Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I find joy in the doing to be MORE rewarding in this moment than the promise of afterlife which I see but darkly as through a clouded glass.
<snip>
5. His service is that of faith — the living faith of the heart in the truth of God as revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
<snip>
Would you be willing to expand on the bold? What does the "truth of God as revealed to us in Jesus Christ" mean to you? I'm not trying to drill you, Warden, and feel free to stop answering if it gets tedious .
Many of you answered the "what you have faith in" question. Thanks. But, I'll admit I was hoping for a bit (lot) more expansion on the rest of the questions . Especially the second (why/how what you believe "saves" you) and third (what "savlation" looks like for you in the here and now -- what has been the impact on you of what you believe).
What is it you have faith in? Love is the motivator of faith that moves mountains.
How is having faith in it "saving" you? Love never separates or divides; it overcomes.
How is it impacting your life? Love reaches beyond the immediate, but it rests not in the mistakes of yesterday; neither does it fear tomorrow.
And, if you expect it to impact your "after-life", in what way? The selfish attributes of humanity, which are unloving, will be eliminated.
What is it you have faith in? Love is the motivator of faith that moves mountains.
How is having faith in it "saving" you? Love never separates or divides; it overcomes.
How is it impacting your life? Love reaches beyond the immediate, but it rests not in the mistakes of yesterday; neither does it fear tomorrow.
In more prosaic terms, I believe you are saying that having faith in the love of God/God of love (which you describe above so beautifully) has and is transforming you into someone who is the very thing you have described? In other words, you are becoming someone who motivates and "overcomes" yourself and others with love? You are someone who can see easily see beyond what yourself and others are in the present to what you/they will be?
And do you believe this transformation happens mainly by keeping that which you have faith in always in mind? Or is there more to it?
What is it you have faith in? Love is the motivator of faith that moves mountains.
How is having faith in it "saving" you? Love never separates or divides; it overcomes.
How is it impacting your life? Love reaches beyond the immediate, but it rests not in the mistakes of yesterday; neither does it fear tomorrow.
And, if you expect it to impact your "after-life", in what way? The selfish attributes of humanity, which are unloving, will be eliminated.
Well said, Jerwade. This is an interesting thread, Pleroo . . . and I fully appreciate what you are striving to uncover with it. My response may be more esoteric than desired because the big picture dominates my views. That is:
We are children of God and ALL that implies about reproduction and desired maturity. God is Spirit (what we experience as consciousness). We are reproducing His Consciousness (Spirit) because that is what children do. His consciousness (Holy Spirit) IS agape love for all life. That is what should characterize our consciousness (embryo Spirit) as we mature in Spirit . . . i.e., it is our purpose for existing. We were failing not because we are evil or filthy rags . . . but because of our immaturity and lack of knowledge of good and evil as defined by agape love. Our entire history as a species has been designed to evolve that understanding and produce mature loving spiritual beings (fully developed infant Spirits) sufficiently developed to be "born again" (reborn) as Spirit upon our physical death . . . to join God. Christ was our "designated hitter". . . He is the only one of us who actually achieved the pure agape love that IS our loving Father within His human consciousness. The subsequent death and rebirth of His human consciousness as Spirit connected ALL human consciousness to God forever. THAT is what our species were saved from . . . separation from God and failure to reproduce human consciousness (Spirits) that were compatible with His consciousness (agape love).
Now to your questions:
What is it you have faith in? God exists, IS agape love and we are His offspring designed to reproduce His love.
How is having faith in it "saving" you?It isn't . . . Christ did that. My faith is causing me to try to "love God and each other" daily and repent when I don't . . . because I want my consciousness to be as resonant with (close to) the love Christ had for us all as possible.
How is it impacting your life?My responses to the people around me is radically altered and the responses I get from them are too. My tolerance for the selfishness of others is greater because I realize it is because "they know not what they do." My tolerance for my own weaknesses is greater because I realize I am not yet a "mighty oak" . . . but I am growing to be.
And, if you expect it to impact your "after-life", in what way? I have no fear of it at all . . . just the opposite. The indescribable joy of that first encounter in deep meditation erased all fear and established my complete certainty that God exists and IS agape love. The retention of my personal identity and the "oneness" with what I can only describe as the multitude (perhaps heavenly host?) was baffling, indescribable but unmistakable and ultimately reassuring. When God slaps my metaphorical behind upon my rebirth as Spirit . . . I expect the spectacle of infinity to be overwhelming!
Thanks. Now I have pcamps answer to what he believes he is saved from:
Originally Posted by pcamps
I believe we are saved from a life of not knowing God in our life and all that results from not knowing him( there's no such place of eternal hell)..................a life of relying upon ourselves,a life of limitation, ruled by our own carnal thinking and reaping the consequences of it.
Pcamps, how is it that you "rely on God" in your life, and how has your life has become less limited? Do you think you can explain/describe that in down-to-earth terms?
By simply being convinced of who God says that I am which convinced me that I am not seperated from him but very much part of him. I know this wont go down well with many, but I rely upon who God says I am. Years ago I was walking around with a cloud over my head after hearing my ex telling me continually you are this that and the other, until one day walking to my parents house, I heard a voice within me say you are who I say are. Since that day my I Amness is where God always brings me back to, more so in the last 3 years.
We are limited by what we believe, what we believe rules us, it is impossible to be anything other than what we beleve we are........As a man thinks in his heart so is he.
I know this doesn't sound like Christianity, but I'm alright with that. It probably didnt give you any clearer picture of what I said, but I don't know any other way to say it to you, I don't believe I'm talking christianese or spitting out bible verses with no understanding of them to you.
In more prosaic terms, I believe you are saying that having faith in the love of God/God of love (which you describe above so beautifully) has and is transforming you into someone who is the very thing you have described? In other words, you are becoming someone who motivates and "overcomes" yourself and others with love? You are someone who can easily see beyond what yourself and others are in the present to what you/they will be?
And do you believe this transformation happens mainly by keeping that which you have faith in always in mind? Or is there more to it?
Franklin D. Roosevelt, may have said it better than me:
"Men are not prisoners of fate (that which is predetermined); but only prisoners of their own minds."
Often times, we become that which we focus on the most. It can imprison us, or give us the freedom to act.
"Love not extended to all humanity is not love; it’s a limited belief system."
This is an interesting thread, Pleroo . . . and I fully appreciate what you are striving to uncover with it.
Thanks for the thorough response.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pcamps
It probably didnt give you any clearer picture of what I said, but I don't know any other way to say it to you, I don't believe I'm talking christianese or spitting out bible verses with no understanding of them to you.
You did give me a clear picture, and I don't believe you're talking Christian-ese either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerwade
"Men are not prisoners of fate (that which is predetermined); but only prisoners of their own minds."
Often times, we become that which we focus on the most. It can imprison us, or give us the freedom to act.
"Love not extended to all humanity is not love; it’s a limited belief system."
Thanks Jerwade.
So, one last question for all 3 of you, but it's probably the most difficult. As pcamps quoted, "as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." There is a difference, I believe, between "thinking in the heart" and "thinking in our head". The first is an actual conviction/faith, where the second is a mental assent to something that may or may not be a conviction. The conviction of who God is and who we are, I believe, is necessary for transformation to take place.
How did/do you move from mental assent to conviction? Was it a one time event? A process? If it's a process, what is the process?
See God is a Majesty King of all the Heavens and all the earth , and Judge of life and death , and His Word is to believed , and expected to believed from God , Just If you were king of a land , and people ignored you and your Words , you would not rule the land very efficiently ............Many people can expect salvation through the faith in the promises of Lord Jesus , and will receive salvation ............. Then you can have faith in Jesus promises for long and healthy life , even with money in your pocket if you listen to the Lord and believe with faith............ Then God help those who helps others , so you would be wise to help and pray for other people in supplication in pray for the blessing of Long life and prosperity and in health , ............See Jesus has many promises in His word from the Old Testament to the New Testament , and if people believe in faith and give charity for a point of contact in Faith like Jesus promised for expectation in faith , Than Jesus will bring His promises , and people will receive them .....
I found this in Hebrews Ch. 11, first Paragraph [ in the Message Translation. " faith is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living."
See God is a Majesty King of all the Heavens and all the earth , and Judge of life and death , and His Word is to believed , and expected to believed from God , Just If you were king of a land , and people ignored you and your Words , you would not rule the land very efficiently ............Many people can expect salvation through the faith in the promises of Lord Jesus , and will receive salvation ............. Then you can have faith in Jesus promises for long and healthy life , even with money in your pocket if you listen to the Lord and believe with faith............ Then God help those who helps others , so you would be wise to help and pray for other people in supplication in pray for the blessing of Long life and prosperity and in health , ............See Jesus has many promises in His word from the Old Testament to the New Testament , and if people believe in faith and give charity for a point of contact in Faith like Jesus promised for expectation in faith , Than Jesus will bring His promises , and people will receive them .....
Thanks hljc. If I'm understanding you correctly, your faith is in the promises of God/Jesus, as you understand them, many of which are for various blessings in this lifetime (long life, health, and prosperity).
You believe that in order to receive those promises, it is important to express your inward faith in those promises through outward acts of charity.
Did I get the basic gist?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
