You're definitely not the "devil's spawn."  I feel like anyone who knew their Bible at all would have realised that what you were sculpting wasn't anything satanic.  Gah...ignorance is annoying....

Channeling snake spirits???  That's just nuts.  Christians aren't supposed to even believe in that stuff.  That's very New Age-y.  Why on earth would a true Christian even suggest that?  If we belong to Him, we have nothing to fear.  "Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world."

I am so sorry that you were made to feel like
"Satan's spawn" by this "church."

For 9 dollars and 95 cents plus shipping and handling I will send you holy water to cast out that devil. Act now I'll even include a holy water purifier with two extra filters. Call within the next ten minutes and Bubba dirt will send 1 ounce of bubba mud. Just rub in eyes and wash with holy water.

R and R in the middle of intercesion usually causes strange phenomenon.

Christians interceding in heart felt repentance all most does not make any sense. One cannot repent for the sins of another. But one can hold up the staff of healing. Maybe God was trying to point that out.

But I am open to a whole hearted, "I disagree".

this is a tough one. the only thing i can think to say is to reassure you that i think you'll be okay even if you did misinterpret what you thought was from God (though i'm not sure if you did or not). listen, we're learning, growing Christians. we're not going to know what is right or from God everytime. we're going to be deceived sometimes. thankfully because of God's grace, even by our failures we get to know God even better. just the fact that you went through this and realized you needed to turn to God for answers and question yourself, shows that you want to know the truth..and you want to know God's voice and do what is right.  so be encouraged about that.

it seems to me that putting a snake/serpent on something that resembles a cross might seem to most people as being counter-effective to glorifying God. and more like something satan would want to glorify himself.  but i'm not sure if that is what was being done or not. it's possible that what you did was used as an example to teach people about some hypocrisy in the church...perhaps an example of how satan is corrupting some Christians or Christianity(?) maybe there were some serious problems that weren't being addressed in the church while at the same time people were putting on a public display of self-righteousness?  i can't really say.

thanks for your post though.  it takes a lot of courage to write about something like this and open yourself up to criticism and maybe even harsh comments. 

my best advice would be to continue to lay your gifts and abilities at the cross. take everything you think about, do or say captive to Christ. ask yourself if what you are being asked to do is something that is going to give glory to God, does it go along with loving our neighbors, who gets the credit? pray about it and see if maybe God wants you to depend less on interpreting signs for a while and maybe focus on your relationship with Him. if you and your church didn't rely as much on their abilities, would God still feel the love? would others?  because satan deceives people sometimes to focus so much on their gifts, talents and contributions that it becomes a source of false pride. it's all very impressive, but sometimes even impressive knowledge and signs are not from God.what is most important is not to lose what is truly important...knowing the heart of God, and doing His will by glorifying Him and loving others.

  Love God unconditionally and pray for His help with discernment.  i'm not saying you were wrong, but satan is the master deceiver. he can twist even scripture for his evil. and i have no doubt that there are a lot of people who seem to be able to do amazing things but those things do not always come from God.

i pray that God will use this experience for your good and His glory somehow. that even if you were deceived that you will know God better as a result of all of this.

I really don't think that it really is from God.  I used to look into everything this way too, and I drove myself crazy!  I was so worried that I was not in God's will!  then I realized that if God wanted to tell me something, He would make it very very clear, He wouldn't just send little hints here and there.  God spoke to Moses through a burning bush with an audible voice.  There was no question of who it was from or what God wanted him to do.

I'll say this even stronger than the two of you:  don't put God in a box.  If He can speak through a donkey, when a prophet wouldn't listen, then He can speak through anything.

God speaks to me all the time, and never through an audible voice, unless it's the voice of someone next to me.  Honestly, if you have hundreds of examples of God speaking to you and others from out of a burning bush, document them, and please send them to me.

I'm not saying God won't speak to me audibly, or that He can't.  But I can't throw God's Word out the window because you think that every time He spoke in Bible times, it was in an audible voice or using a burning bush.  There is no credible scripture to back your assertions up.

Were the prophets channeling God?  Or did they speak as they were moved by the Holy Spirit?  We are all flesh, and God uses us.  That's why we have scripture to show us how to discern the prophetic word.
If the prophets were channeling God, there would be no need for interpretation, no need for discernment.

@ThePathToYourDestiny@xanga - I agree, it is time I sought God more clearly on it.  I am however trying very hard to take a balanced approach to these things.  I know God has spoken to me in visions and dreams before... it is how I became saved (well the prompting for salvation- not the act of), yet I am also very aware that there is a lot out there that simply is not God (ie biblical God) and borders on the New Age.

Thank you for your input I will read it over again later when I have more time.

@ThePathToYourDestiny@xanga - that was the essence of my dream as well... 'choose this day whom you will serve"  I chose God. 

I am ok with various opinions, it is good to know how the Body of Christ in general reacts to such things, it is a good way of having your finger on the pulse so to speak.

Your 'Strine' is very good.

@Joplar@xanga - Learn to ease up a little there and take deep breaths. I wish I could give you a noogie and buy you a snow cone. Then we would be great friends.

But to answer your question. Jesus was not repenting for the sins of others. He was the sacrifice for the sins of others. Big diference.

When my little son threw a baseball threw the window of a neighbor lady. He had to repent. I had to fix it.

God is eternal and unchanging. If he worked in a particular way back in Biblical days, then He most certainly can (and will) work in similar ways today. I, myself, have had prophetic dreams from time to time. I don't usually talk about them because people look at my funny. I really want to
talk to a pastor about it someday, but I keep moving and get nervous about going up to one about it.

i think is is a really interesting post. i don't know what this will mean to you, but in a great deal of early religious mythology, the snake was a symbol of eternity, rebirth, and regeneration. the ouroboros, the shedding of its skin...it is a very powerful, very common symbol in early cultures. i actually find it very interesting that the judeo-christian tradition vilifies the serpent in the story of genesis (and maybe in revelation? haven't studied it), turning what was a good symbol into one of evil and darkness.  but then of course moses's snake is one of healing...haha, it just goes to show how certain symbols are so deeply embedded in the cultural imagination.

as for the other aspect of your post, i read in the first chapter of william james's varieties of religious experience that if one has an extraordinary spiritual experience, the ones sent from god might leave one feeling rejuvenated, refreshed, bursting with hope and expectation. the experiences that are not sanctioned by god may leave one feeling tired, drained, unhappy. at least, this was a puritan take on religious experiences. probably from the 1600s. so i don't know what it's worth to you, but i thought it was interesting.

Originally the snake was a symbol of Christ (in the Old Testament, like with Moses, those who looked to and believed in Him) but Satan attempted to defame it.

your post is very interesting, but I would argue that since we were called to worship in spirit and truth that we need to strive for a balance between solid understanding of the Bible and "experiences".

everything should glorify God

if your "experiences" points you to God and bring glory to His name than sure.  However if it *distracts* you from the person of Christ, who He is, and what He said in the Bible, then I would really question the validity of those experiences.

Experiences should NOT be the basis of your faith.
Matt 7: 22-23
Many will say to me on that
day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name
drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'