Hi guys, woohoo. I am so glad to be uniting again with you in prayer. God loves to see His children come together. I don't know if you have checked out the 'youmustbebornagain" website lately, but they have posted some, uh interesting, things. "Mine" reads a lot like a tabloid story and contains about as much truth. My guess is that the group is trying anything they can to discredit anyone who questions their beliefs, perhaps some in the group are also starting to wonder if this "bondage" is really biblical. Jesus came to set the captives free and of course He will, in His perfect timing. Praise God! I think it is important that we include the elders in our prayers this weekend. We need to be careful not to exclude (judge) as they do. God's love is meant for all. I am so excited for this weekend. Stand strong, stay in the word and in prayer my friends. Love you, Sue

"In my anguish I cried to The Lord, and He answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Psalm 118:5-6.

Hope this encourages you as it did me.

Hope everyone will say a prayer of protection for our family and all the families travelling to Wells today, Sunday the 28th. Headed up to the Wells area for one of their weddings. I know there's some people on here who've been to one and know what to expect, I'm just hoping they respect I'm only there for support, I guess, and I don't snap while I'm there. I don't want to say how I know the groom, but we used to be close. He went from a good Lutheran household, to drugs in college, then while he was in a low point someone from the born again church contacted him. He was easy pickins for them, very easily influenced. He's working for their little tree service, I hate seeing his engineering degree from Texas A&M go to waste. I feel he's being forced to marry to permanently tie him into the church, I hope I'm wrong. We still plan on attending and showing them UNCONDITIONAL love, even though we don't support the marraige, we still will love him as Christ did. Pray for strong spirits for all of us attending tomorrow, and pray for his parents as they must go through this difficult time. Any prayers help guys!

Hi stillhoping. I pray that your day went well. I know how hard it is to watch a loved one 'disregard' the gifts and abilities that God has given him, but be assured that God knows all that is happening and grieves even more than we do when one of His own has gotten "lost". Don't let this marriage worry you, God works all things for the good for those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose- Romans 8:28- Showing unconditional love as Christ did (and does!) is so important, since there seems to be a spirit of fear and shame that hangs over the group. Know that we are all praying together that all involved will see and hear the truth and be set free from their current bondage. Psalm 46:10-Be still and know that I am God. Stay strong in the Lord!

Hope all went well. I heard there was another wedding. So much going on. We must pray and pray and then pray some more! The stronghold of deception can be broken! To God be the glory!

Why are you guys against this church? I have a friend who is a part of the group and his life has been enriched and radically changed for Christ! His name was mentioned in a post here. Not cool to pass judgment. He and I are to meet up soon as I really need my life changed.

Hi Awesomeness-I wouldn’t say we are against this group per say, but rather the evil behind it. I know that at least some of the members (I cannot speak for all) were saved, Christ-followers prior to joining the group. Which brings me to one the big problem I have with them and again I can only speak about the boys responsible for the deception of my son. Justin was down witnessing in HB when he met this group. Justin was preaching the gospel, demonstrating the amazing love of God and leading non-believers to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Yet these boys (wolves in sheep’s clothing) approached him and started to question him about if he was “really saved”. They aggressively pursued him and used one of Satan’s oldest tricks (doubt) to get my son to question his salvation. In the Garden of Eden the serpent twists the words of God and gets Adam and Eve to question what God had really said and gets them to doubt God’s words (truth) and then later we read how Satan tempts Jesus in the desert; again he uses this tactic. Satan actually tries to pry Jesus away from own His identity by questioning Him, “If you are the Son of God….” So it concerns me very much that this tactic of causing doubt and getting believers to question their own identity in Christ, is the predominate way this group recruits new members.
Jesus’ death and resurrection are enough. We are saved through Him, washed clean, made righteous( 2 Corinthians 5:21) before a righteous God only because of what He did for us on the cross. If we repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior then we too can be saved. It is nothing that we did or can do; God loves us so much that He sent His own son as a sacrifice for us. God provided the only way that we can be reconciled to Him and he did this because He loves us (John 3:16). Once we are saved we are God’s children (John1:12) we are sealed with His Holy Spirit (Eph 13-14) The scriptures are full of the promises that are ours as children of God, (let me know if you want me to provide more) unfortunately, this group relies on fear, doubt and condemnation to ‘persuade” believers to doubt their true identity. Ask your friend how many of the members believed that they were saved before talking to this group and that it was only after talking to them that they questioned their salvation. Scary stuff! The bible warns of false teachers coming in to cause division within the body of Christ. (Romans 16:17, again, I can provide many more examples if you want them)
I know this post is long, but as you can imagine this is a very serious subject to me. One last thing I just want to touch on, because I know that the group will bring it up, is their tendency to do a quick external judgment of someone to ‘determine” if they are really saved. Again very dangerous, the scripture clearly states that only God knows a man’s heart. And as I pointed out to my son, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day did exactly the same thing. They watched Him drink wine and spend time with sinners and then proceeded to accuse Him of the same. They were so sure of themselves and their “own” ability to identify truth that they missed the Son of God, they crucified the very “man” that was sent to save them. And I fear that this group would do the same.
Be careful when you speak to any of them. I do not know what or whom you believe in, but if the Spirit of God is calling you to believe and be saved, can I suggest that you find a good bible teaching church in your area and speak to a pastor or elder there before you set out to spend time with this group. It is by God’s grace that we are saved, through faith that He provides ( Eph 2:8) He can and will provide the way for you to hear the truth. He does not need the help of any one particular group to spread the message of salvation.
I pray that you listen only to the voice of truth, that you are not led astray by the “father of lies” and that once you are saved that you stand firm and sure in your identity and inheritance as a Child of God.

Amen, Justin07. Well said.

My friend had a similar experience. I thought he was saved but he met this group and found out he was not. I am not one to judge so don't know if he was saved back then or now. I also thought I was saved but I am so deep in sin, i just dont know. So what can I expect to occur when I talk to my friend again. Anybody know what life is like there?

Awesomeness- unless they have changed their tactics- your friend will certainly question you on your salvation. He will bring up things (sins) from your past, he will in fact become your accuser, which is sadly the same "position" given to satan (our great accuser). Before speaking to any of them I strongly suggest that you get into the Word of God. The truth of God's word will quiet the voice of evil that is trying to deceive you. I don't know your salvation "status" but I do know what the word of God says and it says in Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans is a great book regarding salvation and our identity). I would suggest reading and studying it. Our salvation is in Christ alone. We must believe that we are a sinner in need of a savior, that God sent His only Son to be that sacrifice, that savior for us. That Jesus Christ died, was resurrected, witnessed by many and then ascended into heaven. We must repent (turn from) our sin and dedicate our lives to following Christ. This last part is where the group will try to trip you up. They will tell you that you must not really be saved if you are still sinning. But that is a twist of what the Word of God says. Never does it say that we will be without sin. As long as we live in these earthly bodies we will struggle with sin. Hebrews 10:14-For by that one offering (Christ on the cross) He perfected forever all those whom He is making holy. It is a process. Paul goes on and on about how he does the things he does not want to and doesn't do the things that he wants to. You say that you are "in sin" and that is certainly not where God wants you to be. When you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior you became a new creation, a child of God, sealed with the Holy Spirit. However, you must accept your new identity; you must see yourself as God sees you. He placed His Holy Spirit within you so that through Him you would have the power to overcome sin. Only by His power can you say no to the flesh and to the things of this world. If you are saved then step into the life that God has for you, He has great plans and a purpose for your life. Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Eph 2:10- For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So ask God for forgiveness for whatever you have been doing that goes against what He has called you to be. Then, get in the Word, get to church and join a small group so that you have people that know you and care about you and most importantly find a mentor. Someone that has been a Christian for awhile and that you know and trust to help disciple you as you learn to walk in your true identity as God’s beloved child.
The group in Wells seems to want all members to “be the same” ignoring the fact that we are each a unique creation. God knew each of us and knit us together in our mother’s womb. So I’m not sure what scripture they are standing on for that attitude.
Plus the bible tells us that we are to be in the world but not of the world. But the group seems to have taken this to an extreme and tried to take themselves ‘out’ of the world. But we must understand that being in the world, but not of it, is necessary if we are to be a light to those who are in spiritual darkness. We are to live in such a way that those outside the faith see our good deeds and our manner and know that there is something “different” about us. Plus can you imagine what a disaster it would be if there weren’t any Christians running large companies, teaching at schools or colleges, or holding positions of authority; that would mean that only non- believers would have any influence on how things are going to be done.
What are they afraid of? Are they so unsure of their position in Christ that they fear an encounter with a “non-believer”?
I could go on and am happy to answer any questions that you may have. But I can’t emphasize enough that you need to get into a bible-teaching church and into the Word of God.