How do you love yourself?

[aha]

I know how to love people; Im nice to my friends, whatever I have food, money (when I can) I give it to em...

on a related note on previous post# 40, a bible verse comes to mind....

Luke 14:12-14New King James Version (NKJV)
12 Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

 

[dan in the lion's den]

Pancakes, CS Lewis suffered anxiety and depression when his wife died. He described it as an affliction and assured others that we are going to experience hardship and not to hold it against ourselves, but rather to count it as our participation in the Passion. Even Christ lowered Himself emotionally to the human level, before He was arrested, and immediately thereupon was afflicted with extreme anxiety to the point of sweating blood. Now though He did choose to allow Himself to feel what any of the rest of us would feel, He did not choose to be afflicted with anxiety.
Do not let those ignorant of tribulation lead you into self-doubt about who you are in Christ. Whether it be family, church or anyone on this forum... you cannot let them shake you from what Christ has planned for you.
Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Know this also Pancakes....those who look at our weaknesses and defeats with worldly eyes see just the face value of our lives while those who see you through the eyes of the Kingdom see a great work being wrought in you. Know that while some may see you as trapped in spiritual stagnation, it is actually they who may very well be stagnating while living in earthly bliss. Tribulation is the great opportunity for growth.
Now you must know the Lord has you right where He wants you so you can learn this great thing He is trying to teach you. He needs you to know certain things in order to serve Him in the Kingdom. He has an assignment or you.

 

[autumn oddity]

Nice to friends is good. Compassionate to those that do not necessarily qualify as 'friends' is more the neighbors that Christ was talking about in Matthew 22. Food & money can be used by the Lord to help those in need, and that is also good, but giving to the poor is not the whole of loving your neighbor.

You may need to learn to assess your needs, which may be more than your wants and in love for yourself as God's daughter, address those needs. I wouldn't presume to tell you how to do this, but rather than fretting about emptiness you want filled, fill it with service in the Lord's power.

I will tell you some things that have been a blessing to me... When I lost my job in the economic downturn a few years ago, I started volunteering at the Hospital (and going on job interviews). They have a policy where all patients are given a wheelchair ride to their car. I pushed people around. I also found that while it may have been a comfort to those I gave rides to, I also struck up friendships with the other volunteers, the workers in the gift shops, and many of the nursing staff. I got me away from looking at my problems. I received the greatest share of blessings through this.

I have also sorted food at the local food bank, and went out on their deliveries where they sent trucks of food to areas with needy people.

Recently, after some health issues and surgery, I have become a volunteer helping others that have had similar challenges. All this has kept my focus off any problems I may have been having, and on those I was helping. I have made many friends, but the basis of our relationships is not being nice people to each other, but in service to each other (not always the same thing).

So, I encourage you to love yourself by filling your emptiness with service in His power. You may find that this is the path toward having your specific needs met.

I defintely want to volunteer... and Im a pretty shy person..I did not expect to make friends at all to be honest, b/c i didn't at the last campus I was on, I got lucky/blessed with these ones lol...so w/e they need I tried to give to them...
a couple didn't have jobs in the beginning so they couldn't pay me back.... and the others ..idk i guess they forgot..but i don't remind them like; remember when we went to the book store and i bought you food ...(just so i can get something to eat lol...im trying t do it w/ no strings attached...no strings attached wouldn't remind people of all you did..just to get something from them)
Although it did start out w/ strings attached ....but all i wanted from them was them... as friends lol...
but as they received what i gave and went on abt their biz .... it taught me to do it w/ no strings attached
: p

and yah I always felt serving God or volunterring in some way would make me feel like Im not wasting my time ...
I just need to get alot of things in order b4 doing that ^_^

 

[autumn oddity]

Thank you all, who provided helpful scriptural and practical advice.

 

[Abdicate]

WOW unsaved... no I am saved
when I ave my life to christ..I remeber having a vivd dream of my brothers and I walking up a golden stair case (and alot more i can't remeber at the moment)
One thing about me is I don't pretend .... at all
I don't pretend to be happy when Im not...

I can't believe you would even type the mess you just wrote, to me its an incredible insult after what Ive went through...if I wasn't saved i would gave up after the first week

Like, Im still appalled..

Just because Im not happy all the time, or question God doesn't mean im not saved

Its a process, just because you got it in a year or two doesn't mean its like that foreveryone else.

Your comment was by far the most unhelpful...

you don't know my life or what Im dealing with

so don't accuse me of being unsaved bc I have questions...or issues ...

Do you know what the word salvation is in Greek and Hebrew? It's not just changing our destination after death, but it means:

Hebrew:
1. salvation, deliverance

a. welfare, prosperity
b. deliverance
c. salvation (by God)
d. victory​

Greek:
1. deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation

a. deliverance from the molestation of enemies
b. in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the souls safety or salvation

1. of Messianic salvation​

We all have doubts and questions, God is used to that. If you're saved, then claim it:

2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.​

Power is the same word as what is used for miraculous power. Your problem is you believe it's a "process" but it's not. It's instant, Romans 8:11. You have such a serious identity crisis with God that you need to get right with Him. When you get saved you become a new creature, 2 Cor 5:17. Because you focus on yourself and your circumstances, you live in misery, Pro 23:7. You need to change your thinking, Phil 4:8, and stop condemning yourself and God, Pro 17:15; Isa 45:23-25.

God bless you pancakes, I am only trying to help you see the truth.

 

[autumn oddity]

Do you know what the word salvation is in Greek and Hebrew? It's not just changing our destination after death, but it means:

Hebrew:
1. salvation, deliverance

a. welfare, prosperity
b. deliverance
c. salvation (by God)
d. victory​

Greek:
1. deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation

a. deliverance from the molestation of enemies
b. in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the souls safety or salvation

1. of Messianic salvation​

We all have doubts and questions, God is used to that. If you're saved, then claim it:

2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.​

Power is the same word as what is used for miraculous power. Your problem is you believe it's a "process" but it's not. It's instant, Romans 8:11. You have such a serious identity crisis with God that you need to get right with Him. When you get saved you become a new creature, 2 Cor 5:17. Because you focus on yourself and your circumstances, you live in misery, Pro 23:7. You need to change your thinking, Phil 4:8, and stop condemning yourself and God, Pro 17:15; Isa 45:23-25.

God bless you pancakes, I am only trying to help you see the truth.

brother deliverance doesnt happen instantly..... who knows how long job suffered
but you kinda sound like one of his friends who tried to "help"

One good thing you did help me see was that I kinda was seeing him as a genie...
but to say that Im not saved is untrue, and doesn't help at all.......

Like Francis said its a process...

sorry if Im not changing fast enough for you...

but Im planning to limit my time here.

 

[autumn oddity]

Do you know what the word salvation is in Greek and Hebrew? It's not just changing our destination after death, but it means:

Hebrew:
1. salvation, deliverance

a. welfare, prosperity
b. deliverance
c. salvation (by God)
d. victory​

Greek:
1. deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation

a. deliverance from the molestation of enemies
b. in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the souls safety or salvation

1. of Messianic salvation​

We all have doubts and questions, God is used to that. If you're saved, then claim it:

I never said I was unsaved .......
2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.​

God bless you pancakes, I am only trying to help you see the truth.

Telling me Im unsaved is truth? No... its not.

 

[Lanolin]

We are saved...and then have to actively work out our salvation, in a process called santification.
Sometimes doubt can creep in but we must not doubt, we must strengthen our faith by telling ourselves the truth of what Jesus did for us.

It was his blood that saved us.

Let me ask some questions...have you been baptised? Not just in water but in the holy spirit? Do you believe you died with Jesus wit the act of going under the water and being raised to life again? Are you born again, a new creature?
Do you ever speak in tongues? How I know I am saved is cos of this gift, then I know without a doubt Jesus did a work in me cos I can speak in tongues which I wasnever able to do before. If you have not recieved this gift through baptism ask God or an elder to pray for you to recieve.

You cannot just got to church and do all those religious activity and be good and think you saved cos I used to do that and I knew I was just pretending to be a christian cos I hadnt given all of my self and surrendered to God. You must actually believe the gospel and what Jesus did to save YOU.

We can pray for you here if you like.

 

[Abdicate]

Telling me Im unsaved is truth? No... its not.

You see what you want to see. You believe what you want to believe. Reread what I said. I said "Maybe". The fact that you're all bent out of shape about what I said instead of trying to learn from it, speaks louder than you can imagine.

2 Corinthians 13:5 (KJV)

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?​

 

[Siloam]

I defintely want to volunteer... and Im a pretty shy person..I did not expect to make friends at all to be honest, b/c i didn't at the last campus I was on, I got lucky/blessed with these ones lol...so w/e they need I tried to give to them...
a couple didn't have jobs in the beginning so they couldn't pay me back.... and the others ..idk i guess they forgot..but i don't remind them like; remember when we went to the book store and i bought you food ...(just so i can get something to eat lol...im trying t do it w/ no strings attached...no strings attached wouldn't remind people of all you did..just to get something from them)
Although it did start out w/ strings attached ....but all i wanted from them was them... as friends lol...
but as they received what i gave and went on abt their biz .... it taught me to do it w/ no strings attached
: p

and yah I always felt serving God or volunterring in some way would make me feel like Im not wasting my time ...
I just need to get alot of things in order b4 doing that ^_^

During most of my life, I was just as busy as anyone providing for my family and just working toward my 'current objective'. I didn't have the kind of time that I have now (but I had more $ when I was working). I still helped with vacation bible study for grade schoolers and volunteered for other tasks.

As for being shy, the good thing about volunteering is that it gives you a common thread with those you work with, and these are likely to be warm caring individuals. They become friends that you can look forward to seeing and feeling good about being with.

I get the feeling that you may need to 'buck-up' your self image My wife did when we were first going out. I told her to look in the mirror each morning and say to her self 'God loves you. You are worthwhile'. And then give yourself three strong compliments. The go out and live the day for the Lord.

Serving others is not just about the needy. Even those that have been blessed both spiritually and materially can be and need to be served. When done in the Lord's name, as He wills, you will receive much more than you give.

 

[autumn oddity]

You see what you want to see. You believe what you want to believe. Reread what I said. I said "Maybe". The fact that you're all bent out of shape about what I said instead of trying to learn from it, speaks louder than you can imagine.

2 Corinthians 13:5 (KJV)

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?​

The reason why Im bent out of shape is because youre kicking me while Im down...

again, according to you my baptism by water and HS means nothing guess.. according to "you" Im not saved..

again.. no...

If you don't want to help..you don't have to...

others already did..
so ....please...

 

[autumn oddity]

We are saved...and then have to actively work out our salvation, in a process called santification.
Sometimes doubt can creep in but we must not doubt, we must strengthen our faith by telling ourselves the truth of what Jesus did for us.

It was his blood that saved us.

Let me ask some questions...have you been baptised? Not just in water but in the holy spirit? Do you believe you died with Jesus wit the act of going under the water and being raised to life again? Are you born again, a new creature?
Do you ever speak in tongues? How I know I am saved is cos of this gift, then I know without a doubt Jesus did a work in me cos I can speak in tongues which I wasnever able to do before. If you have not recieved this gift through baptism ask God or an elder to pray for you to recieve.

You cannot just got to church and do all those religious activity and be good and think you saved cos I used to do that and I knew I was just pretending to be a christian cos I hadnt given all of my self and surrendered to God. You must actually believe the gospel and what Jesus did to save YOU.

We can pray for you here if you like.

Ive been baptised by water and spirit... I AM S>A>V>E>D.........
lordy... just because I have questions doesn't mean Im not....

whats wrong with you guys.. all i asked was how to love myself....
thats it ..i never called God out of his name, or anything
.........
I really don't get it.

 

[ASUK]

Don't let it get you down Pancakes. You deserve to be happy. You just need to believe it. It's so simple to do but it seems hard.

Keep reminding yourself that you deserve to be happy. Reject any bad feelings. Push them out of your thoughts. You can train your mind to be happy.

Do you know that there are a lot of fortunate people that are miserable and lots of unfortunate people that are happy and feel blessed?

The ones that are happy believe that they deserve to be happy. I hope you start believing that you deserve to be happy. There are so many things to feel joy about in this life. Don't grow old without enjoying your life.

 

[Lanolin]

Im sorry, of course you saved.
I guess i was kinda responding to abdicate. Its ok to ask questions. I dont know why abdicate was hard on you.

Answer to your question...first love God, then love others and by doing that, we love ourselves. God loves us first you see. Cos he saved you.

That means he wants the best for us, so whatever we do...is because of Him. The thing I have difficulty with your question is that we do not love ourselves more than God. Loving your own self is what satan tries to trick us into doing.

We are to love our neighbours as we love God. Love THYSELF. Not ourselves. Thy meaning God. Maybe try reading the KJV to understand the difference between thy, thine and ye and yours. Some other translations are iffy and just use 'you' for everything.

The holy spirit is in us, therefore we look after his temple, our bodies. Is that what you mean? So feed and nourish it.He owns us, so our body is not our own anymore. It is His dwelling place.

 

[autumn oddity]

Im sorry, of course you saved.
I guess i was kinda responding to abdicate. Its ok to ask questions. I dont know why abdicate was hard on you.

Answer to your question...first love God, then love others and by doing that, we love ourselves. God loves us first you see. Cos he saved you.

That means he wants the best for us, so whatever we do...is because of Him. The thing I have difficulty with your question is that we do not love ourselves more than God. Loving your own self is what satan tries to trick us into doing.

We are to love our neighbours as we love God. Love THYSELF. Not ourselves. Thy meaning God. Maybe try reading the KJV to understand the difference between thy, thine and ye and yours. Some other translations are iffy and just use 'you' for everything.

The holy spirit is in us, therefore we look after his temple, our bodies. Is that what you mean? So feed and nourish it.He owns us, so our body is not our own anymore. It is His dwelling place.

wow, i had no idea thy meant God...

how'd you find this out?

 

[autumn oddity]

Don't let it get you down Pancakes. You deserve to be happy. You just need to believe it. It's so simple to do but it seems hard.

Keep reminding yourself that you deserve to be happy. Reject any bad feelings. Push them out of your thoughts. You can train your mind to be happy.

Do you know that there are a lot of fortunate people that are miserable and lots of unfortunate people that are happy and feel blessed?

The ones that are happy believe that they deserve to be happy. I hope you start believing that you deserve to be happy. There are so many things to feel joy about in this life. Don't grow old without enjoying your life.

Yah, I kinda feel thats one of the main lessons god is trying so hard to get me to see...

and that's just to be positive..(through a friend and the people I worked with)
so Im gonna try

 

[Klub]

Thyself doesn't mean God, it means yourself.

Thy is just the old English word for your.

 

[Abdicate]

The reason why Im bent out of shape is because youre kicking me while Im down...

again, according to you my baptism by water and HS means nothing guess.. according to "you" Im not saved..

again.. no...

If you don't want to help..you don't have to...

others already did..
so ....please...

I am helping. Sometimes the news from the doctor is grievous and the patient has to make tough choices. Medicine isn't pleasant, but it's necessary. Sometimes the medicine makes you sicker, but if you take it, it'll work out for your best in the end. You keep saying words I've never said. They're all fabrications of your negative thought pattern, so you cannot see I am helping. I say what I mean and mean what I say. If you stick to the actual words I say, you might understand, rather than lash out irrationally.

 

[ASUK]

I think we all can use better tact when delivering the word.

 

[autumn oddity]

I am helping. Sometimes the news from the doctor is grievous and the patient has to make tough choices. Medicine isn't pleasant, but it's necessary. Sometimes the medicine makes you sicker, but if you take it, it'll work out for your best in the end. You keep saying words I've never said. They're all fabrications of your negative thought pattern, so you cannot see I am helping. I say what I mean and mean what I say. If you stick to the actual words I say, you might understand, rather than lash out irrationally.

You said .." I don't think pancakes is saved" you said that.

Im not fabricating that..you can scroll up through the thread and see for yourself...

I dn't mind being told the truth... but to tell me Im unsaved because I have a few questions..or even a lot of questions is absolutely ridiculous