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Post by danlirette on Oct 8, 2009 21:14:47 GMT -7
Friends, I contemplated sharing this and Eli has given me liberty to do so, so I will  A year and a half ago I committed a grievous sin which I need not go into or talk about as it's been dealt with locally. This is why no further videos from me have gone up in the past year (except my water baptism) and light videos... but concerning preaching, etc... nothing at all. Suffice it to say, some unknown individuals found out my sin primarily through a third party blog and exploited my testimony and opened accounts in my name and also hacked my own. They have attributed words to me which I did not write. They have stated that they will destroy me and weren't kidding; they have been after me for many months now.... and only presently are slowing down. They found my mom and dad's home address and posted it online. They bought my local newspaper time and posted a cruel ad with my name in it. They have threatened my wife in ways I cannot post in a public forum. I do not know these people nor have I ever met them. They have also attacked some of my friends. They have hacked a friend's facebook and posted his son's photos online because he chose to protect me. So, all of that to say that the last several montsh have been both bitter and sweet at the same time. Not bitter in the sense that I hate these people; I don't. My wife reminds me to pray for their Salvation and I have and will continue to do so. Suffice it to say that these people have been, ironically, used by God to even humble me and not care what they do or attribute to me or how many accounts they open in my name or how many of my own accounts they hack into and steal the passwords to; it took me some time to come to the choice to "not care" about their sin and instead care about them as people the Lord desires to come to Him, yet He's brought me to that place. If you see anything attributed to me saying such things as "I lost my faith" or "I do not believe in God" etc, don't believe it. I have since changed my passwords and will continue to do so as the need arises (always use numbers, letters and symbols in a password). Please keep me in prayer as I continue to journey with Jesus and believe nothing that appears to be out of the norm for my writing style. Blessings in Jesus, Dan |
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Post by knight on Oct 9, 2009 13:47:56 GMT -7
People need not attack, or judge, but merely state the truth in matters of guilt and innocense. And perhaps a pastor's response, or that of a parish, may lie in the observance of that that which proceeds from the store of ones heart, being either good or evil. As Christ said, "What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man" -Matthew 15:18-20 The measure of ones repentance is not of how much one is forgiven, but how truly one has convicted themselves of sin in their own heart. One may never know the depths of the sin of another. That remains between a soul and God alone. But as members of a Christian community we are left with the human relationships that remain and the temporal damages of sin, and the capacity for trust which may lack for having seen some lack or reparation for those sins.
But how does a man account for the temporal effects of sin, when the object of his sin, the human hearts of another, has either passed on in the love of Christ, or has moved on in their own healing in Christ? How does a man un-defile himself in the eyes of his brethren? Do we spend many words? Or is perhaps silence the better atonement, and a sincere humility in the eyes of fellow believers to better address the temporal effects than mere words that seek visible justification? As Paul says, if we speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, we are a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. What of the forgiveness of God, if we cannot inwardly repent, and thus carry crosses that we build for ourselves, rather then those presented to us by a loving God? Might men present themselves as martyrs of the faith in the public eye as they proclaim the greatness of God by way of celebrating their own sin for themselves to increase and Christ to decrease?
Jesus said, "All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." -Matthew 11:27-30 Never was it intended that a man take the yoke of life upon himself, or bear the cross of Christ himself, rather than seek humility in the shadow of our God. Christ seeks to bear the burden together with man, not to glorify man that he may raise himself up as his own personal saviour. Jesus also said, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes."
Jesus rebuked his own disciples in that time when he said, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." What of ourselves that a fellow believer be left behind as merely a symbol of human corruptibility, rather than address our own human weaknesses? We are not bystanders and collateral damage of a fallen world that corrupts otherwise good people. Men are instigators and authors of their own sin and nor are they the victims of the whims and desires of others. Jesus said to his disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him; and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, and says, `I repent,' you must forgive him."
The heart of a young women is fragile and more so if only young in the faith. We must be stewards of souls that entrust ourselves with their spiritual safety all the while as pastors, mentors, and brothers and sisters in Christ. And better a care for the fruit of our sin, rather than the careless looking back on the sins of ourselves, as merely the personal weaknesses of others who we would prefer to appear more guilty. A child is the child of God, innocent and undefiled and also the child of a man and woman. A child without a father is not the offspring of the indiscretion of a woman, but a verdict on the failed virtue of a man, whether he has promised himself to a woman before God or not. How easily a man might move on and proclaim himself saved feeling safe in the knowledge that the child is with God. But what of the child that lives on without a father in memory? Many are the child without a father, whose father is more dead to them than if they themselves could claim the grave.
A man may think that he is forgiven by God, but what of the object of his sins? Who has been harmed by those sins? What of the man who sins and yet in repentance takes no care for those whom he himself has caused to sin? Had he not to seek the prayers for those first, rather than the prayers for himself? The temporal pain and tragedy we cause for others if far greater than our own shame and humiliation we bear. A man has no greater love than to lay down his life for another! We are as nothing before the Lord so that the salvation of the other is at least as important as our own. We must love our neighbors as ourselves. What reclamation has been made for the heart and reputation of the object of a mans person and public scandal? Repentence for sin and mere regret for having been painfully exposed are quite different things. As Paul warned, "Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." Come to your right mind, and sin no more. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame."
Seek the forgiveness of God but know that very often, there is no undoing the damage caused by our sins. And do not be surprised that trust is worthily earned again and not so easily given. Human hearts heal faster than public perceptions. And do not presume to know that which has healed with the power of a loving and merciful God and that which truly remains broken both in the sight of men and God. "You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." -Matthew 5:27-28 A man sins in his heart and there he can never hide from God in his sin or truly accept the forgiveness of God until he has truly reconciled himself to what he has done. That particular journey is to be taken by a man and God alone in his conscience and no words that can be said for the benefit of others will make that journey any easier nor more easily received by others.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. -Psalm 1
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Post by 4him on Oct 12, 2009 11:48:12 GMT -7
Dear brother Dan,
May you continue to walk,surrounded by God's grace, and remember that he is with you in the 'valley of the shadow of death'. I was thinking of that famous blessing which pastors pronounce over a couple when they say, "What God has joined let no man put asunder". This blessing has application for a married couple, but in a way it also has application to the believer's 'marriage to Christ'. Satan and the World are always trying to drive a wedge between us and Christ. Sometimes Satan does this by causing us to doubt God's love for us and other times by dredging up our past sins, that are under the blood of Christ. But we are the bride of Christ and he is our 'beloved'.
Please know that you are in my prayers !
In Jesus,
John
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Post by danlirette on Oct 12, 2009 12:31:30 GMT -7
Thank you, Brother, 4Him!
The enemy is shrewd; he's definitely tried dredging up my former sin, even through those who profess Christ... but then, at the same time, there are those who have been an amazing support, offering prayer, counsel and a show of Grace which I didn't know existed!
Of all who have shown the most Grace... my wife.
She has been Jesus to me, so to speak.
Completely forgiving, loving and says she'd marry me all over again and we're planning on having our second child within two months!
Until I needed it most, from those closest to me, I didn't understand what Grace was, and when we do realize it and continue to remember the pit that the Lord brought us out of, we'll be hard pressed to ever try to take advantage of it.
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Post by knight on Oct 13, 2009 21:07:05 GMT -7
Message sent to knight by danlirette on Oct 9, 2009, 2:29pm ยป -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your post does state some very obvious things and wise counsel, yet after a year and a half of contemplation and making things right, I'm confident in my forgiveness, reconciliation to God and man and my church has completely overlooked my past failure, giving me even partial ministry to date of a small nature; hence, the counsel, while good, was heeded long ago. But thank you again and God be with you. (  ) |
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Post by danlirette on Oct 14, 2009 10:57:35 GMT -7
In a nutshell, thanks for your post; I was able to extract some useful information from it As a side note, please use discretion and ask before posting private correspondence Blessings, Dan |
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