FEAR

     I had a lot of fear in my  life and unfortunately it clouded my discernment. I stumbled across this from A Queen in Her Castle:

FEAR

F - Frustrates your emotional and spiritual growth.


E - Excessive worry about constantly trying to strive to do the "right thing" abounds.


A - Always wondering if you're going to be accepted by others because let's face it, being rejected hurts.


R - Ruins potential for future goals as well as slows down the ability to nurture the gifts that God has given to you.

     Growing up as a child I listened to a radio station that was always "right" in their christian beliefs and everyone who disagreed with them was on the path to heresy. I didn't always see the radio station's point of view, but I thought I must be spiritually undiscerning. How in the world could I fall for something apparently so false when the staff of the radio station saw so clearly the "error" ???? Well......maybe because it wasn't actually a grave doctrinal error and the radio station staff just might be wrong???
     Yet they absolutely tore people apart who didn't agree with them. What they really did to me was immobilize me into fear. Fear I would be branded a heretic for differing views, fear Christ doesn't give me discernment but only those more "spiritually discerning", fear that I would go into grave spiritual error, etc. Fear really shut down any discernment God had given me.
     Please do not let people "bully" you spiritually! Yes, the Christian family is important. They do help with accountability in avoiding pitfalls and doctrinal heresy but they are not your God or your Bible.
     If I only had realized when I was a child that Christ is the one who keeps me from falling. Not me, not other people, and definitely not the radio station staff.

Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Jude 24, 25