Antidotes to unbelief.

[olger]

1. Love God. "This is life eternal that they might know thee, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." To know Him is to love Him.

2. Prayer. Talk to God - He will respond in many ways.

3. Read the Word. Heb 3:12 "Take heed, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God."

4. Guard your heart. Guarding our heart is important...Becoming jaded, cynical, and skeptical is common in the days we live...focusing on the positive, the glass is half full is much better than to focus on the negative the glass is half empty...many times small irritations creep in to attempt to shift our focus from what is good, and right and worthy of our though life. "Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it come the issues of life."

5. Encourage others daily. "Encourage one another day after day as long at it is still called today lest you become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb 3:13).

To encourage someone means to pour courage into their heart. I've noticed an amazing thing, when I encourage another person, somehow i am encouraged.

And...Rejoice always,

`oG

[Dr. Shane]

I think it also important to understand that many, if not most, Christians have doubts. I have known some that left the church because they had some doubts and felt like staying in the church was a lie because they were not convinced 100% about God or some specific doctrines. It is not a sin to have doubts. The sin is to act on those doubts. I brace soldier isn't one that feels no fear. It is one that feels fear but does not let it influence him. So it is in the Christian walk. The faithful Christian isn't one that doesn't have doubts, it is one that has doubts but doesn't let it influence him or her.

I am not suggesting we should believe in the face of enormous doubt. I have enormous doubts about the existence of Santa Claus to the point that I simply refuse to believe in him. But there is enough evidence to believe in God, Jesus and the Resurrection that I can choose to ignore the doubts I may have.

[olger]

Right.

[Guest]

Excellent!

I need the antidotes..

[Kevin H]

Olger: You have no idea how much I needed that tonight...

[Naomi]

Thanks Olger ... We all need antidotes from time-to-time

Blessings

[LifeHiscost]

Right.

I have doubts, but not about God(Jehovah), His love, or His promises. When the doubts arrive, I find the promise that lays the doubt to rest. That's the way we keep joy alive.

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.Philippians 4:4 KJV

God blesses!

[olger]

Olger: You have no idea how much I needed that tonight...

[Kevin H]

Again thank you Olger: Sabbath was an incredible rough day for me and your post really helped out...

[Kevin H]

When ever I've met a special woman, life has tended to send us to different parts of the world, where our friendship becomes trying to maintain a long distance relationship then eventually she meet someone new. It is not like a lot of big ups and downs and making up going through cycles, arguments and trying to work things out but not able to. Instead for me it is almost like watching a movie where boy meets girl, boy and girl are starting to fall in love, and the film rips and when taped back together to see the rest of the story you see girl with new guy and boy is again single, or at least boy and girl still in love but living in different parts of the world and not having a chance to really date life moves on.

A few years ago I went to a new church for the first time. Since I'm still single each time I say a prayer to maybe meet someone special. Usually the prayer is answered "no" as the church has old people, their small grandchildren and a few married couples, and maybe a couple of single guys... This time it was basically the same. The only difference was a young girl in the front row turned and saw me and jumped up and started to run towards me, realized that she did not know me and sat back down but kept looking at me and blushing, and after church ran up to me and introduced herself. With my work schedule I only made it to church once a month, sometimes needing to skip a month or two. Each time she would look at me and smile and blush, would only say "hi" after church then go on her way. Since I'm not a child molester I did not think much about it. Then one day she ran up to me and said "Kevin, I'm 18 now!!!" and she began to sit beside me for the dinner, and a few months later I was able to get from church about once a month or less to 3 times a month, with two being catching only the sermon and rushing to work and once a month to stay. She was always with me and when I had to leave for work she would go into a deep depression that I had to go and we had to be appart.

With her young age I was not expecting it to last too long, and at first was just seeing it as cute and did not expect much. That spring as she was approaching graduation she asked for my address and number to invite me to her graduation and graduation party. Well, instead of getting the invitation I got a phone call from her mom telling me to never call her again and to leave her alone. For 6 weeks I thought "Well, that's that" however after the 6 weeks, at least Kathy said, that her mom finally gave in and said that we could be friends but limited to ONLY seeing each other in church, and that if we dared tried to meet anyplace else that Kathy would no longer be allowed to even attend church and would cut off all contact between us.

I had an aunt who lived in Southern California who had died and she was being burried next to her late husband and his family in Tenn. I had mentioned this in a text to Kathy, her mom somehow interpeted this to mean that Kathy and I were planing to elope to South Carolina, and took Kathy's cell phone from her and refused to let her have one until these past couple of weeks when this new event I'll mention below happened.

Both her mom and people at church gave us a hard time telling how horrible it is for someone that young to hang around with someone my age, and giving her a very hard time. Some things church members did when I was not there was to have her hold a baby and say "This is you if you marry Kevin, he is old, he will soon be dead, and it would just be you alone trying to raise your family." and tell her that I'm old enough to be her father, why I'm old enough to be her grandfather (which would be pushing it) at times she would cave in and give me a cold shoulder trying to stop her feelings, but then she would give into them and our friendship would continue. Since I want to marry and have two or three children, of course I now need to marry someone younger, so while I was expecting her to be too young to take seriously, I would be open to what could happen, and week after week the friendship was there.

Now in the end of January 2011 she said "I love you but everyone says your too old for me." In February 2011 she started a cool shoulder spell and pointed to a 14 year old guy and said that she was dating him. (turned out that he was just a kid who went to the same school that barely knew her and soon moved away) but through out the rest of that Feb and March she was somewhat cool to me, yet would always sit by me and spend time with me. In April that year, on my week I did not have to work I drove a group from the church home. One was Kathy. While driving home she said to me in a cold voice"Remember, we are ONLY friends. We are NOT boyfriend and girlfriend, We are NOT in love, There is No Future for us beyond friendship, you are way too old for me" then turned to me with a huge mischievous smile and said "and that should please my mother and the people in church until they are able to accept our relationship and realize that it is NOT going to end, and grabbed my hand that she held close to her the rest of the drive to her house.

I drove her home on the week I did not have to work until October 2011, and these were nice times where we could speak more without everyone around and our friendship was growing. However in October her mom found out that I was driving her home once a month and told the church leaders that I was Never to drive Kathy home again, and has been coming down even stronger on her.

Again, when she was 18 and 19 I was not expecting much, but as, with these ups and downs, it lasted into her being 20 I was starting to believe that this was indeed going to last. To spend even more time together we started to meet in a Sunday keeping church as well. It still had the ups and downs with her mom and people from church telling her that she was wrong to fall in love with someone my age. But as we got through each cycle and the friendship had been growing, however even with the things going good, when it was time to part after the day she would enter a deep depression at us being apart for a week or two, and I knew that sadness was not healthy for our relationship. Yet, I was becoming more confident, and while there was the strict can't see each other except in church rule, each week was getting closer to her becoming independent where she could choose her own dates, and was having dreams of us really dating, maybe marrying, planned out our honeymoon in my mind, and dreaming of our children, and the hopes of having children while my mom is alive and can enjoy them and that she could live for them to have memories of her, which is very important to me, and praising God that my hopes and dreams were growing into view.

Well, a few weeks she met another guy that her mom was more acceptable of. She says that he is 26 (however he looks at least 30). He is a guy who she is able to see during the week and not have the dating restrictions that she and I are bound by, so as I learned about him, I did officially break up with Kathy telling her that it is only fair at her age to date someone who does not have everyone tell her that it is wrong and who is only limited to the very structured, supervised couple of hours, and her mom has allowed him to get Kathy a cellphone after 2 1/2 years not allowing her to have one for fear that she and I were going to elope.

These few weeks after the breakup, it was still a good friendship as we got together after church, so almost as if we were still together. Well, this past Sabbath at church she brought him... He looks a bit like me, blonde hair, blue eyes, however over 6 feet and more muscular (looks like he works construction) as I said she says he is 26, but I think he looks closer to 30. I think that my face is a bit more handsome than his, but if you like a rugged look then he would look at lest as good if not better. But we are fairly equally good looking. It looked like I was the old clunker model and here is the newer, sportier model of the same car, a man who can remind her enough of me to catch her interest, yet young enough for her to be free to date and to see during the week, and not have to deal with a couple of hours fun followed by the sad depressing good bye. It feels like waking up from a wonderful dream but that the past few years was only a dream all over, and that I woke up and it is all only as real as a dream that is all over and no longer in reach, that our whole relationship was erased from history. So to come home from this and I read on facebook a post "It hurts when you go through something that kills you inside but you have to act like it doesn't affect you." it was a perfect description of my day, and your post was much needed that day. Thank you again.

Now, we have had some rough times before but got through, so I don't know for sure that this will be the end, but it is only respectful to assume that this is the end of at least our relationship. Sadly when it comes to women, I find it very hard have much faith in Jesus caring about my heart, and have tremendious faith that the new guy is going to be aboutely wonderful the man of her dreams...

However, I am holding on to well the fact that our friendship has lasted so long even with it being so limited and the criticizism. But also, even with the hurt of past relationships that have ended by life taking us to different parts of the world, that I was glad that God had brought her into my life, and that God can do this again, hopefully with a young woman who does not get the same rough time from her family and church family. But even if the worst happens, that this is indeed over, and I never again were to meet someone and my mom dies with out getting to enjoy her grandchidren and that I meet the resurection morning and have no wife and children that I can introuduce to my grandma and other loved ones, I know that Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eye and that our heartaches here will be nothing compaired to what Jesus will give us there. But I am hoping, whether it is with Kathy or someone else, that God will be merciful and the promise of paying the tithe that God would give us a blessing. Please keep me in your prayers.

[Gordon1]

God has furnished much counsel on social relations through the Spirit of Prophecy,

for the express purpose of avoiding hurt and confusion, instead leading us in sure paths.

[Kevin H]

Another text that I'm holding on to is "man looketh upon the outward but God looketh upon the heart." Not necessarly compairing my heart to his, but how I'm looking at the outward curcumstances while I need to look towards Christ's heart towards us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh9nMO6JAPc

[LifeHiscost]

Kevin, I was quite surprised to see you put so much of your life's experience out before, essentially, the whole world on which to pass judgment. I was happy to see you recognizing Jesus as the best source of wisdom to make your decisions. There is no doubt His conclusions for you will be superior to any of the millions, including mine, who might be the instrument used by Him, to open up for consideration the choices that will bring honor to Him.

A maxim of mine for confession is, "confession with discretion", which putting it on Facebook or Twitter, for the most part, doesn't fit into that description. OTOH that doesn't mean God would necessarily agree with me in this case.

" Plans go wrong without talking together, but they will go well when many wise men talk about what to do." Proverbs 15:22 NLV

"There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand."

Proverbs 19:20 NKJV

BTW, often the song that ministers in a worship service, holds the primary key to the preaching. Ministry in music has always played a major role in my own comfort in the Lord.

God blesses!

[Kevin H]

Thank you lifecost, and no I did not post it on facebook, I only mentioned that I came home and found that someone posted that line and thought how that described my day and how Oger's post was helpful.