motherof2

My entire extended family was deeply involved in TWI and still retain beliefs from it. They are now apart of offshoots mostly with the exception of one aunt and uncle who are still members (from what I know). I am a Christian concert promoter and recently promoted a major christian act to which an aunt attended. A few night ago I was attacked for a statement that the lead singer made stating " much can be taught to Christians through illness or cancer" my family flipped out over this statement and said that he falsely indoctrinted thousands of people. My statement was that God allows it and we can be sharpened and refined through illness and an example would be Job. They said if a person gets sick it means that he is outside the shelter of God's protection for some reason (it is their own fault). It cannot be used and it is of the devil. They do not listen to any mainstream Christian music and are constantly judging people. Someone explain to me where this came from..I am about to cut them off completely! I was recently in the hospital and apparently it is because I do not have enough faith!

is it still part of the way? my relatives teach something there.

Relatives are heading up to the "camp" this coming week...Who wants to speculate on what they might be doing there?

exactly..everything that we do revolves around our flesh..even prayer..(sigh) so when we pray we have our own flesh in mind, we dont want to suffer, we dont want to lose, we want to "prosper", etc...so that is why we are to pray for God's will..it is for His glory to be furthered rather than spare and pamper the flesh. not that we dont have the right to petition, we do, but that we ought to submit to the will of God rather than our will.

hi pinklady, here is my two cents. i have relatives in cff that havent changed much since leaving twi...they believe all the same doctrines and they do think weirwille was a man of God...they are still very much estranged from mainstream christianity..wont read books from a christian bookstore, listen to mainstream christian music, steer clear from anything mainstream actually. you could run in to people like that who havent changed..im sure their are people who have changed, but why take a chance on being re-injured? their are lots of great places to try and warm poeple to meet in mainstream christianity. keep your chin up..((((((((pinklady))))))))

you are awesome!! ((((((((potato)))))))))

ahhh...ok. that makes much better sense!

krys..not sure what you are taking offense too here..maybe you have misunderstood something..i am in full support of cool waters and everyhing she said and you are not?? are you offended by my saying "twi-supporters"? 1cor 13..tells us exactly what true love's attitude is...pretty tough to misinterpret that...love is patient(longsufferring) love is kind..my relatives in the way are not kind or patient..they have eery eyes and fake smiles and they will turn on you very quickly!! oh and as far as having a problem with a brother we are told to go to him in love and confront..so we are not told to be doormats at all..but there can be a fine line between foolishness and assertiveness! i for one am all for standing up for whats right!

wow, that is really some great inward reflection..amazing that you can see so much in your own soul. not familiar with the phrse "twit brain" is that a twi thing or something you made up? in any event it sounds like you have come a very long way and i applaud your efforts and honesty! my relatives whoa re still very much a part of twi have this insiduous rudeness, anger and maice about them..i have never seen such hatred..really. i am not sure why..not all of them..and not all of the time..but a bunch of them have what i call the "pitbull factor." they treat people so carelessly...let me just tell you about their road-rage....i have never seen such hatred for others..and intolerance..certain supporters of twi on this board also have that hateful, intolerant, and just plain rude attitude. let us not forget 1 Cor 13..Love is patient, Love, is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it keeps no record of wrong, it is not rude, self-seeking, or vengeful, it does not delight in evil...etc... that is Godliness and truth..that picture is anything but the hatred i have seen in my own family..i like my neighbors better who have never even met God, but have decency. and have not been programmed to hate and elevate themselves above other people.

ok, sorry this has taken so long... First, I'll say that i did not realize this until i read a book called, "The Revolution Within"..The principle that i learned is that there are so many christian books out there that say how important it is to use God to make your life better, for finances, health, personal fulfillment, etc..and of course that is true. But the main point of our spirituality is the furthering of God's glory. He does not exist for us, we exist for Him. So, it isnt whether God is on our side(answering our prayers the way we want) its, are we praying with the priority of furthering God's glory..(His Name). in Jn 14:13, Jesus tells us to ask so that the Father may be glorified. The message is the same to many christians..How can I use God to make my life better? how can I use God in a way so that I dont have to suffer or see someone else suffer or die an untimely death? well, the Bible says, We are to rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, that brings forth character, and that brings forth hope. (Rom. 5:3) but vs 2 says, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. All through the Bible we see that God's purpose for creation was one thing, To bring Him glory. (and i once heard that a free-will human being will bring Him the ultimate glory because we choose to worship Him, whereas He has beings that He created to worship Him and thats all they do all day and do not face temptaion) Nothing matters more to God than the glory of His Name..He has a holy jealousy (2Cor. 11:2)about Him..He told Moses that all who come near Him must regard Him as holy and that before all people He must be glorified. (lev. 10:3) Now here is an important scripture, God's wrath against sinful mankind was that "They did not glorify Him as God." Rom. 1:21 and look in Rom. 2:7 to those who by persistence seek glory...it ends in talking about God's righteous judment. In biblical history we see that Moses did not enter the promised land, Nebuchadnezzer was made to live like an animal, Herod was eaten by worms because of their failure to glorify God. The purpose behind salvation in Eph. 1 is to the praise of His glory. Peter tells us we are to use our gifts in ministry to one another so that in all things "God may be glorified" 1Pet 4:11 1 Cor. 10 :31 we are told " whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God" Isiah 43:21 "formed for Myself".. So all of this is to say that God is the Creator..i am the creature..He is the Alpha and Omega. He created me for His pleasure. (Isiah 62:4) Zeph 3:17 He will take GREAT DELIGHT in me. God is Holy, Omnipotent, Righteous. If you read Hiall through scripture you see that He destroys, and gets angry and has a "Holy Wrath." HIs Name cannot be defiled. But the great thing here is that He takes dlight in me and enjoys me and this universe does not revolve around me, it revolves around Him. But how great is His love, and His mercies never fail, and His eye is on the sparrow, and His anger last but a moment and His compassions are infinite. This truly is a revolution within for me..a renewing of my mind..so that I dont think, How can God make my life more comfortable so that i dont have to experience the pain of being sick or the pain of losing a loved one too soon, but that my heart may say ...My Father who art in heaven HALLOWED be THY NAME...Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done...and my concern is not with my comfort, but with the furthering of His Glorious Name. and then my cuppeth runneth over from the way He fills it for concering myself FIRST with Him and not me..(humble thyself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up, the last shall be first and the first shall be last, for when i am weak, then God's power can be strong (2 cor 12:9-10) Seek ye first the kingdon of God, and all these things will be added unto you.(Matt 6:33) this opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking..and it thrills me!!

its ok potato and waysaider..i totally understand what you are saying and definitely see your point! i have automatic negative responses to certain words that my reletives use too..like believe or even fellowship! but if you will give me some time(i have 2 little ones) i will respond and explain my point..God is Love..He is perfect love, but He is Holy..a holiness beyond our realm of understanding. i will use scripture to show you why my perspective has shifted. I want to see God correctly too..i want to understand Him and all sides of Him and when I go through certain things i do understand different qualities that He has. I am definitely open to learning here..thats why I came!

i couldnt agree more..miraculous healings can and do happen!! i had a friend whos cancer mysteriously disappeared from all x-rays not too long ago after he was annointed with oil and prayed for at church with hundreds of people layed hands on him. but i also believe that dr's can help too and that God doesnt always do healing instantly like that. as far as certain people having the "power" or "gift"...im not sold on that..i believe God will use anyone to accomplish His will. Why certain people are healed or arent healed well i posted on that not too long ago..that my belief is that God is not here for us..we are here for Him..for His glory..for His pleasure and His first objective is to glorify Himself and He does everything He does to honor Himself and only He knows how He will get the most glory. and the other side is this...we live in a fallen world with sickness, injuries, etc..and crap just happens..i dont think He pulls strings up there either..i think a lot of time He just lets the chips fall where they may!

my relatives went there this past summer and my uncle taught..they claim it was "family camp" but who knows whats going on there now....anyone care to enlighten me?

LOLOLOL...this is too funny. i too have been questioning this topic the last few weeks when one of my son's friends let the cat out of the bag!! and what did i do? i lied. and now i feel guilty i just wqanted him to believe one more year..i love the tradition and magic..making cookies...and showing him in the morning how santa ate them. i believed when i was a kid and dont regret it, but i should have told him the truth..mzybe i should still..ok, after christmas. btw, i do make sure to tell him we celebrate christmas because it is Jesus's b-day and it is about Him. oh who knows..its so individual! but LOL at the thought of K telling the other kids!

hi george, we have never crossed posts here as i am new here. But i couldnt resist sending you (((((((((hugs)))))))). dont give up on God, george..you dont have to "pray" or ascribe to certain "beliefs" just talk to Him and let Him see you through...

t-bone...awesome work on interpretation there..i could not agree more!! i think it is so important to consider context when you are interpreting scripture..great points!

yeah, i learned to never say im sorry if..instead say, im sorry because..and will you forgive me? the word IF..has some pride connected to it.

well..something just came to me about my questions in the healing thread..check this out.. Phil 4:6 we are told to make our requests known to God...not our claims...there is no formula for getting our way..The Lord takes pity on us and hears us..out of His compassion for us (Ps 106:45) and Matt 6:9 says we ought to pray for His will. Our prayers matter and they can change things, but God's first objective is to bring Glory to His name(Eph 1:6, 12, 14 and they are literally hundreds of scripture to back this up)..not do as He is told. You see this world is not about us at all...IT IS ALL ABOUT HIM. We are here as vessels for His pleasure. He enjoys our fellowship when we are pure, holy, obedient, we actually bring Him pleasure..He enjoys when we petition Him..He loves us much, but His primary goal is getting His glory..Being perfect..HE IS NOT HERE FOR US...to cater to us and DO as WE say...We are to be thankful in all circumstances 1THES 5:18. This is a huge moment for me, i hope you can digest this too as it answered so many questions and potential confusions i could have had given the recent injury of my son! God will get His Glory because that is what matters most to Him..Ahhh...i have closure on this. This moment has been years in the making..im talking years!

i am so anxious to read all of these after my kids go to bed...my son is going to get a skin graft on tuesday...which i am happy about, his burn is painful and raw...what is the significance of heb 11:1 to wayfers? let me know...its getting heated around here..

yeah, at my church we band together, pray, hug, bring meals, call to check on each other..and rarely, rarely...give advice! ive never had anyone lecture me on having faith or anything..they just listen..its my realitves that call to give me the formula for whatever it is and they rearely check back in...its strange. except my grandma...she is really coming around lately..when i told her my son was going to need a skin graft..she said thats ok..God uses all kindsof people and different means to heal and He still sits on the throne..shes coming around alright and im so glad!

good point kit and pond...what about the scripture that says we are to mourn with those who mourn? Rom. 12:15

polar bear..could not agree more!! some times you might not wash your hands after coming home from the store and guess what...you might catch a cold!! but my relatives will say that the devil is after me...dont confess that, blah blah, the healing is there for the taking...well, i usually just nod my head and say..it usually takes a few days for it to go away...b ut with my son's hand..it kind of angers me..the way they are trying to put responsibility on me like if it doesnt heal without a skin graft it must be my own fault...i almost dont want to include them on my updates because of the pressure...and i know they are trying to indoctrinate me...especially since ive joined this group. plus God did things that wouldnt be considered good if you read the Bible...He is so much bigger than what they make of Him..He really is in charge!

oh my goodness...this is exactly what my relatives say to me constantly...all those things...i dont think its exclusive to TWI though..i know someone else who thinks like that and she belongs to a church who say the same things..you really say it perfectly. is that one of the pfal classes or something? i do not think that way at all..at all. we do live in a fallen world..if we didnt live in a sin-laden world we would not have illness or bad things..but i certainly put the power in God's hands..and with that i know that i cannot control the outcome with sheer will power to believe anything into existence. sometimes God just has other plans..i have faith alright, i believe in the power of prayer, but i know why Psalm 23 says, "Thy Will be done"..Has your belief system transformed and if so, how?

Ok, i am wondering what TWI's take on healing was and is. My grandmother swears they didnt believe in healing when she was in and that bothered her. But my son was burned this week on his hand and my relatives have said to me that i need to believe and that the healing has already been done..quoting the famous scripture, by His stripes we are healed, and that the healing is there for me to claim..quite frankly it is almost as if...well, it may be my fault if he needs a skin graft because the healing is there...it is just up to me to believe it into existence..This bothers me because they are leaving no room for reality here...and also forgetting that God is in control, not me...Now, i believe james 5:16...the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much...so i believe in the power of prayer..but what do you say to the Godly person who prays and prays and things still dont go the way they asked? do TWI people think it is their fault?

bliss..that was said beautifully!