Amen, Vinny!
JulieMelton
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Keep smiling!
>From: Vinny Samarco <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Electronic Church <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Thoughts on our reationship with the Lord
>Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:12:44 -0700
>
>Hi Everyone,
> I have some thoughts on our relationship with the Lord that I would like
>to share with you. I am not writing to step on anyones toes, so-to-speak,
>but just writing out of the burden I am feeling concerning things sent to
>the list by all of us.
> The question is this. Do you have a first, or second-hand relationship
>with the Lord? I have to ask myself the same thing. Here's why.
> You know, in this day when we are surrounded and impacted by everything
>the media says, we can be almost totally influenced by the media-socially,
>politically, spiritually, and in many other ways.
> The spiritual food that we feed upon each day, do we get that each day
>from the spirit of God in ourhearts and through His Word? Or do we become
>totally dependant on radio broadcasts, tv broadcasts, commercial Christian
>music, devotionals and sermons written by others?
> What I have found in my own walk and experience with the Lord is that I
>can surround myself with so much reading material, spiritual and other,
>that I can be having a vicarious relationship with what I think is the
>Lord, through these external things. By doing this, I could actually be
>insulating myself from things the Lord might want to speak to me. He might
>want to be telling me to read a certain scripture, speak to a certain
>person, or obey Him iin acertain thing he wants to deal with me about. If
>my head and heart are so full of what others hav written and produced, or
>sung,I may be inhibiting the Spirit of the Lord from communicating with
>me-meanwhile thinking I'm ok witht the lord.
> I am not saying not to read, listen to praise or anything like, but I am
>sayingthat we need the Lord to govern all these things, so we don't have a
>substitute relationship with an imaginary god.
> Remember, Martin Luther fought for our right to hear from God.
>Theologically, this has been called "the Priesthood of the believer".
> In the dark ages the church taught that only the priests could hear
>from God for the people, and that even if you could read, you were not
>aloud to read and interpret the bible as God would show you. This was a
>gross mis-representation of the spirit of God. Many people were oppressed
>for hundreds of years until the reformation. In the Catholic church, these
>things began to change after Vatican ii.
>
> Since this is our privelege and responsibility, we aught to take full
>advantage of these things, and not allow our brains to be so crowded
>with so many words, that we miss the Lord's leading.
> On a slightly different subject, the Lord has given all of gifts. For
>example, Rhonda writes poetry, Julie writes songs. Phil writes testimonies
>and intercedes for people. Others like Vicki, Kathy, Carroll Jennifer and
>others of you have a ministry of encouragement. And, of course, Pat has
>many lovings and squeezings for us all.
> The Lord has giving all of us a measure of his spirit. Let's allow him to
>flow throughout and use it to bnuild up those on the list, and those to who
>we contact.
>
>Vinny
>
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