Yesterday I recorded myself in a couple of spontaneous praise and worship sessions with just me and the piano. They're not rehearsed or preplanned; just pure praise and worship spontaneously.
Here is one of the links below; it's my song and my creation!!!
https://soundcloud.com/user26135497/you-are-worthy-to-be-praised
Some improvising on the piano and just singing 'songs from the heart' spontaneously so these have never been preplanned or pre-practiced or rehearsed; they are just pure live singing on the fly. This one is called 'You Are Worthy To Be Praised'
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Link To Article On Spiritual Manipulation - Very Clear And Succinct Advice !!!
Read a really great article here on Spiritual Manipulation although the author is not quoted
http://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-manipulation.html#ixzz2QdjkzLuQ
http://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-manipulation.html#ixzz2QdjkzLuQ
Question: "What is spiritual manipulation?"
Answer:To manipulate is to negotiate, control or influence for one’s own advantage. Spiritual manipulation is a technique used by some abusive churches and cults to control individuals and acquire gain, all the while giving the impression that their teachings are based on the Bible.
Some religious groups take Scriptures out of context in order to support their beliefs. They isolate “proof texts” and “cherry pick” verses to persuade the uninformed that their interpretation is right, even to the extent of claiming they alone have “the truth” and everybody else is wrong. Some have even altered the Bible and produced their own translation to support their religious bias.
Some denominations use scholastic dishonesty to manipulate. They will use partial quotations from first-century Christians and eminent Bible scholars in suggesting that they agree with their views. Take, as an example, the booklet “Should You Believe in the Trinity?,” published by theWatchtower Society. Page 7 includes a partial quote from Justin Martyr: “Justin Martyr, who died about 165 C.E., called the prehuman Jesus a created angel who is ‘other than the God who made all things.’ He said that Jesus was inferior to God and ‘never did anything except what the Creator . . . willed him to do and say.’” What’s missing from this partial quotation is significant. Justin Martyr said that the “Son, who also, being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God.” Nowhere did Justin Martyr say the pre-human Jesus was a created angel.
Some individuals manipulate Scripture for their own personal benefit. An authoritarian husband might demand that his wife submit to him as the head of the house and quoteEphesians 5:22(“Wives, submit to your husbands”). But that same man might purposefully overlook verse 26, which says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Instead of taking the bits of Scripture he approves of and using them to lord it over his family, he would do well to read 1 Corinthians 13 and practice the type of love that is patient, kind, protects, trust and perseveres, etc.
During a conversation between Christians, someone might say, "The Lord has told me that. . . ." This phrase essentially shuts down the conversation because it implies that, since God has spoken a word, there can't be any further discussion. Don't be fooled by this trick; it is a form of spiritual manipulation. Or a preacher says, "Sow into my ministry, and God will repay you. Sow, and you will reap! God is no man's debtor." Could such preaching simply be an exploitive appeal for money? Is the preacher trying to influence people for his own financial advantage? If so, it is spiritual manipulation.
Another form of spiritual manipulation occurs when abusive churches and cults twist Scripture to give more authority to the leadership and keep the members under their control. One example is the use ofHebrews 13:17as a basis for demanding unquestioning loyalty and obedience to the leaders. Some religious groups view questioning the leaders as tantamount to questioning God. Some leaders claim to have divine authority and approval; thus, to disobey them is to disobey God. This is perhaps the most pernicious form of spiritual manipulation, and it has no place in a true church.
Victims of spiritual manipulation seldom realize what’s happening to them. Here are some indicators of a spiritually manipulative church:
Legalism
Demands for obedience
Unquestioning submission
Punishment (loss of privileges, shunning or expulsion)
Misplaced loyalty
Emphasis on performance
Exclusivism (“we alone are right, and everybody else is wrong”)
Isolation (refusal to associate with anyone but spiritual brothers and sisters)
Humiliation of the "disobedient"
Abusive churches train members to block out any information that is critical of the group. With enough thought and information control, the leaders can get those under their control to defend their new identity against their former identity. The first line of defense is denial – “What you say isn’t happening at all.” Next comes rationalization – “This is happening for a good reason.” After that, justification – “This is happening because it ought to.” Finally, wishful thinking – “I’d like it to be true, so maybe it really is.”
A characteristic of spiritually abusive systems is that a misplaced sense of loyalty is fostered and even demanded. This is not about loyalty to Christ, but about loyalty to an organization, church or leader. Because authority is assumed or legislated, following that authority must also be legislated. This is accomplished is by setting up a system where disloyalty or disagreement with the leadership is construed as disobeying God. Questioning leaders is not allowed. After all, the leader is the authority, and authority is always right. Such spiritual manipulation denies the truth ofEphesians 1:22, which says that Christ is the Head of the church. Our loyalty is due Him.
All Christians need to be alert to spiritual manipulation and follow this example fromActs 17:11: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Did the apostle Paul take offense when theBereansresearched to ensure that his preaching was based on Scripture? Of course not, because Paul knew his preaching would stand up under exhaustive scrutiny. Likewise with all teaching and preaching – we must hold it up to the light of God’s Word before we accept it. Any religious group that prevents its members from doing independent research, or from challenging what the leadership says, must have something to fear.
Jesus told His disciples they would be like sheep among wolves and instructed them to be “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). The Master’s yoke is easy, and His burden is light. He gives us rest and is gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:28-29). That is the Christlike example all who shepherd Jesus’ flock must exemplify.
Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-manipulation.html#ixzz2QdjkzLuQ
Answer:To manipulate is to negotiate, control or influence for one’s own advantage. Spiritual manipulation is a technique used by some abusive churches and cults to control individuals and acquire gain, all the while giving the impression that their teachings are based on the Bible.
Some religious groups take Scriptures out of context in order to support their beliefs. They isolate “proof texts” and “cherry pick” verses to persuade the uninformed that their interpretation is right, even to the extent of claiming they alone have “the truth” and everybody else is wrong. Some have even altered the Bible and produced their own translation to support their religious bias.
Some denominations use scholastic dishonesty to manipulate. They will use partial quotations from first-century Christians and eminent Bible scholars in suggesting that they agree with their views. Take, as an example, the booklet “Should You Believe in the Trinity?,” published by theWatchtower Society. Page 7 includes a partial quote from Justin Martyr: “Justin Martyr, who died about 165 C.E., called the prehuman Jesus a created angel who is ‘other than the God who made all things.’ He said that Jesus was inferior to God and ‘never did anything except what the Creator . . . willed him to do and say.’” What’s missing from this partial quotation is significant. Justin Martyr said that the “Son, who also, being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God.” Nowhere did Justin Martyr say the pre-human Jesus was a created angel.
Some individuals manipulate Scripture for their own personal benefit. An authoritarian husband might demand that his wife submit to him as the head of the house and quoteEphesians 5:22(“Wives, submit to your husbands”). But that same man might purposefully overlook verse 26, which says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Instead of taking the bits of Scripture he approves of and using them to lord it over his family, he would do well to read 1 Corinthians 13 and practice the type of love that is patient, kind, protects, trust and perseveres, etc.
During a conversation between Christians, someone might say, "The Lord has told me that. . . ." This phrase essentially shuts down the conversation because it implies that, since God has spoken a word, there can't be any further discussion. Don't be fooled by this trick; it is a form of spiritual manipulation. Or a preacher says, "Sow into my ministry, and God will repay you. Sow, and you will reap! God is no man's debtor." Could such preaching simply be an exploitive appeal for money? Is the preacher trying to influence people for his own financial advantage? If so, it is spiritual manipulation.
Another form of spiritual manipulation occurs when abusive churches and cults twist Scripture to give more authority to the leadership and keep the members under their control. One example is the use ofHebrews 13:17as a basis for demanding unquestioning loyalty and obedience to the leaders. Some religious groups view questioning the leaders as tantamount to questioning God. Some leaders claim to have divine authority and approval; thus, to disobey them is to disobey God. This is perhaps the most pernicious form of spiritual manipulation, and it has no place in a true church.
Victims of spiritual manipulation seldom realize what’s happening to them. Here are some indicators of a spiritually manipulative church:
Legalism
Demands for obedience
Unquestioning submission
Punishment (loss of privileges, shunning or expulsion)
Misplaced loyalty
Emphasis on performance
Exclusivism (“we alone are right, and everybody else is wrong”)
Isolation (refusal to associate with anyone but spiritual brothers and sisters)
Humiliation of the "disobedient"
Abusive churches train members to block out any information that is critical of the group. With enough thought and information control, the leaders can get those under their control to defend their new identity against their former identity. The first line of defense is denial – “What you say isn’t happening at all.” Next comes rationalization – “This is happening for a good reason.” After that, justification – “This is happening because it ought to.” Finally, wishful thinking – “I’d like it to be true, so maybe it really is.”
A characteristic of spiritually abusive systems is that a misplaced sense of loyalty is fostered and even demanded. This is not about loyalty to Christ, but about loyalty to an organization, church or leader. Because authority is assumed or legislated, following that authority must also be legislated. This is accomplished is by setting up a system where disloyalty or disagreement with the leadership is construed as disobeying God. Questioning leaders is not allowed. After all, the leader is the authority, and authority is always right. Such spiritual manipulation denies the truth ofEphesians 1:22, which says that Christ is the Head of the church. Our loyalty is due Him.
All Christians need to be alert to spiritual manipulation and follow this example fromActs 17:11: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Did the apostle Paul take offense when theBereansresearched to ensure that his preaching was based on Scripture? Of course not, because Paul knew his preaching would stand up under exhaustive scrutiny. Likewise with all teaching and preaching – we must hold it up to the light of God’s Word before we accept it. Any religious group that prevents its members from doing independent research, or from challenging what the leadership says, must have something to fear.
Jesus told His disciples they would be like sheep among wolves and instructed them to be “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). The Master’s yoke is easy, and His burden is light. He gives us rest and is gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:28-29). That is the Christlike example all who shepherd Jesus’ flock must exemplify.
Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-manipulation.html#ixzz2QdjkzLuQ
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Money Management using the CAP Christians Against Poverty budgeting tool
The British Christians Against Poverty (CAP) has a brilliant online system to help plan a weekly and a monthly budget, and to plan for savings items as well on a monthly basis.
Basically you have three accounts.
Firstly your Salary/DirectDebit account where your income comes in and your fixed monthly expenditure goes out from eg Mortgage, Car Insurance, Electricity etc.
Secondly you have a 'cash' account and the things you buy (using either cash or debit card) are budgeted for and a weekly standing order is set up from the salary account to this cash account, so effectively you get paid weekly. This is helpful psychologically and it helps overspend when you just get paid as well, as you only get a fixed amount to spend weekly so it 'tames' your desire to spend large on payday which can be a real curse.
Finally there is a savings account for annual items of expenditure eg Christmas, Car Tax, Holiday which you know are coming and so lay aside each month a fixed amount for them also. This avoids panic nearer the time when the money has to be laid out and again helps to avoid over-spending on pay day because you set up a standing order to transfer a fixed amount monthly from your salary account into this savings account.
That's basically the CAP system and it works like a dream. The cash element I personally found I am too busy to make cash work but instead I get a free text every morning from my bank so I know my balance and also if I spend money I send myself a text in the bank account stream of texts, so I can always check my spend at any moment. I did try cash but am just too busy to make it work, plus get most of my items online now anyway and don't actually spend much cash. But the system CAP recommends is, like you are trying, to go cash. The system is free and the online budgeter can be updated as your budget changes. Hope that helps! https://www.capmoney.org/
Basically you have three accounts.
Firstly your Salary/DirectDebit account where your income comes in and your fixed monthly expenditure goes out from eg Mortgage, Car Insurance, Electricity etc.
Secondly you have a 'cash' account and the things you buy (using either cash or debit card) are budgeted for and a weekly standing order is set up from the salary account to this cash account, so effectively you get paid weekly. This is helpful psychologically and it helps overspend when you just get paid as well, as you only get a fixed amount to spend weekly so it 'tames' your desire to spend large on payday which can be a real curse.
Finally there is a savings account for annual items of expenditure eg Christmas, Car Tax, Holiday which you know are coming and so lay aside each month a fixed amount for them also. This avoids panic nearer the time when the money has to be laid out and again helps to avoid over-spending on pay day because you set up a standing order to transfer a fixed amount monthly from your salary account into this savings account.
That's basically the CAP system and it works like a dream. The cash element I personally found I am too busy to make cash work but instead I get a free text every morning from my bank so I know my balance and also if I spend money I send myself a text in the bank account stream of texts, so I can always check my spend at any moment. I did try cash but am just too busy to make it work, plus get most of my items online now anyway and don't actually spend much cash. But the system CAP recommends is, like you are trying, to go cash. The system is free and the online budgeter can be updated as your budget changes. Hope that helps! https://www.capmoney.org/
Monday, 1 April 2013
Post to single women belying their unfruitful search for an (unsaved) boyfriend
Hi Limeliteshines Melola Miss Chatterbox LeapingTigers sorry to hear your predicament. Obviously it's right that you want to find a good partner for yourselves which is obviously a good thing to look for. However looking in the wrong place as you indicated can be a bad thing too, and something to be wary of! I myself go to the gym but also fell in love with 'God' as a Christian many years back, gave my heart to him and made a decision to follow Christianity regardless of the consequences.
One of the consequences of that was that, in church, God brought me a good woman and we have been happily married 13 years now with six children!!! But the main thing was that I followed God and HE led me to a good partner. I'm sorry to preach but to help you I couldn't help post here and say to all you 'singles' out there that Christ is the best matchmaker on earth and if you follow HIM your heart will be satisfied and probably He will help you find a good, a really good man who will love you and take care of you. I'm not saying you can't find them outside of church but I think it helps... Anyway take care and enjoy your Easter. Again I didn't come on here to preach but I couldn't help noticing your plea for help so to speak, so I thought I'd chip in and I hope you don't mind???
Monday, 18 March 2013
New Church Last Year, New Job Recently
Things were getting a bit too overwhelming with the kids so I've joined a Pentecostal church on my street!!! We literally walk to church which is great!!! Plus I've time for fellowship with the saints before and after church which I didn't before as there was so much driving involved. And I'm now in the ministry band and available to help which I wasn't before either. So things are good and job is fine; I've started a new job as a trainer at JustIT in Liverpool Street (www.justit.co.uk) doing apprenticeship as well as corporate IT training. All is fun!!! Getting up early to pray also (hence this email at 330am!!!).
Saturday, 16 March 2013
Heartbreak for Christ
Philip Anderson You have done a good thing, sister! Saved or not, it's really not easy to find a partner for life who will truly love and care for you. The moment you step into an alliance which is not of the Holy Spirit you will feel your heart being dragged away from Christ and if you had let that go into immorality (intercourse with that other person) then you would have found VERY QUICKLY your heart would grow cold to God, and hard as well towards the things of Jesus Christ, and inside you would have literally 'died' as we are either 'alive' or 'dead' to Christ. I too have been through a painful process where I got engaged to 'the one' for it not to work out, and the process was terrible. She was a Christian too, and it affected her as much as me. We dated on-off for 3/4 years but couldn't make it work so we had to got our separate ways. A long time after I DID marry and I now have been married 12 years and have SIX healthy children, including twins, and a stepson as well as a WONDERFUL MARRIAGE. But I had to WAIT and FIGHT for it - it did not come easy. Please walk the NARROW PATH for Jesus Christ as the REWARDS are there for you and I believe EVERYTHING YOU NEED IN LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS will be provided for you and the heartache of the past will come to an end. Jesus has GREAT PLANS for us and if we SEE IT THROUGH Christ's love will envelope us. And another thing - although it might seem that there's a lot of love and immorality going around in the 'unsaved world' yet one thing strikes me more and more as I go on as a married person - there are MORE AND MORE SINGLE PEOPLE IN SOCIETY - why??? Because it takes Christ and real grit to enter into a life-long commitment with another person, date that person PROPERLY, marry that person CLEANLY and then go on and be FAITHFUL to that person FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAYS!!! It's easy to jump into bed with someone but to live for Christ and to marry a Godly spouse and raise a Godly family; that takes guts in today's society and I believe with all my heart sister that God has called us to such; to live as examples so that people can SEE CHRIST IN US BY THE LIFESTYLE THAT WE LIVE not just THE WORDS THAT WE SAY. So I encourage you, temptation will be everywhere but your Christian friends are right and I THANK GOD FOR THEM that they have spoken into your life and you have done a BRAVE THING in repenting and takeing NOTICE of them!!! I pray for you that you have a WONDERFUL LIFE and that you SEE THIS THING THROUGH as, honestly the rewards are worth it both spiritually but also physically on this earth. I have such stability in my walk with Christ and sexually a relationship with my spouse which I am sure many sinners would be envious of - and really Christ is at the heart of it. <<Response to this post http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151376490139315&set=a.10150579571414315.385485.313039474314&type=1&theater >>
Dating is going out for a meal/coffee in order to get to know someone, but you're not courting until you commit to that relationship as exclusive with the intention of finding out if you want to MARRY that person!!! Courting is a process of WOOING the other person and finding out as much as you can about them and SPENDING TIME WITH THEM and LOVING THEM with the long term goal of them becoming your partner in Christ for life, which is completely different to dating which is really DECIDING IF YOU WANT TO COURT THEM!!! Hope that's clear and God Bless in Christ Jesus!!!
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