Frenemies: - Beware of Them

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Stumpmaster

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Frenemy - Wikipedia

I like this quote.

Sigmund Freud said of himself that "an intimate friend and a hated enemy have always been indispensable to my emotional life…not infrequently…friend and enemy have coincided in the same person".[9]

With 67 years on the clock I can say I've had my fair share of frenemies. As a result I'm cautious about forming friendships.

My mother lived to 82 and passed just before I my 44th birthday. Her capacity to make life-long friends with whom she kept contact and often visited has not carried over into my life. Quite the opposite.

I was single until age 32 and prior to that many of the friends I kept company with either endorsed decadence, or entangled me in detrimental activities. Fortunately I discovered I had an inate ability to escape relationships that subjected me to domination and manipulation beyond a tolerable threshhold, but this frequently required me to spend long periods of time with just myself for company.

Praise God that He works all things for good for those that love Him and are the called according to His Purpose. (Romans 8:28)
 
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Truman

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If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
at the house of God,
as we walked about
among the worshipers. - Psalm 55
 
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Brakelite

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Frenemy - Wikipedia

I like this quote.

Sigmund Freud said of himself that "an intimate friend and a hated enemy have always been indispensable to my emotional life…not infrequently…friend and enemy have coincided in the same person".[9]

With 67 years on the clock I can say I've had my fair share of frenemies. As a result I'm cautious about forming friendships.

My mother lived to 82 and passed just before I my 44th birthday. Her capacity to make life-long friends with whom she kept contact and often visited has not carried over into my life. Quite the opposite.

I was single until age 32 and prior to that many of the friends I kept company with either endorsed decadence, or entangled me in detrimental activities. Fortunately I discovered I had an inate ability to escape relationships that subjected me to domination and manipulation beyond a tolerable threshhold, but this frequently required me to spend long periods of time with just myself for company.

Praise God that He works all things for good for those that love Him and are the called according to His Purpose. (Romans 8:28)
The tragic irony of life is that we can expect I believe, particularly in these last days, to be betrayed by our nearest and dearest. As with Cain and Abel, I believe the final battle will not be between unbelievers and the church... Or between gentiles and Israel, as many false prophets foretell today, but between brothers. The whole world will be held captive by a false apostate Christian global lie... Fallen Babylon, who will wage war against a small minority remnant of believers. This is the Armageddon of scripture. In time to come, and I think not far away, our greatest enemy will be those of our own household and those sitting in pews next to us in church. A real friend in these last days will be a precious invaluable help. And a rare one. Far better I believe that we look to Christ, and Him alone. We never know how much we need Jesus until we know Jesus is all we have.
These lockdowns are a precious friend to Christians. God says to us, I have locked you away from the beaches... I have locked you away from the restaurants...I have locked you away from the theaters, the clubs, the sports stadiums, the golf courses, the fun parks... Do I have your attention yet?
KJV Isaiah 6:8
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
 

Stumpmaster

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The tragic irony of life is that we can expect I believe, particularly in these last days, to be betrayed by our nearest and dearest. As with Cain and Abel, I believe the final battle will not be between unbelievers and the church... Or between gentiles and Israel, as many false prophets foretell today, but between brothers. The whole world will be held captive by a false apostate Christian global lie... Fallen Babylon, who will wage war against a small minority remnant of believers. This is the Armageddon of scripture. In time to come, and I think not far away, our greatest enemy will be those of our own household and those sitting in pews next to us in church. A real friend in these last days will be a precious invaluable help. And a rare one. Far better I believe that we look to Christ, and Him alone. We never know how much we need Jesus until we know Jesus is all we have.
These lockdowns are a precious friend to Christians. God says to us, I have locked you away from the beaches... I have locked you away from the restaurants...I have locked you away from the theaters, the clubs, the sports stadiums, the golf courses, the fun parks... Do I have your attention yet?
KJV Isaiah 6:8
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Insightful words, Backlit.

I was a keen advocate of small weekly Bible fellowship groups for decades. Recently I decided to take time out from the group I attended, not because of lockdowns and restrictions but because this particular group had attracted members from out of town in their 70's and 80's who were fixated on some strange doctrines which they pushed week after week relying on some of the shoddiest logic and flimsiest proofs I have heard. The in-house conflict that ensued was embarassing and the Holy Spirit showed me that the reason they travelled to be in this group was because they had found a friendly audience.

After a few years of rubbing along with these otherwise lovable Christians the friendships became strained and it was no longer safe for me to continue with them.

The family of the oldest man in our group had him assessed for senility and dementia for a number of reasons including the fact that he regularly wrote and had been writing incomprehensible letters to our Prime Ministers for many years. When one of them retired after several terms in office he actually mentioned these letters and their author during a TV interview, saying he wouldn't miss them.

There but for the grace of God . . .
 

Brakelite

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Insightful words, Backlit.

I was a keen advocate of small weekly Bible fellowship groups for decades. Recently I decided to take time out from the group I attended, not because of lockdowns and restrictions but because this particular group had attracted members from out of town in their 70's and 80's who were fixated on some strange doctrines which they pushed week after week relying on some of the shoddiest logic and flimsiest proofs I have heard. The in-house conflict that ensued was embarassing and the Holy Spirit showed me that the reason they travelled to be in this group was because they had found a friendly audience.

After a few years of rubbing along with these otherwise lovable Christians the friendships became strained and it was no longer safe for me to continue with them.

The family of the oldest man in our group had him assessed for senility and dementia for a number of reasons including the fact that he regularly wrote and had been writing incomprehensible letters to our Prime Ministers for many years. When one of them retired after several terms in office he actually mentioned these letters and their author during a TV interview, saying he wouldn't miss them.

There but for the grace of God . . .
I used to live not far from you.... 10ks out of Putaruru toward Arapuni. I went to church in Tirau. I was invited by neighbours to a series of Bible studies based on the book from (struggling now to remember the name of it...and its author...give me a minute...)okay, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. There were about 10 people in the group, all from the area, friendly, and keen to participate. We all had the principle book, and an note book. The first few weeks went well, and I was enjoying the fellowship. Then I began to notice what I considered serious discrepancies in Warrens theology. I didn't know Warren, had never heard of him previously, nor knew of Saddleback Church. I asked a few questions of the others regarding the teachings, not in a heavy tone, but in keeping with the congenial atmosphere thus far created. No-one was really willing to engage me, but simply wanted to stick with the book and follow along. I approached the convener privately, and asked him what he thought of several issues that I had, presenting him with scripture in support of my doubts as to Warrens credibility. I liked the guy, and his wife. They were a lovely couple and genuinely loved Jesus. However, he didn't want to rock the boat. He saw my points, and agreed with them. But it seemed he preferred to keep the study going in accordance to the plan rather than fuss about truth and theology. I continued in the group doing all I could to introduce proper Bible exegesis, but found resistance rather than acceptance, and was considering leaving the group when my friend had a heart attack and died. The group broke up after that, and my problem solved. This was I think the 4th time in a year that someone to whom I had been discussing truth and the gospel, had died shortly afterwards. One was an employer who collapsed at my feet in a cow shed in Matamata, the others were both relations. I have often wondered how many others I don't know about.
 
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