Christianity Oasis Forum

[deetu]

I'm trying to find the Scripture where you should surround yourself with believers so you don't wander but I can't find it.
Any words that I would put in Bible search isn't working.

thanks

[Guest]

it's in the new testament....i think in acts ...but not sure

[mlg]

I think this may be what you are looking for sis?

II Corinthians 6:14-17
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

[deetu]

Thanks mlg I had that one marked but not highlighted but I think there is another that says to surround yourself with fellow Christians so that you can continue to lift each other up.
It is in the New Testament because it was after Jesus. I thought it was in one of the smaller books.

You know, I read my Bible, I meditate on it, I highlight and mark it and when I talk to people, I talk about what is in it, but sometimes, to find it....

[mlg]

There are so many sis, here's another:

Hebrews 10
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

[comfy]

Yup, mlg, I think that's the one. Also we have Proverbs 11:14 >

"Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
.But in the multitude of counselors there is safety."

And Paul says we need one another > 1 Corinthians 12:14-27, Romans 12:5, Ephesians 4:25. And >

"Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;
but exhort one another daily, while it is called 'Today,'
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Hebrews 3:12-13)

"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness,
without which no one will see the Lord:
looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God;
lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble,
and by this many become defiled;"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Hebrews 12:14-15)

"Have salt in yourselves,
and have peace with one another."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Mark 9:49)

How much we need to be with each other > if we are *members* of each other, I think of how much the members of a human physical body need each other, and so depend on each other for their life of the lifeblood that flows between members of a body, with different things that flow from one needed member, like the liver, to other parts of the body. And the stomach does things so the whole body can have nutrition. Etc. Very dependent, but how God has designed the body and makes it work.

Like this, we in Jesus need each other for the flowing of the *love* blood of the Holy Spirit through us to each other. God has us as members of each other; and so we can not make it without one another . . . not because it so depends on us, but because of how God has it this way. But it only works this way in God's love with us submitting to You, LORD; and no other way can work. We are *members* of one another > this is *commitment* > God Himself is committed to making this work. So . . . watching out for ourselves, without learning how to love with other Christians > this can not ever work. This is part of the "medicine" we need . . . of dealing with the challenge of finding out how to love with each other > no other challenge can keep us alive spiritually

And so > it says "the husband is head of the wife," in Ephesians 5:23. I think of how a head can not stay alive without its body; plus, a body can't make it without its head. There is such an intimate connection between a head and its body, of total dependence and trust. This is very committed, how God has made a man the head of his lady. And *if* this is what this scripture really does mean, then no other way can work. We need each other this much, not because we are depending on humans, but because this is how God has this and He's so committed to our learning how to love, like this.

So, "therefore", I have deliberately mixed with a church, even though they showed not to be really right like I find in the Bible. I needed to be committed to learning to love and stay in love, no matter how others turned out (2 Corinthians 12:15, 1 Peter 3:13). But with trusting God for this, I now would say it has turned out that You have brought me together with ones who are my examples of how I need to do better in loving. So . . . how I saw them, at first . . . uh-uh > where is that pie in the face emoticon when I need it?
Here it is >

[deetu]

I am starting to think that it is not a particular Scripture and that I paraphrased the idea of it.
1 Corth 15:33 Bad company corrupts good character.
Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily. IS highlighted in my Bible so that may be it.

Humm... Maybe that is why God didn't bring me to it when I asked.
I am still looking to be sure.

[comfy]

I'm trying to find the Scripture where you should surround yourself with believers so you don't wander but I can't find it.

Well, that one mlg gave is good about "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together", in Hebrews 10:24-25. And I think of how Paul says, "You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart." (2 Corinthians 3:2-3) Through this, I see that we are God's living message of love > it is not enough to read and know the Bible > we need one another to be our examples of how God means for us to live His scripture message; so we can't really do His word right, without one another. Paul ministered, however the Holy Spirit wrote what in truth is deeper than what words can tell and explain.

Any words that I would put in Bible search isn't working.

Well, if you put in the word "surround" to find a verse saying we need to surround ourselves with other Christians > there is no verse that says we "need" to be "surround" with "believers", not that I remember seeing in any translation. This is what you may have been *inspired* to understand a verse means, but none actually includes "surround" in saying this. However, deetu, we have Hebrews 12:1 about how "we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" > so, maybe through this verse combined with your memory of Hebrews 3:13 you got the idea we need to be surrounded by other Christians.

[deetu]

Man, I cannot see how you people can understand that King James.
Hebrews 10:24,25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Yea, comfy, that is what I am thinking.
I have read a lot of books too so it could have been in one of them.

BUT, we are to surround ourselves with believers to encourage each other

[mlg]

Deetu, when I first started to study the Bible, I actually had a difficult time with the King James Version. I started out with the NIV version. As I have grown in the Word and asked the Spirit for discernment I have changed to the King James Version and absolutely love it. It took a bit of getting used to, but now it's all I want to read, because I grasp it better than any other version. So don't give up on learning it sis, be patient with yourself and study what is easiest for you.

luv ya