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Honestly, I don't get it. I was reading this post by Stillkit in another thread and it got me thinking about why God doesn't show Himself physically to us now, like Jesus did when He arose from the dead.
I'm not talking about people who claim to hear the voice of God or I'm not saying that God is not within us.....I'm speaking of real, tangible evidence like was given to the people in Jesus' time. Sometimes I feel like we've been abandoned to fend for ourselves and if you don't have the right belief system then you're screwed (according to some people).
Wouldn't it be great if God would physically prove Himself to all of us? Jesus HAD to return from the grave to "prove" that He was the Messiah so why can't He do that now? What was so special about that time and those people that we can't have the same courtesy?
I know what all the arguments will be.....I don't have enough faith that God is here with us now and I'm questioning God and His plan. Yes I do have faith, gobs of it, and no I am not questioning God's plan. And then there will be the argument that even if Jesus did return and walk among us there would still be unbelievers. True, I suppose but remember what Jesus had to do with "doubting" Thomas? I just don't see why we have to have all of this secrecy and mystery.....sometimes I feel like God has left the building.
Am I the only one who ever wonders about this?
But God would literally have to appear to everybody on earth, wouldn't He? When Jesus appeared to the Apostles and Thomas was not with them, he (Thomas) refused to believe them. He had to see the risen Lord for himself. Jesus even said to him, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Maybe God feels the same way today. If He showed Himself to someone besides you personally, you wouldn't believe, would you?
IS 53:2 "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He has no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him."
He has "no form" means: His mission on earth was a mystery until it was "finished" and then the Spirit was given to bring to reality the hidden things hidden in a mystery. 1COR 2:7 "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."
He has no comeliness means: He was not a handsome man so that we would not follow Him for Hollywood looks, but rather for the Beauty of Character [Glory] within and manifest to the world. There is therfore no need to see Him physically because we see Him, in the beauty of "Spirit and in Truth."
And that is EXACTLY why I take what is written in the bible with a grain of salt and discard those things that go against the true nature of God. We have copies, of alleged copies, of alleged copies, of alleged copies, etc. of the gospels...in which the authors of those copies are UNKNOWN. These are the facts...so why are you always so fanatical and judgmental about what others believe??????????
I'm fanatical about my faith in Christ and my belief in the authenticity of the Bible. And, I don't mean to come off as being judgmental, but when I see someone stepping off a cliff, I can't help but yell, "Watch out!"
LOL...If I believed in the "devil" as a separate entity that might be a problem...but I don't so it's all good. The evilness in this world comes from within humanity and nowhere else.
Oh dear heavens I didn't mean to imply that I don't believe in the devil, just that I don't think he has that much pull. I've had direct dealings with the devil and his minions and I know that he's real and he's got a following but come on, to say that one is following the devil if they don't adhere to the entire scriptures is ludicrous, to say the least.
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Again Ilene...don't take what you read in the bible so literally...look for the spiritual messages and guidance that underlie the stories...there are many more metaphoric stories contained in the NT than you realize.
I do take it literally, especially the NT. It's what I cling to, it's my breath or I should say that Jesus is my breath. In all honesty I'm still a fundamentalist at heart, I still believe in a rapture (maybe) and all the end times scenarios but I know now that it is just God's plan and that that plan also includes Universal Salvation. Sorry, getting off topic here but I so understand where you are right now Christygrl because I've been there. Maybe I didn't do my studies like you have but I've been there.
I'm fanatical about my faith in Christ and my belief in the authenticity of the Bible. And, I don't mean to come off as being judgmental, but when I see someone stepping off a cliff, I can't help but yell, "Watch out!"
Did you know the world has actually fallen over that cliff,you're just a tad late with your yelling .
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him. Psalm 40
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) and all the end times scenarios but I know now that it is just God's plan and that that plan also includes Universal Salvation. Sorry, getting off topic here but I so understand where you are right now Christygrl because I've been there.
Maybe I didn't do my studies like you have but I've been there.
