When is it that one has sinned?

[carnation]

Hi all, the mind is so beautiful and complex and yet it can be the main source of many issues we face today. I know that we should control our minds and steer it to think pure and holy thoughts but have you experienced such that while you are pondering something, some evil thoughts and feelings appear and glances in your mind which makes you feel very uncomfortable?
And if I were to stop and caution myself not to dwell further, would that be sufficient for God?
Or do I have to pray and talk to God and say "sorry" at that time?
Coz if yes, I will be praying non stop full day man...;-)
The thing is that the imagination can be very powerful and wild at times until I become quite scared of its power. Does thinking/envisioning only makes us sin?
The more I fear the unknown/anything for that matter, I find that the more carried away I can become, the more intense the fear becomes, the more I feel fear controlling me.
To illustrate what I am trying to explain here, for example: the more I am scared to accidentally hit someone on the road while driving, the more I feel myself moving towards doing it and therefore I try my best to NOT drive. Sounds silly, right? What is happening?

 

[GODSHOUSE]

There is one fact that you must take into account here.
While it is true that the Mind can wonder this way and that. However did you also know that you can only have one though in your mind at any givien time.


Thats in fact correct. Thats why the Bible tells us to dwell on GODs word becasue if you are thinking of GOD then you arnt at that moment thinking of something else.

Whenever Fear and Thoughts of this type Come to you Simply switch to thoughts of something that you like
Sports ... Friends ... GOD .... etc... Even if you have to do this all the time in the END it will become automatic and you will feel much better.

 

[TheOriginalWhitehorse]

Hi all, the mind is so beautiful and complex and yet it can be the main source of many issues we face today. I know that we should control our minds and steer it to think pure and holy thoughts but have you experienced such that while you are pondering something, some evil thoughts and feelings appear and glances in your mind which makes you feel very uncomfortable?
And if I were to stop and caution myself not to dwell further, would that be sufficient for God?
Or do I have to pray and talk to God and say "sorry" at that time?
Coz if yes, I will be praying non stop full day man...;-)
The thing is that the imagination can be very powerful and wild at times until I become quite scared of its power. Does thinking/envisioning only makes us sin?
The more I fear the unknown/anything for that matter, I find that the more carried away I can become, the more intense the fear becomes, the more I feel fear controlling me.
To illustrate what I am trying to explain here, for example: the more I am scared to accidentally hit someone on the road while driving, the more I feel myself moving towards doing it and therefore I try my best to NOT drive. Sounds silly, right? What is happening?

The answer is to put your trust in God while you are on the road.

Luke 8:22-25

8:22Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

8:23But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

8:24And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

8:25And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

As for the thoughts, yes. Tell God you had the thought immediately, then simply hand it to Him and redirect your thoughts. Recite the scripture that directs to the opposite behavior, and follow up with an immediate deed, just like Jesus did in Matthew 4.

Matthew 4: 1 - 11

1*Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2*And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3*And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4*But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5*Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6*And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7*Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt F7 the Lord thy God. 8*Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9*And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10*Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11*Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

If you're afraid to drive, put it in the Lord's hands and immediately go for a drive so it doesn't rule your life. Sometimes adverse thoughts can be from sources outside yourself, and this often happens if there's an area of life that isn't completely under God's control. If this is the case, simply hand it to Him.

Many blessings to you,
Whitehorse

Almost Forgot:

1 Corinthains 10:4-6

4*(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds) 5*Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6*And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

 

[wgjones3]

Hey, you sound a lot like me from 7 years ago. I was going through a real rough patch and trying my darndest to be "perfect." At one time (briefly), I even thought that it was a sin to breathe! This is what I learned:

a) God knows us. You don't worry about everything you say to your best friend, do you? Why not? Because that person knows you. Likewise, God knows us. God isn't offended by every thought that goes through our mind. There's an old expression--you can't stop a bird from flying over your head, but you don't have to let it build a nest in your hair. That's what you need to remember--you can't stop sinful thoughts from popping into your head, but you don't have to endulge, entertian, dwell upon, or elaborate on them. Just let them go.

2) We are redeemed by the blood of Christ, for which we can never repay through works, and any attempt to do so is an insult to the nature of the gift. Our works--our righteousness--is a direct and natural result of what Christ is doing in our life. We can't decide to act saved, we have to continually grow in Christ so that our very thoughts, actions, attitudes, and deeds reflect what Christ taught us to be like. It's good to try, but unless it's 100% genuine, it won't work out. You'll only end up exhausted and frustrated because you're trying to do something on your own. Does that make sense? In other words, focus on your relationship with Christ, ask for God's wisdom, and continually read the Bible--everything else will follow so long as your heart is right.

3) Worry never accomplished anything good, but it sure causes a lot of problems. Instead of worrying, read the Bible and pray. Hey, if you have a headache, you take an asprin, right? Well, think of the Bible and prayer as your anti-worry pill. Read it and wash it down with a nice, cool, refreshing prayer.

4) Resist the devil and all his ways and he will surely flee. That means, simply, don't endulge in things that will lead you to sin. I have a friend who had a problem with drinking, and for years after he quit drinking, he constantly moaned about how he wanted a drink. Guess what he was doing every weekend? Hanging out at a bar. It's a thousand wonders he didn't drink (for all I know, he may have), but when he moved to a different town where there weren't any bars, he found peace in his sobriety.

5) Anxiety (and depression) is a disease, but you have to decide that you want to be healed before the healing can begin. I stayed depressed for months simply because I was scared of NOT being depressed. Sounds crazy, but I knew that if I wallowed in depression, I didn't have to worry about getting my feelings hurt (because I was as low as I could get). Later, I suffered from anxiety simply because I was afraid of what would happen if I didn't worry. What would I think about? Would I loose my edge? What would my life be like? Even the idea of letting all my worries go worried me to death. I finally gave it all to God, and slowly He took it. Now, I'm pretty happy in the Lord. I'm writing a book and going to college, looking for a job and surfing the web. I don't really think of myself as depressed or as a worrier anymore.

Trust me, as long as you have faith in God, you'll be fine. He won't leave you in a bad place.

 

[carnation]

Hello, thanks all
the thing is that when something disgusting or evil enetrs my mind, I know that the best thing to do is to pray abt it and say Sorry to God but now, each time this happens which can be extremely frequent in one day, can disturb and affect my work and stuff I should be doing daily. It is affecting my everyday life. I keep praying again and again since I also have the issue of "Struggling with prayer" in my other thread here as well. I am so afraid that God will not protect me and allow something horrible to happen to me if I choose not to pray and mention Sorry to God. Is this really true? Is God like this? Can I just pass over all things that I have thought of which is disgusting and evil to God and not worry anymore, without praying, just practising my faith in God? Is this okay?