fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383 
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 5, 2021 12:32:19 GMT -5
I am going to be looking at why
FEAR is a SIN
You ( Cindy) pointed this verse and others
as a starting point,
with a few statements and facts,
and added a few questions also.
Quote Cindy:
But the fearful,
and unbelieving,
and the abominable,
and murderers,
and whoremongers,
and sorcerers,
and idolaters,
and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death. Rev. 21:8 (KJV).
It is significant that the first group named among those who go to hell is “the fearful” (Rev. 21:8),
the people who knew the truth but were afraid to take their stand.
Other verses which use this same word (in the original languages) Matthew 8:26, Mark 4:40, 1 Samuel 15:24, Isaiah 57:11, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 25:25, 2 Timothy 1:7, Philippians 1:27–28, Malachi 3:5, and 1 Peter 3:14.
The word in the original languages means timid, fearful, cowardly, afraid.
Why is being afraid the first sin listed as the kind of sins that will be seen in the people who are sent to hell?
How would you explain this to someone who doesn't know or understand the Bible - someone who is unsaved?
Quoted: Cindy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It seems to me,
like this topic, might take awhile!
It really applies to me,
as my user name on FH is:
Fearnot
( for a reason....
I have always struggled with fears of different kinds.....
and so when Jesus often said:
"Fear Not"
I felt He was talking to me, for sure!
And Today, fear has seemly become more
prominent,
than in a long long time.
Things like: pandemics, politics, economics,
war, famine, etc etc etc.
are all clamoring to see,
which can make us most afraid.
4 And Jesus answered and said to them,
“See to it that no one misleads you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’
and they will mislead many people.
6 And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars.
See that you are not alarmed,
for those things must take place,
but that is not yet the end.
7 For nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom,
and there will be famines
and earthquakes in various places.
8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
Matthew 24:6-8
I think, these things are going to perhaps continue,
as the end times roll along.
Since, we do not know the exact, time, or date
when, we as Christians will be raptured.
we might also suffer more persecution....
( many Christians in the world are already
and have been continually
suffering, great amounts of persecutions,
becoming homeless, suffering torture, prison, and death).
So fear, might try to rear it's ugly head,
in the coming perfect storm that may be just over the horizon.
To start let's look at fear a bit.
One thing that comes to mind
is that during the tribulation,
people will out of
FEAR
take the mark of the beast.
The will be afraid
of starving
being persecuted,
being killed etc.
16 And he ( the anti-Christ) causeth all,
both small and great,
rich and poor,
free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell,
save he that had the mark,
or the name of the beast,
or the number of his name.
Revelation 13:16,17 ( KJV)
My first thought, is they have basically declared
God is a liar...
That eternal life is a lie.
11 He has made everything appropriate in its time.
He has also set eternity in their heart,......
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ( part a NASB)
The issue is:
Do we believe God...
or
is He a liar?
10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself;
the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar,
because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.
1 John 5:10
Is the Bible a bunch of myths, cobbled together,
a book of fairy tales etc.?
Is Science proven fact,
the 'real' God so to speak?
If 'science' is your god,
then you ought to be afraid,
very afraid....
It will give you no hope,
no comfort,
no peace,
no mercy
and no love!
It does not promise you this
that the true God does to those who believe in Him
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
and there will no longer be any death;
there will no longer be any mourning,
or crying,
or pain;
the first things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
Science is a cold, dark, merciless, 'god',
and by trusting in it,
you have turned your back on the
True God.
Thus your fear, only
proves your sin,
of denying the True God who loves you.
That this universe will end
is strangely something
both God and science agree on!
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
in which the heavens will pass away
with a roar
and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat,
and the earth....
2 Peter 3:10
In other words,
not only are all humans going to die,
even the universe is also dying.
But who or what,
are we going to believe,
will happen to us, after we die.
Will fear reign
or Truth?
Are we in fear
not going to believe this truth?
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved,
that with the Lord
one day is like a thousand years,
and
a thousand years like one day.
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise,
as some count slowness,
but is patient toward you,
not willing for any to perish,
but for all to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:8,9
However, I need to say,
thou believers may struggle
with fear, from time to time,
and thus: sin
Unbelievers, do not repent of their fear and sin,
they live in it, as if it was truth
and they often boast, of how
enlightened they are as atheists.
Done for Today
|
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 6, 2021 12:56:40 GMT -5
I thought today I would start at the very beginning of 'Fear'
I will start with these verses:
. 16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying,
“From any tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat,
for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Genesis 2:16,17
In the first book of the Bible, Genesis,
we find, a lot of 'FIRSTS'.
In verse 17 we find the 1st
'command'
the first restriction
the first: Do NOT.
And what would be the consequence
of disobeying,
this ONE and ONLY test
of man's
trust,
loyalty,
and love?
Death...something to fear,
when a human turns their back on God
does not trust Him
doubts His words
essentially call God a liar.
Does doubting God word ( the Bible)
lead to the sin of Fear?
Now the serpent
was more cunning
than any animal of the field
which the Lord God had made.
And he said to the woman,
“Has God really said,
You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?
Genesis 3:1
I think these verses are some of the most important
verses in scripture!
Because, without knowing these verses in scripture,
we cannot know the reason for the problem of EVIL and SIN
in the world,
nor
the need for a solution.
In fact, so many non believers
in scorn, insults, pride and condescension,
mock Christians,
and this passage of scripture.
The very 'idea',
the ignorance,
to actually believe,
this 'fairy tale'
and absolute truth!!
But yes,
this is THE first entrance of sin into the world.
It is not an impossibility,
it is not a lie,
nor something unreal,
Rather, it is historical,
and
a Divine revelation!
Most, if not all of the unsaved, believe
that there is all manner of life, ( aliens etc.)
on other planets throughout the universe...
And yet....
This seems a fairy tale,
and an impossibility to them?
9 And the great dragon was thrown down,
the serpent of old
who is called the devil and Satan,
who deceives the whole world;
he was thrown down to the earth,
and his angels were thrown down with him.
Revelation 12:9
Are people truly unaware there is Evil in the world?
Evil=sin
and there is 'fear'....
a LOT of fears of many things.
There is sooooo much more to say about this passage in scripture,
However, I am looking at 'FEAR...
"
and in this Genesis chapter 3
we have the word
'FEAR'
for the first time also!!!
9 Then the Lord God called to the man,
and said to him,
“Where are you?”
10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden,
and
I was afraid....
Genesis 3:9
Done for today
|
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 7, 2021 10:49:35 GMT -5
After Adam and Eve sinned God asked them:
Where were they?
God knew where they were!
This was giving them a chance,
to confess their sin and ask for forgiveness.
Instead.....
This is what Adam said:
9 Then the Lord God called to the man,
and said to him,
“Where are you?”
10 He ( Adam) said,
“I heard the sound of You in the garden,
and
I was afraid....
Genesis 3:9
I am thinking there are two ways
that fear is a sin....
We are afraid because we sinned,
and we know,
we have sinned against God.
( like Adam did)
Another way is:
We Christians, are not trusting a loving God,
( for a small amount of time, like the apostle Peter did)
and thus,
we are calling God
a liar,
for a moment,
we have believed the devil's lies).
And was not this Satan's strategy?
To get the humans to doubt,
God and His Word.
Satan wanted us to muse,
that perhaps, God's words were:
suggestions,
allegories,
myths,
folk tales
etc.
Maybe......
people ought to rethink
God's words, the Bible?
They 'owe it to themselves',
so as, not to become,
silly, ignorant, witless, obtuse, fools!
Jesus said this, to the apostle Peter:
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him,
saying to him,
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:31
Jesus said it then, and He is still saying it,
to many people today,
I think.
However, the devil, doesn't want us to just stop,
and consider that
maybe we 'misunderstood'
what God said?
Actually, Satan also,
proposed,
and continues to propose,
the theory,
that God,
may not be 'good'.....
and is actually, holding out blessings,
blessings, we rightly deserve!
5 For God knows
that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:5
And that,
is an even bigger sin!
There are many people, who actually believe the devil was right!
As hard as it might be to comprehend
that any people would actually fall for that?
Yet, there are 'religions', cults etc.
based on our 'evolving' to godhood.
Even, Satanists think the devil, was right!
But did the devil create the universe?
No!
Lucifer was a created angel.
Here is a little about this once beautiful created angel:
12 How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isaiah 14:12-15
Satan, wanted to be God.
He wanted to usurp his Creator.
The devil also, hated 'man', humans, that God created,
and he still does!
He wishes to hurt God,
by dragging as many humans to Hell with him.
Even a little looking around us, tell us,
Something is not right in the world.
There are
'pandemics,
there is chaos,
rebellion,
murder,
rapes,
war,
pain,
suffering,
hate,
to name just a 'few' problems.
But this was not the case when God first created the universe.
In fact, God said:
and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:10,12,21,25,
and also
31 And God saw every thing that he had made,
and, behold,
it was very good.
Genesis 1:31
so what happened?
The world we see, is decaying
rapidly,
tending towards disorder etc.
( which means it was in order,
at one time). etc.
Done for Today
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Feb 8, 2021 10:31:24 GMT -5
I am going to be looking at why
FEAR is a SIN
You ( Cindy) pointed this verse and others
as a starting point,
with a few statements and facts,
and added a few questions also.
Quote Cindy:
But the fearful,
and unbelieving,
and the abominable,
and murderers,
and whoremongers,
and sorcerers,
and idolaters,
and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death. Rev. 21:8 (KJV).
It is significant that the first group named among those who go to hell is “the fearful” (Rev. 21:8),
the people who knew the truth but were afraid to take their stand.
Other verses which use this same word (in the original languages) Matthew 8:26, Mark 4:40, 1 Samuel 15:24, Isaiah 57:11, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 25:25, 2 Timothy 1:7, Philippians 1:27–28, Malachi 3:5, and 1 Peter 3:14.
The word in the original languages means timid, fearful, cowardly, afraid.
Why is being afraid the first sin listed as the kind of sins that will be seen in the people who are sent to hell?
How would you explain this to someone who doesn't know or understand the Bible - someone who is unsaved?
Quoted: Cindy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It seems to me,
like this topic, might take awhile!
It really applies to me,
as my user name on FH is:
Fearnot
( for a reason....
I have always struggled with fears of different kinds.....
and so when Jesus often said:
"Fear Not"
I felt He was talking to me, for sure!
And Today, fear has seemly become more
prominent,
than in a long long time.
Things like: pandemics, politics, economics,
war, famine, etc etc etc.
are all clamoring to see,
which can make us most afraid.
4 And Jesus answered and said to them,
“See to it that no one misleads you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’
and they will mislead many people.
6 And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars.
See that you are not alarmed,
for those things must take place,
but that is not yet the end.
7 For nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom,
and there will be famines
and earthquakes in various places.
8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
Matthew 24:6-8
I think, these things are going to perhaps continue,
as the end times roll along.
Since, we do not know the exact, time, or date
when, we as Christians will be raptured.
we might also suffer more persecution....
( many Christians in the world are already
and have been continually
suffering, great amounts of persecutions,
becoming homeless, suffering torture, prison, and death).
So fear, might try to rear it's ugly head,
in the coming perfect storm that may be just over the horizon.
To start let's look at fear a bit.
One thing that comes to mind
is that during the tribulation,
people will out of
FEAR
take the mark of the beast.
The will be afraid
of starving
being persecuted,
being killed etc.
16 And he ( the anti-Christ) causeth all,
both small and great,
rich and poor,
free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell,
save he that had the mark,
or the name of the beast,
or the number of his name.
Revelation 13:16,17 ( KJV)
My first thought, is they have basically declared
God is a liar...
That eternal life is a lie.
11 He has made everything appropriate in its time.
He has also set eternity in their heart,......
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ( part a NASB)
The issue is:
Do we believe God...
or
is He a liar?
10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself;
the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar,
because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.
1 John 5:10
Is the Bible a bunch of myths, cobbled together,
a book of fairy tales etc.?
Is Science proven fact,
the 'real' God so to speak?
If 'science' is your god,
then you ought to be afraid,
very afraid....
It will give you no hope,
no comfort,
no peace,
no mercy
and no love!
It does not promise you this
that the true God does to those who believe in Him
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
and there will no longer be any death;
there will no longer be any mourning,
or crying,
or pain;
the first things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
Science is a cold, dark, merciless, 'god',
and by trusting in it,
you have turned your back on the
True God.
Thus your fear, only
proves your sin,
of denying the True God who loves you.
That this universe will end
is strangely something
both God and science agree on!
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
in which the heavens will pass away
with a roar
and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat,
and the earth....
2 Peter 3:10
In other words,
not only are all humans going to die,
even the universe is also dying.
But who or what,
are we going to believe,
will happen to us, after we die.
Will fear reign
or Truth?
Are we in fear
not going to believe this truth?
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved,
that with the Lord
one day is like a thousand years,
and
a thousand years like one day.
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise,
as some count slowness,
but is patient toward you,
not willing for any to perish,
but for all to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:8,9
However, I need to say,
thou believers may struggle
with fear, from time to time,
and thus: sin
Unbelievers, do not repent of their fear and sin,
they live in it, as if it was truth
and they often boast, of how
enlightened they are as atheists.
Done for Today
I thought today I would start at the very beginning of 'Fear'
I will start with these verses:
. 16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying,
“From any tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat,
for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Genesis 2:16,17
In the first book of the Bible, Genesis,
we find, a lot of 'FIRSTS'.
In verse 17 we find the 1st
'command'
the first restriction
the first: Do NOT.
And what would be the consequence
of disobeying,
this ONE and ONLY test
of man's
trust,
loyalty,
and love?
Death...something to fear,
when a human turns their back on God
does not trust Him
doubts His words
essentially call God a liar.
Does doubting God word ( the Bible)
lead to the sin of Fear?
Now the serpent
was more cunning
than any animal of the field
which the Lord God had made.
And he said to the woman,
“Has God really said,
You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?
Genesis 3:1
I think these verses are some of the most important
verses in scripture!
Because, without knowing these verses in scripture,
we cannot know the reason for the problem of EVIL and SIN
in the world,
nor
the need for a solution.
In fact, so many non believers
in scorn, insults, pride and condescension,
mock Christians,
and this passage of scripture.
The very 'idea',
the ignorance,
to actually believe,
this 'fairy tale'
and absolute truth!!
But yes,
this is THE first entrance of sin into the world.
It is not an impossibility,
it is not a lie,
nor something unreal,
Rather, it is historical,
and
a Divine revelation!
Most, if not all of the unsaved, believe
that there is all manner of life, ( aliens etc.)
on other planets throughout the universe...
And yet....
This seems a fairy tale,
and an impossibility to them?
9 And the great dragon was thrown down,
the serpent of old
who is called the devil and Satan,
who deceives the whole world;
he was thrown down to the earth,
and his angels were thrown down with him.
Revelation 12:9
Are people truly unaware there is Evil in the world?
Evil=sin
and there is 'fear'....
a LOT of fears of many things.
There is sooooo much more to say about this passage in scripture,
However, I am looking at 'FEAR...
"
and in this Genesis chapter 3
we have the word
'FEAR'
for the first time also!!!
9 Then the Lord God called to the man,
and said to him,
“Where are you?”
10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden,
and
I was afraid....
Genesis 3:9
Done for today
 That's really good! I would have never thought about starting there, but it's the perfect place to start!
After Adam and Eve sinned God asked them:
Where were they?
God knew where they were!
This was giving them a chance,
to confess their sin and ask for forgiveness.
Instead.....
This is what Adam said:
9 Then the Lord God called to the man,
and said to him,
“Where are you?”
10 He ( Adam) said,
“I heard the sound of You in the garden,
and
I was afraid....
Genesis 3:9
I am thinking there are two ways
that fear is a sin....
We are afraid because we sinned,
and we know,
we have sinned against God.
( like Adam did)
Another way is:
We Christians, are not trusting a loving God,
( for a small amount of time, like the apostle Peter did)
and thus,
we are calling God
a liar,
for a moment,
we have believed the devil's lies).
And was not this Satan's strategy?
To get the humans to doubt,
God and His Word.
Satan wanted us to muse,
that perhaps, God's words were:
suggestions,
allegories,
myths,
folk tales
etc.
Maybe......
people ought to rethink
God's words, the Bible?
They 'owe it to themselves',
so as, not to become,
silly, ignorant, witless, obtuse, fools!
Jesus said this, to the apostle Peter:
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him,
saying to him,
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:31
Jesus said it then, and He is still saying it,
to many people today,
I think.
However, the devil, doesn't want us to just stop,
and consider that
maybe we 'misunderstood'
what God said?
Actually, Satan also,
proposed,
and continues to propose,
the theory,
that God,
may not be 'good'.....
and is actually, holding out blessings,
blessings, we rightly deserve!
5 For God knows
that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:5
And that,
is an even bigger sin!
There are many people, who actually believe the devil was right!
As hard as it might be to comprehend
that any people would actually fall for that?
Yet, there are 'religions', cults etc.
based on our 'evolving' to godhood.
Even, Satanists think the devil, was right!
But did the devil create the universe?
No!
Lucifer was a created angel.
Here is a little about this once beautiful created angel:
12 How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isaiah 14:12-15
Satan, wanted to be God.
He wanted to usurp his Creator.
The devil also, hated 'man', humans, that God created,
and he still does!
He wishes to hurt God,
by dragging as many humans to Hell with him.
Even a little looking around us, tell us,
Something is not right in the world.
There are
'pandemics,
there is chaos,
rebellion,
murder,
rapes,
war,
pain,
suffering,
hate,
to name just a 'few' problems.
But this was not the case when God first created the universe.
In fact, God said:
and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:10,12,21,25,
and also
31 And God saw every thing that he had made,
and, behold,
it was very good.
Genesis 1:31
so what happened?
The world we see, is decaying
rapidly,
tending towards disorder etc.
( which means it was in order,
at one time). etc.
Done for Today
 Good job!!! Interesting...there was no evil and no fear until they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Prior to that there was only "good". And that also meant that there was only good in both Adam and Eve's minds. Just considering it all, blows me away. A lot of Christians say things like they can't wait to see Adam and Eve because they want to punch them or tell them off or something like that. I guess they think that under the same circumstances they would have done better. I've heard some say that they think Adam and Eve are in hell and others say if they're not, they should be because of all that person had gone through in this life. In other words, many Christians blame Adam and Eve for all their problems, which is no only unfair, but is also unwise as it's not how Jesus would have us relate to them. Personally, I think we will see them in Heaven and I can't wait to talk to them. Not to blame them, but to find out how they tried to deal with the sin in their lives after that. The Lord obviously told them how to make sacrifices and I imagine He also included how to make a sacrifice for sin, as those are things they taught their children. I just think it would be fascinating to talk to them. I'd especially want to know what it was like for them in the garden before they sinned! 
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 8, 2021 12:04:09 GMT -5
Thank you Cindy!
Wow! I never thought of being so angry at Adam and Eve, because, I don't think, there has ever been a human who has ever lived....
( well, except Jesus, but He was of course, perfectly Holy, as He was and is God)
Who would have made the right choice.
We have the advantage, of looking back at Eve and Adam's choice,
and seeing it's results.
It's always easy, to point the finger, from the future perspective.
All, I can say, is I would have also fallen for the devil's lies
( not now, because, I have read the Bible...
what am I saying?????
I still sin....
and sometimes, it is because, I have listened to the devils lies )
There was a time, when I was walking so far away from God....
That, I f I was told I could have such a superior mind....
a mind like God?
like groovy man!
Which also is why it is silly for people ( Christians)
to think
they can stand toe to toe with Satan,
and battle Him
and win!
Even Michael the arch angel, does not make that mistake!
Satan is not some puppy, we can scold, and he will whimper
and obey us.
However, the devil will obey God,
and will go to the lake of fire, in the future!
I too wonder how they
(Adam and Eve) managed to live, without, terrible guilt
And I agree, adding how Christians
who have fear...is also a good thing to cover
Thank you
because, as you already know
I struggle with this from time to time.
I sometimes see myself as a sniveling, frighten, coward....
and I 'know' that is a sin,
on many many levels.
I have so desired to be brave, strong,
loving Jesus
Sooooo much,
that I would NEVER be intimidated
by anyone!!!
So this is a great study for me!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Feb 8, 2021 12:27:31 GMT -5
Why fear is a sin?
In Genesis 3 we have the first time,
God is called a 'liar'
when Satan,
(the devil, Lucifer, the serpent, the dragon etc.)
Says to Eve,
denying God's Word,
and thus calling God a liar:
4 But the serpent said to the woman,
“You will not surely die.
Genesis 3;4
Even Christians find it easier, at times
to do what is wrong, evil and sin
to lie, call others liars, to steal etc. etc.
1 Now the Spirit expressly says
that in later times
some will depart from the faith
by devoting themselves
to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
2 through the insincerity of liars
whose consciences are seared,
1 Timothy 4:1,2
But tho, it is often,
'easier'
at first,
to do wrong, and sin ( all kinds of sins),
we soon find,
that our conscience kicks in,
and we begin to fear,
knowing we have done wrong.
In the Bible,
scripture, gives us a lot of examples of
people who 'feared',
and as a result,
sinned greatly.
Today, I will mention
two Herods
the Great, and his son, Antipas.
The father was the Herod,
who tired to murder, Jesus.
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Matthew 2:1-3
Why was King Herod afraid ( troubled)?
Well, a new king was born,
and he did not want to lose his power as King.
So out of 'fear'
Herod decides to murder, Jesus.
Since, that plan did not work out,
he instead, has many baby boys murdered,
hoping that Jesus, will be one of them.
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi,
he became very enraged,
and sent men
and killed all the boys
who were in Bethlehem
and all its vicinity
who were two years old or under,
according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
Matthew 2:16
Here we see that 'fear',
lead to mass murder.
We do not read, that Herod,
prayed to God about it,
not did Herod trust God.
Instead, Herod, took matters in his own hands,
and killed many.
Also another King Herod
( the son)
had fear
and it also lead to
sin, murder, and a guilty conscience.
In fact, when he heard about Jesus,
he feared that John the Baptist,
who he had killed,
had come back to life:
14 And king Herod heard of him ( Jesus);
(for his name was spread abroad:)
and he ( Herod) said,
That John the Baptist was risen from the dead,
and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Mark 6:14
Again this Herod, did not pray
or trust God,
( any more than his father had)...
and so,
fear ruled their hearts and minds
and the sinful results were murder.
Not every fear,
will lead to murder.
But fear, can cause people to
do irrational things,
and make terrible sin filled choices.
I kind of jumped waaaay ahead today,
Tomorrow, I will go back to the old Testament
and look at some serious results
from the sin of fear.
Done for today.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Feb 9, 2021 8:51:41 GMT -5
I thought I would go back to the Old Testament
and look at Fear as sin.
As I mentioned previously, Genesis is a book of
Firsts.
Cain was the first born of Adam and Eve),
Sadly, Cain was also, the
First, 'unbeliever' of the truth.
Well, Cain was a 'believer',
but in his own self...
and he did not feel the need
for a 'sacrifice'
for his sins.
Therefore, he brings God some:
carrots.
Okay,.....
not necessarily 'carrots'!
However, some kind of plants.
It was a rather cavalier,
and self righteous attitude
towards his Creator.
3 So it came about in the course of time
that Cain brought an offering to the Lord
from the fruit of the ground.
Genesis 4:3
That did not 'cost' Cain, much of anything.
He knew (I am pretty sure),
that because of his mother and father's sin...
God, killed one of His creations,
to cover Adam and Eve, after they sinned.
So it was not like Cain could claim,
he did not know. any better.
Whereas, Abel, brought one of his flock.
That would have cost Abel emotionally,
because he was their shepherd.
Also, Abel, brought his very best, to the Lord.
4 Abel, on his part also brought an offering,
from the firstborn of his flock
and from their fat portions.
And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering;
Genesis 4:4
God saw the hearts of both young people,
and it was Abel, who really was worshipful and humble.
Cain was not thinking he was truly a sinner,
and his 'sacrifice', was a rather sick joke, in a way.
Cain was just playing at religion,
a false one at that.
Cain's 'religion' was another first...
The first:
false self styled religion.
And so, we have a set of two more firsts:
Hate and murder.
5 but for Cain and his offering He (God) had no regard.
So Cain became very angry
and his face was gloomy.
Genesis 4:5
As an aside,
we also see,
the first non-believer
Hating the believer.
And we see this situation a LOT today,
and it will increase,
not decrease,
as time goes on.
We ( Christians) live in a world of Cain-ites.
The thing about sin is,
if not confessed
and repented of,
it WILL increase!
And so it did!
God asks Cain to check his heart,
why such rage, at Abel, and at God?
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? ....
Genesis 4:6
God makes it clear
we are talking about SIN:
......And if you do not do well,
sin is lurking at the door;
and its desire is for you,
but you must master it.”
Genesis 4:7
12 Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body
so that you obey its lusts,
Romans 6:12
But instead, Cain killed/murdered Abel.
If that was not enough,
rather then in abject sorrow
admit his crime.....
( God's question,
is offering Cain a chance to confess)
But Cain adds,
a lie, to his sins.
With no sorrow or compassion:
9 Then the Lord said to Cain,
“Where is Abel your brother?”
And he said, “I do not know.
Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Genesis 4:9
And then when he hears his punishment
he fears
14 Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground;
and I will be hidden from Your face,
and I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth,
and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Genesis 4:14
He complained.
( Cain did not
ask for forgiveness
and mercy)
No...
he complains,
it is too harsh a punishment.
God is making it unfair.
This sounds a lot like today
( to me).
Done for Today.
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Post by Cindy on Feb 9, 2021 11:23:34 GMT -5
Thank you Cindy!
Wow! I never thought of being so angry at Adam and Eve, because, I don't think, there has ever been a human who has ever lived....
( well, except Jesus, but He was of course, perfectly Holy, as He was and is God)
Who would have made the right choice.
We have the advantage, of looking back at Eve and Adam's choice,
and seeing it's results.
It's always easy, to point the finger, from the future perspective.
All, I can say, is I would have also fallen for the devil's lies
( not now, because, I have read the Bible...
what am I saying?????
I still sin....
and sometimes, it is because, I have listened to the devils lies )
There was a time, when I was walking so far away from God....
That, I f I was told I could have such a superior mind....
a mind like God?
like groovy man!
Which also is why it is silly for people ( Christians)
to think
they can stand toe to toe with Satan,
and battle Him
and win!
Even Michael the arch angel, does not make that mistake!
Satan is not some puppy, we can scold, and he will whimper
and obey us.
However, the devil will obey God,
and will go to the lake of fire, in the future!
I too wonder how they
(Adam and Eve) managed to live, without, terrible guilt
And I agree, adding how Christians
who have fear...is also a good thing to cover
Thank you
because, as you already know
I struggle with this from time to time.
I sometimes see myself as a sniveling, frighten, coward....
and I 'know' that is a sin,
on many many levels.
I have so desired to be brave, strong,
loving Jesus
Sooooo much,
that I would NEVER be intimidated
by anyone!!!
So this is a great study for me!
 Isn't that nice of me?  Seriously though, any time you want me to deal with something, please just say so and I'll be glad to help! I just leave things for you to do so you can have the kind of practice that I've had for so many years, which has helped me learn so much. 
I'm like you in that I too wouldn't have thought of blaming Adam or Eve and couldn't believe my ears the first time I heard it. I even heard someone say they hoped they'd be able to beat up Adam because of what he did! Yeah...like God would let that happen in heaven! More likely that person won't be in heaven! And if they were joking, it was a very poor joke and I didn't find it a bit funny. But it's possible the other people who heard it laughed because they didn't know what else to do...
Why fear is a sin?
In Genesis 3 we have the first time,
God is called a 'liar'
when Satan,
(the devil, Lucifer, the serpent, the dragon etc.)
Says to Eve,
denying God's Word,
and thus calling God a liar:
4 But the serpent said to the woman,
“You will not surely die.
Genesis 3;4
Even Christians find it easier, at times
to do what is wrong, evil and sin
to lie, call others liars, to steal etc. etc.
1 Now the Spirit expressly says
that in later times
some will depart from the faith
by devoting themselves
to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
2 through the insincerity of liars
whose consciences are seared,
1 Timothy 4:1,2
But tho, it is often,
'easier'
at first,
to do wrong, and sin ( all kinds of sins),
we soon find,
that our conscience kicks in,
and we begin to fear,
knowing we have done wrong.
In the Bible,
scripture, gives us a lot of examples of
people who 'feared',
and as a result,
sinned greatly.
Today, I will mention
two Herods
the Great, and his son, Antipas.
The father was the Herod,
who tired to murder, Jesus.
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Matthew 2:1-3
Why was King Herod afraid ( troubled)?
Well, a new king was born,
and he did not want to lose his power as King.
So out of 'fear'
Herod decides to murder, Jesus.
Since, that plan did not work out,
he instead, has many baby boys murdered,
hoping that Jesus, will be one of them.
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi,
he became very enraged,
and sent men
and killed all the boys
who were in Bethlehem
and all its vicinity
who were two years old or under,
according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
Matthew 2:16
Here we see that 'fear',
lead to mass murder.
We do not read, that Herod,
prayed to God about it,
not did Herod trust God.
Instead, Herod, took matters in his own hands,
and killed many.
Also another King Herod
( the son)
had fear
and it also lead to
sin, murder, and a guilty conscience.
In fact, when he heard about Jesus,
he feared that John the Baptist,
who he had killed,
had come back to life:
14 And king Herod heard of him ( Jesus);
(for his name was spread abroad:)
and he ( Herod) said,
That John the Baptist was risen from the dead,
and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Mark 6:14
Again this Herod, did not pray
or trust God,
( any more than his father had)...
and so,
fear ruled their hearts and minds
and the sinful results were murder.
Not every fear,
will lead to murder.
But fear, can cause people to
do irrational things,
and make terrible sin filled choices.
I kind of jumped waaaay ahead today,
Tomorrow, I will go back to the old Testament
and look at some serious results
from the sin of fear.
Done for today.
I wish you had the tools I have in my Bible Library! You'd be in 7th heaven! What you said about Herod concerning Matthew 2:1-3 was right on and I want to share what the word translated as "troubled" in your version and as "disturbed" in the NIV means in the original language, because you hit the nail right on the head! 5015 ταράσσω [tarasso /tar·as·so/] 1 to agitate, trouble to cause one inward commotion, take away his calmness of mind, disturb his equanimity. 1B to disquiet, make restless. 1C to stir up. 1D to trouble. 1D1 to strike one’s spirit with fear and dread. 1E to render anxious or distressed. 1F to perplex the mind of one by suggesting scruples or doubts. Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon
There is a bit of a problem with what you're saying about Antipas and saying it's concerning Mark 6:14. That verse doesn't say anything about his feelings or thoughts about Jesus. It says, “King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”” (Mark 6:14) If we keep reading though, we find out what he thought about John the Baptist: “So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.” (Mark 6:19–20) The word translated "feared" in this verse is a different word and is like the word used in "the fear of the Lord" it's a reverent fear. The rest of this particular passage goes on to tell how John the Baptist came to be killed. Only Luke records the trial before Herod. Herod was very interested in Jesus, and wanted to see Him, mainly because he wanted to see a miracle like those he'd heard about. Matt. 14:1–2 and Luke 9:9 say something about it, but the main passage about Herod and Jesus is this:. “When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.” (Luke 23:7–11) I can't find anything that shows Herod being afraid of Jesus, but I could be wrong, so will wait to hear back from you.
I thought I would go back to the Old Testament
and look at Fear as sin.
As I mentioned previously, Genesis is a book of
Firsts.
Cain was the first born of Adam and Eve),
Sadly, Cain was also, the
First, 'unbeliever' of the truth.
Well, Cain was a 'believer',
but in his own self...
and he did not feel the need
for a 'sacrifice'
for his sins.
Therefore, he brings God some:
carrots.
Okay,.....
not necessarily 'carrots'!
However, some kind of plants.
It was a rather cavalier,
and self righteous attitude
towards his Creator.
3 So it came about in the course of time
that Cain brought an offering to the Lord
from the fruit of the ground.
Genesis 4:3
That did not 'cost' Cain, much of anything.
He knew (I am pretty sure),
that because of his mother and father's sin...
God, killed one of His creations,
to cover Adam and Eve, after they sinned.
So it was not like Cain could claim,
he did not know. any better.
Whereas, Abel, brought one of his flock.
That would have cost Abel emotionally,
because he was their shepherd.
Also, Abel, brought his very best, to the Lord.
4 Abel, on his part also brought an offering,
from the firstborn of his flock
and from their fat portions.
And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering;
Genesis 4:4
God saw the hearts of both young people,
and it was Abel, who really was worshipful and humble.
Cain was not thinking he was truly a sinner,
and his 'sacrifice', was a rather sick joke, in a way.
Cain was just playing at religion,
a false one at that.
Cain's 'religion' was another first...
The first:
false self styled religion.
And so, we have a set of two more firsts:
Hate and murder.
5 but for Cain and his offering He (God) had no regard.
So Cain became very angry
and his face was gloomy.
Genesis 4:5
As an aside,
we also see,
the first non-believer
Hating the believer.
And we see this situation a LOT today,
and it will increase,
not decrease,
as time goes on.
We ( Christians) live in a world of Cain-ites.
The thing about sin is,
if not confessed
and repented of,
it WILL increase!
And so it did!
God asks Cain to check his heart,
why such rage, at Abel, and at God?
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? ....
Genesis 4:6
God makes it clear
we are talking about SIN:
......And if you do not do well,
sin is lurking at the door;
and its desire is for you,
but you must master it.”
Genesis 4:7
12 Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body
so that you obey its lusts,
Romans 6:12
But instead, Cain killed/murdered Abel.
If that was not enough,
rather then in abject sorrow
admit his crime.....
( God's question,
is offering Cain a chance to confess)
But Cain adds,
a lie, to his sins.
With no sorrow or compassion:
9 Then the Lord said to Cain,
“Where is Abel your brother?”
And he said, “I do not know.
Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Genesis 4:9
And then when he hears his punishment
he fears
14 Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground;
and I will be hidden from Your face,
and I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth,
and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Genesis 4:14
He complained.
( Cain did not
ask for forgiveness
and mercy)
No...
he complains,
it is too harsh a punishment.
God is making it unfair.
This sounds a lot like today
( to me).
Done for Today.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Feb 9, 2021 12:54:58 GMT -5
I guess, I was thinking that Herod wanted to see Jesus, because he thought he might be John the Baptist risen from the dead....
and in a way,
Herod, wanted to perhaps relieve some guilt and anxiety about that,
So he was happy hoping that could be the case....
as well as have Jesus perform some miracles etc.
I like your ideas to discuss:
some kinds of fear are perfectly ok
and are not a sin.
And I was going to get around to....eventually :):
There's another kind of fear that is actually a good fear and one we're commanded to have; that's the fear of the Lord
Seriously though, any time you want me to deal with something, please just say so and I'll be glad to help!
Yes for sure :)
It is a very helpful way to do one's personal Bible study!!!
Thank you!!
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Post by Cindy on Feb 10, 2021 10:40:22 GMT -5
I guess, I was thinking that Herod wanted to see Jesus, because he thought he might be John the Baptist risen from the dead....
and in a way,
Herod, wanted to perhaps relieve some guilt and anxiety about that,
So he was happy hoping that could be the case....
as well as have Jesus perform some miracles etc.
I like your ideas to discuss:
some kinds of fear are perfectly ok
and are not a sin.
And I was going to get around to....eventually :):
There's another kind of fear that is actually a good fear and one we're commanded to have; that's the fear of the Lord
Seriously though, any time you want me to deal with something, please just say so and I'll be glad to help!
Yes for sure :)
It is a very helpful way to do one's personal Bible study!!!
Thank you!!
I guess I got here before you've done today's study, but it's getting late for me so I can't wait any longer. I'll have to check it out tomorrow. Sorry hon. But you are doing a very good job! |
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Feb 11, 2021 10:37:39 GMT -5
( finished post moving below again LOL)
In thinking about the biblical truth
that there is fear, that is sin,
I thought I would look at this verse
to start today with:
19 So we see that they ( the Jews who were lead out of Egypt)
were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:19
And ( in the Old testament)
though Moses and Aaron were believers
they also sinned the sin of unbelief
12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
“Because you did not believe in me,
to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel,
therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
Numbers 20:12
And although, the word here is:
unbelief.....
I think fear, doubt and unbelief are all related,
and add up to:
grievous sin.
They all point to a lack of trust
and that is saying:
God is not trust worthy.
These were not people,
who had never heard about God,
and thus were unbelieving and fearful.
16 For who were those who heard
and yet rebelled?
Hebrews 3:16
Actually, theses folk,
had more than 'heard' about God,
they had even seen God do many miracles, for them!
And yet, they feared...
but the problem is,
fear is a sin
that can lead to rebellion.
It's a lack of a trusting loving relationship.
It's doubting God loves you,
or
has your best interests at heart,
and even,
questions if God IS good,
or
all powerful,
all knowing,
merciful etc.
And so you harden your heart,
“15.......Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as in the rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:15
A big chance for fear to reign,
is when a trial comes along.
Instead of trusting,
and even though,
God has done so much all of your life
you doubt and fear first thing.
It is never enough!
And the consequence is they
don't enter the land
( or Heaven).
This is not a fear of someone pointing a gun at you
or a car racing at you, at 100 MPH
This fear, is constant continuing disbelief.
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Post by Cindy on Feb 11, 2021 11:05:48 GMT -5
Today, I am looking at some more fear,
this time in the New testament,
in the book of Matthew,
starting with what happened after Jesus
had feed the multitude,
and sent the apostles on ahead of him in a boat.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night
He came to them,
walking on the sea.
26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea,
they were terrified, and said,
“It is a ghost!”
And they cried out in fear.
Matthew 14:25,26
At first this passage and this fear, seems a bit strange.
The apostles had seen Jesus do all manner of miracles.
But I suppose, since it was late at night,
and perhaps, they really could not see all that well.
And this
( someone walking on water),
had never happened before.
So in one sense, fear and doubt
would probably be the reaction,
of almost anybody or everybody.
Jesus, said to them:
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,
“Take courage, it is I;
do not be afraid.”
Matthew 14:27
You might think, that since the apostles,
had been with Jesus for some time,
and had watched Him do many miracles....
Plus, recognizing His voice,
that would have been the end of their fear.
But instead:
28 Peter responded and said to Him,
“Lord, if it is You,
command me to come to You on the water.”
Matthew 14:28
To me, It seems like there are a couple of ways,
to think about what Peter said.
One way, is:
Come on Peter!
Surely, you are not still doubting
and fearful?
And, what???
You are going to give Jesus a test?!
On the other hand,
I think perhaps the fallen angels were
very active at that time in history,
More so than usual,
because of our Lord, Jesus.
And
also,
Satan can appear as an angel of light.
so maybe that was a worry.
14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14
Therefore, maybe, caution,
was the better part of valor?
So, next
29 And He (Jesus) said,
“Come!”
And Peter got out of the boat
and walked on the water,
and came toward Jesus.
Matthew 14:29
Well, yeah!
Hallelujah!!!
Doubt......gone
Fear........gone
oh! oh!
Wait,
not so fast!
I often relate to Peter, so much!
Yup!
Peter 'was' fine,
walking on water no less
to Jesus
until....
Peter got hit by fear and doubt...again!
It did not take long either!!
30 But seeing the wind,
he became frightened,
and when he began to sink,
he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
Matthew 14:30
I think, it is often easy,
to put Peter down,
after all, he WAS walking on water
Jesus WAS right there!
However, am I the only one?
but...
THE WIND!!!
Christians can always pray to the Lord,
when the world is going crazy,
circumstances,
etc.
And yet.....
THE WIND!
It's scary, and fearful,
and and and
I think that kind of fear is a sin,
because,
it is an attitude that is saying:
God is not sufficient, strong enough, loving enough etc.
Therefore, what did our Lord do when Peter doubted,
again,
in just a few minutes?
How could Peter doubt.....
when he was a miracle
( in that he was walking on water...thanks to Jesus)
and
Jesus was right there!
Jesus let him sink and drown!
No! Jesus did NOT do that!!!
Jesus heart of love and forgiveness
is beyond amazing!
31 Immediately
Jesus reached out with His hand
and took hold of him,
and said to him,
“You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.
33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying,
“You are truly God’s Son!”
Matthew 14:31-33
This is a sad example,
of how fear can be such an insult to our God.
( Not just picking on Peter,
I think we all do this from time to time
and some of us ( like me)
like Peter,
do it again, within minutes)
Yet, it also, shows us, just how
great,
powerful,
forgiving,
loving
etc.
Our God is!
Done for Today.
In thinking about the biblical truth
that there is fear, that is sin,
I thought I would look at this verse
to start today with:
19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:19
And though Moses and Aaron were believers
they also sinned the sin of unbelief
12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
“Because you did not believe in me,
to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel,
therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
Numbers 20:12
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Feb 11, 2021 11:46:58 GMT -5
LOL or
I can just repost it below
but it is good to know, you know!
Guess what?
This 'new to us'
car....
has some kind of major problem
maybe a cracked block, or cylinder
or
something.....???
Leonard took Hossanah to work
and when driving back home....
it stopped....
needed tow truck
So I will wait on the Lord.
There is a part of us, that feels 'almost' like
maybe we should not even have a car
But Leonard drives Hossanah to work,
Soon, the kids to school
Church
and to the store
oh
and to doctors
etc.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 11, 2021 12:30:40 GMT -5
In thinking about the biblical truth
that there is fear, that is sin,
I thought I would look at this verse
to start today with:
19 So we see that they ( the Jews who were lead out of Egypt)
were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:19
And ( in the Old testament)
though Moses and Aaron were believers
they also sinned the sin of unbelief
12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
“Because you did not believe in me,
to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel,
therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
Numbers 20:12
And although, the word here is:
unbelief.....
I think fear, doubt and unbelief are all related,
and add up to:
grievous sin.
They all point to a lack of trust
and that is saying:
God is not trust worthy.
These were not people,
who had never heard about God,
and thus were unbelieving and fearful.
16 For who were those who heard
and yet rebelled?
Hebrews 3:16
Actually, theses folk,
had more than 'heard' about God,
they had even seen God do many miracles, for them!
And yet, they feared...
but the problem is,
fear is a sin
that can lead to rebellion.
It's a lack of a trusting loving relationship.
It's doubting God loves you,
or
has your best interests at heart,
and even,
questions if God IS good,
or
all powerful,
all knowing,
merciful etc.
And so you harden your heart,
“15.......Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as in the rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:15
A big chance for fear to reign,
is when a trial comes along.
Instead of trusting,
and even though,
God has done so much,
all of your life
We doubt and fear... first thing.
And, it is never enough!
And the consequence is they
( the Jews during Moses time)
don't enter the land.
( or the fearful, Heaven).
This is not a fear of someone pointing a gun at you
or a car racing at you, at 100 MPH
This fear, is constant continuing disbelief.
Nehemiah calls fear a sin:
13 For this purpose he was hired,
that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin,
and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
Nehemiah 6:13
and this:
23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats,
because the eating is not from faith.
For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin
Romans 14:23
Done for Today
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Post by Cindy on Feb 12, 2021 11:15:40 GMT -5
LOL or
I can just repost it below
but it is good to know, you know!
Guess what?
This 'new to us'
car....
has some kind of major problem
maybe a cracked block, or cylinder
or
something.....???
Leonard took Hossanah to work
and when driving back home....
it stopped....
needed tow truck
So I will wait on the Lord.
There is a part of us, that feels 'almost' like
maybe we should not even have a car
But Leonard drives Hossanah to work,
Soon, the kids to school
Church
and to the store
oh
and to doctors
etc.
In thinking about the biblical truth
that there is fear, that is sin,
I thought I would look at this verse
to start today with:
19 So we see that they ( the Jews who were lead out of Egypt)
were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:19
And ( in the Old testament)
though Moses and Aaron were believers
they also sinned the sin of unbelief
12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
“Because you did not believe in me,
to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel,
therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
Numbers 20:12
And although, the word here is:
unbelief.....
I think fear, doubt and unbelief are all related,
and add up to:
grievous sin.
They all point to a lack of trust
and that is saying:
God is not trust worthy.
These were not people,
who had never heard about God,
and thus were unbelieving and fearful.
16 For who were those who heard
and yet rebelled?
Hebrews 3:16
Actually, theses folk,
had more than 'heard' about God,
they had even seen God do many miracles, for them!
And yet, they feared...
but the problem is,
fear is a sin
that can lead to rebellion.
It's a lack of a trusting loving relationship.
It's doubting God loves you,
or
has your best interests at heart,
and even,
questions if God IS good,
or
all powerful,
all knowing,
merciful etc.
And so you harden your heart,
“15.......Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as in the rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:15
A big chance for fear to reign,
is when a trial comes along.
Instead of trusting,
and even though,
God has done so much,
all of your life
We doubt and fear... first thing.
And, it is never enough!
And the consequence is they
( the Jews during Moses time)
don't enter the land.
( or the fearful, Heaven).
This is not a fear of someone pointing a gun at you
or a car racing at you, at 100 MPH
This fear, is constant continuing disbelief.
Nehemiah calls fear a sin:
13 For this purpose he was hired,
that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin,
and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
Nehemiah 6:13
and this:
23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats,
because the eating is not from faith.
For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin
Romans 14:23
Done for Today
Everything you said was correct and very insightful! I really enjoyed reading it!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 12, 2021 11:56:06 GMT -5
Oh, should I write at,
the beginning of or in every post,
that my words are in one color,
and scripture is in a different color?
Because that is what I have been doing all along
but I never wrote it out, as such.
Oh,
and sometimes, I am so tired,
I forget
to put the scripture in
it's color...
or...
I am so focused on writing
I again forget
to put Biblical scripture in
its color
and , even when I re-read it,
and I am really really tired,
I don't see
that I did not put
one, or two, or more :(
Scriptures in their color.
But it had been my intention to do so.
To always have MY words in one color
and
Biblical scripture,
in it's color.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 12, 2021 12:33:02 GMT -5
Note:
my words are in one color,
but scripture, from the Bible is in a different color
Each day,
I change the colors used...
for my words
vs
The words of scripture from the Bible.
These words......are NOT from scripture
but just showing how the contrast will appear)
The words from the Bible,
will also, always have which book of the bible I am quoting from,
and
what verses
at the end of the quote.
( and in the Bible color, as opposed to my words, color)
so that, anyone reading my posts,
will know,
those words which are God's words,
and NOT mine, based on the colors
and quotes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today, I am looking at another
Biblical person in the Bible,
who feared greatly, and thus sinned.
King Saul
Saul was so fearful,
he was paranoid,
and would accuse, his most faithful supporters,
of trying to murder him.
6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered,
and the men who were with him.
Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height
with his spear in his hand,
and all his servants were standing about him.
7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him,
“Hear now, people of Benjamin;
will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards,
will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds,
8 that all of you have conspired against me?
No one discloses to me
when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse.
None of you is sorry for me
or discloses to me
that my son has stirred up my servant against me,
to lie in wait, as at this day.”
1 Samuel 22:6-8
Saul in this passage, I just quoted,
is so fearful, that he literally says:
that they ALL are conspiring against him!!!
It would almost be funny,
except it is so sad:
Like a little child, he complains
No one is sorry for him!
Still, I have to admit,
I too
have had such feelings in the past. :(
However, it is apparent that neither I,
nor,
in this biblical case, of King Saul.....
are trusting, that God has our best interests in His heart.
Actually, most times, when people feel this way,
they are not thinking about God, at all!
King Saul shows this tendency a LOT!
For instance, when he offered unlawful sacrifice,
What was his excuse?
His fear, and his looking at people,
rather than God.
This is the excuse he gave the prophet Samuel:
11 Samuel said, “What have you done?”
And Saul said,
“When I saw that the people were scattering from me,
and that you did not come within the days appointed,
and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash,
12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal,
and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’
So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”
1 Samuel 13:11,12
So King Saul says:
it's the people,
it's you,
its the Philistines
( that kind of reminds me of
the 'pass the buck'
we saw when Adam and Eve sinned)
When God questions Adam and Eve,
First Adam
passes the buck,
saying it was Eve's fault....
but more than that,
Adam even blames God!!!
( Do we ever blame God?)
Then, Eve,
passes the buck,
and
blames the snake (Satan, the devil)
12 The man said,
“The woman
whom you
gave to be with me,
she
gave me fruit of the tree,
and I ate.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman,
“What is this that you have done?”
The woman said,
“The serpent
deceived me,
and I ate.”
Genesis 3:12,13
Saul again: feared
when he saved the Agag the King of Amalek,
and took spoil from the Amalekites
in disobedience to what God had commanded,
and what was Saul's excuse this time:
24 Saul said to Samuel,
“I have sinned,
for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord
and your words,
because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
1 Samuel 15:24
Saul is saying, he put the fear of people
above righteous fear of God.
And sadly, I too sometimes do that.
I really really do not want to dishonor God in that way!
Instead, I want to be like the apostle Paul,
who said this:
10 For am I now
seeking the approval of man,
or of God?
Or am I trying to please man?
If I were still trying to please man,
I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10
I do think, I am being transformed
( and am a little bit less afraid of people)
but I am not yet, an apostle Paul,
I would love to be so bold,
so without fear,
so in love with Jesus,
That no human would intimated me!
I so greatly admire street preachers!!!
So, looking at Saul,
confirms to me, that I would
never want,
or desire:
royalty, riches, power etc.
if it meant being like Saul.
Still, its hard not to pity Saul,
But then.........
Saul goes from bad to worse,
and then,
it is hard to pity him.
I will pick up, where I left off,
and perhaps finish with Saul
( God willing)
tomorrow
Done for Today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 13, 2021 12:01:13 GMT -5
Note:
my words are in one color,
but Scripture, from the Bible is in a different color
Each day,
I change the colors used...
for my words
vs
The words of Scripture from the Bible.
These words......are NOT from scripture
but just showing how the contrast will appear)
The words from the Bible,
will also, always have which book of the Bible,
I am quoting from,
and
what verses....
at the end of the quote.
( and in the Bible color,
as opposed to my words, color)
so that, anyone reading my posts,
will know,
those words which are God's words,
and which words are NOT mine,
based on the colors
and Bible quotes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today, I am continuing looking at King Saul,
whose 'fear' was 'wrong' kind of fear.....
The kind, that did not trust, honor, or sometimes,
even 'think' of God.
I noticed that when Saul, was explaining,
another disobedience ( sin) to the prophet Samuel,
Saul says:
"Your' God.
Wouldn't/shouldn't King Saul have said
'our' God?
21 But the people took of the spoil,
sheep and oxen,
the best of the things devoted to destruction,
to sacrifice to the Lord
'your' God
in Gilgal.”
1 Samuel 15:21
The truth was, Saul rejected God,
and Saul, was always looking to please
men, over God.
After all,
Saul was King,
he should not have allowed the people to take 'booty'.
Therefore the prophet Samuel, said this to Saul,
when once again, Saul choice people, over God.
26 And Samuel said to Saul,
“I will not return with you.
For you have rejected the word of the Lord,
and the Lord has rejected you
from being king over Israel.”
1 Samuel 15:26
I think a good contrast, would be
how Saul handled fear:
( either depending,
on himself,
other people,
or
even Samuel,
and lastly in the occult).
Whereas, King David
would go in prayer to God
( almost, all of the time).
This next verse, is 'part',
of a prayer of David,
concerning the very issues that both
he and Saul had to face.
But this would be how David reacted to FEAR:
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1
When an actual army was encamped
around David
He prayed this:
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
Psalm 27:3
Lest someone gets the wrong idea,
God is not a genii, that pops out of a bottle,
and is your servant,
because you prayed.....
and so therefore,
God is required to always perform
your demands the way you command.
No, it is quite the opposite,
God is in control,
He sometimes blesses us,
positively, in answer to our prayers,
If it suits, HIS plans
and is actually for our best.
God did not rescue,
Jesus from the cross,
because the greater blessing,
the greater plan,
The greatest good,
was to come from letting Jesus die
on that cross.
And yes, King David had to struggle with fear also,
yet not sin...why?
Because, he brought his fears to the Lord God:
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
9 Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
Psalm 27:7-10
David focuses on his relationship
with God, in times of Fear and troubles.
He was seeking God first,
not just a positive answer to his problems.
Whereas
Saul focused on:
people,
and
ONLY the circumstances,
and maybe,
only as a last resort....
God.
Both men, often,
were nearly doomed
to some terrible reality,
and/or death.
However, this is true for all of us,
every day,
whether we know it or not.
For example, the most elite physicists
say the universe should NOT exist....
because of anti-matter
yet....... the universe does exist!
hummmm..... could this verse below,
be the reason why?
The answer is:
Yes, this verse is why.
Note:
I put the word 'all' in caps,
as an emphasis
17 And he is before all things,
and in him ALL things hold together
Colossians 1:17
So wouldn't it behoove us to
worship
adore
trust
obey
pray to
etc.
Jesus who is holding ALL the universe together?
The universe,
that the most elite, and 'intelligent' brains
in the world say:
should NOT exist!
( and trust me, they have tried all manner of explanations
and
there are NONE so far!!!
Nor do I believe there ever will be,
Because it is God ( Jesus),
that keeps it together......
but not forever.)
Tomorrow, I will look at what was
( in my mind)
the worst offense, to God
by King Saul.....
and sadly 'toyed' with greatly,
in this day and age, by many people.
Done for today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 14, 2021 14:02:17 GMT -5
Note:
my words are in one color,
but Scripture, from the Bible is in a different color
Each day,
I change the colors used...
for my words
vs
The words of Scripture from the Bible.
These words......are NOT from scripture
but just showing how the contrast will appear)
The words from the Bible,
will also, always have which book of the Bible,
I am quoting from,
and
what verses....
at the end of the quote.
( and in the Bible color,
as opposed to my words, color)
so that, anyone reading my posts,
will know,
those words which are God's words,
and which words are NOT mine,
based on the colors
and Bible quotes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today, I am continuing looking at King Saul,
whose 'fear' was 'wrong' kind of fear.....
The kind, that did not trust, honor,
or sometimes,
even 'think' of God.
And as time went by in his life,
his fear and paranoia,
turned,
any posturing and outward
'belief' and trust in God,
to trusting the occult.
Saul had been slowly turning away from God,
for a long time.
It is hard to know if he ever truly, believed and trusted in God,
love or had a relationship with God.
When Saul became afraid again,
of a new battle,
against the Philistines,
Saul wanted God's assurance, all would go well.
But God, turned away from Saul,
and would not answer.
After all, Saul made a habit of not obeying,
or truly putting God first in his life
( barely at all, it seems to me).
6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord,
the Lord did not answer him,
either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.
1 Samuel 28:6
Well, then, what about turning to the occult for answers?
19 And when they say to you,
“Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,”
should not a people inquire of their God?
Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
Isaiah 8:19
The answer is no!
King Saul, had put away all the mediums etc, out of Israel.
But, I have to wonder, if that was just an
'outward' show, of 'holiness'
for the people's sake?
3 Now Samuel had died,
and all Israel had mourned for him
and buried him in Ramah, his own city.
And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land.
1 Samuel 28::3
Perhaps, God did not answer King Saul,
because he wanted Saul to take his eyes off himself,
and focus on God?
Or.....perhaps,
God was giving Kind Saul a chance to finally repent?
In any case, King Saul did neither.
Instead, he makes the saddest, and most evil decision,
he goes to a witch.
The fact that he goes against his own rules,
'disguises' himself,
shows what a hypocrite he was, in my opinion.
( he reminds me of a lot of people today)
7 Then Saul said to his servants,
“Seek out for me a woman who is a medium,
that I may go to her and inquire of her.”
And his servants said to him,
“Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.”
8 So Saul disguised himself
and put on other garments
and went, he and two men with him.
And they came to the woman by night.
And he said,
“Divine for me by a spirit
and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.”
1 Samuel 28:7,8
A late night seance!
Would it not have been more noble,
more godly,
more honorable
etc.
To have gone to war,
even though,
God did not reply?
Having prayed, and leaving the outcome up to God,
even IF
it meant you would die?
Because, die is what was going to be the outcome for King Saul!
Turning to the dark, Satanic, occult path,
is never going to work out well in the end.
In fact, this witch and Samuel
( whether it was the real Samuel or a demon,
I am not getting into)
But the answer King Saul,
was so willing to demand...
that Saul sunk to such evil....
was not worth hearing,
because, it condemned him.
In the end, his fear, was his ruin.
16 And Samuel said,
“Why then do you ask me,
since the Lord has turned from you
and become your enemy?
17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me,
for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand
and given it to your neighbor, David.
18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord
and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek,
therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.
19 Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines,
and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me.
The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”
1 Samuel 28:16-19
Done for today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 15, 2021 13:09:41 GMT -5
Note:
my words are in one color,
but Scripture, from the Bible is in a different color
Each day,
I change the colors used...
for my words
vs
The words of Scripture from the Bible.
These words......are NOT from scripture
but just showing how the contrast will appear)
The words from the Bible,
will also, always have which book of the Bible,
I am quoting from,
and
what verses....
at the end of the quote.
( and in the Bible color,
as opposed to my words, color)
so that, anyone reading my posts,
will know,
those words which are God's words,
and which words are NOT mine,
based on the colors
and Bible quotes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fear of man lays a snare,
but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
Proverbs 29:25
I've been looking at how fear can be a sin.
We see this problem in Abraham also,
when out of fear,
he denies that Sarah is his wife,
and instead Abram,
says she is his sister:
2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife,
“She is my sister.”
And Abimelech ,king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah.
Genesis 20:2
However, this was not even the first time,
Abraham, feared about this very same issue,
and resorted to his own solutions,
without God.
Ignoring this:
1 After these things
the word of the Lord
came to Abram in a vision:
“Fear not,
Abram, I am your shield;
your reward shall be very great.”
Genesis 15:1
This is what happened when he went to Egypt,
and fear took over:
10 Now there was a famine in the land.
So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there,
for the famine was severe in the land.
11 When he was about to enter Egypt,
he said to Sarai his wife,
“I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance,
12 and when the Egyptians see you,
they will say, ‘This is his wife.’
Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 Say you are my sister,
that it may go well with me because of you,
and that my life may be spared for your sake.”
Genesis 12:11-13
This fearing,
and the lies it produced,
eventually caused Abram to get kicked out of Egypt.
And when he used the same ploy,
again,
20 years ( or so) later,
because of fear,
his lies were clearly 'premeditated', this time.
This deliberate sin, from a servant of the high God!
How humiliating,
that a pagan king,
Abimelech king of Gerar,
appears more righteous
in this instance!
And Abimelech rebukes Abram:
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him,
“What have you done to us?
And how have I sinned against you,
that you have brought on me
and my kingdom a great sin?
You have done to me
things that ought not to be done.”
Genesis 20:9
So Abram excuse was this:
11 Abraham said,
“I did it because I thought,
‘There is no fear of God at all in this place,
and they will kill me because of my wife.’
Genesis 20:11
It is interesting that Abram used to word
fear....
There are 2 types of 'fear'....
and Abraham sometimes suffered
the type of fear,
that was a sin....
because,
we do not hear him pray
and consult God,
concerning fearful things.
Out of 'fear',
he told a 1/2 untruth
with the intention of deception.
He was not trusting God,
to either protect him,
or even, IF Abram died,
to bring him to God.
And his son, Isaac, learned
to handle fear in the same sinful way,
from hid dad.
Done for Today
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Post by Cindy on Feb 16, 2021 10:35:00 GMT -5
Oh, should I write at,
the beginning of or in every post,
that my words are in one color,
and scripture is in a different color?
Because that is what I have been doing all along
but I never wrote it out, as such.
Oh,
and sometimes, I am so tired,
I forget
to put the scripture in
it's color...
or...
I am so focused on writing
I again forget
to put Biblical scripture in
its color
and , even when I re-read it,
and I am really really tired,
I don't see
that I did not put
one, or two, or more :(
Scriptures in their color.
But it had been my intention to do so.
To always have MY words in one color
and
Biblical scripture,
in it's color.
My words are in this color and scripture will be in this color. You don't need a lot of unnecessary explanation that way.
Note:
my words are in one color,
but scripture, from the Bible is in a different color
Each day,
I change the colors used...
for my words
vs
The words of scripture from the Bible.
These words......are NOT from scripture
but just showing how the contrast will appear)
The words from the Bible,
will also, always have which book of the bible I am quoting from,
and
what verses
at the end of the quote.
( and in the Bible color, as opposed to my words, color)
so that, anyone reading my posts,
will know,
those words which are God's words,
and NOT mine, based on the colors
and quotes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today, I am looking at another
Biblical person in the Bible,
who feared greatly, and thus sinned.
King Saul
Saul was so fearful,
he was paranoid,
and would accuse, his most faithful supporters,
of trying to murder him.
6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered,
and the men who were with him.
Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height
with his spear in his hand,
and all his servants were standing about him.
7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him,
“Hear now, people of Benjamin;
will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards,
will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds,
8 that all of you have conspired against me?
No one discloses to me
when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse.
None of you is sorry for me
or discloses to me
that my son has stirred up my servant against me,
to lie in wait, as at this day.”
1 Samuel 22:6-8
Saul in this passage, I just quoted,
is so fearful, that he literally says:
that they ALL are conspiring against him!!!
It would almost be funny,
except it is so sad:
Like a little child, he complains
No one is sorry for him!
Still, I have to admit,
I too
have had such feelings in the past. :(
However, it is apparent that neither I,
nor,
in this biblical case, of King Saul.....
are trusting, that God has our best interests in His heart.
Actually, most times, when people feel this way,
they are not thinking about God, at all!
King Saul shows this tendency a LOT!
For instance, when he offered unlawful sacrifice,
What was his excuse?
His fear, and his looking at people,
rather than God.
This is the excuse he gave the prophet Samuel:
11 Samuel said, “What have you done?”
And Saul said,
“When I saw that the people were scattering from me,
and that you did not come within the days appointed,
and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash,
12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal,
and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’
So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”
1 Samuel 13:11,12
So King Saul says:
it's the people,
it's you,
its the Philistines
( that kind of reminds me of
the 'pass the buck'
we saw when Adam and Eve sinned)
When God questions Adam and Eve,
First Adam
passes the buck,
saying it was Eve's fault....
but more than that,
Adam even blames God!!!
( Do we ever blame God?)
Then, Eve,
passes the buck,
and
blames the snake (Satan, the devil)
12 The man said,
“The woman
whom you
gave to be with me,
she
gave me fruit of the tree,
and I ate.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman,
“What is this that you have done?”
The woman said,
“The serpent
deceived me,
and I ate.”
Genesis 3:12,13
Saul again: feared
when he saved the Agag the King of Amalek,
and took spoil from the Amalekites
in disobedience to what God had commanded,
and what was Saul's excuse this time:
24 Saul said to Samuel,
“I have sinned,
for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord
and your words,
because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
1 Samuel 15:24
Saul is saying, he put the fear of people
above righteous fear of God.
And sadly, I too sometimes do that.
I really really do not want to dishonor God in that way!
Instead, I want to be like the apostle Paul,
who said this:
10 For am I now
seeking the approval of man,
or of God?
Or am I trying to please man?
If I were still trying to please man,
I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10
I do think, I am being transformed
( and am a little bit less afraid of people)
but I am not yet, an apostle Paul,
I would love to be so bold,
so without fear,
so in love with Jesus,
That no human would intimated me!
I so greatly admire street preachers!!!
So, looking at Saul,
confirms to me, that I would
never want,
or desire:
royalty, riches, power etc.
if it meant being like Saul.
Still, its hard not to pity Saul,
But then.........
Saul goes from bad to worse,
and then,
it is hard to pity him.
I will pick up, where I left off,
and perhaps finish with Saul
( God willing)
tomorrow
Done for Today
Note:
my words are in one color,
but Scripture, from the Bible is in a different color
Each day,
I change the colors used...
for my words
vs
The words of Scripture from the Bible.
These words......are NOT from scripture
but just showing how the contrast will appear)
The words from the Bible,
will also, always have which book of the Bible,
I am quoting from,
and
what verses....
at the end of the quote.
( and in the Bible color,
as opposed to my words, color)
so that, anyone reading my posts,
will know,
those words which are God's words,
and which words are NOT mine,
based on the colors
and Bible quotes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today, I am continuing looking at King Saul,
whose 'fear' was 'wrong' kind of fear.....
The kind, that did not trust, honor, or sometimes,
even 'think' of God.
I noticed that when Saul, was explaining,
another disobedience ( sin) to the prophet Samuel,
Saul says:
"Your' God.
Wouldn't/shouldn't King Saul have said
'our' God?
21 But the people took of the spoil,
sheep and oxen,
the best of the things devoted to destruction,
to sacrifice to the Lord
'your' God
in Gilgal.”
1 Samuel 15:21
The truth was, Saul rejected God,
and Saul, was always looking to please
men, over God.
After all,
Saul was King,
he should not have allowed the people to take 'booty'.
Therefore the prophet Samuel, said this to Saul,
when once again, Saul choice people, over God.
26 And Samuel said to Saul,
“I will not return with you.
For you have rejected the word of the Lord,
and the Lord has rejected you
from being king over Israel.”
1 Samuel 15:26
I think a good contrast, would be
how Saul handled fear:
( either depending,
on himself,
other people,
or
even Samuel,
and lastly in the occult).
Whereas, King David
would go in prayer to God
( almost, all of the time).
This next verse, is 'part',
of a prayer of David,
concerning the very issues that both
he and Saul had to face.
But this would be how David reacted to FEAR:
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1
When an actual army was encamped
around David
He prayed this:
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
Psalm 27:3
Lest someone gets the wrong idea,
God is not a genii, that pops out of a bottle,
and is your servant,
because you prayed.....
and so therefore,
God is required to always perform
your demands the way you command.
No, it is quite the opposite,
God is in control,
He sometimes blesses us,
positively, in answer to our prayers,
If it suits, HIS plans
and is actually for our best.
God did not rescue,
Jesus from the cross,
because the greater blessing,
the greater plan,
The greatest good,
was to come from letting Jesus die
on that cross.
And yes, King David had to struggle with fear also,
yet not sin...why?
Because, he brought his fears to the Lord God:
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
9 Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
Psalm 27:7-10
David focuses on his relationship
with God, in times of Fear and troubles.
He was seeking God first,
not just a positive answer to his problems.
Whereas
Saul focused on:
people,
and
ONLY the circumstances,
and maybe,
only as a last resort....
God.
Both men, often,
were nearly doomed
to some terrible reality,
and/or death.
However, this is true for all of us,
every day,
whether we know it or not.
For example, the most elite physicists
say the universe should NOT exist....
because of anti-matter
yet....... the universe does exist!
hummmm..... could this verse below,
be the reason why?
The answer is:
Yes, this verse is why.
Note:
I put the word 'all' in caps,
as an emphasis
17 And he is before all things,
and in him ALL things hold together
Colossians 1:17
So wouldn't it behoove us to
worship
adore
trust
obey
pray to
etc.
Jesus who is holding ALL the universe together?
The universe,
that the most elite, and 'intelligent' brains
in the world say:
should NOT exist!
( and trust me, they have tried all manner of explanations
and
there are NONE so far!!!
Nor do I believe there ever will be,
Because it is God ( Jesus),
that keeps it together......
but not forever.)
Tomorrow, I will look at what was
( in my mind)
the worst offense, to God
by King Saul.....
and sadly 'toyed' with greatly,
in this day and age, by many people.
Done for today
Note:
my words are in one color,
but Scripture, from the Bible is in a different color
Each day,
I change the colors used...
for my words
vs
The words of Scripture from the Bible.
These words......are NOT from scripture
but just showing how the contrast will appear)
The words from the Bible,
will also, always have which book of the Bible,
I am quoting from,
and
what verses....
at the end of the quote.
( and in the Bible color,
as opposed to my words, color)
so that, anyone reading my posts,
will know,
those words which are God's words,
and which words are NOT mine,
based on the colors
and Bible quotes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today, I am continuing looking at King Saul,
whose 'fear' was 'wrong' kind of fear.....
The kind, that did not trust, honor,
or sometimes,
even 'think' of God.
And as time went by in his life,
his fear and paranoia,
turned,
any posturing and outward
'belief' and trust in God,
to trusting the occult.
Saul had been slowly turning away from God,
for a long time.
It is hard to know if he ever truly, believed and trusted in God,
love or had a relationship with God.
When Saul became afraid again,
of a new battle,
against the Philistines,
Saul wanted God's assurance, all would go well.
But God, turned away from Saul,
and would not answer.
After all, Saul made a habit of not obeying,
or truly putting God first in his life
( barely at all, it seems to me).
6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord,
the Lord did not answer him,
either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.
1 Samuel 28:6
Well, then, what about turning to the occult for answers?
19 And when they say to you,
“Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,”
should not a people inquire of their God?
Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
Isaiah 8:19
The answer is no!
King Saul, had put away all the mediums etc, out of Israel.
But, I have to wonder, if that was just an
'outward' show, of 'holiness'
for the people's sake?
3 Now Samuel had died,
and all Israel had mourned for him
and buried him in Ramah, his own city.
And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land.
1 Samuel 28::3
Perhaps, God did not answer King Saul,
because he wanted Saul to take his eyes off himself,
and focus on God?
Or.....perhaps,
God was giving Kind Saul a chance to finally repent?
In any case, King Saul did neither.
Instead, he makes the saddest, and most evil decision,
he goes to a witch.
The fact that he goes against his own rules,
'disguises' himself,
shows what a hypocrite he was, in my opinion.
( he reminds me of a lot of people today)
7 Then Saul said to his servants,
“Seek out for me a woman who is a medium,
that I may go to her and inquire of her.”
And his servants said to him,
“Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.”
8 So Saul disguised himself
and put on other garments
and went, he and two men with him.
And they came to the woman by night.
And he said,
“Divine for me by a spirit
and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.”
1 Samuel 28:7,8
A late night seance!
Would it not have been more noble,
more godly,
more honorable
etc.
To have gone to war,
even though,
God did not reply?
Having prayed, and leaving the outcome up to God,
even IF
it meant you would die?
Because, die is what was going to be the outcome for King Saul!
Turning to the dark, Satanic, occult path,
is never going to work out well in the end.
In fact, this witch and Samuel
( whether it was the real Samuel or a demon,
I am not getting into)
But the answer King Saul,
was so willing to demand...
that Saul sunk to such evil....
was not worth hearing,
because, it condemned him.
In the end, his fear, was his ruin.
16 And Samuel said,
“Why then do you ask me,
since the Lord has turned from you
and become your enemy?
17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me,
for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand
and given it to your neighbor, David.
18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord
and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek,
therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.
19 Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines,
and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me.
The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”
1 Samuel 28:16-19
Done for today
Note:
my words are in one color,
but Scripture, from the Bible is in a different color
Each day,
I change the colors used...
for my words
vs
The words of Scripture from the Bible.
These words......are NOT from scripture
but just showing how the contrast will appear)
The words from the Bible,
will also, always have which book of the Bible,
I am quoting from,
and
what verses....
at the end of the quote.
( and in the Bible color,
as opposed to my words, color)
so that, anyone reading my posts,
will know,
those words which are God's words,
and which words are NOT mine,
based on the colors
and Bible quotes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fear of man lays a snare,
but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
Proverbs 29:25
I've been looking at how fear can be a sin.
We see this problem in Abraham also,
when out of fear,
he denies that Sarah is his wife,
and instead Abram,
says she is his sister:
2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife,
“She is my sister.”
And Abimelech ,king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah.
Genesis 20:2
However, this was not even the first time,
Abraham, feared about this very same issue,
and resorted to his own solutions,
without God.
Ignoring this:
1 After these things
the word of the Lord
came to Abram in a vision:
“Fear not,
Abram, I am your shield;
your reward shall be very great.”
Genesis 15:1
This is what happened when he went to Egypt,
and fear took over:
10 Now there was a famine in the land.
So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there,
for the famine was severe in the land.
11 When he was about to enter Egypt,
he said to Sarai his wife,
“I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance,
12 and when the Egyptians see you,
they will say, ‘This is his wife.’
Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 Say you are my sister,
that it may go well with me because of you,
and that my life may be spared for your sake.”
Genesis 12:11-13
This fearing,
and the lies it produced,
eventually caused Abram to get kicked out of Egypt.
And when he used the same ploy,
again,
20 years ( or so) later,
because of fear,
his lies were clearly 'premeditated', this time.
This deliberate sin, from a servant of the high God!
How humiliating,
that a pagan king,
Abimelech king of Gerar,
appears more righteous
in this instance!
And Abimelech rebukes Abram:
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him,
“What have you done to us?
And how have I sinned against you,
that you have brought on me
and my kingdom a great sin?
You have done to me
things that ought not to be done.”
Genesis 20:9
So Abram excuse was this:
11 Abraham said,
“I did it because I thought,
‘There is no fear of God at all in this place,
and they will kill me because of my wife.’
Genesis 20:11
It is interesting that Abram used to word
fear....
There are 2 types of 'fear'....
and Abraham sometimes suffered
the type of fear,
that was a sin....
because,
we do not hear him pray
and consult God,
concerning fearful things.
Out of 'fear',
he told a 1/2 untruth
with the intention of deception.
He was not trusting God,
to either protect him,
or even, IF Abram died,
to bring him to God.
And his son, Isaac, learned
to handle fear in the same sinful way,
from hid dad.
Done for Today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 16, 2021 12:44:48 GMT -5
Note:
My words are in this color
and scripture will be in this color.
Concerning this next person in the Bible,
Jonah, I am not sure if it was just
prejudiced and hatred, of the Assyrians,
or,
if he had actual fear of their great power?
It certainly could have been,
because,
they were an evil, powerful, and fearful nation.
Frankly, I find it hard to talk about God,
to a neighbor.....
never mind,
going to a hostile,
cruel,
and brutal nation,
face to face face!!!
In any case,
the choice he made to 'disobey'
God's command, to be a missionary to the Assyrians,
and instead,
run away,
did end up, causing fear in other people ( the sailors).
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah
the son of Amittai, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city,
and call out against it,
for their evil has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish
from the presence of the Lord.
He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish.
So he paid the fare and went down into it,
to go with them to Tarshish,
away from the presence of the Lord.
Jonah 1:1-3
I am thinking, before we besmirch Jonah,
it might behoove us to remember,
Israel, had never really done its job
of being an evangelizing force to other nations.
This does not clear Jonah of his sin,
but I am just pointing this out.
1 Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go from your country
and your kindred
and your father's house
to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you
and make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and him who dishonors you I will curse,
and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3
And Moses implies this 'missionary' idea
( I think)
to the people,
when he says this:
5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules,
as the Lord my God commanded me,
that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
6 Keep them and do them,
for that will be your wisdom and your understanding
in the sight of the peoples,
who, when they hear all these statutes, will say,
‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
Deuteronomy 4:5,6
Just one more example:
32 Ask now about the former days,
long before your time,
from the day God created human beings on the earth;
ask from one end of the heavens to the other.
Has anything so great as this ever happened,
or has anything like it ever been heard of?
33 Has any other people heard the voice of God
speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?
Deuteronomy 4:32,33
So Jonah also receives a commission
from God, and disobeys.
I don't 'think' Jonah had forgotten this:
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
Psalms 139:7
But it does not matter to Jonah
because of his fear, anger, hatred whatever,
he was not going to have God save
THOSE people!!!
And so fear, lead immediately to sin.
I also think, that in his mind,
he felt the Ninevites
did not deserve salvation...
( ummmm but Jonah, no one does),
Rather Jonah felt the Assyrians,
deserved harsh judgment!
( well if it's about what is deserved,
then everybody, every human, 'deserves' harsh judgment!)
So Jonah sin and fears, effected others besides himself:
5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god.
And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck,
where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
6 The captain went to him and said,
“How can you sleep?
Get up and call on your god!
Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
Jonah 1:5,6
Now perhaps Jonah thought, since God
did not have another prophet available,
and he, Jonah, was NOT going to do it,
that was that!
Not exactly!
Done for Today.
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Post by Cindy on Feb 17, 2021 8:57:07 GMT -5
Note:
My words are in this color
and scripture will be in this color.
Concerning this next person in the Bible,
Jonah, I am not sure if it was just
prejudiced and hatred, of the Assyrians,
or,
if he had actual fear of their great power?
It certainly could have been,
because,
they were an evil, powerful, and fearful nation.
Frankly, I find it hard to talk about God,
to a neighbor.....
never mind,
going to a hostile,
cruel,
and brutal nation,
face to face face!!!
In any case,
the choice he made to 'disobey'
God's command, to be a missionary to the Assyrians,
and instead,
run away,
did end up, causing fear in other people ( the sailors).
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah
the son of Amittai, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city,
and call out against it,
for their evil has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish
from the presence of the Lord.
He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish.
So he paid the fare and went down into it,
to go with them to Tarshish,
away from the presence of the Lord.
Jonah 1:1-3
I am thinking, before we besmirch Jonah,
it might behoove us to remember,
Israel, had never really done its job
of being an evangelizing force to other nations.
This does not clear Jonah of his sin,
but I am just pointing this out.
1 Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go from your country
and your kindred
and your father's house
to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you
and make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and him who dishonors you I will curse,
and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3
And Moses implies this 'missionary' idea
( I think)
to the people,
when he says this:
5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules,
as the Lord my God commanded me,
that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
6 Keep them and do them,
for that will be your wisdom and your understanding
in the sight of the peoples,
who, when they hear all these statutes, will say,
‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
Deuteronomy 4:5,6
Just one more example:
32 Ask now about the former days,
long before your time,
from the day God created human beings on the earth;
ask from one end of the heavens to the other.
Has anything so great as this ever happened,
or has anything like it ever been heard of?
33 Has any other people heard the voice of God
speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?
Deuteronomy 4:32,33
So Jonah also receives a commission
from God, and disobeys.
I don't 'think' Jonah had forgotten this:
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
Psalms 139:7
But it does not matter to Jonah
because of his fear, anger, hatred whatever,
he was not going to have God save
THOSE people!!!
And so fear, lead immediately to sin.
I also think, that in his mind,
he felt the Ninevites
did not deserve salvation...
( ummmm but Jonah, no one does),
Rather Jonah felt the Assyrians,
deserved harsh judgment!
( well if it's about what is deserved,
then everybody, every human, 'deserves' harsh judgment!)
So Jonah sin and fears, effected others besides himself:
5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god.
And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck,
where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
6 The captain went to him and said,
“How can you sleep?
Get up and call on your god!
Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
Jonah 1:5,6
Now perhaps Jonah thought, since God
did not have another prophet available,
and he, Jonah, was NOT going to do it,
that was that!
Not exactly!
Done for Today.
 How could you leave us with such a cliffhanger? You're doing well hon!
When you get done with whatever else you plan to write about for this topic, I'd like to know if studying this has helped you personally at all... |
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 17, 2021 10:07:04 GMT -5
Yes, already to be looking specifically at fear in the Bible is very helpful, to me personally.
I am not sure, I am ready to be a street preacher any time soon tho.
But to see that fear is pretty universal in scripture,
and to see it results is eye opening.
I have always tended to think, fear was just about me....
but to see, one person's fear, affects others, is kind of a new concept.
The next group of Biblical folk's fear, was like a 'virus'.
It pretty much had a major devastating effect...I am sure you know which bunch I am thinking of LOL)
What? Wait!....Were you typing this at 3 in the morning????
Yikes!
Back to Jonah.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Feb 17, 2021 12:00:56 GMT -5
Note:
My words are in this color
and scripture will be in this color.
As I mentioned yesterday, Israel was supposed to have been
the missionary nation, to proclaim the one true God,
to perishing pagan nations.
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
1 Chronicles 16:23,24
However, not only did Israel, for the most part,
not
do God's will, of evangelizing,
but here we see that same disobedience
in it's most shocking, worst, prejudiced ,missionary prophet,
Jonah.
Jonah having determined to disobey,
God's clear command,
to evangelize Assyrian's pagan, heathen people,
at the great city of Ninevah.
Instead he runs away,
and takes a ship that is heading in the opposite direction.
Only, Jonah soon discovers,
you cannot run away from God.
There are consequences for disobedience.
The first was:
the mother of all storms.
The ship is in danger of being broken apart
and sinking, killing everyone.
So the pagan captain of the ship,
encourages the prophet to pray!
Again, how humiliating, but sadly,
often is the case.
6 The captain went to him and said,
“How can you sleep?
Get up and call on your god!
Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
Jonah 1:6
However, Jonah incontrovertibly did NOT want to talk to God!!!
Jonah was mad at God!
In fact, Jonah preferred to sleep
and/or die,
than take pity on the enemy ( the Ninevites).
The person who ought to have been a blessing
to these sailors, Jonah,
was, instead,
the one who was putting their lives at risk,
while he sulked.
His hissy fit, and tantrum, made them fearful victims!
8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?
What kind of work do you do?
Where do you come from?
What is your country?
From what people are you?”
9 He answered,
“I am a Hebrew
and I worship the Lord,
the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 This terrified them and they asked,
“What have you done?”
(They knew he was running away from the Lord,
because he had already told them so.)
Jonah 1:8-10
Did Jonah at this point repent of
his non compassionate heart,
at this point?
NO!
He did not!
He was he was so
prejudiced,
so angry,
so antagonistic,
so ornery,
so at loggerheads with God,
etc
He would actually rather die!!!
Eventually the converted (but not by his preaching) sailors,
had to do what he said,
and throw him in the sea
(presumably to die).
Ha! Jonah won, against God.....
or did he?
It's best not to play that kind of game with God!
You are going to lose!!
Because, God had determined to use Jonah.
His time to die, was not yet...
No matter how fearful or angry Jonah was,
even willing to essentially commit suicide...
God intended to use this prophet!
So now come consequence number two!
( and at the same time: Jonah's deliverance)
17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah,
and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 1:17
Well, sorry to sound a bit crass and unfeeling,
but there you go, Jonah!
That IS kind of a death....
sitting in a fish for 3 days and nights.
But God is merciful!
But sometimes people have to go all the way to the bottom,
and do it the hard way, before they look up!
I doubt sitting in a fish's stomach ,for 3 days and nights was very comfy.
I wonder if Jonah was partially covered in stomach acid all that time?
That would have to hurt,
and then sea water coming in from time to time.
I imagine he was in total darkness, and slime,
seaweed as his blanket,
and other sea creatures floating about,
no water to drink, no real food, etc.
ugh!
Perhaps it would have been a LOT better,
to trust God's provision, and protection, in Ninevah,
right from the get-go!
The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
Jonah 2:5
Finally, Jonah really looks to God:
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
Jonah 2:7
I think the message to us is:
Don't run.....
pray!
Then God did this:
10 And the Lord commanded the fish,
and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 2:10
Done for Today
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Post by Cindy on Feb 18, 2021 10:49:16 GMT -5
Yes, already to be looking specifically at fear in the Bible is very helpful, to me personally.
I am not sure, I am ready to be a street preacher any time soon tho.
But to see that fear is pretty universal in scripture,
and to see it results is eye opening.
I have always tended to think, fear was just about me....
but to see, one person's fear, affects others, is kind of a new concept.
The next group of Biblical folk's fear, was like a 'virus'.
It pretty much had a major devastating effect...I am sure you know which bunch I am thinking of LOL)
What? Wait!....Were you typing this at 3 in the morning????
Yikes!
Back to Jonah.
Note:
My words are in this color
and scripture will be in this color.
As I mentioned yesterday, Israel was supposed to have been
the missionary nation, to proclaim the one true God,
to perishing pagan nations.
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
1 Chronicles 16:23,24
However, not only did Israel, for the most part,
not
do God's will, of evangelizing,
but here we see that same disobedience
in it's most shocking, worst, prejudiced ,missionary prophet,
Jonah.
Jonah having determined to disobey,
God's clear command,
to evangelize Assyrian's pagan, heathen people,
at the great city of Ninevah.
Instead he runs away,
and takes a ship that is heading in the opposite direction.
Only, Jonah soon discovers,
you cannot run away from God.
There are consequences for disobedience.
The first was:
the mother of all storms.
The ship is in danger of being broken apart
and sinking, killing everyone.
So the pagan captain of the ship,
encourages the prophet to pray!
Again, how humiliating, but sadly,
often is the case.
6 The captain went to him and said,
“How can you sleep?
Get up and call on your god!
Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
Jonah 1:6
However, Jonah incontrovertibly did NOT want to talk to God!!!
Jonah was mad at God!
In fact, Jonah preferred to sleep
and/or die,
than take pity on the enemy ( the Ninevites).
The person who ought to have been a blessing
to these sailors, Jonah,
was, instead,
the one who was putting their lives at risk,
while he sulked.
His hissy fit, and tantrum, made them fearful victims!
8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?
What kind of work do you do?
Where do you come from?
What is your country?
From what people are you?”
9 He answered,
“I am a Hebrew
and I worship the Lord,
the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 This terrified them and they asked,
“What have you done?”
(They knew he was running away from the Lord,
because he had already told them so.)
Jonah 1:8-10
Did Jonah at this point repent of
his non compassionate heart,
at this point?
NO!
He did not!
He was he was so
prejudiced,
so angry,
so antagonistic,
so ornery,
so at loggerheads with God,
etc
He would actually rather die!!!
Eventually the converted (but not by his preaching) sailors,
had to do what he said,
and throw him in the sea
(presumably to die).
Ha! Jonah won, against God.....
or did he?
It's best not to play that kind of game with God!
You are going to lose!!
Because, God had determined to use Jonah.
His time to die, was not yet...
No matter how fearful or angry Jonah was,
even willing to essentially commit suicide...
God intended to use this prophet!
So now come consequence number two!
( and at the same time: Jonah's deliverance)
17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah,
and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 1:17
Well, sorry to sound a bit crass and unfeeling,
but there you go, Jonah!
That IS kind of a death....
sitting in a fish for 3 days and nights.
But God is merciful!
But sometimes people have to go all the way to the bottom,
and do it the hard way, before they look up!
I doubt sitting in a fish's stomach ,for 3 days and nights was very comfy.
I wonder if Jonah was partially covered in stomach acid all that time?
That would have to hurt,
and then sea water coming in from time to time.
I imagine he was in total darkness, and slime,
seaweed as his blanket,
and other sea creatures floating about,
no water to drink, no real food, etc.
ugh!
Perhaps it would have been a LOT better,
to trust God's provision, and protection, in Ninevah,
right from the get-go!
The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
Jonah 2:5
Finally, Jonah really looks to God:
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
Jonah 2:7
I think the message to us is:
Don't run.....
pray!
Then God did this:
10 And the Lord commanded the fish,
and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 2:10
Done for Today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Feb 18, 2021 11:51:34 GMT -5
Excellent points Cindy!!!
True about the nation of Israel, and true about each Christian individual.
Our fears, depression, continuous worrying,grumbling,etc.
does not go unnoticed by the unsaved.
And they can determine, what is the benefit of being a Christian?
They are more miserable than I am in my sins.
I agree totally, it is I who am learning a lot by Bible study!!!
But I almost totally think of this as just me, doing a Bible study
( with you) :)
and IF someone else should ever happen to read it,
and learn something ( about God, His Word, an application to their life etc.),
as I am also learning from God's Word...
and it gives God the glory
that is a blessing!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Feb 18, 2021 12:43:07 GMT -5
My words in this color
Scripture in this color
The next example of fear as a sin,
has to do with 10 men
and their fear's effect on a nation
and the consequences.
God had promised Israel
and Moses
( after leading the people out of Egypt)
that they would enter the promised land.
A total aside, this made me think of how,
(to me),
sometimes living on earth now,
seems a bit like a type of Egypt,
and future life in Heaven,
the promised land.
Perhaps, we cannot lay all of the fear,
at the feet of these ten men....
(there were 12 men sent to spy,
but two of them, trusted God),
but also all the people,
had insisted on a military reconnaissance, first.
22 Then all of you came to me and said,
“Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us
and bring back a report
about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”
Deuteronomy 1:22
At the very least, we can say,
the people were no taking God at His word.
This demand to go spy first,
bordered on calling God a liar.
In any case,
there was some kind of doubt,
and it sounds to me like,
worry and/or fear.
They were not walking by faith,
but in their own strength.
( Always a bad idea!!!)
This reminds me a bit,
of when Israel demanded a king,
and so.....
God gave them what they ask.
He does a similar thing now:
1 The Lord said to Moses,
2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan,
which I am giving to the Israelites.
From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
Numbers 13:1,2
Sometimes, when God gives a people
( or an individual) ,
what they 'demand'.....
there is a big lesson coming also,
and often even bigger,
consequences,
that come with it.
Sin never stays 'little',
given a chance,
it always grows....
bigger and bigger.
So does fear!
Sending spies, may 'seem' like a
reasonable, rational, military strategy....
except....
When God is truly on your side!
( by the way, even IF you die,
Trusting God, is always the way to go).
So they were NOT following this:
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
Psalms 37:5
Are we going to walk by faith in God and His promises,
or
by our own strength,
and by sight?
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
These people had already seen God do many many miracles,
not only that,
God already told them what the land was like.
So it begs the question,
why then did they
(of all people' God's chosen people),
feel the need for spying?
(Though I must say, to this very day,
I think, Israel, has the best spy system,
in the whole world.)
But in this case, it was totally unnecessary!
God had not said:
maybe, I will give you the land,
or I hope to give it to you.
God had promised it!
Next comes a list,
of the 12 spies.
When we read it,
do we Christians, immediately say:
Oh yes, I remember those names!!!
However, what two names on that list,
do we remember?
We ( most of us Christians)
Do not remember, the fearful ones
or their names on that list,
but rather,
we do remember the two names on the list,
that trusted God.
Even more tragic,
is the fact that,
fear and doubt,
can bring:
failure....
not just for a 'few' people....
and fear can also bring,
long consequences,
and death.
As we will see.
Done for Today.
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Post by Cindy on Feb 19, 2021 10:17:06 GMT -5
Excellent points Cindy!!!
True about the nation of Israel, and true about each Christian individual.
Our fears, depression, continuous worrying, grumbling, etc.
does not go unnoticed by the unsaved.
And they can determine, what is the benefit of being a Christian?
They are more miserable than I am in my sins.
I agree totally, it is I who am learning a lot by Bible study!!!
But I almost totally think of this as just me, doing a Bible study
( with you) :)
and IF someone else should ever happen to read it,
and learn something ( about God, His Word, an application to their life etc.),
as I am also learning from God's Word...
and it gives God the glory
that is a blessing!
Just so you're aware of it, I'm not going to tell you when to stop writing about one subject and start a new one any longer; just as I won't tell you what to write about next. That's something you should determine since you're the one doing the teaching.
My words in this color
Scripture in this color
The next example of fear as a sin,
has to do with 10 men
and their fear's effect on a nation
and the consequences.
God had promised Israel
and Moses
( after leading the people out of Egypt)
that they would enter the promised land.
A total aside, this made me think of how,
(to me),
sometimes living on earth now,
seems a bit like a type of Egypt,
and future life in Heaven,
the promised land.
Perhaps, we cannot lay all of the fear,
at the feet of these ten men....
(there were 12 men sent to spy,
but two of them, trusted God),
but also all the people,
had insisted on
a military reconnaissance, first.
22 Then all of you came to me and said,
“Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us
and bring back a report
about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”
Deuteronomy 1:22
At the very least, we can say,
the people were no taking God at His word.
This demand to go spy first,
bordered on calling God a liar.
In any case,
there was some kind of doubt,
and it sounds to me like,
worry and/or fear.
They were not walking by faith,
but in their own strength.
( Always a bad idea!!!)
This reminds me a bit,
of when Israel demanded a king,
and so.....
God gave them what they ask.
He does a similar thing now:
1 The Lord said to Moses,
2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan,
which I am giving to the Israelites.
From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
Numbers 13:1,2
Sometimes, when God gives a people
( or an individual) ,
what they 'demand'.....
there is a big lesson coming also,
and often even bigger,
consequences,
that come with it.
Sin never stays 'little',
given a chance,
it always grows....
bigger and bigger.
So does fear!
Sending spies, may 'seem' like a
reasonable, rational, military strategy....
except....
When God is truly on your side!
( by the way, even IF you die,
Trusting God, is always the way to go).
So they were NOT following this:
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
Psalms 37:5
Are we going to walk by faith in God and His promises,
or
by our own strength,
and by sight?
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
These people had already seen God do many many miracles,
not only that,
God already told them what the land was like.
So it begs the question,
why then did they
(of all people' God's chosen people),
feel the need for spying?
(Though I must say, to this very day,
I think, Israel, has the best spy system,
in the whole world.)
But in this case, it was totally unnecessary!
God had not said:
maybe, I will give you the land,
or I hope to give it to you.
God had promised it!
Next comes a list,
of the 12 spies.
When we read it,
do we Christians, immediately say:
Oh yes, I remember those names!!!
However, what two names on that list,
do we remember?
We ( most of us Christians)
Do not remember, the fearful ones
or their names on that list,
but rather,
we do remember the two names on the list,
that trusted God.
Even more tragic,
is the fact that,
fear and doubt,
can bring:
failure....
not just for a 'few' people....
and fear can also bring,
long consequences,
and death.
As we will see.
Done for Today.
 Yes, God had told them He was giving them a land of milk and honey and that He would fight for them. While it may be normal for a regular army to do reconnaissance, they weren't a regular army, they were God's Army; and He had already done the reconnaissance!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Feb 19, 2021 10:26:16 GMT -5
Bad Cindy! LOLOL Not going to help? :'(
I loved the way you put it:
"God already did the reconnaissance"!
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Isn't that nice of me? 
Seriously though, any time you want me to deal with something, please just say so and I'll be glad to help! I just leave things for you to do so you can have the kind of practice that I've had for so many years, which has helped me learn so much. 
How could you leave us with such a cliffhanger? 
!!
