Loving Yourself Thread

[Sirk]

Maybe people should start saying "I love you because..............."

So, I will start: Jason, I love you because you are son of the most high God

I can answer for Jason. Thank you. It is because of the glory of God that I am able to recieve the compliment given you. I write you in return so as you might be encouraged in the light and truth so that you will have fruitful days that lie ahead of you. Blessings and peace both with in the name of our lord Jesus...amen and namaste sprinkled with everlasting love and kindness that is caring and living in the name of our father amen and amen.

 

[tribesman]

A believer lets God's righteousness flow thru them and their life. If a believer just chose to turn back to their old ways, they are no longer being conformed to the image of Christ (Who is supposed to be our substitute). When we change that image to our own image, God cannot impute His righeousness to us anymore. We have to continue to let the righteousness of God work thru us until the end. For those who endure to the end shall be saved (i.e. Glorification). There are three aspects of salvation: Justification, Santification, and Glorification. We are saved when we repent of our sins and accept Him as our Savior (Justification). We then continue to abide in Christ and His righteousness. We purify our souls thru abiding in Christ. We maintain a right standing with Christ and His goodness. (Sanctification). Then Christ calls us home when we fulfilled his purpose and plan in our life (Glorification).

Oh, that's a very synergistic outlook. That's not what I read in Romans 8:29-39. God is doing the work from start to end. Because "it is finished".

[h=3]Rom.8[/h][29] For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
[30] Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
[31] What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
[32] He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
[33] Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
[34] Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
[36] As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
[37] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
[38] For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
[39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

[Jason0047]

Jason, you are hurting a 14 year old girl. She is vulnerable and sensitive. You need to stop. Focus on me if you have to blab to someone. Just don't blab to her.

How exactly am I hurting her? What exactlly did I say do you think is wrong? Is it wrong to tell a person to seek God's will and His purpose? Is it wrong to tell them to pray to the Lord and to read His Word? Is it wrong to seek the things of God rather than our own things?

 

[cmarieh]

Thank you. My identity is in Christ (Because I repented of my sins and accepted Him as my Savior). I am only a king and a priest because of Jesus Christ. Alone, I am nothing. But in Christ, I seek to uplift Jesus Christ and not myself. For why would I trust in myself over my King?

I can answer for Jason. Thank you. It is because of the glory of God that I am able to recieve the compliment given you. I write you in return so as you might be encouraged in the light and truth so that you will have fruitful days that lie ahead of you. Blessings and peace both with in the name of our lord Jesus...amen and namaste sprinkled with everlasting love and kindness that is caring and living in the name of our father amen and amen.

He did say thank you and you are welcome as it is true. I love all my brothers and sisters in Christ because God created them and that I am fortunate to have each of you here to encourage me and lift me up especially today. I choose to love as God loved me he was willing to sacrifice his perfect son so that I can live in eternity with him.

 

[Jason0047]

Oh, that's a very synergistic outlook. That's not what I read in Romans 8:29-39. God is doing the work from start to end. Because "it is finished".

God does not force salvation upon a person. If that was the case, then everyone would be saved. We yield to God and He does the good work in us.

 

[Jason0047]

if you are serious...put him on ignore...instant relief

I honestly do not know what I said to get people here upset. They are claiming I am unloving for telling them to focus on God and to pray to Him. How is that unloving?

 

[JFSurvivor]

I honestly do not know what I said to get people here upset. They are claiming I am unloving for telling them to focus on God and to pray to Him. How is that unloving?

because you are not acknowledging their hurt. You're dismissing the fact that their feelings are real and scary for them. You're not realizing that this seemingly simple problem is very big and scary for the person going through that. You're not validating them. You're making them feel worse by telling them they're not a good Christian and they need to do better when the reality is they are doing the best they can within their circumstances.

 

[tribesman]

God does not force salvation upon a person. If that was the case, then everyone would be saved. We yield to God and He does the good work in us.

It is not force but love which motivates a loving father to help his totally helpless children. Not all will be saved. Not all are the Elect. Other topics.

 

[JFSurvivor]

How exactly am I hurting her? What exactlly did I say do you think is wrong? Is it wrong to tell a person to seek God's will and His purpose? Is it wrong to tell them to pray to the Lord and to read His Word? Is it wrong to seek the things of God rather than our own things?

That is all well and good but you need to do that in addition to validating them and acknowledging their hurt and fear as real. You need to see it from their perspective even if YOU think it's flawed. Don't worry their sin won't rub off on you. You need to comfort them and not bash them over the head with scripture because chances are they aren't ready to hear it. Correcting them is fine but they have to be open and receptive to it or the correction will do no good.

Do you want to be effective or do you want to be right? Do you want to get people to change or hear yourself talk? If you sincerely want people to change you have to wait until they are ready to do so, not when you are ready for them to do so.

 

[JFSurvivor]

Let's look at this biblicaly shall we? God does not force us to change. He waits until we are ready to receive him. Then He's like ok let's get to work. He never forces someone to do something they aren't ready for. He doesn't yell at them for not being at a certain point at a certain time. He knows we'll get there. He is patient.

 

[Jason0047]

It is not force but love which motivates a loving father to help his totally helpless children. Not all will be saved. Not all are the Elect. Other topics.

There still is free will. God elects based on his future foreknowledge (See 1 Peter 1:1, 2 with a special focus on verse 2). We do not know all of who will be Elected in the end. Some may repent right before they die. For God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

 

[atwhatcost]

Nooooo...Sorry but you are completely missing the point of my thread. like COMPLETELY. You're seeing with your eyes and not your heart here.

Okay. I'll leave you alone.

 

[Sirk]

I honestly do not know what I said to get people here upset. They are claiming I am unloving for telling them to focus on God and to pray to Him. How is that unloving?

You spiritualize EVERYTHING! Its more obnoxious than capitalizing everything and it is a poor representation of the calling placed on us to serve others.

 

[Jason0047]

That is all well and good but you need to do that in addition to validating them and acknowledging their hurt and fear as real. You need to see it from their perspective even if YOU think it's flawed. Don't worry their sin won't rub off on you. You need to comfort them and not bash them over the head with scripture because chances are they aren't ready to hear it. Correcting them is fine but they have to be open and receptive to it or the correction will do no good.

Do you want to be effective or do you want to be right? Do you want to get people to change or hear yourself talk? If you sincerely want people to change you have to wait until they are ready to do so, not when you are ready for them to do so.

If a person rejects God's Word, it is not a blessing. However, I did not call them evil or call them names or make fun of them or anything of the sort (Like others here have done with me). I merely pointed out God's Word to them that their way of thinking is not in line with God's will as it is written in Scripture. Also, there is nothing wrong with standing up for God's Word and it's truths. I am not ashamed of Christ's words. I strive to tell other people this so as to lead them to Christ. If they don't want that, then that is their choice. I am just the Messenger. So please do not shoot the messenger.

 

[JFSurvivor]

If a person rejects God's Word, it is not a blessing. However, I did not call them evil or call them names or make fun of them or anything of the sort (Like others here have done with me). I merely pointed out God's Word to them that their way of thinking is not in line with God's will as it is written in Scripture. Also, there is nothing wrong with standing up for God's Word and it's truths. I am not ashamed of Christ's words. I strive to tell other people this so as to lead them to Christ. If they don't want that, then that is their choice. I am just the Messenger. So please do not shoot the messenger.

It's not what you pointed out it's HOW you did it.

 

[Sirk]

I wonder if Jason is able to interpret social cues that are essential for establishing connection between people.

 

[tribesman]

There still is free will.

There is absolutely no free will in spiritual matters for the lost and unregenerate, the spiritually dead.

God elects based on his future foreknowledge (See 1 Peter 1:1, 2 with a special focus on verse 2).

The predestination spoken of in Romans 8 explains that God knew beforehand His Elect. He did not foresaw what certain people would do, He foreKNEW them, He forloved them. He did not look down the corridors of time and learned something..."hey, these guys used their free will abilities and believed so I elect them". No. Almighty God CHOSE a people unto Himself before time was. Through His own will, not based on any merit or choice of the chosen.

We do not know all of who will be Elected in the end. Some may repent right before they die.

Yes, I agree with this.

For God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

None of the believers. The non-believers will meet their just fate and that is also God's will.

 

[SarahM777]

I was demonstrating the need to love ourselves because sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. Sometimes we can block what God is trying to do in our lives by believing lies about ourselves like the ones mentioned above. Let me demonstrate from a different perspective:

I'm in blue.
You: Father I messed up and I'm sorry
Jesus: I forgive you. Go and sin no more.
You: Thank you for your forgiveness Jesus. *takes a breath* now I need to forgive myself. (Ok let me break it down for you here. You saw in my previous post about how that last person kept beating themselves up right and it got in the way of what God was trying to do right? Well here where it says, "I need to forgive myself" is where you take a step in saying "I'm not going to dwell on what I did wrong I'm going to move on so I don't throw myself a pity party and so I can continue to have a loving relationship with God. This is self-love.) So now what can I learn from this? (Taking an objective stance and looking at how to make the situation better. So this is where sober judgement comes in to play) Well from now on I can handle my emotions better by counting to ten before speaking. I should also go apologize to my friend for making them feel bad.
God:
Ending 1

OK so we could leave it there or we could take it a step further.

You: *walks up to friend* Hey so I'm really sorry about what happened today I should not have blown up like I did. (Taking responsibility) Are you ok?
Friend: Yeah I'm ok and I forgive you.
You: thanks.
*They hug*

Ok so let's look at another possible ending:

You: *walks up to friend* Hey so I'm really sorry about what happened today I should not have blown up like I did. (Taking responsibility) Are you ok?
Friend: Yeah no I don't forgive you. Goodbye. *walks away*
You: *takes a deep breath and counts to ten* They didn't forgive me, that's on them. I am forgiven by God, I have forgiven myself, I know what to do next time. I'm good. and hey I counted to ten this time! Go me! Thank you for helping me God because I could not have done this on my own. *goes on merry way* (this is self-love)

Let's look at yet another ending:

You: *walks up to friend* Hey so I'm really sorry about what happened today I should not have blown up like I did. (Taking responsibility) Are you ok?
Friend: Yeah no I don't forgive you. Goodbye. *walks away*
You: I wasn't forgiven! No! no! no! This is terrible! I feel awful! If they didn't forgive me then how could I forgive myself? How could God forgive me?
God: Um...I did forgive you...
You: I feel so bad! I hate myself (self-hate)
God: But I love you :-(


So this thread is not geared at those who already love themselves and who can look at themselves with sober judgement. This thread is geared towards those who see themselves as repulsive, and horrible. Beating it with Jesus is impossible for these people because they get in the way of God's work. They can't see past the pain. They can't see themselves as God sees them. They need like a rocket boost to jump start their faith and break through that wall of self hate.

JF,Please slow down a bit. I was in your shoes at one time. I played all those very same tapes for DECADES (42 years).
I went through HORRIBLE depressions,depression so strong I could actually feel them come like a load of bricks on my shoulders. I tried committing suicide. I went through the drugs and alcohol because of it. My father never liked me and I was never good enough. My brothers and sisters didn't talk to me either. And to top that all off I have to deal with something that often times made me feel like a freak of nature.

I wasn't good enough,I was cursed by God,God was just waiting for me to step put of line and He was going to crush me like a bug,I was worth less then dog poo,God couldn't possible love this freak. I have no idea how often I prayed and yelled at God how I wished I had never been born. I was in emotional and mental pain for decades.

Then to add to injury when I turned 18 and I met a man who was very dark and evil. He was into witchcraft and some other stuff. That man abused me for 3 years and he tried to kill me 3 different times. He threatened to blow my family away (He knew where my family lived and I believed he was able to do it) and I believed I deserved it because I was worthless and that was the way a freak was to be dealt with.

Then to top it all off for good measure after dealing with this for all those years in 2000,right around Easter I had a major fight with my spouse who committed suicide. We never reconciled before that happened. That compounded the whole problem even more. Because I was the one to blame,it was my fault,etc etc etc. Until the Lord got a hold of me and started having me with all the WRONG thoughts,because many of them WERE LIES I had believed for years and as the Lord would take me through it and deal with each and every one that I had believed He released from all that garbage and I could finally see myself the RIGHT way in the manner that He wanted me to see myself. (And I will not kid you that it was easy to do,I fought it at times,I had to fight the doubts and fears and seeing God as someone like my father)

I have been there and there is victory when we do it His way. His way removes all the garbage and gives us peace. Because until we deal with and confront the lies they will remain and they will come back again and again and again,because we have a left opening for Satan to get at us and that door needs to be shut.

 

[Dan58]

I think there's a difference in "loving yourself" for who and what you are, what you believe and hold true, and for the same reasons the Lord loves you. There's also a selfish type of love that the bible rejects, consisting of self-interest, arrogance, pride, ego, etc. Remember that Satan loves himself more than anyone, and that type of love is not a good thing. But we need to love ourselves in order not to get down on ourselves. Every soul is important to the Lord, he created you because he wanted someone just like you. Never be ashamed or put down what God created, cherish the gift of life. And never let others persuade you that your not valuable, never let others define your self-worth, but always have confidence in that God didn't make a mistake. Love the Lord as he has loved you, and consider that if the creator of all things loves you, your worth loving. Its not a 'I'm better than everyone else', type of love, but rather having a peace residing within yourself (The Comforter), which gives us self-assurance and confidence. jmo

 

[Sirk]

Overly spiritual miss the fact the human element to us. God made us that way and even said it was good. It's what makes us unique in all creation. The only way God could reveal to creation what His love looks like is by teaching us.