fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383 
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Post by fearnot on Aug 2, 2021 13:56:58 GMT -5
By the way, if you'd like me to move these last couple of posts into the counseling forum, I'll be glad to do so. Just let me know. Whatever you think. I put some of your quotes etc. in my notes and deleted them from here.
I re-read part 10
and here are some of the things that stood out this time around:
We have to 'abide'...we are not going to be 'magically' changed.
When we don't abide in Jesus ( and God's Word)
and are instead 'abiding' in the world, it becomes 'garbage in = garbage out.
I know you know what it means to "abide" in Jesus or His Word, but if you were talking to someone else, they might ask you what it means. Just letting you know so that you can consider how you'd explain that to someone else. (you don't have to tell me about it though lol)
Good point.....I will remember that
But actually I am quoting from what you wrote
in the 10 parts
on taking thoughts captive etc.
None of these posts are my thoughts......
but rather
what really stood out to me from re-reading what you wrote.
In order to grow spiritually, in Christ, we have to 'work' ( after we are saved...not 'work' in order to be saved...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What do you mean, we have to work?
So as I understand it so far.....
'work'
can be looked at in 2 ways.
The first way, is people thinking they can 'work'
their way to God, Salvation, and Heaven
by doing all manner of what they think are good deeds:
Things ( works) such as:
giving money to the poor, or praying for others, or being 'moral' or being poor yourselves and on and on.
But God says all these and many more good deeds are as dirty rags....they will not save you....
only Jesus who actually lead a perfect life,
and died on the cross to pay for our sins.
But God said in His word the Bible:
"10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:10
So God has made the choice as the were prepared beforehand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If we do not, we may experience 'consequences.
We must maintain our relationship with the Lord, Jesus is to be the focus of our lives...
Worry, doubts, fears, depression etc. is NOT staying or abiding in Him.
We make godly character from the new life God has put into us,, and God has given us everything we need for life and godliness....
in His Word!
Yes, and no....because we really don't do anything to cause the changes in our thinking and behavior after we're saved. God is the one who actually changes us, and He changes us on the inside, not just our behavior. For example, someone could act like a nice person and a great neighbor, who you would be impressed with, but in secret that person sexually molests little children. Or we can think of the Pharisees when Jesus was here physically. They acted very religious, and they even thought they were holy and above everyone else. But their hearts were far from God. We have to be super careful about how we talk about being changed since God is really the one that does it. However, because we love Him, we want to please Him. Just as when we fell in love with our spouse, we wanted to please him too. So in order to please Him, we try to obey what we read in His Word, although imperfectly, since we still sin. In that way though, we're actually cooperating with God as He continues to change us to become more and more like Jesus. And as you say, He does this through His Word.
Actually I was quoting you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is by His Word, we are changed more like Him.
God gives us 'faith':
We add goodness
knowledge ( by obedience)
self-control ( i.e. bring our thoughts captive)
and those things take...perseverance!
All with God's help!
Brotherly kindness, ( both feeling and actions)
love ( agape love)...love to those who are not lovable
.
Obedience comes BEFORE understanding, success, or victory.
God wants us to grow in Christ...to mature in Him.
I am not sure if I answered all the questions or not? |
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Post by Cindy on Aug 3, 2021 10:37:14 GMT -5
By the way, if you'd like me to move these last couple of posts into the counseling forum, I'll be glad to do so. Just let me know. Whatever you think. I put some of your quotes etc. in my notes and deleted them from here.
It's fine here unless there's something you would rather not have others see.
I know you know what it means to "abide" in Jesus or His Word, but if you were talking to someone else, they might ask you what it means. Just letting you know so that you can consider how you'd explain that to someone else. (you don't have to tell me about it though lol)
Good point.....I will remember that
But actually I am quoting from what you wrote
in the 10 parts
on taking thoughts captive etc.
None of these posts are my thoughts......
but rather
what really stood out to me from re-reading what you wrote.
Ok, I understand. As long as you understand what you're saying, that's what counts.
In order to grow spiritually, in Christ, we have to 'work' ( after we are saved...not 'work' in order to be saved...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What do you mean, we have to work?
So as I understand it so far.....
'work'
can be looked at in 2 ways.
The first way, is people thinking they can 'work'
their way to God, Salvation, and Heaven
by doing all manner of what they think are good deeds:
Things ( works) such as:
giving money to the poor, or praying for others, or being 'moral' or being poor yourselves and on and on.
But God says all these and many more good deeds are as dirty rags....they will not save you....
only Jesus who actually lead a perfect life,
and died on the cross to pay for our sins.
But God said in His word the Bible:
"10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:10
So God has made the choice as the were prepared beforehand.
that's good, but you only said what way was the wrong way and not what way was the way you're talking about here....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If we do not, we may experience 'consequences.
We must maintain our relationship with the Lord, Jesus is to be the focus of our lives...
Worry, doubts, fears, depression etc. is NOT staying or abiding in Him.
We make godly character from the new life God has put into us,, and God has given us everything we need for life and godliness....
in His Word!
Sorry, I know you said you're quoting me, but I can't find where I said that about godly character. I searched and found these sentences that had the letters "character" in them.
Before we were saved, we formed habits and formed our characters by the things we thought about.
The dictionary says anxious means to be characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some contingency.
You have inherited the Divine nature, says Peter (v. 4), now screw your attention down and form habits, give diligence, concentrate. “Add” means all that character means. No man is born either naturally or supernaturally with character; he has to make character.
He is not saying that it's enough to simply have those qualities or characteristics, but rather that a Christian who is being obedient to God will see these characteristics in themselves always increasing.
Actually I was quoting you.
I also looked for "In order to grow spiritually, in Christ, we have to 'work' ( after we are saved...not 'work' in order to be saved..". using just the word "work" and here's what I found:
Like any good parent, He doesn't do the work for us though.
So it's really easy to see how much work we have to do on our relationship with Him, but how much of those kinds of thoughts and emotions we have to deal with on a day to day basis.
Now don't start to get down on yourself if you find your relationship with Him needs a lot of work.
This is where we learn to work out our salvation.
Philippians 2:12-13
No, that does not mean that we work "for" our salvation, but rather that we work as partners with God to change our lives into the kind of godly life He intended for us to have. God enables us to do this and He works with us to do it, but He will not do it for us. As the Bible Knowledge Commentary says, "Divine enablement and human responsibility are involved in doing God's work in us".
We are told over and over in His Word to persevere. Being a Christian isn't easy, and anyone who ever said it was, didn't know what they were talking about! It requires work, self control and perseverance on our part.
Remember, we're not doing this on our own...we are using the self control and we are persevering because we are working together with God.
Jesus tells us that's how we are with Him when we are working on these things.
James 1:4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
and to godliness, brotherly kindness;
This too should begin to come naturally as we've worked on things.
Again, he is not saying that we have to work FOR our salvation but rather that we are to work it out--apply His Word, his commands, etc. to our lives.
We are working together as partners with God and He is actually doing most of the work. (although to hear us whine, most often you'd think it was us LOL)
So you must be paraphrasing what I said and using your own words, because when I look at what I wrote, I was very clear about what I meant by "work". That's why I asked you what you meant. The other possibility is that the computer missed a word and that's why I didn't find it. If so, I apologize. I hope I've explained why I was asking you to explain what you've said at times. But as I said before, what's important is that you understand what you're saying, not that I do. So I'm not worried about it. I just wanted to show you why I was confused.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is by His Word, we are changed more like Him.
God gives us 'faith':
We add goodness
knowledge ( by obedience)
self-control ( i.e. bring our thoughts captive)
and those things take...perseverance!
All with God's help!
Brotherly kindness, ( both feeling and actions)
love ( agape love)...love to those who are not lovable
.
Obedience comes BEFORE understanding, success, or victory.
God wants us to grow in Christ...to mature in Him.
I am not sure if I answered all the questions or not?
No, this is what I asked you to talk about, and what was most important to me:
I wanted to find out how you used your imagination so I could tell if you were using it to continue and deepen your depression, your feelings of guilt and shame etc. or if you used it to imagine what your life would be like if you lived the way God tells us to. So now I need to ask you if you still go back in your mind and relive the things you consider to be bad, or do you daydream about good things? I know you've probably already guessed what I'm going to say next....
yep, we are responsible for our imagination too, and are supposed to make all of those thoughts obedient to Christ as well. That means stopping the thought completely and not allowing it to continue in any way, shape or form, and then to use your imagination in a way that honors God who gave us our imaginations. Let's look at some of the scriptures that mention this:
“All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying,” (Psalm 41:7)
““I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—” (Isaiah 65:1–2)
““Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the LORD!” (Ezekiel 13:2)
“And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.” (Zechariah 7:10)
It's interesting that when a scripture speaks about someone thinking or planning something, the KJV as well as the several other translations I have from the 1500's to the 1800's, use the word, "imagine", or another form of that word such as imaginations. For example: “An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,” (Proverbs 6:18)
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” (Psalm 2:1)
I want to post one verse in a number of different versions. The reason I sometimes do this is because it's an excellent way for us to get a better understanding of that verse.
Romans 1:21 These are some of the older versions:
AV Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
DARBY Because, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but fell into folly in their thoughts, and their heart without understanding was darkened:
gave thanks, but were made vain in their reasonings, and their unintelligent heart was darkened,
D-R Because that, when they knew God, they have not glorified him as God or given thanks: but became vain in their thoughts. And their foolish heart was darkened.
Geneva Because that when they knewe God, they glorified him not as God, nether were thankeful, but became vaine in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was ful of darkenes.
These are more recent translations:
NKJV because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
NIV For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
The Amplified version makes it pretty clear:
AMP Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.
Obviously then, there is a right way to use our imagination and a wrong way to use it. We need to be aware of that and we need to really work at using our imaginations in the way that God intended them to be used. So let's discuss this for a bit now.
Today, I wanted to point out a good way that we use our imaginations. It's actually a way the Bible shows us that the prodigal son used. Notice that the scripture says, "he said". He obviously wasn't speaking to himself out loud, so he must have been imagining in his mind what he would say. Here are the scriptures I'm talking about: ““When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:17–20)
For now can we forget about everything except talking about the imagination?
I'm sick today so don't have any energy to continue. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. |
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Aug 3, 2021 14:59:18 GMT -5
It's fine here unless there's something you would rather not have others see.
I think it is fine
What do you mean, we have to work?
But God said in His word the Bible:
"10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:10
that's good, but you only said what way was the wrong way and not what way was the way you're talking about here....
I am not sure if you want me to list some good works God has prepared for believers?
I think some 'works' are for all believers like:
reading, and studying and applying God's word, the Bible to our lives,
prayer would be for all believers,
and spreading the gospel....etc.
But some 'good works' after being saved,
might be different for different believers....
some might be called to be missionaries in other countries,
whereas another believer, might be to stay right where they are planted and raise a godly family etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So you must be paraphrasing what I said and using your own words, because when I look at what I wrote, I was very clear about what I meant by "work". That's why I asked you what you meant. The other possibility is that the computer missed a word and that's why I didn't find it. If so, I apologize. I hope I've explained why I was asking you to explain what you've said at times. But as I said before, what's important is that you understand what you're saying, not that I do. So I'm not worried about it. I just wanted to show you why I was confused.
Yes some ideas were copied and pasted verbatim quotes,
from you.... in the various 1-10 parts,
and others were indeed 'paraphrasing'...
so sorry for the confusion.....
what I meant was that the 'basic ideas' were not my own,
but ideas that really impacted me,
in a good and godly way,
upon the 2nd readings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No, this is what I asked you to talk about, and what was most important to me:
I wanted to find out how you used your imagination so I could tell if you were using it to continue and deepen your depression, your feelings of guilt and shame etc. or if you used it to imagine what your life would be like if you lived the way God tells us to. So now I need to ask you if you still go back in your mind and relive the things you consider to be bad, or do you daydream about good things? I know you've probably already guessed what I'm going to say next....
yep, we are responsible for our imagination too, and are supposed to make all of those thoughts obedient to Christ as well. That means stopping the thought completely and not allowing it to continue in any way, shape or form, and then to use your imagination in a way that honors God who gave us our imaginations
For now can we forget about everything except talking about the imagination?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, I used to often and frequently, use my imagination,
to continue and deepen depression, feelings of guilt and shame etc.
I have been working quite diligently to 'recognizing'
such imaginations and stopping them.....
it is quite a challenge as it is a habit of a lifetime....
So it make take a few minutes to even realize I am even doing it.....
It is.... or was, like 2nd nature
However, I think, I am making very good progress, considering.
I am noticing what I am doing closer and closer to when it starts
( a lot of times right away.....
but sometimes it takes a minute or two.....
kind of like waking up from a dream).
And what you said about Phil 4:8
that it can also be used as a 'guide'
has really been an added bonus/help!
Because sometimes I will go off into a daydream, musing, imagination etc. on something.....because something is 'true'
But I am now asking myself.....is this 'noble'?
is it 'pure'?
Is it 'lovely?
etc.
So although it might be true....
it does not fit the other things we 'are' to think on:
things that are:
noble, honorable, right, just, pure, lovely, admirable, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy etc.
God's word....scripture...the Bible etc.
Therefore, I quickly stop the direction my mind/imagination was going....
and think of some scriptures or something lovely etc.
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Post by Cindy on Aug 4, 2021 10:18:20 GMT -5
It's fine here unless there's something you would rather not have others see.
I think it is fine
So you must be paraphrasing what I said and using your own words, because when I look at what I wrote, I was very clear about what I meant by "work". That's why I asked you what you meant.
Yes some ideas were copied and pasted verbatim quotes,
from you.... in the various 1-10 parts,
and others were indeed 'paraphrasing'...
so sorry for the confusion.....
what I meant was that the 'basic ideas' were not my own,
but ideas that really impacted me,
in a good and godly way,
upon the 2nd readings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For now can we forget about everything except talking about the imagination?
Yes, I used to often and frequently, use my imagination,
to continue and deepen depression, feelings of guilt and shame etc.
I have been working quite diligently to 'recognizing'
such imaginations and stopping them.....
it is quite a challenge as it is a habit of a lifetime....
So it make take a few minutes to even realize I am even doing it.....
It is.... or was, like 2nd nature
However, I think, I am making very good progress, considering.
I am noticing what I am doing closer and closer to when it starts
( a lot of times right away.....
but sometimes it takes a minute or two.....
kind of like waking up from a dream).
And what you said about Phil 4:8
that it can also be used as a 'guide'
has really been an added bonus/help!
Because sometimes I will go off into a daydream, musing, imagination etc. on something.....because something is 'true'
But I am now asking myself.....is this 'noble'?
is it 'pure'?
Is it 'lovely?
etc.
So although it might be true....
it does not fit the other things we 'are' to think on:
things that are:
noble, honorable, right, just, pure, lovely, admirable, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy etc.
God's word....scripture...the Bible etc.
Therefore, I quickly stop the direction my mind/imagination was going....
and think of some scriptures or something lovely etc.I'm glad you're finally starting to do this then and that you've already gotten to the point where you can often very quickly recognize when you need to stop your thoughts and begin thinking about something that God would approve of instead.
I feel badly that I didn't realize all of this before but just accepted it in counseling when you kept telling me you were doing great. I feel like I let both you and the Lord down. It makes me wonder too if Eva did the same thing and if she was really helped by the counseling. All I can do is pray for her that she really is doing well mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. (of course I pray for you too). OK, that's enough of a pity party for me.
Did you see what I wrote about the prodigal son and how he used his imagination to determine the best way to approach his father, practicing it in his mind before he even began his trip home? Our imaginations are wonderful and amazing. We can use them to imagine what it will be like when we get to heaven, or what it will be like when each of our children and grandchildren are truly saved; or how we could speak the truth in love to a friend who needs the Lord, or one who needs counseling; figuring out what would be the best way to approach them and then imagine the changes in them as God's Word changes them. But when we're imagining how we might speak to someone, like the prodigal son did, we cannot allow ourselves to be nervous or to feel like we must have the "right" words etc. Notice that the prodigal son didn't do that. He kept it honest, simple, and straight forward.
He didn't use his imagination to worry about possible negative consequences either. That's something we can't allow too. God expects us to be in control of ALL of our thoughts, ALL of the time. The only time we don't have to be in control of them is the only time we can't be in control of them - when we're asleep. BUT the more we control our thoughts when we're awake and make them pleasing to the Lord (and to ourselves) the more our dreams will reflect that too. Oh dear, I just realized that I haven't been showing you the scriptures that show that what I'm saying is what God's Word says. I guess I figured you already knew them since I'd said all this years ago. But here's the first one that popped into my mind, as it's also one that I literally pray daily: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
Let's look at another one that's pretty familiar too: “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16–19) When we read that, it's pretty amazing how much of it pertains to our thoughts as well as our words. Obviously a lying tongue is someone that is speaking lies. The lies can be about themselves, others, false teaching, or even about God. What we generally don't realize though is that before we can speak a lie, we must first think it. Remember what Jesus taught about adultery and murder? ““You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:21–22) and ““You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28) I'm sure what He said must have shocked His disciples instantly, but I'm also sure that the more they thought about these two statements the more shocked they became. Jesus must have spent quite a bit of time explaining this to them, because here again, He's teaching that we must be aware of our thoughts and take control of them because we will be judged for those thoughts. He's not saying that we will be judged only if we think about murdering someone or having sex with someone we're not married to, He's talking about all our thoughts about everything.
Here's more of what He says about it: “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”” (Matthew 15:18–20) and “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”” (Matthew 12:35–37) In both of these He shows us that it's our thoughts that need to be controlled because they come before our words and actions and are what actually causes our feelings, our words and our actions. There are many more but I don't have time to post more of them. (Posting all of them would be crazy because they're all through the old and new testament.)
I just wanted you to know for sure that it's the Lord who commands us to take charge of our thoughts at all times. I want to also remind you that if we were not saved, we could not possibly obey His command to do this, but then, we wouldn't want to anyway. We have a loving and merciful God, because when He commands us to do something, He also enables us to obey that command. Therefore we have no excuse. However, it's always a good idea to pray asking for His help.
I want to reassure you as well, as I have before that the more you take your thoughts captive and insist that they be pleasing to the Lord, the easier it gets to catch the bad ones. Again, please know that when I say to take a thought captive, I mean to stop it completely. That does not in any way mean that we are to argue with ourselves about that thought though. We should NEVER do that! That's just another way of allowing those wrong thoughts to have more time in our thoughts. Instead, we stop that line of thinking entirely and begin thinking about something that's pleasing to the Lord. That can be scripture, but it can also be so many, many, other things. It can be imagining a pleasant memory, or thinking about anything that was good or happy in your life, it can be remembering different times the Lord has helped you or miracles He's given you; it can be remembering fun or funny times with your past or present pets; it can be daydreaming about what heaven will be like, or meeting people in heaven like Moses, Abraham, David, Mary, Joseph, Paul, etc. Or of course it could be meeting family and/or friends in heaven. If the thoughts are really hard to stop, you may have to play a video game or do something else like gardening or chores even to force your mind away from them.
It actually might be helpful to talk about what else you could think about when you have to force a thought out of your mind as well as things you could do physically to force your mind to think of other things. If you think so, we can do that next. I have to get going now though.
Praying you'll catch every thought today and that the God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Aug 4, 2021 12:20:25 GMT -5
I did write a whole post to much of this and lost it....
an opps error came up
and I tried everything....going to my history to capture it there
( because....
it went to the old site so I could not get it.....)
the opps error
and the old site
showed up together...arrggghhhh
the one time I forgot to 'copy' before posting...
because I did not sleep at all last night
and I had been writing answers
and then was falling asleep soooo
I just hit post
and
lost it all.....
I feel badly that I didn't realize all of this before but just accepted it in counseling when you kept telling me you were doing great. I feel like I let both you and the Lord down. It makes me wonder too if Eva did the same thing and if she was really helped by the counseling. All I can do is pray for her that she really is doing well mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. (of course I pray for you too). OK, that's enough of a pity party for me.
I will try to remember what I can of my posts that I did about this
I said something like.....
I may have actually thought, I was doing great.
Like when you first start reading and studying the Bible
You might believe you really 'got it'
but in fact, it might have only been 1 or2 % of all the knowledge that passage contains....
later on when you read it again, you learn a greater depth and now have 3 or 4 %
as the years and decades go by
you may go deeper to 10 or 20 %
but I don't think we will ever plumb the total depth of God's word
we will always learn new meaning, application etc.
So as time went by, I discovered what I originally thought was great success,
was that,
I was in fact, having trouble and needed more help...
Anyway....I can't remember exactly what I wrote...
Its such a bummer when that happens
its discouraging to spend however long writing and then its gone....arrgghhh
Did you see what I wrote about the prodigal son and how he used his imagination to determine the best way to approach his father, practicing it in his mind before he even began his trip home? Our imaginations are wonderful and amazing. We can use them to imagine what it will be like when we get to heaven, or what it will be like when each of our children and grandchildren are truly saved; or how we could speak the truth in love to a friend who needs the Lord, or one who needs counseling; figuring out what would be the best way to approach them and then imagine the changes in them as God's Word changes them. But when we're imagining how we might speak to someone, like the prodigal son did, we cannot allow ourselves to be nervous or to feel like we must have the "right" words etc. Notice that the prodigal son didn't do that. He kept it honest, simple, and straight forward.
Yes I saw that and this part stood out, because that is what I often would do and am retraining myself:
"But when we're imagining how we might speak to someone, like the prodigal son did, we cannot allow ourselves to be nervous or to feel like we must have the "right" words etc. He didn't use his imagination to worry about possible negative consequences either".
He didn't use his imagination to worry about possible negative consequences either. That's something we can't allow too. God expects us to be in control of ALL of our thoughts, ALL of the time. The only time we don't have to be in control of them is the only time we can't be in control of them - when we're asleep. BUT the more we control our thoughts when we're awake and make them pleasing to the Lord (and to ourselves) the more our dreams will reflect that too. Oh dear, I just realized that I haven't been showing you the scriptures that show that what I'm saying is what God's Word says. I guess I figured you already knew them since I'd said all this years ago. But here's the first one that popped into my mind, as it's also one that I literally pray daily: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
Let's look at another one that's pretty familiar too: “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16–19) When we read that, it's pretty amazing how much of it pertains to our thoughts as well as our words. Obviously a lying tongue is someone that is speaking lies. The lies can be about themselves, others, false teaching, or even about God. What we generally don't realize though is that before we can speak a lie, we must first think it. Remember what Jesus taught about adultery and murder? ““You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:21–22) and ““You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28) I'm sure what He said must have shocked His disciples instantly, but I'm also sure that the more they thought about these two statements the more shocked they became. Jesus must have spent quite a bit of time explaining this to them, because here again, He's teaching that we must be aware of our thoughts and take control of them because we will be judged for those thoughts. He's not saying that we will be judged only if we think about murdering someone or having sex with someone we're not married to, He's talking about all our thoughts about everything.
Here's more of what He says about it: “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”” (Matthew 15:18–20) and “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”” (Matthew 12:35–37) In both of these He shows us that it's our thoughts that need to be controlled because they come before our words and actions and are what actually causes our feelings, our words and our actions. There are many more but I don't have time to post more of them. (Posting all of them would be crazy because they're all through the old and new testament.)
I just wanted you to know for sure that it's the Lord who commands us to take charge of our thoughts at all times. I want to also remind you that if we were not saved, we could not possibly obey His command to do this, but then, we wouldn't want to anyway. We have a loving and merciful God, because when He commands us to do something, He also enables us to obey that command. Therefore we have no excuse. However, it's always a good idea to pray asking for His help.
I want to reassure you as well, as I have before that the more you take your thoughts captive and insist that they be pleasing to the Lord, the easier it gets to catch the bad ones. Again, please know that when I say to take a thought captive, I mean to stop it completely. That does not in any way mean that we are to argue with ourselves about that thought though. We should NEVER do that! That's just another way of allowing those wrong thoughts to have more time in our thoughts. Instead, we stop that line of thinking entirely and begin thinking about something that's pleasing to the Lord. That can be scripture, but it can also be so many, many, other things. It can be imagining a pleasant memory, or thinking about anything that was good or happy in your life, it can be remembering different times the Lord has helped you or miracles He's given you; it can be remembering fun or funny times with your past or present pets; it can be daydreaming about what heaven will be like, or meeting people in heaven like Moses, Abraham, David, Mary, Joseph, Paul, etc. Or of course it could be meeting family and/or friends in heaven. If the thoughts are really hard to stop, you may have to play a video game or do something else like gardening or chores even to force your mind away from them.
It actually might be helpful to talk about what else you could think about when you have to force a thought out of your mind as well as things you could do physically to force your mind to think of other things. If you think so, we can do that next. I have to get going now though.
Some ideas that I am trying to remember:
painting ideas, cooking, organizing stuff, gardening, praying for others,
I had thought of others but cannot remember them
Sorry I am too tired,
but I think I have remembered some of the main things I wrote more or less, kind of
Praying you'll catch every thought today and that the God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
Thank you and you too be blessed :) |
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Post by Cindy on Aug 5, 2021 9:42:58 GMT -5
I'm sorry you lost all that you wrote. Why don't you try again today? This should make it easier for you to quote.
Did you see what I wrote about the prodigal son and how he used his imagination to determine the best way to approach his father, practicing it in his mind before he even began his trip home? Our imaginations are wonderful and amazing. We can use them to imagine what it will be like when we get to heaven, or what it will be like when each of our children and grandchildren are truly saved; or how we could speak the truth in love to a friend who needs the Lord, or one who needs counseling; figuring out what would be the best way to approach them and then imagine the changes in them as God's Word changes them. But when we're imagining how we might speak to someone, like the prodigal son did, we cannot allow ourselves to be nervous or to feel like we must have the "right" words etc. Notice that the prodigal son didn't do that. He kept it honest, simple, and straight forward.
Yes I saw that and this part stood out, because that is what I often would do and am retraining myself:
"But when we're imagining how we might speak to someone, like the prodigal son did, we cannot allow ourselves to be nervous or to feel like we must have the "right" words etc. He didn't use his imagination to worry about possible negative consequences either".
Most of us do that or did that before we learned what the Lord wants us to do, so you're not alone hon.
He didn't use his imagination to worry about possible negative consequences either. That's something we can't allow too. God expects us to be in control of ALL of our thoughts, ALL of the time. The only time we don't have to be in control of them is the only time we can't be in control of them - when we're asleep. BUT the more we control our thoughts when we're awake and make them pleasing to the Lord (and to ourselves) the more our dreams will reflect that too. Oh dear, I just realized that I haven't been showing you the scriptures that show that what I'm saying is what God's Word says. I guess I figured you already knew them since I'd said all this years ago. But here's the first one that popped into my mind, as it's also one that I literally pray daily: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
Let's look at another one that's pretty familiar too: “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16–19) When we read that, it's pretty amazing how much of it pertains to our thoughts as well as our words. Obviously a lying tongue is someone that is speaking lies. The lies can be about themselves, others, false teaching, or even about God. What we generally don't realize though is that before we can speak a lie, we must first think it. Remember what Jesus taught about adultery and murder? ““You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:21–22) and ““You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28) I'm sure what He said must have shocked His disciples instantly, but I'm also sure that the more they thought about these two statements the more shocked they became. Jesus must have spent quite a bit of time explaining this to them, because here again, He's teaching that we must be aware of our thoughts and take control of them because we will be judged for those thoughts. He's not saying that we will be judged only if we think about murdering someone or having sex with someone we're not married to, He's talking about all our thoughts about everything.
Here's more of what He says about it: “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”” (Matthew 15:18–20) and “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”” (Matthew 12:35–37) In both of these He shows us that it's our thoughts that need to be controlled because they come before our words and actions and are what actually causes our feelings, our words and our actions. There are many more but I don't have time to post more of them. (Posting all of them would be crazy because they're all through the old and new testament.)
I just wanted you to know for sure that it's the Lord who commands us to take charge of our thoughts at all times. I want to also remind you that if we were not saved, we could not possibly obey His command to do this, but then, we wouldn't want to anyway. We have a loving and merciful God, because when He commands us to do something, He also enables us to obey that command. Therefore we have no excuse. However, it's always a good idea to pray asking for His help.
I want to reassure you as well, as I have before that the more you take your thoughts captive and insist that they be pleasing to the Lord, the easier it gets to catch the bad ones. Again, please know that when I say to take a thought captive, I mean to stop it completely. That does not in any way mean that we are to argue with ourselves about that thought though. We should NEVER do that! That's just another way of allowing those wrong thoughts to have more time in our thoughts. Instead, we stop that line of thinking entirely and begin thinking about something that's pleasing to the Lord. That can be scripture, but it can also be so many, many, other things. It can be imagining a pleasant memory, or thinking about anything that was good or happy in your life, it can be remembering different times the Lord has helped you or miracles He's given you; it can be remembering fun or funny times with your past or present pets; it can be daydreaming about what heaven will be like, or meeting people in heaven like Moses, Abraham, David, Mary, Joseph, Paul, etc. Or of course it could be meeting family and/or friends in heaven. If the thoughts are really hard to stop, you may have to play a video game or do something else like gardening or chores even to force your mind away from them.
It actually might be helpful to talk about what else you could think about when you have to force a thought out of your mind as well as things you could do physically to force your mind to think of other things. If you think so, we can do that next. I have to get going now though.
Some ideas that I am trying to remember:
painting ideas, cooking, organizing stuff, gardening, praying for others,
I had thought of others but cannot remember them
Those are some good ideas! What else can you think of?
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Aug 5, 2021 13:44:07 GMT -5
I'm sorry you lost all that you wrote. Why don't you try again today? This should make it easier for you to quote.
So I did try yesterday....and was able to rewrite to some degree what was lost....
which by the way....going to the old site is happening more and more?
This computer I am typing on is fairly new ( we had to buy it brand new),
after we had bought a refurbished one that did not work,
and they would not give our money back....
even after we sent it back to them....
they claimed that was not the one they sent us?
Oh well....
but the reason I mention that,
is I don't see how the old site,
would be somehow stored in a brand new computer?
Yet, almost once a week ( sometimes more, sometimes less)
it will revert back to the old site
I have to check in
and then,
it will redirect to this present site.
weird.
Did you see what I wrote about the prodigal son and how he used his imagination to determine the best way to approach his father, practicing it in his mind before he even began his trip home? Our imaginations are wonderful and amazing. We can use them to imagine what it will be like when we get to heaven, or what it will be like when each of our children and grandchildren are truly saved; or how we could speak the truth in love to a friend who needs the Lord, or one who needs counseling; figuring out what would be the best way to approach them and then imagine the changes in them as God's Word changes them. But when we're imagining how we might speak to someone, like the prodigal son did, we cannot allow ourselves to be nervous or to feel like we must have the "right" words etc. Notice that the prodigal son didn't do that. He kept it honest, simple, and straight forward.
Yes I saw that and this part stood out, because that is what I often would do and am retraining myself:
"But when we're imagining how we might speak to someone, like the prodigal son did, we cannot allow ourselves to be nervous or to feel like we must have the "right" words etc. He didn't use his imagination to worry about possible negative consequences either".
Most of us do that or did that before we learned what the Lord wants us to do, so you're not alone hon.
He didn't use his imagination to worry about possible negative consequences either. That's something we can't allow too. God expects us to be in control of ALL of our thoughts, ALL of the time. The only time we don't have to be in control of them is the only time we can't be in control of them - when we're asleep. BUT the more we control our thoughts when we're awake and make them pleasing to the Lord (and to ourselves) the more our dreams will reflect that too. Oh dear, I just realized that I haven't been showing you the scriptures that show that what I'm saying is what God's Word says. I guess I figured you already knew them since I'd said all this years ago. But here's the first one that popped into my mind, as it's also one that I literally pray daily: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
Let's look at another one that's pretty familiar too: “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16–19) When we read that, it's pretty amazing how much of it pertains to our thoughts as well as our words. Obviously a lying tongue is someone that is speaking lies. The lies can be about themselves, others, false teaching, or even about God. What we generally don't realize though is that before we can speak a lie, we must first think it. Remember what Jesus taught about adultery and murder? ““You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:21–22) and ““You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28) I'm sure what He said must have shocked His disciples instantly, but I'm also sure that the more they thought about these two statements the more shocked they became. Jesus must have spent quite a bit of time explaining this to them, because here again, He's teaching that we must be aware of our thoughts and take control of them because we will be judged for those thoughts. He's not saying that we will be judged only if we think about murdering someone or having sex with someone we're not married to, He's talking about all our thoughts about everything.
Here's more of what He says about it: “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”” (Matthew 15:18–20) and “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”” (Matthew 12:35–37) In both of these He shows us that it's our thoughts that need to be controlled because they come before our words and actions and are what actually causes our feelings, our words and our actions. There are many more but I don't have time to post more of them. (Posting all of them would be crazy because they're all through the old and new testament.)
I just wanted you to know for sure that it's the Lord who commands us to take charge of our thoughts at all times. I want to also remind you that if we were not saved, we could not possibly obey His command to do this, but then, we wouldn't want to anyway. We have a loving and merciful God, because when He commands us to do something, He also enables us to obey that command. Therefore we have no excuse. However, it's always a good idea to pray asking for His help.
I want to reassure you as well, as I have before that the more you take your thoughts captive and insist that they be pleasing to the Lord, the easier it gets to catch the bad ones. Again, please know that when I say to take a thought captive, I mean to stop it completely. That does not in any way mean that we are to argue with ourselves about that thought though. We should NEVER do that! That's just another way of allowing those wrong thoughts to have more time in our thoughts. Instead, we stop that line of thinking entirely and begin thinking about something that's pleasing to the Lord. That can be scripture, but it can also be so many, many, other things. It can be imagining a pleasant memory, or thinking about anything that was good or happy in your life, it can be remembering different times the Lord has helped you or miracles He's given you; it can be remembering fun or funny times with your past or present pets; it can be daydreaming about what heaven will be like, or meeting people in heaven like Moses, Abraham, David, Mary, Joseph, Paul, etc. Or of course it could be meeting family and/or friends in heaven. If the thoughts are really hard to stop, you may have to play a video game or do something else like gardening or chores even to force your mind away from them.
It actually might be helpful to talk about what else you could think about when you have to force a thought out of your mind as well as things you could do physically to force your mind to think of other things. If you think so, we can do that next. I have to get going now though.
Some ideas that I am trying to remember:
painting ideas, cooking, organizing stuff, gardening, praying for others,
I had thought of others but cannot remember them
Those are some good ideas! What else can you think of?
Well watching videos of about 20 Christian pastors
( Pastor MacArthur being #1)
sermons and whatnot
Reading the Bible
reading Christian fiction, or commentaries
If I can ever get back enough energy...go for a walk
and leave gospel tracks around and look at the beauty of God's Creation.
I used to do online card games, but quit altogether as they took up too much time
but I suppose in a pinch I could play a game or two.
Talk to hubby :)
Post Christian Biblical verses etc. online
Try to some stretches or minor 'exercises' at home
Get something to eat or drink :)
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Post by Cindy on Aug 6, 2021 10:07:30 GMT -5
I'm sorry you lost all that you wrote. Why don't you try again today? This should make it easier for you to quote.
So I did try yesterday....and was able to rewrite to some degree what was lost....
which by the way....going to the old site is happening more and more?
This computer I am typing on is fairly new ( we had to buy it brand new),
after we had bought a refurbished one that did not work,
and they would not give our money back....
even after we sent it back to them....
they claimed that was not the one they sent us?
Oh well....
but the reason I mention that,
is I don't see how the old site,
would be somehow stored in a brand new computer?
Yet, almost once a week ( sometimes more, sometimes less)
it will revert back to the old site
I have to check in
and then,
it will redirect to this present site.
weird.
I don't know what you're seeing, but it's not our old site. Our old site no longer exists. It was deleted off the web a short time after I closed it. You may go some place that looks like our old site, or maybe it looks like this site, I don't know. But I know for a fact that it's not our old site because it simply doesn't exist anymore.
Did you see what I wrote about the prodigal son and how he used his imagination to determine the best way to approach his father, practicing it in his mind before he even began his trip home? Our imaginations are wonderful and amazing. We can use them to imagine what it will be like when we get to heaven, or what it will be like when each of our children and grandchildren are truly saved; or how we could speak the truth in love to a friend who needs the Lord, or one who needs counseling; figuring out what would be the best way to approach them and then imagine the changes in them as God's Word changes them. But when we're imagining how we might speak to someone, like the prodigal son did, we cannot allow ourselves to be nervous or to feel like we must have the "right" words etc. Notice that the prodigal son didn't do that. He kept it honest, simple, and straight forward.
Yes I saw that and this part stood out, because that is what I often would do and am retraining myself:
"But when we're imagining how we might speak to someone, like the prodigal son did, we cannot allow ourselves to be nervous or to feel like we must have the "right" words etc. He didn't use his imagination to worry about possible negative consequences either".
Most of us do that or did that before we learned what the Lord wants us to do, so you're not alone hon.
He didn't use his imagination to worry about possible negative consequences either. That's something we can't allow too. God expects us to be in control of ALL of our thoughts, ALL of the time. The only time we don't have to be in control of them is the only time we can't be in control of them - when we're asleep. BUT the more we control our thoughts when we're awake and make them pleasing to the Lord (and to ourselves) the more our dreams will reflect that too. Oh dear, I just realized that I haven't been showing you the scriptures that show that what I'm saying is what God's Word says. I guess I figured you already knew them since I'd said all this years ago. But here's the first one that popped into my mind, as it's also one that I literally pray daily: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
Let's look at another one that's pretty familiar too: “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16–19) When we read that, it's pretty amazing how much of it pertains to our thoughts as well as our words. Obviously a lying tongue is someone that is speaking lies. The lies can be about themselves, others, false teaching, or even about God. What we generally don't realize though is that before we can speak a lie, we must first think it. Remember what Jesus taught about adultery and murder? ““You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:21–22) and ““You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28) I'm sure what He said must have shocked His disciples instantly, but I'm also sure that the more they thought about these two statements the more shocked they became. Jesus must have spent quite a bit of time explaining this to them, because here again, He's teaching that we must be aware of our thoughts and take control of them because we will be judged for those thoughts. He's not saying that we will be judged only if we think about murdering someone or having sex with someone we're not married to, He's talking about all our thoughts about everything.
Here's more of what He says about it: “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”” (Matthew 15:18–20) and “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”” (Matthew 12:35–37) In both of these He shows us that it's our thoughts that need to be controlled because they come before our words and actions and are what actually causes our feelings, our words and our actions. There are many more but I don't have time to post more of them. (Posting all of them would be crazy because they're all through the old and new testament.)
I just wanted you to know for sure that it's the Lord who commands us to take charge of our thoughts at all times. I want to also remind you that if we were not saved, we could not possibly obey His command to do this, but then, we wouldn't want to anyway. We have a loving and merciful God, because when He commands us to do something, He also enables us to obey that command. Therefore we have no excuse. However, it's always a good idea to pray asking for His help.
I want to reassure you as well, as I have before that the more you take your thoughts captive and insist that they be pleasing to the Lord, the easier it gets to catch the bad ones. Again, please know that when I say to take a thought captive, I mean to stop it completely. That does not in any way mean that we are to argue with ourselves about that thought though. We should NEVER do that! That's just another way of allowing those wrong thoughts to have more time in our thoughts. Instead, we stop that line of thinking entirely and begin thinking about something that's pleasing to the Lord. That can be scripture, but it can also be so many, many, other things. It can be imagining a pleasant memory, or thinking about anything that was good or happy in your life, it can be remembering different times the Lord has helped you or miracles He's given you; it can be remembering fun or funny times with your past or present pets; it can be daydreaming about what heaven will be like, or meeting people in heaven like Moses, Abraham, David, Mary, Joseph, Paul, etc. Or of course it could be meeting family and/or friends in heaven. If the thoughts are really hard to stop, you may have to play a video game or do something else like gardening or chores even to force your mind away from them.
It actually might be helpful to talk about what else you could think about when you have to force a thought out of your mind as well as things you could do physically to force your mind to think of other things. If you think so, we can do that next. I have to get going now though.
Some ideas that I am trying to remember:
painting ideas, cooking, organizing stuff, gardening, praying for others,
I had thought of others but cannot remember them
Those are some good ideas! What else can you think of?
Well watching videos of about 20 Christian pastors
( Pastor MacArthur being #1)
sermons and whatnot
Reading the Bible
reading Christian fiction, or commentaries
If I can ever get back enough energy...go for a walk
and leave gospel tracks around and look at the beauty of God's Creation.
I used to do online card games, but quit altogether as they took up too much time
but I suppose in a pinch I could play a game or two.
Talk to hubby :)
Post Christian Biblical verses etc. online
Try to some stretches or minor 'exercises' at home
Get something to eat or drink :)
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Aug 6, 2021 17:02:09 GMT -5
I tried to find the actual first page of the old site that comes up
but I can find it
I did find this:
Is this just the 'normal' pro-boards page?
But the page with the painting of Jesus that it takes me to,
after the Opps error
I can't find...
The opps error did show up on my computer history
but I was looking for the page of the old board with Jesus painting
but when I went back to find the opps page....it was gone.
We took Hossanah to work, shopped at her store
and then Leonard said
let's go to walmart
so we did
and after putting everything away
I am soooo tired and achy
but now I have to go see Devon anyway.....
then 'maybe' I can take a wee nap.
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Post by Cindy on Aug 9, 2021 10:06:57 GMT -5
I tried to find the actual first page of the old site that comes up
but I can find it
I did find this:
Is this just the 'normal' pro-boards page?
But the page with the painting of Jesus that it takes me to,
after the Opps error
I can't find...
The opps error did show up on my computer history
but I was looking for the page of the old board with Jesus painting
but when I went back to find the opps page....it was gone.
We took Hossanah to work, shopped at her store
and then Leonard said
let's go to walmart
so we did
and after putting everything away
I am soooo tired and achy
but now I have to go see Devon anyway.....
then 'maybe' I can take a wee nap.
https://login.proboards.com/login/5738383/1" alt="So yes, that is the proboards login for this fresh hope site. If you want to come straight to Fresh Hope, then save this and only use this link: fresh-hope.com/
What you've been experiencing is called being redirected. When I first opened the site here on proboards, the link to come here was a proboards link and the name fresh-hope was not in the link at all. I had to pay them to allow me to use my domain name, and then had to contact the folks who were taking care of it for me at Grace Net, and ask them to release it to me so I could use it here. Which they of course did, since I own that domain name. Once I'd paid proboards and had it set up correctly, whenever someone would click the original link to come here to proboards fresh-hope.com, it would redirect them here to the then "new" link that simply said fresh-hope.com. So even if our old board still existed (which it does not) anyone clicking a link with the domain name of fresh-hope.com would come here, and nowhere else, because that's what I pay for. When the new fresh-hope link began working, I told everyone to delete the old link they used and to only use the new one as it would be easier for them. I guess you never did that, since you're coming here on the old proboards fresh hope link.
I realize you don't believe me, but as I've told you numerous times, our old site does not exist at all any more. It was totally deleted, by our host, Grace Net, shortly after I closed it. There is no longer a home page or a forum or any posts at all from our old board. I don't know where else you may be going, but it's not to the old Fresh Hope. I don't know what picture you're talking about, but I've used many of our old boards graphics here, which is why this site looks so much like our old site.
What study do you want to do next?
fresh-hope.com/thread/5843/studies
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Aug 9, 2021 13:24:27 GMT -5
Well, that explains it mostly :)
You know how when you open a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th window etc.
and on that page before you type in somewhere you want to go...
it will have on the page about 8 blocks or so, with places you visit often
( everyday even....like amazon, youtube, facebook, etc.
But although I come to fresh hope every day....it is never ever in those squares...
So I always have to do a search for FH
and most of the time 90% I click on what is your present site,
and it comes here
But sometimes it goes to an older image with a blue Jesus drawing/painting graphic
and then
I am redirected here.
I do not know where to go to delete the old link....
as I have also gone thru about 4 or 5 computers since being on the old site when it actually existed.
So what do I do, or how do I delete the old link?
The only time it is a real pain,
is when once in a great while,
I forget to copy everything I have written before posting...
and then it goes to the re-directed site
and that will not show up anywhere in my history :(
its like a ghost
it doesn't exist either
But for sure, I cannot retrieve that post
However, if my provider goes down,
or something weird like that happens once in a great while,
then, I can go to my history and click on it and be able to save the post I lost.
Anyway..... I will go look at the other things we can study.
By the way...I had a good opportunity to try all the helps you have been working with me, last night.
Leonard's sister and friends,
kind of all piled on to something I had said in a post...
and so of course, my first inclination was to over think what could I say,
or what should I say
( actually, I had just politely bowed out of the conversation, as it clearly would not be worth it or even a noble or godly thing etc.)
But still, my mind wanted to continue on it....
I prayed,
remembered scripture
and that was helping
but still it kept trying to over think it....
Sooooo I got up, ( I had to go to the bathroom anyway)
and while there I read some more of Calvin commentary
( a 700 page book on Ephesians)
and also I had been watching a video about:
7 cures for fear of evangelism
( the speaker had given a list of verses....so before I went to the bathroom, I decided to work on one of the verses...)
and by then, I was able to go to sleep and not continue thinking or over thinking the issue.
So yeah! :)
Even now it tries to resurrect itself today and I just Immediately say....
NO! go away!
and I move on. :)
So thank you...normally, I would have been up all night
instead with the bathroom break
it was done in 20 minutes ( I read about 4 or 6 pages of Calvin's commentary and that took awhile because I was really focused on what he was writing.)
I think some people think Calvin is hard to read, but he is not, it is similar to listening to MacArthur.
But I do want to solidify in my heart and mind what he is saying...
so that is what took awhile.....
the main portion of the 20 minutes
the actually 'overthinking' of responses I could have made to each person.... took about 5 mins or maybe 10 mins
but even that was broken up with prayer, and reciting Bible verses.
To me, that was a great success, as opposed to....
all night fretting! :)
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Aug 9, 2021 13:31:19 GMT -5
I was thinking maybe this one:
8. How do the unsaved think
and why do they think that way?
Do you want to start it or what?
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Post by Cindy on Aug 10, 2021 4:16:59 GMT -5
I was thinking maybe this one:
8. How do the unsaved think
and why do they think that way?
Do you want to start it or what?
it will have on the page about 8 blocks or so, with places you visit often" Ask Leonard to show you how to add a bookmark to your browser or to that list or both. Once you understand how to do it, then click on the link I gave you to Fresh Hope in my previous post, and once the page loads, create a bookmark with it.
I'm glad you were able to stop overthinking what you'd said, that's great!
That's fine if you want to do that one, but it will be your study so you might as well start it. I'll only jump in if you forget something.
I'll warn you though, that one of these days, sometime in the future, I'm going to ask you to list all the kinds of thoughts we're to take captive to make sure you've really "gotten it" this time! 
It's 5 am now and I've been awake since 2am. So I've only had 3 hours sleep at the very most. I expect to fall back to sleep any time now, so probably won't be back to post any more today. |
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Aug 10, 2021 11:34:29 GMT -5
I already do know how to bookmark
and yesterday,
I asked Devon about the page with the 8 blocks
but here's the deal
I don't use google, I use duck duck
on google you can delete a block and add something you want in the block....
but on duck duck....
you can only delete but not add
So bummer :(
Still, I may try delete one of the blocks,
and see, if it will automatically put in FH,
since it is one site I visit every day.
But how to delete the old whatever I see every once and awhile,
as it is that turns up now and again.....
I have no idea....because I never saved it to show you
if it ever does that again....I will try to grab it.....
not the link I tried to show you recently,
but the page BEFORE the redirect page....
the page with the drawing painting of Jesus.
Sorry you didn't get much sleep....I know how that is! :(
Okay will start the new study and maybe....God willing see you tomorrow. :)
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Post by Cindy on Aug 11, 2021 9:36:04 GMT -5
If you know how to bookmark a site, then why not just click on the bookmark?, It's every bit as easy if not more so.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Aug 11, 2021 10:40:25 GMT -5
I would,
Go to bookmarks,
but I have way too too too many sites bookmarked,
( I should go and delte a whole bunch one of these days)
soooooo I go to my history....if it gets weird....
Oh no!
LOL
it just did get weird....
for some unknown reason,
all my windows shut down,but one
Sooooo I went to my history,
where.... instead of going to the 'complete' history for today
I just went to the mini synopsis ( I don't know what is is called)
where it said....10 pages shut
( I know, I know that is a 'few' windows I had up today.....
but I needed them all today :)
and I clicked on it to get them all back up.
I have had the 10 windows all morning, so I don't think that is why it shut them...
Oh and guess what?
First...last week my phone died
Leonard bought me a new one, that came yesterday ( late, so he will 'fix' it for me today)
and then.......................
a day or two ago
my kindle died
it was not a problem with the charger
( we thought maybe that might could be the issue
Nooooo it just died
So for the last few days I could not read
Talk about frantic LOL
Today my new kindle is coming
I am not sure how to transfer all my books from the old to the new one
but that's why I have a whole family of tech savey teens, and adults
Though I may try to figure it out, first, all by myself!
I have been continuing to work on controlling ( taking them captive) thoughts
It is getting easier to stop them in their tracks!
but...
they keep popping up
I guess, I have spent a life time, just letting them run wild and rampant
so they don't like being made to be obedient! ha ha
So tho I am aiming to keep my thoughts on God
and on lovely things etc.
if I just let my guard down a minute,
I find I am off daydreaming....
and then, I have to get those silly thoughts back under control/ take them captive!
Arrgghhh
frustrating,
but at least,
now I am aware,
and have some ammunition to stop them!
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Post by Cindy on Aug 13, 2021 9:50:41 GMT -5
I'm glad you're practicing taking your thoughts captive. Although I know I told you this in counseling, in case you don't remember, I'll say it again... It will seem like a lot of work to watch every single thought and you may have to take a majority of them captive and replace them, but the more you work at it, without allowing any thoughts to get by you, the easier it will become, and the less thoughts you'll have to take captive. Think of it like you're cleaning out a large room full of books and documents. At first you have to throw away a lot of the books and documents that are ruined and not worth keeping. But the cleaner the room gets, the less you will have to throw out. Eventually you'll only have to throw out something occasionally instead of constantly. However this metaphor only applies if the person is truly working hard at taking their thoughts captive 100% of the time.
It really is amazing when you think about it, that so many terrible thoughts are in our minds and we think nothing of it until the Lord points it out to us. These thoughts show just how corrupted out minds were before we were saved. Allowing them to stay in our mind, only hurts us and prevents us from fully experiencing the mind of Christ and a life of victory that Jesus wants to give us instead.
Plus, if we're not watching our thoughts, then how can we rid ourselves of these things?
“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:1–3) Or this one? “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.” (2 Peter 3:1–2)
Finally, we need to rid ourselves of our old thoughts from before we were saved so we can store up the good thoughts God wants us to have now: “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) So many people (including me before I was saved) think they're "good", but when we really examine our thoughts, there's no doubt at all that we are actually evil! Thankfully for you and me, God has given us a new nature so we can have good, godly thoughts about our self, others, life, etc. But we still have to get rid of our old thoughts and old way of thinking.
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