I think she truly did at one point, much like with others we have talked about. I just don't know if she ended up there. The interesting thing about dream is that the same person posted another dream about a month later where it became apparent that he/ she was indeed susceptible to being overcome by a spirit of greed, just like the dragons in her dream suggested. I won't go into detail, but it was happening in real life, so that added a bit of confirmation for me that the dream was likely from God.
But I do agree with you that we need to be careful about criticizing people. I noticed everyone here started piling on those who prophesied Trump would win, and realized that in the case of some of the better sources, what they received God was simply being misinterpreted (or at least that's how it looks as of the present). So I came to their defense here publicly. I don't see good in people throwing fellow believers under the bus.
Absolutely. Now that's not to say that just because a dream is dark it is not from God. That would be a mistake as well. But yes, the believer's mind should be kept in a state of peace, so that when things like that show up they have the ability to discern whether God is speaking or their own mind is effecting their dreams.
My apologies if I offended you with the Kuhlman dream. Just thought you might be interested. The guy who gave me Hell in that thread was actually a good friend, but we were at odds pretty strongly in that conversation because he feels the same as you do apparently. We survived it, LoL.
God bless,
- H
No, please feel free to speak your mind! You have a great spirit, which is kind of rare--even in the Church. You're open to spiritual things, and yet you're careful--a good combination I wish to emulate.
I'm just speaking my mind, as well. I often have a personal connection with some of these people--not intimately, of course--I never knew them. But it's amazing how in our lives we connect with certain people that we admire.
As I said, I watched Kuhlman religiously every Sunday--there were no Christian networks that I knew of back then! She and Oral Roberts were all there was, as far as I knew, who were presenting faith in the power of God to act in our world today. They pioneered, along with all new, fresh moves of God. And they were bound to make mistakes--mistakes that had to be corrected, but not mistakes that should lead us to completely dismiss them.
I had a friend whose wife was mentally ill. And he took his wife to a Kuhlman meeting, and she was restored, according to my friend, to complete sanity and to clarity of mind. But my friend said that later his wife relapsed, and became mentally ill again. That informs me that power was present in Kuhlman's ministry. But circumstances can always lead to criticism.
In reading her biography I read where she kept a bag with her all the time with cash in it. It was for giving to people as she met various people with various needs. It would be available to give even as she saw the immediate need.
This is not the way of a greedy person. She gave up her marriage, and a career job, for the ministry. She was extremely lonely, I believe, because she had given up her marriage in a bout of self-condemnation. Perhaps she even should've gotten married again, because God wants to solve the problem of our loneliness.
But Kuhlman wanted her repentance to be sure, and her commitment full. That's why, I believe, miracles suddenly began to pop up in her meetings. She apparently had no plans to cause that to happen--perhaps not even any expectation of it.
As I understand it, she would walk back and forth in the back of the stage before her meetings, pleading for the Holy Spirit to show up. She knew she couldn't perform anything of substance at her meetings. Even though billed as "miracle meetings," she couldn't in the least perform them herself!
I saw nothing to indicate problems with Kuhlman except that she was fussy about the way she did things. She didn't want to move to CA, because she had had success where she had been having her meetings for years. But she was flexible enough to go when convinced that's what God wanted.
And I'm glad she went. She worked with my old pastor, Ralph Wilkerson, of Melodyland Christian Center. I lived in Orange County, CA for a few years, and Ralph was my pastor. He had worked with Kuhlman. Ralph is about the best pastor one could have! And he also had weekly miracles and salvations at his Church, which took place in an old nightclub in the round right next door to Disneyland! :)
One more story. I had a friend in S. CA who wasn't really much of a Christian--perhaps not one at all. But he was destined to be a millionaire, and was amazing at finding things that others didn't see. One day he brought me a gold watch, he found, with the name of Donald G. Barnhouse on it, not knowing who the person was. I immediately recognized the name of Walter Martin's mentor, because I religiously listened to Walter Martin, the "Bible Answerman," on the radio, and he had mentioned Barnhouse many times.
In one story, Martin told us that he and Barnhouse had gone bird hunting. And Barnhouse had warned Martin to be careful not to shoot too fast. I think they had almost shot an endangered bird! Martin perceived that Barnhouse was warning that an apologist needs to be careful to not get so critical that he starts *killing* people!
On another occasion my friend brought me an old newspaper he found, and didn't recognize the lead article. Again, I immediately recognize Aimee Semple McPherson, founder of the 4 Square Church. It was the story about her mysterious disappearance, that some believed was a brief moment of possible backsliding, which she complete left in the dark and never returned to.
Some thing good people are ashamed of and simply don't want to return to it. God has forgiven it, if it was some moment of lapse into darkness. What matters is that they return to the light for good.
Remember Noah's son, Ham, who exposed his father's nakedness. It brought a curse on his own son, Canaan. We need to learn from these things. And that's why I'm so careful here. The overall message of a person's life is in their fruit-bearing. But we also have a responsibility to keep things clean, and not to allow God's image to be tarnished. That also is an important ministry!
I've had a number of "prophetic" dreams in my life, and I certainly don't dismiss them. Some of them clearly were from the Lord. Some were amazing! I share them when they become relevant at the time.
Thanks much! I'm not offended, and Kathryn wouldn't be offended! :) We all want things to be properly corrected. We're seeking God's Kingdom, and not our own reputation.
