As Bushie's World Turns (The Update Thread)

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

preach the word boldly, BushOK

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Congrats, Bushie!!!

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Every good gift comes from above.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Every good gift comes from above.

What about the bad things in life?

I'm not at liberty to discuss the Mods.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Every good gift comes from above.

What about the bad things in life?

I'm not at liberty to discuss the Mods.

Too many death points?

No, it would appear my longevity on this forum is no longer tied to death points, but rather to my ability to suppress the personality of my inner child, which I have pledged to curb.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Just a few pointers…

Also, with the dawning of this brand new career, I have also learned one thing in the past 2 years, DON'T QUIT YOUR DARN JOB for any reason, especially for something that even has the appearance of criminal activity.

you should never quit a job without having an offer letter in hand from another reputable company, regardless of the state of the economy.

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I am eligible for 401(k) matching immediately, so I am going to immediately start contributing to it, probably about 2% for now so I don't drain my paycheck, but still start building up the retirement account.

!) Make sure you are AT LEAST contributing at the level to get the full match, cause it’s free money…

2) then, with the rest of the money, do whatever you have to do to pay off any, and all, debt…

3) after your debt is paid off, stay out of debt, completely

4) then live in a way that allows you to put aside AT LEAST 6 months worth of living expenses and make sure it is liquid (not in a 401K).  Emergencies can and do come up, some of which you have experienced over the last couple of years.

5) and whatever else is leftover, save up for the lifestyle you want to live until you get to the point that you can reach that lifestyle while still adhering to points 1 through 4 above.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

I have received and accepted the job offer at 11:50 am. The start date is Monday, March 12, 2012. I will find out the hours today.

Again, are you absolutely certain that your Kenya thing isn't going to interfere with this?

I am 100% positive. My new manager is perfectly okay with it per her own mouth.

kinky!

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Maybe Inks or Mikado can advise, but isn't posting excerpts from someone's facebook status update a violation of the ToS? 

In answer to your query: If you yourself have posted information in the public domain, it is not a violation of the "invasive of a person's privacy" provision of the TOS for someone to post it here, for you yourself have already made it public.  On the other hand, if the information is only available to your friends on Facebook and not available to the viewing public, then posting of said information would be a violation of the TOS.

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Needless to say, I am still praying and seeking God's Will. 

I'm confused.  I thought the will of God was simple:

1Tim 4:3 "It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him."

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Good Friday Morning! I had another little confirmation last night, or reassurance I guess you could call it.  I asked God if this is truly from Him, and not something from my own desire, then to let me sleep and not even think about it.  What happened?  I slept like a baby for 7 hours.  I went to bed at 10:15 and woke up at 5:15 am.  After having slept on it for a night, I've got a game plan.

You know, I never followed the Update thread, so I am not familiar with the way you think God communicates in an active relationship.  But is this your normal modus operandi...always setting out a series of (very minor) fleeces in order to determine “God’s will” for your life?

First, I am NOT a subscriber of the ideal that you have to chronically seek “God’s will” in your life (e.g. “The Purpose Driven Life”).  His will for you is already stated point blank in scripture – there is no need to seek it, it is already given to you.

Would you be doing God’s work if you went to Africa and helped them meet their spiritual and physical needs?  Absolutely.  But you would also be doing God’s work by helping out in your current community in OK.

Ecc 9:10 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”

Second, even though Gideon put out a fleece before God in Judges ch6, it wasn’t necessary, for God had already spoken to him.  Gideon was just acting like Moses did - doubting what God actually told him.  In the New Testament, where is there a single example of someone putting a fleece before God?  Christians are supposed to be led by the Holy Spirit, not fleeces.

If you think God is leading you to move to Africa, then why doesn’t God simply call you to go to Africa?

John 10:4 “his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

God gives you the freedom of choice to go serve him in Africa, and he also gives you the freedom of choice to continue to serve him in OK...but don't think God predominate will for your life is to pack your bags and move unless he is actually asking you to do so:

1Cor 7:20 "Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him."

Are you attempting to convince people God is calling you to go to Africa simply due to your interpretation of these fleeces?  Again, I ask: is this your normal modus operandi – taking everything as a sign from God?

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...

The expert has spoken.

My point is that there is biblical precedent for the way he believes God is communicating with him.  But, the bible never claims to be exhaustive of the ways Christ communicates to his believers, and I do believe that God can move the heart...so, I would like to know if this is BushOK's normal way of interpreting signs from God, and if so, how have the past "signs" and "interpretations" worked out.

From my experience, Christians who interpret everything as a sign from God tend to be constantly uprooting their lives and going off half-cocked.  

That's why it is written: 

1Cor 7:20 "Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him."

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

My soul is very much at peace with moving to Kenya in 2014.  He has given mef focus today and the assurance that He will take care of the details. He just asks me to be available and open.  I know this much peace this quick is the sole work of the Holy Spirit.  He is the author of peace, not anxiety and confusion.

so, you're not going to answer my question regarding if this is how you've normally operated?

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The fleeces I have put out are done with the intention that God will answer and I will listen.

In the only example in scripture of someone using a fleece, God had already spoken.  There are ZERO examples of using a fleece as a primary means of communication.

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I also look for anything out of the ordinary.

Anything out of the ordinary?  Like a great wind, or an earthquake, or a fire?!

IKings 16 “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”

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I also believe that whatsoever I ask in Jesus name according to His will, I will receive. I asked God to take away the desires if they weren't of Him. Increasing desires is not exactly getting rid of them.

Come on, dude, focus, I am not going to tolerate you getting gay on me.

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But you still haven’t told me about your past…have you had inclinations in the past that God was directing you to do something.  If so, list the situations along with the outcome of those situations.

Or am I going to have to ask readers of the Update?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

What a great season so far. First, [the] jmfcst joins the cast and now these hilarious Kenyan developments.

the jmfcst was only making a cameo appearance. 

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Jeff, have you talked to an advisor/counselor about this yet?

well, it would seem he doesn't go to a church that preaches against attempting to read God into everything.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Jeff, have you talked to an advisor/counselor about this yet?

well, it would seem he doesn't go to a church that preaches against attempting to read God into everything.

jmfcst is a no good secularist.

no, rather I am a Christian with a relationship with Christ that is in agreement with the scripture...which is why I am never put to shame when following him.

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I'm far from an expert on theology, but isn't it heretical (or at least extremely unorthodox) to claim direct communication with God?

only if the new covenant is heretical and unorthodox:

Jer 31:31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
   “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
   and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
   I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
   to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
   though I was a husband to them,”
            declares the LORD.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
   after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law in their minds
   and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
   and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
   or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me,
   from the least of them to the greatest,”
            declares the LORD.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
   and will remember their sins no more.”

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

So you've had a real one on one with the CEO of CEOs? What's the dude like?

He's full of grace...and communicates directly and very clearly.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

It's getting way too depressing and I know these answers are not being bathed in prayer before they are posted so I'm done.

yeah, I know exactly what you mean.  What's especially troubling is coming across Christians who are supposed to have their feet planted firmly on a rock, yet, instead, they are repeatedly going off half-cocked because they are seeking a sign from God in every shift in the wind, as a substitute for not knowing the voice of Christ.

John 10:27 "My sheep know my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

I know what God has told me, and I am not backing down...I will continue to listen to my God and those who follow His Word.

but that's just it - you've never claimed to have been told anything by God, rather you've simply relied on interpreting signs.  You've brainwashed yourself into believing your own concoction.

in your opinion, what exactly is the following passage trying to tell us?

1Kings 19:11 The LORD said to Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.  Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Jeff, I would encourage you to talk to a psychologist/psychiatrist (I always forget which one is which) and see if he/she thinks this is a wise decision.

I've been talking to several pastors, which are by definition, counselors.

Anyway, I'm done with updating this thread about this situation.  I will update the thread about other items, but not this anymore.  It's getting way too depressing and I know these answers are not being bathed in prayer before they are posted so I'm done.

Well not all pastors necessarily make for good counselors on all issues.  For both your well-being, and the well-being of these children, I think you should talk to a professional non-religious-focused person about this.

What's the harm in simply doing that?  You're going to have to meet with adoption agencies eventually... why not make sure you're fit to do this first?

In time.

see, if I were attempting to discern things by signs, I could see your reply as a sign you're demon possessed:

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[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

I do, but my boss and I talked yesterday evening that she wants me to be able to talk to the doctor from the privacy of my own home instead of blaring my medical history to my coworkers and be distracted by background noise. 

Ever heard of ducking into an unoccupied conference room for privacy?  ...I would highly advise not to miss any more work, seeing that you are new there and all.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

He is trying to tell me something, and that is I have to be totally dependent on Him and to completely trust Him in everything.

then why don't you actually trust him to actually speak to you whenever he actually wants you do something?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

God sometimes calls us to do radical things, and this is no different.  In the Bible, He told Moses' successor Joshua

if you would stop for 2 seconds and simply contrast your "call" to Joshua's (or any other character in the bible whom God called), you would realize the bible is saying that God actually spoke to them.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Bushie,

Don't misunderstand me - I have no problem with you going to Africa and spreading the Gospel.  That's simply fulfilling the Great Commission.

What I do have a problem with is you saying God is leading you to do this and that based on the direction of the wind, when, in fact, God hasn't spoken to you.  I've met many people who are just like you - who attempt to find God's direction for their lives by becoming a soothsayer and reading tea leaves.

I am almost tempted to drive to OK this weekend to sit down with you and your pastor and discuss the history of everything you've stated God has "led" you into.  I am certain the path is riddled with one disaster after another. 

If you keep this up, you'll probably end up burned out and blaming God for everything that has happened, when, in fact, it's not God's fault at all.