Hi, I am praying for Gretchen.  May the Lord touch her heart in a way that 
she cannot refuse.  It would be wonderful if the Lord had a hold on her or 
anyone as strong as the substance she uses?
Virgie and Hoshi
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 4:26 PM
Subject: Gretchen report


>I guess since Kathy gave her update on Chris, I might as well report on
> Gretchen.  We still are not sure where Gretchen is spiritually.  We do 
> know
> that she did not pass her last drug test.  In fact, since they switched to
> the swab of the inner mouth drug test last time, she told her case worker
> that she knew she wasn't clean at that time.  I guess she figured her
> chances were better if she admitted it up front than to be told after the
> sample was analyzed.  I believe Gretchen wants to do right but she is
> deceived into thinking she can't.  This is correct, of course, because
> nobody can live the Christian life without Christ being Lord.  We have a
> whole entire generation of born again Christians today, who know theology
> and doctrine and the Christian way of life but they don't know Jesus as
> Lord.  I know because I lived 45 years as a born again Christian but 
> didn't
> know Jesus as Lord until 4 years ago.  Pretty pathetic, I know, and not 
> much
> of a testimony but it is the truth.  Fortunately, I am not now where I was 
> 4
> years ago and I do know what it means to be under the Lordship of Jesus.
> Oh, I am far from arrival.  That will be when I die or the Lord returns 
> but
> in spite of everything, I wouldn't change where I am now for where I was
> before regardless of the amount of money.  What's this have to do with
> Gretchen, you ask?  Gretchen was in a Christian drug rehab home for 9
> months.  She was isolated from the world by the home and by the church 
> that
> ran the home.  It was no drug program at all but rather the Christian form
> of cognitive therapy and so called spiritual behavior.  This is a very 
> poor
> substitute for true conversion and salvation and Lordship salvitic
> experience.  Why?  Because, it doesn't work unless you continually live in
> that same environment.  My daughter has been in the process of learning 
> that
> no matter what you think or feel, He is in control, like it or not.  You 
> can
> either live your basic daily Christian life through church attendance and
> membership, prayer, Bible reading, winning the lost to Christ, becoming a
> pastor, counselor, missionary, Bible seminary professor, raising your 
> hands,
> shouting, and yes, even speaking in tongues, like it or not, and about
> anything else you wish to include in your Christian life, but performance
> based Christianity goes only as far as your performance.  By the way, for
> those who don't know, I am filled with the Holy Spirit and I speak in
> tongues but this does not make me walk in Lordship any more than the 
> church
> I am a member of, which, for that matter, happens to be the church I 
> pastor.
> The problem with this way of Christian living is that somebody is always 
> out
> performing you and if you don't know how that makes you feel, you will
> eventually experience the spiritual pain of spiritual failure.  If you 
> have
> not figured it out by now, the Enemy knows more theology and doctrine, not
> to mention tricks and games and foolery, than any Christian on the planet.
> He, Satan, will use anything, and everything, to fool you into thinking, 
> it
> can't be done.  Well, ain't that nice.  The devil finally got something
> right.  You can't do it but Jesus can.  So how do we get from here to 
> there?
> If you stop trying, you have begun a new way of life you never knew was
> available.  I have a lady who drives 30 minutes across town every Tuesday
> and Thursday to spend two or more hours in my office in prayer sessions. 
> We
> have been doing this for perhaps 9 months.  She is born again and so is 
> her
> husband.  They met in bible college and were married after graduation. 
> She
> is a former paralegal and he is, by training, a license psychologist,
> although he isn't doing that work at the moment.  They have been married 
> for
> 25 years but there marriage, for years, has been going down hill.  She sat
> in my office today and told me of a miraculous change in their marriage 
> that
> is too long for me to detail now.  I started praying last week, after our
> Thursday prayer session, asking the Lord what could be done to help change
> things for this sincere woman who really loves the Lord and who has lived 
> in
> depression all her life.  By the way, if I told you her childhood
> background, not to mention all the counselors, Christian and nonchristian
> therapists, plus all the psychologists and psychiatrists she has been to 
> in
> her life, you would cry and fall on your knees and thank God for what you
> have right now regardless of how bad it is.  You couldn't top this woman 
> and
> her misery no matter how bad you think things have been.  Yet, Jesus is
> living through her so big, I could hardly sit still as she told me of the
> tremendous breakthrough she has had in recent days.  Is it going to turn 
> out
> all roses?  I don't know the answer to that question but what I heard 
> today
> is nothing short of a God miracle and proved to me once again, Jesus ain't
> fooling around when He says, I am Lord of all.  I sat and listen to her
> testimony today and rejoiced in my spirit like I had just gotten born 
> again
> back when I was five years old.  So what's the problem?  The same problem 
> my
> daughter has and that is, she believes lies about herself which are 
> totally
> contrary to God's truth in His Word.  How do you get to those wounded
> places?  The only way I know is through prayer.  If you don't know how to
> pray and how to commune with the Lord, you best be finding someone who can
> teach you how simple it is.  Otherwise, you'll never hear His voice and 
> John
> 10 4 says, if you can't hear His voice, you'll be following a stranger's
> voice.  Remember, Victory is not something you have, it is who you are. 
> If
> you truly have never experienced what I just said, Jesus isn't the Lord of
> your life and you are just living the Christian life.  That doesn't mean 
> you
> are not born again, of course, so don't get the two things mixed up. 
> Let's
> see.  I think I am supposed to pass the offering plate now.  Isn't that 
> how
> it works?  On second thought, just send me an offering of 25 dollars for 
> my
> book, which I haven't written yet, but if I get enough 25 dollar 
> donations,
> I'll write one for you.
>
> Phil.
>
>
> Has He Ever Crossed Your Mind?
> www.SafePlaceFellowship.com