My whole life from my first memories of God was a vision of Him as an angry, full of retribution God. I had fear of disappointing Him and paying dire consequences. 'Be careful little, eyes, ears, mouth, etc. Because there's a Father up above ( we got the looking down but the love part wasn't emphasized and didn't register).

As a pk, I heard all about the horrible things that happened to people who left 'the truth'.

Of course horrible things happened to our church people too, and even to us but 'wasn't it lucky we were in 'the truth' and God would see us through !?!?!?!

Good things that happened to people outside the truth were because they were getting their only reward here on earth, but good things happened to us because God was blessing us for being good.

This 4th of July we celebrated freedom. The freedom of our country from tyranny. We also this year celebrated our freedom from 'the truth' which is not the truth but another Gospel of bondage that Christ died to give us grace to overcome. To be free in Christ is free in deed!

For we are saved by Grace and that not of ourselves lest any should boast. God's grace through Jesus Christ can not be improved upon by feeble human rules and regulations. We do our best to be Holy as He is Holy but holiness is a matter of the heart and cannot be created by what we wear or don't wear. Holiness comes from an honest heart filled with the love of God. Love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself, on these 2 commandments rest all the law.

A heart full of fear and judgement has no room for the love of God.

Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so!

Nancy