Sarah.

If it means anything to you, I asked the same.

I can't give you faith, any more than I can to those who reject it. But if you take Jerica's experience for example. The way was provided, she just needed to find it, work really hard to get there and go through with it.

In my case, I have followed a life plan, just a list of ultimate objectives. I had to work really hard and was given the strength and opportunities to do it.

Some may explain things more prosaically, that is their choice. I'm pretty sure there will be some bumpy roads ahead for Jerica. I know there are for me. But I won't lose faith that I will gain, in the end, what I deserve.

But whatever happens, I won't lose my faith.

Quote from: spacial on March 28, 2011, 05:50:42 PM
Sarah.

If it means anything to you, I asked the same.

I can't give you faith, any more than I can to those who reject it. But if you take Jerica's experience for example. The way was provided, she just needed to find it, work really hard to get there and go through with it.

In my case, I have followed a life plan, just a list of ultimate objectives. I had to work really hard and was given the strength and opportunities to do it.

Some may explain things more prosaically, that is their choice. I'm pretty sure there will be some bumpy roads ahead for Jerica. I know there are for me. But I won't lose faith that I will gain, in the end, what I deserve.

But whatever happens, I won't lose my faith.

Spacial,

It does make sense. I am not the only one who has gone through things. I think in some ways i may understand what you are going through with your thinking about your relationship with your wife. My wife also was a good balance for me she was very out going and in some ways she was the best part of me and i did not want to lose her. She was the one that started pulling me out of my shell and got me doing some things i never had the courage to do. Our families were not happy with us getting married at all and when i had reached the point where my GID had gotten really bad to the point of my wife even saying that we needed help because it was like living with another woman,her family was pushing her to leave me but she did stand by me but she also made it clear that for the time i had to put it aside for the marriage to last and it made it really hard and that's when i prayed that prayer.
Once i got the answer i then asked Him to help me be what she needed as i did not have it in me. It did get better as He did answer that prayer. And i know it might sound a bit strange but as at times being in a marriage sex is a part of it we got to the point where we prayed before and those were the only times in my life that sex was good.

She was my best friend,soul mate and confidant. And even though we had some very very rough times we also had some of the best times in my life. I do think that if the situation was different we would have been very good girl friends. (I do often think about her a lot at this time of year as it's very close to the date that she went home and it's at this time of year as i do miss her a lot)

God is the only one who can grow the faith and it's most often in the hard times. I just so often think that God wants so much more for us but it is so hard sometimes to get beyond what we have been taught by our parents and others. I keep getting the feeling that He wants us to start thinking outside the box and to place it into His hands so we can see what He can do.

It again seems like i have gotten close enough to take the next step and the money issues looked like they were going to fall into place by the end of the summer. Once again i do get to watch it grow wings and fly away. (Although why did it Have to be to the government) When your self employed you do get a double whammy at this time of year as you get both whatever taxes you ow for the previous year and also estimated taxes for the next year and both are due by April 15th. (Governmental thinking at it's best)
It just gets hard when you see that finally you may be getting close to being able to take the next step and you can see the door close again. Sigh

The one thing i do take comfort in is that it will not be forever. Someday i will be either be able to go forward or i will be released from this body and it pass like a very bad dream

Ok so after a very restless night. I think i am beginning to understand that fear can hinder faith. In some ways i am afraid to take the next step. Not so much about what people will say and do although that is part of it,but the old tapes are running through my mind i mean i feel like i have so screwed up my life and failed so many times what makes me think i could ever do this right? If there is any possible way to mess things up i could find a way. I know it's not true but yeti keep finding my thoughts going down this path. Which leads to fear and i am no longer living by faith but by fear. Fear can prevent someone from taking the next step. So the next step then becomes overcoming the fear. Some days i get so tired feeling like i am spending more time fighting myself then anything else.

 

Quote from: SarahM777 on March 17, 2011, 09:17:13 PM
I believe that Jesus also taught that our relationship with God was to be as personal as a little child before his loving daddy.

i was at a point that what i was seeing in the church was not what Jesus taught. I had seen more rejection,judgement and hypocrisy then i ever thought was possible. It also seemed that it was a formula and there was no reality.

The love that Jesus talked about was not evident.  I think now part of it was hoping to keep the GID under control. (Not really a good reason to try to become a pastor) After about a year of college i just couldn't do it anymore and i bolted from the church. Even so i kept being drawn back to Jesus not the organized church.

That was when i was about 21. (Between the ages of 20 and 24 i don't remember much only bits and pieces as there is a major block for some reason)

Keep seeking him apart from them. your patern is so close to mine. the body is of Christ, not of man.

I too, have asked God to change me into a woman.  However, since it has never happened in all these many past centuries to anyone I ever heard of (not including SRS) I dont figure he will do so for me.  Thats ok, though.  I have faith in God (Jesus) and love him regardless  of wether I am male or female. His will be done.  But, perhaps, if I ask him?  maybe he will give me a perfect female body when he ressurects me so I can live eternally as a female (that would be great!) but again, His will be done, not mine.

Quote from: Salina on May 03, 2011, 01:06:51 PM
But, perhaps, if I ask him?  maybe he will give me a perfect female body when he ressurects me so I can live eternally as a female (that would be great!) but again, His will be done, not mine.

I don't know what our bodies will look like in Heaven, but I think you will be fully who you are supposed to be, completely and 100%.  God looks at the heart, after all, so the heart is going to be what is reflected externally.

With prayer, God answers in many different ways.  He might answer directly, he might answer by sending us the help or giving us courage, he might answer with a delayed answer, he might tell us "no", or, literally, God only knows what else.

The most important part of prayer is an honesty.  It's not about making the prayers "right" or praying about the "right" thing.  It's about coming to God and opening your heart, spending time telling him how you feel and what you want, and then listening to His heart as He does the same.  I truly believe He would rather us come upset or with the "wrong" thoughts than to lie to him about what we think/feel, or, even worse, to not come at all.

Do I think God will miraculously fix most people's bodies with an instant miracle?  I don't - I think instant miracles are rare.  But that doesn't make asking wrong.  And there are plenty of miracles God can do that might not be miraculous healings, but are miraculous none-the-less and accomplish the same thing.  For some, I think staying alive another day is a miracle and something to be celebrated - and for God to be thanked when He gives us the strength.  For others, they have been blessed by being able to get the medical help they need through unexpected means.  Or it might even be leading someone to exactly the right therapist or surgeon - the person that understands them and their needs.  Or even giving a person the courage to admit to themselves who they are can be a miracle.  When God puts these in place, they shouldn't be diminished as if they are lessor works of God.

I pray for God to do miracles in people's lives, fixing a body if it doesn't match who they are.  I might be the person God responds to with a miraculous, instant healing of someone - that would be very awesome!  But it is also awesome to hear His heart about His children, and share, in the small and rather immature way I am capable, His heart, and to grow as a result.  It's just a nice bonus that as I'm sharing in God's heart, He is allowing me to share in His work by creatively answering my prayers, often in ways I don't expect.

Quote from: Salina on May 03, 2011, 01:06:51 PM
I too, have asked God to change me into a woman.  However, since it has never happened in all these many past centuries to anyone I ever heard of (not including SRS) I dont figure he will do so for me.  Thats ok, though.  I have faith in God (Jesus) and love him regardless  of wether I am male or female. His will be done.  But, perhaps, if I ask him?  maybe he will give me a perfect female body when he ressurects me so I can live eternally as a female (that would be great!) but again, His will be done, not mine.

For me i believe that just because it is not recorded does not mean that it has never happened. I do believe that others have gone before and have had it happen. But i do believe that they struggled for quite  a while. I think it is a bigger problem for us in Western society to believe that God can and will do it because it does go against "rational thought"  Let's face it time after time you hear missionaries to other cultures that are less bound by technology or western thought processes will tell of miracles that they have seen. In our society it's the doctors that are called the miracle workers.
It comes down to seeking the truth and God's will for me life. I do know i am not to seek it through human reasoning or methods. It has been a very real struggle which has as yet not come to it's end. I can say that He has brought me a long long way but i have so very far to go. The one thing i can say is that so far He has healed me mentally and emotionally applying the principles that Jesus gave us. I have been set free of the lies as i now know the truth i am a woman with a male body. I no longer am chained to those that hurt me by Him helping me to forgive those that hurt me. My relationships are now based on the truth so they are more secure and honest. I have been freed of most of the addictions. (Still working on the smoking but it is getting there) He did not change my body first as these are all detriments that needed to be dealt with first. The real question now is Can i let go and let Him do what He can do?

Quote from: Slanan on May 03, 2011, 11:44:16 PM
I don't know what our bodies will look like in Heaven, but I think you will be fully who you are supposed to be, completely and 100%.  God looks at the heart, after all, so the heart is going to be what is reflected externally.

With prayer, God answers in many different ways.  He might answer directly, he might answer by sending us the help or giving us courage, he might answer with a delayed answer, he might tell us "no", or, literally, God only knows what else.

The most important part of prayer is an honesty.  It's not about making the prayers "right" or praying about the "right" thing.  It's about coming to God and opening your heart, spending time telling him how you feel and what you want, and then listening to His heart as He does the same.  I truly believe He would rather us come upset or with the "wrong" thoughts than to lie to him about what we think/feel, or, even worse, to not come at all.

Do I think God will miraculously fix most people's bodies with an instant miracle?  I don't - I think instant miracles are rare.  But that doesn't make asking wrong.  And there are plenty of miracles God can do that might not be miraculous healings, but are miraculous none-the-less and accomplish the same thing.  For some, I think staying alive another day is a miracle and something to be celebrated - and for God to be thanked when He gives us the strength.  For others, they have been blessed by being able to get the medical help they need through unexpected means.  Or it might even be leading someone to exactly the right therapist or surgeon - the person that understands them and their needs.  Or even giving a person the courage to admit to themselves who they are can be a miracle.  When God puts these in place, they shouldn't be diminished as if they are lessor works of God.

I pray for God to do miracles in people's lives, fixing a body if it doesn't match who they are.  I might be the person God responds to with a miraculous, instant healing of someone - that would be very awesome!  But it is also awesome to hear His heart about His children, and share, in the small and rather immature way I am capable, His heart, and to grow as a result.  It's just a nice bonus that as I'm sharing in God's heart, He is allowing me to share in His work by creatively answering my prayers, often in ways I don't expect.

I agree i do not think with tis is something that will happen overnight. One major consequence which we do not think of is How would you prove who you are? To the world you would be a person with out an identity and unless you are one of the few with documented proof ie fingerprints or some other method of physical proof it would be very difficult to prove who you are. Which means a loss of job,family,assets and possible imprisonment as you would be viewed as a nut case who needs severe mental help or you may end up in prison for breaking and entering or even killed out right if someone in the household had a weapon and does not recognize you. Plus the other thing is if i were to wake up transformed would my mind be able to deal with it or would i totally freak out?

Then the question becomes what if God in His wisdom knows that the best way is over a period of time and not an instant change? Think about it boys and girls do not become men and women overnight and even with human methods it does NOT happen overnight. Why would it be any different for God to transform us over time?

After spending the last 4 weeks talking with my friend who has me going off on a tangent. What if we are missing something that to us may seem very small but is very important? Are we not to call upon the Name of the Lord?
It is stated both in the old and new testaments. But do i really do that? Is His name God or is that a term of definition of a particular type of being? It defines that i am not speaking to an angel,demon,animal or any other type of being. 
Even the ancients had names for their gods. How many thousands of names? There is
Ra,Shiva,Molech,Bel,Baal,Odin,Zeus etc etc

Then you have what i believe are His titles Lord,Master,Teacher Shepard etc which are used also for human beings so here again how can these be God's name? Then there are what i believe are descriptive titles given by people and not what God said was God's name. These all describe God's attributes but are they really God's name? You have Adonai,Elohim,El-Shaddai,Jehovah etc.

If it is true that we are to ask anything in His Name or to call upon His name and these above are not His name then whom am i really praying to? Can i really expect an answer if i am not using the gift we have been given to use for His honor and Glory? To call upon His name the very name He Himself gave us. Are we not to call upon the name of Yahweh or Yahuashua ?

Yahshua is the Hebrew name of the Son of God. It is what His father Yoceph (Joseph) and His mother Miriam (Mary) called Him when He was born, as recorded in Luke 1:31 and Matthew 1:21. The footnote for this verse in the NIV New Testament reads: Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua.

In Hebrew, as in old English, there is no "J" sound, and the name is more accurately rendered Yahshua. It means "I am powerful to save," since it is constructed from Yah, the name of the Father (as in Hallelujah, "Praise Yah"), which means "I AM," and shua, which means "power and authority to save."

We call Him Yahshua because that is truly His name.

I know it has been some time since I posted on this thread. It also bodes the question What does God ask of a woman that is different than a man? Can i accept those things? Is it not also that if God were to do so then is God asking me to not only be changed in the body but also to become a woman of virtue?

What if....there is no God?
The Bible is made up from people thousand of years ago, they also believed the earth was flat.
Than you have worries for nothing, waste of time and energy.
I'm not trying to insult someones religion but there is a possibility that it all isn't true.

Quote from: annette on December 02, 2011, 07:45:19 AM
What if....there is no God?
The Bible is made up from people thousand of years ago, they also believed the earth was flat.
Than you have worries for nothing, waste of time and energy.
I'm not trying to insult someones religion but there is a possibility that it all isn't true.

Please this is only my opinion but I see a major flaw with that line of thinking. If God does not exist then how is it that we value love,justice,beauty,friendship,etc when if God does not exist how do any of these things have anything to do with survival of the fittest? They would then seem to be flaws as if our only our only purpose to to procreate for the next generation. Why then would it be wrong for someone bigger than me to beat the crap out of me to take my lunch is wrong? He is bigger and stronger and he should be more fit to procreate so the species can survive.

Why then do we also spend so much time dealing with an issue that in the long term means nothing if all there is is this life. And does that not also mean that those who hate us are right in that then we are freaks of nature as there does not seem to be any purpose for the survival of human kind in being transgendered.

We do have values on love, justice etc.
But, if we take a closer look, is there so much love?
All those wars and hate.
BTW, there are a lot victims of love.
Is there so much justice?
Why do poor people have to pay for the richdom of the bank managers?
Why are children in the age of 6, 7 years, hard working as an adult with no future?
When there was a supreme being full of love and justice, would he or she let it go on?
I don't get it.
I understand that you will have a lot of support in life because of your religion, and that's a good thing.
I mean, everybody is (thankfully) right in their choices to believe what they want in western society.
But, it's still a believe, no one can prove for sure.

Kia Ora Sarah,

You make some interesting points, however...........

I'm sure you are aware of the proven universal laws of cause and effect...For 'this' to happen 'that' must happen-and for 'that' to happen-'this' must happen =evolution...

And even for a deist type of 'god' to exist [who was meant to have set things in motive then left it at that] this god would also be subjected to this universal law...For something to exist outside this fundamental law, the human mind could not possibly grasp/understand such a concept, as every thing we 'think' 'say' 'see' and 'do' evolves around this basic law...

Another way to look at things, is if such a creator being could actually exist[outside this law] then[according to the universal law of cause and effect of which all living things are bound] what we call reality is just an illusion-we live in a dream-like state...An artificial life form with programmed artificial meanings... All life exists only as a part of some god's elaborate dream so to speak....

So like Annette said before, what if the god concept itself came about through a 'thought' process involving a cause, a condition and an effect...Craving, clinging, the desire to attach to what is impermanent, planted the omnipotent, omniscient,  god seed which continually brings thoughts of hope and deliverance to some...

* And because this is a "What If" question, I had better add..."But I could be wrong !"

Metta Zenda

Quote from: Zenda on December 02, 2011, 05:21:45 PM
Kia Ora Sarah,

You make some interesting points, however...........

I'm sure you are aware of the proven universal laws of cause and effect...For 'this' to happen 'that' must happen-and for 'that' to happen-'this' must happen =evolution...

And even for a deist type of 'god' to exist [who was meant to have set things in motive then left it at that] this god would also be subjected to this universal law...For something to exist outside this fundamental law, the human mind could not possibly grasp/understand such a concept, as every thing we 'think' 'say' 'see' and 'do' evolves around this basic law...

Another way to look at things, is if such a creator being could actually existed[outside this law] then[according to the universal law of cause and effect of which all living things are bound] what we call reality is just an illusion-we live in a dream-like state...An artificial life form with programmed artificial meanings... All life exists only as a part of some god's elaborate dream so to speak....

So like Annette said before, what if the god concept itself came about through a 'thought' process involving a cause, a condition and an effect...Craving, clinging, the desire to attach to what's is impermanent, planted the omnipotent, omniscient,  god seed which continually brings thoughts of hope and deliverance to some...

Metta Zenda

Hello Zenda,

I do see where you are coming from. I can not agree that God is bound by the same natural laws that govern us. The One that created everything is greater than that which was created. The One who made the subatomic particles must also know how they work in such detail so that they all work in balance and the way they should. The One who created the DNA must know how it works when it is being replicated. The One who created the planets and the solar systems would know how they need to revolve around their stars and know where to place them so they orbit in a pattern that would keep them viable.

When looked at from this angle then the miracles that are spoken about are not only possible as God is greater than that which was created but for God they would be a simple matter for God. It would be a simple thing for God to change some molecules of water into wine,it would be a simple matter for God to heal a blind man,it would be a simple matter for God to drain the energy from a storm and calm the seas,and it would be a simple matter for God to raise someone from the dead. (Not so simple to my mind) And if I truly believe this then I must seek for the answers along this path as it will only happen in God's time and way.

Hi Sarah

This thread has covered an enourmous number of topics, many very deep.  I agree with you and others when you say we need not pray to them various titles of God.  Since I am gentile I prefer Jesus, but often praise him with the name of Yeshua. 

One point I need to be sure to make, is it is time to stop calling yourself a failure, or anything else like that.  You are a child of the most high God, and he never sees you as failure.  He loves you deeply and does not get pleasure when you see yourself different from how he sees you.  What he will yet accomplish thru your life, you can not see.  But you can see you are seeking him, fellowshipping with him, calling on him, and trying to learn his ways.  That does not sound like failure to me, but a child of God pushing her way thru a difficult world.

In terms of God's plan and your faith.  I have personally been disappointed a number of times in my earlier walk with The Lord when I felt something depended on my faith.  Put Him in the difficult position of having to show me I got it wrong.  It all depends on following Him and what he wants day be day.  My primary question would be how many times has he confirmed to you that he will supernaturally change your body??  I am in no way saying he can not, or even will not.  However when something is so far outside His normal way of doing things, He has no problem confirming over and over supernaturally what he wants you to do, or even a prophetic word about what He will do.  Whether he does change your body or give you the means to go do it, I have no doubt you will one day get there, and will be able to help many of His kids that need to hear of the faith and love you have for Him, and that even thru the dark valleys, as well as the mountain tops, He never left you.

love
Veronica

Hi Veronica,

I truly believe that the reason I keep and having to deal with these questions is that God is laying the foundation and I am being compelled to speak on these things as there are others that God is calling to also go down that path. One of the things is that there will be a point of no return,there can no longer be any turning back,no oops I've changed my mind because it's to hard or I don't like what's expected of me, or I don't like how it's turning out.
The commitment has to be all or nothing. The very nature of what is being asked can not be an in between because God does not do things half way.

Quote from: veronica nickie on December 02, 2011, 07:02:28 PM

In terms of God's plan and your faith.  I have personally been disappointed a number of times in my earlier walk with The Lord when I felt something depended on my faith.  Put Him in the difficult position of having to show me I got it wrong.  It all depends on following Him and what he wants day be day.  My primary question would be how many times has he confirmed to you that he will supernaturally change your body??  I am in no way saying he can not, or even will not.  However when something is so far outside His normal way of doing things, He has no problem confirming over and over supernaturally what he wants you to do, or even a prophetic word about what He will do.  Whether he does change your body or give you the means to go do it, I have no doubt you will one day get there, and will be able to help many of His kids that need to hear of the faith and love you have for Him, and that even thru the dark valleys, as well as the mountain tops, He never left you.

On this I won't go into very long. But I will touch on three things.

The first which is the one that blew me a way was one day my sister and i were on the front porch and we were talking about this and my 10 year old niece came over and said that God was going to make me a girl.

The second being in that I believe God spoke to me about studying Proverbs 31 about the woman of virtue.

The third being that at as I have one down this path at times when looking in the mirror I have seen a number of strands of hair grow as much as three inches within minutes. (The thing about that is the top of my head was as smooth as a bowling ball) Now the top of my head is covered with very fine down like hair which was not there.
My hips have enlarged going from a size 10 to a size 12. My breasts have also enlarged. (And a few other things which I will not go into here) and all without hormornes or rogaine or any other hair growth type of treatments.

I believe that God has also given me a glimpse of those who have gone before and there are far more then we realize who have been transformed and God wants to do so for so many more if only we would seek it in His way.
It has nothing to do with me so much as it is in Him and God wants to do this but we need to seek Him first and let Him work it out in us.

Sarah

It is true that we cannot prove the existance of God, but conversely we cannot prove it God does not exists either.
In the medical community the power of praying and beliving in God as and adjucnt to therapy and trement is accepted and encouraged.

Quote from: Jen61 on December 02, 2011, 10:48:43 PM
It is true that we cannot prove the existance of God, but conversely we cannot prove it God does not exists either.
In the medical community the power of praying and beliving in God as and adjucnt to therapy and trement is accepted and encouraged.

Kia Ora Jen,

I'm in total agreement with this truism that is the existence or non existence of a god can not be scientifically proven either way...After all how can science prove or disprove a 'faith' based belief ? It wouldn't be 'faith' based if they could....

However when it comes to prayers, they are no different to using an affirmation mantra[which by the way has nothing to do with miracles being performed by a supernatural being] ...Just mind over matter....

It's all in the mind Jen...

Metta Zenda