Hello from a redeemed sinner!

[AbidinginChrist]

Hello, my name is Melanie I’m from Salt Lake City Utah.  I’m sure, by my being from Salt Lake,  your first thought is, I must be an ex Mormon. But actually, I’m an ex Catholic.  Being raised catholic, I have always known there was a God. My mother likes to tell the story of when I was three and we went to Easter mass. The sanctuary was full so we were in the Vestibule and all we could hear was the priest over the loudspeaker.  Apparently, I turned to my mother and very loudly asked “mama, is that God?”

The first time I heard the gospel I was 17. A very nice Baptist man told me I needed to have a personal relationship with Christ. I was very offended He assumed I didn’t “know” Christ.  I mean, I didn’t of course and I knew I didn’t. But, how did he know that? 

Soon after that,  my mother brother and I moved to the Bible belt to be with my grandfather.  One by one they all got “saved”   I was 19 and every time I turned around someone was telling me about Jesus. I knew I needed him, I also knew all of the “fun” I was having would come to an end. Lol

One evening my brother was talking to me about the Lord and I begin to cry. I don’t know what I prayed, I just knew I couldn’t run anymore. I walked away that evening a different person,  I couldn’t stop saying “thank you Jesus” I started going to a pentecostal church with my brother and I got baptized.  Everything was pretty awesome for a while.  However, Fairly quickly I found myself deep in the “word of faith” movement. (I didn’t know that’s what it was called at the time) at first it was great. ( I should also mention at this point I didn’t read my Bible)  soon I became a slave to my emotions. I was a mess, I was in constant doubt. constant fear.  Eventually I just stopped going to church.  I couldn’t deal with my failure at being a Christian.

I was in so much turmoil I started looking for anything that would give me relief. Crystals, yoga,  I even gave aligning my chakras a go. I read “the secret“  I was willing to try anything in hope of regaining that blessed Peace that I experience when I first came to Christ.   As you can probably guess, nothing worked.

In my desperation I decided to give the Bible another try. ( I have to laugh at myself) I decided to Set aside TV books and music and only read the Bible or listen to sermons for 40 days.

I was about two weeks into my 40days when I started to read second Timothy chapter 3.  I was getting very uncomfortable with the list of Attributes that the lost in the last days would have, when I got to the part about the silly women. The one who are always learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. 

I felt like somebody hit me in the gut. It’s suddenly became very clear, I was that silly woman. But, almost as suddenly I realized, I did have the knowledge of the truth. The truth is Jesus! it all came rushing back to me!  I weeped for days. I threw out all my trashy books and crystals. All I wanted was the Lord.

The last few years have been an amazing time for me. It hasn’t always been easy. but at least my faith is built on a foundation of the word and Christ, not my emotions.

Anyways and there’s more to story but I’m running out of room.

The reason I am here,  is I watched your video on the meaning of repentance. I thought it was awesome. It’s not some thing I heard before. Some pieces of my repentance fell in place. I wanted to hear more.

[Timothy]

The first time I heard the gospel I was 17. A very nice Baptist man told me I needed to have a personal relationship with Christ. I was very offended He assumed I didn't "know" Christ.  I mean, I didn't of course and I knew I didn't. But, how did he know that?

Although having a relationship with God (which I would consider knowing God, being known of Him, studying His word and living according to His word) is a good thing, it is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. That Baptist man, no matter how kind he was to you, did not give you the gospel if that is all he told you. In the Bible, the apostles preached the gospel that you must repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. Jesus preached the same thing. They did not preach to have a relationship with him.

Acts 20:21 - Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 1:15 - And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Soon after that,  my mother brother and I moved to the Bible belt to be with my grandfather.  One by one they all got "saved"   I was 19 and every time I turned around someone was telling me about Jesus. I knew I needed him, I also knew all of the "fun" I was having would come to an end. Lol

There are some things I'm not understanding about this. Why did you put "saved" in quotations when talking about your family? Was there some significance to that that you didn't explain? What is it you are trying to say when you wrote it that way? Also, when people were telling you about Jesus, what were they telling you about him? There is plenty to talk about Jesus, but that doesn't mean they were giving you the gospel.

The most concerning part about this paragraph is this.

I also knew all of the "fun" I was having would come to an end. Lol

When you say "fun", what is it you are talking about? Most importantly, why did you laugh about it ("Lol" means "laugh out loud" for those that don't know)? If my assumption of what you mean by "fun" is true, I'm not understanding why you are laughing about it.

[AbidinginChrist]

Hi Timothy thanks for your reply. Not as welcoming as I was expecting, But first Peter tells us to be ready to give an answer to anybody who asks for the reason for the hope we have in us. You should know doing this

[Timothy]

Your post was cut off. If you are using a phone, any apostrophes and quotes can cut off the post so you will have to retry your response without the apostrophes. Using a desktop computer or laptop can help if you have access to one.

[AbidinginChrist]

I am replying it on phone.. that was why my first post took so many times. I will lay off the apostrophes. Thanks

My first post took several tries I think they got less informative by my third attempt.

Im also having problems with Making a quote. So instead Ill take it in sections (I dont  have access to a laptop I drive for a living)

Section 1 The nice Baptist man actually did tell me the gospel over our many conversations. I was illustrating that My take away My take away was, I didnt have a relationship with The Lord that he had.  But, I knew needed one. Also, keep in mind I was laughing at myself and my stupidity.

Section 2 Not sure why I put saved in quotes.  I was tired and I was trying to convey my understanding Not all who say a prayer are saved.

Section 3 this was me laughing at myself again. I thought I thought I was having fun, But really I was just a sinner greedy for my sin. I didnt know that relationship with the one true God was better than anything in this world.

What I wanted to express in my post was I wanted a relationship with the lord.  But,  when I wasnt reading the Bible I fell in to al manner of lies and false teaching. And when the Lord showed me in his word that I was sinning against him, I was sick And I beg forgiveness. He Gave it to me even though I didnt deserve it.

I hope that clears it up. let me know if you have more questions.

[creationliberty]

My first post took several tries I think they got less informative by my third attempt.

Yep, I've done that before. Although, my posts are usually so detailed, I just give up after a point. However, if you were working on a computer, you can actually hit the back button, and everything you wrote should still be in the box you typed it in. I'm not sure how that works on phones.

Im also having problems with Making a quote. So instead Ill take it in sections (I dont  have access to a laptop I drive for a living)

The little buttons above the box you type in things have all sorts of features. The button with the text bubble on it is the quote button.

The nice Baptist man actually did tell me the gospel over our many conversations. I was illustrating that My take away My take away was, I didnt have a relationship with The Lord that he had.  But, I knew needed one. Also, keep in mind I was laughing at myself and my stupidity.

But Tim was asking what specifically he taught, and I would like to know too because I agree with Tim. When someone is preaching, "You need a personal relationship with Jesus," that is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and if you want to say that it is, I will listen to your argument, but I would like you to quote Scripture on that. I can show you were Jesus and His disciples taught repentance (i.e. godly sorrow) and remission (i.e. forgiveness) of sins, but I cannot show you any Scripture where Jesus said "You need a personal relationship with me." I am not saying that a born again Christian's relationship with Jesus Christ is not personal from a conceptual standpoint, but that is not what is taught in Scripture for the preaching of God's Word. So if you have something you would like to share on the Scriptures, I would be interested to read that.

Not sure why I put saved in quotes.  I was tired and I was trying to convey my understanding Not all who say a prayer are saved.

That makes sense, and I agree, not all who say a prayer are saved.

this was me laughing at myself again. I thought I thought I was having fun, But really I was just a sinner greedy for my sin. I didnt know that relationship with the one true God was better than anything in this world.

I think this is where Tim started to discern that something was off, and I will confess, when I read your testimony this morning, I got the same impression as Tim did. Tim works quite a bit at his job, so I don't know if he got time to explain it as thoroughly as he wanted to, but again, what you are saying there is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What I mean is that to say, "I am a greedy sinner, and therefore, I need a personal relationship with Jesus," is NOT the Gospel, that is not repentance, and that is not what it means to be born again.

Of course, there are some people who have come here who have not had much experience expressing themselves in writing, and that's alright. But we have to point these things out because we want to make sure that all have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that's also because we care more about your soul than whether or not you like us.

In your first post, you said you came here because you had read/heard my teaching on repentance, and you "wanted to hear more." Assuming that is true, let me explain more.

What I wanted to express in my post was I wanted a relationship with the lord.

The problem with that is you were claiming to have sought God before repentance of sin. I don't know if you noticed or not, but even when you mentioned repentance in your first post, your post never contained any words like of sin, wrongdoing, corruption, wickedness, guilt, the law... or any other words along those lines. Other Christians who come here have no problem addressing those things because they understand what they were saved from, and when someone preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ, those things cannot be avoided because:
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
-Gal 3:24
The reason for this is because the law is the knowledge of sin:
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
-Rom 3:10
With the knowledge of sin, we can understand our own wickedness and corruption:
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
-Rev 3:17
Therefore, when we understand how wretched we are, that brings us to (not just sorrow, but) GODLY sorrow, which is breaks us down in tears of grief and humility towards Him, and then through faith, we are born again anew in Christ.
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
-Mark 1:15
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
-John 3:3
This is why, when Jesus was approached by a man and asked how he could get to heaven, Jesus did not say, "Well, you need to get to know me better and have a personal relationship," but rather, He gave him the law:
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
-Mat 19:16-19
Thus, the "Baptist man" who supposedly "told you the Gospel" did not teach you the proper Gospel of Jesus Christ because he does not know it himself, and therefore, because you still believe him, it provides us evidence that you do not understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ either. That Baptist man might have learned a bunch of things about the Bible, but he has not come to knowledge of the truth:
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
-2Ti 3:5-7

So getting back to my point, what was the problem with your statement that you "wanted a relationship with the lord?" The Bible says the opposite:
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
-Rom 3:10-12
Thus, after reading your posts, I have gotten an impression from you that you will have to correct if what I am about to say is incorrect. My impression is this: "Melanie knew her whole life that she needed to seek Jesus, then one day, she accepted it." That was the general impression I got from your testimony, and I can assure you that, according to Scripture, that is not how people are saved.

Now, of course, if you have written something accidentally, or if you forgot to talk about something when you were writing, or anything along those lines, let us know. However, if you think that what you presented to us was the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are going to be at odds because there are a lot of people here who study Scripture, and very likely, all of them will not be agreement with you.

when the Lord showed me in his word that I was sinning against him, I was sick And I beg forgiveness. He Gave it to me even though I didnt deserve it.

I hope that is the case, but that was not the testimony you gave initially, so that is why there is a lot of confusion for us right now.

In response to Tim, you were offended, saying, "Not as welcoming as I was expecting," but I would respond that your testimony was, "Not as Biblical as we were expecting." That is because, to us, how we feel about a matter is not anywhere near as important to us as what the Word of God says about a matter, and that your soul is more important than feeling welcomed.
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
-Psa 19:7
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
-Pro 11:30

If I may borrow your words, "I hope that clears it up. Let me know if you have more questions."

[AbidinginChrist]

This may take a few posts to answer. Please be patient with me, I

[AbidinginChrist]

Oh boy, these contractions are killing me. Let me try again. I going to respond as best I can. However it may take a few posts to do it. I will let you know when I

[AbidinginChrist]

Oh boy, these contractions are killing me. Let me try again. I going to respond as best I can. However it may take a few posts to do it. I will let you know when Im finished, then you can let me have it!  Lol

I will start out by saying I agree with you, my language is not as precise as I would like. This is something I am praying about and working on.

You mentioned my offense at your initial response. You are right I was shocked and even a little hurt. especially after I spent so much time trying to connect.  I even considered not answering.

But then the Lord brought to my mind 1 Peter 3:15  Be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks for the hope you have in Christ. 

You forgot to mention this part in your rebuke.

So instead of following my flesh which wanted to be offended. instead I followed the Bibles instructions and tried to answer your Questions. 

I cant help but notice, rather than see the work of the Holy Spirit. you used my confession as a club to hit me with.

Next, you surmised my testimony into  I wanted to have a relationship with the Lord my whole life and finally came to the conclusion I didnt have one.

I agree, that is part of my testimony. But you forgot the second half where the Lord brought me to repentance with the word.   


You seemed to like it when I rephrased it in my second post. But then you doubted my sincerity saying that was not a part of my original testimony. Sorry brother, that is not true.

* if I could figure out how to do the quote thing I would put the section Of my original post here*

If you reread my original post you will see that I even mentioned the The book and chapter that God used to show me my sin.  (2 Timothy chapter 3)

Im not quite done, I need to move my truck.

[creationliberty]

You mentioned my offense at your initial response. You are right I was shocked and even a little hurt. especially after I spent so much time trying to connect.  I even considered not answering.

That was not my initial response; that was Tim's initial response. Tim and I are not the same person.

But then the Lord brought to my mind 1 Peter 3:15  Be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks for the hope you have in Christ.
You forgot to mention this part in your rebuke.

I did not forget to mention that because that was not part of what I was addressing. Is there a particular reason you require that I bring up 1Pe 3:15? I saw where you mentioned "first Peter" to Tim, but that had no relevance to what was being discussed. The reason I did not bring that up is because no one here is asking you to give a reason for the hope that is in you, but rather, we are asking you about what you believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ is, and as far as I can tell, in your response to my comment, you still have not addressed that point.

That is strange to me because other Christians who have joined us love talking about that subject, but you seem to be expecting us to automatically accept everything you say, and not to question you in any sense, so you can feel good about being here. That's not what we are here for, and that is certainly not why we created this forum.

I cant help but notice, rather than see the work of the Holy Spirit. you used my confession as a club to hit me with.

I have not seen the work of the Holy Spirit yet. The work of Holy Spirit is defined in Scripture, because Scripture is authored by the Holy Ghost, and some things you wrote contradicted Scripture (which I demonstrated to you), but so far, you have been unwilling to address those things. You said "I will start out by saying I agree with you," but then you proceed to argue against me in the rest of your post, which is contradictory and raises other concerns.

So instead of following my flesh which wanted to be offended. instead I followed the Bibles instructions and tried to answer your Questions.

If you addressed that to me, I am not following you. I do not see where you tried to answer anything I said as of yet.

Next, you surmised my testimony into  I wanted to have a relationship with the Lord my whole life and finally came to the conclusion I didnt have one.
I agree, that is part of my testimony. But you forgot the second half where the Lord brought me to repentance with the word.

Are you reading it too quickly? Because you missed the entire point of what I was saying. You declared what you believed was the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that contradicted what the Gospel of Jesus Christ says. I pointed those things out to you, showed you that you defended yourself in conversation with Tim that the "Baptist man" taught you the true Gospel (which was a false gospel, based on what you told us), and now turn around and claim that you agree with me on what I said when I pointed out that it was a false Gospel. Those are contradictory statements, and thus, I still do not understand what you believe.

This is why I am seeing something odd about your testimony and responses, but I cannot put my finger on exactly what it is. That is why I first offered a presumption that it was just poor communication in writing, but the more you post, the more cautious I am becoming.

You seemed to like it when I rephrased it in my second post. But then you doubted my sincerity saying that was not a part of my original testimony. Sorry brother, that is not true.

What's not true? It's not true that I made those statements? You are not being clear. I don't know what to make of this.

If you reread my original post you will see that I even mentioned the The book and chapter that God used to show me my sin.

I do not need to reread it. I noticed that the first time, and that's why I quoted from 2Ti 3 to help you understand the fullness of the matter.

Im not quite done, I need to move my truck.

I hope you are okay because it's been two hours since you gave your response; that's a long distance to move a truck.

[AbidinginChrist]

I apologize For the late reply. I drive a truck it takes preparation to stop. Im sorry my testimony sounds fake Or insincere to you. I dont know what to tell you except I know in whom I have placed my trust. I know that Christ took my sin upon him on the cross. I also know the Lord brought me to repentance.  Im not going to defend myself anymore its pointless, im not important, I  would rather talk about Jesus has done.  Sorry you think I was arguing with you, I was trying to clear things up. I do like your video it really resonated with me. I hope your ministry Leads  many lost To repentance and faith in Christ.  Lords Peace and grace to you.

[Timothy]

Hi Timothy thanks for your reply. Not as welcoming as I was expecting

I know that my reply is not very welcoming and I'm open for correction from anyone if I was out of line in what I've said or being harsh in any way. I'm not trying to make anyone feel unwelcomed, but the gospel is important to all of us here and I wanted to be sure you understood the true gospel instead of believe in a false one. Also, I don't want any others to be deceived into thinking that having a relationship with God is the same as the gospel. That is why I pointed that out. This and the questions I was asking was to help clarify what you actually believe. It wasn't to attack you in any way.

Section 3 this was me laughing at myself again. I thought I thought I was having fun, But really I was just a sinner greedy for my sin. I didnt know that relationship with the one true God was better than anything in this world.

My assumption was right about what you meant about "having fun". You were talking about sin. The reason I was questioning this is because those who have come to repentance don't laugh at the fact that they have sinned and treat it so lightly when they give their testimony. At least, it doesn't make sense to me for a repentant person to do that.

In the parable of the publican and the Pharisee, the publican didn't laugh about his sin and I can't imagine he would have laughed about it later because the grief he felt was too much to just joke about.

Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

I'm not ruling out that you could have come to repentance at a later time, but even if you have I don't see why you laughed about it.

What I wanted to express in my post was I wanted a relationship with the lord.  But,  when I wasnt reading the Bible I fell in to al manner of lies and false teaching. And when the Lord showed me in his word that I was sinning against him, I was sick And I beg forgiveness. He Gave it to me even though I didnt deserve it.

I agree with Chris in that I hope you did come to repentance, but these testimonies you gave are inconsistent with each other. In one, you take sin lightly by laughing about it, but in this one you seem to take it seriously after we pointed out what was strange about your first testimony. That's why we are confused about what you actually believe.

Im not going to defend myself anymore its pointless

That's up to you. Nobody is forcing you to do anything. I don't know if you read the whole book on repentance, but I hope you read it a second time, carefully consider it and what we have said to you and judge yourself. I don't know what else to say.

[AbidinginChrist]

Its taking me a while to realize Im talking to two people.  I dont think you realize how confusing it is to keep track of the conversationon a tiny phone. I spent hours typing out long detailed testimonies and replies to both of your questions only to have them disappear when I hit post. 

Tim I was not laughing at my sin, I was laughing at the absurdity of my thought process, At the audacity of my pride.

[AbidinginChrist]

Im not sure if this is clear or not, I did not repent after the Baptist witness to me. I dont think I repented when I said the sinners prayer. I was trying to give you some background.

I repented when I was reading the Bible, second Timothy chapter 3.  I read the list boastful, lover of self, Disobedient,Unloving, unholy i realized i was all of those things.  I begin to feel  uncomfortable And sick to my stomach. When I got to the silly woman part, I knew he was talking about me.

Please understand,  whenever I had read this part before I always had pride I always thought Something like, there goes Paul again picking on the women,   I was not prideful now.  I was seeing myself for the first time.

Silly woman weighed down by Sin always learning but never coming to the knowledge of truth. I was devastated I cried out to Lord. I repented for days weeks even. Every time I thought of some thing you like being mean to my mom or some sexual sin it would start all over again. The mercy and grace was like nothing Ive ever experienced before

I have been on my own for the past two years Im having trouble finding a church. People dont really teach about repentance. Chris video was like water for my soul.  Im sorry I meddled up my Testimony. Im sorry if you still doubt my sincerity. Regardless Im still grateful to you all

[AbidinginChrist]

I  want to ask your Forgiveness. I reread all the posts I realized now I was being examined. I have never had any other person do this. Instead of humbly submitting, I reacted in pride.  Im very sorry. I thought you were being overly critical. but I was the one being unclear. If you want to ask me more questions I will endeavor to give a thoughtful reply.  (It might take me a few hours) and if you dont want to ask me any questions Will you allow me to continue watching and learning? I will be quiet and learn in silence.

[creationliberty]

Well, of course you can stay. We don't kick people out for disagreements; we kick people out if they claim to be Christians and have contentious and railing attitudes, which is not what you're showing us now. (And anyone can listen and read without joining the forum, so you do not need anyone's permission to continue to watch and learn.)

The main point I was bringing up, which I will mention again, was what the "Baptist man" taught you (i.e. "You need a personal relationship with Jesus"), and that you claimed that message was the Gospel of Jesus. My purpose was to explain to you, from the Scripture, that what you said he taught you was not the Gospel of Jesus, nor is it what we are to preach to others. If you already understand that, then that's what I needed to know, and I can presume that what you originally said was probably just poorly written, and that's not a big deal because I've done that before too. (I just have not done it from a smart phone because I do not own one.)

[Timothy]

Same here. I have no problem with you staying and there have been many times where I have reacted pridefully, so I am no better than you.

I do have a smartphone and am using one now, so I know the hassle with the apostrophes and writing posts. It is limiting and I only ever use a smartphone to make short posts and that is why I was hoping you had access to a computer.

[AbidinginChrist]

Thank you both for your forgiveness.

Chris I have been thinking about your question since I read it this morning. what was the gospel that the nice Baptist thought me? My answer is I am not sure  exactly what he told me. What  I do know is, if he taught me repentance that leads to salvation by godly sorrow,   Then I did not receive what he taught me. I received Jesus died for my sins and I needed a relationship with him.

I would also like to add when I Said the sinners prayer a few years later I was not overcome with knowledge of my own sin. I was sorry I had not received him earlier And I was joyful and grateful. But I have often thought after I did truly repent  a few years ago that my sinners prayer confession was a false conversion.  When I look at the fruit it was all bad. As I said in my first post, I immediately fell into false doctrine and followed false teachers. From The prosperity gospel it was a short leap into the New Age. ( they both use the same scriptures out of context to deceive silly women like me)

I rewrote my true repentance and salvation. I Dont know if you read that yet, this is when I became a true born again Believer. A few days after I broke down when reading Timothy, I began to read the gospels. Everything Became crystal clear for me. I read the story about   John the Baptist, he preached repentance to prepare the Jews to receive salvation in Christ. I began to understand repentance is necessary to be prepared to receive the atonement of the cross. I was astounded and overjoyed. I started to tell people about repentance. I told my brother and he rebuked me, he said I was becoming legalistic. This was in March 2018,  Decades after I met the baptist.

I want to also say, that I realized during my examination, that I have somehow drifted away from repentance in the last few months. I had a terrible experience at a reformed church. I was holding onto a lot of unforgiveness and anger.  my pride told me I was justified. What a lie.

When the Lord confronted me on my pride when dealing with you, he began to  showed me my unforgiveness and sin. I have been repenting since early this morning.

[Ellie]

Hi Melanie,

I am glad to see that you have received correction in humility and have cleared up your testimony a bit. I hope it is evident to you that the reason why (I believe) Chris and Timothy responded to you the way they did was because the truth of the Gospel is too important to be compromised (for your sake, and for the sake of simply being faithful to God's commands). I understand feeling hurt by it at first if you have never experienced it before. However, I believe that is mostly because church buildings seem like they will basically fellowship with almost anyone no matter what they believe. So most people aren't very used to it at all. It's a very sad thing, but it is true. I am glad to be somewhere that the Lord Jesus Christ has worked it into the hearts of His people to stand firmly upon His doctrines, and I hope that you see the great value in that as well.

I hope that you can learn more while being here, and I pray that the Lord will bless you and protect you while you are driving.

Also, maybe if you are having issues with responding on your phone, I have a couple of ideas you can try.
(1.) You can try typing your posts in a notes or documents app (if you have one of those) and then copying and pasting it into the text box from there. You still have to make sure you don't post it with apostrophes though. But even if you forget to erase them and the post gets cut off, you can go back and erase those apostrophes in your document and not lose the entire post.
(2.) Before hitting the "post" button, copy your entire post from the text box. That way, if you lose it when clicking the button, you can just paste it back and try again. Sometimes if I am taking a long time to write a post, I periodically copy what I have written up to that point so that I won't lose it if something goes wrong.

I understand the frustration of losing a post you spent a lot of time on!

-Ellie

[Jeanne]

Hi Melanie,

I have to admit, I agreed with Tim and Chris on your initial post and I found what you were saying to be a bit confusing as well, so I am very happy that you took the time to explain what you meant. It is always encouraging to see someone accept correction in humility rather than railing because I can't count the number of people we have had to ban for reacting in pride and contention and continuing to defend false doctrine. I thank the Lord that His Holy Spirit showed you your pride and error and that you were willing to submit to Him. You have no idea how rare that is in the majority of people who have come and gone over the years!

Ellie's suggestions on how to not lose your posts were very good. I was going to suggest that, if possible, you might want to invest in a tablet of some sort so that at least you would have a larger screen to read and type from. If it has wi-fi capability, you can then use your phone to create a 'hot spot' to connect it to the Internet. Don't know if you can afford that, but it's just an idea if you want to consider it.

Anyway, welcome, and I look forward to getting to know you better!

Jeanne