I don't think I will be an SDA member

[Liz]

I had already suggested this to her Liz. I even volunteered to do the baptizing.

O.k. sorry, I had not read all five pages of this discussion.

[Woody]

Originally Posted By: Woody

I had already suggested this to her Liz. I even volunteered to do the baptizing.

O.k. sorry, I had not read all five pages of this discussion.

And blessed you are. :)

[jamesonofthunder]

Originally Posted By: Woody

If you believe in it - why won't you support it?

I will say this real sllooww.....I don't believe in organized religion and I don't apprecuiate being "blackmailed" just so that I can get baptized.

It's a shame to have to say this, but if you are not convicted by the Holy Spirit to get rid of everything in your heart that killed Jesus, which is EVERY sin, then you are not fit for the kingdom.

Conviction for sin is the work of the Holy Spirit. If you feel the need to be rid of sin, then you have been convicted, and even if you have a hard time letting go you are still on the path to recovery, but if you don't feel the need and are fighting the Holy Spirit and saying He is trying to 'blackmail' you into conviction you are condemning yourself and I question why you would want to bring this into God's end time church.

It is awesome to hear that the pastor would not baptize you, because so many others are allowed in without conviction and it is a burden on our church with all the baggage being brought in.

You will probably have the reaction; others in the church have as many un-confessed sins as you, and how dare them keep you out. This is not the correct response.

I will reiterate, if you are not convicted by the Holy Spirit for sin in your heart then you do not belong in the church.

Blasphemy against Christ can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. I pray for everyone in your condition.

[OzarkWoman]

Yes, I can see by some who post in here how they let everyone in.

Just so you know...I haven't smoked msince Sunday night so take it and stuick it in your whatever.

[OzarkWoman]

Thank you all for the replies. I just love certain ones with the holier than thou attitudes. I am glad that my first encounter with any SDA people were with this church I go to and this pastor. Many of you would have scared me away for sure.

[phkrause]

Thank you all for the replies. I just love certain ones with the holier than thou attitudes. I am glad that my first encounter with any SDA people were with this church I go to and this pastor. Many of you would have scared me away for sure.

Excellent point, they probably would've criticized Jesus for turning over the tables.

[M. T. Cross]

Originally Posted By: OzarkWoman

Thank you all for the replies. I just love certain ones with the holier than thou attitudes. I am glad that my first encounter with any SDA people were with this church I go to and this pastor. Many of you would have scared me away for sure.

Excellent point, they probably would've criticized Jesus for turning over the tables.

Without thinking that he probably built the tables so therefore they were his to turn over. So there.

OW - ya know what - don't sweat it. Its really easy for people to sit behind keyboards contemplating their own rightousness and your sinful nature. We all know that each person has thier own demons and skeletons. I applaud your honesty. The rest is between you and your God.

[M. T. Cross]

It's a shame to have to say this, but if you are not convicted by the Holy Spirit to get rid of everything in your heart that killed Jesus, which is EVERY sin, then you are not fit for the kingdom.

Conviction for sin is the work of the Holy Spirit. If you feel the need to be rid of sin, then you have been convicted, and even if you have a hard time letting go you are still on the path to recovery, but if you don't feel the need and are fighting the Holy Spirit and saying He is trying to 'blackmail' you into conviction you are condemning yourself and I question why you would want to bring this into God's end time church.

It is awesome to hear that the pastor would not baptize you, because so many others are allowed in without conviction and it is a burden on our church with all the baggage being brought in.

You will probably have the reaction; others in the church have as many un-confessed sins as you, and how dare them keep you out. This is not the correct response.

I will reiterate, if you are not convicted by the Holy Spirit for sin in your heart then you do not belong in the church.

Blasphemy against Christ can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. I pray for everyone in your condition.

Its been a while since I have read the whole thing, but isn't there something about him without sin and casting stones.......

[OzarkWoman]

So, it has been over 96 hours since I last smoked. Maybe this is it. The pastor and his wife have come by my place ,every day and prayed with me. Saturday I am going out to the other church the pastor has so I can hear him speak.

[OzarkWoman]

It's a shame to have to say this, but if you are not convicted by the Holy Spirit to get rid of everything in your heart that killed Jesus, which is EVERY sin, then you are not fit for the kingdom.

Conviction for sin is the work of the Holy Spirit. If you feel the need to be rid of sin, then you have been convicted, and even if you have a hard time letting go you are still on the path to recovery, but if you don't feel the need and are fighting the Holy Spirit and saying He is trying to 'blackmail' you into conviction you are condemning yourself and I question why you would want to bring this into God's end time church.

It is awesome to hear that the pastor would not baptize you, because so many others are allowed in without conviction and it is a burden on our church with all the baggage being brought in.

You will probably have the reaction; others in the church have as many un-confessed sins as you, and how dare them keep you out. This is not the correct response.

I will reiterate, if you are not convicted by the Holy Spirit for sin in your heart then you do not belong in the church.

Blasphemy against Christ can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. I pray for everyone in your condition.

Speaking of a sinful nature. I think pride has you heavy laden for sure. You don't know the first thing about me and I can tell by this post of yours that you don't don't know much about what Jesus taught either. I hate to say this but by this post of yours, you aren't fit for the kingdom either.

[M. T. Cross]

I have friend that literlly smoked over 100 cigarettes a day. He quit last week as well. You and he are killing all my excuses OW

[cricket]

96 hours is fantastic, OzarkWoman! Keep up the will!!

[Woody]

So, it has been over 96 hours since I last smoked. Maybe this is it. The pastor and his wife have come by my place ,every day and prayed with me. Saturday I am going out to the other church the pastor has so I can hear him speak.

[Raphael]

Quitting smoking is like working out at a fitness center. People don't immediately do 25 kg squats that will just hurt & fail (I just did that & now I'm taking several days off to heal my hurting upper & lower back). Instead keep trying your best at lower weights.

I remembered quitting smoking 3 months then returning to the old habit, then a year or two later I was able to stop for 6 months then giving up again, some times later I was able to stop for 9 months to then revert again.. then a year over and succumb again.. and now its an easy-sailing three years ..

I remember always smoking due to stress.. yes, it's an absolutely nervousness thing.. it's the other form of nail-biting.. when you do these things it eases nervousness, due to FALSE feelings that you are doing something about the situation, when you're not..

Smoking or nail-biting is a MENTAL STRUGGLE, which can take tens of years of a lifetime, like it did to me.. if there is no mental struggle then the habits sticks forever.. This mental struggle is the painful part..

The point is don't give up. Keep coming back like the energizer bunny. Don't consider lapses doomsday events, consider it timeouts to relax, regroup thoughts and refocus

As for being baptized, its best to be confident of quitting smoking before being submerge.

I had to stay away from active church activities when I was still smoking because I wasn't a good hypocrite. Now that I have capably stopped smoking, I feel comfortable hanging out with SDA church people & their activities.

You can do it, OzarkWoman.

[cheddar]

If everyone quits smoking all the people at the cigarette factory will lose their jobs.

Nobody wins at this silly game! lol

[Tammy]

Originally Posted By: Woody

If you believe in it - why won't you support it?

I will say this real sllooww.....I don't believe in organized religion and I don't apprecuiate being "blackmailed" just so that I can get baptized.

[Tammy]

I give your Pastor alot of credit, Ozarkwoman, and I can see why you respect him. He is following the counsel in the Spirit of Prophecy regarding baptizing people into the church...

Quote:

Too much hasty work is done in adding names to the church roll. Serious defects are seen in the characters of some who join the church. Those who admit them say, We will first get them into the church, and then reform them. But this is a mistake. The very first work to be done is the work of reform. Pray with them, talk with them, but do not allow them to unite with God's people in church relationship until they give decided evidence that the Spirit of God is working on their hearts. {RH, May 21, 1901 par. 7}

If more Pastors were doing what your Pastor is doing, the church would be in a whole lot better condition, spiritually.

[OzarkWoman]

I give your Pastor alot of credit, Ozarkwoman, and I can see why you respect him. He is following the counsel in the Spirit of Prophecy regarding baptizing people into the church...

Quote:

Too much hasty work is done in adding names to the church roll. Serious defects are seen in the characters of some who join the church. Those who admit them say, We will first get them into the church, and then reform them. But this is a mistake. The very first work to be done is the work of reform. Pray with them, talk with them, but do not allow them to unite with God's people in church relationship until they give decided evidence that the Spirit of God is working on their hearts. {RH, May 21, 1901 par. 7}

If more Pastors were doing what your Pastor is doing, the church would be in a whole lot better condition, spiritually.

Would you mind letting me know where that quote is from please?

The main reason that I have so much respect for my pastor and his family is because they are the very first pastor I have ever met and seen that actually tries to live what he preaches.

[Woody]

Some good comments Tammy.

But we need to know what we are talking about.

Quote:

Too much hasty work is done in adding names to the church roll.

To believe the truth as taught in the Bible and to accept Jesus as your Saviour is the reason to be baptized.

While I agree with both statements - The first one is talking about membership to an institution and the second one is baptism.

The two are completely different and have different requirements.

[OzarkWoman]

Some good comments Tammy.

But we need to know what we are talking about.

While I agree with both statements - The first one is talking about membership to an institution and the second one is baptism.

The two are completely different and have different requirements.

But, you will have to admit how the different denominations have blurred the two together, making people join their denomination just to be baptized. It is very sad that they have felt the need to do such things.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Still smoke FREE since 4-8-2012 8:00pm CDT!

[Woody]

Quote:

Still smoke FREE since 4-8-2012 8:00pm CDT!

[olger]

Blessings to OW !!!!

And, Well done.

Keep going Sister!!

[OzarkWoman]

Thank you everyone!!!!

[JoeMo]

I've been following this thread for several days without comment. Kudos to OW for sticking with this thread (in spite of the discouragement, condemnation, and judgement heaped on her by some of the "saints"); and for sticking to "quitting" for almost 5 days now! At least in theory, you are through the physical withdrawal phase; and into the psychological withdrawal phase (e.g., breaking the association of a cigarette with a cup of coffe or tea, or after a big meal, or after work). You can do it!

Also, kudos to those who have been encouraging OW through her battle with smoking and her concerns over baptism. While I admire OW's pastor for upholding the standards of the denomination, I agree with Woody that church membership and baptism are 2 seperate issues - the former dealing with the compliance to the rules of a man-made denomination and the latter dealing with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They are not the same. The former deals with being a member of a "club"; and the latter deals with being a member of the Kingdom of Heaven. They are independent of each other.

Some on this thread appear to believe that you must "get your act together" before you can come to Jesus; when actually just the opposite is true - we have to come to Jesus before we can "get our act together".

Jesus did not say "Come unto me, all ye that have completed your labour and are no longer heavy laden, and I will give you rest"; He said "Come unto me, all ye that [still] labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28 - paranthetical is my own)

Be honest now - how many of us actually continuously live by the letter of the health message? Or the spiritual message for that matter? I'll confess - I don't; and I CAN'T! Self-imposed "sin management" doesn't work for me! That doesn't make me weak - it makes me honest with myself in that, without a Savior I'm DOOMED! I truly need Jesus, His blood, and His grace!

Look at Paul's words in Gal. 5:2-4:

"2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified[a] by the law; you have fallen away from grace."

This tells me that if I am using my success at keeping the law as a barometer for my salvation, I'd better keep the whole law (and not just the 10 Commandments); becasuse if I rely on the Law, I am severed from Christ and have cut myself off from grace. That's scary! If I am managing my own sin avoidance plan, how can I ever be sure that I'm being "good enough" to be saved? On the other hand, If I am basking in God's grace and mercy and letting Him manage my sins, how can I ever doubt my salvation? If I am in the grace of God, is it really necessary for me to be in the good graces of the Church to be saved?

Let God deal with your shortcomings. After all, it was Jesus who was the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (which include my sins and your sins - past, present, and future). As far as overcoming unrighteousness is concerned;

"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Rev. 12:11)

"35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35 - 40)

As far as the church goes, many expect new members to be completely "well" before they extend the right hand of fellowship. But Jesus says: "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance".

Do you have a problem with smoking (or drinking or "pork-eating" or lust or anything else) that you feel is a barrier between you and God? Are you "sick"? The go to the Great Physician - let Him take away your "sickness" and give you life abundant! Then, if you desire, seek out and join a church that is an open house of healing and grace.

Love and Blessings to you!

[phkrause]

Still smoke FREE since 4-8-2012 8:00pm CDT!

and most of all