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Author Topic: New Christian  (Read 4539 times)

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Craig

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New Christian
« on: September 14, 2006, 06:25:20 PM »

> Dear Mr. Smith,
>
> Sorry for such a long message, but I couldn't help it.
>
> I've been a Christian for more than 25 years and... I figured I just
> found Him a few days ago. AMAZING!!!
>
> My name is Lionel, I'm 36 this year, Belgian, french speaking,
> married with four daughter. I currently live in Sydney, Australia with
> my family. My wife is Swiss. Because of her job (she works for the
> Swiss Gov.), we move every four years to a different place in the
> world. I have no idea why I tell you all that, but this is what I feel
> compelled to do.
>
> My father was raised in a somewhat Catholic background. When he reach
> is twenties, he joined the so called "mormon church" where he met my
> mother, gained a fairly high rank in the local hierarchy (in Belgium).
> Then in his late 20s early 30s, as he saw all the contradictions
> between the book of mormon and the Bible (both being accepted, the book
> of mormon having supremacy) and was seeking God, he had to make a
> choice. He and my mother did choose the Bible and the message of Christ
> and left the mormon church. Then, he felt God was calling him to the
> ministry of the Word. So my parents sold their house and everything,
> quitted their job (my mother was a teacher, my father worked in IT of
> the day, remember when computer filled a whole room...) and we all
> moved to South of France were he was admitted to a theological
> university together with my mother. I was 6 and a half, my brother was
> 9 and a half.
>
> From then on, I can not remember anytime when I would not really
> believe in Jesus and his sacrifice for me. I learn to pray on my own
> very early on, I would talk to Jesus, God, very often. We used to
> attend a protestant church which had a letter, that Calvin had sent
> himself to that church, engraved in marble over the main entrance,
> wow...
>
> Then, after a few years, my parents finished their study which included
> learning of Greek and Hebrew. He, my father was given a posting for say
> probation. Because of some of his teaching that were regarded as quite
> radical by the council of teachers and pastors who were supposed to
> seal his nomination as official pastor, he was given an other probation
> posting in an other city. So we moved again. After that, seeing that he
> was still teaching quite annoying biblical statements, the council
> thought to quite him down a bit by sending him in Paris to open a new
> church that in reality they knew would be such a hardship that it would
> bring him down. And boy was it a hardship ...
>
> The church grew and after a few years, decided to cut all the links
> with the union of protestant churches it depended on. It became more
> evangelical, then more charismatic, then full gospel and finally
> attached herself to the french baptist union.
>
> We started, I say we because our family of five represented the bulk of
> the assembly, with almost nothing. My father learned so much during
> that time, and he taught us so much during all these years, I could see
> the Spirit of God revealing things to each of us, glimpses of Truth,
> here and there, but for some reason I found it incredibly harder and
> harder as time went by to put all these pieces together to make a
> coherent picture. After all these years, I now realize it's because we
> didn't have REFERENCE PICTURE, that of Christ, you know, the one on the
> cover of the puzzle box. It was just impossible to put all these pieces
> back together without it... Someone had STOLEN the cover box, from the
> start, and we didn't know it... God, can we be dumb!
>
> I had to leave the church for some conflict reason back in 1990 or 91,
> and only went back occasionally for visiting my family and friends
> after I got married.
>
> Now, the church that grew from nothing to an exciting 120+ members
> community (in France, that's quite big) is back to nothing, my mother
> died of a breast cancer, my elder brother once so active in the church
> isn't attending any community at all, same for my sister (12 years
> younger than I). My father remarried an american lady some years ago
> and now lives in Virginia.
>
> But I kept believing that there must be something else, different from
> all that stuff that just doesn't work, even when you're sincere. I kept
> attending local church, what ever denomination it would be as long as I
> felt God wanted me there. And in my heart,I started to search all the
> knowledge of the scriptures I had or could understand, for the Church
> of Christ, the one the apostles knew...
>
> As I mentioned in a early email, in bumped into your tithing paper on
> the web and was stroked with it true balanced simplicity. I knew that
> tithing wasn't relevant today, but as our minister just started a whole
> month of preaching on the subject (cause he needs money to fix the
> building), I was quite p'd off and wanted to look at both
> argumentation more seriously to be prepared for an eventual
> confrontation. I had no idea that you had a whole website behind that
> page. Then I thought to myself: well, a guy like that certainly has
> other things to say, and a voice inside me said clearly, well, you'd
> better be careful because if he say s other things that you don't like,
> you KNOW that you'll have to dumped it altogether with this nice
> tithing document that you think is true, because you KNOW that you
> can't do some shopping here. I like this, I like that, I take this, I
> take that, oh no, not that actually... Remember, you're trying to be
> TRUE, so be careful.
>
> I remember answering my inner voice saying, well if I'm really trying
> to be true, then I can't accept this document unless I know what this
> guy really means, and if he says other things, well I NEED to know what
> he says. So I gave it a try and yes, you had a LOT MORE to say. I reed,
> I reed, and OH NOOOOOOOOOO...
>
> My heart started to pound, literally, I mean it was almost hurting me.
> NO, NOT THE TRINITY, NOT HELL and JUDGMENT... for I knew very well that
> these doctrines where the ones that cults always attack. This is just
 another heresy... NO, this can't be, this guy sounded so grounded in
> truth, NO, so close from what I'm looking for, this is SO STUPID...
>
> Yes, it would be so stupid. What ? Did you say that ? It would be so
> stupid not to have a look at it, to confront it, right in the eyes.
> Since you are looking for the truth, why don't you lay all your
> knowledge on the side, take off your religious glasses and read this
> without any preconceived interpretations so that you can really seen
> what is said.
>
> Uh...
>
> mmm...
>
> And Jesus opened my eyes...
>
> I am re-learning everything, it is so exciting, my wife now sees it
> also. I remember going out in the yard at night and looking at the
> starry sky, saying: "NOW, THAT'S A GOOD NEWS".
>
> God Bless you guys, I've been downloading some of your bible-studies,
> and boy, it is once a gain the same enthusiasm like when I started
> discovering the Bible, except this time, it REALLY make sense, all of
> it. No more sticky verse that just don't fit at all...
>
> Lionel
>
> PS: I would love to know how you were exposed to Christ, did anyone
> help you? How many of us around?


Dear Lionel:

I am glad that you are both seeing and accepting the Truths of God. Sorry I don't have time to give you my life story. Maybe some day, but not today. I am hopelessly behind in almost everything. Hope you understand.

God be with you,

Ray
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