I Am Second

Thank you for sharing this GM...I wondered for a long time why God allowed me to stay in my addictions for so long...but He does use our weakness for His greater glory...

...even in our darkest times...God can bring forth light.

I loved what the man said about...what he thought was the end of his ministry was actually the begining.

2Co 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
2Co 1:4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2Co 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
2Co 1:6 Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
2Co 1:7 And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.


I thank God every day that I am no longer bound by my addiction to drugs and alcohol...the new creation He made me through Christ Jesus.

And what I thought was God forsaking me...by allowing me to backslide and wander around in the desert for so long...was actually Him equipping me to be an effective witness and testimony to His great mercy and saving grace through Christ Jesus and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

That we can comfort others...as we have been comforted.

Thank you for posting this link. This website and the testimonies are amazing!

GreenMunchkin said:

That's the amazingness, I think, Cris. Everyone will respond to at least one of the testimonies; at least one of them will resonate quite profoundly for anyone that watches them.

I liked Jason Castro's, too

ETA: It's an amazing counterpoint to the atheist bus campaign... the anger behind that, and the love behind this - it says a lot, maybe.

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Jason Castro was on American Idol last year. He was a great guy!

GreenMunchkin said:

That's the amazingness, I think, Cris. Everyone will respond to at least one of the testimonies; at least one of them will resonate quite profoundly for anyone that watches them.

I liked Jason Castro's, too

ETA: It's an amazing counterpoint to the atheist bus campaign... the anger behind that, and the love behind this - it says a lot, maybe.

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That was wonderful testimony from Jason Castro...what a beautiful heart for the Lord...this is the first time I've genuinely smiled for days...thank you for sharing this sister....

Great link. Wish more prominent folks would step up and share their faith also.

umm...i never heard about them before but just watching these testimonies i'm honestly not sure about this group. There's not much emphasis on *why* we need a Saviour but as in the one testimony on the site there is an emphasis on what Jesus can do fo you *if* you accept him into your life like that NASCAR driver who nobody liked said his reward for accepting Jesus was that people started to say nice things about him, ummm what? i thought our reward was Christ himself

or Shannon Culpepper her testimony is just that she left an abusive fiance and realised that God loved her but theres nothing there about her having a Saviour or even what God she's referring to. She could be mormon or universalist for all we know

and Jason Castro, seems like a cool guy, but he doesn't say anything about Christ being his Saviour. He says he accepted Christ, but not what that means. He says he accepted the teachings of Christ, but who is Christ? a teacher? a prophet? a god man who wants us to become gods too? He says he wants to serve God through his music, thats nice but thats the same thing mormon, JW, etc... people have said too. What God, what Christ does he serve and what does that mean to him?

even on that section when they're trying to give some form of a gospel they don't actually give much of anything, just short excerpts written by different people that gives a very vague idea of what Christianity is. i think i only saw one mention of sin but then nothing was explained about *what* sin is or why it matters that Jesus became sin for us. besides all that the emphasis on this site is how much God loves me for who i am, but the truth is thats not true. we're sinful creatures whose sinful lives are an abomination to His sense of justice and righteousness but He loves us in spite of that. *thats* why we need Christ as our Saviour. We need a holy and perfect Lamb to stand in our place on the sacrifical alter and become sin for us so that we can actually stand before God and not have to fear His wrath. Theres no mention of any of that on that site that i've seen so far.

these are emotional testimonies and they do draw you in but i have to wonder what sort of gospel is actually associated with this group. All the website says is that its important that we find our purpose in life but fails to say what that means. even the world embraces thats its good to find a higher power of some sort and finding purpose in life but *what* does that mean? I'm very suspicious of Christian sounding groups that are trying to be vague about who and what they stand for. Not to say it *is* a terrible group or anything but i am not really impressed by how much they're trying to water down the gospel.

The testimonies are brief but there is an in-depth write up about who Jesus is and why we need Him on the site. There is a drop down menu with all the much needed information.

Testimonies are a beautiful story of how you came to know the Lord, each is different and unique...one is not more than the other.

GreenMunchkin said:

Do you know, I thought the same thing at first. But then I watched the testimony I linked in the OP, and actually looked at the site and was really reassured. All of the testimonies combined paint a full picture, but each individually is just a piece of the puzzle. I actually it prefer that - were every testimony to talk about sin and redemption, it'd become prohibitive, I think, and cross over into haranguing the people watching.

But the site doesn't shy away from why it is we need a Saviour, and what it takes to follow Him.

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I was thinking the same thing...and little tigress is quite right in that we should be wary of sources and intent...

...but I consider not every testimony covers the full measure of the gospel...I consider there is a difference in giving a testimony...and in witnessing to others...while our testimony can be a witness...mostly we're sharing our personal experiences and thoughts...

...when we see witnessing or proselytizing...wisdom dictates discernment for sure.

Could it be that they are simply trying to use subtlety to win people's desire for their message?

like i say i don't think its all bad but it does bother me that they're so careful not to give too much of the gospel, even if it is for fear of alienating anyone watching. that really shouldn't be a concern for Christians, our mandate is to give the gospel to the lost and dying and let God work out the rest.

If an unbeliever only had one day left to live and the last representation he saw of the gospel was one of those videos would the knowledge he gains from those videos be enough to lead him to salvation? thats the only question i think that matters when you make the biggest part of your ministry videos of testimonies

little_tigress said:

like i say i don't think its all bad but it does bother me that they're so careful not to give too much of the gospel, even if it is for fear of alienating anyone watching. that really shouldn't be a concern for Christians, our mandate is to give the gospel to the lost and dying and let God work out the rest.

If an unbeliever only had one day left to live and the last representation he saw of the gospel was one of those videos would the knowledge he gains from those videos be enough to lead him to salvation? thats the only question i think that matters when you make the biggest part of your ministry videos of testimonies

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But I think these testimonies were great for us as believers. Not everything is always about the unbeliever, we have to live in this world and it's not always easy for us, I found edification in some of what they were saying....The brethren is there to help the Body too and I could relate to what they were saying.....pretty cool I thought.

GreenMunchkin said:

Have you heard of this campaign? It looks like it's based in Dallas... but they have people off the street and pastors and celebrities giving their testimonies. It's really quite wonderful.

This is such a powerful testimony, but there are quite a few of them.

Here is the home page.

Tis one of the more encouraging things have stumbled across in a wee while

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That was too cool Munchkin, thanks for sharing.

I just saw an advert for Alpha over here and Bear Grylls was on it! I didn't realise he was a Christian but was thrilled to find out when I looked into it some more. I had really liked that guy, and now I know why.

GreenMunchkin said:

Heh, I read your post and went looking for others: Alan Titchmarsh is a Christian now... as is Rik Wakeman, David Suchet and Freddie Highmore...

I wondered about Bear Grylls a while back, because he's on the blurb of The Shack Wasn't sure what to make of that, really. But he's quoted as saying his faith is the backbone of his life, so as professing his faith goes, that's fairly professy

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Alan Titchmarsh? Lol, that is cool.

Oh dear, didn't know Grylls was on the blurb of The Shack.........The thing I heard was what you just said, that he says his faith is the backbone of his life.....