I never had an education as such, due to chronic illness as a child, and find whilst I live by truth, I become angry with people who constantly tell lies. Due to often hardships in life, I find at the age of 70, I hold bitterness within. I have always believed n God and as a child prayed night and day continuous to let me live and to help me to breath. It is through God I strongly believe that I am alive today, and without it problems I had my family, whom I love very much. It was in my thirties and second marriage, I had a massive attack and was in a coma for a few weeks, upon awakening I was told I was very luck to be alive, they never expected me too pull through. I remember feeling very light as if I had been thoroughly blessed, upon awakening. However, I find it hard to UNDERSTAND GODS WORD, through my lack of education, and on the times I attempted to read the Bible found it too daunting to understand, so I gave up trying to read it. Upon reading 1 Corinthians ch13 V1-13, I found it hard to actually comprehend its meaning. What I deduced from it was about being charitable, where I have always helped others less fortunate than myself and I felt needed help. That was until a friend of mine who Had five young children and was divorced from her husband, told me in NO uncertain terms by text, after helping her for two years, where she greatly accepted my help an would often hint for other assistance; THAT I DID NOT HAVE TO BUY HER FRIENDSHIP, It was out of the blue, and that was all that was stated. I did not know where that came from and was greatly hurt by that as I thought I was helping her out, and that she knew me better than that. I walked away from her, after replying to her, I thought I was her friend, I don't buy anyone. Whilst I still help others, I feel very vulnerable about helping and being charitable. Can some explain to me the text I have just read, I do not expect any rewards for helping people, I thought that was being charitable.
If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world Hates you.
> You're not doing anything wrong that makes people persecute you. They just hate "who" is inside of you.
When people encounter someone who produces the fruit of the Holy Spirit, they are attracted and repelled at the same time. You're, kind, thoughtful, energetic. They also feel conviction about the sins they try to hide within themselves.
Now satan has you on the defensive and he has almost rendered you unable to bear the rejection of Christ inside of you. Realize who it is that is trying to shut you down so you can protect that tender Christ loving heart inside of you; that beats for lost souls.
Get mad at the right person (satan) and get back to what you love.
I'm really sorry this happened to you. Myself, I used to be naive. Now I'm naive with Wisdom. When you help someone out a long period of time, like you did. They sorta know it's not fair to you, and you should help others with needs too. I think it's subconscious; they wiggle out of the bond to feel less guilty of holding you back.
Just forgive them ok. May the Lord bless your faithfulness and show you how much He truly loves you. Book of Joel 2:28-29, Galatians 3:28. A handmaiden and daughter of the Lord.
> I want to encourage you and perhaps change your confession. I was thrilled when the Holy Spirit cleared my misconceptions about my memory. At that time my mother was presenting with dementia. That day I was asking: "scientists say that we only use 10 percent of our brains." Why can't we have more memory (like a computer)?
I got quiet and waited a long time. Finally, the Holy Spirit said: "you have the Mind of Christ." I scrambled for the Bible to look that up.
1 Corinthians 2
14 But the NATURAL man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. (We must be born again)
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But WE HAVE the MIND OF CHRIST.
> Jesus teaches us the meaning of scripture through the Holy Spirit. That is part of his ministry to us. Always ask Him to teach you.
IF we are born again, and have RECEIVED the Holy Spirits's Baptism?
John 14:16
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 14:26
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John 16
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world (Satan), is judged.
You wrote of the anger that builds up inside you when you are lied to, maybe continually. To be angry against the sin of others is not wrong, but to harbour it, thus allowing it to slowly eat into us is wrong; Ephesians 4:26, "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath". There is an anger that isn't sin, even as Jesus showed anger when He went to the Temple & saw people treating the House of God with contempt ( John 2:13-16). So there is a righteous anger, as we call it, but there is an unrighteous anger that has its roots in self-pity & not receiving that which we deserve. We can get upset & angry, but we need to repent, fix up the matter with those concerned & go to bed without storing up that anger. It is hard to do, but the Lord will help when there is true Love.
It's not clear as to why your friend felt that your help to her was your attempt to "buy her friendship". Maybe it was something you did or said that she misconstrued, or even her own thoughts getting away with her & she came to a wrong judgement. In all such cases, if she will allow it, the matter should be aired in all seriousness & humility, so as to restore the bond of friendship you once enjoyed. You may even want to approach her with that desire: to rectify & make amends for whatever has caused this rift.
If the Lord has put it upon your heart to help people wherever you can, then this is a most worthy pursuit as your sole motivation is from the Lord & for the people in need, just as maybe you once were in need in your earlier days. So Christine, just a few thoughts to guide you. May the Lord guide you in this & bless your life. And by the way, you expressed yourself very well though not having had much education - just goes to show that there is an ability we are blessed with beyond the bounds of man deems is necessary.
Thank you for sharing that intimate part of your life Christine, & about the hurt that you've been holding onto. If I could focus on some of your issues: some of the words or expressions used in the Bible can be difficult to comprehend so we sometimes have to look for assistance elsewhere (e.g. various Bible Study Tools). In 1 Corinthians chap 13 (what we call Paul's Love chapter), Paul was first speaking about spiritual gifts given by God to believers & how to use them, in chapter 12. Then in chapter 13, Paul says that even though he may have received many of those gifts to bless the Church, yet if Love was absent, none of that mattered. Even if he was charitable (giving for others' needs), if Love wasn't there, he would just be like a musical brass instrument just making a noise.
The word "charity" in Common Greek (the language that the NT was written in), actually means 'True, God-given Love, a sacrificial Love' & not just being charitable. Paul is trying to show us that just by being charitable to someone doesn't necessarily mean we are displaying that Love from God - it could be for conscience sake, desire to help someone, even trying to build up some 'brownie points' to please God. Only a pure Love out of a pure heart will produce a sincere giving of oneself for another person. So Paul goes on to explain this Godly Love in verses 4-7: Love (shown to people) is patient, kind, without envy, without self-promotion, brings good behaviour, not self-seeking, does not retaliate, hates iniquity (all sins & errors) but doesn't judge, loves Truth, puts up with a lot but thinks no ill of others, rests on hope which gives endurance to finish our life course well, are the sorts of things that Paul says are the virtues of this Love. And finally in verse 13: 'even though all three (having great faith, unshakeable hope, & Godly Love) are so important, the greatest one, on which everything hangs, is Love.
If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world Hates you.
> You're not doing anything wrong that makes people persecute you. They just hate "who" is inside of you.
When people encounter someone who produces the fruit of the Holy Spirit, they are attracted and repelled at the same time. You're, kind, thoughtful, energetic. They also feel conviction about the sins they try to hide within themselves.
Now satan has you on the defensive and he has almost rendered you unable to bear the rejection of Christ inside of you. Realize who it is that is trying to shut you down so you can protect that tender Christ loving heart inside of you; that beats for lost souls.
Get mad at the right person (satan) and get back to what you love.
I'm really sorry this happened to you. Myself, I used to be naive. Now I'm naive with Wisdom. When you help someone out a long period of time, like you did. They sorta know it's not fair to you, and you should help others with needs too. I think it's subconscious; they wiggle out of the bond to feel less guilty of holding you back.
Just forgive them ok. May the Lord bless your faithfulness and show you how much He truly loves you. Book of Joel 2:28-29, Galatians 3:28. A handmaiden and daughter of the Lord.
> I want to encourage you and perhaps change your confession. I was thrilled when the Holy Spirit cleared my misconceptions about my memory. At that time my mother was presenting with dementia. That day I was asking: "scientists say that we only use 10 percent of our brains." Why can't we have more memory (like a computer)?
I got quiet and waited a long time. Finally, the Holy Spirit said: "you have the Mind of Christ." I scrambled for the Bible to look that up.
1 Corinthians 2
14 But the NATURAL man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. (We must be born again)
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But WE HAVE the MIND OF CHRIST.
> Jesus teaches us the meaning of scripture through the Holy Spirit. That is part of his ministry to us. Always ask Him to teach you.
IF we are born again, and have RECEIVED the Holy Spirits's Baptism?
John 14:16
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 14:26
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John 16
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world (Satan), is judged.
SEE PART 2>>>>
You wrote of the anger that builds up inside you when you are lied to, maybe continually. To be angry against the sin of others is not wrong, but to harbour it, thus allowing it to slowly eat into us is wrong; Ephesians 4:26, "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath". There is an anger that isn't sin, even as Jesus showed anger when He went to the Temple & saw people treating the House of God with contempt ( John 2:13-16). So there is a righteous anger, as we call it, but there is an unrighteous anger that has its roots in self-pity & not receiving that which we deserve. We can get upset & angry, but we need to repent, fix up the matter with those concerned & go to bed without storing up that anger. It is hard to do, but the Lord will help when there is true Love.
It's not clear as to why your friend felt that your help to her was your attempt to "buy her friendship". Maybe it was something you did or said that she misconstrued, or even her own thoughts getting away with her & she came to a wrong judgement. In all such cases, if she will allow it, the matter should be aired in all seriousness & humility, so as to restore the bond of friendship you once enjoyed. You may even want to approach her with that desire: to rectify & make amends for whatever has caused this rift.
If the Lord has put it upon your heart to help people wherever you can, then this is a most worthy pursuit as your sole motivation is from the Lord & for the people in need, just as maybe you once were in need in your earlier days. So Christine, just a few thoughts to guide you. May the Lord guide you in this & bless your life. And by the way, you expressed yourself very well though not having had much education - just goes to show that there is an ability we are blessed with beyond the bounds of man deems is necessary.
Thank you for sharing that intimate part of your life Christine, & about the hurt that you've been holding onto. If I could focus on some of your issues: some of the words or expressions used in the Bible can be difficult to comprehend so we sometimes have to look for assistance elsewhere (e.g. various Bible Study Tools). In 1 Corinthians chap 13 (what we call Paul's Love chapter), Paul was first speaking about spiritual gifts given by God to believers & how to use them, in chapter 12. Then in chapter 13, Paul says that even though he may have received many of those gifts to bless the Church, yet if Love was absent, none of that mattered. Even if he was charitable (giving for others' needs), if Love wasn't there, he would just be like a musical brass instrument just making a noise.
The word "charity" in Common Greek (the language that the NT was written in), actually means 'True, God-given Love, a sacrificial Love' & not just being charitable. Paul is trying to show us that just by being charitable to someone doesn't necessarily mean we are displaying that Love from God - it could be for conscience sake, desire to help someone, even trying to build up some 'brownie points' to please God. Only a pure Love out of a pure heart will produce a sincere giving of oneself for another person. So Paul goes on to explain this Godly Love in verses 4-7: Love (shown to people) is patient, kind, without envy, without self-promotion, brings good behaviour, not self-seeking, does not retaliate, hates iniquity (all sins & errors) but doesn't judge, loves Truth, puts up with a lot but thinks no ill of others, rests on hope which gives endurance to finish our life course well, are the sorts of things that Paul says are the virtues of this Love. And finally in verse 13: 'even though all three (having great faith, unshakeable hope, & Godly Love) are so important, the greatest one, on which everything hangs, is Love.
This comment thread is locked. Please enter a new comment below to start a new comment thread.
Note: Comment threads older than 2 months are automatically locked.
Do you have a Bible comment or question?
Please Sign In or Register to post comments...
Report Comment
Which best represents the problem with the comment?