ptl@fluke.UUCP (Mike Andrews) (11/01/85)
Hi,
Just wanted to let you in on some answered prayer ---
My wife and I decided her little car had seen its last days.
We spent an entire day going up one side and down the other at
a local auto row. We found only a few we could fit in comfortably;
I'm 6'2", my wife is 6' even (+/-). We also read the consumer info on
what was available. After all this we chose brand X, found a local
dealer who gave us a good deal, put a deposit down, and waited.
And waited, ... . About 6 weeks past and still no car. Kris and I
decided to look at out of town dealers who handled the same make.
The same evening she went to one town, I hit another. We had talked
about maybe buying the next car `up', if the price was close to
the `lower' car we ordered with options.
I came home and anounced to Kris that I'd bought the higher car at
a great price. She told me she had also bought the same identical
car at a great price. Turned out they were within $90 of eachother.
Now we had three cars on order - wonderful. The next day the car
we first ordered came in. More wonderfuller (spelling?). We contacted
the dealers to tell them what was up, and let the first one know we changed
our minds. But now we still had 2 cars on order (the dealers knew), but
the wait could be 2 weeks to 2 months - neither dealer could promise
anything earlier.
The next day, Kris and I said a short prayer asking God for HELP.
We didn't know exactly what to do. The prices seemed ok, but the
wait could take us into Christmas. Could we get a better deal?
God get us the best deal you can, and soon please.
On the way to work I heard a dealer advertising on a Christian rock
station, and got a sense of `at least I could ask.' So I called them.
It ended up we bought the car from them, at about $200 less than the other
offers. They also had the exact car we wanted already on allocation,
scheduled to come in November 1st. They called today with the serial
number. And they threw in a vacation package (hotel, etc) for
Disneyland - the place Kris and I didn't go to this last summer so we
could buy this new car! No joke. God doesn't miss a thing. He's neat!
Turns out the owner of the dealership, and the salesman who sold us the car,
are Christians - an added bonus, supporting other Christians.
God Bless,
Mike Andrews
--
******************************************************************************
God said He would never leave me nor forsake me, and that I am His temple.
A man is what he thinks.
A body led by the soul is only 2/3 of a person : the soul tries to get rid of
the spirit.
A body led by the spirit is a whole person : the spirit works to make the soul
help the body. And a spirit led by God the Holy Spirit is invincible.
*******************************************************************************
ARPA : fluke!ptl@uw-beaver.ARPA
UUCP : {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!ptlpez@pyuxn.UUCP (Paul Zimmerman) (11/04/85)
Mike Andrews gives an example of God answering prayers. I would like to offer my own. A very close friend of mine's parents just went through a traumatic divorce. He prayed that both of them would continue their lives hereafter in a peaceful way, and find happiness in their separation. (He had been praying for them not to separate and then not to divorce for some time previous to this.) He also prayed that additional tragedy not befall their family. What has followed has been a bitter custody fight for the one child still living with his parents, severe problems with his sister's pregnancy, and his younger brother was in a severe accident owing to drinking while driving, and must (at the order of a judge) quit school in order to enter an alcohol rehabilitation program. (He HAD been a model student for many years.) This is how God answers prayers. Be well, -- Paul Zimmerman - AT&T Bell Laboratories pyuxn!pez
snappy@ihlpa.UUCP (m. schulpiet) (11/06/85)
> > Mike Andrews gives an example of God answering prayers. I would > like to offer my own. > > A very close friend of mine's parents just went through a traumatic > divorce. He prayed that both of them would continue their lives hereafter in > a peaceful way, and find happiness in their separation. (He had been praying > for them not to separate and then not to divorce for some time previous to > this.) He also prayed that additional tragedy not befall their family. > What has followed has been a bitter custody fight for the one child still > living with his parents, severe problems with his sister's pregnancy, and his > younger brother was in a severe accident owing to drinking while driving, and > must (at the order of a judge) quit school in order to enter an alcohol > rehabilitation program. (He HAD been a model student for many years.) > > This is how God answers prayers. > > Be well, > -- > Paul Zimmerman - AT&T Bell Laboratories > pyuxn!pez *Paul, God does not answer all prayers with a big loud YES..sometimes the answer is "no" and sometimes going through many trying times in this life, one becomes aware that our lives are all planned by the Almighty God. Perchance after all the tradgedies that have befallen your friend's family, the mother and father will realize how "petty" their differences were that caused the divorce...and unite again to "share" their grief and see the whole "mess" through together. I am not saying this is what will happen, but your friend should try and leave his worry at the foot of the cross... leave it in the Hands of God, in other words. Worrying can sap up the energies of any human being...it is a waste. All the thinking about it will not make the outcome any different than what God has planned. Paul, I have a funny feeling that you will someday become a very pro-God and will come to love him for all the good things that he has given us in this life. We cannot appreciate the smooth, even valleys in this life if we haven't had to climb the rough mountains. God bless you...I know there must be many people on the net praying for you to OPEN your eyes and heart!!! Marge at Bell Labs .
ptl@fluke.UUCP (Mike Andrews) (11/07/85)
To my Christian Family,
Please remember Paul's friend, the family, and the situation in your
prayers. If any of you are in Paul's local, maybe you can offer
some help - directions to councelors or support groups, maybe sharing
how God worked in your life in a similar situation, listening - whatever
God asks you to do. We've got to remember - living out our faith in
God means first prayer then follow-through with the actions we believe God
is asking us to take. That's what a living faith is all about. Praise God.
In your prayers, may I suggest you please especially pray that Paul's friend
stays firm in God, and both receives and accepts the Graces God sends him
through the channels created by his prayers and ours. This way he can be
a channel for God's Grace to flow into his other family members and
the situation. All the glory is God's!
Your Brother in Christ,
Mike Andrews
--
******************************************************************************
God said He would never leave me nor forsake me, and that I am His temple.
A man is what he thinks.
A body led by the soul is only 2/3 of a person : the soul tries to get rid of
the spirit.
A body led by the spirit is a whole person : the spirit works to make the soul
help the body. And a spirit led by God the Holy Spirit is invincible.
*******************************************************************************
ARPA : fluke!ptl@uw-beaver.ARPA
UUCP : {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!ptlrlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (11/07/85)
>> A very close friend of mine's parents just went through a traumatic >>divorce. He prayed that both of them would continue their lives hereafter in >>a peaceful way, and find happiness in their separation. (He had been praying >>for them not to separate and then not to divorce for some time previous to >>this.) He also prayed that additional tragedy not befall their family. >>What has followed has been a bitter custody fight for the one child still >>living with his parents, severe problems with his sister's pregnancy, and his >>younger brother was in a severe accident owing to drinking while driving, and >>must (at the order of a judge) quit school in order to enter an alcohol >>rehabilitation program. (He HAD been a model student for many years.) >> This is how God answers prayers. [PAUL ZIMMERMAN] > God does not answer all prayers with a big loud YES..sometimes the > answer is "no" and sometimes going through many trying times in > this life, one becomes aware that our lives are all planned by > the Almighty God. Perchance after all the tradgedies that have > befallen your friend's family, the mother and father will realize > how "petty" their differences were that caused the divorce...and > unite again to "share" their grief and see the whole "mess" through > together. I am not saying this is what will happen, but your > friend should try and leave his worry at the foot of the cross... > leave it in the Hands of God, in other words. [MARGE SCHULPIET] How very quaint. God answers prayers by not answering them, by giving you a "lesson" to learn, by "helping" you see how petty your little troubles are. At the expense of human lives. Beautiful. If this is your god, then Paul is dead on right, and I feel sorry for anyone going along with this hateful despicable philosophy. Thank Ubizmo I know better than to engage in this sort of wishful thinking, wherein a tragedy is assumed to be a "message" from god, a lesson to be learned, that owing to god's will, will cause everything to turn out just fine in the end. Whatever childish reason there might be for choosing to believe this in light of the realities of the world is beyond me. Doubtless someone will respond "and that is your loss". No, my friend, whomever you might be, that is *yours*. -- And now, a hidden satanic message: _ 9L|^6| _ W6Vn|na| 622 Rich Rosen ihnp4!pyuxd!rlr
ken@gitpyr.UUCP (Ken Hall) (11/07/85)
> A very close friend of mine's parents just went through a traumatic > divorce. He prayed that both of them would continue their lives hereafter in > a peaceful way, and find happiness in their separation. (He had been praying > for them not to separate and then not to divorce for some time previous to > this.) He also prayed that additional tragedy not befall their family. > What has followed has been a bitter custody fight for the one child still > living with his parents, severe problems with his sister's pregnancy, and his > younger brother was in a severe accident owing to drinking while driving, and > must (at the order of a judge) quit school in order to enter an alcohol > rehabilitation program. (He HAD been a model student for many years.) > > This is how God answers prayers. Yes, it is all God's fault for the divorce and God's fault for the custody fight and God's fault for the pregnancy problem and God's fault for the younger brother's drinking accident. We all assume that God does not answer our prayers when we get just the opposite of what we pray for. Do we know better than God? Is He our servant to do as we demand and ask? Is God the Great Santa Claus of the universe, sending nice presents and gifts to those who are good and sticks and stones to those who are nauty? Is God evil because we do not like the way things are going down here on earth, or because things do not always turn out the way we want? Is God to blame for a communications breakdown which leads to a divorce? Is God to blame for not answering the prayer of a person who truly wishes something good to happen, like a reconciliation, and lets the evil happen, a divorce? Can we, great and powerful men that we are, judge God and reduce Him to something that we can manage and understand? Of course we can! We can do anything we want with our words and thoughts. They are ours to manipulate as we see fit. God doesn't seem to mind. We can write all that we want on this network and sit in judgement of anyone, even God, and insult and belittle other people, and sit in judgement of them, and feel very good about ourselves, thinking that we have accomplished something. I do it. Others do it. And you do it. I think one of the great things about God is that He does not feel like He has to vindicate Himself. He is secure enough in Himself that He does not need to defend Himself, and He surely doesn't need us to do it for Him. We are fools if we think we can understand God and His ways here upon earth. It's like an ant trying to understand why man steps on his kin folks. There are lots of reasons. But we err if we try to compare man with the ants and God with man. The analogy stops before it can even begin. The fact is, if God is God, omnipotent, omnipresent, omni-everything, then we have no reason to think that we can understand Him and His doings. It is unreasonable to think that we can. And to judge Him is even more unreasonable. If God is less than omni-everything, as many hear affirm, they He is not God, He is something else, a great power maybe, with both good and evil intentions. But don't call Him God. If God is God, with all the attributes associated with such a being, then humble your mind a little and don't think that you can judge Him and the things that He does. And don't be so hard on people who proclaim His ideas. We are all in this fish bowl together and have to live with each other. Be reasonable! Ken Hall
snappy@ihlpa.UUCP (m. schulpiet) (11/07/85)
> >> A very close friend of mine's parents just went through a traumatic > >>divorce. He prayed that both of them would continue their lives hereafter in > >>a peaceful way, and find happiness in their separation. (He had been praying > >>for them not to separate and then not to divorce for some time previous to > >>this.) He also prayed that additional tragedy not befall their family. > >>What has followed has been a bitter custody fight for the one child still > >>living with his parents, severe problems with his sister's pregnancy, and his > >>younger brother was in a severe accident owing to drinking while driving, and > >>must (at the order of a judge) quit school in order to enter an alcohol > >>rehabilitation program. (He HAD been a model student for many years.) > >> This is how God answers prayers. [PAUL ZIMMERMAN] > > > God does not answer all prayers with a big loud YES..sometimes the > > answer is "no" and sometimes going through many trying times in > > this life, one becomes aware that our lives are all planned by > > the Almighty God. Perchance after all the tradgedies that have > > befallen your friend's family, the mother and father will realize > > how "petty" their differences were that caused the divorce...and > > unite again to "share" their grief and see the whole "mess" through > > together. I am not saying this is what will happen, but your > > friend should try and leave his worry at the foot of the cross... > > leave it in the Hands of God, in other words. [MARGE SCHULPIET] > > How very quaint. God answers prayers by not answering them, by giving > you a "lesson" to learn, by "helping" you see how petty your little > troubles are. At the expense of human lives. Beautiful. If this > is your god, then Paul is dead on right, and I feel sorry for anyone > going along with this hateful despicable philosophy. > > Thank Ubizmo I know better than to engage in this sort of wishful thinking, > wherein a tragedy is assumed to be a "message" from god, a lesson to be > learned, that owing to god's will, will cause everything to turn out just > fine in the end. Whatever childish reason there might be for choosing to > believe this in light of the realities of the world is beyond me. Doubtless > someone will respond "and that is your loss". No, my friend, whomever you > might be, that is *yours*. > -- > And now, a hidden satanic message: _ > 9L|^6| _ > W6Vn|na| 622 > Rich Rosen ihnp4!pyuxd!rlr Rich... If you re-read my posting, you will see that I did not say that God does not answer prayers...He does answer prayers but sometimes the answer is "NO"...depending upon what is good for our spiritual well being, or that of our loved ones. And there is a lesson in life...living it and plugging through all turmoil that might befall us. If you haven't had any turmoil or trials in your life then you haven't been really living here on God's earth...you've been in a vacuum. Sickness and death are a part of our lives here on earth...I was told this by a very intelligent priest at the time my husband died and left me with four dependent children - plus two more that were "on their own". Quaint, you say?? I'll tell you how "quaint" my belief is: I lost my dear sister-in-law to cancer four years ago. I lost my dear son-in-law (age 32) very suddenly two years ago l2/l2/83 leaving my eldest daughter a widow with 3 small children. My son was diagnosed as a victim of inoperable cancer last September. My youngest daughter (not married) had a child in March after a long hard labor ending in a C-section. AND, Rich, to top it all off, my house suffered a fire that left us five adults and 2-month old infant homeless until we obtained off-premises living quarters. Loss to the house $26,000, contents, so far, close to $20,000. You say I should believe that God Almighty should be hated??? I say no, because we are all still living, I have a good job that I am happy at, my son's attitude with his illness is above reproach (sense of humor, loving and kind and considerate), my newest grandchild is beautiful and a joy to behold, the house and furnishings were covered by insurance as well as off-premises living expenses. Incidentally, the house was repaired and is beautiful and we are now back in it. I can no longer talk to my deceased sister who was found dead in bed last Christmas Day, but I can still "talk" to God and thank him for the blessings that I still have. ( Please do not interpret this last statement as meaning that I go around "talking to God"...it's an expression I use for prayer.) I do believe in Almighty God and Jesus and without them I could not have held up under the above outlined "realities" of life. God Bless you and keep you in his loving care. Marge God Bless you and keep you in his loving care. Marge God Bless you and keep you in his loving care. Marge . q