Posted by Dena on March 6, 2003, at 7:59:23
In reply to Re: Deferring to Jonathan's Wisdom » Dena, posted by Jonathan on March 6, 2003, at 2:52:00
Jonathan! I can't express how glad I am to have read your post! Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all you so eloquently said, & I'll be more than happy to let you take over the responses to Lou's questions re. our previous interchange re. purgatory. It was becoming a bit of a burden to me, & I've been feeling rather overwhelmed. I'll look forward to reading your posts, as I expect to learn a great deal.
I'm amazed that you've been posting for three years & yet have never been blocked! It just took me a week! I fear that has something to say about my own brashness, & an apparent insensitivity to others that I find grievous. This Lent, my prayer focus is for the Lord to impart to me a love & a focus, first of all to Him, then secondly to others, leaving myself last. Only He can do this in me; I'm naturally a very self-focused person (perhaps that's one of the reasons why He's blessed me with 7 children -a bit of a crash-course in other-focus!).
I found your post to be very encouraging & supportive. The sense of rapport & comeraderie I felt while reading it is refreshing. I was consisdering leaving this board, fearing that I couldn't continue to post without either compromising my faith or offending others. For now, I'll stay, but I've asked the Lord to let me know His will on this issue. Perhaps your own post was part of His answer for me.
you wrote: >Another reason why I'd be happier if you left these replies to me is because you have so much to say about other matters which I find much more interesting. You are fortunate to be led on your journey toward the roots of the Church by such a remarkable priest, and accompanied by the brave few "embracers" in the congregation. This happens so rarely that I had just assumed, after reading your "family and belief" post to Rayww, that you must have made a personal choice to leave your previous Protestant church and join an already-established Orthodox church. Your true story is even more fascinating.
This is indeed a very fascinating journey for me & the other "embracers". We're all moving along at various paces, learning as we go, knowing only that our journey is leading us closer to the heart of Jesus. Where we'll "end up" is known only to Him. While I'm thoroughly enjoying reading book after book & absorbing knowledge, my stronger desire is that my heart will be blessed with a deeper intimacy with my Lord. I want to know Him in fullness & Truth, unhindered by my own opinions, fears & doubts, & biases. Again, only He can bring about this transformation within me. I'm finding that the Jesus Prayer is an aid for this transformation, allowing me to cooperate with His plan for me.
If you want to learn a bit more about our journey from various denominations back to the roots of Christianity, our church's name is the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC for short). International in the sense of fulfilling the Great Commission; Communion in the sense of being One Body; Charismatic in the sense of being open to the Gifts of the Spirit released at Pentacost; Episcopal in the sense of being governed by Bishops, & under Apostolic Succession. So, we're embracing the fullness of the "three streams" of Christianity: We're evangelical, liturgical & charismatic. All of us who have come into the CEC have learned to embrace other streams which were previously unfamiliar to us. For me, the liturgical stream was new to me. But embracing it has greatly enriched my faith, deepening my beliefs & connecting me to the ancient Church Fathers, thus to Jesus Himself. Anyway, if you're interested, you can check out the webpage of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. I'd be very appreciative of any sites you've found to be helpful for a new ancient truth-seeker such as myself.
Thanks again for your support.
Shalom, Dena
poster:Dena
thread:206102
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20021227/msgs/206376.html