Please explain you Personal Spiritual Encounter...

[Musicology]

By reading through the Questions/Struggles by Non Christians and also the General Apologetic threads and discussion with people at Church and Youth groups about how they found Christianity (or God or Jesus) were the following reasons...

1. Family/Parents (Rearing)
2. Friends/Relationships
3. Church/Youth groups activities (School aswell)
4. Dramatic Lifestyle change (former drug addict, criminal back ground etc)
5. Personal Spiritual Encounter

I can comprehend the first 4 reasons. Though the last one is always equiped with the quotes "I had a personal spiritual encounter" or "I found God through Jesus Christ" or quotes to the similar affect.

I am not trying to insult/create arguments or try and make you disbelieve, I’m simply asking from a seekers perspective. Your answer is your belief and I will respect that. So here are my questions

What was your Personal Spiritual Encounter?
What or who did it involve?
Why was it so influential in enhancing or strengthening ones belief?

Thank you for your time and you answers,

Peace and Harmony in the E major chord...

 

[Key]

By reading through the Questions/Struggles by Non Christians and also the General Apologetic threads and discussion with people at Church and Youth groups about how they found Christianity (or God or Jesus) were the following reasons...

1. Family/Parents (Rearing)
2. Friends/Relationships
3. Church/Youth groups activities (School aswell)
4. Dramatic Lifestyle change (former drug addict, criminal back ground etc)
5. Personal Spiritual Encounter

....

What was your Personal Spiritual Encounter?
What or who did it involve?
Why was it so influential in enhancing or strengthening ones belief?

Thank you for your time and you answers,

Peace and Harmony in the E major chord...

Great question to tell the truth, let me give you some examples, that I have heard of directly.

My niece was taken out to the water by a rip current, when she was around 8 years old, when my uncle realized she was out of sight he started to pace the beach looking for her, when he found her on the shore about 15 min later, she claimed that an angle had picker her out of the water and carried her to shore.

I would say, to each person the feeling and experience is different, but, in the end, it is something that you can either reason away, or accept as it was given.

Let me drop an analogy on you, that might explain this the best.

A man is sitting on the street, and prays to god for some food because he is homeless and hungry, after he finishes the prayer, a an walks up to him and says "The deli messed up my order and gave me the wrong sub, here, you look hungry have this"

Now, as the man walks away, you can either thank God for his provision to you, or you can say there is no God because that was just a man.

Hope this helps.

God Bless

Key

 

[ContentInHim]

See the other thread for my story. But I'll tell you my sister-in-law's story because it's a doozie!

She had to go for surgery - she was under 30 years old and the surgery was serious but not life-threatening. She's been sedated and the orderly is wheeling her into the operating room and she sees Jesus in the hallway smiling at her. She remarks to the orderly "Oh look, there's Jesus!" and babbles on about other stuff. After the surgery she goes home to recover and picks up her coked-up life where she left off. Well after a couple of months she needed more surgery and went back to the hospital. This time she saw Jesus again and he was no longer smiling at her - but looked so sad. She began to cry and asked him to save her. And he did!

She went home and told my brother to tear up his pot garden. He did very grudgingly and took up drinking again. Within a year, he was saved - he never told me what happened! Then they prayed for me for 25 years. Finally I caved!

 

[Musicology]

Thank you very much Key for your reply.

Now i'm not trying to pick holes in your reply or within my original question, can you explain your own personal spiritual encounter?

It sound like your niece was very lucky. It definitly sounds like you have answered the 3 main questions i originally posted on behalf of your niece (though i do understand that experiencing the story as you have would strengthen your belief too).

I only have one gripe, and please, this is not an attack on you or your niece just my understanding of this situation/event. I have worked as a life saver on the surf beaches in Victoria (Torquay, Lorne) and i was taught at a young age to swim in a variety of different locations (pool, river, ocean etc). Three main things i was taught about if you ever get caught in a rip. 1. Relax and don't panic 2. Try to swim across the Rip not against it and 3. If all fails, remain afloat and let the rip take you out. The reasoning behind the last point was due to the currents/undertoes and general flow of water will take you to one of two places. The first place is out to sea beyond the rip so you have to swim back in or a rescue party will come to get you. The second place is back to the shore line but a little way down the beach.

The lifesaver in me wants to tell you and your family next time to swim between the flags, or patrolled areas of a beach =) The little athiest in me would suggest that the latter point took place that she was taken out through the rip and brought back by the tide further down the beach. The little agnostic/semi-believer in me suggests your niece and your family are very lucky to have had such an angle to look over you. The Seeker in me would love to actually speak to your niece and hear her story. I believe that you are telling the truth about your nieces story (seeing an angle) but it is 2nd hand.

Thank you very much for sharing your inspirational story with me (and the others who read this thread!), please stay tuned for further questions!

Cheers

 

[Musicology]

Thank you kindly for sharing your story ContenInHim

Similar to Key's story as in it wasn't your personal spiritual encounter. Though i do believe experiencing something like you have (with you sister-in-law and brother) would also strengthen your belief.

The little medical TV show analyser would say being sedated on medication for the surgery and undergoing a major surgery is a truamatic experience and one shall see what one wants to see to feel comfort. The little athiest in me would say your sister-in-law was delusional with the drugs in her system . The little Agnostic/semi-believer believes your sister-in-law is extremely lucky to have had Jesus looking over her personally. The little Seeker in me would love to listen to your sister-in-laws version of the story (1st hand)

Again, i'm not intending to insult you and your beliefs, i'm just seeking information and covering all avenues of interest.

Could you tell me which thread you posted your story on?

Cheers and tune in for more questions!

 

[MelissaShae]

This is my story of how I found Jesus Christ.

I was reluctantly sitting in church with my husband and his family. I really didn't think that I needed church and that I was fine without since I had never been forced by my parents to attend church and they did not attend church themselves. The pastor starts talking about the bad things that happen in people's lives and how they feel when these things happen. Every situation he described had happened to me. I was molested and abused and I felt so angry and disgusted with myself for everything that had happened to me. Then I felt a pressence around me and I felt so calm and loved. My preacher said that he knew that Jesus was present in church that day and that he could feel him and I could feel it as well. I started to sob for all the anger and hurt and love I had ever felt. I began to pray and to praise and the feelings got stronger and stronger. I knew that God was talking to me and that I had to let go of so many things I was holding onto and after that day I have been so blessed.

Here is one more:

My youngest daughter was born on 7/7/06. I had very tough pregnancy and was on bedrest for a month before being induced because of high blood pressure. I had a lot problems during the delivery and after nearly 3 days of labor my daughter was born. I ended up having a very serious spinal leak and had to remain flat and could not turn my head. It was so serious that my doctor thought only surgery would fix the spinal leak. After all this mess we find out that my daughter had a heart murmur and my husband had open heart surgery when he was 7 to fix a hole in his heart and he almost died, so we were worried about my daughter's condition. My pastor and his wife came into our hospital room and prayed for both my daughter and myself. I did not need surgery to stop my spinal leak, it closed on its own, which is not unusual but mine was very severe which was unusual and after we took our daughter back to the doctor a couple of days after leaving the hospital, her heart murmur was gone. God healed us both!! Praise God.

 

[OrestesMantra]

Here is a question for Christians:

Alot of people who take LSD or shrooms claim to directly experience a transcendental God. If you don't believe me, check out some experience reports on erowid.org. Are these experiences authentic and if not why? Ultimately all of our experiences in life can be boiled down to the activation of neurons, so how do you know you had a "spiritual" experience and not just a unique activation of a certain subset of neurons that led you to feel the way you did? Alot of people with temporal lobe epilepsy claim to experience God whenever they have a seizure, so make do you make of this phenomenon?

 

[Key]

Thank you very much Key for your reply.

Now i'm not trying to pick holes in your reply or within my original question, can you explain your own personal spiritual encounter?

It sound like your niece was very lucky. It definitly sounds like you have answered the 3 main questions i originally posted on behalf of your niece (though i do understand that experiencing the story as you have would strengthen your belief too).

I only have one gripe, and please, this is not an attack on you or your niece just my understanding of this situation/event. I have worked as a life saver on the surf beaches in Victoria (Torquay, Lorne) and i was taught at a young age to swim in a variety of different locations (pool, river, ocean etc). Three main things i was taught about if you ever get caught in a rip. 1. Relax and don't panic 2. Try to swim across the Rip not against it and 3. If all fails, remain afloat and let the rip take you out. The reasoning behind the last point was due to the currents/undertoes and general flow of water will take you to one of two places. The first place is out to sea beyond the rip so you have to swim back in or a rescue party will come to get you. The second place is back to the shore line but a little way down the beach.

The lifesaver in me wants to tell you and your family next time to swim between the flags, or patrolled areas of a beach =) The little athiest in me would suggest that the latter point took place that she was taken out through the rip and brought back by the tide further down the beach. The little agnostic/semi-believer in me suggests your niece and your family are very lucky to have had such an angle to look over you. The Seeker in me would love to actually speak to your niece and hear her story. I believe that you are telling the truth about your nieces story (seeing an angle) but it is 2nd hand.

Thank you very much for sharing your inspirational story with me (and the others who read this thread!), please stay tuned for further questions!

Cheers

As a former life guard / saver, I wanted to kill my uncle for not watching his daughter closely when they were at the beach. But I am betting you would share that sentiment with me.

You arr correct, on each of those points, and I would like to say it is refreshing to meet someone that grasps life saving and current control, but we both know that there would have been no way an 8 year old child would have known this (Given my Uncles lack of comprehending the dangers of the water), or that even if she relaxed, that she would have had the endurance and state of mind to not panic when exhaustion set in (As riding the current can take a long time), but, that is her story, and she has been sticking to it.

Myself was different, I for most of my life always waited for the sky to split, and looked for God to do something "amazing" I guess. Prove he was there, sorta speak.

But I have learned that if I am always looking for the sky to split, I will never see the Gold that God has laid at my feet.

Sometimes.. it's the little things.

I guess, I stopped believing in "Luck", and started believing in God.

God Bless

Key

 

[MelissaShae]

Here is a question for Christians:

Alot of people who take LSD or shrooms claim to directly experience a transcendental God. If you don't believe me, check out some experience reports on erowid.org. Are these experiences authentic and if not why? Ultimately all of our experiences in life can be boiled down to the activation of neurons, so how do you know you had a "spiritual" experience and not just a unique activation of a certain subset of neurons that led you to feel the way you did? Alot of people with temporal lobe epilepsy claim to experience God whenever they have a seizure, so make do you make of this phenomenon?

I have never done drugs so I can't explain that. I also don't have epilepsy and I am not a medical doctor so I can't explain that either. I do know people who have epilepsy and have never heard them ever experiencing God when having a seizure....they have told me that they don't know what is going on and usually black out.

I am a sober person and have only experienced God as a sober faithful servant of the Lord.

 

[ContentInHim]

Thank you kindly for sharing your story ContenInHim

Similar to Key's story as in it wasn't your personal spiritual encounter. Though i do believe experiencing something like you have (with you sister-in-law and brother) would also strengthen your belief.

The little medical TV show analyser would say being sedated on medication for the surgery and undergoing a major surgery is a truamatic experience and one shall see what one wants to see to feel comfort. The little athiest in me would say your sister-in-law was delusional with the drugs in her system . The little Agnostic/semi-believer believes your sister-in-law is extremely lucky to have had Jesus looking over her personally. The little Seeker in me would love to listen to your sister-in-laws version of the story (1st hand)

Again, i'm not intending to insult you and your beliefs, i'm just seeking information and covering all avenues of interest.

Could you tell me which thread you posted your story on?

Cheers and tune in for more questions!

OK, here's my story - doesn't have the same drama, but the result is the same. Since salvation, I've had many supernatural experiences.

http://www.christianforums.com/t5390175-how-did-you-become-a-christian.html

 

[ContentInHim]

Here is a question for Christians:

Alot of people who take LSD or shrooms claim to directly experience a transcendental God. If you don't believe me, check out some experience reports on erowid.org. Are these experiences authentic and if not why? Ultimately all of our experiences in life can be boiled down to the activation of neurons, so how do you know you had a "spiritual" experience and not just a unique activation of a certain subset of neurons that led you to feel the way you did? Alot of people with temporal lobe epilepsy claim to experience God whenever they have a seizure, so make do you make of this phenomenon?

I disagree with you here. What you experience on drugs is the imitation of the real thing. I never did much in the way of drugs and most of that was 30 years ago. and I had quit drinking 11 years before. So I absolutely cannot attribute any experiences to that!

 

[Musicology]

Thank you kindly MelissaShae for sharing your story and personal spiritual encounter.

When you stated you felt a presence, was it a physical presence? Temperature change, cool or warm breeze against skin, tingling feeling etc or was it from within? I find your story extremely interesting due to the fact you were reluctantly sitting in church with your husband and his family. I like how it is almost a neutral start. You weren’t looking for God or Christianity so to speak. You were probably looking for guidance and a helping hand for the bad things, which have happened to you. Whether it was intentional or not,you probably had those thoughts stirring up inside of you.

The story about your daughter and yourself during childbirth is one I have experienced. Not personally due to I am a man… but my girlfriends sister had a very similar sort of problem during childbirth. She had high blood pressure and her little one was born with multiple problems. Twisted Bowel, thin membrane between the valves of the heart, heart murmur and general disorganised organ structure. It sounds awful, I know. Little Qiara had an oporation quite soon after birth to access the problems and un-twist certain organs and do what minimal fiddling you can do to a new born during surgery (that’s medical talk for you there!). The next time the surgeons had a look (x-rays and surgery again) everything had miraculously turned around for the better. Qiara has still got a thin membrane within her heart though. Qiara’s parents are Muslim and prayed every day/night/spare moment for her. You can look at as Allah/God looking over them, the amazing job our medical professionals can do or how amazing our body is by working things out. I’m glad Qiara, Kak Masq (the mum) and Ali (the dad) and you family are all well and whether its due to your faith are all looked after.

Thank you again

Listen to your heart and strum that guitar

 

[Musicology]

Thank Key for clarifying a few of my questions.

Unfortunately i haven't been lifesaving for about 3 years now, but still go down to check out whats been happening and seeing the little nippers coming through the ranks. The number of times if been down to extremely beautiful but also extremely dangerous coastal area to see sight see-ers/goers go for a swim makes my heart stop. I always go over and have a little chat with them. Paddling up to your knees is fine but even then you don't know exactly when the sand disappears or rocks or whatever, especially if you've never been to that beach before. It annoys me how and why people prefer to try and get a great photo and ignore the dangers they put themselves in. but thats a whole other can of worms!

I realised about 5 minutes after posting my reply i forgot to mention that being an 8 year does make this situation a quite unique and incredible. To stay a float for that period of time (endurance) and to remain calm when exhaustion does kick in (it doesn't take that long for middle of the road swimmers) for an 23 year old, let alone 8 year, is a fair task in itself. She is one tough cookie!

I always thought that peoples stories would involve the sky splitting open and the Heavans raining down with praise and Gods voice etc but that's just the Movies talking... Personal spiritual encounters are exactly what the first of those three words mean. Personal. Its how it touched you and you have proven that to me. Thank you very much

"I guess, I stopped believing in "Luck", and started believing in God." I like this quote of yours. I may have to use it some time as a reference to someones point of view.

Cheers

 

[MelissaShae]

Thank you kindly MelissaShae for sharing your story and personal spiritual encounter.

When you stated you felt a presence, was it a physical presence? Temperature change, cool or warm breeze against skin, tingling feeling etc or was it from within? I find your story extremely interesting due to the fact you were reluctantly sitting in church with your husband and his family. I like how it is almost a neutral start. You weren’t looking for God or Christianity so to speak. You were probably looking for guidance and a helping hand for the bad things, which have happened to you. Whether it was intentional or not,you probably had those thoughts stirring up inside of you.

The story about your daughter and yourself during childbirth is one I have experienced. Not personally due to I am a man… but my girlfriends sister had a very similar sort of problem during childbirth. She had high blood pressure and her little one was born with multiple problems. Twisted Bowel, thin membrane between the valves of the heart, heart murmur and general disorganised organ structure. It sounds awful, I know. Little Qiara had an oporation quite soon after birth to access the problems and un-twist certain organs and do what minimal fiddling you can do to a new born during surgery (that’s medical talk for you there!). The next time the surgeons had a look (x-rays and surgery again) everything had miraculously turned around for the better. Qiara has still got a thin membrane within her heart though. Qiara’s parents are Muslim and prayed every day/night/spare moment for her. You can look at as Allah/God looking over them, the amazing job our medical professionals can do or how amazing our body is by working things out. I’m glad Qiara, Kak Masq (the mum) and Ali (the dad) and you family are all well and whether its due to your faith are all looked after.

Thank you again

Listen to your heart and strum that guitar

I am glad that everything turned out okay for your girlfriend's sister and baby!!!

I was reluctant because I had only attended church a few times in my life and I thought I didn't need it and that I knew everything there was to know about God and since I believed in Jesus I thought I was okay. When I heard the word being preached in church that day I could no longer deny that God was reaching out to me and had been doing so for a long time but I just wasn't listening to him. The pressence I felt was in my heart and soul. I heard God reaching out to me and telling me that Jesus loved me and he died on the cross for me and when I hurt, he hurt and when I wept he wept. I didn't go looking for God because I thought I already knew him but I ended up finding out that I had a lot to learn and that until I could really give myself to him that I would never know him.