fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383 
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Post by fearnot on Apr 10, 2021 11:37:26 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
Biblical Scriptures in this color today
On the weekends, I will do shorter,
2 day only studies.
Today, I will look at a difficult Christian issue:
'Election'
It is difficult, because, on the one hand,
we have those who say,
people have been giv'force' anyone to be saved.
But election, seems to say
( as I see it)
that:
Even before God created time,,
or what is know as 'eternity past'
He choose
those He would save.
This did not depend on what man choose:
14 What then shall we say?
Is God unjust?
Not at all!
15 For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy
on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion
on whom I have compassion.”
16 It does not, therefore,
depend on
human desire
or effort,
but on God’s mercy.
Romans 9:14-16
The issue that people have immediately is
why would God not choose 'some'
and not everyone?
Because
We know that God is love:
9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;
he is the faithful God,
keeping his covenant of love
to a thousand generations
of those who love him
and keep his commandments.
Deuteronomy 7:9
and one more
8 Whoever does not love
does not know God,
because God is love
1 John 4:8
On the other hand,
Adam and Eve,
actually did have free will
but they chose to sin,
and from our first parents,
we all became 'infected......
with the 'real pandemic':
Sin.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:23
So for me,
the real question is not.....
why did God not choose everybody...
but how could He have so much love
He even choose just one,
never mind millions,
or billions.
And though God does see our sins
for thousands of years on earth,
and Jesus even came into the vile mess we humans made and keep making.
it would be foolish to think our Holy God
'approves' of sin tho.
Your eyes are too pure to approve evil,
And You can not look on wickedness with favor.
Why do You look with favor
On those who deal treacherously?
Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
Habakkuk 1:13
Therefore, He will not tolerate it
for all eternity in Heaven.
Satan, all the fallen angels ( demons)
and unrepentant sinners will be in Hell eternally.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Even so, 'none' will 'choose' God:
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
Isaiah 53:6
and this
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
Romans 3:11-12
Done for Today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 11, 2021 10:07:46 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
Biblical Scriptures in this color today
I left off yesterday with this verse:
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
Romans 3:11,12
And why would it be that no one would ever choose God?
Remember that in the Garden of Eden, God told Adam this:
16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying,
“From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil
you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat from it
you will surely die.”
Genesis 2:16,17
Well, Eve and Adam,
did eat from the tree of knowledge,
of good
and
EVIL
and their first death was a
'spiritual death'....
and later,
they died physically.
1 And you were dead
in your trespasses and sins,
2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh,
indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath,
even as the rest.
Ephesians 2:1-3
When a person is dead,
be it spiritually or physically,
they are incapable of loving God,
or of wanting to obey Him,
and they cannot choose Him:
In fact, Jesus said:
44 No one can come to Me
unless
the Father who sent Me draws him;
and I will raise him up on the last day
John 6:44
So since all men and woman are sinners,
no one can make the choice,
to choose Jesus,
and be saved.
Consider this verse:
48 When the Gentiles heard this,
they began rejoicing
and glorifying the word of the Lord;
and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Acts 13:48
And this verse:
13 But we should always give thanks to God for you,
brethren beloved by the Lord,
because God has chosen you
from the beginning
for salvation
through sanctification by the Spirit
and faith in the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:13
or these verses:
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of
the testimony of our Lord
or of me His prisoner,
but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,
9 who has saved us
and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works,
but according to His own purpose
and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
2 Timothy 1:8,9
some might say, Well, God could just see
into the future, to see who was going to choose Him.
( while ignoring, that no one is able to do so)
However, that would also,
make this verse kind of nonsensical.
God the Father didn't just look into the future,
to 'see' God the Son,
in the future, appearing.
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things
like silver or gold
from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
19 but with precious blood,
as of a lamb unblemished and spotless,
the blood of Christ.
20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world,
but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you
1 Peter 1:18-20
Done for Today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 17, 2021 12:01:16 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical scriptures in this color today.
As our whole world continues to get
( in my opinion),
more and more:
chaotic,
anarchic,
turbulent,
lawless,
deranged
etc. etc.
I thought today,
I would look at some of the devil's
underlying part in this:
12 For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood,
but against the rulers,
against the powers,
against the world forces of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces of wickedness
in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
One of the main characteristic of Satan,
is he is a deceiver:
44 You are of your father the devil,
and you want to do the desires of your father.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth
because there is no truth in him.
Whenever he speaks a lie,
he speaks from his own nature,
for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44
This was true from the devil's first encounter with humans:
God had said to Adam:
15 The Lord God took the man
and put him in the garden of Eden
to work it and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,
“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil
you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat of it
you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:15-17
But the devil,
Satan,
the serpent
said:
Now the serpent was more crafty
than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.
And he said to the woman,
“Indeed, has God said,
‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent,
“From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden,
God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”
4 The serpent said to the woman,
“You surely will not die!
5 For God knows
that in the day you eat from it
your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:1-5
The devil's first deception/lie.
Mankind has a lot of knowledge now,
so much,
many think we are like god's.
Of course, two other items came along
with 'knowledge:
Evil
and
death.
And now, have plenty of both.
People might say,
but we need 'knowledge'.
Do you not think,
God would not have given it to us,
IF we passed the test of love?
Only, it would have been, without
Evil
and
Death.
So throughout the ages
this verse has been true,
and growing more so
all the time,
I think:
3 And even if our gospel is veiled,
it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 In their case
the god of this world
has blinded the minds
of the unbelievers,
to keep them from seeing
the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 4:3,4
It seems to me,
that now,
Satan has lots of
'helpers'...
So that social media:
Bans content they consider
'too violent',
and
has 'fact checkers'
to determine
for us,
if something is true or not.....
Kind of reminds me of
Satan's:
"has God said"?
But, frankly,
How do I know,
if the 'fact checkers'
are telling the truth,
all of the time?
And why can't I decide for myself?
or indeed,
are some of them
sort of
like this:
13 For such men are false apostles,
deceitful workmen,
disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder,
for even Satan disguises himself
as an angel of light.
15 So it is no surprise if his servants,
also,
disguise themselves
as servants of righteousness.
Their end will correspond to their deeds.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
We are seeing,
I believe,
ever increasing lies, and deceptions.
However,
The devil will be ramping up his deception
even more, during the tribulation:
9 The coming of the lawless one
is by the activity of Satan
with all power
and false signs
and wonders,
10 and with all wicked deception
for those who are perishing,
because they refused to love the truth
and so be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:9,10
Satan has been deceiving
mankind from the beginning,
and will do so to his end.
If we sometimes feel
oppressed,
its because,
I believe,
we are oppessed
some more
some less oppressed by the devil:
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and with power.
He went about doing good
and healing all
who were oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
Acts 10:38
Still there is this:
24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome,
but be kind to all,
able to teach,
patient when wronged,
25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition,
if perhaps God may grant them repentance
leading to the knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses
and escape from the snare of the devil,
having been held captive by him to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:24-26
Done for today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 18, 2021 9:40:31 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical scriptures are in this color today
Continuing today to look at Satan's upping the ante
in Today's world.
The devil has always done these things,
( like deception, tempting, using schemes etc etc.)
It's just that today,
as we are in the End Times,
and the Rapture and Tribulation
are closer than ever....
He is enormously ramping up,
all his deceptions
world wide.
For example,
Satan has always tried to block,
Christians from spreading the gospel.
18 For we wanted to come to you—
certainly I, Paul, did,
again and again—
but Satan blocked our way.
1 Thessalonians 2:18
We have seen this 'blocking' in many countries,
and throughout the centuries....
But now we are seeing this past year,
(what 10 years ago,
we would never have believed.....)
Churches in the USA and Canada
being regulated by their governments,
in extreme ways...
to the point that Canada now has it's first,
'underground church',
because
the government of Canada,
has seized the property of
Pastor James Coates and the congregation's church
and property...
( so as to keep the Christians from going to church,
because of the 'danger' of Covid...
only no one in the church has Covid)
This pastor is a graduate of Pastor John MacArthur's
seminary college.
While Canada,
was releasing criminals from
prison,
due to Covid,
They jailed Pastor Coates,
in a maximum security prison,
for over a month.
Which 'may' or might,
soon put many other Christians,
in a situation
of having to decide how to react,
with those
who are following the orders of the authorities:
9 Another reason I wrote you was to see
if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.
10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—
if there was anything to forgive—
I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,
11 in order that Satan might not outwit us.
For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Corinthians 2:9-11
Also, Christians need to stand firm
against the devil's schemes:
11 Put on the full armor of God,
so that you can take your stand
against the devil’s schemes.
Ephesians 6:11
I think, in many cases,
the devil, may have once again,
miscalculated....
wanting to hurt God's children...
Instead,
the devil, has begun to wake many of them up.
Those who were weak and sleepy Christians,
are starting to see,
just how real the battle is....
and are getting some strength, backbone,
and are starting to stand firm on their faith....
or
to some small extent,
perhaps it is the starting of:
the wheat is being separated
from the shaft.
12 His winnowing fork is in his hand,
and he will clear his threshing floor,
gathering his wheat into the barn
and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Nevertheless, in these unsettling times,
our mission field,
in some ways,
is greater and more accessible,
than previously.
So it behooves us,
to not be full of anger
and worry etc.,
so as to be rendered useless for God,
by falling into Satan's snares.
7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders,
so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
1 Timothy 3:7
Satan may tempt us to be angry, depressed, worrying, etc.
If the devil, felt free to tempt even Jesus,
we are more like a piece of cake:
12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,
13 and he was in the wilderness forty days,
being tempted by Satan.
He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Mark 1:12,13
The apostle Paul, was concerned about
Satan's temptations.
(way back in his day)
the devil does not change his tactics.
5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer,
I sent to find out about your faith.
I was afraid that in some way the tempter
had tempted you
and that our labors might have been in vain.
1 Thessalonians 3:5
And it seems today,
world wide, Satan has amped up this fear:
14 Since the children have flesh and blood,
he too shared in their humanity
so that by his death
he might break the power of him
who holds the power of death—
that is, the devil—
15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery
by their fear of death.
Hebrews 2:14,15
People today, are so afraid of dying,
of covid...is there a connection?
Done for Today.
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Post by Cindy on Apr 19, 2021 8:49:06 GMT -5
Looks like you and the Lord had a great weekend together!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 24, 2021 10:00:29 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
Biblical Scriptures in this color today
Today its cold, rainy and chilly,
where I am, so I will look at
a topic, that will be sure
to get me into 'hot' water....
I will look at speaking in tongues,
and
getting a word from the Lord,
that we see
in the Charismatic Movement of today.
The idea is it is a gift still in play for today.
This is a verse often used in the Penatacostal
Charismatic Movement:
4 One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself;
but one who prophesies edifies the church.
1 Corinthians 14:4
Who wouldn't want to edify themselves?
And furthermore, here is another verse
that those who believe in the continuation
of these gifts, camp on:
14 For if I pray in a tongue,
my spirit prays,
but my mind is unfruitful.
1 Corinthians 14:14
I suppose, I should say,
right away,
I am a cessationist,
meaning:
I do believe, God, does perform
miracles to this very day....
However,
I do not think,
the Holy spirit,
is using individuals
as prophets,
for giving us
MORE
of God's Divine and Holy word,
for
healing,
advise,
ecstatic experience,
tongues,
or other miraculous signs,
etc.
I do think they were in effect,
during the unique time of the church's beginning....
However, once that was accomplished, they ceased.
But speaking in tongues
was never for edifying the church,
but rather:
22 So then tongues are for a sign,
not to those who believe
but to unbelievers;
but prophecy is for a sign,
not to unbelievers
but to those who believe.
1 Corinthians 14:22
As for these signs having only a short time
and then ceasing:
8 Love never fails;
but if there are gifts of prophecy,
they will be done away;
if there are tongues,
they will cease;
if there is knowledge, it will be done away.
1 Corinthians 13:8
As for being a sign to unbelievers,
I wonder if this might have been a prophecy
(double for Isaiah times and early church)?
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of the Lord to them will be,
“Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and stumble backward,
be broken, snared and taken captive.
Isaiah 28:11-13
Those in this movement,
often say tongues is a 'mystical'
ecstatic emotional experience.
That in itself, seems troublesome to me.
Anyway,
One might ask,
IF tongues were still in existence,
why should any missionary,
need to learn a foreign language?
And when anyone, 'recieves' a word from God,
for another person...
( just imagine how many 'words from God'
there are in just one year, all over the world).
Assuming they were truly
Divine Words from God..
Then every church every where in the world
ought to be coping every one of them down
( after all Paul had words for individuals
like for Timothy, but are useful for all believers)
Then,
each year,
all those 'words from God',
ought to be added to the next Bible publication
( each and every year)
So that the rest of the believers,
could read them,
memorize them,
mediate on them etc.
( assuming they were truly Words from God).
But also, we would have to decide that
these words are ONLY for the book
of Revelation:
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:
if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God will take away his part from the tree of life
and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
Revelation 22:18,19
or the Old Testament
2 You shall not add to the word
which I am commanding you,
nor take away from it,
that you may keep the commandments of the Lord
your God which I command you.
Deuteronomy 4:2
or
Do not add to His words
Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.
Proverbs 30:6
or
32 “Whatever I command you,
you shall be careful to do;
you shall not add to nor take away from it.
Deuteronomy 12:32
Oh yes,
and the qualification for being a true prophet of God,
is to be 100% correct,
ALL of the time...
One wrong prophecy,
or one untrue Word from God....
Well.....
Done for Today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 25, 2021 16:50:28 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and the Biblical Scriptures in this color today
Yesterday, I looked at why I do not think
tongues are still in operation today.
They were in the beginning of the church,
and were a sign for the unbeliever.
Even while it was in effect,
this was a danger that God,
thru Paul, pointed to:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men
or of angels,
but do not have love,
I am only a resounding gong
or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1
But another question would be,
is it possible that people who fancy themselves
to be prophets,
can they be dangerously deceived?
For one thing, today's speaking in tongues,
often chaos, and confusion reign...
Which does not seem to take note of this:
33 For God is not a God of disorder
but of peace—
as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.
1 Corinthians 14:33
or as another version words it:
33 for God is not a God
of confusion
but of peace,
as in all the churches of the saints.
1 Corinthians 14:33
In addition, this kind of disorder,
can lead to potential,
physical harm or injury,
because, some of the
people fall down,
faint,
knock over chairs etc.
Also woman, join in,
which was in violation
of the use of this gift,
( in the church at Corinth).
Not to mention, it tends to foster
pride,
self-centeredness,
etc. etc.
Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
Proverbs 16:18
And:
“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverted mouth, I hate.
Proverbs 8:13
Also:
16 For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh
and the lust of the eyes
and the boastful pride of life,
is not from the Father,
but is from the world.
1 John 2:16
As in the days of Isaiah,
( I think)
we can say today,
5 Then I said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah 6:5
I think I will be
done for today
( I did not sleep at all last night,
so I am nos sure, if what I am writing makes sense)
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Post by Cindy on Apr 26, 2021 7:47:59 GMT -5
Looks like you had another great time with the Lord this weekend too!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on May 1, 2021 10:49:24 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical scriptures will be in this color today.
I am sometimes, still plagued with an attacks of doubt.
I have a few 'go to' verses,
I immediately bring to mind,
when that happens.
One of them, is found in Mark.
It is about a father who has a demon possessed son.
The father ( of the demon possessed boy)
asks Jesus
if Jesus can help,
would he ( Jesus),
take pity on them.
Jesus said to the Father:
23 And Jesus said to him,
“‘If You can?’
All things are possible
to him who believes.”
Mark 9:29
and the Father answered
( with one of my favorite go to verses for doubts)
24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said,
“I do believe;
help my unbelief.”
Mark 9:24
I find that although I believe, from time to time,
various doubts assault, or my faith is not complete
I constantly feel terrible when doubt beats me up,
I beat myself up as a failure.
And though I am not making excuses
The fact is, even the apostles
who were with Jesus, every day for 3 years
had moments of doubt.
Such as in this moment:
23 When He got into the boat,
His disciples followed Him.
24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea,
so that the boat was being covered with the waves;
but Jesus Himself was asleep.
25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying,
“Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”
26 He *said to them,
“Why are you afraid,
you men of little faith?”
Matthew 8:23-26
But what I see in this case,
is thought they had doubts
and 'little' faith....
They went to the right person/God.
They went straight to Jesus
And to me, they said the right thing!:
"Save us, Lord
we are perishing".
And then there was Peter,
walking on the water...
until
doubt attacked
28 Peter said to Him,
“Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 And He said, “Come!”
And Peter got out of the boat,
and walked on the water
and came toward Jesus.
30 But seeing the wind,
he became frightened,
and beginning to sink, he cried out,
“Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately
Jesus stretched out His hand
and took hold of him,
and *said to him,
“You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:28-31
Peter looked at the very real circumstances,
(the storm and wind)
and fear took over,
and doubt followed right behind
I think, that can happen to believers
at any time.
They often look at very 'real' dangers,
but then, make the mistake
of putting the fearful things,
above God.
That is not to say,
that all we ever have to do
is keep God first in our minds
(Which of course,
we should, keep God first in our minds)
But keeping God always in our minds,
is not a 'magic' talisman
that will always keep us from physical harm,
or even death.
It will however,
allow us to have
the peace that passes understanding,
knowing Jesus is with us, no matter what.
“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You.
Isaiah 26:3
And there is this:
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee,
to the mountain which Jesus had designated.
17 When they saw Him,
they worshiped Him;
but some were doubtful.
Matthew 28:17
Again, here is the risen Lord Jesus
and the 11 disciples
( Judas is dead)
So he was not one of the
'doubtful'.
But we know, the all became great evangelists etc.
So doubt happens.
Done for Today.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on May 2, 2021 9:36:37 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical scriptures will be in this color today.
Looking again at attacks of doubt.
One attack that sands out in scripture
would be John the Baptist,
who previously has said:
28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him
and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is He on behalf of whom I said,
‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I,
for He existed before me.’
John 1:28-30
But then later, it seems doubt had attacked:
18 The disciples of John reported to him about all these things.
19 Summoning two of his disciples,
John sent them to the Lord, saying,
“Are You the Expected One,
or do we look for someone else?”
20 When the men came to Him, they said,
“John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask,
‘Are You the Expected One,
or do we look for someone else?’”
Luke 7:18-20
John had also said:
30 He must become greater; I must become less.”
John 3:30
Not all doubt is bad, if it is honest,
like the Bereans Jews:
11 Now the Berean Jews
were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,
for they received the message with great eagerness
and examined the Scriptures every day
to see if what Paul said was true.
Acts 17:11
Some other doubters in Scripture
were Abraham and Sarah, concerning
a son that would be born, in their old age.
17 Abraham fell facedown;
he laughed and said to himself,
“Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?
Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”
Genesis 17:17
and
13 The Lord said to Abraham,
“Why did Sarah laugh and say,
‘Shall I indeed bear a child,
now that I am old?’
Genesis 18:13
And then Moses no only doubts for himself,
but for the Jewish people, as well:
1 Then Moses answered,
“But behold, they will not believe me
or listen to my voice,
for they will say,
‘The Lord did not appear to you.’”
Exodus 4:1
And Gideon
13 And Gideon said to him,
“Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us,
why then has all this happened to us?
And where are all his wonderful deeds
that our fathers recounted to us, saying,
‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?
’ But now the Lord has forsaken us
and given us into the hand of Midian.”
Judges 6:13
Also,
(kind of like Abraham),
Zachariah who was righteous
had doubts also:
18 And Zechariah said to the angel,
“How shall I know this?
For I am an old man,
and my wife is advanced in years.”
Luke 1:18
And not to forget the most famous
of all the doubters....
doubting Thomas!
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve,
called the Twin,
was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples told him,
“We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails,
and place my finger into the mark of the nails,
and place my hand into his side,
I will never believe.”
John 20:24,25
But this is how that ended:
26 Eight days later,
his disciples were inside again,
and Thomas was with them.
Although the doors were locked,
Jesus came and stood among them and said,
“Peace be with you.”
27 Then he said to Thomas,
“Put your finger here, and see my hands;
and put out your hand, and place it in my side.
Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:26-29
Done for Today
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Post by Cindy on May 5, 2021 9:56:25 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical scriptures will be in this color today.
I am sometimes, still plagued with an attacks of doubt.
I have a few 'go to' verses,
I immediately bring to mind,
when that happens.
One of them, is found in Mark.
It is about a father who has a demon possessed son.
The father ( of the demon possessed boy)
asks Jesus
if Jesus can help,
would he ( Jesus),
take pity on them.
Jesus said to the Father:
23 And Jesus said to him,
“‘If You can?’
All things are possible
to him who believes.”
Mark 9:29
and the Father answered
( with one of my favorite go to verses for doubts)
24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said,
“I do believe;
help my unbelief.”
Mark 9:24
I find that although I believe, from time to time,
various doubts assault, or my faith is not complete
I constantly feel terrible when doubt beats me up,
I beat myself up as a failure.
And though I am not making excuses
The fact is, even the apostles
who were with Jesus, every day for 3 years
had moments of doubt.
Such as in this moment:
23 When He got into the boat,
His disciples followed Him.
24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea,
so that the boat was being covered with the waves;
but Jesus Himself was asleep.
25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying,
“Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”
26 He *said to them,
“Why are you afraid,
you men of little faith?”
Matthew 8:23-26
But what I see in this case,
is thought they had doubts
and 'little' faith....
They went to the right person/God.
They went straight to Jesus
And to me, they said the right thing!:
"Save us, Lord
we are perishing".
And then there was Peter,
walking on the water...
until
doubt attacked
28 Peter said to Him,
“Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 And He said, “Come!”
And Peter got out of the boat,
and walked on the water
and came toward Jesus.
30 But seeing the wind,
he became frightened,
and beginning to sink, he cried out,
“Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately
Jesus stretched out His hand
and took hold of him,
and *said to him,
“You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:28-31
Peter looked at the very real circumstances,
(the storm and wind)
and fear took over,
and doubt followed right behind
I think, that can happen to believers
at any time.
They often look at very 'real' dangers,
but then, make the mistake
of putting the fearful things,
above God.
That is not to say,
that all we ever have to do
is keep God first in our minds
(Which of course,
we should, keep God first in our minds)
But keeping God always in our minds,
is not a 'magic' talisman
that will always keep us from physical harm,
or even death.
It will however,
allow us to have
the peace that passes understanding,
knowing Jesus is with us, no matter what.
“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You.
Isaiah 26:3
And there is this:
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee,
to the mountain which Jesus had designated.
17 When they saw Him,
they worshiped Him;
but some were doubtful.
Matthew 28:17
Again, here is the risen Lord Jesus
and the 11 disciples
( Judas is dead)
So he was not one of the
'doubtful'.
But we know, the all became great evangelists etc.
So doubt happens.
Done for Today.
We see that even though Peter only had a little faith (according to our Lord), Jesus still "immediately" helped him, so we don't need to worry that our lack of faith will prevent Him from helping us; it won't. It does sadden Him though that we won't trust Him. Especially after all He's already done for us, yet we still don't really trust Him. We should learn from these scriptures that Jesus wants us to grow our faith, He doesn't want us to doubt Him; He wants us to trust Him. There's only two ways our faith can grow. The first way is through spending time in His Word and prayer daily. The more time we spend there, the more our faith will grow. But the one thing that will grow our faith more then anything else is trials. We don't like them, but they will grow our faith! Since we don't want to have to go through trials, then we should really work on trusting Him and on growing our faith and trust in our every day life.
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical scriptures will be in this color today.
Looking again at attacks of doubt.
One attack that sands out in scripture
would be John the Baptist,
who previously has said:
28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him
and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is He on behalf of whom I said,
‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I,
for He existed before me.’
John 1:28-30
But then later, it seems doubt had attacked:
18 The disciples of John reported to him about all these things.
19 Summoning two of his disciples,
John sent them to the Lord, saying,
“Are You the Expected One,
or do we look for someone else?”
20 When the men came to Him, they said,
“John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask,
‘Are You the Expected One,
or do we look for someone else?’”
Luke 7:18-20
John had also said:
30 He must become greater; I must become less.”
John 3:30
Not all doubt is bad, if it is honest,
like the Bereans Jews:
11 Now the Berean Jews
were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,
for they received the message with great eagerness
and examined the Scriptures every day
to see if what Paul said was true.
Acts 17:11
Some other doubters in Scripture
were Abraham and Sarah, concerning
a son that would be born, in their old age.
17 Abraham fell facedown;
he laughed and said to himself,
“Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?
Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”
Genesis 17:17
and
13 The Lord said to Abraham,
“Why did Sarah laugh and say,
‘Shall I indeed bear a child,
now that I am old?’
Genesis 18:13
And then Moses no only doubts for himself,
but for the Jewish people, as well:
1 Then Moses answered,
“But behold, they will not believe me
or listen to my voice,
for they will say,
‘The Lord did not appear to you.’”
Exodus 4:1
And Gideon
13 And Gideon said to him,
“Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us,
why then has all this happened to us?
And where are all his wonderful deeds
that our fathers recounted to us, saying,
‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?
’ But now the Lord has forsaken us
and given us into the hand of Midian.”
Judges 6:13
Also,
(kind of like Abraham),
Zachariah who was righteous
had doubts also:
18 And Zechariah said to the angel,
“How shall I know this?
For I am an old man,
and my wife is advanced in years.”
Luke 1:18
And not to forget the most famous
of all the doubters....
doubting Thomas!
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve,
called the Twin,
was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples told him,
“We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails,
and place my finger into the mark of the nails,
and place my hand into his side,
I will never believe.”
John 20:24,25
But this is how that ended:
26 Eight days later,
his disciples were inside again,
and Thomas was with them.
Although the doors were locked,
Jesus came and stood among them and said,
“Peace be with you.”
27 Then he said to Thomas,
“Put your finger here, and see my hands;
and put out your hand, and place it in my side.
Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:26-29
Done for Today
I need to comment on what you said about Luke 7:18-20. John wasn't doubting the way most of us think he was. He knew Jesus was "one of the Messiah's to come", but wanted to know which one He was. See, the Jews thought there would be two Messiah's because that was the only way they could reconcile both a suffering Messiah and a conquering, victorious Messiah. John wanted to know which one of those Jesus was. I think John's question was due more to confusion then doubt.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on May 5, 2021 10:09:21 GMT -5
Ah thank you for clearing up what John 'said'
but actually.....meant! :)
I knew that at one time....
but then forgot......
so thank you!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on May 8, 2021 11:51:15 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical Scripture in this color today.
Many people think, a great solution, to wars and rumors of wars,
would be if there were no borders,
no counties, but rather, a one world global government.
We would be one happy family, all working with each other,
sharing everything etc.
Well, it's not like this idea is new,
or was not tried before.
The first time we see it is in Babylon.
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
4 Then they said,
“Come, let us build ourselves a city
and a tower with its top in the heavens,
and let us make a name for ourselves,
lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
Genesis 11:1-4
So, what was wrong with that?
Well, one reason, was because the whole point of the Tower
was based on mankind desiring to achieve -
self-fulfillment, self-grandeur, self-exultation, self-glory,etc.
driven by ambition, pride, audacity, smugness, insolence, etc.
God had told the people to spread throughout the world
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them,
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
Genesis 9:1
But instead,
they determined to stay together,
which was
mutinous, contemptuous, defiant, rebellious disobedience....
And there was a lethal, deadly, and horrifying dark side,
to this so called unity,
because, they were proud, wicked, evil sinners...
so that type of unity allowed for a
consolidation, centralization, and concentration of evil.
They were not aiming for the type of 'unity'
God wishes:
21 that they may all be one,
just as you, Father, are in me,
and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
John 17:21
Nimrod's and the secular world's type of one world unity ( globalism),
can be a real curse....
it could be perfect for a one world dictator tho....
if he’s evil,
as is the world he rules,
then there would be no checks or balances,
no suppression, or constraints).
When evil is embodied under one powerful person,
in one place.....
evil depravity and wickedness will abound.
Therefore this solution of a one world ruler, could be tricky.
in verse 9 it says:
‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.’”
( This word in the original did not mean a great hunter of animals,
like one might think at first, but rather...a hunter and killer of men)
God knew Nimrod was a killer.
He was a type of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Saddam Hussein, etc
He was a mass murder.
Nimrod was going to be the one world ruler of Babylon ( basically the whole world).
Nimrod reached his position by wickedness,
by being a tyrant, being a mass killer.
He built his kingdom based on evil, rebellion, idolatry, and pride, force etc..
And so,
no.....God did not allow this, at that time.
It reminds us of the fourth chapter of Daniel,
Nebuchadnezzar is looking out over Babylon,
walking on the roof of his royal palace in Babylon –
and he says to himself:
“‘Is this not Babylon the great,
which I myself have built as a royal residence
by the might of my power
and for the glory of my majesty?’”
Daniel 4:30
Neither men had anything to do with God.
However, as we know, the Biblical predicts,
there will be,
in the future:
a one world government, a one world religion, and one monetary system.
But that is call the 7 year tribulation. ( not a good thing).
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on May 9, 2021 10:14:21 GMT -5
Today my words will be in this color
and Biblical scriptures will be in this color
I was thinking about how the devil, Satan, the snake, the dragon etc.
had many of the attributes
humans greatly desire.
Four of them were:
extraordinary beauty
phenomenal strength
outstanding power
and
exceptional creativity
Looking at beauty,
this could have been said of the devil
( before, he sinned,
and was the top arch angel)
12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre,
and say to him, Thus says the Lord God:
“You were the signet of perfection,
full of wisdom
and perfect in beauty.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub.
I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God;
Ezekiel 28:12,14
And at one time Satan was an angel of light,
but now...
14 And no wonder,
for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14
And what is a pitfall of beauty?
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
Ezekiel 28:17
And looking at some downfalls of strength:
“Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might,
and the firstfruits of my strength,
preeminent in dignity
and preeminent in power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
because you went up to your father's bed;
then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!
Genesis 49:2-4
And there was Samson, the strongest of men:
14 When he came to Lehi,
the Philistines came shouting to meet him.
Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him,
and the ropes that were on his arms
became as flax that has caught fire,
and his bonds melted off his hands.
15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey,
and put out his hand and took it,
and with it he struck 1,000 men.
Judges 15:15
However, one might say, his foolishness
over ruled his strength:
21 And the Philistines seized him
and gouged out his eyes
and brought him down to Gaza
and bound him with bronze shackles.
And he ground at the mill in the prison...
Judges 16:21
And some of the men,
in the past who had great power,
also had major frailty in other areas of their life.
For example King David ruled a vast area....
and although he had many good attributes,
however, his far reaching power,
did not save him
from areas of weakness like:
Adultery, murder, a weak father, etc.
Another man of great power
and full of pride, as a result,
was King Nebuchadnezzar....
Nevertheless for months
this was his fate:
33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar.
He was driven from among men
and ate grass like an ox,
and his body was wet with the dew of heaven
till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers,
and his nails were like birds' claws.
Daniel 4:33
I continue looking at this next weekend.
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on May 10, 2021 10:09:07 GMT -5
![]() good!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on May 10, 2021 10:18:00 GMT -5
Thank you Cindy
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Post by Cindy on May 10, 2021 10:26:27 GMT -5
you're welcome hon. You always do a good job!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on May 15, 2021 11:24:08 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical Scriptures in this color today.
I think we are seeing, a huge uptick,
in secular people, (around the world),
having a 'depraved' mind.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile
to retain the knowledge of God,
so God gave them over to a depraved mind,
so that they do what ought not to be done.
Romans 1:28
It seems to me, as though, many people,
realize that God 'is',
that He exists....
and yet.....
(in a mind boggling way),
They do not think it
'worthwhile' to retain that Truth.
That is unbelievable,
and ultimate, depravity!
They put God to a 'test'
and find Him 'lacking',
and/or
not measuring up to their standards!
It reminds me of what Jesus said:
56 You hypocrites!
You know how to analyze
the appearance of the earth and the sky,
but why do you not analyze this present time?
Luke 12:56
Instead of this next verse,
they choose, to have an insane mind:
7 so that the proof of your faith,
being more precious than gold
which s perishable,
even though tested by fire,
may be found to result in praise and glory and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ
1 Peter 1:7
They disapprove of this next verse:
4 but just as we have been approved by God
to be entrusted with the gospel,
so we speak,
not as pleasing men,
but God who examines our hearts.
1 Thessalonians 2:4
And the secular unbelievers, do,
what this verse says, not to do
( by being conformed to this world):
2 And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind,
so that you may prove what the will of God is,
that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2
Nor do they want to do this:
10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:10
They have decided God failed their test,
but do not test themselves:
5 Test yourselves
to see if you are in the faith;
examine yourselves!
Or do you not recognize this about yourselves,
that Jesus Christ is in you—
unless indeed you fail the test?
2 Corinthians 13:5
Done for today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on May 16, 2021 10:50:15 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical Scripture will be in this color today.
I think I already mentioned that both Adam and Eve
were created as fully grown humans
( not as infants or children).
Which reminds me,
many scientists use this reasoning
( and other such 'proofs')
for the universe's old age....
They calculate the speed of light, and
distant stars, gravitational pull etc. etc.
and arrive at an 'age'.
However, a question could be raised:
Has the speed of light always remained the same?
Was it thousands or millions of times faster during the Creation?
Was the universe, like Adam and Eve created with apparent older age?
I remember the miracle at Cana
the wedding party had run out of wine
So Jesus created 'fully aged' wine.
It can take from 3-5 years,
or
even decades,
to created fully aged wine.
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there;
2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him,
“They have no wine.”
John 2:1-3
9 When the headwaiter tasted
the water which had become wine,
and did not know where it came from
(but the servants who had drawn the water knew),
the headwaiter *called the bridegroom,
10 and *said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first,
and when the people have drunk freely,
then he serves the poorer wine;
but you have kept the good wine until now.”
11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee,
and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
John 9-11
One more incident was when Peter cut off the ear,
of the high priest's servant, Malchus.
Then Simon Peter, having a sword,
drew it and struck the high priest's servant
and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)
John 18:10
If that happened today, in our world,
the surgeon would have to stitch it back on,
and it would take weeks or months to heal
( barring no infection or other complication).
Instead of months of healing time
this is what happened:
51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!”
And he touched his ear and healed him.
Luke 22:51
Likewise, when God created animals
and then humans,
they were immediate
fully formed
divinely created
with no long time or mutations.
There are some 'Christians'
who hold to the theory, that God
used 'evolution' to create mankind....
Against the clear truth of scripture.
However, God created 'time'
He is not subject to it:
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day.
2 Peter 3:8
Done for Today
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Post by Cindy on May 17, 2021 9:16:11 GMT -5
 These are well done! I like the way you think! (well, actually I like the way the Holy Spirit thinks and that you then share what He's taught you!)  |
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on May 22, 2021 10:46:32 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical Scriptures will be in this color today.
It occurred to me last night, ( since I could sleep)
I was thinking about these verses:
6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters,
and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
7 And God made the expanse
and separated the waters
that were under the expanse
from the waters that were above the expanse.
And it was so.
8 And God called the expanse Heaven.
And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said,
“Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place,
and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
Genesis 1:9
This was written thousands of years ago,
way before man had airplanes, satellites etc.
But I get a picture telling me,
that earth is basically a 'water' world.
And, Lo and behold, earth is about 70% water.
Well on to the subject I was thinking to look at today
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I sometimes have a hard time when thinking about the devil.
I know, I cannot blame my sins on him,
nor do I want to give Satan much of my thought time.
( I would rather be spending time, thinking, worshiping, praying etc. to God).
It is a very unpleasant subject,
and I would rather avoid it all together.
However, I, and many people,
can also make the mistake of,
getting to the point, where we almost forget there really is,
a real devil,
and he is involved in nefarious, hateful schemes in the world,
and sometimes,
even in the life of a not overly important believer....
( in order to ruin their testimony).
Think Job ( of course, Job was an 'important' man, but still, just a man):
Here is the beginning of Satan starting to mess with Job:
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord,
and Satan also came among them.
7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?”
Satan answered the Lord and said,
“From going to and fro on the earth,
and from walking up and down on it.”
8 And the Lord said to Satan,
“Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth,
a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”
9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said,
“Does Job fear God for no reason?
10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?
You have blessed the work of his hands,
and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has,
and he will curse you to your face.”
12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand.
Only against him do not stretch out your hand.”
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord
Job 1:6-12
Satan, started his attacks, on the very first humans,
Adam and Eve, and it continues to this very day.
So although, we should not fear him,
or give him a lot of press
( so to speak),
neither should we underestimate him.
He is real, and evil, and hates us.
In fact, here is some sage Godly Biblical advise:
8 Be sober-minded;
be watchful.
Your adversary the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
He is human's ultimate enemy,
and he is a lot more powerful than us.
The 'thief' Jesus is speaking of,
in the next verse, is Satan,
and Jesus tells us the devil's goal.
The thief comes only to steal
and kill
and destroy.
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10
Satan is not the funny guy in a red suit,
with a long tail and horns
that some parents dress children up as, for halloween.
I think that is a big mistake,
because kids could kind of relate
Satan with fun, candy, frippery etc.
Instead of: a horrible malignant purveyor of
sin, depravity, filth, hatred, violence, hopelessness, death etc.
Even though some might think,
that is over reacting,
for some silly harmless fun
God says:
27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
Ephesians 4:27
I tend to read the word no
and NO...not even what is very very 'little'
such as, dressing up in a costume, for a few hours, one night a year .
Because, sometimes something that is very very little
can grow over time, into a deadly monster:
19 We know that we are from God,
and the whole world
lies in the power of the evil one.
1 John 5:19
Done for today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on May 23, 2021 10:21:35 GMT -5
My words will be in this color today
and Biblical Scriptures will be in this color today.
Some people might think that the devil, Satan,
is kind of a symbol evil, in our world,
but no he is a fallen angel, a real spiritual being.
In the New Testament we read about his trying to tempt Jesus.
Perhaps since he had so so much success with humans, for centuries,
millennium really, he actually thought, he could tempt God?
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Matthew 4:1
However, there is a super great lesson for me,
in that account!
There really may be times when a demon or even,
the devil, might tempt me....
but Jesus left a perfect example of how to deal with any temptation:
4 But he answered,
“It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4
Throughout history we find the devil handiwork,
he is in both in the old testament and new testament.
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest
standing before the angel of the Lord,
and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
2 And the Lord said to Satan,
“The Lord rebuke you, O Satan!
Zechariah 3:1,2
It is so amazing in this day and age,
we literally are teaching people to be
PROUD of yourself,
which almost always leads to some kind of conceit,
one of the devil's main character traits!
Any gifts we may have,
are just that 'gifts'
from God.
6 He must not be a recent convert,
or he may become puffed up with conceit
and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
1 Timothy 3:6
Again, what we 'think', muse on etc.
is of utmost importance,
a proud man is a self-centered one:
For as he thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But his heart is not with you.
Proverbs 23:7
Satan seeks to destroy and devour both nations,
and individuals:
8 Be sober-minded;
be watchful.
Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
Therefore, this becomes of absolute importance:
2 And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
so that you may prove what the will of God is,
that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2
And we renew our minds by being in God's word daily,
and memorizing it.
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on May 24, 2021 11:58:50 GMT -5
Those are both excellent! And you want to know what's weird? Logos gave me a $20 gift card to get any books for my bible library I wanted. I got two by MacArthur. The first one is "The Freedom and Power of forgiveness" and the second one is, "How to Meet the Enemy"! It's like the Lord has us on sync or something. 
One thing I'd like to add to what you said about Satan leaving us the perfect example, which is to fight back with His Word. We also need to remember that we not only have His word to fight with, but we're also indwelt by Jesus Himself! That's a HUGE difference between us and Job! Obviously, since Christ Himself dwells within us, we also have His power to use to fight our enemy when needed. (Ephesians 1:17–19) (another huge difference between us and Job!)
“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,” (Ephesians 3:17)
“because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:” (2 John 2)
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!!
