Message To The Readers Options

[Following The So...]

To the viewers of the Black SDA web-site/3ABN Saga threads:

I stand in a unique position of having had my life turned upside down by the actions of the 3ABN administration AND the wagging tongues of employees slinging slanderous, untrue remarks. In the world’s terms, I should be justified in having a revengeful spirit. And sadly, I have wasted years harboring this spirit and watching and hoping that the wicked will get their just reward. A few weeks ago I heard about the comments being made on this website, and became addicted to reading as the story unfolds.

Recently I have felt the need to spend time in Bible study and prayer, and as Micah 6:8 records, the Lord has shown me what is good, and what He requires of me. It’s to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God. With His power, I am committed to doing just that. I have a burden on my heart to share a message with each of you reading this now: to those who have been hurt by the actions of others, to those of you who have caused the hurt, to those of you who are just waiting to catch up or add to the newest gossip, to those of you who think you have a responsibility to bring about justice, and finally to those of you who administer this site.

For those of you who have been hurt: Jesus said to love your enemies, to do good to them who hate you. He didn’t say to retaliate and get even. I encourage you to spend time reading God’s word for comfort. Psalms 37 is awesome. Verse 7 says “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because … of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Do not fret – it only causes harm.” Verse 3 says, “Trust in the Lord, and DO GOOD; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” 1 Peter 3:8 teaches “Be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” Time is so short, and Jesus is coming soon. Don’t let grudges and hatred keep you from spending an eternity in a perfect universe.

For those of you who have hurt others, God’s grace is sufficient for you. I read an analogy once in a book (sorry, I don’t remember the author or the book, so I can’t give credit!) that asked the question – what if you, like Rip Van Winkle, were to fall asleep for 1000 years and wake up to find yourselves on the wrong side of the Holy City? The Bible is clear that unconfessed and unforgiven sins will keep you out of the kingdom. Is your pride more important than your eternal life?

For those of you who are waiting to catch up or add to the latest piece of gossip: Go to your Bibles. God has provided us with a wealth of information on how He sees gossip. 1 Peter 4:11 admonishes us: “If anyone speaks [or writes!] let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” I don’t see where God is glorified in any of this recent writing. We are defaming the name of Jesus when we proclaim to the world such vile comments, even if it contains some shred of truth, and we do it in the name of Christian justice.

For those of you who think you have a responsibility to bring about justice, particularly for those of you writing the televangelist and/or other unauthorized 3ABN stories: don’t think that you are going to receive jewels in your crown for each person you bring down. God has not authorized you to be the judge and the jury. That is HIS job. God is capable of taking care of His own ministries and reputation without your help. Go read the story of the woman caught in adultery. Were there any accusers left standing there that had no faults? How are you sitting there with your finger pointed any better than the Pharisees? Let Jesus take the wheel.

For those of you who are administering the website: Measure the content of this website against the counsel of Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and it there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.” The contents of the threads in this particular website are not on this approved list, and yet this site claims to be managed by members of God’s remnant church. Stick to your terms and rules that are posted on the registration page: “You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this bulletin board to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law”. This website is being a stumbling block to many and is taking the focus off the purity and example of Jesus. I pray that you will seriously consider removing these comments from your site.

To all of you: recently I read a devotional thought that talked of a certain kind of jellyfish that live in a lake, and they travel from one side of the lake to the other following in the direct light of the sun. Unlike other jellyfish, they do not sting, or hurt other creatures. Why? Because they are too busy following the sun. I think we all need to get busy and follow the Son. I plan to do this starting now and will no longer be visiting Blacksda.com or commenting on things that should be left in God’s capable hands. I pray that you’ll do the same.

[justme]

To the viewers of the Black SDA web-site/3ABN Saga threads:

I stand in a unique position of having had my life turned upside down by the actions of the 3ABN administration AND the wagging tongues of employees slinging slanderous, untrue remarks. In the world’s terms, I should be justified in having a revengeful spirit. And sadly, I have wasted years harboring this spirit and watching and hoping that the wicked will get their just reward. A few weeks ago I heard about the comments being made on this website, and became addicted to reading as the story unfolds.

Recently I have felt the need to spend time in Bible study and prayer, and as Micah 6:8 records, the Lord has shown me what is good, and what He requires of me. It’s to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God. With His power, I am committed to doing just that. I have a burden on my heart to share a message with each of you reading this now: to those who have been hurt by the actions of others, to those of you who have caused the hurt, to those of you who are just waiting to catch up or add to the newest gossip, to those of you who think you have a responsibility to bring about justice, and finally to those of you who administer this site.

For those of you who have been hurt: Jesus said to love your enemies, to do good to them who hate you. He didn’t say to retaliate and get even. I encourage you to spend time reading God’s word for comfort. Psalms 37 is awesome. Verse 7 says “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because … of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Do not fret – it only causes harm.” Verse 3 says, “Trust in the Lord, and DO GOOD; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” 1 Peter 3:8 teaches “Be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” Time is so short, and Jesus is coming soon. Don’t let grudges and hatred keep you from spending an eternity in a perfect universe.

For those of you who have hurt others, God’s grace is sufficient for you. I read an analogy once in a book (sorry, I don’t remember the author or the book, so I can’t give credit!) that asked the question – what if you, like Rip Van Winkle, were to fall asleep for 1000 years and wake up to find yourselves on the wrong side of the Holy City? The Bible is clear that unconfessed and unforgiven sins will keep you out of the kingdom. Is your pride more important than your eternal life?

For those of you who are waiting to catch up or add to the latest piece of gossip: Go to your Bibles. God has provided us with a wealth of information on how He sees gossip. 1 Peter 4:11 admonishes us: “If anyone speaks [or writes!] let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” I don’t see where God is glorified in any of this recent writing. We are defaming the name of Jesus when we proclaim to the world such vile comments, even if it contains some shred of truth, and we do it in the name of Christian justice.

For those of you who think you have a responsibility to bring about justice, particularly for those of you writing the televangelist and/or other unauthorized 3ABN stories: don’t think that you are going to receive jewels in your crown for each person you bring down. God has not authorized you to be the judge and the jury. That is HIS job. God is capable of taking care of His own ministries and reputation without your help. Go read the story of the woman caught in adultery. Were there any accusers left standing there that had no faults? How are you sitting there with your finger pointed any better than the Pharisees? Let Jesus take the wheel.

For those of you who are administering the website: Measure the content of this website against the counsel of Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and it there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.” The contents of the threads in this particular website are not on this approved list, and yet this site claims to be managed by members of God’s remnant church. Stick to your terms and rules that are posted on the registration page: “You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this bulletin board to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law”. This website is being a stumbling block to many and is taking the focus off the purity and example of Jesus. I pray that you will seriously consider removing these comments from your site.

To all of you: recently I read a devotional thought that talked of a certain kind of jellyfish that live in a lake, and they travel from one side of the lake to the other following in the direct light of the sun. Unlike other jellyfish, they do not sting, or hurt other creatures. Why? Because they are too busy following the sun. I think we all need to get busy and follow the Son. I plan to do this starting now and will no longer be visiting Blacksda.com or commenting on things that should be left in God’s capable hands. I pray that you’ll do the same.

Dear "Following",
I have a friend who is a fireman. He does not start fires. When he sees children in danger he rushes in to see what he can do to protect them They are not his children. He has nothing to lose by turning a deaf ear or turning his eyes away. So why does he rush in, in the face of personal danger? Because he knows what uncontrolled fire can do.

In this forum we have become aware of a fire raging out of control and there are children in danger. Sure we can pray about it, but so does the fireman pray before he engages the danger. He prays that the fire will go out. He prays he can help the children. He prays that all will turn out well in the end. But he HAS to offer whatever help he can. Even those not trained to fight fires will rush in to rescue the children. Does the name WACO bring back any thoughts of children?

I have another friend who is a "First Responder". HE goes to the help of INDIVIDUALS. He prays before he answers the call. He is trained to observe particular signs of danger and life-threatening conditions. If all he does it to pray, how much help is he? He must act, often in "TEAM" efforts. It may take more than one to save the life. He does all he can, then he delivers the "patient" to a more powerful entity, a hospital, a doctor, or maybe even a law enforcement agency. It depends on what happened who is in danger. Id a child has been endangered or violated the next agency will be "JUSTICE".

"All that evil needs to succeed is for good people to do nothing". Notice the word "DO". "Faith without works is dead".
Just DO IT!

[Observer]

You said: "For those of you who think you have a responsibility to bring about justice, . . . God has not authorized you to be the judge and the jury. That is HIS job."

Yes, God has not authorized us to be judge and jury. But, the people posting here believe that God has called upon them to speak for truth and justice. It may be that God has not called upon you to do the same. None of us can judge you as to whether or not that is your responsibility. But, neither are you called by God to tell us what God has called upon us to do.


You said: "God is capable of taking care of His own ministries and reputation without your help. "

Yes, God can. But, you clearly need to spend more time in a study of Scripture. God typically works through humans, and only steps in when humans are unable to finish the job. The plan of salvation has humans as an essential part of accomplishing the task of converting the world.

[sonshineonme]

To the viewers of the Black SDA web-site/3ABN Saga threads:

I stand in a unique position of having had my life turned upside down by the actions of the 3ABN administration AND the wagging tongues of employees slinging slanderous, untrue remarks. In the world’s terms, I should be justified in having a revengeful spirit. And sadly, I have wasted years harboring this spirit and watching and hoping that the wicked will get their just reward. A few weeks ago I heard about the comments being made on this website, and became addicted to reading as the story unfolds.

Recently I have felt the need to spend time in Bible study and prayer, and as Micah 6:8 records, the Lord has shown me what is good, and what He requires of me. It’s to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God. With His power, I am committed to doing just that. I have a burden on my heart to share a message with each of you reading this now: to those who have been hurt by the actions of others, to those of you who have caused the hurt, to those of you who are just waiting to catch up or add to the newest gossip, to those of you who think you have a responsibility to bring about justice, and finally to those of you who administer this site.

For those of you who have been hurt: Jesus said to love your enemies, to do good to them who hate you. He didn’t say to retaliate and get even. I encourage you to spend time reading God’s word for comfort. Psalms 37 is awesome. Verse 7 says “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because … of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Do not fret – it only causes harm.” Verse 3 says, “Trust in the Lord, and DO GOOD; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” 1 Peter 3:8 teaches “Be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” Time is so short, and Jesus is coming soon. Don’t let grudges and hatred keep you from spending an eternity in a perfect universe.

For those of you who have hurt others, God’s grace is sufficient for you. I read an analogy once in a book (sorry, I don’t remember the author or the book, so I can’t give credit!) that asked the question – what if you, like Rip Van Winkle, were to fall asleep for 1000 years and wake up to find yourselves on the wrong side of the Holy City? The Bible is clear that unconfessed and unforgiven sins will keep you out of the kingdom. Is your pride more important than your eternal life?

For those of you who are waiting to catch up or add to the latest piece of gossip: Go to your Bibles. God has provided us with a wealth of information on how He sees gossip. 1 Peter 4:11 admonishes us: “If anyone speaks [or writes!] let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” I don’t see where God is glorified in any of this recent writing. We are defaming the name of Jesus when we proclaim to the world such vile comments, even if it contains some shred of truth, and we do it in the name of Christian justice.

For those of you who think you have a responsibility to bring about justice, particularly for those of you writing the televangelist and/or other unauthorized 3ABN stories: don’t think that you are going to receive jewels in your crown for each person you bring down. God has not authorized you to be the judge and the jury. That is HIS job. God is capable of taking care of His own ministries and reputation without your help. Go read the story of the woman caught in adultery. Were there any accusers left standing there that had no faults? How are you sitting there with your finger pointed any better than the Pharisees? Let Jesus take the wheel.

For those of you who are administering the website: Measure the content of this website against the counsel of Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and it there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.” The contents of the threads in this particular website are not on this approved list, and yet this site claims to be managed by members of God’s remnant church. Stick to your terms and rules that are posted on the registration page: “You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this bulletin board to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law”. This website is being a stumbling block to many and is taking the focus off the purity and example of Jesus. I pray that you will seriously consider removing these comments from your site.

To all of you: recently I read a devotional thought that talked of a certain kind of jellyfish that live in a lake, and they travel from one side of the lake to the other following in the direct light of the sun. Unlike other jellyfish, they do not sting, or hurt other creatures. Why? Because they are too busy following the sun. I think we all need to get busy and follow the Son. I plan to do this starting now and will no longer be visiting Blacksda.com or commenting on things that should be left in God’s capable hands. I pray that you’ll do the same.

While your sermonette sounds good on "ineternet", in reality, you have picked and chose what you want to do inspite of what God says in whole to do. As observer and justme have stated, faith without words is DEAD. Maybe you are afraid? Maybe you are afraid you might do the wrong thing in your "actions"?? Maybe you should let God take you to the next step in your faith and ACT. Maybe He has been calling you to more then just the verses that give you the justification to do nothing but sit there. If you are not called to do anything, then don't. But beware - if others have, you have no right to JUDGE them. You can not see the whole picture - and yet you have enough of your own personal expirience you say, to understand? Get your religion straight. Either you are one like the bible stories we have heard so many times where ACTION was called out on the believer of God, and TRUST was there along side that God would make all things work together.

Don't give up or stop in your striving to deal with this situation. God isn't finished with you yet either, just like any of us - this situation has many ways of teaching us many things. Be flexible in God's hands. That's what He's trying to teach us all. Our problem is we think we know what God wants. How does that leave it open for Him to use us?

[justme]

Dear "Following"
I applaud your desire to 'let it go" as far as it concerns your own situation. This is admirable and it is true that we do this. at the right time.
Arsonist and murderers and rapists can be forgiven, even by the very ones the violated. But they still need to stopped from hurting others. There are a number of "Job Openings listed on their website.
Don't you just want to warn all those prospective applicants of what they may face in the employment of this "family-owned business"?!!!
Do you want to help stop the hurt that comes from a runaway train?
What will you say to those children when they grow up and ask you why you didn't speak up when you KNEW?
Your point about being SO HURT and DEVASTATED is one I can relate to. I know that pain! I know it well. It has happened to me! I no longer go back over my own devastating experience because I have done what you admonish. Give it to God and study, and pray, and forgive. Yes I am all OK now because I have healed.
But I did go through my experience because no one warned me of what I was getting into. Now I am much the wiser and now I can help and guide because I have learned how recognize danger and warn of it's consequences. It can leave scars.
When God heals us we usually have a scar as a reminder of what happened. In the heart, scars may be invisible to the observer. The signs may not be visible, but the symptoms can be recognized by a trained eye, by an experienced eye.
When my doctor tells me I need treatment for cut, it is not just his opinion, it is not "judging me", it simply what needs to be done to prevent infection or death. But time is of the essence.

[steffan]

Yes, God has not authorized us to be judge and jury. But, the people posting here believe that God has called upon them to speak for truth and justice. It may be that God has not called upon you to do the same. None of us can judge you as to whether or not that is your responsibility. But, neither are you called by God to tell us what God has called upon us to do.
You said: "God is capable of taking care of His own ministries and reputation without your help. "

Yes, God can. But, you clearly need to spend more time in a study of Scripture. God typically works through humans, and only steps in when humans are unable to finish the job. The plan of salvation has humans as an essential part of accomplishing the task of converting the world.

I was gone and now I'm back, but not for the purpose of defending myself or either side. "Following the Son" raised very important points that I have not practised with regard to my own behavior.

First, I must remove the beam from my eye before I make a big fuss about the speck of dust in my brother's (or sister's) eye(s). With that said, I hereby, without reservations, withdraw everything I wrote in my posts about this topic - both for and against.

Many things have been said on this site but I somehow do not see the spirit of Christ in posts like "The Guessing Game." To be fair, I do not see the spirit of Christ in my previous posts either.

Can "Sister" honestly state that she is directed by the Lord in writing what she has written in that thread? And encouraging others to come forward with their stories? Please note that I do not condemn, just that I'm asking a question that can be answered with a yes or a no. Could "Observer" be answering with a yes (as quoted above) ?

And for the record, I was not angry in my previous posts. Just cynically amused - which by itself is not Christian, I agree. However, I am neither angry nor cynical in this post.

Having been in "know" of some very ugly situations involving SDA leadership at the conference, union and division levels has led me to the conclusion that humans are _not_ meant to be meddling in situations like these. Each and every time, it was the Lord's doing in bringing those situations to a conclusion. Does that mean that this forum should stop discussing it and making plans to bring about a change? Not at all. I'm just pointing out that all your/their/his/her words and actions are irrelevant since God controls the final result - resulting in vindication for one side, or both, or none. The Lord will reveal and act in His own time, not yours, theirs or mine.

Have a good Sabbath

God bless all of you.

Steffan Philip
steffankp@gmail.com

[PeacefulBe]

Following makes lots of good points, and so do the rest of you.

I am still bewildered about what to think and do in regards to many of the situations and accusations I have read here.

My position to this point has been to remind my family and friends that the wheat and the tares grow together and that it is God who will separate them in His own time. I have been so blessed by the ministry of 3abn in my own life and don't want to see anything happen to bring it down.

I also read in the Bible that when Satan proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God through a possessed handmaiden, he was rebuked!

IF the accusations of molestation by the two brothers are true, that is something that cannot be kept secret. If it is not openly dealt with and the offenders charged, the parties who know about it and let it continue are committing a terrible injustice.

I still believe that prayer is our most powerful weapon.

[justme]

3ABN wants DISH NETWORK!

3ABN has been broadcasting an announcement. Danny asks for 3ABN to be placed in the DISH Network programming lineup.

Danny is speaking to all 3ABN viewers asking 3ABN viewers to write to DISH Network.

Mr. Eric Sahl, Senior Vice President for Programming
DISH Network
9601 South Meridian
Englewood, Colorado
80112

You may want to write to Mr. Eric Sahl to express your thoughts on this idea.

God’s will be done!

[Statrei]

It is official. This site has become infected with a grievous disease. What a pity.

[sonshineonme]

It is official. This site has become infected with a grievous disease. What a pity.

Can you be more specific?

[justme]

Dear "Rough".
Have you jumped to conclusions? or maybe are you a practicing licensed diagnostician? Just kidding ... I wish I was, .....sometimes. Not worth it to me.
Yup! There is an infection. You might call it a "hunger" and thirst after righteousness.
I, for one, do NOT want to see 3ABN go off the air. I would like to see the gospel go into every home in the world as soon as possible. After they see the gospel on their TV's they will look for a church to attend, and someone to nurture them into all truth. When they ask about 3ABN, what will they learn about the organization?
Probably depends upon whom they ask. If they ask the conferences, the answers will vary. If they ask the local church, the answers will vary.
Believe it or not, I would like to see 3ABN on the DISH network. The God of Heaven can use ANYTHING to further his work, if it willing to let HIM lead it.
What I would like to see is this:
I would like to see everyone (former employees, only) who has ever worked at 3ABN to be able to say that working there was the very best experience of their life. I have not heard even one as yet.
I would like to see the Three Angels Messages presented and followed. Especially the Third Angel's Message. "Come out of her My people". and it should apply to the management and family at 3ABN first.
The "Her" spoken of is Babylon. "Babeling Confusion!".
I would like to see Danny and the entire board "retire". All who have participated in "destroying" former employees should resign.
3ABN should INVITE all former employees of 3ABN to testify to their experience as an employee of 3ABN. If 3ABN has been so wonderful to everybody then why does 3ABN forbid people to say anything about having worked there?
Let's have a post from Danny Shelton himself, identifying himself, and inviting all former employees and volunteers to relate their own personal experience. Let the employees tell who their supervisor was, the job they did at 3ABN and for how long they worked there.
Surely it can't all be so bad. ...can it?

[lurker]

To the viewers of the Black SDA web-site/3ABN Saga threads:

I stand in a unique position of having had my life turned upside down by the actions of the 3ABN administration AND the wagging tongues of employees slinging slanderous, untrue remarks. In the world’s terms, I should be justified in having a revengeful spirit. And sadly, I have wasted years harboring this spirit and watching and hoping that the wicked will get their just reward. A few weeks ago I heard about the comments being made on this website, and became addicted to reading as the story unfolds.

Recently I have felt the need to spend time in Bible study and prayer, and as Micah 6:8 records, the Lord has shown me what is good, and what He requires of me. It’s to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God. With His power, I am committed to doing just that. I have a burden on my heart to share a message with each of you reading this now: to those who have been hurt by the actions of others, to those of you who have caused the hurt, to those of you who are just waiting to catch up or add to the newest gossip, to those of you who think you have a responsibility to bring about justice, and finally to those of you who administer this site.

For those of you who have been hurt: Jesus said to love your enemies, to do good to them who hate you. He didn’t say to retaliate and get even. I encourage you to spend time reading God’s word for comfort. Psalms 37 is awesome. Verse 7 says “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because … of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Do not fret – it only causes harm.” Verse 3 says, “Trust in the Lord, and DO GOOD; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” 1 Peter 3:8 teaches “Be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” Time is so short, and Jesus is coming soon. Don’t let grudges and hatred keep you from spending an eternity in a perfect universe.

For those of you who have hurt others, God’s grace is sufficient for you. I read an analogy once in a book (sorry, I don’t remember the author or the book, so I can’t give credit!) that asked the question – what if you, like Rip Van Winkle, were to fall asleep for 1000 years and wake up to find yourselves on the wrong side of the Holy City? The Bible is clear that unconfessed and unforgiven sins will keep you out of the kingdom. Is your pride more important than your eternal life?

For those of you who are waiting to catch up or add to the latest piece of gossip: Go to your Bibles. God has provided us with a wealth of information on how He sees gossip. 1 Peter 4:11 admonishes us: “If anyone speaks [or writes!] let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” I don’t see where God is glorified in any of this recent writing. We are defaming the name of Jesus when we proclaim to the world such vile comments, even if it contains some shred of truth, and we do it in the name of Christian justice.

For those of you who think you have a responsibility to bring about justice, particularly for those of you writing the televangelist and/or other unauthorized 3ABN stories: don’t think that you are going to receive jewels in your crown for each person you bring down. God has not authorized you to be the judge and the jury. That is HIS job. God is capable of taking care of His own ministries and reputation without your help. Go read the story of the woman caught in adultery. Were there any accusers left standing there that had no faults? How are you sitting there with your finger pointed any better than the Pharisees? Let Jesus take the wheel.

For those of you who are administering the website: Measure the content of this website against the counsel of Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and it there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.” The contents of the threads in this particular website are not on this approved list, and yet this site claims to be managed by members of God’s remnant church. Stick to your terms and rules that are posted on the registration page: “You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this bulletin board to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law”. This website is being a stumbling block to many and is taking the focus off the purity and example of Jesus. I pray that you will seriously consider removing these comments from your site.

To all of you: recently I read a devotional thought that talked of a certain kind of jellyfish that live in a lake, and they travel from one side of the lake to the other following in the direct light of the sun. Unlike other jellyfish, they do not sting, or hurt other creatures. Why? Because they are too busy following the sun. I think we all need to get busy and follow the Son. I plan to do this starting now and will no longer be visiting Blacksda.com or commenting on things that should be left in God’s capable hands. I pray that you’ll do the same.

When I first became aware of a problem with the leadership of 3ABN I was tempted to wait and see what the safe(popular) thing to do and say would be. What position would the leaders of our denomination take? If I spoke up and voiced my misgivings, would my family and my church family think I was evil for doing so? Why not continue to promote 3ABN? Why not continue to smugly enjoy the self satisfaction of seeing 3ABN become popular and well thought of? Why not just do my personal devotions and ignore injustice and immorality. It is an ugly and unpleasant thing to fight against. Why not just pretend that everything is sweetness and light? After all, that is what appears on the tv screens of my neighbors when they watch 3ABN.

I cannot ignore it because of my conscience.

During the holocost years in Europe, many people took the position that the rumors of genocide were just rumors. The Nazi Youth Rallies were glorious and inspiring. The propaganda was convincing. The music was wonderful. Everything seemed to be clean and right. Everything foreign and weak appeared to be dirty and wrong. Popular opinion was united. To be a dissenter was to be thought to be a traitor.

Sometimes what seems like gossip is truth. Sometimes thinking lovely and forgiving thoughts isn't enough.

[Johann]

---
What position would the leaders of our denomination take?

---

During the holocost years in Europe, many people took the position that the rumors of genocide were just rumors. The Nazi Youth Rallies were glorious and inspiring. The propaganda was convincing. The music was wonderful. Everything seemed to be clean and right. Everything foreign and weak appeared to be dirty and wrong. Popular opinion was united. To be a dissenter was to be thought to be a traitor.
---

The leaders of the Trans European Division of Seventh-day Adventist took this official position many years ago: Have nothing to do with 3ABN!

My wife's aunt was married to a SS officer in the German Army who was stationed in a Concentration Camp. When she visited him all was beautiful, clean, and the people seemed to be working in a good atmosphere. It was not until after the war she found out what was going on there.

[PrincessDrRe]

Dear "Following",
I have a friend who is a fireman. He does not start fires. When he sees children in danger he rushes in to see what he can do to protect them They are not his children. He has nothing to lose by turning a deaf ear or turning his eyes away. So why does he rush in, in the face of personal danger? Because he knows what uncontrolled fire can do.

In this forum we have become aware of a fire raging out of control and there are children in danger. Sure we can pray about it, but so does the fireman pray before he engages the danger. He prays that the fire will go out. He prays he can help the children. He prays that all will turn out well in the end. But he HAS to offer whatever help he can. Even those not trained to fight fires will rush in to rescue the children. Does the name WACO bring back any thoughts of children?

I have another friend who is a "First Responder". HE goes to the help of INDIVIDUALS. He prays before he answers the call. He is trained to observe particular signs of danger and life-threatening conditions. If all he does it to pray, how much help is he? He must act, often in "TEAM" efforts. It may take more than one to save the life. He does all he can, then he delivers the "patient" to a more powerful entity, a hospital, a doctor, or maybe even a law enforcement agency. It depends on what happened who is in danger. Id a child has been endangered or violated the next agency will be "JUSTICE".

"All that evil needs to succeed is for good people to do nothing". Notice the word "DO". "Faith without works is dead".
Just DO IT!

Excellent post and I totally agree.
Normally - people who say - "Just let it go" haven't been....um..."hurt" enough by someone to feel the pain.....
I don't know what "FollowingtheSon" has been through - but if their child, grandchild or their very own self has been molested - I doubt they would just want to "let go"....

Also - wouldn't GOD hold me accountable if I could have "protected" others - but didn't because I wanted to just "step aside" and "let it go"?


GOD works on earth through the works of others. If you are not "called" to do anything about the Shelton Mess then by all means - don't try to do anything. However I wouldn't "knock" anyone for trying to do something.

Yes, we all have "beams/toothpicks/sticks/pencils" in our eyes.... true - and if I recognize that, and know it.... and I am striving for removal.... won't you do the same?

When I first became aware of a problem with the leadership of 3ABN I was tempted to wait and see what the safe(popular) thing to do and say would be. What position would the leaders of our denomination take? If I spoke up and voiced my misgivings, would my family and my church family think I was evil for doing so? Why not continue to promote 3ABN? Why not continue to smugly enjoy the self satisfaction of seeing 3ABN become popular and well thought of? Why not just do my personal devotions and ignore injustice and immorality. It is an ugly and unpleasant thing to fight against. Why not just pretend that everything is sweetness and light? After all, that is what appears on the tv screens of my neighbors when they watch 3ABN.

I cannot ignore it because of my conscience.

During the holocost years in Europe, many people took the position that the rumors of genocide were just rumors. The Nazi Youth Rallies were glorious and inspiring. The propaganda was convincing. The music was wonderful. Everything seemed to be clean and right. Everything foreign and weak appeared to be dirty and wrong. Popular opinion was united. To be a dissenter was to be thought to be a traitor.

Sometimes what seems like gossip is truth. Sometimes thinking lovely and forgiving thoughts isn't enough.

I have seen documentaries where Germans were led through the Concentration Camps after the war and they cried and smote their own heads because they claimed to "not know".....

How would you feel if you "didn't know" and found out later that you could have been told (in regards to anything "secret" within your family [lifechanging])?



How would you feel if you "didn't know" and found out later that you could have been "saved" if someone had stepped in and "rescued" you?



How would you feel if you "didn't know" and found out years later that your child or granchild was molested by someone - yet people around you "knew" and did nothing.....



Put yourself in all of these scenarios..... that's all I ask

[Panama_Pete]

This website is being a stumbling block to many and is taking the focus off the purity and example of Jesus. I pray that you will seriously consider removing these comments from your site.

If all of the posts are deleted, as you suggest, what method do you think Dr. Arild Abrahamsen should use to tell people he is not -- and never was -- Linda Shelton's boyfriend? Wouldn't it be an even bigger stumbling block for a Sabbath School teacher, such as Dr. Abrahamsen, to let the students mistakenly think he was wandering around Europe with someone else's wife, when that was never the case? Isn't it best for people to know there is more than one opinion about that?

God is capable of taking care of His own ministries and reputation without your help.

Since neither God nor the General Conference stepped in (during 2004 or 2005) to correct that information for Abrahamsen, letting God fix everything (as you suggest) didn't happen. In the end, Abrahamsen had to write his letter, himself. Sometimes God helps those who help themselves.

But you don't want people to see Abrahamsen's letter, do you? Over the past two years, I've seen numerous people try to play the "gossip" card in an attempt to censor others. When you ask for the posts to be deleted, it is actually censorship that you are asking for, couched in a sprinkling of Bible verses here and there to make censorship look religious when it is not.

This post has been edited by Panama_Pete: Aug 26 2006, 04:42 PM