My daughter changed her religion to pentacostal, she says it's the truth it's the true religion. That other religions don't know how to pray and that they don't know God and they never will have the holy ghost in them. They will never be saved because they have not been baptisied with the fire of GOD within them.. So they will never truely have a spitital transformation and will not be let into the kingdom of heaven.

I disagreed and said they have both good and evil in all religions. She said no, if you are not pentacostal you can not be let into heaven, yet not all pentacostals will be going to heaven either..

So we talked about how to become more spirtial and how to make a spirital transformation. I said I feel I was taking this BE THE CHANGE Challenge, and felt I was learning more compassion, more forgiving, I was more open, I was being more calm, more understanding, Peaceful with my own self and that was a step in the right direction. She said it was a good step and am a good person but I don't GET IT, until I am baptisied with the fire in me and go out and teach and do the works of God and live by his teachings in the bible which are what her religion believes, No jewerly or makeup, no TV except the weather no music except Christian. no pants just skirts or dresses, become more modest in the way I dress and stop things such as have a glass of wine or go swimming , even with the grandchildren, A woman should not be in a swimming pool with a person of the oposite sex. not even my 9 yr old grandson. That's teaching him wrong. Until I change I will never have a true spiritually transformation.

I compared the fire within me, such as my exercise beliefs and healthy eating, that's a fire in me that I teach and want to always be spreading the word to eat right and exercise. I practice BFL and promote fitness and work and teach at the Gym, that's a fire inside me. She said I can't compare that to God, I know that, it was only an example of feeling the fire and wanting to reach out and help and teach your beliefs.

She said that my challenges were wrong because I am always trying to better myself thur a challenge instead of just leting God put the holy ghost in me and forget all the material things. Buying a bikini for my next challenge pictures is evil, it's worrying about what my body looks like. I need to be modest and not show people my before and after pics.
My workouts, I teach a muscle pump class and teach the sr citizens, she said I should go to the gym and if I really want to workout for health reasons, just walk on a treadmill in a dress. The muscle pump classes are only all about everyone in a skimpy outfit trying to look better then the next guy.

I explain that this is my life and while I can still dress modest I need to have on tights under shorts or something, she said then give up the gym. The time I spend in the gym is only a meteral pleasure that I should be able to deprive myself from if I love it that much.

explained I didn't say I love exercise more then God, I love and believe in God but I don't want to give up my life in the gym and try to become something I am not.

My question is? I feel I am changing for the better and while I know I am on the right path I'm being told my needs are only for pleasure and I should take all that away and if I want to change I need to really Change.

Is there something that I reallly don't get?????

Linda, if that is what she believes and wants to live by, then it is good for her. I read what you wrote and I could see some of what she was saying but felt it may be to an extreme. But that is not really my place to judge. Let her live her life with her belief, and you live yours with yours. God loves all his children. I believe, If you live your life with him in your heart, no matter what faith you are, and live a good, giving, caring life, you will have a place with him in heaven.

If your needs help others and guide them to a healthy lifestyle, and that gives you pleasure then so be it, what would be the problem with that? Don't see one. I'd give your daughter a kiss and tell her you Love her and respect her lifestyle and faith and that you hope she will do the same for you. That you just need to agree to disagree.

Yea I feel the same way, we are all loved and we live our life to the fullest, I understand what she is saying and meaning just don't agree but that's ok, as long I feel I am doing good that's enough for me, I just wonder if I am missing something or is what I am feeling , the good parts of what I feel is that enough am I truely making a transformation or just thinking I am. I guess it's hard to know for sure, it's just how you feel.
Sarah said I won't make a true transformation spititualy until I befan to speak in tounges. I asked exactly what does that mean, I never understood it, she said it's like everyone around you is talking out lound in a different lanuage that I don;t know, like spanish or french and I understand everyword they say.

I have had some very moving and spirtiual things happen to me in my life that I believe with all my heart and soul that God was watching over me and procting me and even approving of me. Of course when you tell some of these things people tend to think you have gone batty, lol but I know what's in my heart and soul and I know and witnessed miricals happen.

Hey Linda, that's a bit too extreme. Being baptized in the Holy Ghost is a gift it is not your way to salvation. Jesus says I am the way the truth and the life no one comes unto the Father but through me. These gifts that we can have is our for the asking but it is not our salvation, our salvation lies with Jesus Christ that's it. It's about relationship with Jesus Christ, not about what we should wear or what we eat. Here let me explain it a little more.....


The apostle Paul told the Corinthians that the Holy Spirit would manifest Himself among them in special gifts, of which speaking in tongues was only one: "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware....To one is give the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the distinguishing of spirit, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues" (I Corinthians 12:1,8-11). In the tongue-speaking incidents recorded in the book of Acts, the gift of the Spirit came unexpectedly. No one was getting emotionally worked up. The gift of tongues is given as God determines.

Paul also wrote that the Holy Spirit produces "fruit" in the lives of believers. These are virtues that demonstrate Jesus' righteousness in the lives of His disciples: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22).
So, in asking for the baptism in the Holy Spirit you are availing yourself of these gifts for advancing God's Kingdom and allowing the Holy Spirit to further cultivate in your life the fruit of righteousness -- two great helps in living a life God can use mightily for His glory.
That's the way it is with God. God is offering the baptism in the Holy Spirit to people who need only to reach out and receive it in order to be on fire to fully serve Him.
Walking in the Spirit
By now you can see that the Holy Spirit is so much more than a shadowy figure to pay lip-service to on Sunday morning. He can be with you and in your to bring new life to your Christian walk. Likewise, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is more than a single experience. It is a continual dependence on the Spirit for guidance and strength in all circumstances. "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25). The baptism in the Holy Spirit cannot be earned. You cannot become "good enough" to receive it. It is a gift from God. It is not a "cure-all" for your problems. But the same wonderful power that enabled Jesus to open blind eyes, to command the elements of nature, and to live a life pleasing to the Father during His ministry on earth is also available to you. Ask, and it shall be given to you.

Jesus encouraged his disciples to pray with meaningful words, not thoughtless, repeated words (Matthew 6:7)
If we need the Holy Spirit and its gifts to do God's work, God will provide it (Luke 11:13)
The real lesson of Pentecost is not in the miracles, but in Peter's message: "Repent and be baptized...in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, Paul tells us, even though they are all inspired by the same Spirit (verse 4). God gives these special abilities "for the common good" — so Christians can help one another (verse 7). Paul lists various gifts, including "speaking in different kinds of tongues, and...the interpretation of tongues" (verse 10).
What are these tongues? Are they foreign languages, like the miraculous tongues spoken on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-11)? Or does this gift of tongues produce other kinds of sounds? The fact that a supernatural gift was needed for interpreting the sounds (1 Corinthians 12:10; 14:13) indicates that the speaking may not have been a human language. But we cannot know whether modern tongue-speaking is anything like the Corinthian practice.
Paul lists similar spiritual gifts in his letter to the Roman Christians (Romans 12:6-8), but that list doesn't mention tongues or interpretation. Corinth seems to have been the only church congregation where tongues were spoken regularly.
Not everyone has the same spiritual gift or ability, Paul notes. God distributes them: one power to one person, another gift to the next person, a third ability to another, just as God determines (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). By dividing the gifts in this way, God encourages members to work with and help one another.
The analogy of a human body illustrates this. Feet, hands, eyes and other parts serve different functions. By contributing to the body as a whole, the various parts serve one another. So it is in the Church, the Body of Christ (verses 12-27). God appoints people with various spiritual functions: apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle-workers, healers, helpers, administrators and speaking in different kinds of tongues (verse 28).
"Are all apostles?" asks Paul. Of course not. Neither are all Christians prophets, teachers, miracle-workers, healers, tongue-speakers or interpreters (verses 29-30).
From the way Paul presents his argument, it seems that some Corinthians expected every Christian to have the same gift when it came to tongues. They doubted the spirituality of anyone who did not have that gift. That isn't a reasonable way to judge Christianity, Paul tells them. None of these spiritual gifts can be singled out as the one and only test of the Holy Spirit.

What Is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?

John the Baptist predicted that Jesus would baptize people with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:6-8). In Acts 1:5, Jesus told his disciples that they would receive this baptism in a few days. On the Festival of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit filled the disciples (Acts 2:4), fulfilling the predictions of John and Jesus. Peter said the Spirit had been poured out on them (verses 17, 33).
Years later, the Holy Spirit came on Cornelius and other gentiles (Acts 10:44-45). This was the same as the Holy Spirit being "poured out," or having "received" the Holy Spirit (verses 45, 47), or being "baptized" with the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:15-17).
All these terms refer to the same thing: The Holy Spirit is given to God's people. The promised baptism is available to all who believe (Acts 2:38-39). Paul indicated that people usually received the Holy Spirit when they believed (Acts 19:2). The book of Acts records several instances when people were filled with the Holy Spirit (see page 8).
Paul and the other New Testament writers do not use the phrase "baptism of the Spirit," but they do write about the Holy Spirit being given to God's people. The Spirit is available to all believers as "a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance" (Ephesians 1:13-14).
In 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul writes that all believers are baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ, the Church. In Ephesians 5:18 he tells us to "be filled with the Spirit." In Greek, a writer could use a different form of a word to indicate whether a command was for a onetime event or for a continual activity. Paul used the continual form, indicating that Christians should always live according to the Spirit. He was not writing about an unusual experience that initiates people into a new status.
Nothing in Paul's epistles suggests that the gift of the Spirit comes in two steps or blessings. He does not suggest that the gift of tongues, for example, is evidence of having more spiritual power. Romans 12 doesn't even mention tongues as a gift of importance. Church leaders were not required to have the gift of tongues. Instead, they should be able to teach in language that could be understood (1 Timothy 3:1-2, Titus 1:5-9).
What is the evidence of God's Spirit? What can prove that God is in us? His love. If we love others, if we love even our enemies, it is evidence that God's Spirit is guiding us.
If we are inspired to live God's way, if our lives show the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), we are giving evidence that God's Spirit is filling our minds and hearts. A good Christian example is a powerful witness to faith in Jesus Christ.
IT'S NOT ABOUT RELIGION, IT'S ABOUT RELATIONSHIP
Sorry I get so carried away when I'm talking about Jesus Christ.
God bless
Jerome

Thanks Jerome, That is some of the passages Sarah was reading to me last night. I think she is going a little too extreame too but I am trying to just understand her reasons and they make sense it's just not the religion for me, I don't think taking a challenge and being proud of my acomplishments is not being modest. I can't share my BFL proud moments like being in the new Champs BFL book with her friends because I'm in a bikini and not modest. oh well.

Love, Linda

"I'm being told my needs are only for pleasure and I should take all that away and if I want to change I need to really Change."

Whew.....I think it is in all of our hearts to "want to be happy"...gosh...that is what God would want from each of us...Trust in your own heart ....and know each individual will have their "own" religious interpretation of what is good or bad and some are much more extreme then others....but I truly BELIEVE that if you look into your own heart and let God be your guide...He will be very proud of you!

Thanks Heidi, I agree, I said I think it's too extreme, not for her, she is doing fine, I think I am living a good life,
I don't do bad things, I do good things and I'm good to people. I don't believe that I need to give up the little makeup I wear on special occassions or stop wearing jewerly or stop wearing exercise tights to get to Heaven. God knows what I think, what I feel and what I believe in. God knows me bettter then I know myself and I think he would approve.

Love, Linda