Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 171

Someone,

I will gladly pray for you. It seems you have a lot to be concerned about right now and it is weighing on you.

Jesus has promised peace to those who know Him, trust Him, and follow Him as His disciples and friends in this life. He gives comfort to the afflicted and strength to the embattled. So, I hope you believe this is true.

Although this life is nothing compared to what is in store for us who believe in Jesus. But there is still much beauty in God's earthly creation and also many ways God shows His glory to us, His children. His mercies are new every morning and His faithfulness is unfailing. It can be hard to embrace these truths when one is hurting, or fearful, or anxious. But God's truth remains.

I pray for God to lift up your heart in praise, trust, and gratitude to Him for the multitude of blessings He brings daily to His children. Be on the lookout for these blessings, even if they seem small. He blesses to change our hearts to be mended and more like Jesus. He also brings hardship to change us as well, though this is never fun.

Someone, remember and recall often who you are in Christ Jesus. This will really help youo.

Thanks Chris, extremely helpful.

Amen Brother Jesse.

Ephesians 2:20-22, came to my mind also.

I love the way the writer put it in Hebrews 3:3-5.

Great lesson!

Blessings.

Thank you Jesse

How is your home repair going from the storm?

Matthew 19:13-14 continue with the idea of God not wanting any of the "little ones" to perish (v. 14). Thus is the famous leaving the 99 to find the one lost sheep statement. This could also be speaking of children; but His sheep are all those called and chosen and therefore ultimately can't be lost. That's how I see it anyway.

Verses 15 through 17 discuss about the procedure of a brother sinning. We are to talk to him then two or three witnesses then the whole "church". This seems to look forward to the time after Pentecost in regard to such discipline and is used today. We see how a worst case scenario is when he is considered as a heathen; much like Paul said to the sinning member of the Corinthian church in 1 Cor. 5:5; and verse 13. The idea of restoring a brother is indicated in verse 15 of Matthew 19; and is further illustrated in the famous "seventy times seven" statement of the number of times we should forgive a brother. I don't want to neglect the fact that the binding and loosing in verses 18-19 are in the context of this discussion.

(* Binding and loosing does NOT mean we can command Satan or any of his demons to be bound in the earth before the time because even Jesus didn't do that when the demons asked if that were the case ( Matt. 8:29). It would be heavenly powers being loosed or demons being bound from attaching themselves to someone or perhaps being able to do warfare in the second heaven.)

The rest of the chapter warns about not forgiving someone in our hearts (v. 35). The forgiveness of great debt of course signifies how we were saved with such a great cost even though for us it was a free gift. Therefore we aren't to harbor grudges. This shows why proper church discipline needs to be done but in fellowship of the saints where when two or more gather He is with them (v. 20). God of course answers individual prayer but it can so easily be tainted due to our own issues that we are focused on ourselves rather than God.

Hey there brother Spencer,

Always nice to hear from you. I can see how you would be reminded of those two verses. It is God who builds the house even though some men over the years have tried to take credit. We are told in Psalm 127:1 that "Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it.

You brought up 1 Peter 2:5 which speaks of us being the living stones and that we are being built up a spiritual house, and that took me to Ephesians 2:20-22, especially Verse 22. What is being picturing for us is that individually we know that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. But collectively, we are being shaped according to Peter in 1 Peter Chapter 1, (which you rightly so brought up) that we are living stones being shaped and formed to fit in.

We will eventually be a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. That is, God's presence and His glory will be in the midst of us, radiating out in us, to us, and through us throughout eternity. It will be in the shape of a habitation, or dwelling. And that's what we're being prepared for, to fit into this habitation. And it is God doing all the building!

God bless you also my brother!

GiGi,

You got it, may the Lord be with them and keep them safe!

Thank you Brother Jesse!

The Lord is the builder of the house and the chief corner stone!

This reminds me of Matthew 16:18 and 1 Peter 2:5

God bless you!

Hello again friends,

Just asking for travel safety for our family members who are on a flight to Amsterdam then to Kenya for a three week stay with our daughter in law's family. She and my son took little Rosie along and our other son went with them, too. Pleases pray that all goes well with the long flights for Rosie and that they are kept safe. They will go on a safari and also spend a few days on the coast. But most of the time will be spent at her grandparents home. Her Mom and aunts are flying there, too, for this reunion.

So, should be a blessed visit with all of them together.

Dear Mother Mac,

The tree root problem was the other next door neighbor. She finally consented to removing the huge maple tree when branches hit our car and shattered the windshield and made multiple dents in the roof. This was after a similar wind event a few days earlier that sent branches all over our yard. We are glad to see the tree come down as it was a hazard. Now we can redo our driveway and regrade our front yard, removing the roots, and re-seeding with grass.

The property dispute is the man next door. Always seemed like a fair guy, was friendly to us all this time, and so his behavior in this issue seems unlike him. But perhaps it just reveals more about him than maybe he wants us to know.

As for us, we want to be prayerful and follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in this matter as in all matters. If he will agree to buy the strip of land from us, then we both can be happy. So that is the best way to solve it at this time. We just wonder how long he has been planning to take possession of this strip for free using the statute that he does not qualify to apply to this situation.

But God is his judge and knows who are His. We are trusting in Him to bring a good end to this.

Thanks for your comments and your prayers are treasured.

I don't watch their services; I did however belong to this same church for 20 years and have been gone from there since 2005. And this is one of the reasons we left. Someone put this on a site i belong to called Beren Holiness and wanted other Christian's point of view. Thank you for your comment, I agree.

Matthew 19 discusses the fact that anyone who wants to enter the Kingdom of Heaven must be as a child. In fact verse 10 states

10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. [11] [a]. Apparently some texts add Luke 19:10 after this about God seeking to save the lost. Causing one of them to stumble also is a severe warning in verse 6

6 "If anyone causes one of these little ones-those who believe in me-to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Some argue this can mean those who are babes in Christ rather than strictly children. I can see that as plausible; certainly consequences of causing someone to sin because of our own sin against them or leading them astray is a very scary thought.

Nonetheless we see other verses where the children come to Christ in 3 of the 4 Gospels. Children praising God comes from the concept of Psalm 8:2; we see this in Matthew 21:16; Matthew 11:25 and Luke 10:21 show "babes" having things revealed to them. Again whether it is babes in Christ ( 1 Cor. 3:1) or in the context of actual children; it is pretty clear children are the main focus here. Verses 8 and 9 also show how horrible hell is in regard to cutting feet or gouging our eyes out as being preferable.

I take this as literal truth; not that doing such a thing will keep us from sinning as there are always other ways that can be found; we don't see any scriptural evidence of anyone doing this but clearly hell is worse than any earthly sufferings and to be avoided at all costs. The main concept here is that any sinful lifestyle indicates an unrepentant heart; we need to put to death our members such as Colossians 3:5 indicates.

Reply to Gigi

I will be praying for you. Some time back you were having trouble with tree roots ruining your drive way.

Maybe the same neighbor?

Living next door to him for nine years probably has had its moments. Your trust in God brought you to this place. Keep trusting him. He will see you through it all.

I agree with you. Legally is the best

way to resolve this issue.

You showed him kindness by willing to compromise. He is not a kind-hearted person.

An old saying,

"Some people take your kindness for ignorance."

Be blessed.

Bhorn,

I agree. Our Lord Jesus is above all and has all power and authority. I pray He will help us in this situation. Being drawn into something like this unexpectedly is somewhat shocking. We would never do this to a neighbor, so we continued to be kind to him and permit him to park his truck there. If we had known he was scheming to take this land from us, we would have gone through the process of eviction and withdrawing our permission. But it is what it is for now. We don't think like people who do things like this which makes us vulnerable. But we know that the Lord is with us no matter what comes about.

Hello Ginnybelle187

This church situation is toxic. I would advise you to stop listening to the services.

The behavior of this woman with the permission of the pastor is coercive, unbiblical, and manipulative meant to control the members with fear and intimidation. Most likely this is occurring to hide some sinful problems of the pastor and the immediate family.

So sad that this happens in God's family, all too often as well.

Thank you so much Aer805,

Good to hear from you and I am glad you are with us.

Hello Chris,

Thanks for your prayers and concern.

I do wish for a quick and fair resolution where God is honored above all.

Thank you, Free.

It really blesses me to have you pray for us.

Thanks, T-Rex.

Yes, I am keeping him in prayer for salvation.

If it ends up being a complicated matter, then that may be. We put our trust in the Lord. We have not done anything wrong here. So hoping to be exonerated and having this come to a fair conclusion.

Like you mentioned, we have paid the taxes for this strip all these years. The land is worth a certain amount at the going rate for residential land. We hope to find out soon what this would be. Honestly, we just want to recoup from him our attorney fees, taxes for the last 9 years on that strip, the fee for the second survey, and some payment for the land. I suspect we will sell it for much less than it is worth, but hope to get at least enough to cover the above expenses.

Thanks for your prayers and input.

GiGi

Since you responded to my question it pulled me on this thread. I am so sorry to hear about your land troubles. I work in law enforcement and I see all kinds of stuff daily. I wish I could offer you advice but laws vary state to state. But I know one person that is above all that, Jesus. I will be praying for you and your family.

I recently watched a video of a church Sunday night church service where the pastors mother-in-law stood on the platform and said if anyone spoke against the pastor she would sic the devil on them. she also said that he will tell God who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. then she proceeded to say the pastor and bishop, her husband, is to be obeyed or they will lose their soul, as well as their children.

any comments on this?

Thank you. This is the most logical response I have ever gotten. I have thought about and ask about this for years, but the answers seemed halfhearted at best. Thank you again.

Gigi, I have been been reading your comments for a long time and just recently became a member on this site. You, Chris, Jessie, S Spencer and many others have been a great inspiration to me. I also have had people take advantage of my kindness and try to use it against me. You and your family are in my prayers and I know the Lord will see you through this dispute with your neighbor.

I too am so sorry to get this news GiGi with you having to put up with your neighbor's antics over this property matter. You are wise to hire an attorney, who should also have access to your land corporation (or the equivalent you have there), which no doubt will have on file the correct land area measurements for both yours & his properties. And since you are willing to forego that small part of your land, then hopefully the attorneys would simply, via correspondence, come to some amicable arrangement quickly. Will certainly keep you both in prayer for strength & a correct speedy resolution of this matter.

Hallo. I see that you get good answer here. And i want to say: If you read further in chapter 17 you will have your answer. It was Peter, Jacob and his brother Johannes who could see Him. Mat 17:1-9.

The "coming" take place in that moment.

In Jesus name Luke 11:1-8 God bless us all with understanding and visdom, Amen

Hallo GiGi am sorry for your trubble here. Belive in the Lord in this: Jacob 1:2-8. Hallelujah! I cant tell much about your countys rule. But suppose the land was located in the wilderness and everyone could claime it after some years, where they have used the land. I will think that would be no problem to take over the land right away. (We have some of the simular rules here in the north). But in your case you have statutes on the border. He must clime down on this, and give you what the field is worth. I hope all of this work out to the best for you. At least that you get peace over it. Good luck! And stay close to the Lord Jesus, be strong. God provide for all His people. Luk 11:1-4 in Jesus name Amen.

That is unfortunate you have a challenge with your neighbor, dear GiGi. Praying for your neighbors and their salvation will help. If I were in your position, I wouldn't say anything more for now. Just document everything thoroughly and avoid making any statements about selling your land or agreeing to any demands. It's not legal for someone to just take part of your land-especially if you have a deed and have been paying taxes on it for years. If that were possible, you could just put a shed on their land, snap a photo, and claim ownership of their property too, which isn't how the law works.

It's also unlikely that your county would allow property lines to be redrawn without going through a formal and complicated process. So that probably isn't even a realistic option. It might be worth reaching out to a Christian lawyer-some might be fair and honest with their rates, and there are even ones who won't charge unless you win. Blessings to you.

Pt. 3

It bothers us that our neighbor had been planning for some time to take this property without having to pay us anything using a statute that would not qualify him for taking possession of the property. We were being good neighbors to him by giving him permission to use the property. We don't regret doing so, but it is maddening that he would try to take advantage of our kindness and also force us to hire an attorney to defend our legal right to our own property at our expense.

Please pray that this will be settled by him paying us a reasonable price for the strip of land and not go the route of adverse possession. Not only would this satisfy his desire to have the property but also satisfy us to receive legal payment for it. I do think that this solution is the best and will allow us to continue to be amicable neighbors going forth. We desire that, but we do not want to be push overs or bullied into giving in to his demands. My heart is disturbed by this. I want to have a forgiving attitude and not begrudge him. I know that the Holy Spirit will help me in this, but I appreciate your prayers for us and for our neighbor.

So, thanks for hearing me out and especially for your continued prayers until this is settled properly and legally transferred to him with payment to us.

Pt 2.

That night I went online to read the statute on this for our state. It says that in order to gain property by adverse possession, one has to have used the property the whole time without permission. The next day he had an excavator back there and we motioned that we wanted to talk. He stopped and we had a decent conversation on the matter. I mentioned what I had learned about the statute and that we had given him permission from the beginning and have since then, reiterated that he could continue to use it until we replace the fence, noting that in order to take gain the property by adverse possession he had to do so without permission and therefore, he legally cannot take the property from us. We offered to not put the fence ALL the way to the property line so he could have room to access his shop with his truck. He did not want that. He said he wanted all the property to the present fence-line. Since he was not willing to compromise, we said we would need to get an attorney also. We suggested that he could acquire the property by paying us for the square footage, that way, the money we use for an attorney would go to benefit both of us. He told us to give him a price. And then we ended our conversation.

The next day, he began setting the perimeter of his shop 5 feet on his property from the survey marker. Obviously, he thinks the survey marker IS the property line. When he was not there, we took pictures of the strip of property and the beginning of his construction (which is fine with us because it is properly on his property).

Today, he texted my husband to say he has an attorney who wants my husband's e-mail to communicate with him. I told my husband to text the neighbor back and say that we will not communicate with his lawyer until we have our attorney so they can be our communicators as well as our advisors.

I say all this because I would ask for prayers to go up for us that this gets settled in a fair and legal way. see pt. 3

Dear friends,

My husband and I have run into a problem this week with our neighbor. 30 years ago we built a fence along the easement line of our property because we were not sure where the actual property line was. In 2014 we had a survey done and realized our fence was between 8 and 10 feet on our side of the property line. When the neighbor moved in in 2016, we informed him that our fence is not on the property line and that explained where the survey indicated our property line legally is located. He was not happy to hear that because he thought his property extended to the fence. He asked if he could park his truck on this strip and we said yes, he was welcome to do so as long as he would mow the grass strip.

For the past 9 years this has been the case. In that time period we have discussed with him that we wish to replace the fence soon and plan to build it on the property line according to the survey. He spoke as if he did not believe the survey to be true and said he would get his own survey done. He never did. This last summer, we spoke to him again to inform him that we would be replacing the fence this year. Within two weeks he laid down gravel extending onto our property as a pad to build a shop. Upon noticing this, we immediately got a survey done once again from a different company than our first. The property line markers came out in the exact same places as the first one. The markers have been in place for 4-5 months and our neighbor has not said anything to us.

A few weeks ago my husband spoke to the neighbor to say we plan to begin constructing the fence within a few weeks. A few days ago. My husband let him know that our contractor will begin building this week, asking the neighbor if he is ok. He said he was. About a half hour later, he called my husband to say he was not ok and was and was getting a lawyer because he thinks the property is his due to using it for the last 9 years. We were pretty shocked. See pt. 2