Suffice it to say that I never expected the overwhelming response from three key people, whose opinions matter to me, and whose headshots on my blog give me a warm feeling of brotherly, well, love, whenever they peek in on my posts.
But finally, after a week's worth of butting heads and horns with them, I throw my hands up in the air, coz I think I've opened a can of worms. Blogs that I never would have touched because they sow so much discord, I got to hop onto, thanks to the search for "truth" and "discernment"...
But I think my ultimate guide for today's smarting and prickling spiritual skin should be what came out of my Bible reading earlier:
7 Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. 8 The person who doesn't love doesn't know God, because God is love. 9 God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. 10 This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 We know that we live in him and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit.
14 We have seen and testify to the fact that the Father sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God lives in those who declare that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God. 16 We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God's love live in God, and God lives in them.
17 God's love has reached its goal in us. So we look ahead with confidence to the day of judgment. While we are in this world, we are exactly like him [with regard to love]. 18 No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn't have perfect love. 19 We love because God loved us first. 20 Whoever says, "I love God," but hates another believer is a liar. People who don't love other believers, whom they have seen, can't love God, whom they have not seen. 21 Christ has given us this commandment: The person who loves God must also love other believers.
I choose to refuse the path of nitpicking, criticism and throwing stones at each other because it only creates pandemonium. Instead, I choose life. Christianity never should become an exercise in Theology, because Jesus came with only two commandments: To love God, and to love each other. He said, too, that anything that is not of FAITH is sin. It was also He who said that "To the pure, all things are pure."
Therefore, I will revert to my blog posts of flowers, of lazy afternoon hazes, of my mundane home-bound life, and possibly things that are happy. Brothers, you forgot that the lady who has chops to argue with you through the high road to Sinai is... Still a lady. No matter my stubbornness and bullishness, you could at least have been more gentle. :p
But heck, this is what I deserve for writing in such passion and anger.
This is what I deserve for taking on two formidable preachers and teachers.
This is what I deserve for choosing to blog about Todd Bentley, instead of the weird weathers that God gives me: whoever has heard of high-noon/sunset hybrid level of sunshine at 5:30 A.M.. Or feeling like in a scene straight out of Final Fantasy, with the clouds overcast, and the sunlight shining in an eerie angle, reminding me of some alternative universe, or like a limbo-esque dimension straight out of Charmed, as well, as my heart bled when I made the mistake of temporarily parting with my fiance, on compulsion to obey the right voice in my head?
Why did I not blog about the weekly "chocolate dates" that God and I have, instead? Of finally falling in love with him sooooo deep, that I can actually forget about my fiance for hours on end?
Of waking up, weirdly, to a favorite prophetic worship song playing in my brain, and then when I looked at my iPod to check the time, it was the one being displayed, even though my bed and the table where my iPod was at were two meters away from each other and no one, not even me, was listening to the player at the time, and then humming a line from the song for around 30 minutes, while in the kitchen preparing breakfast, then when I finally buckled down... BAM. I see the exact phrase... "...man is like the flower of a field..." right in the tail-end of the first chapter I read for the day... And blushing crimson because my Lover, Redeemer and Friend just left me a "Word-flower." Literally.
Why did I not blog about nice, happy things and obey the prophet who had told me that I come across as a person who likes the LIGHT things in life? Why did I take on such a monstrous topic as Todd Bentley? Why hadn't I just stuck to happy flowers and Word-flowers, so I could have skipped off to the sunshine, oblivious to the pains this world is going through?
I could have, and maybe I should have. Maybe it's because Theology is like Hollywood to me now. Instead of stalking the lives of TomKat or Brangelina, I might as well stalk Rick Joyner's bulletins and Words of the Week. Instead of reading up on who's going to break up in Hollywood next, I might as well read about someone's exegesis of Revelation. Why? Coz there isn't anything else worth blanking my brain upon but the things of God.
I love God. He iz soooooo amazing. I love Him more than these things I like reading about and pursuing. Before, I used to desire a huge ministry and stuff and be great in people's eyes. Today, as long as God provides me my toys (computers and software, gadgets), my weekly dose of chocolate, my daily cocoa, and an endless stream of prophetic worship radio notes from Elijahstreams.com, I'm a happy camper.
His hugs are sweeter than any human's. His kisses, the flowers He leaves for me to find, the things He gives me to find, like elusive light blue streaked with pink ivy flowers that are here at 6AM, gone by 10AM, the tiny things He does for me that matter, like providing for my shampoo, my load, my bills, the houses I get to live in...
Why did I not blog about those?
Maybe there's a restless tiger pacing within me that ached to be made known. And now that it realized that it couldn't take on the T-Rexes of Kuya's who forgot I was a girl, it's content to sulk in its cage for a while, as the kitten in me just decides to play and enjoy life and be a girl........................
.............Precisely as Lorie was meant to be.
Todd Bentley, I pray you find compassion in other people. I pray that you be healed and made whole. Whether or not you get back into the forefront of ministry, it doesn't matter. I believe Jesus only desires to make you whole.
And Jesus desires to make me whole too.
Hope this badburn doesn't turn me into a recluse again. :p
 | as iron sharpens iron, so do siblings in the faith. hehehehehehe
as i see it, there was nothing wrong with blogging about controversial topics. you just have to make sure that you're ready for a controversy. hahahahaha :) |
 | There is a famous quotation that I can only paraphrase: "I disagree with what you have to say but will fight to the death to protect your right to say it." ---Voltaire |
 | I always enjoyed the honesty you display in your blog, Lorie.:)
Love. There are different sides to it as well. We should often ask ourselves, "what is the more loving thing to do?" Is it more loving to go on in my personal perusal of intimate worship and growth? Or is the more loving thing to do proclaiming truth? Is it loving for a man to turn a blind eye to the deceived brethren? That is why we are commanded to be able to give an answer to the faith that is within us... to be able to give an answer, to be able to stand for what we are convinced as true by the plain testimony to scripture, in love---we must be wholly given to the study of it. It is more disrespecting and unloving for a man, while he cries and fights for his faith in all zealousness but never truly understanding what he is fighting against and the truth he is fighting for. |
 | sin-o si todd bentley? hahahaha
-constantly out of sync |
 | aww...
that sounded sweet...
but...
anu daw??? |
| ...o_O...
speechless. thanx JM. :) |
| Todd Bentley is the main man, the prophet of Fresh Fire Ministries. He's been controversial because he's been holding healing meetings, and in some of them, ayun, as according to the other post, ayun, he kung-fu'd the people he healed.
Rick Joyner decided to take him in and undertake his restoration. I support that. Other Christians disagree and would prefer that he stay in the background forever.
Akon beef lang ya, is that why do we have to harshly criticize people, coz tao lang man na sila, like us. Galibog lang ulo ko, and I'm frankly tired of mudslinging in the church...
HOWEVER...
So wrong my approach. Naglitik ulo ko kay Kuya David kag kay Kuya Kevin. Pati ni kay Rhay. Waaaaaaaaaaa. Wala luoy bala haw. :p |
| Translation:
Akon = Akin
ya = kasi, ba
man = din
na = yun
libog = taka; galibog = nagtataka also nahihilo
litik = crack; naglitik = siyempre, nagcrack, figurative for puzzled, confounded, dumbfounded
kag = and, pati
ni = ito, dito
luoy = mercy, patawad
bala haw = ba naman
Translation in context = My only beef is that, why do... ...coz they're human too, just like us... I was just so puzzled...
So wrong my approach... Frankly, I was way in over my head/my skull nearly cracked because of ... and ... As well as with ... Waaaaaaaaaa... Don't these guys have mercy at all?!
:D
Hahahaha. Pwede na ko magtranslate. Hahahahhahaa!
*translated for the benefit of Kuya Elim and the rest of non-Filipinos who read my blog. :D |
 | wooh! watching the videos gives me the creeps
now i understand the heat of all the reactions...
"sola scriptura" to sum up my standpoint on bentley |
| Ang hirap for me to side with you, bro, coz I've experienced things similar to Todd Bentley's experience.
For the person who is young in the Lord and hindi ito nadaanan, I would so agree, that the Scripture is the only authority that is safe to trumpet in this world.
Sa lahat ng dinaanan ko spiritually, my only path to restoration was the Scripture and obeying what Truth says.
Pero maveverify ko yung part wherein I had some things inside me, even though I was already twice-baptized and twice-baptized in the Holy Spirit, na nandun pa rin, and even my leaders said na baka lumayas lang as I go on in discipleship..
Truth be told, the influences left only as I swore them off one by one, not by saying stuff like "I renounce.." but by a daily decision to obey God and to obey the Word...
I''ve a long way to go, and as Karess would say, "I'm a work in progress," but I'm happy that I am no longer controlled by influences that are not of God, and neither the influence of men/women. :)
Hehe. :) Thanx for readin my blabber and commenting, bro. :D |
| The pleasure is mine, Lorie.:)
I have no idea how your discussions went with David and Kevin. But I'm sure they hold my sentiments well concerning Bentley.
I too know how it is to be in the middle of this hyper experiential type of "Christianity." I for one can say that not everything that feels "spiritual" and sounds "spiritual" comes from God. There are many things that I have heard Todd say, and seen Todd do (Not to mention his "book") that flat out contradicts what scripture says. In other words...his ministry can be spelt out like Benny Hinn on steroids.
Anyways...
I think you're talking about sanctification there. The sweetest thing that God does to His children...beating them up 'till they become conformed to the image of our Lord Christ Jesus.:) |
| Yep, I agree with you that not everything that I've experienced spiritually was from God. The trial-and-error process, and learning how to tell the source by its fruit really took me from the deep deception that was in, to the increasing climb out of the well/pit that I was in.
This is the season where I see the Lord carrying me as we walk across the water, a vast expanse of it, to get to an island.. I see myself as a child clinging to His neck, never daring to tread it on my own. :)
"Benny Hinn on steroids," haha, I like the way it was worded. :D I was fiercely critical of Mr. Hinn myself. But I think that the only thing left to do is to respect and allow the Judge of all Judges to render His verdict.
As for me... It's a mind-my-own-walk season. :D
Take care, JM. :) Your presence and comments on my blog are always precious blessings. :) |
 | Lorie, I never have written in reply to your posts. This time though I will put my two cents' worth in. I'm peeking at your can of worms. =) Having met Todd Bentley in person (albeit briefly) and actually seeing him in action, I can assure you of his gifts as being from GOD (some of it, anyway).
BUT.
The gifts of the SPIRIT & the fruit of the SPIRIT are different. Being sufficiently renewed in the mind through the washing of the WORD - this he may have lacked. He is a believer who shot up into prominence & power without sufficient grounding and accountability to keep him in line & stable. " Be careful when you stand lest you fall..."
A person's spiritual gifts means squat when we talk about truth & lies. GOD's gifts are irrevocable and unfortunately, the devil can use them through us when we allow him to. However, we can choose what we use them for & how we use them. We can deceive & destroy or operate in truth & bring life.
This fiasco has revealed two things - that Bentley had lacked the character & truth to contain what was given to him, and, how sad it is that some Christians will gobble up almost anything without discerning rightly. Because of the dearth of GOD's power & holiness as exhibited in many of our personal lives, demonstrations of power can be very appealing. On the other hand, others will go to the other extreme of shunning everything they do not understand because it is "from the devil".
His fall also serves as a warning to all of us, especially to prideful people who think that they are always right regarding their opinions of spiritual matters, who see other peoples' motes but not the planks in their own eyes. Hypocrites - that's what the LORD calls them. We have to test ourselves always to see if we are in truth.
FYI for all of us... It is actually possible not to have an opinion regarding things we don't necessarily understand. Also, GOD is always in control, even when it appears that the devil seems to be having a heyday.
We are not always right, only GOD is able to do that. Not matter how much of the Bible we know, we do not know everything nor understand everything. Let us not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to.
Let us remember that we can & should reject unscriptural teaching but we should not reject the man teaching it. He is NOT the enemy.
We are called to be humble, not to judge others yet to shun evil. We are called to love, not to join the devil in skewering a man who, in spite of his sin (don't we ALL sin?), is somebody who Jesus died for too (false prophet or not).
It is our choice when we decide to join hands with evil & destroy for the sake of "righteousness" as the Pharisees have done in the past. We are called to restore men from sin (in this I thank Rick Joyner), to build up and not tear down.
If anybody says that he was never a Christian - How do they know that?
Has GOD made them judges of men's hearts already?
Please, let us not hand Todd Bentley over to the devil in a silver platter. In spite of everything, he has been and still is our brother. After all, we would like the same to be done for us when we stumble & fall.
JESUS said that we shall be known as HIS because of our love for one another. HE didn't say that it is by our truth. Not to belittle truth in any way but just to remind us that even truth means nothing if there is no love. They have to go together.
Love truth & love the man but hate the sin.
GOD bless all of you... |
| haha! pleasure. wala lang kong time para sa mahabang reaction hehehe!! mangha ko sa mga tinatype nyo, ang hahaba! |
| PRECISELY!
Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
VINDICATION!!!
I LOVE GOD!!!
Thanx Gi!!!
Xe's my best friend, she's in Vineyard Cincinnati. :) |
|
Online Seller Lorie Therese
|
Let us remember that we can & should reject unscriptural teaching but we should not reject the man teaching it. He is NOT the enemy. 