Cleft of the RockForums to meet like-minded Christians
A wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord, A wonderful Saviour to me; He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, Where rivers of pleasure I see. He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock That shadows a dry, thirsty land; He hideth my life in the depths of His love, And covers me there with His hand. A wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord, He taketh my burden away;He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved, He giveth me strength as my day. With numberless blessings each moment He crowns, And filled with His fullness divine, I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to GodFor such a Redeemer as mine!
--Fanny J. Crosby
Several times I've heard it said that 'the church is the only army that shoots its wounded.' This thought has returned to me over and over. Being totally immersed in Southern Baptist Churches from the age of six weeks on, I've seen many churches and many people with various problems. However, it is rare to see someone with a serious problem openly discussing it and requesting prayer from fellow church members. I've often thought it a pity that we all dress up on Sunday morning, paste big smiles on our faces and set out to convince everyone that our lives are perfect--no problems at all--just like everyone else in our church. Then we wonder why non-Christians complain about Christians being hypocrites. After spending many years dealing with a variety of difficulties, I've come to believe that one reason the Lord allowed many of these to come into my life was so I could work with others who have experienced similar problems. I'm always amazed to find that when I start telling a portion of my story and sharing some piece of my 'dirty laundry' someone usually speaks up and admits that they've had the same or a similar problem in their life or their family. In recent months the Lord has impressed on me the need for this particular spot on the internet. We are going to start with a group of just ten forums, but we will be expanding to as many as we need to touch on the problems of those willing to come here and share. People in these forums will be asked to prayerfully share their own story and prayerfully listen to the stories of others. Many 12 Step groups use a slogan, 'When you tell your story, you give me permission to tell mine.'
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