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Post by Cindy on Aug 1, 2018 10:14:25 GMT -5
I did read that some people think the verse means the opposite but I just can't see it. For one thing when Peter denied Jesus 3 times,
and so,
he wept bitterly,
and
no doubt his heart condemned him!!!
So did Jesus say your done.....no Jesus helped Peter realize he was loved
and what about Paul....there is someone whose heart could have surely condemned Him, so surely Jesus would not pick Paul right?
Wrong!!!
Paul was loved also ( in spite of his own condemnation).
I John 3: 21,22
However, a major problem with doubting, is it will affect our prayers....we will not be confident we can come boldly into the throne room of God and freely ask anything of Him.
If we are afraid and/or doubting, we may not be able to speak at all.
Of course, as you mentioned to me several times before ( and so comforted me greatly) that tho doubting is hard and hurtful, in a sense, to occasional doubt, is almost a proof we ( I) do belong to God....
because unbelievers almost certainly, do NOT have such a struggle and agony of heart....they simply do not care and give no thought to it at all.
But we do not want to stay in a doubting fear, rather we want to be able to talk to our Father who love for us is greater than any 'feeling' or worry and doubt.
We do have to remember we must only ask for what would be His will, god is not going to give us things that are not His will for us ( or anyone else).
God is not a genii in a bottle who MUST grant OUR every wish and command.
And of course, God may say: Wait ( His timing) or He might say no, but He may provide something better, and sometimes it is yes and He answers right away, and sometimes He waits for us to ask again ( this is for our sake, do we really really want this particular benefit for ourselves?)
But because He can, and He enjoys giving good gifts to His Children, He hears and answers all our prayers one way or another....but He is not a Father who will turn us into spoiled rotten brats.
Still, as born again, adopted children, we are 'different'. new creatures, and for the most part we want to want what our Father wants ( sometimes our 'old man' and/or sin gets in the way.
Yet what an amazing thrilling gift, to be able to pray as often as we wish, ( without ceasing) and not be afraid to do so.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415 
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Post by fearnot on Aug 1, 2018 13:55:25 GMT -5
I John 3:23,24
Believing in Jesus is not a suggestion, it is a command, as is loving one another.
What we believe is key to how we act, believing in Jesus, will result in loving. They go together.
It matters what one believes and knowing the Bible and keeping His commands will affect of conduct. This belief is not just glibly saying, one time,
I believe in Jesus,
and then,
continuing in sin, anger, lust, lies, stealing, gossip etc.
( none of which are loving to others).
In His name would be all that He is ( Savior, Lord, King, Creator, provider, etc. etc.).
Jesus, Himself showed the greatest love! it is not like He commands something He Himself has not done ( or continues to do).
Again, we may have all manner of head Knowledge, but if we do not act in obedience on it, it is useless. Even the demons have most likely way more knowledge of scripture and believe in Jesus, but they refuse to obey and do not love...
Thus, they have no fellowship or relationship with Jesus.
As before, the keeping and doing God's commandments is not what saves anyone, but shows they are saved.
I want to know God lives in me and I in Him, and obedience and the Holy spirit are evidence. The change in my ( our) mind, thoughts, attitudes, behavior all point to the Holy Spirit residing in me. Before, I did not care anything about obeying God, nor could I....now I want to, and as time goes by, I am more and more able to do so.
23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 2, 2018 13:16:17 GMT -5
Sooooo many false gospels have been started by the founder getting an 'angelic' visit.
I am not saying they did not get a visit,
it is possible....
but even demons, can for a time, be angels of light
( like God's Holy angels are now, and as they once were).
So how could these cults, and false gospels, and their leaders have avoided such dangerous spiritual deception?
We are not to believe unholy spirits, but we need to be able to have discernment, because they may even speak of things in the Bible ( in fact, most demons and their false teachers whom they taught, may know a lot about the Bible).
We are to know the truth, and that means rejecting error and falsehood, lies and deception. In fact, just because what appears to be an angel of light, has come to us, or a charismatic leader, once it is clear it is false we are to flee from the evil.
As an aside, many things look and seem ( at first) beautiful, spiritual, knowledge, wholesome, right, fun, etc. but in fact, are not.
God the Holy spirit is not the only 'spirit' in this world, there are many spirits and many masquerade as holy, wonderful and from God, but there is only ONE Holy Spirit....so it is important to know Him, and not the others.
We are being warned against being deceived against false doctrine. We are commanded NOT to believe any false doctrine based on an 'angel of light', a spirit, or of a teacher, ( esp. with a new message). Don't be gullible....even if they seem full of "love'. The idea of love today is so skewed and twisted, and can be used to deceive. The wolves in sheep's clothing, come across, as gentle caring souls.
We can't just say, well, I am not sure what this spirit is, but that is inviting terrible danger in.
We need to have a measuring stick to avoid such danger and to see if they are really from God.
V. 2 gives us such a test of truth.
so even if a new leader has even performed miracles, and prophesied things that came true, and is loving, fun, brilliant, 'speaks in tongues, casts out demons, heals etc. etc.
The question is, does he do all this by a false 'god'?
He does not have to appear evil, or of satan, not in the least, in fact satan himself does not come to people as the angel of darkness, but as the angel of light.
But does he say Jesus is God, who came in the flesh, to die on the cross to pay for our sins.
Not that Jesus was a good man, a prophet, a teacher...but God, who came ( not in spirit) but in the flesh....100 % human and 100% God.
Not that they say this one time briefly, but this is their life.
They are committed to Jesus. Even demons will say Jesus is God, but they are not committed to Him.
After all given enough money, almost anyone might 'confess' Jesus as Lord ( but they whole purpose would be in order to gain the money, not that they believed it).
Many will say to Jesus in the end, didn't we perform miracles, cast out demons etc. but Jesus will say to them, I never knew you, because they were not truly loving Him and committed to Him.
When checking the 'spirits' it is not a feeling we get ( be it good or bad) but only God's Word.
What do they think of Jesus.
If they do not have this right, do not follow them.
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Post by Cindy on Aug 3, 2018 11:13:23 GMT -5
I John 3:23,24
Believing in Jesus is not a suggestion, it is a command, as is loving one another.
What we believe is key to how we act, believing in Jesus, will result in loving. They go together.
It matters what one believes and knowing the Bible and keeping His commands will affect of conduct. This belief is not just glibly saying, one time,
I believe in Jesus,
and then,
continuing in sin, anger, lust, lies, stealing, gossip etc.
( none of which are loving to others).
In His name would be all that He is ( Savior, Lord, King, Creator, provider, etc. etc.).
Jesus, Himself showed the greatest love! it is not like He commands something He Himself has not done ( or continues to do).
Again, we may have all manner of head Knowledge, but if we do not act in obedience on it, it is useless. Even the demons have most likely way more knowledge of scripture and believe in Jesus, but they refuse to obey and do not love...
Thus, they have no fellowship or relationship with Jesus.
As before, the keeping and doing God's commandments is not what saves anyone, but shows they are saved.
I want to know God lives in me and I in Him, and obedience and the Holy spirit are evidence. The change in my ( our) mind, thoughts, attitudes, behavior all point to the Holy Spirit residing in me. Before, I did not care anything about obeying God, nor could I....now I want to, and as time goes by, I am more and more able to do so.
23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
Sooooo many false gospels have been started by the founder getting an 'angelic' visit.
I am not saying they did not get a visit,
it is possible....
but even demons, can for a time, be angels of light
( like God's Holy angels are now, and as they once were).
So how could these cults, and false gospels, and their leaders have avoided such dangerous spiritual deception?
We are not to believe unholy spirits, but we need to be able to have discernment, because they may even speak of things in the Bible ( in fact, most demons and their false teachers whom they taught, may know a lot about the Bible).
We are to know the truth, and that means rejecting error and falsehood, lies and deception. In fact, just because what appears to be an angel of light, has come to us, or a charismatic leader, once it is clear it is false we are to flee from the evil.
As an aside, many things look and seem ( at first) beautiful, spiritual, knowledge, wholesome, right, fun, etc. but in fact, are not.
God the Holy spirit is not the only 'spirit' in this world, there are many spirits and many masquerade as holy, wonderful and from God, but there is only ONE Holy Spirit....so it is important to know Him, and not the others.
We are being warned against being deceived against false doctrine. We are commanded NOT to believe any false doctrine based on an 'angel of light', a spirit, or of a teacher, ( esp. with a new message). Don't be gullible....even if they seem full of "love'. The idea of love today is so skewed and twisted, and can be used to deceive. The wolves in sheep's clothing, come across, as gentle caring souls.
We can't just say, well, I am not sure what this spirit is, but that is inviting terrible danger in.
We need to have a measuring stick to avoid such danger and to see if they are really from God.
V. 2 gives us such a test of truth.
so even if a new leader has even performed miracles, and prophesied things that came true, and is loving, fun, brilliant, 'speaks in tongues, casts out demons, heals etc. etc.
The question is, does he do all this by a false 'god'?
He does not have to appear evil, or of satan, not in the least, in fact satan himself does not come to people as the angel of darkness, but as the angel of light.
But does he say Jesus is God, who came in the flesh, to die on the cross to pay for our sins.
Not that Jesus was a good man, a prophet, a teacher...but God, who came ( not in spirit) but in the flesh....100 % human and 100% God.
Not that they say this one time briefly, but this is their life.
They are committed to Jesus. Even demons will say Jesus is God, but they are not committed to Him.
After all given enough money, almost anyone might 'confess' Jesus as Lord ( but they whole purpose would be in order to gain the money, not that they believed it).
Many will say to Jesus in the end, didn't we perform miracles, cast out demons etc. but Jesus will say to them, I never knew you, because they were not truly loving Him and committed to Him.
When checking the 'spirits' it is not a feeling we get ( be it good or bad) but only God's Word.
What do they think of Jesus.
If they do not have this right, do not follow them.
Have you had any luck with the questions I gave you or did you decide you didn't want to do them? Sorry, I can't remember.... Either way is fine of course!
When you're done, let's do 2 and 3 John ok? Otherwise it'll feel unfinished lol and they're both very short anyway. We can probably do them in two days lol
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 3, 2018 11:46:09 GMT -5
I was going thru John 1....one more time and at that time do the questions.......
but.....
I can do that at another time.
I still need to get those questions tho, now that I know where to store them.
I have been wondering how are you doing? I am thinking that taking care of Bruce must have stressed your body a lot and make take a looong time to recover.
I was doing pretty ok kind of for most of the summer, but the last 2 weeks or so, not so good.
I will be glad when school starts again, but Leonard will still have to drive kids to school, pick them up, drive Hossanah etc.
I will of course keep praying for you.
But I forgot to ask, how is Bruce doing now?
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 3, 2018 13:07:24 GMT -5
I John 4:3
p.s. HA I forgot to mention I was on Ch. 4 the past post.
Anyway:
There is the Holy Spirit of absolute truth and the spirit(s) of error.
It is essential to know which is which...they both are 'spiritual' but only one is Holy, those the others may at first look that way.
A person can't say, well, I don't know 'exactly' what it is, but it is 'spiritual' so it is good. Many are the spirits in the world, and all but one is ultimate good and Holy.
some spirits do not outright deny Jesus, that would be a dead giveaway. They may even speak positively of Jesus....he was a prophet and a good man, and so on.
Many cults and false religions speak of Jesus...some quite a lot.
Just mentioning his name does not make them safe.
It is not so much what they say positive about Jesus....but what they do NOT say!!!
Do they confess He is God, do they put their whole trust in Him to have paid for their sins etc. Is He their Savior, Creator etc.
Who do they say He is?
Do they confess him as God and Lord?
Do they love Jesus?
Do they love other believers?
If they do not, they are of the antichrist, being in actuality either against him
and/or
providing another replacement 'christ' ( god), a false representation of Christ.
The ones who impersonate Jesus are harder to discern. There have been many, and still are many, but the final one will be THE antichrist, indwelt by satan, and will in fact try to convince the whole world that he is god.
But it is also an attitude and way of thinking.
We are in a fallen evil world, in an age of darkness and sin.
The spirit of the antichrist, its way of thinking and living has been throughout this whole age, its overriding theme is hatred towards Jesus.
it used to be the US was a little bit safe from this hatred ( oh it was still there) but now it is growing in leaps and bounds....even here. As is lawlessness, rebellion, and sins of all manner are also growing.
I think the whole world is being prepared for THE final antichrist.....maybe very soon. We ( I) are warned....The final antichrist is coming and the world is preparing to receive their false god.
Come soon Lord Jesus!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 4, 2018 11:39:58 GMT -5
Finally I got the questions and put them in a message to myself!!!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 5, 2018 12:29:52 GMT -5
Rats!!! I forgot what you told me how to get a lost post. I worked on this passage yesterday, but lost the post, it's not here.
Soooo I will see if I can 'sort of' reconstruct it sigh!
Its annoying especially when a post is more or less what I wanted to say... and then to lose it, because I know, I probably have forgotten 1/2 and will not write it the way it was.
I john 4: 4-6
There is the Holy Spirit of truth, and the spirit of error and falsehood.
People are believing in either one or the other, as are the teachers.
There are the children of God and children of the devil.
Jesus overcame the world and all its traps, satan, and death, and the children of God, ( born again believers) share in his victory.
It's true a believer might even be killed for their belief in Jesus, and so it might look like a loss or a failure
( just as unbelievers might think that's what happened to Jesus)....
but in eternity future, the never ending victory is secure.
We have God our Father, Jesus our Savior, and God the Holy Spirit on our side.
Not only did Jesus conquer all, we have God, the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, and He is infinitely greater than all the created fallen angels.
A very comforting truth.
Therefore we are more than conquerors!!
Again there is a contrast between the people of God and the people of satan.
the unbelievers listen to those teachers who tickle their ears with what they want to hear....things that justify their sin, their pleasures, their goals, their entertainment, their lifestyle , things of the world etc. and false teachers attract those who are unsaved.
True teachers preach the Bible alone and in its entirety. They teach the truth, and sometimes it's hard to hear about sin etc., true teachers, teach about Jesus,sin, from the Bible etc
and unbelievers do not wish to wish to hear any of that.
Even IF... they were to listen , for some reason that they thought might benefit them in a worldly way,
like maybe make business connections, and so on....
They would have no intention or desire to obey God's Word, and no love for the Word of God, or God Himself.
And they would most likely would soon end up going to a teacher who was not so 'harsh' who was inclusive of all lifestyles, and pushed unity with all religions etc. etc. etc.
God's word is dull to them...
not in a way that might happen to a believer, who for a short time may go thru a desert time in the Word, but then, soon longs for the comfort, wisdom, endless depth and riches of God's Word....
The unbeliever simply cannot hear God's Word, love it, or apply it to their life.
Who do they say Jesus is,
do they constantly find fault with God's Word, etc.
it will soon be clear if they are teachers of followers of the truth or falsehood.
but even if they said all the right words, ( for enough money a child of satan might be willing to say anything, but not believe a word.....)
but soon their behavior would begin to unveil the lie, because their heart and the 'spirit' by which they truly live by,
and are controlled by will eventually surface.
It's Not that they sin, even believers sin,
but that they truly want to...
they are not trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Do they love God above all, do they give Him all the glory, Do they Love Scripture, do they hate sin etc.
The world of the unsaved do not want to hear this, and their teachers can gain a large crowd (not to mention most likely lots of money and worldly goods) by avoiding these topics, and thus the spirit of falsehood is revealed.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 5, 2018 13:04:39 GMT -5
I John 4:7
I am thinking this is a command to love one another, and rightly so. God is love, and Jesus showed us the greatest example of love there will ever be.
I don't know about anyone else, but this is a lot harder than it might seem at first glance.
Even tho I am saved and born again with a new nature, I struggle with selfishness, self centeredness, me-ism etc.
I struggle with being critical.
At time, I am afraid I even deceive myself, into thinking I am quite good at being 'loving'....until, my feelings are hurt by someone, or I have to make a bigger sacrifice then I intended etc.
and then it comes starkly clear....I have a loooong way to go.
I do not mean, God has not helped me and given me growth in this, just that I find I could glibly read, I should love the brethren and even an enemy and just zoom right over that, thinking, yeah I got that.......but not so fast.
I am thinking that John understood this, having once been a 'son of thunder' ( as he once wanted to call down thunder on a town of people)....yet God was able to change him in the apostle of love.....so there is hope for me.
But knowing the journing from one state to another is a bit longer than I would give it, John keeps bringing it up to nail it into my ( our) spirits.
But strangely enough, sometimes 'love' by telling the truth, can seem to be anything but and can cost a believer greatly.
Also it is a choice to sacrifice for another and not always for someone who is lovable.
This is also another evidence of being saved and belonging to God.
Interestingly, other 'religions' do not have much or anything at all to say, about God being love and our being commanded to love.
But for God's children, Christians are to be known by their love ( for God, for family, for other believers, and for the unsaved).
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Post by Cindy on Aug 6, 2018 10:53:11 GMT -5
I was going thru John 1....one more time and at that time do the questions.......
but.....
I can do that at another time.
I still need to get those questions tho, now that I know where to store them.
I have been wondering how are you doing? I am thinking that taking care of Bruce must have stressed your body a lot and make take a looong time to recover.
I was doing pretty ok kind of for most of the summer, but the last 2 weeks or so, not so good.
I will be glad when school starts again, but Leonard will still have to drive kids to school, pick them up, drive Hossanah etc.
I will of course keep praying for you.
But I forgot to ask, how is Bruce doing now? I John 4:3
p.s. HA I forgot to mention I was on Ch. 4 the past post.
Anyway:
There is the Holy Spirit of absolute truth and the spirit(s) of error.
It is essential to know which is which...they both are 'spiritual' but only one is Holy, those the others may at first look that way.
A person can't say, well, I don't know 'exactly' what it is, but it is 'spiritual' so it is good. Many are the spirits in the world, and all but one is ultimate good and Holy.
some spirits do not outright deny Jesus, that would be a dead giveaway. They may even speak positively of Jesus....he was a prophet and a good man, and so on.
Many cults and false religions speak of Jesus...some quite a lot.
Just mentioning his name does not make them safe.
It is not so much what they say positive about Jesus....but what they do NOT say!!!
Do they confess He is God, do they put their whole trust in Him to have paid for their sins etc. Is He their Savior, Creator etc.
Who do they say He is?
Do they confess him as God and Lord?
Do they love Jesus?
Do they love other believers?
If they do not, they are of the antichrist, being in actuality either against him
and/or
providing another replacement 'christ' ( god), a false representation of Christ.
The ones who impersonate Jesus are harder to discern. There have been many, and still are many, but the final one will be THE antichrist, indwelt by satan, and will in fact try to convince the whole world that he is god.
But it is also an attitude and way of thinking.
We are in a fallen evil world, in an age of darkness and sin.
The spirit of the antichrist, its way of thinking and living has been throughout this whole age, its overriding theme is hatred towards Jesus.
it used to be the US was a little bit safe from this hatred ( oh it was still there) but now it is growing in leaps and bounds....even here. As is lawlessness, rebellion, and sins of all manner are also growing.
I think the whole world is being prepared for THE final antichrist.....maybe very soon. We ( I) are warned....The final antichrist is coming and the world is preparing to receive their false god.
Come soon Lord Jesus!
Finally I got the questions and put them in a message to myself!!!  Rats!!! I forgot what you told me how to get a lost post. I worked on this passage yesterday, but lost the post, it's not here.
Soooo I will see if I can 'sort of' reconstruct it sigh!
Its annoying especially when a post is more or less what I wanted to say... and then to lose it, because I know, I probably have forgotten 1/2 and will not write it the way it was.
I john 4: 4-6
There is the Holy Spirit of truth, and the spirit of error and falsehood.
People are believing in either one or the other, as are the teachers.
There are the children of God and children of the devil.
Jesus overcame the world and all its traps, satan, and death, and the children of God, ( born again believers) share in his victory.
It's true a believer might even be killed for their belief in Jesus, and so it might look like a loss or a failure
( just as unbelievers might think that's what happened to Jesus)....
but in eternity future, the never ending victory is secure.
We have God our Father, Jesus our Savior, and God the Holy Spirit on our side.
Not only did Jesus conquer all, we have God, the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, and He is infinitely greater than all the created fallen angels.
A very comforting truth.
Therefore we are more than conquerors!!
Again there is a contrast between the people of God and the people of satan.
the unbelievers listen to those teachers who tickle their ears with what they want to hear....things that justify their sin, their pleasures, their goals, their entertainment, their lifestyle , things of the world etc. and false teachers attract those who are unsaved.
True teachers preach the Bible alone and in its entirety. They teach the truth, and sometimes it's hard to hear about sin etc., true teachers, teach about Jesus,sin, from the Bible etc
and unbelievers do not wish to wish to hear any of that.
Even IF... they were to listen , for some reason that they thought might benefit them in a worldly way,
like maybe make business connections, and so on....
They would have no intention or desire to obey God's Word, and no love for the Word of God, or God Himself.
And they would most likely would soon end up going to a teacher who was not so 'harsh' who was inclusive of all lifestyles, and pushed unity with all religions etc. etc. etc.
God's word is dull to them...
not in a way that might happen to a believer, who for a short time may go thru a desert time in the Word, but then, soon longs for the comfort, wisdom, endless depth and riches of God's Word....
The unbeliever simply cannot hear God's Word, love it, or apply it to their life.
Who do they say Jesus is,
do they constantly find fault with God's Word, etc.
it will soon be clear if they are teachers of followers of the truth or falsehood.
but even if they said all the right words, ( for enough money a child of satan might be willing to say anything, but not believe a word.....)
but soon their behavior would begin to unveil the lie, because their heart and the 'spirit' by which they truly live by,
and are controlled by will eventually surface.
It's Not that they sin, even believers sin,
but that they truly want to...
they are not trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Do they love God above all, do they give Him all the glory, Do they Love Scripture, do they hate sin etc.
The world of the unsaved do not want to hear this, and their teachers can gain a large crowd (not to mention most likely lots of money and worldly goods) by avoiding these topics, and thus the spirit of falsehood is revealed.
I John 4:7
I am thinking this is a command to love one another, and rightly so. God is love, and Jesus showed us the greatest example of love there will ever be.
I don't know about anyone else, but this is a lot harder than it might seem at first glance.
Even tho I am saved and born again with a new nature, I struggle with selfishness, self centeredness, me-ism etc.
I struggle with being critical.
At time, I am afraid I even deceive myself, into thinking I am quite good at being 'loving'....until, my feelings are hurt by someone, or I have to make a bigger sacrifice then I intended etc.
and then it comes starkly clear....I have a loooong way to go.
I do not mean, God has not helped me and given me growth in this, just that I find I could glibly read, I should love the brethren and even an enemy and just zoom right over that, thinking, yeah I got that.......but not so fast.
I am thinking that John understood this, having once been a 'son of thunder' ( as he once wanted to call down thunder on a town of people)....yet God was able to change him in the apostle of love.....so there is hope for me.
But knowing the journing from one state to another is a bit longer than I would give it, John keeps bringing it up to nail it into my ( our) spirits.
But strangely enough, sometimes 'love' by telling the truth, can seem to be anything but and can cost a believer greatly.
Also it is a choice to sacrifice for another and not always for someone who is lovable.
This is also another evidence of being saved and belonging to God.
Interestingly, other 'religions' do not have much or anything at all to say, about God being love and our being commanded to love.
But for God's children, Christians are to be known by their love ( for God, for family, for other believers, and for the unsaved).
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 6, 2018 12:02:07 GMT -5
I John 4:8-10
Love is a big evidence of faith in God, because God is love.
This one tho, is hard for me, because I know how self centered I am.
I do know, I want to be loving, and like my Lord and I think at times I am, but not at all like I would want to be. However, I am learning, love is a choice, and often sacrificial, kind, etc.
but I am thinking this is something the Holy spirit must work on me (and is for me), because true love is God,.
It does not say, who is the most intellectual, nicest looking, richest, etc. but who loves.
And what an amazing thought and truth.....God is love! He could have been indifferent, cold, hateful, and so on, but instead He is love, what a joy and comfort.
However love can cost greatly, as demonstrated by the greatest act of love that ever was or ever will be.....God the Father sent God the Son, Jesus....to die on the cross, and pay for all the sins of those who would believe on Him, so we might live in eternity with Him.
God gave His most precious gift to mankind, many of whom still trample His love in muck and mire.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for completely and totally undeserving humans, yet Jesus loved us. Jesus died that we may live ( we who were dead in our sins).
And we (I) did not love God but He loved us.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 7, 2018 11:25:10 GMT -5
I John 4:11,12
God loved us so much He sent Jesus to die for us and pay for all our sins. This is love so beyond comprehension (infinite love and sacrifice), that demonstrates God's love.
Then comes the 2nd part of V.11....we also ought to love one another.
This is not so easy because we are all sinners, and often NOT lovable much of the time. And yet, God loved us when we were unlovable, with hearts desperately wicked, hating God even.
This command to love others, of course would be impossible, unless by the Holy Spirit. But as born again, new creation, love is a part of our new nature....the problem is the old nature is still hanging around.
Still we need to see them as God does, and wanting to be more like Him, love the unlovable, even our enemies. It's also a way to be known as belonging to Jesus.
This is also a way to show God we love Him, by loving others.
And further, by loving ....others ( the unsaved) see God thru us, because, God is love.
No one has seen God the Father or God the Holy Spirit....People did see God the Son, but He is back in Heaven now....but they can see that God the Holy Spirit resides in us, by our ( and His) love.
We may see the face and body of another person, and thus, say: I have seen so and so....however, they have not seen the real person, the spirit, and soul, the mind and thoughts, the heart etc. of that person....and so it is with God.
In a sense, by looking at our love, loving others, sacrificing, etc., unbelievers can begin to see something about THE God of love.
Also, as we grow more in the Lord, His love is perfected in us.
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Post by Cindy on Aug 7, 2018 11:43:55 GMT -5
I John 4:8-10
Love is a big evidence of faith in God, because God is love.
This one tho, is hard for me, because I know how self centered I am.
I do know, I want to be loving, and like my Lord and I think at times I am, but not at all like I would want to be. However, I am learning, love is a choice, and often sacrificial, kind, etc.
but I am thinking this is something the Holy spirit must work on me (and is for me), because true love is God,.
It does not say, who is the most intellectual, nicest looking, richest, etc. but who loves.
And what an amazing thought and truth.....God is love! He could have been indifferent, cold, hateful, and so on, but instead He is love, what a joy and comfort.
However love can cost greatly, as demonstrated by the greatest act of love that ever was or ever will be.....God the Father sent God the Son, Jesus....to die on the cross, and pay for all the sins of those who would believe on Him, so we might live in eternity with Him.
God gave His most precious gift to mankind, many of whom still trample His love in muck and mire.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for completely and totally undeserving humans, yet Jesus loved us. Jesus died that we may live ( we who were dead in our sins).
And we (I) did not love God but He loved us.
We often think of our Lord's sacrifice for us and it's pretty overwhelming. Yet most of us aren't called to offer our lives up for him literally like that. Instead, we're called to do things like the story illustrated. To sacrifice our time, the material things we have, etc in order to give to others. What's sad is that for most of us, including me, we find this just as hard as being a martyr. And if we do something like this, we often do it with the attitude of a martyr instead of with a joyful attitude. I know that for me it's rare that I remember that my life no longer belongs to me, but instead belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ; that I'm no longer to get up each day and decide what I want to do, or even what I think I have to do; but instead I'm to get up and ask Him what His will is for me to do that day. I have done this before and I'll tell you right off that it's hard! I found that I made all kinds of excuses for the things I felt I "had" to do so it was hard for me to let go of them long enough to find our what His Will for me really was.
Too often we tend to think of something like this only occasionally instead of daily as we should. Just as often we tend to forget that there is always someone else we can serve besides ourselves that day. If nothing else you and I both have husbands at home that we can serve in a sacrificial way. I'm sure you've heard the saying that people tend to treat their family members the worst and are nicest to their boss, and co workers and authority figures. Mainly because we're not working to please our loved ones like we are our boss or landlord, or whoever. I'm not going to say it should be the other way around, but instead that it should be that way with everyone, including our family members. This is something I really want to work on personally. I want to give of myself, of my time, or my talents, (whatever they are lol) my money, my belongings, etc. in ways that will serve others, especially my husband. That's not easy though. I already have discovered that when Bruce is telling me something about his motorcycle or about the nascar races (which I'm not interested in either at all!) I'll start thinking about the things that interest me and wonder why he never brings those things up. So now I'm working on my attitude about things like that. Making myself stop whatever it is I'm doing or wanting to do and look interested and making myself be interested if only because he is and they make him happy. I want to show him that I'm grateful that he wants to talk to me about anything. After all, he could be out with the guys and talking to someone else instead of me. I want to do the same with my children and grandchildren when they call or come over too. So those are the things I'm working on to try and love the way our Lord does. He always made people feel like they were important to Him and He always listened to them and would give whatever He could.
Oh, I told about a couple of miracles in the chat thread if you want to read about them.
Hope you're doing better today. I've noticed your doing this in very small chunks lately, which can make it hard to keep everything in context. You know what would probably be a good idea, is when you're done with the book this time, would be to read the book all the way through in one sitting and then post what your overall view of the book is....
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 7, 2018 12:14:59 GMT -5
That's a great idea....to read it all the way thru and do an over all view!!
I've been doing it in small chunks because of 2 reasons....
one, I thought ( but maybe not) that I did bigger portions the last time
But also, partially cuz I have not been feeling great
( HA HA like I can ever say that, exactly)
actually tho still in pain,
it's been more very very tired,
that has been bugging me lately.
And that so many of the verses seem so packed full ( but then are not they all...in all of scripture....just some I don't see ...like a list of names or places, but just cuz I do not see it, doesn't mean it's not there.
I really related to what you wrote:
"What's sad is that for most of us, including me, we find this just as hard as being a martyr.
(*note you were talking about small 'sacrifices')
And if we do something like this, we often do it with the attitude of a martyr instead of with a joyful attitude".
Anyway, I am ever the hopeful one that when school starts I may be a wee less tired.
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Post by Cindy on Aug 8, 2018 10:39:56 GMT -5
That's a great idea....to read it all the way thru and do an over all view!!
I've been doing it in small chunks because of 2 reasons....
one, I thought ( but maybe not) that I did bigger portions the last time
But also, partially cuz I have not been feeling great
( HA HA like I can ever say that, exactly)
actually tho still in pain,
it's been more very very tired,
that has been bugging me lately.
And that so many of the verses seem so packed full ( but then are not they all...in all of scripture....just some I don't see ...like a list of names or places, but just cuz I do not see it, doesn't mean it's not there.
I really related to what you wrote:
"What's sad is that for most of us, including me, we find this just as hard as being a martyr.
(*note you were talking about small 'sacrifices')
And if we do something like this, we often do it with the attitude of a martyr instead of with a joyful attitude".
Anyway, I am ever the hopeful one that when school starts I may be a wee less tired.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 8, 2018 10:44:07 GMT -5
I can't believe I did it again!!! arrrggghhhh
I lost another post, but I think I have figured out how I lose them entirely.
I always have 6 or 7 or more windows open at any given time. So I think after I am done typing, and may be falling asleep even, I shut down a window (like maybe thinking its Bible gateway etc. only, not paying 100 percent attention, its actually my post ( before I hit the post button).
I finished writing and saying all I was going to post, and decided I don't need Bible gateway or maybe a commentary etc. and instead before posting I close quick reply page, and am too tired to notice, and if I do fall asleep, when I awake, if does not dawn on me that I never posted
Soooo I am only going to write a quick sentence or two, because I did in fact, post a lot yesterday, but I need to work on today's portion and I am again super tired, so I need to work on that now, and not just trying to reconstruct yesterday's post.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 8, 2018 10:54:00 GMT -5
Yesterday's post in a nutshell.
I John 4:11.12
Because the Father is spirit, people cannot visually see Him. When Jesus was on earth they were able to see God the Son, but He is in Heaven now. And God the Holy Spirit is also not visible.
But Jesus made it a point that the outstanding characteristic of a Christian ought to be their choosing to love....a servants heart, ready to sacrifice out of love, and empowered to be able to do this by the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.
They are to love those hard to love, the unlovable, and even their enemies.
And as time progresses this love is growing ( because true love is not truly easy for fallen sinful humans), but the Holy Spirit which dwells in us, is working to complete it in us.
This is totally different than what I wrote yesterday but oh well.
I don't want to get behind and so I am just going on to study today's portion.....sorry tho, I really did work on it yesterday sigh!!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 8, 2018 11:49:02 GMT -5
I John 4:13-16
The unsaved cannot love, as God loves,and we were not able to love in a selfless, sacrificial, way, until born again, and so, one of the proofs the Holy Spirit lives in us as born again, is this ability to truly love.
of course, we cannot love perfectly, I for one have a LOT of growing to do, but nevertheless, I have a totally new outlook on what love is, and my desire is to be loving more and more like my Lord, and this too is evidence of the Holy spirit dwelling in me.
As anger and hatred die within me, and love grows, I can be assured of the Holy Spirit's indwelling....my life thoughts, feeling, outlook, desires, goals, words, affections, love etc.etc. is all completely different...and were not present before I became born again.
We need to be confident of this, because the enemy of our souls, his children, etc. can begin to cause us to have moments of doubt...so this is a comfort to be able to not be deceived.
Another assurance is John the apostle ( along with the other apostles) were eyewitnesses to Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the World.
There have been people all over the world who believed in Jesus, not just USA or Europe.
Believers have confessed that Jesus is the Son of God ( He is God the Son).
Confession and love are 2 proofs of God's children...they go together,
to just say words, and have only hatred and no love, would be lying.
But acknowledging and confessing that Jesus is the Son of God, is evidence of the fact that God lives in the believer, and love will be evident also.
Because we know (have even experienced) God's love for us on so many levels, we also know we are not unbelievers, because they do not know or even care to know such about our Lord and Savior.
We consider God's love to be true. So often, the unsaved will throw up the fact of bad things happening, and use that as proof of IF ( this is what they often will say) God is love why did He allow that to happen.
But God did not make us as robots, who could only do good, robots cannot choose to love, and if it is not a choice, it is not really love.
Plus, the unbelievers only focus, on God.... when something bad happens such as when an unsaved ( or even a saved person ) does that causes great pain.....
However, they do NOT count the endless blessing God loving provides every single day.....even the air that they breath.
But because God is love, and He dwells in the believer, the believer can also love, which would be impossible without God being love.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 9, 2018 10:59:46 GMT -5
I John 4:17,18
When we abide in God and He in us, love is being made complete ( love for God and love for others). Love and confidence go together ( on the day of judgement). So it is critically important we learn to choose love, and love each other.
WE (I) want to be more like Jesus, that is a priority.
I am thinking when I have times of doubt or fear and not confidence about salvation/judgement day etc. it could be because I am too self centered, and not loving God and others.
Because love has no fear. First love of God, and love of others.
But what a great truth....love conquers fear....because fear has to do with punishment.
Even to the point that if men were to kill us, wrongly....
yet, by loving God and men, we would not even fear wrongful death.
I have always had a cowardly streak, but here is the solution to being brave(r).
Unbelievers for the most part do not fear God, but neither do they love Him or others with a true 'love', and so if they were to really spend time and think about judgement day, they would indeed be fearful of the coming punishment.
But a believer struggling with fear, may indicate there is not much progress, in being perfected in love.
How devoted in love am I to the salvation of the lost and perishing?
Or am I just angry at them,
and devoted to my own comfort?
Also when I am in fear, I am not trusting God is in control, and can work even bad things to me good ( at some time). But Loving God, means, I trust Him....no matter what.
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Post by Cindy on Aug 10, 2018 9:46:26 GMT -5
I can't believe I did it again!!! arrrggghhhh
I lost another post, but I think I have figured out how I lose them entirely.
I always have 6 or 7 or more windows open at any given time. So I think after I am done typing, and may be falling asleep even, I shut down a window (like maybe thinking its Bible gateway etc. only, not paying 100 percent attention, its actually my post ( before I hit the post button).
I finished writing and saying all I was going to post, and decided I don't need Bible gateway or maybe a commentary etc. and instead before posting I close quick reply page, and am too tired to notice, and if I do fall asleep, when I awake, if does not dawn on me that I never posted
Soooo I am only going to write a quick sentence or two, because I did in fact, post a lot yesterday, but I need to work on today's portion and I am again super tired, so I need to work on that now, and not just trying to reconstruct yesterday's post. Yesterday's post in a nutshell.
I John 4:11.12
Because the Father is spirit, people cannot visually see Him. When Jesus was on earth they were able to see God the Son, but He is in Heaven now. And God the Holy Spirit is also not visible.
But Jesus made it a point that the outstanding characteristic of a Christian ought to be their choosing to love....a servants heart, ready to sacrifice out of love, and empowered to be able to do this by the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.
They are to love those hard to love, the unlovable, and even their enemies.
And as time progresses this love is growing ( because true love is not truly easy for fallen sinful humans), but the Holy Spirit which dwells in us, is working to complete it in us.
This is totally different than what I wrote yesterday but oh well.
I don't want to get behind and so I am just going on to study today's portion.....sorry tho, I really did work on it yesterday sigh!!
I John 4:13-16
The unsaved cannot love, as God loves,and we were not able to love in a selfless, sacrificial, way, until born again, and so, one of the proofs the Holy Spirit lives in us as born again, is this ability to truly love.
of course, we cannot love perfectly, I for one have a LOT of growing to do, but nevertheless, I have a totally new outlook on what love is, and my desire is to be loving more and more like my Lord, and this too is evidence of the Holy spirit dwelling in me.
As anger and hatred die within me, and love grows, I can be assured of the Holy Spirit's indwelling....my life thoughts, feeling, outlook, desires, goals, words, affections, love etc.etc. is all completely different...and were not present before I became born again.
We need to be confident of this, because the enemy of our souls, his children, etc. can begin to cause us to have moments of doubt...so this is a comfort to be able to not be deceived.
Another assurance is John the apostle ( along with the other apostles) were eyewitnesses to Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the World.
There have been people all over the world who believed in Jesus, not just USA or Europe.
Believers have confessed that Jesus is the Son of God ( He is God the Son).
Confession and love are 2 proofs of God's children...they go together,
to just say words, and have only hatred and no love, would be lying.
But acknowledging and confessing that Jesus is the Son of God, is evidence of the fact that God lives in the believer, and love will be evident also.
Because we know (have even experienced) God's love for us on so many levels, we also know we are not unbelievers, because they do not know or even care to know such about our Lord and Savior.
We consider God's love to be true. So often, the unsaved will throw up the fact of bad things happening, and use that as proof of IF ( this is what they often will say) God is love why did He allow that to happen.
But God did not make us as robots, who could only do good, robots cannot choose to love, and if it is not a choice, it is not really love.
Plus, the unbelievers only focus, on God.... when something bad happens such as when an unsaved ( or even a saved person ) does that causes great pain.....
However, they do NOT count the endless blessing God loving provides every single day.....even the air that they breath.
But because God is love, and He dwells in the believer, the believer can also love, which would be impossible without God being love.
I John 4:17,18
When we abide in God and He in us, love is being made complete ( love for God and love for others). Love and confidence go together ( on the day of judgement). So it is critically important we learn to choose love, and love each other.
WE (I) want to be more like Jesus, that is a priority.
I am thinking when I have times of doubt or fear and not confidence about salvation/judgement day etc. it could be because I am too self centered, and not loving God and others.
Because love has no fear. First love of God, and love of others.
But what a great truth....love conquers fear....because fear has to do with punishment.
Even to the point that if men were to kill us, wrongly....
yet, by loving God and men, we would not even fear wrongful death.
I have always had a cowardly streak, but here is the solution to being brave(r).
Unbelievers for the most part do not fear God, but neither do they love Him or others with a true 'love', and so if they were to really spend time and think about judgement day, they would indeed be fearful of the coming punishment.
But a believer struggling with fear, may indicate there is not much progress, in being perfected in love.
How devoted in love am I to the salvation of the lost and perishing?
Or am I just angry at them,
and devoted to my own comfort?
Also when I am in fear, I am not trusting God is in control, and can work even bad things to me good ( at some time). But Loving God, means, I trust Him....no matter what.
Yes, whenever we're fearful, worried or stressed, it's because we're not trusting God. Feeling any of those things should be a red flag to us and a reminder that we need to immediately start taking our thoughts captive and replacing them with the Truth. One thing that people often don't realize when they see the verse that God will work all things for our good and His glory, is that it doesn't mean that everything is going to turn out great in this life for us. Sometimes it does, but God is most concerned with our character, and our attitude. He's making us more and more like Jesus and therefore He will use all things, even bad ones, to make us more like Jesus. Because we're so stubborn we often don't learn much when everything is going well for us, so God has to use the bad times to get our attention and change us. For example, you said that we're to love the unlovable which is true. However, it's never fun to be confronted by an unlovable person or even to meet them. But if we never meet anyone like that, how can God teach us or help us to love them? We have to be able to practice what we've learned as otherwise it won't stick and be a part of us. So God takes that bad situation and works it to our good by allowing us the choice of putting our faith into practice or not. If we choose not to, we can count on having to face similar situations again and again until we do. I don't mean to imply that God never makes bad things work out well in this life though, because He does that too. it's just that this using them to make us more like Jesus is often the main way He makes it work to our good.
I wanted to post my reply to Lulu from the Chat thread here in case you don't go back and read it. I'm replying to her post where she said she'd read a number of OT books and they make her really sad..... When I hear something like that, it makes me really sad, because those books aren't sad at all, they're filled with reasons for joy and hope! I just didn't want to leave you with the impression that they're "sad" books, because they're anything but! Anyway, this is what I said in chat:
I guess I see those books differently, as I love Isaiah and see it filled with joy and love, but then I see Jeremiah and the others in that way too I guess.. I love how Jeremiah showed his people that God loves and cares for them and would greatly bless them even though things were pretty terrible for them at that time, since they were in captivity to the Babylonians. God's messages to His people are always so sweet and tender, even when He has to discipline them. Lamentations however, I have to agree as it is a very sad book as it's showing what happened to the people because they didn't obey the Lord and turn from their sins, and yet it too has hints of joy for the future. I think it also shows how God's heart breaks for His children even when He has to discipline them. Kind of like how parents often tell their children before punishing them, "this is going to hurt me more then it will hurt you". I love how Ecclesiastes shows us what the meaning of life is by refuting all the answers to that question that the world tends to give, showing they're vanity, and then finally showing the true answer. I don't know about our country, except that there's no mention of it really in the Bible. I suspect that we'll continue to degenerate as sin continues to grow and that we'll no longer be a world leader. Eventually, after the AC is revealed, we'll become part of the world community that he will rule over. Thankfully we'll be long gone by then!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 10, 2018 10:54:15 GMT -5
I agree Isaiah and Jeremiah are great.....isn't it even Isaiah which has some amazing passages about the future and Jesus as the Messiah?
But yeah I always think of Lamentations as kind of sad but like you said, it has hints of joy ( if I am remembering correctly).
This coming week will be Leonard's B-day, and Rylan ( he will be turning 9)....he is Hossanah's fiancee's son.
Then, it seems Vanessa ( granddaughter) may be going to Calif for a week....which will mean much longer hours hanging out with Devon ( cuz some days, like today, it's a bit of a break, because she is not leaving for her summer job/work, until 12....other days it's 8).
So that may be a tough week....maybe, but I won't worry about it, but just take it one day at a time.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 10, 2018 12:40:57 GMT -5
I John 4:19-21
It may be in some people's life they had little or no love towards them by humans... yet, they are loved, because Jesus died on the cross for them, which is proof they are in fact greatly loved.
Furthermore, we were loved first by God, when we were unlovable, and not worthy.
If we cannot love the lesser ( a brother or a sister)that we can see, hear, feel etc., then, we cannot love God whom we cannot see.
To say we love God, yet, are filled with anger, pride, being self centered, selfish, proud, without pity or compassion, etc. makes us liars.
But again, I think this is a way of life a habit....not the ocasional sin when a believer gets angry at someone. Our loving like God is being perfected.
To love is a command. We cannot say, I will love so and so, because I really like them, and they like me, but this other person is so mean and grumpy, I cannot be bothered with. Imagine if God had said that! He would have not saved a single person.
But this shows that true love is not a warm fuzzy feeling, but a choice. It truly may be a person is very very very hard to love, it is NOT easy, but we are commanded to make that choice even so.
This is where self sacrifice comes in. Loving a difficult person, does not usually build ourselves up, and at times it hurts.
God must help me to do so tho.
I just read in a commentary that when Jesus spoke to the Apostle Paul...he asked Saul Saul why do you persecute me?
Which reminded me,
Paul did not physically persecute Jesus,
but He did, to those who belong to Jesus
and
we don't know if even a miserable ole unsaved person, might yet belong to Jesus....
so really, we (I) want to have a heart of love for believers, who belong to Jesus ( no matter their grumpiness)
and even
grumpy unbelievers because they may yet, become believers.
And....of course, yours truly, can still ( waaay more than I like...I would like to never be grumpy, mean, unlovable),
can be grumpy, and unlovable
And another thing I read in a commentary....that was an opps moment for me:
"While visiting a Christian’s home, I saw these words displayed on a wall plaque: “You love Jesus only as much as you love the person you love the least.”
Thankfully, I can go in prayer to my Lord, and ask His forgiveness, and to help cultivate the love He showed to me, to my loving others ( its a process to be sure).
This does not mean, I have to go out seeking the meanest person I can find...I can start with family ( unless God places that person in my life....the super hard to love one I mean).
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 11, 2018 13:41:07 GMT -5
I John 5:1-3
Belief is Jesus is a part of being saved as is love for our Lord and the children of God, and demonstrates we are truly saved.
Faith and love go together.
In v.2 love and obedience go together.
It seems a given, if we ( I) love God, I will also love the children of God ( and no, not perfectly....yet....not until Heaven, but it is our hearts desire and joy.
Loving God we will want to please Him and keep His commandments.
Just on a human level a child who says to their parents they love them, but then consistently breaks every rule....is not loving.
V.3 On the other hand, points out to me, a person could keep God's commandments, strictly out of duty, grudgingly as a great burden, in a legalistic way....but this would not be out of love for God.
And, as an aside, this would not be a good witness to the unbelieving world that watches us.
On the other hand, to willingly, joyful, from the heart, is to love God.
I think our old sin nature, hated rules, we were rebellious, and thought rules were a burden on our 'freedom'....but I can attest, that the 'so-called' freedom was a nightmare for me, and I find love, peace, joy and happiness, within the loving protection etc. of God's commandments. Oh I still struggle with the 'old man' within....but I would hate to go back to the life of a 'free spirit'...I was NOT free, but a slave of sin.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 12, 2018 19:28:13 GMT -5
I John 5:4,5
There are moments when it seems like satan and his world system is overcoming me, and yet, more and more I know God is in control, and instead of being fearful and down, I am close to excited, because tho the world is spinning more out of control than I might have ever believed, it is getting closer to Jesus rapturing us.....( and I need to do what my Lord wants me to do in the remaining time)
Thus I am with His help being an overcomer, by faith.
Plus God is giving me more victories, over sin ( no not perfect.....but more and more).
However it is a real battle we fight and the foes are many.
The world is an evil, sly, powerful enemy, and a formidable foe, but can be beaten with the Lord on our side.
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Post by Cindy on Aug 13, 2018 10:39:04 GMT -5
I agree Isaiah and Jeremiah are great.....isn't it even Isaiah which has some amazing passages about the future and Jesus as the Messiah?
But yeah I always think of Lamentations as kind of sad but like you said, it has hints of joy ( if I am remembering correctly).
This coming week will be Leonard's B-day, and Rylan ( he will be turning 9)....he is Hossanah's fiancee's son.
Then, it seems Vanessa ( granddaughter) may be going to Calif for a week....which will mean much longer hours hanging out with Devon ( cuz some days, like today, it's a bit of a break, because she is not leaving for her summer job/work, until 12....other days it's 8).
So that may be a tough week....maybe, but I won't worry about it, but just take it one day at a time.
All we can do is the best we can, and take it one day at a time. Don't worry about it hon. God has you in the palm of His Hand. Just take it easy ok?
I John 4:19-21
It may be in some people's life they had little or no love towards them by humans... yet, they are loved, because Jesus died on the cross for them, which is proof they are in fact greatly loved.
Furthermore, we were loved first by God, when we were unlovable, and not worthy.
If we cannot love the lesser ( a brother or a sister)that we can see, hear, feel etc., then, we cannot love God whom we cannot see.
To say we love God, yet, are filled with anger, pride, being self centered, selfish, proud, without pity or compassion, etc. makes us liars.
But again, I think this is a way of life a habit....not the ocasional sin when a believer gets angry at someone. Our loving like God is being perfected.
To love is a command. We cannot say, I will love so and so, because I really like them, and they like me, but this other person is so mean and grumpy, I cannot be bothered with. Imagine if God had said that! He would have not saved a single person.
But this shows that true love is not a warm fuzzy feeling, but a choice. It truly may be a person is very very very hard to love, it is NOT easy, but we are commanded to make that choice even so.
This is where self sacrifice comes in. Loving a difficult person, does not usually build ourselves up, and at times it hurts.
God must help me to do so tho.
I just read in a commentary that when Jesus spoke to the Apostle Paul...he asked Saul Saul why do you persecute me?
Which reminded me,
Paul did not physically persecute Jesus,
but He did, to those who belong to Jesus
and
we don't know if even a miserable ole unsaved person, might yet belong to Jesus....
so really, we (I) want to have a heart of love for believers, who belong to Jesus ( no matter their grumpiness)
and even
grumpy unbelievers because they may yet, become believers.
And....of course, yours truly, can still ( waaay more than I like...I would like to never be grumpy, mean, unlovable),
can be grumpy, and unlovable
And another thing I read in a commentary....that was an opps moment for me:
"While visiting a Christian’s home, I saw these words displayed on a wall plaque: “You love Jesus only as much as you love the person you love the least.”
Thankfully, I can go in prayer to my Lord, and ask His forgiveness, and to help cultivate the love He showed to me, to my loving others ( its a process to be sure).
This does not mean, I have to go out seeking the meanest person I can find...I can start with family ( unless God places that person in my life....the super hard to love one I mean).
I John 5:1-3
Belief is Jesus is a part of being saved as is love for our Lord and the children of God, and demonstrates we are truly saved.
Faith and love go together.
In v.2 love and obedience go together.
It seems a given, if we ( I) love God, I will also love the children of God ( and no, not perfectly....yet....not until Heaven, but it is our hearts desire and joy.
Loving God we will want to please Him and keep His commandments.
Just on a human level a child who says to their parents they love them, but then consistently breaks every rule....is not loving.
V.3 On the other hand, points out to me, a person could keep God's commandments, strictly out of duty, grudgingly as a great burden, in a legalistic way....but this would not be out of love for God.
And, as an aside, this would not be a good witness to the unbelieving world that watches us.
On the other hand, to willingly, joyful, from the heart, is to love God.
I think our old sin nature, hated rules, we were rebellious, and thought rules were a burden on our 'freedom'....but I can attest, that the 'so-called' freedom was a nightmare for me, and I find love, peace, joy and happiness, within the loving protection etc. of God's commandments. Oh I still struggle with the 'old man' within....but I would hate to go back to the life of a 'free spirit'...I was NOT free, but a slave of sin.
I John 5:4,5
There are moments when it seems like satan and his world system is overcoming me, and yet, more and more I know God is in control, and instead of being fearful and down, I am close to excited, because tho the world is spinning more out of control than I might have ever believed, it is getting closer to Jesus rapturing us.....( and I need to do what my Lord wants me to do in the remaining time)
Thus I am with His help being an overcomer, by faith.
Plus God is giving me more victories, over sin ( no not perfect.....but more and more).
However it is a real battle we fight and the foes are many.
The world is an evil, sly, powerful enemy, and a formidable foe, but can be beaten with the Lord on our side.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 13, 2018 10:48:38 GMT -5
I John 5: 6-8
There are 3 faithful true witnesses in these verses concerning Jesus, that He is the Son of God. Nevertheless, its a wee bit tricky as to exactly what they are....
is water.... baptism ( his and/or ours)
and blood His death on the Cross....
as to why He came ( to die on the Cross, and pay for all the sins of those who would believe on Him).
And, the Holy Spirit, continually testifies to the truth that Jesus is the Messiah.
The Spirit did so at the baptism of Jesus, throughout His ministry,
by the resurrection,
thru the Bible,
and indwelling believers etc.
When credible witnesses agree it establishes truth, but when they disagree, it is the opposite.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 13, 2018 11:10:39 GMT -5
Yeah when I read a commentary that stated:
“You love Jesus only as much as you love the person you love the least.”
I was like: Opps! oh-oh! Really....oh boy
It certainly moved loving to a higher level.
I remember reading somewhere at one time, that other religions, may have a certain level of morals etc.
But that Jesus always moves everything to a higher level.
So whereas maybe the Jewish faith and others would have a person love their loving loved ones ( and its ok to hate your unlovable enemy)
Jesus tells us to love the unlovable and even our enemies.
I can also remember reading about various old believers like maybe Adoniram Johnson? and Richard Wurmbrand....both had been badly tortured but when it came time to exact revenge on the very person who tortured them so badly...they did not press charges, and I think because of it, they won those very tortures to Christ.
I do not mean to say, I think people do not have to always avoid the consequences of their actions by not have to go to jail or prison for their crimes....
I believe the law should be followed, but in these cases,
but when these missionaries did not seek revenge
or
even legal justice....
they showed the ultimate ( well, of course only Jesus showed THE ULTIMATE) in love.
I do think tho, a person could still pray, visit and show love to a person who harmed them, while that person was paying for their crimes.
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Post by Cindy on Aug 14, 2018 11:11:37 GMT -5
I John 5: 6-8
There are 3 faithful true witnesses in these verses concerning Jesus, that He is the Son of God. Nevertheless, its a wee bit tricky as to exactly what they are....
is water.... baptism ( his and/or ours)
and blood His death on the Cross....
as to why He came ( to die on the Cross, and pay for all the sins of those who would believe on Him).
And, the Holy Spirit, continually testifies to the truth that Jesus is the Messiah.
The Spirit did so at the baptism of Jesus, throughout His ministry,
by the resurrection,
thru the Bible,
and indwelling believers etc.
When credible witnesses agree it establishes truth, but when they disagree, it is the opposite.
 Yeah when I read a commentary that stated:
“You love Jesus only as much as you love the person you love the least.”
I was like: Opps! oh-oh! Really....oh boy
It certainly moved loving to a higher level.
I remember reading somewhere at one time, that other religions, may have a certain level of morals etc.
But that Jesus always moves everything to a higher level.
So whereas maybe the Jewish faith and others would have a person love their loving loved ones ( and its ok to hate your unlovable enemy)
Jesus tells us to love the unlovable and even our enemies.
I can also remember reading about various old believers like maybe Adoniram Johnson? and Richard Wurmbrand....both had been badly tortured but when it came time to exact revenge on the very person who tortured them so badly...they did not press charges, and I think because of it, they won those very tortures to Christ.
I do not mean to say, I think people do not have to always avoid the consequences of their actions by not have to go to jail or prison for their crimes....
I believe the law should be followed, but in these cases,
but when these missionaries did not seek revenge
or
even legal justice....
they showed the ultimate ( well, of course only Jesus showed THE ULTIMATE) in love.
I do think tho, a person could still pray, visit and show love to a person who harmed them, while that person was paying for their crimes.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 6,415
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Post by fearnot on Aug 14, 2018 18:32:46 GMT -5
I John 5:9,
It is strange how people will be the testimony of fallen, sinful men, and yet reject God's testimony which is greater. God is absolute truth....even the best of men, cannot reach that standard, and thus it is not a always wise to do.
A testimony is a statement to prove something as fact, not an opinion.
But God has testified about Jesus in scripture, at Jesus baptism, and transfiguration.
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Post by Cindy on Aug 15, 2018 11:42:27 GMT -5
I John 5:9,
It is strange how people will be the testimony of fallen, sinful men, and yet reject God's testimony which is greater. God is absolute truth....even the best of men, cannot reach that standard, and thus it is not a always wise to do.
A testimony is a statement to prove something as fact, not an opinion.
But God has testified about Jesus in scripture, at Jesus baptism, and transfiguration.
“We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.” (1 John 5:9)
This reminds me of a number of verses: “And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,” (John 5:37) “I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”” (John 8:18)
After His baptism: “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:17) At the end of the transfiguration: “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”” (Matthew 17:5) The death of Jesus was also a witness to who He was “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”” (Matthew 27:54) Just as when Peter proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of the living God in Matthew 16:16 and Jesus told him that he only knew that because the Father had revealed it to him, the same was true of the centurion (and each of us as well!). The whole life of our Lord was also a testimony of who He was.
Of course God's Word speaks to us as well, in both the Old and New Testament. I already shared what Jesus Himself said about His and His Father's testimony. Here's one from the OT: “I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” (Psalm 2:7) And from the New again: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27) Our Father testified to us by the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, who has opened our minds to understand the Truth when He shows us the scriptures concerning Jesus; and the scriptures themselves are of course also the Testimony of God to us. I'll stop here but could continue lol
It's really good whenever you have time to think, to reflect on a verse and see what else it reminds you of, and talk to the Lord about it.... It always leaves me feeling closer to the Lord then ever!
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