July 2024 NEWSLETTER
JULY 2024 NEWSLETTER
ROBERT LINDENBERGER
TITUSVILLE TOWERS APT 504
405 INDIAN RIVER AVENUE
TITUSVILLE, FL 32796
Give thanks in all
circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV
The Lord will certainly deliver and draw me
to Himself from every one of us out of evil.
He will preserve and bring His heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen (so be it). – 2 Timothy 4:18 ESV
WOW! I
am excited about sharing this newsletter.
Here is the reason why. God
speaks to me through AI. I was sitting
at my desk looking at my laptop and said, “Lord, what should be our newsletter
for July?” And an email popped in from a
friend I had as a pen pal. I had saved
all our conversations on a 3-inch floppy disk.
I no longer have a 3-inch floppy disk drive on my computer but I do have
all the floppy disks in a suitcase. I
was so shocked I almost yelled, HOW DID YOU DO THIS? Jesus said to me, “I am the inventor of
AI. I gave man the knowledge to build it,
and I know how to operate it. I love
you, Bob. You asked me what we should
share – JUST DO IT!”
Before I share our
conversation, I would like to tell you about my pen pal and how we met. I was living alone in a trailer in Florida
and grieving the loss of my wife.
Through Facebook, my pen pal and I were introduced and became friends. {Actually, more than friends} She asked me
before we started not to share on Facebook – only email, which I never did until
now. She is with Jesus, and I can see
Jesus showing her what I am about to do.
I can see her with a big smile and tell the Lord, “LINDY heard you say
it, and he will do it.”
Robert Lindenberger
From:expas65@yahoo.com
To:rifetterolf@gmail.com
Tue, Apr 7, 2015 at 10:09 AM
I had a full day on
Easter. At eight-thirty, I left the trailer for Church for men’s
fellowship hour, Sunday School, Choir
for the whole hour, and then the sermon. I came home and sat down, and
fell asleep. It must be old age! Then, at 4, I went to my
sister-in-law’s for dinner. I ate too much and couldn’t sleep. “Be sure your sins will find you out.”
On Monday, I had a race.
My nose was running all day, and I had to run to catch it. I
haven’t been sick in such a long time, and I don’t know what it feels
like; anyway, I got through it, and it’s the only way I know what to do. I wrote:
PRAYER WORKSHOP
Do you ever wish that God had built a
Spiritual Global Positioning System (GPS) system into each of us? I
do. The GPS Navigation system I use when driving tells me exactly how far
to my next turn, whether to bear left or right at points where the road is
confusing, and what time I will reach my destination—with continual updates as
my location changes. This detailed guidance is reassuring, and I wish God
had built a similar spiritual system into us. But our guidance from God
is rarely direct and specific.
It is an inconvenience to state the case
mildly. As serious disciples of Christ, we want to do what God wants us
to do. But what does God want? To quote Hamlet (out of context),
“That is the question.” How do we discover or decide what to do in
specific situations to be faithful?
Many would say, “Just read
the Bible.” The Bible offers us great wisdom but doesn’t specifically
answer many important questions, such as whom to marry, what profession to
pursue, whether to quit a job and return to school, how to make end-of-life decisions—and
many other dilemmas we confront. Through the centuries, however,
believers have developed patterns for discerning what God wants for them and
from them in specific situations.
One of these is waiting to experience
either consolation or desolation. “Consolation” is the sense of inner
peace and trust as we consider an action. We pray for direction and
consider options one by one until one emerges as feeling “right” within our
relationship with God. “Desolation” is the opposite—feeling unsettled,
ill at ease, and unable to act without inner turmoil; this sense of being
unsupported, perplexed, and unsafe pulls us away from an option. As we
prayerfully consider possible choices over time, an inner sense of unease and
unsettledness helps us to understand that God is pulling us away from some
actions.
Another way to receive guidance is what
the Quakers call a “clearness committee”—a group of four or five spiritually
wise, trusted people who know us well. The person wanting guidance
invites individuals to be part of this discernment group. The group meets
for 90 minutes up to a few hours. To begin the process, the person
seeking guidance talks about the decision to be made, helping committee members
understand the issues. After a time of silence, the group members ask
questions. They do not give advice; they may only ask questions.
The seeker may respond if the questions are requests for clarification, but the
seeker may remain silent as well. Each question and response is followed
by more silence until all questions have been asked. The group then
waits silently until they reach a consensus that all important considerations
have surfaced. The person seeking guidance emerges with a clearer sense
of what to consider a basis for deciding and acting—or refraining from doing
either.
A third way of discerning
guidance rests with an accountability group. This is a group of four to
eight persons who meet together regularly, usually once a week, to hold one
another accountable for living their common faith and their individual call
from God. Group members covenant to pray for one another and to be honest
with one another. Over time, members come to know one another
deeply—their strengths and weaknesses, spiritual struggles, relationship
challenges, and dreams. When a member faces a decision, others in the
group talk and pray for the person seeking guidance. Group members may
ask questions as in a clearness committee or talk about similar dilemmas—not
giving advice but providing context. They help the seeker to see the decision
within the context of what they know about that person’s spiritual journey and
call.
These methods take time
and do not dictate actions to the seeker. Support from the Christian
community is especially needed when the decisions are important—but finally, we
must decide and act within our private relationship with God. End Email
Ready
to write more about what I sent you? Now you know what I’ve been up to.
God bless, and don’t overdo ANYTHING.
Your friend in Christ, Lindy
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