Sum folks from Washington?

[Guest truthseeker007]

I was wondering if there are any seventh day adventists who live in Washington who are willing to give me shelter for a couple of months. In the beginning of next year i plan to work as an intern at the Dutch embassy, it s an integral part of my masters degree programme. Of course i will pay rent and stuff.

I was hoping i could stay with an adventist family since i want to get closer to God. Up untill now i have always been alone in practicing my faith, which is fine, i am used to it, but worshipping with others gives faith a whole new dimension. I am also very willing to go to church together on sabbath and even get baptised. But i don t have the courage to confess all my sins in front of the church, i also don t see the point in confessing all my sins because only God knows what s going on inside my heart, why i did the things i did etc.

But anyway, somebody willing to provide shelter in Washington?i ll pay a rent, it will probably be a couple of hundreds of dollars. I think i have got about 800 dollars a month at my disposal.

[Gregory Matthews]

Quote:

But i don t have the courage to confess all my sins in front of the church, i also don t see the point in confessing all my sins because only God knows what s going on inside my heart, why i did the things i did etc.

Not required.

You would not be allowed to do so if you wanted to do so.

[olger]

Confess your faults to one another (James 5:16).

Confess your sins to God (1 John 1:9).

[Woody]

Quote:

But i don t have the courage to confess all my sins in front of the church, i also don t see the point in confessing all my sins because only God knows what s going on inside my heart, why i did the things i did etc.

Not required.

You would not be allowed to do so if you wanted to do so.

Hi TS. Gregory is absolutely right on this. You would not be allowed to do this even if you wanted to.

[phkrause]

I was wondering if there are any seventh day adventists who live in Washington who are willing to give me shelter for a couple of months. In the beginning of next year i plan to work as an intern at the Dutch embassy, it s an integral part of my masters degree programme. Of course i will pay rent and stuff.

Where in Washington are you going to be? The reason I ask is I might know someone that might be able to help.

pk

[phkrause]

I was hoping i could stay with an adventist family since i want to get closer to God. Up untill now i have always been alone in practicing my faith, which is fine, i am used to it, but worshipping with others gives faith a whole new dimension. I am also very willing to go to church together on sabbath and even get baptised. But i don t have the courage to confess all my sins in front of the church, i also don t see the point in confessing all my sins because only God knows what s going on inside my heart, why i did the things i did etc.

TS you don't need to confess in front of the church. The only person you need to confess to is God/Jesus.

pk

[Outta Here]

I only know of one ex-adventist in Washington.

While I agree that confession in front of a church is unnecssary, it is not necessarily "not allowed". I've seen it done on several ocassions in the adventist church setting. And, in one instance in particular, it was most definitely required.

YMMV

[John317]

Quote:

truthseeker007:I am also very willing to go to church together on sabbath and even get baptised. But i don t have the courage to confess all my sins in front of the church, i also don t see the point in confessing all my sins because only God knows what s going on inside my heart, why i did the things i did etc.

Truthseeker, I feel badly for you, but the fact is that no one would want to hear about all those sins, and besides, as some have already pointed out, our sins are to be confessed to God alone. If you've hurt someone, then you should go to them personally and ask for their forgiveness, but otherwise we only need to confess our sins to God. People would be embarrassed to sit and listen to all your sins. We don't have to right to know those things, anyway, and they are really irrelevent in terms of your standing before God, provided you truly repent of them and have God's forgiveness. Once God forgives you, you have to forgive yourself. That is hard to do, and sometime people think God wants them to keep feeling terrible about those sins, but that's wrong. God doesn't want us to keep feeling depressed and sad over our past sins.

Study carefully this verse:

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Cleansing us from all unrighteousness means that God wants us to be free of feelings that we are evil and deserving of God's punishment. He took our punishment already and so it is like a slap in His face when we insist on suffering for our past sins even though he's forgiven us and cleansed us of them.

It is not the Holy Spirit who's impressing us with how sinful we are because of things we did in the past that God has forgiven us of. When we just concentrate on our sins, we can't be a good witness for God. An important part of being healed of our sins is being able to put our sins behind us, just as if they didn't happen-- because that is exactly how God sees them. If you've sincerely repented and asked for his forgiveness, God is faithful to do it and He sees you as righteous as Christ. He freely gives you credit for everything Christ did.

One important reason that it's not good to keep going over and over the sins we committed is that when we do it, it actually makes it easier to fall back into those same sins. That's because we will do what we're thinking about. So the thing to do-- and I know this from personal experience-- is to fill the mind with thoughts of Jesus and of God's love for us. Replace those thoughts about sin with thoughts of how God views you NOW.

Look at these verses:

Col. 3:1-11

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. [2] Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. [3] For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. [4] When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

[5] Mortify [put to death] therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: [6] For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: [7] In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. [8] But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. [9] Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; [10] And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: [11] Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

[phkrause]

Quote:

truthseeker007:I am also very willing to go to church together on sabbath and even get baptised. But i don t have the courage to confess all my sins in front of the church, i also don t see the point in confessing all my sins because only God knows what s going on inside my heart, why i did the things i did etc.

Truthseeker, I feel badly for you, but the fact is that no one would want to hear about all those sins, and besides, as some have already pointed out, our sins are to be confessed to God alone. If you've hurt someone, then you should go to them personally and ask for their forgiveness, but otherwise we only need to confess our sins to God. People would be embarrassed to sit and listen to all your sins. We don't have to right to know those things, anyway, and they are really irrelevent in terms of your standing before God, provided you truly repent of them and have God's forgiveness. Once God forgives you, you have to forgive yourself. That is hard to do, and sometime people think God wants them to keep feeling terrible about those sins, but that's wrong. God doesn't want us to keep feeling depressed and sad over our past sins.

Study carefully this verse:

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Cleansing us from all unrighteousness means that God wants us to be free of feelings that we are evil and deserving of God's punishment. He took our punishment already and so it is like a slap in His face when we insist on suffering for our past sins even though he's forgiven us and cleansed us of them.

It is not the Holy Spirit who's impressing us with how sinful we are because of things we did in the past that God has forgiven us of. When we just concentrate on our sins, we can't be a good witness for God. An important part of being healed of our sins is being able to put our sins behind us, just as if they didn't happen-- because that is exactly how God sees them. If you've sincerely repented and asked for his forgiveness, God is faithful to do it and He sees you as righteous as Christ. He freely gives you credit for everything Christ did.

One important reason that it's not good to keep going over and over the sins we committed is that when we do it, it actually makes it easier to fall back into those same sins. That's because we will do what we're thinking about. So the thing to do-- and I know this from personal experience-- is to fill the mind with thoughts of Jesus and of God's love for us. Replace those thoughts about sin with thoughts of how God views you NOW.

Look at these verses:

Col. 3:1-11

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. [2] Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. [3] For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. [4] When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

[5] Mortify [put to death] therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: [6] For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: [7] In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. [8] But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. [9] Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; [10] And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: [11] Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

Good points John.

[phkrause]

I only know of one ex-adventist in Washington.

While I agree that confession in front of a church is unnecssary, it is not necessarily "not allowed". I've seen it done on several ocassions in the adventist church setting. And, in one instance in particular, it was most definitely required.

YMMV

I've never seen that happen before, sounds pretty interesting though.

pk

[GreatLakesGramma]

But i don t have the courage to confess all my sins in front of the church, i also don t see the point in confessing all my sins because only God knows what s going on inside my heart, why i did the things i did etc.

I know there are churches that insist on this, but it is a totally unbiblical practise.

[Dottie]

Truthseeker - -

When you mention Washington, do you mean the capital of our country, or the State of Washington?

[Guest truthseeker007]

Hi everybody,

First of all, thank you very very much for clearing this up. I am glad i don t have to publicly confess my sins in front of an audience. John is right, i constantly keep thinking about my sins, how terrible i am, that i deserve to suffer etc. and that God wants me to confess my sins so i can be humiliated as some sort of punishment. I also keep thinking about my sins and somehow maybe that s the reason i keep falling back. It is hard to forgive myself, and i think that God wants to see me suffer for the things i did, i just can t comprehend how God is able to forgive all this. I mean i believe in some sort of forgiveness, but i can t understand that this could be a free gift through grace. Somertimes i wish i could repay God though. Yesterday i realised how awesome it is that there is an eternal God, and i don t know where God came from, but i am glad he exists and outlives my destiny, whether i go to hell or heaven, i am glad HE lives on forever.

The embassy is located in DC btw

[Guest truthseeker007]

embassy

here is the link

[mrsducky]

I used to live in Washington. My suggestion would be to contact the church pastor in the area you wish to live in and make your request that way. If you look on the conference website (Oregon for southern WA and Washington for northern and Upper Columbia for eastern) you should be able to find out about churches, etc.

[phkrause]

embassy

here is the link

So TS from that link I'm guessing your going to Washington DC and not the state of Washington? Try getting a hold of Pastor Morrison. I believe he goes to the Spencerville adventist church in Maryland. He and his wife have always been good at helping to get place's for people to stay. If you go to the SDA website and try to find the spencerville church or just get on there website you could get there phone number and call and find out what to do. Hope this helps a little.

pk