DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Love God Only
HTML https://lovegodonly.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Things of the Soul
*****************************************************
#Post#: 34164--------------------------------------------------
~Just Saying ~
By: Justaname Date: June 4, 2023, 9:59 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I’m sure all of us have been on numerous forums over the last
few decades …well I have for sure. And still on a few.
Some lovely ones of great fellowship and even lasting internet
friendships ….and on ,,
Other forum finding much conflict and some of the strangest of
belief systems!
Yet one thing I still find very repetitively , is that many
people seem to be only contented to pick on what is wrong with
other people’s beliefs , yet they never share what God has said
to them personally , or what He has done for them.
It seems that their only strength lies in telling other people
what is not, and what is wrong.
That , as I see it , is not ‘the gospel’ , neither is it the
GOOD NEWS …which we know is what Gospel means .
Needless to say …when I butt heads against this constantly I
find I always have to ask the person if they will ever give us
any good news about who God is to them and what He has done for
them . As they only seem to care about what is wrong with the
belief of others.
For myself , at 81 I can say that my life has been a rich one,
not in substance but in my relationship with Father …His
dealings, His blessings , His constant presence…
Seen miracles, heard the best of preachers , heard His Voice ,
seen visions , had dreams, been healed numerous times… and just
the blessing of knowing that “He IS”.
Bottom line…one day we will all gather at His Seat , and
have revealed to us , which things we believed correctly and
which things we got wrong . I think we are in for some
surprises!
Yet, I’ve never ever believed that God cares about ‘correct
doctrine’ …. We see many biblical characters who got things
wrong! Adam, Abraham, Lot, Gideon , Jonah , David , Peter ,
even Paul…and in Hebrews 11 we see God commending them , not
remembering their fall.
So I have confidence that God , as He tells us, is a heart God
…At the last great gathering , He will measure our heart and our
love, not our doctrine or mistakes .
Just saying…
#Post#: 34178--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~Just Saying ~
By: Kerry Date: June 5, 2023, 1:31 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Helen link=topic=1558.msg34164#msg34164
date=1685890763]
I’m sure all of us have been on numerous forums over the last
few decades …well I have for sure. And still on a few.
Some lovely ones of great fellowship and even lasting internet
friendships ….and on ,,
Other forum finding much conflict and some of the strangest of
belief systems!
Yet one thing I still find very repetitively , is that many
people seem to be only contented to pick on what is wrong with
other people’s beliefs , yet they never share what God has said
to them personally , or what He has done for them.
It seems that their only strength lies in telling other people
what is not, and what is wrong.
That , as I see it , is not ‘the gospel’ , neither is it the
GOOD NEWS …which we know is what Gospel means .
Needless to say …when I butt heads against this constantly I
find I always have to ask the person if they will ever give us
any good news about who God is to them and what He has done for
them . As they only seem to care about what is wrong with the
belief of others.
For myself , at 81 I can say that my life has been a rich one,
not in substance but in my relationship with Father …His
dealings, His blessings , His constant presence…
Seen miracles, heard the best of preachers , heard His Voice ,
seen visions , had dreams, been healed numerous times… and just
the blessing of knowing that “He IS”.
Bottom line…one day we will all gather at His Seat , and
have revealed to us , which things we believed correctly and
which things we got wrong . I think we are in for some
surprises!
Yet, I’ve never ever believed that God cares about ‘correct
doctrine’ …. We see many biblical characters who got things
wrong! Adam, Abraham, Lot, Gideon , Jonah , David , Peter ,
even Paul…and in Hebrews 11 we see God commending them , not
remembering their fall.
So I have confidence that God , as He tells us, is a heart God
…At the last great gathering , He will measure our heart and our
love, not our doctrine or mistakes .
Just saying…
[/quote]I believe the things in the Bible were given to us to
teach us how to love God and other people better. Ideas need to
be used to help us make things better. Ideas need to get lined
up with reality.
Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the Lord our
God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to
our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
And everything in the law needs to be seen through the lens of
Love. That is the spirit of the Law.
This idea helps me love God more since what He has revealed
shows me His Love for us.
#Post#: 35038--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~Just Saying ~
By: Justaname Date: May 19, 2025, 10:52 am
---------------------------------------------------------
being reluctant to start yet another new thread , I think I’ll
post this here.
I was awake for 4 hours during the wee hours ..sleep
wouldn’t come.
I tried to remember all the names of the other children
in my school class when I was about age 6 …
Then I got onto the topic of “ Perfect love casts
out fear …” I mused on that for a while ( being a child and an
adult where most of my life has been dogged by one fear or
another . )
So I was wondering WHY it says “Perfect Love casts out fear..”
Why doesn’t it say. That Faith casts out fear ? Or -Trust casts
out fear , worship casts out fear . Why and how can it be that
* love cast out fear ?!! How is that done ?
#Post#: 35039--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~Just Saying ~
By: Kerry Date: May 19, 2025, 1:41 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Helen link=topic=1558.msg35038#msg35038
date=1747669966]
being reluctant to start yet another new thread , I think I’ll
post this here.
I was awake for 4 hours during the wee hours ..sleep
wouldn’t come.
I tried to remember all the names of the other children
in my school class when I was about age 6 …
Then I got onto the topic of “ Perfect love casts
out fear …” I mused on that for a while ( being a child and an
adult where most of my life has been dogged by one fear or
another . )
So I was wondering WHY it says “Perfect Love casts out fear..”
Why doesn’t it say. That Faith casts out fear ? Or -Trust casts
out fear , worship casts out fear . Why and how can it be that
* love cast out fear ?!! How is that done ?
[/quote]I can tell you how I read it. From the context, I read
it as being fearful of some imaginary flaw in God the way we
often wonder about what flaws people we meet might have. The
context seems to be about loving God and others in whom the
Spirit is acting. A person whose actions are being guided in
the here and now by the Holy Spirit could not possibly harm
others, so we ought not to be afraid.
Some things and people should make us afraid. Fear is a good
thing if it keeps us out of trouble by warning us of potential
dangers. If you see a poisonous snake, I wouldn't advise
trying to pet it to show it how much you love it. Perhaps faith
would work better with a snake, having confidence we can take
care of it.
In another way, Faith, Hope and Charity are linked together I
think. If you increase one, it tends to increase the other two.
Now if I started off afraid of the snake but found out I could
deal with it -- that would certainly also decrease my fear and
maybe I could find something to like about it. Doing it once
would increase the hope that I could do it in the future too.
The easiest way to increase all three is to work increasing
Love.
Being afraid of God should send us a signal then that we are
imagining a flaw in Him. God is Perfect. I know the Bible
reads the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; but the
word for "fear" there should be translated as "awe."
Now yes, there can be some "fear" in "awe" too. If you are
standing at the top of a tall cliff, you may be in awe of the
view -- but you shouldn't walk off the cliff. Such are my
thoughts. I'm still thinking about your other post.
#Post#: 35040--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~Just Saying ~
By: Justaname Date: May 19, 2025, 3:32 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
thx Kerry . I’m still musing on this . Maybe I should have
ended my post with asking HOW does perfect love cast out fear.
Most times in my life , the fear ( which can be suffocating
) raises its ugly head because my body has been attacked by some
sickness. I’ve been on the edge of death twice . Once in ‘68
and once in ‘83 .
I felt no fear either time I knew that it was touch and go
both times and if something didn’t happen I’d be gone.
My ‘besetting’ fear is not actual dying bit or being dead
, it’s more the dread of a long painful scary process .
I can’t get my head around *why love is said to
deal with it! Not faith , belief ,positive thinking, but love!
Why love and how is it done. Love has so many shapes and sizes .
And we haven’t even started talking of the PERFECT love!
#Post#: 35041--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~Just Saying ~
By: Kerry Date: May 20, 2025, 2:14 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Helen link=topic=1558.msg35040#msg35040
date=1747686720]
thx Kerry . I’m still musing on this . Maybe I should have
ended my post with asking HOW does perfect love cast out fear.
Most times in my life , the fear ( which can be suffocating
) raises its ugly head because my body has been attacked by some
sickness. I’ve been on the edge of death twice . Once in ‘68
and once in ‘83 .
I felt no fear either time I knew that it was touch and go
both times and if something didn’t happen I’d be gone.
My ‘besetting’ fear is not actual dying bit or being dead
, it’s more the dread of a long painful scary process .
I can’t get my head around *why love is said to
deal with it! Not faith , belief ,positive thinking, but love!
Why love and how is it done. Love has so many shapes and sizes .
And we haven’t even started talking of the PERFECT love!
[/quote]Not sure about the HOW of it all; but I believe Love
acts like a solvent. Imagine having two rocks. They won't fit
together exactly. If you can dissolve small parts of both, then
they will. The two become one. In the Body of Christ, there
are many, many members. Bits of "self" need to be sacrificed.
Health problems distract us from the spiritual world; and the
imperfect physical body in pain surely does. Something has to
give, and the imperfect physical body fights the spiritual body.
I believe the correction of the body involves something like
crucifixion. That fallen physical body needs to give up but it
can be a hard fight.
It's so complicated. We are also told bear each other's
burdens. In the end, each of us has to bear our own burdens;
but until perfection is achieved, the stronger spiritual being
will bear some of the burdens of weaker spiritual beings. That
makes it easier for the child to develop strength without
falling flat out of weakness. All things work together for the
good in the end -- although that is so hard to see now.
Perhaps the dread of suffering is what Job had to get over. His
wife told him to curse God and die; but he stuck in there.
#Post#: 35042--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~Just Saying ~
By: Heartsong Date: May 20, 2025, 10:44 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Helen link=topic=1558.msg35038#msg35038
date=1747669966]
being reluctant to start yet another new thread , I think I’ll
post this here.
I was awake for 4 hours during the wee hours ..sleep
wouldn’t come.
I tried to remember all the names of the other children
in my school class when I was about age 6 …
Then I got onto the topic of “ Perfect love casts
out fear …” I mused on that for a while ( being a child and an
adult where most of my life has been dogged by one fear or
another . )
So I was wondering WHY it says “Perfect Love casts out fear..”
Why doesn’t it say. That Faith casts out fear ? Or -Trust casts
out fear , worship casts out fear . Why and how can it be that
* love cast out fear ?!! How is that done ?
[/quote]
I wasn't taught good things about God when I was a child. I was
only taught fear and punishment and burning in hell which caused
nightmares as a child. But still I felt a closeness to God that
brought me comfort and made me feel loved and protected when the
worst things imaginable was happening to me and around me.
I watched my husband and daughter who both had congestive heart
failure die a slow painful death so I know what you're talking
about. I don't want to die that way either.
Aside from having cancer which honestly I wasn't afraid at all
when I was diagnosed or surprised because I was already feeling
really bad so I knew it had to be something serious making me
feel way. There was an incident when my blood pressure collapsed
and I was having chest pains and long story short I came close
that time and I remember I was in bed and could no longer feel
my body and no pain or worry or fear and all I felt was like I
was covered with the love of God and that was the greatest
feeling I've ever had in my life. It felt like I was leaving my
body and moving forward somewhere that I couldn't quite see but
I knew it was there. To be honest, I didn't want the paramedics
to bring me out of that state but they did.
Ultimately for me it has always been the love of God that has
made it possible for me to survive even when fear of something
beyond my control, understanding and strength was happening to
me and I was asked, "Where's your God now"? But they didn't
understand anything about love at all. All they knew about was
evil, hate, and violence and using fear as a method of control
and they enjoyed seeing someone being afraid. Love conquers all
and overcomes evil, fear, hate and darkness. By the way, I'm
seeing this on a much larger scale now out in the open no longer
in secret places. It's being accepted and encouraged. I
recognize it for what it is.
#Post#: 35043--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~Just Saying ~
By: Justaname Date: May 20, 2025, 1:10 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thanks so much Cathey , for the testimony of Gods keeping power
during times of stress and sickness. That is so encouraging.
If I’m honest ( which we all should be , but not always
want to be ) I have to say I’m not afraid of death , but I
am afraid of pain and constant discomfort which is so
debilitating and distracting from ‘ Abiding in Him.
I’m sure brave people can pull it off , but I’m a
confessed coward where pain is concerned . I find it all
consuming.
Thx for the encouragement . x
Kerry , that post was so very helpful …it has given me
things to muse upon.
Agree , I think with me LOTS of my self-life is not yet dead to
the soulish self , before Adam fell, I think he was heavily
spiritual and secondly soul , After the fall the top weight was
soul and the spiritual life was then dominated by the fleshly
self.
( or something like that )
As I’ve aged I find my fleshly self is very aware , and
the spiritual side kinda squashed by bodily demands and things
dominating.
I even resent having to watch the clock to remember which pill
to take next !
Little did we know as kids how easily we hopped out of bed and
ran down to breakfast! Haha…I can’t remember the
last time that I ran!
I know that none of this bothers God !
I liked your use of the two rocks .
I think my problem is I was asking myself what love God was
talking about …ours toward Him or His toward us…I
can see I got that wrong …love is not a
‘thing’ to be held as a tool, but it is all
encompassing life itself as it says - God is love .
Maybe it means “perfect love casts out fear”
, as in “ God being perfect and being Love Himself , His
total possession of us delivers us from all fear . What is
required of us is perfect surrender …which is really what
each of us heard on the first day of our salvation when we came
to the faith .
#Post#: 35046--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~Just Saying ~
By: Kerry Date: May 21, 2025, 5:42 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Helen link=topic=1558.msg35043#msg35043
date=1747764632]
Agree , I think with me LOTS of my self-life is not yet dead to
the soulish self , before Adam fell, I think he was heavily
spiritual and secondly soul , After the fall the top weight was
soul and the spiritual life was then dominated by the fleshly
self.
( or something like that ) [/quote]
Yes, something like that indeed. I follow the principle that if
something sounds impossible in earthly terms, it is probably
describing something heavenly. Much of Genesis is like that. I
think Adam and Eve had spiritual bodies and shone. When they
fell, their bodies went dark. They were indeed naked in a new
way. Interesting too is that Genesis 3:21 is mistranslated.
It should read "coats of skin" and not "coats of skin." "Skin"
there is singular; but translators had a picture in their minds
of God killing animals to make coats for them. I think that was
the point they entered physical bodies.
[quote]
As I’ve aged I find my fleshly self is very aware , and the
spiritual side kinda squashed by bodily demands and things
dominating.
I even resent having to watch the clock to remember which pill
to take next ! [/quote]I'm a little naughty to being precise
about the time. It was driving me nuts. I take four meds and
five vitamins or other supplements; and sometimes I take the
meds at one time and the others later since all that water makes
me fill so full. My doctor wanted me to drink a gallon of water
a day. I think I'd explode!
[quote]I liked your use of the two rocks .
I think my problem is I was asking myself what love God was
talking about …ours toward Him or His toward us…I can see I got
that wrong …love is not a ‘thing’ to be held as a tool, but it
is all encompassing life itself as it says - God is love .
Maybe it means “perfect love casts out fear” , as in “
God being perfect and being Love Himself , His total possession
of us delivers us from all fear . What is required of us is
perfect surrender …which is really what each of us heard on the
first day of our salvation when we came to the faith .
[/quote]So was Adam and Eve made out of physical dust or
spiritual dust? If Man is meant to be stones in the Temple,
built on the Foundation Rock, I say it was spiritual dust.
Rocks and stones are quite interesting in the Bible.
The "carnal" heart is like a hard brittle stone in spiritual
terms. It is stubborn and resists change. The "spiritual"
heart we are to receive are yielding. I draw that distinction
from:
Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a
new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of
their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
#Post#: 35047--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~Just Saying ~
By: Justaname Date: May 24, 2025, 10:14 am
---------------------------------------------------------
quote Kerry … “From the context, I read it as being fearful
of some imaginary flaw in God the way we often wonder about what
flaws people we meet might have. The context seems to be about
loving God and others in whom the Spirit is acting. “
I went back to your other post and found that I missed or
overlooked , this gem the first time. Probably because I was
looking for a “something” that I could grab hold of and use as a
tool against the enemy when attacks come.
I think I am slowly seeing more of “God is Love “. When we
think that we already know something , we stop looking.
I thought that I knew and understood that God is love , but
I now can see that I have hardly scratched the surface of the
depth of the love of God. Which brings me back to - how much do
I believe , am I a truly a believing believer , or did I give
mental assent and check it off as done!
The depth of Gods word is an amazement .
“ further up and deeper in,..”
*****************************************************
DIR Next Page