Call Us: 423 661-4734 | Email: requests@comeandreason.com      
Страхът е за децата

Страхът е за децата

Наскоро чух редица проповеди, които описват Бога като ядосан, представяха Го като гневен, заплашващ и наказващ. Тези проповеди говорeха за такъв Бог, Който убива, изпраща огън от небето, като Бог, Който изгаря и посича хората.

Тези проповеди говореха против Божието любящо, прощаващо и милосърдно сърце. Няколко души ми изпратиха имейли, в които споделят, че такива проповеди ги карат да се страхуват от Бога.

В отговор на това мога да кажа, че познавам хора, които са против идеята, че Бог повишава гласа Си и заплашва. Според тях Той никога не действа по начин, който да подбужда страх. Но има много текстове, които използват този силен език. Къде е балансът? Как можем да примирим реалността, че „Бог е любов” и „Любовта не търси своето (…) не държи сметка за зло” и „дава живота си за приятеля” с изявления в Библията, където Бог заплашва да убие, накаже и унищожи?

Наистина е много просто – любовта винаги прави това, което е предназначено да лекува, да спасява и защитава; а това понякога означава и повишаване на гласа, и заплаха, и дори подбуждане на страх.

Неотдавна консултирах млад мъж, който се бореше със силно сексуално желание и действаше според това си желание. Докато разговаряхме и се опитвах да изследвам Божиите принципи и причини за въздържание до брака, стана ясно, че той просто не може да оцени каквато и да е полза от чакането. Умът му бе завладян от мощни чувства на похот. Причината и доказателствата просто не оказваха влияние върху него. Не беше зрял, не беше здрав, не беше способен да функционира на нивото, за което Бог ни е проектирал. Затова го срещнах на неговото ниво и подбудих у него страх. Представих му истината за болестите, предавани по полов път. Показах му снимки на това, което причиняват тези болести. Разгледах сценарии и ситуации, в които той можеше да пострада от тези заболявания, и той се уплаши. Всъщност ми се ядоса и извика: „Но сега не мога просто да съм с когото си пожелая!“.

Тогава разбрах, че страхът е за децата. Защо едно дете не преписва на изпит? От страх да не го хванат.  Защо младите не пият, когато шофират? От страх, че ще ги арестуват. Защо децата подреждат играчките си, оправят леглото си и изпълняват домашните си задължения? Поради страх от наказание.

Колко повече родител би „заплашил“, ако детето е ангажирано с нещо опасно и не го слуша? Ако то кара велосипеда си към наближаваща кола, която е скрита от неговия поглед, и не спира, въпреки че го предупреждавате, ще го заплашите ли и ще повишите ли гласа си, ще викнете ли с гневен тон? Бихте ли казали: „Ако не спреш веднага, ще те напляскам!“? или някакво друго заплашително изявление? Ако то обаче не спре и бъде ударено от колата, бихте ли го набили?

Така действа Бог. Бог е любов. Той действа, за да лекува и защитава, да спасява и възстановява. Но понякога, когато Неговите земни деца се отправят към самоунищожение, Той повишава гласа Си и заплашва да нанесе тежко наказание, надявайки се, че ще спрем, ще Го послушаме и ще бъдем спасени. Но ако не го направим, Бог скръбно ще замълчи. Точно както родителите на дете, което е ударено от колата, след като е пренебрегнало заплашителното предупреждение. Няма нужда Бог да използва Своята сила, за да убива или да унищожава, защото „грехът, като се развие напълно, ражда смърт” (Яков 1:15).

За съжаление, твърде много християни и твърде много пастори не успяват да разпознаят Бог като наш любящ Отец. А всъщност като такъв Той ни посреща там, където сме. Ако сме като малки деца в слушането, в разсъждаването, в следването на истината или в интелигентното прилагане на Неговите методи, тогава вместо да гледа как умираме, Бог от любов към нас заплашва, изпраща гръмотевици и дори подбужда страх, за да привлече вниманието ни и да ни спаси от нас самите. Но ако откажем да слушаме, ако настояваме да вървим по свой собствен път, тогава Бог най-накрая тъжно ще ни остави на резултатите от собствения ни избор и действия и ние ще умрем. Но преди да ни пусне да си отидем, нашият милостив Бог е толкова прекрасен, че като всеки любящ родител ще повишава гласа Си, ще вика към нас да спрем, дори ще ни заплашва с наказание, като всичко това е предназначено да ни спаси. Да, Бог понякога използва методи, предназначени да вдъхнат страх, но страхът е за децата – Бог очаква да пораснем и да Го опознаем – такъв, какъвто е в действителност. 

 

Donate online, securely via PayPal using your credit or debit card (no PayPal account needed, unless you want to set up a monthly, recurring payment).


cancel recurring payment

 

Want to use zelle instead?
See how on our
Support and Donations page.

Upcoming Events

calendar

Testimonial Post Slider

Testimony 5

We listen to your bible studies lessons in our class in Montana. You actually were the main reason I decided to get a laptop, so I can go to your site and listen, read, learn, and print the class notes. I am so grateful to learn the correct view of God and his character. Now, to just have others have an interest in knowing, so I can share it with them. Good thoughts your way.

R. N., MT, USA

 

Testimony 54

I had a lot of pressure, as a pastor’s kid, to conform and be “good.” I was good at being “good.” I thought my life was going along well until it all started falling apart and I could not figure out why! In my search for “why is this happening to me, God?” I came across your book, “Could it be this Simple,” and God started revealing to me the many distortions I held about His character, His principles, and how He has designed His universe to operate. I remember thinking, “Wow, I have had this all backwards.” I was happy and angry all at the same time. Happy to have the light of truth break through the darkness, revealing a wonderful, beautiful way of understanding God and His plan for His children, and angry, because I felt deceived and cheated by the church, my family, and myself!

My heart thrills when I listen to your bible study lessons. Literally I have gone from death to life. It is a journey I look forward to every day, as God reveals areas this distortion affects. Praise GOD! I will ever be grateful to God for this ministry and your cooperation with the Spirit!

Karen S., Portal, AZ, USA

 

Testimony 56

I cannot thank you enough for opening my understanding to the beautiful truth of God’s Law of Love and how it applies to everything. I have been a Christian for over forty years, but I feel like I am only now seeing with my eyes open. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

Tammy Cinzio, Australia

 

Testimony 66

I am incredibly grateful for the transformative impact you’ve had on my life, and words cannot fully express my appreciation. Over the years, I have been an avid listener and follower of C&R and extend my heartfelt thanks for creating the C&R mobile app. It has allowed me to immerse myself in your lessons repeatedly, enabling me to grasp the profound significance about the Character of God, Design Law, the protocols for life, the reasons behind the current chaos, and Christ’s mission to restore everything. They have deeply touched me. Having studied with various churches, I came away with the perception that God is no different from the deities of ancient Greek or Roman mythology—demanding sacrifices and taking pleasure in bloodshed. Thanks to your transformative teachings, I have experienced a profound awakening to the true nature of God and the immense power of His love. It is truly a remarkable and liberating sensation to finally grasp the truth and embrace the empowering nature of God’s laws. My self-perception has become brighter and more infused with love. My journey of growth continues on a daily basis.

Chris P., Lake Mary, FL, USA

 

Testimony 22

I have found your Bible study class lectures to be very inspiring and useful as I prepare to teach class every other week. I subscribe to the podcast and download your notes on the weeks I teach. The audio and notes are such a great help in preparing. My own understanding of God’s character has grown as I teach the class. Commendations on the thought-provoking and well-prepared material Come and Reason provides. Personally, I get excited by the tie you make between the spiritual and mental/physical domains.

A.A. Corrales, NM, USA

 

Testimony 9

I really enjoy with you the view of a gracious God. Thank you for sharing the work you are allowing the Lord to do in you.

L., Queensland, Australia

 

Testimony 40

I was brought up in a different faith and have been petrified my whole life of God. I believed that I would burn in hell for eternity. When I was 12 I started pursuing the things of this world, but for the next 45 years the Spirit was always calling me, as I knew there was a God through nature. I could see the vast sea of stars in the universe and knew there was something bigger out there. Five years ago, through a Revelation seminar, I was blessed to learn about God’s character and government.

Then I found Come and Reason Ministries and have come under some extreme pressure when I speak about the ministry. One time a member sent me an internet article titled “Whats wrong with Tim Jennings?” I asked her what she thought of it and she said “I don’t know, I didn’t read it.”

I have always wanted to find out for myself the truth about God, so I stayed with the Design Law construct and have been liberated to understand the big picture. Once we consider Design Law, all other Bible stories and prophecies seem to fit perfectly. It is truly beautiful to see people grasping how God operates this Universe of Love and the liberation it has provided in their lives. It blows my mind to see how consistent Design law is with what our founders believed. I hear statements like “This makes so much sense.”

Tom W., Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA

 

Testimony 73

I have been truly blessed by your blogs and other resources. They have helped me to see things in a much brighter light and to reason things out better. Thank you so much for your ministry. Whenever I have the opportunity I pass along your material to my friends.

R. Noseworthy, Newfoundland, Canada

Testimony 28

I have been following your Bible study class for about a year now. I must say I am impressed with how your ministry has grown. I took it upon myself to listen to all your lesson podcasts from the past and they have both enriched me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I have learnt a lot from this class. I have also noticed how the class has grown in spiritual strength. One of the things that benefited me is that now I am not afraid of God. I use to be, but now it has melted away. The second thing is that you helped me to have a real life relationship with God. Now He is my friend that was always there and I love having him with me all the time. Thirdly, because of this class, it inspired me to take over and lead a class. I have called it “Let Us Reason Together,” adapting your inquisitive style and creating a class of free thinkers.

T. Banda, Malawi, Africa

 

Testimony 29

Thank you for all of your work to correct misconceptions about God’s character. So many people that my husband and I have talked to seem to be against the natural law construct and view it as “errant” and “dangerous.” Having learned more about it through your blogs and lessons, I don’t really understand why they view it that way, except that it means they have to relearn theology they have known for their entire lives. But I’m so excited to relearn this. For the past few years I have been questioning how I could trust a God who punishes arbitrarily and is full of wrath for those who don’t obey His commands. That view made me afraid to “mess up” or “not be good enough,” even within my relationship with God. I really appreciated the point you bring out about God not wanting us to serve Him because we are afraid, but because we love Him.

Melissa H., IN, USA

 

Testimony 71

When I was 9 years old, I remember setting at our devotional table with a hunger and thirst for God that wanted more, deeper, BETTER. I can remember literally crying and pounding on the table, “I know these teachers didn’t mean to give us error. They taught what THEY had been TAUGHT, but didn’t ANYBODY READ THE BOOK?!?!?” It mattered to me then. It mattered to me as a teenager. It matters now as I teach bible classes. It didn’t have to be so hard as I watched so many give up and lay God’s great plan and gift of salvation aside as being “impossible.” Then, a friend sent me a link to Come And Reason’s website. I grew excited. YES! FINALLY! Then another friend told me to stay away, saying her son had just broken up with a girl because she was involved with Come And Reason and that “Tim Jennings preaches a false gospel.” But, AFTER many years of developing an authentic and, dare I say FUN relationship with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit I see this message has been around a LONG time, since the apostle Paul, Ellen White, Graham Maxwell, Ray Foucher, and yourself (though I admit, you’ve made me back up, rewind and replay the clips, and get out my well-worn Bible on a few things.) I’m so thankful I have found LIGHT during these DARK days. I am not alone.

Vicki DiNitto

Testimony 53

I was so blessed by a friend who gave me your book, “The God Shaped Brain,” while I was sitting in church asking God to please help me learn more about Him and help me not to be so confused and scared. That was about 2 years ago. Your books have helped me to love God even more. I’m not confused or scared anymore! I have listened to all of your bible study classes and feel like I know the wonderful people that attend every week. Thank you for all that you’re doing in spreading the true message about God and His law of love. God bless you and your whole class.

Elssy P., Modesto, CA, USA

 

Testimony 23

I would just like to add my voice to the many people who, I believe, must have contacted you to express their appreciation for the “Healing the Mind” DVDs. I’ve been listening to your Bible study class discussions for many years and I’ve been personally blessed by your research and teaching about the character of God.

L. G., Oakland, MI, USA

 

Testimony 65

I have been tuning into your weekly study classes for a while now and wanted express my appreciation for the teachings that ha been a huge blessing in opening up the true message of the word. Viewing scripture under an imposed law theory always, without fail, raised more questions, concerns, and conflicting scripture interpretations that were discouraging at the very least. Looking at scripture through the design law lens has brought more truth to light for me personally and an understanding of our Heavenly Father that places Him “above all others,” where I am now more than thrilled to witness and serve Him.  I “stumbled” across this ministry a year or so ago and would only watch a few minutes at a time. But the more I listened and the longer I paid attention, the more my spiritual eyes were opened to the ever present truths of scripture. The comprehension of the great controversy and it’s origin by the lies perpetrated and perpetuated throughout the Bible on the attack of God’s character and government is truly priceless. Keep up the Good Work! Your servanthood is desperately needed in such a time as this!

Jeff D., Reading, MA, USA

 

Testimony 32

The message [of Come And Reason Ministries is] for all Christians (and those who may become Christians) and not just Adventists or any other group. It is difficult to imagine why any [anyone] with intellectual and spiritual honesty could find fault with the way you explained the healing substitution concepts and the truth about God’s character, though I know some will reject and criticize. On behalf of those in our group near Tacoma, WA, thank you and your staff for all of the hard work and for sharing the Gospel in this manner. God’s message of healing love will be carried to the whole world and then Jesus will come – He promised it.

Terry U., Tacoma, WA, USA