mental analysts. After all, if everything you always did suddenly became foreign to you you must be flipping your wig right? I no longer wanted to cheat, lie, steal, connive, be unfaithful, drink, lust or practice any of my other vices. I must be wacky right? The world says if you hear voices you're wacky. In reality it would be strange not to hear them. But now by God's grace I can sort them out. One of the most astounding revelations in being saved was that the voice that I had listened to so much was not mine at all. That was a shock. When you look around for a familiar handle to grasp and find none it is scary. Very scary. You're a stranger in a strange land. A very strange land.

It took awhile to even realize that God was doing all this. I was saved. I really was born again. My gratefulness to God for coming for me outside of some denomination created by man, is boundless. I owe my salvation, my saving to God and Him alone. Read the 34th chapter of Ezekiel to see that God got tired of waiting for poor shepherds to fetch the scattered sheep and so went after them Himself. He still does by the way.


It was only then that peace began to come. Oh there were tremendous battles in the spirit. The devil fought me tooth and toenail. He hated to lose such a one as I was. But Jesus led me over the bridge of salvation and once across I could no more understand where I was than I could where I'd dwelt for the past 33 years. He told me "my son died at 33 so I chose this to be the year He begins to live in you".

I couldn't stand to be alone with myself. My mind was so filled with the world's garbage. I began to wash my mind in the water of the word. I would read the Bible hours on end. Just as I had hidden in books as a boy to escape by reading hours and hours until a splitting headache would force be to stop. I read the Bible for 8-20-12 hours at a time washing my mind and spirit. Peace be still.

God became very close and very real to me. The peace of God is important above all things. ALL things. It is an indicator. It is THE indicator. If you have that peace then all is well. I wonder how many have it? I wonder how many have the required baptism in the Holy Spirit? So many are so silent and do not say. But by many posted statements and questions I see that something is missing. Fighting over things that ought not to be fought over. Provoking others with positions that are contrary to sound doctrine. Looking for a fight and demanding to be right. Demanding to be pronounced king of the subject at hand. King indeed of the scriptures. They have not allowed God to come in and disarm the fleshly passion to climb on top of others and crow like a Banty rooster "I have prevailed and am right"! A misinterpretation if ever one was.

In all this there is a marked absence of the peace of God. I don't care how God made the universe. It's too big for me to comprehend and it's too big for those that question it yet say they are Christians. He tells us how to be baptized theres no need to start a denomination centered on it.

I don't care if the rapture is pre, post or mid tribulation. I DON'T CARE. My life is in His hands and He'll see that I get through it all OK. Can no one agree that there are many hidden things that are just not known? As soon as one declares themself an expert they can be instantly declared a know nothing.

Having His peace continually resident means you don't have to adopt every scriptural position that you feel will hide you from some kind of tribulation. Repeat that sentence please.

The evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not tongues our old pastor used to say. "it's trouble". You will have it in spades when God moves in.

I've seen tribulation. I've seen my children die. I've seen my Nieces and nephews die. I've seen my mother suffer from lupus from the age of 25. I've seen my father have to live at the VA for 25 years until his death. I've seen lots and lots of trouble. I've seen sickness, lack, death and adversity to the extreme yet I hold to His peace and it pulls me through.

My sweet wife abd I walked into an infirmary where our beautiful fifteen year old daughter Joanna lie dead on a gurney. I said at her side "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord". I managed to speak at our daughter's chapel service through God's strength. We had grief but His peace never left.

I'm not going to be afraid of what God has for me and hide behind some belief for fear that something unpleasant might happen to me. Holding to some peculiar belief in order to maintain that it will keep you from having any affliction is wrong. We are called to trouble. Think it not strange, remember.

I'm certain that this post is important only to me. I know strife and religious battles will continue. But I'm convinced most are from an ignorance of the peace of God and that from not being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And beyond that not giving Him the reins. There is a peace, a let down of the contentious nature, of the passion to be right that comes with yielding to the Holy Spirit of God.

It's a disarmament of the flesh. May every one come to know the peace of God that passes all understanding and thence sow peace. Wisdom will always spring forth from peace and never from strife.


Romans 15:1-2 KJVS
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
[2] Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
 

Heart2Soul

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The Jots and tittles arm wrestling trials.

In many of the places you can post here, forums, sub forums, I look over the threads and wonder at them. There seems to be a disagreement or dissatisfaction with the word of God or over not understanding portions of it and/or a thinly veiled, if at all, anger towards others that see something differently than they see it. Very little unity or agreement. No peace.

I guess contention is the word that sums up a lot of it. I wonder where the peace of God fits into all this. Everything from Water baptism to the rapture are grounds for a religious brawl. Beating one another with pillowcases stuffed with scriptures proving your point. The time we ought to be teachers we have need to be taught again the basics of the faith as it is written.

I love love love the peace of God. I do everything I can to hold onto it. You see for 33 years I had none. I was tormented by Satan from the time I was a child and not having a Christian family I had zero help. Maybe some of you had a similar terrible childhood. I hope not. Spirits of fear and every evil thing assailed me constantly. Until I was saved I believed myself to be stupid and not as good as others, not able to dream the things they all took for granted. I believed my family to be less.

I couldn't put my finger on it being a child but only His grace brought me to the age of 33 when He graciously sent His hard conviction upon me. I've always marveled at those whose salvation consisted of going down to the altar and making a short prayer, shaking the preachers hand and signing a membership book. I'm not saying they are not saved just that God didn't let me off that easy! No no.

It began I think at a beer joint on a Saturday afternoon and evening where I sat and guzzed myself into a dejected state. That was not my habit but it was the beginning of the end of the old Frank. I think that's the very beginning of His work. Over a period of days, weeks in the fall of 1977 He began to bring the weight of conviction upon me. That word sounds so innocent, so innocuous. Like a big dog lying in the corner wagging it's tail.

Wrong. Conviction, God's variety, is fierce. It's relentless and presses in until the Lord says "enough". It attacks until His spirit says "heel".

I think that He brought up everything I'd ever done and put them on my heart and before my face. The weight of my heart was huge. I would have to pull over driving to work and pray, weep for awhile before going on. I would go to work hoping my red eyes were not noticed. I didn't know how to pray but no matter. When God puts on the pressure you'll pray all right believe me! You will Lear quickly my friends. I don't know how He deals with others, many ways and perhaps what I'm saying is familiar to you. I don't know. The bottom line of what I'm trying to say is that for me getting saved was no easy task. It was like being pulled through a keyhole or being keel hauled naked. It nearly killed me to save me. The old man didn't survive it thank God even though I still stumble on him. Nahum 3:3

But afterwards, after days even weeks of spiritual surgery by the Holy Spirit I was indeed a brand new creature. If not so serious part of it might have been funny. I always been disgusted with, even despised psychiatrists, analysts and the like. I knew they were men like me with feet of clay that had to pull out a bottle or a handful of pills after the last patient unloaded their unsolvable problems on them.

Even so when Jesus caused me to be born again and I didn't know what had happened I thought I was going insane and considered one of the despised mental analysts. After all, if everything you always did suddenly became foreign to you you must be flipping your wig right? I no longer wanted to cheat, lie, steal, connive, be unfaithful, drink, lust or practice any of my other vices. I must be wacky right? The world says if you hear voices you're wacky. In reality it would be strange not to hear them. But now by God's grace I can sort them out. One of the most astounding revelations in being saved was that the voice that I had listened to so much was not mine at all. That was a shock. When you look around for a familiar handle to grasp and find none it is scary. Very scary. You're a stranger in a strange land. A very strange land.

It took awhile to even realize that God was doing all this. I was saved. I really was born again. My gratefulness to God for coming for me outside of some denomination created by man, is boundless. I owe my salvation, my saving to God and Him alone. Read the 34th chapter of Ezekiel to see that God got tired of waiting for poor shepherds to fetch the scattered sheep and so went after them Himself. He still does by the way.




Romans 15:1-2 KJVS
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
[2] Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.

Frank your story so moves me with compassion....It makes my afflictions seem like a piece of cake compared to what you have gone through. What you said about conviction is so true....it nags you and pulls you and you have no peace...you become miserable within yourself and miserable for others to be around. It is that nagging thought in your head that never goes away that tries to warn you the path you are on is leading you to a dead end road of destruction and despair. You finally get so overwhelmed with sorrow and despair that you finally yield and cry out to God for help. No one else could do it...the bars, the worldly ways just didn't bring satisfaction anymore....the void in your heart could not be filled with anything or anyone...the only thing that could fill that void was to ask Jesus into your heart.
You are an awesome witness for what the Lord can and has done in your life and thanks for sharing.
 

Frank Lee

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Frank your story so moves me with compassion....It makes my afflictions seem like a piece of cake compared to what you have gone through. What you said about conviction is so true....it nags you and pulls you and you have no peace...you become miserable within yourself and miserable for others to be around. It is that nagging thought in your head that never goes away that tries to warn you the path you are on is leading you to a dead end road of destruction and despair. You finally get so overwhelmed with sorrow and despair that you finally yield and cry out to God for help. No one else could do it...the bars, the worldly ways just didn't bring satisfaction anymore....the void in your heart could not be filled with anything or anyone...the only thing that could fill that void was to ask Jesus into your heart.
You are an awesome witness for what the Lord can and has done in your life and thanks for sharing.

As hard as parts of my testimony sound I've only hit the high points. So many out there have come to God through far far greater affliction than I.


Thanks for your kind words. I appreciate them. Not having had a church for decades fellowship is where you find it. There is a desperate need for a God sent revival - not just a sign saying REVIVAL nailed up out front.

Coming to see God as a kind and loving father is difficult for many that cannot associate a lot of good things with their own father. It's taken God nigh on to 40 years to show me that I really am forgiven and THAT HE REALLY IS GOOD all of the time.

My own father was my hero and I thought everything he did was great. That all went up in smoke when as a boy of about 13 we came home unexpectedly and I found my father with the neighbor's wife. After that there was continual war in our home and I hid out in books becoming part of the story to escape the dark reality that was our home life. My poor mother was driven to distraction. There was arguing, screaming and yelling continually. Thankfully I was the oldest so my brothers and sister didn't understand. Thank God.

My mother would really lose it sometimes and I remember seeing my father sit astraddle of her in the kitchen while he pried a butcher knife out of her hand. After that I was so afraid that my mother would kill him I would go around every night and hide all of the knives.

They both came to the Lord years later thank God.

Only God can take you through such things. It took Him a long long long time for me to begin to trust Him. When I did I still had a hard time believing He'd really forgiven me.

Acts 14:22 KJVS
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

A tremendous key scripture is ;

Psalm 62:8 KJVS
Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Pouring out your heart to God means:

1. Getting before Him and telling Him EVERYTHING in your heart. Everything. Every bad thought, every lustful thought, tell Him about those you despise even hate. About your dishonesty. About thoughts and deeds of deception.

Stay before Him searching your heart for every rotten thing that might be there. Tell Him ALL. Yes He already knows but YOU MUST TELL HIM. Stay before Him being still and quiet until the Holy Spirit brings up nothing else for you to tell. Tell Him of your fears. Your dreads. Everything that enters your mind.

This is pouring out your heart before Him. This is not a 5 minute prayer. Do this and you will reap the reward of an encompassing peace that is beyond anything you've ever imagined.

The peace that passes all understanding will replace all of the things swept out of your spiritual house through the really true confession you made before God.

After this keep a short account with God. Do not let life build up all kinds of things that distance you from the Lord.

Pour out your entire heart before Him and receive the peace that He has in exchange. Amen

Isaiah 61:1-3 KJVS
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
[2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord , and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
[3] To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord , that he might be glorified.
 
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Nancy

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@Nancy Good post...but a pity it got lost and hidden behind and 'inside' Frank Lee's Quotes!!
Very hard to see your post separate from Frank's quote...but I think I got it all :D

Bless you...Helen

Thank you Helen...If it can be screwed up, I'm there! Lol...sorry about that...I don't know what it is I am doing to screw it up but, I will figure it out!
o_O
 
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quietthinker

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The Jots and tittles arm wrestling trials.

In many of the places you can post here, forums, sub forums, I look over the threads and wonder at them. There seems to be a disagreement or dissatisfaction with the word of God or over not understanding portions of it and/or a thinly veiled, if at all, anger towards others that see something differently than they see it. Very little unity or agreement. No peace.

I guess contention is the word that sums up a lot of it. I wonder where the peace of God fits into all this. Everything from Water baptism to the rapture are grounds for a religious brawl. Beating one another with pillowcases stuffed with scriptures proving your point. The time we ought to be teachers we have need to be taught again the basics of the faith as it is written.

I love love love the peace of God. I do everything I can to hold onto it. You see for 33 years I had none. I was tormented by Satan from the time I was a child and not having a Christian family I had zero help. Maybe some of you had a similar terrible childhood. I hope not. Spirits of fear and every evil thing assailed me constantly. Until I was saved I believed myself to be stupid and not as good as others, not able to dream the things they all took for granted. I believed my family to be less.

I couldn't put my finger on it being a child but only His grace brought me to the age of 33 when He graciously sent His hard conviction upon me. I've always marveled at those whose salvation consisted of going down to the altar and making a short prayer, shaking the preachers hand and signing a membership book. I'm not saying they are not saved just that God didn't let me off that easy! No no.

It began I think at a beer joint on a Saturday afternoon and evening where I sat and guzzed myself into a dejected state. That was not my habit but it was the beginning of the end of the old Frank. I think that's the very beginning of His work. Over a period of days, weeks in the fall of 1977 He began to bring the weight of conviction upon me. That word sounds so innocent, so innocuous. Like a big dog lying in the corner wagging it's tail.

Wrong. Conviction, God's variety, is fierce. It's relentless and presses in until the Lord says "enough". It attacks until His spirit says "heel".

I think that He brought up everything I'd ever done and put them on my heart and before my face. The weight of my heart was huge. I would have to pull over driving to work and pray, weep for awhile before going on. I would go to work hoping my red eyes were not noticed. I didn't know how to pray but no matter. When God puts on the pressure you'll pray all right believe me! You will Lear quickly my friends. I don't know how He deals with others, many ways and perhaps what I'm saying is familiar to you. I don't know. The bottom line of what I'm trying to say is that for me getting saved was no easy task. It was like being pulled through a keyhole or being keel hauled naked. It nearly killed me to save me. The old man didn't survive it thank God even though I still stumble on him. Nahum 3:3

But afterwards, after days even weeks of spiritual surgery by the Holy Spirit I was indeed a brand new creature. If not so serious part of it might have been funny. I always been disgusted with, even despised psychiatrists, analysts and the like. I knew they were men like me with feet of clay that had to pull out a bottle or a handful of pills after the last patient unloaded their unsolvable problems on them.

Even so when Jesus caused me to be born again and I didn't know what had happened I thought I was going insane and considered one of the despised mental analysts. After all, if everything you always did suddenly became foreign to you you must be flipping your wig right? I no longer wanted to cheat, lie, steal, connive, be unfaithful, drink, lust or practice any of my other vices. I must be wacky right? The world says if you hear voices you're wacky. In reality it would be strange not to hear them. But now by God's grace I can sort them out. One of the most astounding revelations in being saved was that the voice that I had listened to so much was not mine at all. That was a shock. When you look around for a familiar handle to grasp and find none it is scary. Very scary. You're a stranger in a strange land. A very strange land.

It took awhile to even realize that God was doing all this. I was saved. I really was born again. My gratefulness to God for coming for me outside of some denomination created by man, is boundless. I owe my salvation, my saving to God and Him alone. Read the 34th chapter of Ezekiel to see that God got tired of waiting for poor shepherds to fetch the scattered sheep and so went after them Himself. He still does by the way.


It was only then that peace began to come. Oh there were tremendous battles in the spirit. The devil fought me tooth and toenail. He hated to lose such a one as I was. But Jesus led me over the bridge of salvation and once across I could no more understand where I was than I could where I'd dwelt for the past 33 years. He told me "my son died at 33 so I chose this to be the year He begins to live in you".

I couldn't stand to be alone with myself. My mind was so filled with the world's garbage. I began to wash my mind in the water of the word. I would read the Bible hours on end. Just as I had hidden in books as a boy to escape by reading hours and hours until a splitting headache would force be to stop. I read the Bible for 8-20-12 hours at a time washing my mind and spirit. Peace be still.

God became very close and very real to me. The peace of God is important above all things. ALL things. It is an indicator. It is THE indicator. If you have that peace then all is well. I wonder how many have it? I wonder how many have the required baptism in the Holy Spirit? So many are so silent and do not say. But by many posted statements and questions I see that something is missing. Fighting over things that ought not to be fought over. Provoking others with positions that are contrary to sound doctrine. Looking for a fight and demanding to be right. Demanding to be pronounced king of the subject at hand. King indeed of the scriptures. They have not allowed God to come in and disarm the fleshly passion to climb on top of others and crow like a Banty rooster "I have prevailed and am right"! A misinterpretation if ever one was.

In all this there is a marked absence of the peace of God. I don't care how God made the universe. It's too big for me to comprehend and it's too big for those that question it yet say they are Christians. He tells us how to be baptized theres no need to start a denomination centered on it.

I don't care if the rapture is pre, post or mid tribulation. I DON'T CARE. My life is in His hands and He'll see that I get through it all OK. Can no one agree that there are many hidden things that are just not known? As soon as one declares themself an expert they can be instantly declared a know nothing.

Having His peace continually resident means you don't have to adopt every scriptural position that you feel will hide you from some kind of tribulation. Repeat that sentence please.

The evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not tongues our old pastor used to say. "it's trouble". You will have it in spades when God moves in.

I've seen tribulation. I've seen my children die. I've seen my Nieces and nephews die. I've seen my mother suffer from lupus from the age of 25. I've seen my father have to live at the VA for 25 years until his death. I've seen lots and lots of trouble. I've seen sickness, lack, death and adversity to the extreme yet I hold to His peace and it pulls me through.

My sweet wife abd I walked into an infirmary where our beautiful fifteen year old daughter Joanna lie dead on a gurney. I said at her side "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord". I managed to speak at our daughter's chapel service through God's strength. We had grief but His peace never left.

I'm not going to be afraid of what God has for me and hide behind some belief for fear that something unpleasant might happen to me. Holding to some peculiar belief in order to maintain that it will keep you from having any affliction is wrong. We are called to trouble. Think it not strange, remember.

I'm certain that this post is important only to me. I know strife and religious battles will continue. But I'm convinced most are from an ignorance of the peace of God and that from not being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And beyond that not giving Him the reins. There is a peace, a let down of the contentious nature, of the passion to be right that comes with yielding to the Holy Spirit of God.

It's a disarmament of the flesh. May every one come to know the peace of God that passes all understanding and thence sow peace. Wisdom will always spring forth from peace and never from strife.


Romans 15:1-2 KJVS
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
[2] Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
Thank you Frank for your story. It is encouraging and thought provoking. Thank you again.
 
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aspen

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No empathy; no peace
 

BrotherIan

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The Jots and tittles arm wrestling trials.

In many of the places you can post here, forums, sub forums, I look over the threads and wonder at them. There seems to be a disagreement or dissatisfaction with the word of God or over not understanding portions of it and/or a thinly veiled, if at all, anger towards others that see something differently than they see it. Very little unity or agreement. No peace.

I guess contention is the word that sums up a lot of it. I wonder where the peace of God fits into all this. Everything from Water baptism to the rapture are grounds for a religious brawl. Beating one another with pillowcases stuffed with scriptures proving your point. The time we ought to be teachers we have need to be taught again the basics of the faith as it is written.

I love love love the peace of God. I do everything I can to hold onto it. You see for 33 years I had none. I was tormented by Satan from the time I was a child and not having a Christian family I had zero help. Maybe some of you had a similar terrible childhood. I hope not. Spirits of fear and every evil thing assailed me constantly. Until I was saved I believed myself to be stupid and not as good as others, not able to dream the things they all took for granted. I believed my family to be less.

I couldn't put my finger on it being a child but only His grace brought me to the age of 33 when He graciously sent His hard conviction upon me. I've always marveled at those whose salvation consisted of going down to the altar and making a short prayer, shaking the preachers hand and signing a membership book. I'm not saying they are not saved just that God didn't let me off that easy! No no.

It began I think at a beer joint on a Saturday afternoon and evening where I sat and guzzed myself into a dejected state. That was not my habit but it was the beginning of the end of the old Frank. I think that's the very beginning of His work. Over a period of days, weeks in the fall of 1977 He began to bring the weight of conviction upon me. That word sounds so innocent, so innocuous. Like a big dog lying in the corner wagging it's tail.

Wrong. Conviction, God's variety, is fierce. It's relentless and presses in until the Lord says "enough". It attacks until His spirit says "heel".

I think that He brought up everything I'd ever done and put them on my heart and before my face. The weight of my heart was huge. I would have to pull over driving to work and pray, weep for awhile before going on. I would go to work hoping my red eyes were not noticed. I didn't know how to pray but no matter. When God puts on the pressure you'll pray all right believe me! You will Lear quickly my friends. I don't know how He deals with others, many ways and perhaps what I'm saying is familiar to you. I don't know. The bottom line of what I'm trying to say is that for me getting saved was no easy task. It was like being pulled through a keyhole or being keel hauled naked. It nearly killed me to save me. The old man didn't survive it thank God even though I still stumble on him. Nahum 3:3

But afterwards, after days even weeks of spiritual surgery by the Holy Spirit I was indeed a brand new creature. If not so serious part of it might have been funny. I always been disgusted with, even despised psychiatrists, analysts and the like. I knew they were men like me with feet of clay that had to pull out a bottle or a handful of pills after the last patient unloaded their unsolvable problems on them.

Even so when Jesus caused me to be born again and I didn't know what had happened I thought I was going insane and considered one of the despised mental analysts. After all, if everything you always did suddenly became foreign to you you must be flipping your wig right? I no longer wanted to cheat, lie, steal, connive, be unfaithful, drink, lust or practice any of my other vices. I must be wacky right? The world says if you hear voices you're wacky. In reality it would be strange not to hear them. But now by God's grace I can sort them out. One of the most astounding revelations in being saved was that the voice that I had listened to so much was not mine at all. That was a shock. When you look around for a familiar handle to grasp and find none it is scary. Very scary. You're a stranger in a strange land. A very strange land.

It took awhile to even realize that God was doing all this. I was saved. I really was born again. My gratefulness to God for coming for me outside of some denomination created by man, is boundless. I owe my salvation, my saving to God and Him alone. Read the 34th chapter of Ezekiel to see that God got tired of waiting for poor shepherds to fetch the scattered sheep and so went after them Himself. He still does by the way.


It was only then that peace began to come. Oh there were tremendous battles in the spirit. The devil fought me tooth and toenail. He hated to lose such a one as I was. But Jesus led me over the bridge of salvation and once across I could no more understand where I was than I could where I'd dwelt for the past 33 years. He told me "my son died at 33 so I chose this to be the year He begins to live in you".

I couldn't stand to be alone with myself. My mind was so filled with the world's garbage. I began to wash my mind in the water of the word. I would read the Bible hours on end. Just as I had hidden in books as a boy to escape by reading hours and hours until a splitting headache would force be to stop. I read the Bible for 8-20-12 hours at a time washing my mind and spirit. Peace be still.

God became very close and very real to me. The peace of God is important above all things. ALL things. It is an indicator. It is THE indicator. If you have that peace then all is well. I wonder how many have it? I wonder how many have the required baptism in the Holy Spirit? So many are so silent and do not say. But by many posted statements and questions I see that something is missing. Fighting over things that ought not to be fought over. Provoking others with positions that are contrary to sound doctrine. Looking for a fight and demanding to be right. Demanding to be pronounced king of the subject at hand. King indeed of the scriptures. They have not allowed God to come in and disarm the fleshly passion to climb on top of others and crow like a Banty rooster "I have prevailed and am right"! A misinterpretation if ever one was.

In all this there is a marked absence of the peace of God. I don't care how God made the universe. It's too big for me to comprehend and it's too big for those that question it yet say they are Christians. He tells us how to be baptized theres no need to start a denomination centered on it.

I don't care if the rapture is pre, post or mid tribulation. I DON'T CARE. My life is in His hands and He'll see that I get through it all OK. Can no one agree that there are many hidden things that are just not known? As soon as one declares themself an expert they can be instantly declared a know nothing.

Having His peace continually resident means you don't have to adopt every scriptural position that you feel will hide you from some kind of tribulation. Repeat that sentence please.

The evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not tongues our old pastor used to say. "it's trouble". You will have it in spades when God moves in.

I've seen tribulation. I've seen my children die. I've seen my Nieces and nephews die. I've seen my mother suffer from lupus from the age of 25. I've seen my father have to live at the VA for 25 years until his death. I've seen lots and lots of trouble. I've seen sickness, lack, death and adversity to the extreme yet I hold to His peace and it pulls me through.

My sweet wife abd I walked into an infirmary where our beautiful fifteen year old daughter Joanna lie dead on a gurney. I said at her side "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord". I managed to speak at our daughter's chapel service through God's strength. We had grief but His peace never left.

I'm not going to be afraid of what God has for me and hide behind some belief for fear that something unpleasant might happen to me. Holding to some peculiar belief in order to maintain that it will keep you from having any affliction is wrong. We are called to trouble. Think it not strange, remember.

I'm certain that this post is important only to me. I know strife and religious battles will continue. But I'm convinced most are from an ignorance of the peace of God and that from not being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And beyond that not giving Him the reins. There is a peace, a let down of the contentious nature, of the passion to be right that comes with yielding to the Holy Spirit of God.

It's a disarmament of the flesh. May every one come to know the peace of God that passes all understanding and thence sow peace. Wisdom will always spring forth from peace and never from strife.


Romans 15:1-2 KJVS
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
[2] Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
 

Episkopos

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Jesus did say He came to bring a sword....and division....and a fire.

Spiritual Christians recognize other spiritual Christians. Religious Christians recognize other religious Christians. And never the 2 will meet.

Add to that the different maturity levels...and it can get quite confusing.

Just look at the fruit.