fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383 
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Fears
Sept 29, 2019 16:51:05 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Sept 29, 2019 16:51:05 GMT -5
I will start on fear.
There are sorts of things to fear, but the ones I want to focus on are fear of other people's anger and
when I sin, I sometimes, have an instant of fear if I am saved or not.
But people fear can be anything from their snarky mean spirited scorn
to fear of them actually killing me ( be it because of Jesus or some other reason).
To be sure, if I had to die at the hand of others I would rather it be because of Jesus than something stupid I said or did.
And to me the worst would be to be tortured...I don't do pain well.
As a college student I managed to get myself into 20 plus near death situations ( all my own stupidity) but I had reason to fear and I was far from God ( tho once I quoted one of the 10 commandments.....which was a totally surprise to me as well as to the two men pointing guns at my head.
But often such fears never come to fruition.
And another fear is talking to unbelievers about Jesus.
Still there is a lot of scriptures dealing with fear ( I think it is one of satan's main weapons, so its would behoove me to consider what God says about fears)
I will post a few:
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
Isaiah 41:10
In this verse, I need to remember I am not alone, God is with me ( and He says 2 times not to fear, which shows He is well aware of some people's fears).
“Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.” ~ John 14:27
I know from experience that there have been many times when God has blessed me with peace ( and not the world's type of peace) and again Jesus says , don't be afraid.
Well so far, in a weird way, I am comforted to know, that God understands that I do fear.
I don't think memorizing these verses are going to be like some kind of mantra or 'magic'.....
Rather...
They are the truth......and the truth can set me free.....
I might still have some fear, or even struggle from time to time, but knowing God understands, and will be with me, and give me His peace, is a truth I need to carefully consider.
I will come back to this, but church was a bit longer today, and again, some things happened unexpectedly, not to mention I am sneezing and tired.
Plus, I am not sure this is exactly what you had in mind.....so I will wait and see what you say tomorrow.
There are a LOT LOT more scriptures on fear....soooooo
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Sept 30, 2019 12:51:33 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Sept 30, 2019 12:51:33 GMT -5
I was waiting to see if I was doing ok but maybe after replying to John 17 you were not feeling well
So
I will add a few more verses about what God says in His Word about fear.
"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you".
Psalm 56:3
What I like about this one, is there is no real condemnation about being afraid of something from time to time, but rather what to do....
and really, in the end ( even if we have done all we can humanly do.....we still need to put our trust in God.....and we need to do that all the time.).
People, this fallen sin filled world, can be scary, and yet, here we are.
Another psalm that addresses fears, Psalm 34:4
Says:
"I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears."
Again this psalmist had fears, but He prayed....
I can never go wrong to make prayer the main thing when I fear.
And concerning
evil
and
Death
God says:
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me".
We live in an evil world and we are walking in the shadow of death from the first second of being born.... we do need comfort, and we need to trust God is with us ( me).
I have gotten a bit better about worrying about the future of the world, but still, so much craziness going on, that its always good for me to remember this verse:
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
I have no clue if I will even be alive tomorrow, so its pointless to 'worry' about it. And for sure, today has its own troubles ( but also its own joy).
which points to this verse:
"When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul."
We all have 'cares' loved ones who are courting trouble, finances, sickness, this list can be overwhelming, but knowing God is on His throne, these things will not last, we know He loves us ( me) and I have His Word which does give cheer because it is the only Word that has THE TRUTH.
And Jesus says this:
"And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?"
Jesus is making the point that worry, anxiety, and fear, do not add anything an hour to my life ( I may not have to full grasp of what He is saying, but that much I 'get".
This verse from Isaiah 43:1
is surely comforting:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine".
I wanting nothing so much as to eternally belong to God and be His.
I always loved this verse and do repeat it daily:
Isaiah 26:3
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
When my mind starts focusing on fears....I do remember this verse, and it always does calm me....but often I also do feel a bit discouraged with myself because I did not keep my mind on the Lord but let it wander into fear (of people, pain, persecution in the future, of my sins etc etc.).
I still am unsure if this is what you were thinking of or not?
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Fears
Oct 1, 2019 12:11:03 GMT -5
Post by Cindy on Oct 1, 2019 12:11:03 GMT -5
I will start on fear.
There are sorts of things to fear, but the ones I want to focus on are fear of other people's anger and
when I sin, I sometimes, have an instant of fear if I am saved or not.
But people fear can be anything from their snarky mean spirited scorn
to fear of them actually killing me ( be it because of Jesus or some other reason).
To be sure, if I had to die at the hand of others I would rather it be because of Jesus than something stupid I said or did.
And to me the worst would be to be tortured...I don't do pain well.
As a college student I managed to get myself into 20 plus near death situations ( all my own stupidity) but I had reason to fear and I was far from God ( tho once I quoted one of the 10 commandments.....which was a totally surprise to me as well as to the two men pointing guns at my head.
But often such fears never come to fruition.
And another fear is talking to unbelievers about Jesus.
Still there is a lot of scriptures dealing with fear ( I think it is one of satan's main weapons, so its would behoove me to consider what God says about fears)
I will post a few:
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
Isaiah 41:10
In this verse, I need to remember I am not alone, God is with me ( and He says 2 times not to fear, which shows He is well aware of some people's fears).
“Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.” ~ John 14:27
I know from experience that there have been many times when God has blessed me with peace ( and not the world's type of peace) and again Jesus says , don't be afraid.
Well so far, in a weird way, I am comforted to know, that God understands that I do fear.
I don't think memorizing these verses are going to be like some kind of mantra or 'magic'.....
Rather...
They are the truth......and the truth can set me free.....
I might still have some fear, or even struggle from time to time, but knowing God understands, and will be with me, and give me His peace, is a truth I need to carefully consider.
I will come back to this, but church was a bit longer today, and again, some things happened unexpectedly, not to mention I am sneezing and tired.
Plus, I am not sure this is exactly what you had in mind.....so I will wait and see what you say tomorrow.
There are a LOT LOT more scriptures on fear....soooooo
I was waiting to see if I was doing ok but maybe after replying to John 17 you were not feeling well
So
I will add a few more verses about what God says in His Word about fear.
"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you".
Psalm 56:3
What I like about this one, is there is no real condemnation about being afraid of something from time to time, but rather what to do....
and really, in the end ( even if we have done all we can humanly do.....we still need to put our trust in God.....and we need to do that all the time.).
People, this fallen sin filled world, can be scary, and yet, here we are.
Another psalm that addresses fears, Psalm 34:4
Says:
"I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears."
Again this psalmist had fears, but He prayed....
I can never go wrong to make prayer the main thing when I fear.
And concerning
evil
and
Death
God says:
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me".
We live in an evil world and we are walking in the shadow of death from the first second of being born.... we do need comfort, and we need to trust God is with us ( me).
I have gotten a bit better about worrying about the future of the world, but still, so much craziness going on, that its always good for me to remember this verse:
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
I have no clue if I will even be alive tomorrow, so its pointless to 'worry' about it. And for sure, today has its own troubles ( but also its own joy).
which points to this verse:
"When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul."
We all have 'cares' loved ones who are courting trouble, finances, sickness, this list can be overwhelming, but knowing God is on His throne, these things will not last, we know He loves us ( me) and I have His Word which does give cheer because it is the only Word that has THE TRUTH.
And Jesus says this:
"And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?"
Jesus is making the point that worry, anxiety, and fear, do not add anything an hour to my life ( I may not have to full grasp of what He is saying, but that much I 'get".
This verse from Isaiah 43:1
is surely comforting:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine".
I wanting nothing so much as to eternally belong to God and be His.
I always loved this verse and do repeat it daily:
Isaiah 26:3
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
When my mind starts focusing on fears....I do remember this verse, and it always does calm me....but often I also do feel a bit discouraged with myself because I did not keep my mind on the Lord but let it wander into fear (of people, pain, persecution in the future, of my sins etc etc.).
I still am unsure if this is what you were thinking of or not?
When you do a Bible study on a topic, you look for all the verses you can find that deal with the topic you've chosen, and you share what they say about it. If the topic is fear, like you've said here, then you look to see what God says about fear. You share what He says about it, what, if anything, He commands us to do about the topic, and what, if anything He will do for those who obey Him concerning the topic. You share how it all affects you and how you can apply it to your life; what you expect to change in your life because of the study etc. You're doing Ok so far.
You said: What I like about this one, is there is no real condemnation about being afraid of something from time to time, but rather what to do.... But just because God doesn't say something doesn't mean nothing happens when we disobey Him. So far you've posted a number of wonderful scriptures about fear but you haven't explained what God is saying by them. What I mean is that you've made it sound like fear happens to us all and that God really doesn't care if we fear things or people; but gives us some nice sounding promises to make us feel better. But the truth is that God actually commands us not to fear. He says we are not to fear other people and we are not to fear circumstances or anything else for that matter. He tells us that there is only one thing we should ever fear and that's: “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” (Luke 12:5) If you look, you'll see that the very first time fear enters into the mind of a person it's after Adam and Eve sin. God even tells us that He doesn't give us a spirit of fear or timidity. Most fear, except the fear of the Lord, comes from Satan and sin. Since it's caused by either Satan or sinful thinking, there are obvious consequences when we refuse to obey the Lord and choose to fear something or someone instead. It would be interesting to see what scripture shows as consequences of fear.
Anyway, let's look at one of the scriptures you shared already:
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
"So do not fear" is a command, not a suggestion. But here, He also tells us that He will help us learn how to deal with fear. In fact, in every single scripture, it's given as a command, not a suggestion. Let's look at some of the things fear causes:
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”” (Romans 8:15) So fear is bondage
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18) So fear is torment, or punishment, and shows the person hasn't yet been made perfect, which is another way of speaking of spiritual maturity.
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” (Proverbs 29:25) Here, fear is shown to be a snare.
So all those things are consequences of fearing something or someone other than the Lord. Scripture also gives us reasons why we shouldn't fear, and there's a lot of them! We're also given a long list of things we're not to fear to make sure we realize that there's nothing to fear except for the Lord. It might be helpful for you to find scriptures that tell us not to fear the very things you're still fearful about. And to share the scriptures of what God says we should do instead of fearing those things. He tells us how to deal with fear, He doesn't just say "don't fear" and leave us hanging.
You said: "I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears."
Again this psalmist had fears, but He prayed....
I can never go wrong to make prayer the main thing when I fear. Yes, prayer is good, but we need to point out that the reason David was able to be released from his fears was because he trusted God to take care of him. Therefore, just like a little child would do, he could come to the Lord and say, "so and so wants to hurt me," and know that his God would protect him so he didn't need to worry about it. For him it was simply letting God know he needed help. And we can have the same help David had and be just as free from fear. In fact that whole psalm is all about fear and how David overcame it and how others can too!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Oct 1, 2019 12:23:43 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Oct 1, 2019 12:23:43 GMT -5
Hummmm I guess I will just keep going the way I am going until you give me more direction.
Before looking at other verses
let me tell you something that happened the other day
One of the woman I spoke to you about ( the one that is kind of scary and yet has become a very wee bit more talkative
we were both waiting at bus stop....she for her daughter and I for Hossanah's fiancee's son.
I was telling M that I thought her daughter was very bright, funny etc.
M seemed open to my saying that....
so ( don't laugh) then I gather up an 'atom' of courage
and said
"you are 'blessed' to have her.
I was truly even fearful of saying that word....blessed
I think somewhere deep inside me, I was afraid she would say:
How DARE you!!! Shoving your religion down my throat!!
However yesterday...she walked by with her girlfriend, A
and looked at me and shook her head and said to herself out loud:
"NO"
and the walked to the other side of the block to wait for her child to come on the bus as I waited for Rylan.
Soooooo
Tho this certainly does not rise to the level of this verse ( my fear does at times, as shown by my only saying the word blessed with fear)
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell"
Matthew 10:28
But the other side from scripture is:
" There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
1 John 4:18
So on the one side, God says, yes there is a 'chance' someone might in fact, kill even me ( that's kind of a joke....what I mean is right now it's most likely.......unlikely.....but who knows?)
nevertheless, if it ever came to that, I am think more on God
However, at the same time
I need to remember love
God's love for me
His love for my 'enemy'
and
for me to have love for them.....even tho they 'hate' me.
Jesus said:
"Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’
I can apply this to my situations of fears too
What tho do I 'just' believe
I believe in God
I believe in Jesus
I believe in the Holy spirit
and that Jesus has overcome the world:
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
It just occurred to me.....if Jesus overcame the world.....His Word can help me
'overcome' my fears.
I still worry this is not what you had in mind tho?
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Oct 1, 2019 12:35:10 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Oct 1, 2019 12:35:10 GMT -5
Oh Opps, I just read your reply....
Should I have stated on the old thread what I would choose,
and also
maybe have sent you a message, letting you know?
I read what you said about not fearing being a command not a suggestion......
and to fear is a sin.
So I did kind of post about one fear today.....before reading what you posted
fear of talking to unbelievers
on any level
about my 'faith' ( which is a weak faith, at best , if I fear)
So I will work on that
fear of death
and fear of not being saved when I sin ( which I still do daily on some level)
Tomorrow
I may not not get to all 3 issues tomorrow tho.
Anyway, I will work on them from God's command.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Oct 2, 2019 9:49:03 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Oct 2, 2019 9:49:03 GMT -5
I thought I would mention before I start today,
that yesterday while waiting for the bus my neighbor M, came walking by ( without her girlfriend, and instead of walking out to met her daughter at the bus stop she was walking home.
however, she saw me zipping up my coat, and said, Are you fighting the cold wind, and I said: YES! LOL
Then, she said her daughter stayed home because she was really really sick! ( she and her friend might even have to take her to the hospital)
I am sorry to say, I was sooooo shocked that she was so 'chatty' with me, I lost the opportunity to let her know I would pray for Sophia.
So M went on to tell me she thought it was the same cold/flu that another little girl in our complex: Piper also had...
and
that she hoped the kids didn't keep passing it back and forth
I came out of my stupor enough to say
I agreed, because Rylan had also stayed home a few days ago, sick also.
And then she went on home to her daughter.
I was surprised she stopped to chat because the other day they never spoke a word and went to the other end of the block to wait for Sophia
( then again maybe they wanted to talk to each other in private, but the only word spoken that day was a shake of M's head and she said: No looking directly at me......
I have no idea what that really meant, but coupled with their walking away....I assumed they did not wish to wait where I was waiting.....
However ....
its true I was not waiting where the bus 'actually' stops, because Rylan likes to run home ( leaving me in his dust so to speak.....)
so I have decided why walk all the extra distance in the rain and wind,
only to watch him scamper off?
So I wait where I see him get off the bus, and that way, I have less rain on me as I have not walked to the 'actually' bus stop.....
which was in fact,
more or less where my neighbors went.....
so M might have just meant,
No.....they would not wait by me, but rather they would wait at the proper bus stop.
So maybe the Lord is helping me make a tiny bit of progress with them,
but I wish I had thought to say I would pray for Sophia sickness
I guess I will see what today will bring
( If Sophia went to school or not,
if her mom or her mom's friend
waits for her at bus stop
or
if her mom drives to the school and picks her up).
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Oct 2, 2019 10:41:05 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Oct 2, 2019 10:41:05 GMT -5
God says:
" Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid".
John 14:26
I am thinking that not only am I commanded not to 'fear' but not to even be 'troubled ( which I think is maybe less that 'fear' but is certainly not faith.
The reason being God is in control and like you mentioned, as a little child trusts in their dad, so should I.
Instead of fearing I should apply Proverbs 3:5 to my heart, mind and spirit:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding".
My own understanding is to fear many things, but my own understanding is very limited ( like what I mentioned about the last couple of days....my own understanding said, the 2 woman 'avoided' me,
but most likely, they wanted to wait, at the proper bus stop
and even wanted to chat with one another in private.......
and it also gave me time to pray to the Lord while I was waiting)
This verse I need to consider if fear of others try to get me to sin:
"But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word".
Isaiah 66:2
It is God and His Word I need to constantly consider rather than,
my own fearful thoughts ,or fear of other people dislike, or even hatred of me.
Fearing others is putting them above God.
It is not that dislike, hate or persecution is not real, but rather I have a wrong view of it.
Actually it is an 'honor' because it identifies me with Jesus
"you will be hated by all for my name's sake".
Matthew 10:22
Even in the Old Testament:
“I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
..........."
Isaiah 51: 12
Hebrew 13: 6
So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
Why I can I confidently say that?
Because in the verse just above Jesus said:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Another verse of comfort and encouragement is
Psalm 118: 6-8
"6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man....."
And speaking of David, who in human understanding we might think he had a lot to be afraid of ( King Saul and other men, including one of his own son's even, throughout his life, were trying to kill him. )
Instead David said:
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
Psalm 56: 10, 11
All of these point to putting God first, putting His Word and promises of help foremost in my mind....not puny people.
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Fears
Oct 2, 2019 11:14:38 GMT -5
Post by Cindy on Oct 2, 2019 11:14:38 GMT -5
Hummmm I guess I will just keep going the way I am going until you give me more direction.
Before looking at other verses
let me tell you something that happened the other day
One of the woman I spoke to you about ( the one that is kind of scary and yet has become a very wee bit more talkative
we were both waiting at bus stop....she for her daughter and I for Hossanah's fiancee's son.
I was telling M that I thought her daughter was very bright, funny etc.
M seemed open to my saying that....
so ( don't laugh) then I gather up an 'atom' of courage
and said
"you are 'blessed' to have her.
I was truly even fearful of saying that word....blessed
I think somewhere deep inside me, I was afraid she would say:
How DARE you!!! Shoving your religion down my throat!!
However yesterday...she walked by with her girlfriend, A
and looked at me and shook her head and said to herself out loud:
"NO"
and the walked to the other side of the block to wait for her child to come on the bus as I waited for Rylan.
Soooooo
Tho this certainly does not rise to the level of this verse ( my fear does at times, as shown by my only saying the word blessed with fear)
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell"
Matthew 10:28
But the other side from scripture is:
" There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
1 John 4:18
So on the one side, God says, yes there is a 'chance' someone might in fact, kill even me ( that's kind of a joke....what I mean is right now it's most likely.......unlikely.....but who knows?)
nevertheless, if it ever came to that, I am think more on God
However, at the same time
I need to remember love
God's love for me
His love for my 'enemy'
and
for me to have love for them.....even tho they 'hate' me.
Jesus said:
"Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’
I can apply this to my situations of fears too
What tho do I 'just' believe
I believe in God
I believe in Jesus
I believe in the Holy spirit
and that Jesus has overcome the world:
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
It just occurred to me.....if Jesus overcame the world.....His Word can help me
'overcome' my fears.
I still worry this is not what you had in mind tho?
But first, I also want to ask you what makes you think that the single word, "no" that you heard her say, applied to you in some way? Why couldn't she have been thinking about something and simply said that word aloud about whatever she was thinking about? That makes a lot more sense then thinking it has anything to do with what you said to her. She may have simply been thinking about which side to wait on, and looking at the side you were on, thought and said, "no" meaning she chose to wait on the other side... What do you think?
Ok, you used the word, "blessed" and she responds with, "How DARE you!!! Shoving your religion down my throat!!" Why is that so horrible that you would fear it? How would you respond to her saying that? And What horrible thing do you think will happen next? Pretend you're an author and this is the script, and write what would happen next and how you'd handle it etc.
I really want to work through this with you because by doing so, we can hopefully at least reduce your fear of speaking to unbelievers.
You said: "So on the one side, God says, yes there is a 'chance' someone might in fact, kill even me ( that's kind of a joke....what I mean is right now it's most likely.......unlikely.....but who knows?) nevertheless, if it ever came to that, I am think more on God." Not quite. We are to always have our focus on the Lord, not just when we think something bad might or could happen. If we keep our mind fixed on the Lord, on His amazing love for us, on His plan for us, such as spending eternity with Him etc. When we have made a habit of doing that, then His love will be perfected in us and we won't fear anything or anyone, because we'll know in both our heads and our hearts that God is in control and we have nothing to fear. You would know for example that He is in control of what that woman will or won't say when you used the word "blessed". And He's in control of what she will do. You would understand that she can't do anything to you that is outside of His Will for you and anything He allows her to do or say will work for your good.
You said: "I can apply this to my situations of fears too
What tho do I 'just' believe
I believe in God
I believe in Jesus
I believe in the Holy spirit
and that Jesus has overcome the world:" Yes, those are all things you believe, but Jesus wasn't talking about just those things when He said that was He? Read the story again from Mark 5:35 on. What was it that Jesus wanted Jarius to believe? He wanted him to believe that He had the power to make his daughter well, even now that she had died! Jesus wants us to believe in that way too. In other words He wants us to believe that nothing is impossible for Him. Notice that in that story Jesus ignored what the nay sayers said, and that's another thing He wants us to do as well. For you, the nay sayers say things like, "you'll always be fearful; look how old you are; it's too late to do anything about it now..." and other things like that. Those are things you take captive and replace with the truth that God's love drives out all fear in you, and nothing is impossible for Him, as well as other scriptures that are helpful.
You said: "It just occurred to me.....if Jesus overcame the world.....His Word can help me
'overcome' my fears."  Yes!  “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4) The word used for "overcomes" in the original language is a word that means that the victory of overcoming is so great that it's seen by everyone; that no one can deny it. It means overwhelming success! Our faith brings us victory because it's linked to our Lord's faith and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. The more and the better we know the Lord, the more our faith will grow. The more fully we understand and realize His love for us, the greater our faith will grow. The way we learn more about the Lord and about His love for us, is through reading and studying His Word and praying, daily. If we do that, we can't help but grow in our faith. If a person has been doing that, and they say their faith hasn't grown greatly, then they're lying and calling God a liar for He says our faith will grow! Our victory is a result of faith, and we grow in faith as we grow in love, because the more we love someone, the easier it is to trust them.
Oh Opps, I just read your reply....
Should I have stated on the old thread what I would choose,
and also
maybe have sent you a message, letting you know?
I read what you said about not fearing being a command not a suggestion......
and to fear is a sin.
So I did kind of post about one fear today.....before reading what you posted
fear of talking to unbelievers
on any level
about my 'faith' ( which is a weak faith, at best , if I fear)
So I will work on that
fear of death
and fear of not being saved when I sin ( which I still do daily on some level)
Tomorrow
I may not not get to all 3 issues tomorrow tho.
Anyway, I will work on them from God's command.
I love you list of topics! All of them great!
I think we did joy once ( and I think it would not hurt to do it again.....especially for me)
But since we did do it once, maybe we could first look at a couple of the others......like
the fear of other people
how the unsaved think, how the saved are supposed to think,
being doubleminded,
questionable things how we should deal with things that aren't specifically covered in the Bible, complaining,
Jesus's prayer in John 17,
trials,
all of them over time, but those jumped out at me first.
But since we have not decided maybe I will choose John 17 tomorrow
and then see which ones you might want to do first.
All you said was that you might choose this, and you said that after listing several others you said sounded like ones you'd like to do.
 Barbara, You have put yourself down in what you posted above by saying you have a weak faith. In fact, look at what you posted: "So I did kind of post about one fear today.....before reading what you posted fear of talking to unbelievers on any level about my 'faith' ( which is a weak faith, at best , if I fear)" That's actually funny in an ironic kind of way! First you put yourself down and God too by saying you have a weak faith. It's putting God down because we are each given our faith as a gift from God so we can be saved. (Ephesians 2:8) Then of all things, you end the statement with "I fear!"  Anytime you say something negative about yourself, you're actually, among other things, putting God down and saying He didn't do a good job when He created you. And we both know that's not true.
The faith God gives us each is more then enough for us to be saved with and to even move mountains if we should so choose; but, we can and should be increasing our faith regularly by exercising it. The more we consciously choose to live by faith instead of by sight, the more our faith will grow. So saying you have a weak faith after all these years is also saying you have chosen to never use your faith at all, so therefore it couldn't grow. (which is ridiculous because I know you use your faith frequently!)
So, since we both know that your faith is far from being "weak", why would you say such a thing?
You also said: "I may not not get to all 3 issues tomorrow tho." But I don't know what three issues you're talking about.... which really doesn't matter, I was just curious.
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Fears
Oct 3, 2019 10:26:03 GMT -5
Post by Cindy on Oct 3, 2019 10:26:03 GMT -5
Strange, the board didn't post things correctly yesterday so you missed my post. Here it is again:
Hummmm I guess I will just keep going the way I am going until you give me more direction.
Before looking at other verses
let me tell you something that happened the other day
One of the woman I spoke to you about ( the one that is kind of scary and yet has become a very wee bit more talkative
we were both waiting at bus stop....she for her daughter and I for Hossanah's fiancee's son.
I was telling M that I thought her daughter was very bright, funny etc.
M seemed open to my saying that....
so ( don't laugh) then I gather up an 'atom' of courage
and said
"you are 'blessed' to have her.
I was truly even fearful of saying that word....blessed
I think somewhere deep inside me, I was afraid she would say:
How DARE you!!! Shoving your religion down my throat!!
However yesterday...she walked by with her girlfriend, A
and looked at me and shook her head and said to herself out loud:
"NO"
and the walked to the other side of the block to wait for her child to come on the bus as I waited for Rylan.
Soooooo
Tho this certainly does not rise to the level of this verse ( my fear does at times, as shown by my only saying the word blessed with fear)
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell"
Matthew 10:28
But the other side from scripture is:
" There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
1 John 4:18
So on the one side, God says, yes there is a 'chance' someone might in fact, kill even me ( that's kind of a joke....what I mean is right now it's most likely.......unlikely.....but who knows?)
nevertheless, if it ever came to that, I am think more on God
However, at the same time
I need to remember love
God's love for me
His love for my 'enemy'
and
for me to have love for them.....even tho they 'hate' me.
Jesus said:
"Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’
I can apply this to my situations of fears too
What tho do I 'just' believe
I believe in God
I believe in Jesus
I believe in the Holy spirit
and that Jesus has overcome the world:
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
It just occurred to me.....if Jesus overcame the world.....His Word can help me
'overcome' my fears.
I still worry this is not what you had in mind tho?
But first, I also want to ask you what makes you think that the single word, "no" that you heard her say, applied to you in some way? Why couldn't she have been thinking about something and simply said that word aloud about whatever she was thinking about? That makes a lot more sense then thinking it has anything to do with what you said to her. She may have simply been thinking about which side to wait on, and looking at the side you were on, thought and said, "no" meaning she chose to wait on the other side... What do you think?
Ok, you used the word, "blessed" and she responds with, "How DARE you!!! Shoving your religion down my throat!!" Why is that so horrible that you would fear it? How would you respond to her saying that? And What horrible thing do you think will happen next? Pretend you're an author and this is the script, and write what would happen next and how you'd handle it etc.
I really want to work through this with you because by doing so, we can hopefully at least reduce your fear of speaking to unbelievers.
You said: "So on the one side, God says, yes there is a 'chance' someone might in fact, kill even me ( that's kind of a joke....what I mean is right now it's most likely.......unlikely.....but who knows?) nevertheless, if it ever came to that, I am think more on God." Not quite. We are to always have our focus on the Lord, not just when we think something bad might or could happen. If we keep our mind fixed on the Lord, on His amazing love for us, on His plan for us, such as spending eternity with Him etc. When we have made a habit of doing that, then His love will be perfected in us and we won't fear anything or anyone, because we'll know in both our heads and our hearts that God is in control and we have nothing to fear. You would know for example that He is in control of what that woman will or won't say when you used the word "blessed". And He's in control of what she will do. You would understand that she can't do anything to you that is outside of His Will for you and anything He allows her to do or say will work for your good.
You said: "I can apply this to my situations of fears too
What tho do I 'just' believe
I believe in God
I believe in Jesus
I believe in the Holy spirit
and that Jesus has overcome the world:" Yes, those are all things you believe, but Jesus wasn't talking about just those things when He said that was He? Read the story again from Mark 5:35 on. What was it that Jesus wanted Jarius to believe? He wanted him to believe that He had the power to make his daughter well, even now that she had died! Jesus wants us to believe in that way too. In other words He wants us to believe that nothing is impossible for Him. Notice that in that story Jesus ignored what the nay sayers said, and that's another thing He wants us to do as well. For you, the nay sayers say things like, "you'll always be fearful; look how old you are; it's too late to do anything about it now..." and other things like that. Those are things you take captive and replace with the truth that God's love drives out all fear in you, and nothing is impossible for Him, as well as other scriptures that are helpful.
You said: "It just occurred to me.....if Jesus overcame the world.....His Word can help me
'overcome' my fears." Yes! “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4) The word used for "overcomes" in the original language is a word that means that the victory of overcoming is so great that it's seen by everyone; that no one can deny it. It means overwhelming success! Our faith brings us victory because it's linked to our Lord's faith and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. The more and the better we know the Lord, the more our faith will grow. The more fully we understand and realize His love for us, the greater our faith will grow. The way we learn more about the Lord and about His love for us, is through reading and studying His Word and praying, daily. If we do that, we can't help but grow in our faith. If a person has been doing that, and they say their faith hasn't grown greatly, then they're lying and calling God a liar for He says our faith will grow! Our victory is a result of faith, and we grow in faith as we grow in love, because the more we love someone, the easier it is to trust them.
Oh Opps, I just read your reply....
Should I have stated on the old thread what I would choose,
and also
maybe have sent you a message, letting you know?
I read what you said about not fearing being a command not a suggestion......
and to fear is a sin.
So I did kind of post about one fear today.....before reading what you posted
fear of talking to unbelievers
on any level
about my 'faith' ( which is a weak faith, at best , if I fear)
So I will work on that
fear of death
and fear of not being saved when I sin ( which I still do daily on some level)
Tomorrow
I may not not get to all 3 issues tomorrow tho.
Anyway, I will work on them from God's command.
I love you list of topics! All of them great!
I think we did joy once ( and I think it would not hurt to do it again.....especially for me)
But since we did do it once, maybe we could first look at a couple of the others......like
the fear of other people
how the unsaved think, how the saved are supposed to think,
being doubleminded,
questionable things how we should deal with things that aren't specifically covered in the Bible, complaining,
Jesus's prayer in John 17,
trials,
all of them over time, but those jumped out at me first.
But since we have not decided maybe I will choose John 17 tomorrow
and then see which ones you might want to do first.
Barbara, You have put yourself down in what you posted above by saying you have a weak faith. In fact, look at what you posted: "So I did kind of post about one fear today.....before reading what you posted fear of talking to unbelievers on any level about my 'faith' ( which is a weak faith, at best , if I fear)" That's actually funny in an ironic kind of way! First you put yourself down and God too by saying you have a weak faith. It's putting God down because we are each given our faith as a gift from God so we can be saved. (Ephesians 2:8) Then of all things, you end the statement with "I fear!" Anytime you say something negative about yourself, you're actually, among other things, putting God down and saying He didn't do a good job when He created you. And we both know that's not true.
The faith God gives us each is more then enough for us to be saved with and to even move mountains if we should so choose; but, we can and should be increasing our faith regularly by exercising it. The more we consciously choose to live by faith instead of by sight, the more our faith will grow. So saying you have a weak faith after all these years is also saying you have chosen to never use your faith at all, so therefore it couldn't grow. (which is ridiculous because I know you use your faith frequently!)
So, since we both know that your faith is far from being "weak", why would you say such a thing?
You also said: "I may not not get to all 3 issues tomorrow tho." But I don't know what three issues you're talking about.... which really doesn't matter, I was just curious.
I thought I would mention before I start today,
that yesterday while waiting for the bus my neighbor M, came walking by ( without her girlfriend, and instead of walking out to met her daughter at the bus stop she was walking home.
however, she saw me zipping up my coat, and said, Are you fighting the cold wind, and I said: YES! LOL
Then, she said her daughter stayed home because she was really really sick! ( she and her friend might even have to take her to the hospital)
I am sorry to say, I was sooooo shocked that she was so 'chatty' with me, I lost the opportunity to let her know I would pray for Sophia.
So M went on to tell me she thought it was the same cold/flu that another little girl in our complex: Piper also had...
and
that she hoped the kids didn't keep passing it back and forth
I came out of my stupor enough to say
I agreed, because Rylan had also stayed home a few days ago, sick also.
And then she went on home to her daughter.
I was surprised she stopped to chat because the other day they never spoke a word and went to the other end of the block to wait for Sophia
( then again maybe they wanted to talk to each other in private, but the only word spoken that day was a shake of M's head and she said: No looking directly at me......
I have no idea what that really meant, but coupled with their walking away....I assumed they did not wish to wait where I was waiting.....
However ....
its true I was not waiting where the bus 'actually' stops, because Rylan likes to run home ( leaving me in his dust so to speak.....)
so I have decided why walk all the extra distance in the rain and wind,
only to watch him scamper off?
So I wait where I see him get off the bus, and that way, I have less rain on me as I have not walked to the 'actually' bus stop.....
which was in fact,
more or less where my neighbors went.....
so M might have just meant,
No.....they would not wait by me, but rather they would wait at the proper bus stop.
So maybe the Lord is helping me make a tiny bit of progress with them,
but I wish I had thought to say I would pray for Sophia sickness
I guess I will see what today will bring
( If Sophia went to school or not,
if her mom or her mom's friend
waits for her at bus stop
or
if her mom drives to the school and picks her up).
And then again, that word "no" may have had absolutely nothing to do with you. Seriously, 99% of the time, situations like that and words overheard, don't have anything to do with the person overhearing them. You say she was looking straight at you, and it obviously appeared that way to you, but I bet she'd be shocked if you asked her why she was staring at you, because I'm positive she didn't have any idea that she was looking at you. I do it all the time, and people will ask me why I'm looking at them. Then I get embarrassed and have to admit that I wasn't looking at them and didn't even see them - even though my head was turned in that direction and it looked like my eyes were too. Instead I was lost in thought and really wasn't "seeing" anything. The fact is that the situation that day most likely had nothing to do with you at all.
God says:
" Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid".
John 14:26
I am thinking that not only am I commanded not to 'fear' but not to even be 'troubled ( which I think is maybe less that 'fear' but is certainly not faith.
The reason being God is in control and like you mentioned, as a little child trusts in their dad, so should I.
Instead of fearing I should apply Proverbs 3:5 to my heart, mind and spirit:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding".
My own understanding is to fear many things, but my own understanding is very limited ( like what I mentioned about the last couple of days....my own understanding said, the 2 woman 'avoided' me,
but most likely, they wanted to wait, at the proper bus stop
and even wanted to chat with one another in private.......
and it also gave me time to pray to the Lord while I was waiting)
This verse I need to consider if fear of others try to get me to sin:
"But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word".
Isaiah 66:2
It is God and His Word I need to constantly consider rather than,
my own fearful thoughts ,or fear of other people dislike, or even hatred of me.
Fearing others is putting them above God.
It is not that dislike, hate or persecution is not real, but rather I have a wrong view of it.
Actually it is an 'honor' because it identifies me with Jesus
"you will be hated by all for my name's sake".
Matthew 10:22
Even in the Old Testament:
“I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
..........."
Isaiah 51: 12
Hebrew 13: 6
So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
Why I can I confidently say that?
Because in the verse just above Jesus said:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Another verse of comfort and encouragement is
Psalm 118: 6-8
"6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man....."
And speaking of David, who in human understanding we might think he had a lot to be afraid of ( King Saul and other men, including one of his own son's even, throughout his life, were trying to kill him. )
Instead David said:
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
Psalm 56: 10, 11
All of these point to putting God first, putting His Word and promises of help foremost in my mind....not puny people.
God never tells us to go out and look for ways to be persecuted for our faith. While in other countries Christians can lose their lives or be physically beaten for their faith, that simply isn't true here and hasn't been in your life. Yes, recently unbelievers have become more vocal about putting down Christianity, but they just use words and words can't hurt you unless you let them. Yes, some Christian's who own businesses have been fined when the courts ruled in the favor of the unbelievers, but you don't own a business.
Today's unbelievers are like little kids on a playground. They grab the ball and yell at everyone else that it's their ball and no one else can play with it unless they play their way. Big deal, so you walk away. But then, when you see they've fallen down in the playground and hurt their knee, you can run over, help them up and let them know they're going to be ok.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Oct 3, 2019 11:13:22 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Oct 3, 2019 11:13:22 GMT -5
Well first I meant 3 different fears
fears of evangelizing
fear of death
fear of not being saved if and when I sin
Those are the main sins of fear that sometimes plague me.
But you mentioned some other things so because today is our one big day a month to go shopping ( we get our only money on the 3rd.....so that's when we do our months shopping, and then I have to put it all away etc.)
Soooooo I will not get to everything today, but will try to tomorrow.
But first being an 'author' ( I like that idea :-)
So let's say Marie said:
How dare you!!!
Shoving your narrow minded hateful religion down my throat by even saying the one word: 'blessed"!!!
How could I handle it as God would want me too?
First I would need to pray:
"Lord, you have told me I would be hated (because you were)
However, you also told me, you would never leave me.
Marie, here Lord, is obviously a very hurt soul and needs you badly
she needs your love, but clearly does not understand
Help me not to be hurt by her words
and to love her as you do
but not at the cost of denying you in any way.
Then, I might say to her:
I said that because I really believe you have a wonderful daughter and have done a good job raising her, but she is truly a gift from God to you.
Now I might think if the word blessed, got me in trouble that might even more so....but it would be truthful, loving, caring, compassionate and
no matter her response to that sentence
Jesus would be standing by me
and in control
I know many Christians don't wear a cross for various reasons
but since Hossanah gave me one for Christmas ( and I havw worn them before....just plain ones)
ONE reason I do so, is because of my sometimes fear of people
I work on being brave in my faith and perhaps an opening might come about where someone will ( and have) asked or commented ( both positively and seemed to shun me when they notice it)
So that might not be a good thing because, I cannot so easily build a relationship if they quickly decide: Oh that is a Christian and they don't even bother.....
now about that......I really had a friend who we met at a dog park
we spent months talking 'dogs'
She actually eventually became a Christian
but.................
She told me, that IF she had know I ( we) was a Christian right off the bat
She would have politely
but definitely NOT have stood by us in the dog park.
She would have gone to the other side and chatted with other non-believers ( every time we were there)
She laugh ( telling me this because she was now a Christian)
She said we were stealth Christians
by the time she found out, we were already good friends so she was 'stuck' HA HA!
So some verses about talking about God to others
This appears to be a command also
Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name;
make known among the nations what He has done"
Psalm 105:1
This is one that is hard for me:
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul".
Ezekiel 3:17-19
Of course I am not Ezekiel but we are all to spread the gospel.
But there are also other ways to kind of evangelize
"Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven".
Matthew 5:15–16
I don't know if I ever mentioned I had a psych/counselor
who had been a 'pastor' but quit because his flock was too 'uptight' sexually
and so he became a psych instead and he quoted this verse to me once
but he put it in a sexual spin
a sort of if you've got it flaunt it
This is the same counselor who late had sex with me and his wife at his home.
Clearly his spin was so false ( frankly I now would say demonic)
Jesus is actually talking about being kind, compassionate, helpful, loving etc to others so much so, that others are so amazed at your above and beyond sacrifice, they actually can see God in you and thus give God glory.
I just read today, about a young 18 year old, who not only hugged the female police officer who killed his brother ( by mistake), but in fact, in the courtroom evangelized to her and gave her a Bible.....
That to me showed by not only his words but his action that kind of love and sacrifice that gives God the glory.
Opps Leonard alarm just went off, I have to get dressed so we can go and get back because Hossanah wants to use to car when we get back.
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Fears
Oct 4, 2019 11:24:05 GMT -5
Post by Cindy on Oct 4, 2019 11:24:05 GMT -5
I'm going to reply inside your post so it will make more sense that way....
Well first I meant 3 different fears
fears of evangelizing
fear of death
fear of not being saved if and when I sin
Those are the main sins of fear that sometimes plague me.
But you mentioned some other things so because today is our one big day a month to go shopping ( we get our only money on the 3rd.....so that's when we do our months shopping, and then I have to put it all away etc.)
Soooooo I will not get to everything today, but will try to tomorrow.
But first being an 'author' ( I like that idea :-)
So let's say Marie said:
How dare you!!!
Shoving your narrow minded hateful religion down my throat by even saying the one word: 'blessed"!!!
How could I handle it as God would want me too?
First I would need to pray:
"Lord, you have told me I would be hated (because you were)
However, you also told me, you would never leave me.
Marie, here Lord, is obviously a very hurt soul and needs you badly
she needs your love, but clearly does not understand
Help me not to be hurt by her words
and to love her as you do
but not at the cost of denying you in any way.
That's a wonderful prayer and you could pray that perhaps later, but I doubt if you'd have the time or the presence of mind to pray that way immediately after someone yelled at you hatefully. I'd suggest instead, a simply prayer of, "Lord, give me Your Words to speak!" And then praying about the whole situation later.
Then, I might say to her:
I said that because I really believe you have a wonderful daughter and have done a good job raising her, but she is truly a gift from God to you.
Now I might think if the word blessed, got me in trouble that might even more so....but it would be truthful, loving, caring, compassionate and
no matter her response to that sentence
Jesus would be standing by me
and in control
Ok, yes, you could say that, and it most likely would anger her even more for you to continue to press her about it. I honestly don't believe that would be the best way to do things. If our whole purpose is to be a witness to the Lord, we don't go out of our way to make someone angry. Being yourself and using the word "blessed" is one thing - it's common and most people don't take offense at it, as it's even used by pagans. While the Lord has commanded us to tell others about Him and about the gospel and to train them up in their faith, He doesn't expect us to be able to do that instantly with all people. Some folks are ripe and ready for us to tell them the gospel. For others we need to step carefully so we don't step on their toes. We need to first show them Jesus in our lives, or a better way to put it is that we need to first be Jesus to them. We need to show them His love, by being kind, and helpful in any way we can be. God even reminds us through Peter in 1 Peter 3:1 that people who are married to unbelievers can bring their spouse to salvation by being submissive to them and showing them God's love. So while you certainly could say that, it might be better to simply say the first part, but instead of saying, "but she is truly a gift from God to you." say, I'm very sorry if I offended you by my choice of words. I do hope you'll forgive me. Or something along those lines.
I know many Christians don't wear a cross for various reasons
but since Hossanah gave me one for Christmas ( and I havw worn them before....just plain ones)
ONE reason I do so, is because of my sometimes fear of people
I work on being brave in my faith and perhaps an opening might come about where someone will ( and have) asked or commented ( both positively and seemed to shun me when they notice it)
What do you mean when you say ( both positively and seemed to shun me when they notice it). Would you please explain that? Do you mean that you have had people ask you about the cross, and then shun you afterward? Or that they just saw the cross and then shunned you?
So that might not be a good thing because, I cannot so easily build a relationship if they quickly decide: Oh that is a Christian and they don't even bother.....
now about that......I really had a friend who we met at a dog park
we spent months talking 'dogs'
She actually eventually became a Christian
but.................
She told me, that IF she had know I ( we) was a Christian right off the bat
She would have politely
but definitely NOT have stood by us in the dog park.
She would have gone to the other side and chatted with other non-believers ( every time we were there)
She laugh ( telling me this because she was now a Christian)
She said we were stealth Christians
by the time she found out, we were already good friends so she was 'stuck' HA HA!
That was really neat, but it was God's doing, not yours. God intended for you to win her for Christ and you eventually did. He was the one that made sure she didn't know you were a Christian at first. It would be a very dangerous thing, and tempting God to purposely try and appear as though you weren't a Christian. By that I don't mean that believers must wear a cross, but that they should not decide whether or not to do something because of what an unbeliever might think or do. We answer to God, not to other people.
So some verses about talking about God to others
This appears to be a command also
Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name;
make known among the nations what He has done"
Psalm 105:1
This is one that is hard for me:
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul".
Ezekiel 3:17-19
Of course I am not Ezekiel but we are all to spread the gospel.
But there are also other ways to kind of evangelize
"Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven".
Matthew 5:15–16
I don't know if I ever mentioned I had a psych/counselor
who had been a 'pastor' but quit because his flock was too 'uptight' sexually
and so he became a psych instead and he quoted this verse to me once
but he put it in a sexual spin
a sort of if you've got it flaunt it
This is the same counselor who late had sex with me and his wife at his home.
Clearly his spin was so false ( frankly I now would say demonic)
That's just plain sick and I agree it's demonic. Praise God he stopped being a pastor at least! I can't even imagine how someone could put a sexual spin on that verse!
Jesus is actually talking about being kind, compassionate, helpful, loving etc to others so much so, that others are so amazed at your above and beyond sacrifice, they actually can see God in you and thus give God glory.
I just read today, about a young 18 year old, who not only hugged the female police officer who killed his brother ( by mistake), but in fact, in the courtroom evangelized to her and gave her a Bible.....
That to me showed by not only his words but his action that kind of love and sacrifice that gives God the glory.
Opps Leonard alarm just went off, I have to get dressed so we can go and get back because Hossanah wants to use to car when we get back.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Oct 4, 2019 11:50:56 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Oct 4, 2019 11:50:56 GMT -5
My 'fear' of death is not about going to be with Jesus, being done with this world, or sin, or sickness etc. All of those things I am sooooo excited for!!!!!!
We have talked about this before....it's just one second when we die and then are with Jesus.
I guess, its the 'unknown' factors that are disconcerting
Like for example I don't know 'when' it will happen
or will it hurt etc.
And I don't 'think' it's wanting to be in control...but maybe?
If God came to me today and said, would you like to go now
I would say yes ( If it's your desire for me)
The thing that 'freaks' me out is the not breathing
but then,
If I have stopped breathing.......I won't be alive in this world but with Jesus in Heaven
Still, I keep thinking I will panic for a few minutes not being able to breath.
Soooooo I need to once again look at what God says:
"Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery".
Hebrews 2:14-15
I am getting that what I used to think as basically God 'comforting'
me, about fear NOT.....is actually a command
that has helped me a lot these last couple of days
but then there is comfort in a command....who knew?
So this verse tells me Jesus conquered death....to fear it is to once again slapping Him in the face( not trusting, not believing, calling Him a liar even)....I need to stop doing that!!!!
And furthermore the advantages of dying and going to be with the Lord forever, is waaaaaay beyond what I can ever imagine or think......blessings, peace, love, worship, no pain, no sin etc etc etc.
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
1 Corinthians 2:9
( to love Him is not to doubt Him but to believe this with all my heart....and I do.....its the 'getting there' that still on occasion is the problem....I have never done it before)
As Paul said: "......to die is gain".
and Paul also said this:
"We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord".
2 Corinthians 5:6-8
I need to change that verse to apply to me by saying: I KNOW....and I need to be of good courage, as I would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord!!!
I actually can't wait for this tho :-)
" He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
And about 'fear"
"for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control".
2 Timothy 1:7
So a 'spirit of fear'....is NOT from God.......
I know it is sin
and perhaps at times of the devil
What God gives is
power
love
and self control
I am thinking when I love God, it casts out fear because I trust Him to be truthful, and that gives me power over the enemy/sin of fear and rather than give into it, I have self control, born of God.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Oct 4, 2019 12:08:25 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Oct 4, 2019 12:08:25 GMT -5
Oh no I did not mean I deliberately kept the fact I was a Christian from Cyndie.
I just did not have a cross to wear at that time,
and at the dog park, with 30, 40, 50 or more dogs running around and their owners, kids etc.
We just were 'dog' focused
making sure no alpha dog got a little too assertive,
stole too many toys
( My alpha Airedale would 'kindly' steal LOL all the other dogs toys....and pile them up in a heap)!
Then we would have to sort thru the pile when some one left to find their dogs toys....
none of the dogs ever minded giving up their toys.....
She was THE alpha female there, and they seemed happy to give her whatever she nicely asked in order to play in 'her' park. :-)
None of the dog owners ever took offense either, as they understood that's just what an alpha dog might do
and it was kind of funny to see her amassing a pile of toys
eventually she would leave it and go play anyway
but yeah, I never on purpose tried to keep the info from anyone there
I just never had a chance,
with sooooooooooooo much activity, chats, running dogs, running little children, owners chatting about their dog and other people's dogs etc.
It was friendly chaos, noise, 30 different conversations going on, dogs asking you to play, kids asking you for stuff etc.
I can't remember how it actually came about, I think maybe ( ?)
one day she and I took our dogs on a walk...just the two of us, and then,
in the 'peaceful' quiet
I mentioned it......
and she was shocked.....
and that began our 'chats'.....she was very very anti Christian
until
the day she called
and told me to sit down.... if I was standing
she had something to tell me that was going to shock me
and I needed to be sitting first!!!
And then she told me, she had become saved
and I really truly was shocked!!!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Oct 5, 2019 12:08:25 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Oct 5, 2019 12:08:25 GMT -5
One last thing about dying and death.....my adopted mom used to say to me, when you die, that was it!!!
tho that idea on some rare occasions 'haunts' me for a second or two
waaaaaaay worse, is the horror of Hell.
For sure, the pain, and misery of Hell is beyond frightening
but worse
Is what is being missed for all eternity
Being loved forever by God
( and being able to love Him sooooo much better than now)
no more tears, pain, sorrows, interesting things for all eternity that I can't even begin to imagine.....always growing and getting more and more
etc.
But often when I sin, my first thought is
How could you really be saved?
How can you say you love and trust Jesus and have done, said or thought that?
Am I just like Judas?
But I do hate the sin, and I do beg God to help me turn from it and repent ( Not do it again) etc.
Yet that fear plagues me from time to time.
I 'think' you have told me in the past, that in general, most unbelievers do not have such a concern, and if so, then in a way, my concern points to being saved......not because of what I have done or not done
but
because of what Jesus has done.
So some verses concerning sin:
This verse is not an okay to sin....but if a believer ( me) sins
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Romans 6:14
Instead out of love for the Lord I should:
“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
Collosians 3:5
I probably need to memorize and reflect more on this verse:
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4: 15, 16
And this one to continue to discipline myself:
“And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
1 John 3:3
But there are also these verses for sin:
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus".
Romans 8:1
"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous".
I John 2:1
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Oct 6, 2019 10:41:04 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Oct 6, 2019 10:41:04 GMT -5
Remembering that you said that ,
not to fear is not a suggestion,
but a commandment
Lo and behold here is such a verse:
"Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
"The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?"?
Psalm 118:6
Well men can do a lot in this life, but as far as eternity, they can do nothing at all.
And yet, God can give peace that passeth understanding, in the worst of situations ( as demonstrated by many martyrs).
And if tempted to fear there is this verse:
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:15
This seems to me that it might be used also for fear of death;
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior".
Isaiah 43: 2,3
And God will hold my hand!
"For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.”
Isaiah 41:13
and another verse:
"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake,
so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh".
2 Corinthians 4: 8-11
This verse talks of things that are definitely not great, but then gives the right attitude and/or truth of the situation.
Have to get ready to go to church so this is kind of short.
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Fears
Oct 7, 2019 9:05:01 GMT -5
Post by Cindy on Oct 7, 2019 9:05:01 GMT -5
My 'fear' of death is not about going to be with Jesus, being done with this world, or sin, or sickness etc. All of those things I am sooooo excited for!!!!!!
We have talked about this before....it's just one second when we die and then are with Jesus.
I guess, its the 'unknown' factors that are disconcerting
Like for example I don't know 'when' it will happen
or will it hurt etc.
And I don't 'think' it's wanting to be in control...but maybe?
If God came to me today and said, would you like to go now
I would say yes ( If it's your desire for me)
The thing that 'freaks' me out is the not breathing
but then,
If I have stopped breathing.......I won't be alive in this world but with Jesus in Heaven
Still, I keep thinking I will panic for a few minutes not being able to breath.
Soooooo I need to once again look at what God says:
"Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery".
Hebrews 2:14-15
I am getting that what I used to think as basically God 'comforting'
me, about fear NOT.....is actually a command
that has helped me a lot these last couple of days
but then there is comfort in a command....who knew?
So this verse tells me Jesus conquered death....to fear it is to once again slapping Him in the face( not trusting, not believing, calling Him a liar even)....I need to stop doing that!!!!
And furthermore the advantages of dying and going to be with the Lord forever, is waaaaaay beyond what I can ever imagine or think......blessings, peace, love, worship, no pain, no sin etc etc etc.
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
1 Corinthians 2:9
( to love Him is not to doubt Him but to believe this with all my heart....and I do.....its the 'getting there' that still on occasion is the problem....I have never done it before)
As Paul said: "......to die is gain".
and Paul also said this:
"We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord".
2 Corinthians 5:6-8
I need to change that verse to apply to me by saying: I KNOW....and I need to be of good courage, as I would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord!!!
I actually can't wait for this tho :-)
" He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
And about 'fear"
"for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control".
2 Timothy 1:7
So a 'spirit of fear'....is NOT from God.......
I know it is sin
and perhaps at times of the devil
What God gives is
power
love
and self control
I am thinking when I love God, it casts out fear because I trust Him to be truthful, and that gives me power over the enemy/sin of fear and rather than give into it, I have self control, born of God.
Oh no I did not mean I deliberately kept the fact I was a Christian from Cyndie.
I just did not have a cross to wear at that time,
and at the dog park, with 30, 40, 50 or more dogs running around and their owners, kids etc.
We just were 'dog' focused
making sure no alpha dog got a little too assertive,
stole too many toys
( My alpha Airedale would 'kindly' steal LOL all the other dogs toys....and pile them up in a heap)!
Then we would have to sort thru the pile when some one left to find their dogs toys....
none of the dogs ever minded giving up their toys.....
She was THE alpha female there, and they seemed happy to give her whatever she nicely asked in order to play in 'her' park. :-)
None of the dog owners ever took offense either, as they understood that's just what an alpha dog might do
and it was kind of funny to see her amassing a pile of toys
eventually she would leave it and go play anyway
but yeah, I never on purpose tried to keep the info from anyone there
I just never had a chance,
with sooooooooooooo much activity, chats, running dogs, running little children, owners chatting about their dog and other people's dogs etc.
It was friendly chaos, noise, 30 different conversations going on, dogs asking you to play, kids asking you for stuff etc.
I can't remember how it actually came about, I think maybe ( ?)
one day she and I took our dogs on a walk...just the two of us, and then,
in the 'peaceful' quiet
I mentioned it......
and she was shocked.....
and that began our 'chats'.....she was very very anti Christian
until
the day she called
and told me to sit down.... if I was standing
she had something to tell me that was going to shock me
and I needed to be sitting first!!!
And then she told me, she had become saved
and I really truly was shocked!!!
One last thing about dying and death.....my adopted mom used to say to me, when you die, that was it!!!
tho that idea on some rare occasions 'haunts' me for a second or two
waaaaaaay worse, is the horror of Hell.
For sure, the pain, and misery of Hell is beyond frightening
but worse
Is what is being missed for all eternity
Being loved forever by God
( and being able to love Him sooooo much better than now)
no more tears, pain, sorrows, interesting things for all eternity that I can't even begin to imagine.....always growing and getting more and more
etc.
But often when I sin, my first thought is
How could you really be saved?
How can you say you love and trust Jesus and have done, said or thought that?
Am I just like Judas?
But I do hate the sin, and I do beg God to help me turn from it and repent ( Not do it again) etc.
Yet that fear plagues me from time to time.
I 'think' you have told me in the past, that in general, most unbelievers do not have such a concern, and if so, then in a way, my concern points to being saved......not because of what I have done or not done
but
because of what Jesus has done.
So some verses concerning sin:
This verse is not an okay to sin....but if a believer ( me) sins
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Romans 6:14
Instead out of love for the Lord I should:
“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
Collosians 3:5
I probably need to memorize and reflect more on this verse:
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4: 15, 16
And this one to continue to discipline myself:
“And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
1 John 3:3
But there are also these verses for sin:
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus".
Romans 8:1
"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous".
I John 2:1
Remembering that you said that ,
not to fear is not a suggestion,
but a commandment
Lo and behold here is such a verse:
"Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
"The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?"?
Psalm 118:6
Well men can do a lot in this life, but as far as eternity, they can do nothing at all.
And yet, God can give peace that passeth understanding, in the worst of situations ( as demonstrated by many martyrs).
And if tempted to fear there is this verse:
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:15
This seems to me that it might be used also for fear of death;
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior".
Isaiah 43: 2,3
And God will hold my hand!
"For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.”
Isaiah 41:13
and another verse:
"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake,
so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh".
2 Corinthians 4: 8-11
This verse talks of things that are definitely not great, but then gives the right attitude and/or truth of the situation.
Have to get ready to go to church so this is kind of short.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Fears
Oct 7, 2019 9:35:51 GMT -5
Post by fearnot on Oct 7, 2019 9:35:51 GMT -5
I am think maybe we should move on?
I don't know if we should work on another subject or go to another book in the Bible......maybe do a book and then a subject and then a book?
So I can't remember if we have studied Titus recently but because it is short, I will start on it, until I hear what you might prefer to do.
So I will start it today.....
I 'think' this is how you said to let you know when I go on to something else.....
hopefully you will see it
if not by tomorrow, I will PM you. :-)
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Fears
Oct 8, 2019 9:37:49 GMT -5
Post by Cindy on Oct 8, 2019 9:37:49 GMT -5
Whatever you want to do. I can tell you don't want to deal with this anymore lol
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Yes! 
“for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4) The word used for "overcomes" in the original language is a word that means that the victory of overcoming is so great that it's seen by everyone; that no one can deny it. It means overwhelming success! Our faith brings us victory because it's linked to our Lord's faith and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. The more and the better we know the Lord, the more our faith will grow. The more fully we understand and realize His love for us, the greater our faith will grow. The way we learn more about the Lord and about His love for us, is through reading and studying His Word and praying, daily. If we do that, we can't help but grow in our faith. If a person has been doing that, and they say their faith hasn't grown greatly, then they're lying and calling God a liar for He says our faith will grow! Our victory is a result of faith, and we grow in faith as we grow in love, because the more we love someone, the easier it is to trust them. 
Barbara, You have put yourself down in what you posted above by saying you have a weak faith. In fact, look at what you posted: "So I did kind of post about one fear today.....before reading what you posted fear of talking to unbelievers on any level about my 'faith' ( which is a weak faith, at best , if I fear)" That's actually funny in an ironic kind of way! First you put yourself down and God too by saying you have a weak faith. It's putting God down because we are each given our faith as a gift from God so we can be saved. (Ephesians 2:8) Then of all things, you end the statement with "I fear!" 
Anytime you say something negative about yourself, you're actually, among other things, putting God down and saying He didn't do a good job when He created you. And we both know that's not true. 
