Gifts from God and a few other things

[Fangirl4God]

Before you start reading, this is kinda long so if you arent in the mood to read, then find something shorter.

Yesterday was such an uplifting day for me My stepmother has this friend at work who has a gift from God where he just tells her things, basically. My stepmother was talking to her about me and she said a few things about me and what I am going through:

1. God had told her that I have a gift. Writing poetry! It's really something I love doing but I had never imagined it was my spiritual gift! I was just so excited. And her friend didn't even know I wrote poetry either. God told her all this, isn't it amazing? She said I could very well be a great poet one day.

2. This one is...not so cheerful. My parents have been divorced since I was a baby and I have lived with my dad and visited my mom on weekends all my life. My mom is a christian but she has problems...she has a few mental and emotional disorders that keep her from seeing clearly and she let's the devil influence her too much. She sometimes doesn't even realize it. And I have known that for a while but since I am her daughter and I love her, and she is the best mom i could ask for, it's difficult to comprehend for me.
Anyways, whenever this woman sees my mothers house, she sees it is filled with demons. And my two little brothers are living there in that. She says the older one who is 13 and a Christian, Austin, is just fine. But she doesn't know about my little five year old brother, Alex. He is five and he can't talk yet. We thought it was because he was autistic, but she says he is too afraid to talk. She said he has seen something, either a demon or just something my mother has done, that has made him afraid to talk. Either way, all I wanna do is just get him out of all that, but until then I'm praying they are safe. It isn't like one of those child-service-needs-to-arrest-you type environments, but knowing that it is spiritually unsafe for them just naturally makes me worry.

3. Well, on a lighter note, the third thing she said was that the boyfriend I have now, Josh, that I love very much, apparently me and him are gonna have a successful relationship and could possibly be married. She sees me married somewhere in my early twenties, possibly to him. That made me sooooo happy!

So, those are the three things I learned and am praising God and praying for them. I just had to tell someone, so why not here, right? Thanks for your time!

[USSRGirl]

Sounds an awful lot like fortune telling to me. You know it's very easy to make those kind of predictions about people, right? You can even google this and freak your friends out by doing your own palm reading business. Anyway... I don't see much Biblical support for any of this, but I'll be praying for the situation to resolve.

[Yuki-Anne]

I don't want to discredit this woman if she does truly have a spiritual gift, but even so, if you are consulting with medical professionals about your younger brother, I'd strongly advise you to keep doing that.

Also, has this woman made other predictions for people that came true? And were they in the realm of self-fulfilling prophecy? For example, a self-fulfilling prophecy would be she tells you you will be a great poet, so you get a lot of confidence, write a lot of poetry, send it to a lot of publishers, one of them publishes, and bam, you're a poet, pretty much because she told you you were going to be, and not necessarily because she is a prophet.

I don't want to be just a bucket of rain on your parade but 1 John 4:1 says, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." I've encountered false prophecy even just in the past month, so it's actually a real, legitimate concern for us as Christians.

This woman is saying dramatic things, especially about your mother, and you shouldn't just take that at face value. And don't underestimate what emotional disorders can do to people. It doesn't have to be demonic activity at all; it could just be childhood trauma that she isn't healing from. I don't know what your mom's history is, but I would encourage you not to discount the existence of real mental disorders as demonic activity. My mom is a lovely woman and a strong Christian but she has a lot of childhood wounds she is still to this day recovering from. But again, I don't know anything about your mom. But don't just let this lady say there are demons and take her word for it. Test what's she's saying. Check it out against the Bible.

[USSRGirl]

Yuki said it very well. As Christians, we are called to be discerning towards false prophets. A lot of what you mentioned is very atypical self fulfilling prophecy or things that a fortune teller or other individual could easily assess given your age, gender, and family information. I had a friend who was into that kinda stuff for laughs and believe me you CAN make very good guesses about a person based on observation without knowing them very well at all. It's really an interesting thing if you take it in terms of logic... think Sherlock Holmes in the new movie.

The thing that worries me is that what she said regarding your mother is dangerous and harmful. I would hate for that to damage your relationship with her. I agree with Yuki - keep persuing speech therapy and pediatric help for your little brother. I'd encourage you to fall back on what you already know about your mom having mental issues in your assessment of her - not what some lady said about demons. Again, like Yuki said, we all have our own issues and burdens.

Furthermore... there's a lot about this that strikes me as unbiblical;

1.) Your mother is a Christian. She may have emotional or mental burdens but there is no evidence in scripture of a Christian being harrassed by demons to the point of physical harm really... If I could pull up Bible gateway I'd find that verse that promises protection from the supernatural. Also... the demons harming your brother for something your mom did is very sticky for me. I'm reminded of the episode where Jesus heals the blind man and is asked who sinned him or his parents. Jesus refutes this teaching by saying NO ONE caused this. Trying to tie a meaning to a medical condition - let alone place blame or claim your mom did something sinful to bring this on - is just not cool. As a Christian, her sins are forgiven. She's in the clear regardless of mental issues. God's not some cosmic bully who sees us sin, then says "ooop - your kid won't talk now. Ha!" First of all, no one is punished for their parent's sin in that way. Second, sin is a condition we're born into and live in everyday until we are saved. God wouldn't be able to dish out punishments fast enough if he worked that way - I cussed out a felting needle today. I should've lost my tongue for that if God operated that way.

As an aside, your mom is a single parent and if she's providing for and taking care of your brothers and all seems well then... cut her a break. It can't be easy on her. I grew up in a single parent home and it was hard. "Spiritually unhealthy" is not something the courts are gonna look at when there are kids with alcoholic parents and far worse situations that really need prayer. Not saying this case doesn't warrant prayer and again I don't know the situation, but I feel as if this should be put in perspective a bit... I've known so many people who've gone through horrible divorce cases like you wouldn't believe.

2.) I don't see any real evidence for personal prophecy in the Bible. Rather, most of it is relating to God's greater plan. Sure, there's some things with the disciples as to how they'll die a horrible death, but it's rarely "oh hey, Paul, you're gonna get a nice house and kids and be an artist. Cool, huh?" I'm not entirely convinced that kind of prophecy is even godly in so much that we are at the mercy of God's plan and not meant to know the future Harry Potter divination class style.

To sum up; I wouldn't completely discount the gift of prophecy, but I just say tread with caution. I do believe some people may have spiritual gifts, but there are a heck of a lot of false prophets and cons in this world. I'm not accusing this lady as I don't know her or the situation entirely, but from what you've said this smells rotten. Sorry.

[Darth_Kirby]

I agree with USSRGirl and Yuki-Anne. Just be careful and pray about it. Also, you might want to be proactive in your praying. In other words pray "God if this is from you let it come to pass so that I will see the truth, but if this is not from you, rebuke it, and bring the truth to light." It's a simple prayer, but it's not accusatory and God will definitely oblige your request. My family has dealt with certain situations dealing with stuff like this before.

[bobmonkeys]

Could it be that your mother is a professing christian, but is not actually saved?

I had an uncle who was possessed and killed himself when I was a baby. His mom, my grandmother, believes he was only schizophrenic and that he was saved, but I know that he read Heavy Metal magazines that were full of perverse content.

As for personal prophecies you do need to be careful of where they come from and pray for discernment of spirits. However, personal prophets are real.

Jesus prophesied to the Samaritan woman at the well about her life to prove that his words are true.

Samuel anointed David as the next king of Israel when that was a long ways off. Which shows that God uses prophets bestow callings on people who otherwise wouldn't believe them.

Nathan prophesied to David about his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. Daniel prophesied to Nebuchadnezzar about his seven years of insanity. Peter prophesied to Ananias and Sapphira about their death and they both died immediately after hearing it. Sometimes God enables prophets to tell people things that were inconvenient to them.

[Atria35]

I had an uncle who was possessed and killed himself when I was a baby. His mom, my grandmother, believes he was only schizophrenic and that he was saved, but I know that he read Heavy Metal magazines that were full of perverse content.

Heavy Metal and perverse content don't cause people to be posessed. I would actually back your grandmother up on this one.

In any case, whether or not she was truly prophesying or God was telling her these things, I do hope that your life is as happy as you want it to be.

[USSRGirl]

Heavy metal makes you get possessed by demons? Well dang… what am I gonna listen to when I exercise now?

But seriously, I don’t think it’s that cool to judge whether or not a deceased and mentally ill person was “really” a Christian. We don’t know. We’re not God. Focus on your own walk with Him, not whether or not someone was truly a Christian as the matter is in God’s hands now it will bear no fruit to doubt in them other than to cause strife with your family about the matter of his salvation.

The woman at the well was not a prophecy per se in that Jesus didn’t tell her future. He told her he knew about her and her issues (past/present) in his authority as God. Also, she was likely known in the community as we see her drawing water during the middle of the afternoon – generally women drew water in the early morning and evening to avoid the heat. So she’s hiding from the crowds out of shame. Some of her status in the community is self evident, the rest is simply Jesus saying “hey, I’m Jesus, you can’t lie to me. I know all about you.” That isn’t quite the same as prophecy – prophecy is future looking. All Jesus does is state a conclusion about the situation – “you’re an adulterer and the ‘husband’ your with now isn’t even your ‘husband’ really.” So I’d have to disagree there.

On the matter of David – David is anointed king not for his own sake (he was a pretty stupid guy in some regards) but for the messianic lineage that would come out of him and eventually Jesus would be born of David’s family tree. This is a far cry from saying “hey, David, you’re gonna be a jazz musician down at the local market. Sweet, huh?” <- this is completely self oriented and has nothing to do with God’s long term plan. Even if you say that you can use something like poetry or whatever you’re into for God, I’d say sure God gave us our talents for his glory, BUT that does not mean they are a prophetic component of his plan as most all prophecy relates to Jesus somehow... in the larger sense, not just “do something cool for God.” We can all do that and the Bible teaches that is how our talents are to be used. You don’t need a prophet to tell you that – it’s right there in God’s scripture.

I guess I'll back up a bit looking at the other examples and say yeah there are cases of personal prophecy but they're rarely so simplistic as "you'll marry your boyfriend and have a long happy life." They also seem to have a larger meaning... as I read them at least. I can see different interpretations on that though. In any case, they generally aren't something you're expecting or something that makes you happy necessarily. This gets into self fulfilling prophecies like Yuki said. David didn't expect to be king and he sure went through a lot to get there. Someone telling you everything you want to hear and expect just doesn't mesh. Who doesn't want their art/talent to be a success? Who doesn't want to marry their boyfriend and have a happy life? On the demon issue... this worries me as well; stepmother's friend, dad has custody of the daughter, mom has the sons... I'm not saying anyone did anything to intentionally slam the mom in this situation, but I'll bet the poster and the dad would rather have custody of all the kids. Third thing is none of the mentioned prophecies have a concrete outcome. "You will be a great poet one day" - what does that mean? You'll be published? You'll write poems for a church bulletin? You'll write more poems? You'll have inner satisfaction? Everyone has inner satisfaction about their work - this "prophecy" can be counted as true a number of different ways. Essentially, she'll never be wrong. "I can see you getting married in your twenties, maybe to your current boyfriend." The majority of young people marry in their twenties. What is "maybe to your boyfriend?" Whoever she ends up with, this can be counted true. There is a strong chance it will be true statistically. It makes you happy of course so you want to believe her. In a way, you're now taking your trust in God's plans for your future and putting it in the hands of this lady because she told you things that most people want - dreams to come true and love. Any fortune teller can do the same. I just think prophecy should be handled with care.

Anyway, I think this is getting too theological so imma quit here. Sorry for derailing the thread a bit. ^^;

[rocklobster]

Well, I think the whole heavy metal thing is wrong. After all, there are Christian heavy metal artists out there. Showbread and Underoath come to mind.

[bobmonkeys]

Well, I think the whole heavy metal thing is wrong. After all, there are Christian heavy metal artists out there. Showbread and Underoath come to mind.

I have no problem with Heavy Metal music especially christian artists. I never knew my uncle or knew if he actually listened to Heavy Metal music. The perverse content I was trying to say was that the magazines he had were nothing short of pornographic. I'm saying he opened himself to sin and clung to it, and the devil used that.

[quote="USSRGirl (post: 1484485)"]Heavy metal makes you get possessed by demons? Well dang… what am I gonna listen to when I exercise now?

But seriously, I don’t think it’s that cool to judge whether or not a deceased and mentally ill person was “reallyâ€

[shooraijin]

This is officially moving into TD territory, so let's get back to the actual prayer request.

[Maledicte]

Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. (I Thessalonians 5:20-21, emphasis mine)

Basically backing up most of what has been said here. While your mom's friend may have a legitimate spiritual gift, it is Biblical to take her words with a grain of salt. You're not being weak or untrusting if you're seeking medical help, that would be being cautious and wise. Also, consider talking this over with someone in the church. As folks on a forum, we can only base our opinions and advice based on what you've given us, but someone you know might have more insight as well as an outsider's perspective on your situation.

God bless you and your family.

[Hiryu]

Hmmm... most interesting.

I remember about a year ago I met someone online through a website called edufire. It's basically a user-operated classroom, where you get to teach people what you know, and you could sit in on other people's classes.

This one guy had a service where he basically told everyone in that class something that would happen in the future. Like the gift your acquantance has. He told me that the way his gift works is that he prays and asks for God to reveal to him something about this person. He claimed to be a part of the christian faith on his profile.

My "fortune" was something along the lines that I would see more money in about two months. Did it come true? Sorta. I got a boost in hours, then it went back to what I normally worked. At my job though, that's nothing absurd or out of the ordinary.

Nonetheless, I would love to hear more developments on this.

[Wrave]

praying................