Do not fear, only believe

matthew · #1 (**permalink**) 08-17-2007, 07:55 AM

Do not fear, only believe.

(Mark 5:36(b) ESV)

fanniemae · #2 (**permalink**) 08-17-2007, 08:15 PM

So true. Just have faith.

Angelina · #3 (**permalink**) 08-19-2007, 05:51 AM

yeah...

soontobemommy · #4 (**permalink**) 08-28-2007, 12:31 AM

I totally needed to hear that. Thank you!!

sosoftail · #5 (**permalink**) 09-12-2007, 08:28 PM

I fear for my belief and for the world. It gets worse day by day.
I used to attend church and fully believed. I had problems with my fellow Christians. One preacher sent letters and tapes to all his flock telling them they were all sinning if they did not give their 10%. He said if we had a home or car and could not make our payments plus the 10% (monetary only) we were sinning. If we had kids and bought our kids those expensive toys for Christmas and could not afford our 10% we were sinning. That stretched my faith in the church not God.
One preacher made passes at me. He was married.
One deacon wanted to "counsel" me at a motel.
I hear things bad everyday involving ministers and deacons of churches. The latest was today. A deacon at a local church took teen boys to his home under the assumption he was spiritually grooming them. He gave them drugs and alcohol and had hundreds of video tapes of them having sex.
Every time I think I have heard it all I hear something more horrible. It stresses my belief in churches. Not God.
Am I wrong in the face of such to not attend a church? I lead a good life. Don't lie and even if I have no money for myself try to help others. My husband left me years ago with 3 kids to raise and I don't date. I try and make my outside comfortable and use that as my church.
I had a friend that was a teacher. She quit too because the minister told her she was sinning and would not go to heaven because she was fat. He called it sloth and gluttony. I am disabled and cannot exercise so I am gaining weight so I guess I am sinning again.
I have questions but no answers. I had some visit me this year from a church and I could tell they looked down their noses at me because i did not have nice clothes. It has been 10 years since I bought new clothes or shoes. I dress like a bag lady but have little money. I keep them clean though. One even talked to me about going to someone she knew to get my hair styled. Why was that important? I did not think that was the purpose of her visit.
Can I be a Christian sinner? I still believe but not in the churches nor the people in them. It is a lonely feeling.

matthew · #6 (**permalink**) 09-15-2007, 09:54 AM

Its not a sin not to give a tithe and its not a sin not to go to church. They are both your choices.
For a continuing relationship with God, ultimately we need people to come alongside us and encourage us in our walk, its far too difficult to try and do it ourselves, we need other believers in our lives. However these have to be people who you feel comfortable with and God will lead you to the right place where you should be. Ask God and He will put you into a family who will support you.
As for the past and all that has happened all i can say is sorry. Despite everything that has happened God does still love you and is with you, He has promised to never, never, never leave you.
When God looks at his children he sees something beautiful regardless of whether we are big, small, fat, thin, male, female - he looks at the heart. You were made to be YOU and he loves you for being you. He rejoices in his children.
Please dont let other people take you away from the plans that God has, remember that ultimately we dont fight people but we fight against powers and principalities.

I dont know if this will be of any help but please feel free to post here and say what you need to say, dont hold back because you wont offend us.
The greatest thing that fellow believers can do is show love and encourage each other.

Dont look to man but look to God, only He is faithful and only He will keep you safe. He alone is our strong tower and refuge.

Quote:

Blessed be God, my mountain, who trains me to fight fair and well.
He's the bedrock on which I stand,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight,
The high crag where I run for dear life,
while he lays my enemies low. (Ps 144:1-2 MSG)

God Bless,

Matthew

sosoftail · #7 (**permalink**) 09-16-2007, 04:32 PM

Thank You for that. It was encouraging. I have yet to feel like I belong in a church but when I am outside with my dogs or gardening on my knees I feel like He is with me. Those are the only places I feel like I am in the light and blessed. Perhaps that is my place.
I often tell people my dogs are angels. Unlike people they can't lie. Some think me a nut for that but they were there when I was very ill. Whenever people let me down and I cry they come sit beside me sometimes nuzzle me or gently put a paw on me to reassure me. They are all Golden Retrievers and all unique in personality as they are in color. They range from a very light gold to almost red gold. It is easy to see a halo on them.
My real mother gave me up for my Great-Aunt to raise. Strange since she had 11 kids and I was the one she gave up. My Great-Aunt had 2 boys she adopted but she let us all know we were merely farm hands. I never saw her have a kind word for anyone even her husband. We got beat a lot and was never told she loved us or ever got a hug from her. Strangely she was also attached to dogs. Maybe I took after her anyway. I often saw her hug and kiss the dogs and tell them she loved them but never a human. She is dead now. You would think I would be bitter and hate dogs but not so.
Her adopted sons never knew until recently I was a blood relative. Guess she was ashamed to tell them.She seemed to hate my real mother and called her bad names telling me I was just like her even though I never knew then what the names she called me meant and I had not had sex until my husband.
I should have grew up a mean person and an evil one but I am quite opposite. I admit once when I was a small child I prayed over a cat that got badly injured but it died anyway. I almost lost faith then but I got visited by 2 ???? whatever they were. No dream. Very real since the 2nd night and the 2nd visit I had a flashlight to shine in their eyes and scare them back. I got too scared though and pulled the covers over my head thinking I was dying and they came to get me. If I stayed silent I thought they would just go away.They never talked. One was a young man in a military uniform with a high collar. He just stared ahead and when I tried to touch him he disappeared. The other was a very old man dressed all in white and he had a long white beard. He sat in a chair beside my bed and seemed to be quite sad. No one could explain it but I never talked about it until I grew up because my Great-Aunt said I would be thrown in a nut house. I lived in Virginia then and we had even visited someone in one and I remember it was called "Central State Hospital". Scary enough place but the stories about it were worse but I think most told those stories to keep you on the straight and narrow. Maybe you have an idea what I saw as a child or the meaning but I never saw them again.
My youngest son saw 2 visitors when he was 4 and it scared me pretty bad. He does not even remember it but I wrote down all he told me at the time. When I questioned him about them when he stopped talking about them he said they were gone now but I am sure he saw them dead and not a natural death. He was not allowed to watch scary movies so I know he did not learn that stuff off TV and he had not started school yet. The place we were living we had just moved to. Weird huh?

Thanks again. CC

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