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You're younger in spirit than 90% of the posters on C-D.
God is the Big Kahuna. He created us and we are his much loved children. He is infinitely loving and forgiving. He can be found in the granite of the mountains and at the bottom of the seas where there is no light. All good things come from Him. We humans are responsible for the misery we cause each other.
Dear little one: Allow His love to lead you. Fear not. Have courage. The good guys win in the end.
We are all His children. Some are just disobedient, rebellious children.
What would a mother or father do with a disobedient child and what would they do with a disobedient adult offspring, that was hurting his brothers and sisters?
We are all His children. Some are just disobedient, rebellious children.
What would a mother or father do with a disobedient child and what would they do with a disobedient adult offspring, that was hurting his brothers and sisters?
Children can grasp that.
Beautifully stated! I agree with you 100%. God is a perfect Father, and we are His imperfect children. He created all of us, not only those of us who have chosen to develop a relationship with Him.
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we ARE also his offspring.
Forasmuch then as we ARE the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. Acts 17:28-29
So what ought we to think God is like?....... Jesus told us God is Spirit. We also know that wherever the Spirit of God is there is liberty.
Paul also said there is one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
He also said that God is that close we could reach out and feel him.....that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us Acts 17:27
So God who is Spirit, who calls us his offspring, who is in all things, who is not far from anyone of us can be felt. Pretty awesome hey?
You're younger in spirit than 90% of the posters on C-D.
God is the Big Kahuna. He created us and we are his much loved children. He is infinitely loving and forgiving. He can be found in the granite of the mountains and at the bottom of the seas where there is no light. All good things come from Him. We humans are responsible for the misery we cause each other.
Dear little one: Allow His love to lead you. Seek happiness. Love as He loves you. Fear not. Have courage. The good guys win in the end.
I love this, Dew -- especially the part about our being His much loved children.
Vizio, could you explain your belief that we are God's creation but not His spirit children, in light of these two verses:
Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
Only a few verses earlier, he said that he made every nation from one man (17:26). Clearly Paul was not suggesting that we are literal offspring or children--as we descended from this one man (Adam). We are created in God's image.
Quote:
Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Again--context is everything. 2 verses earlier we see that it says that "God is treating you as sons." (12:7) There is no mention of us being actual literal children.
Quote:
I would agree with you that we are not God's physical children. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son. But I'm confused as to what you mean when you say we aren't His children and he is not the Father of our spirits, when these two verses seem to imply otherwise. I read these as saying that we are God's spirit offspring and that He is the father of our spirits. By the way, whatever answer you give, I'll accept it as being your best interpretation of the verses. I'm not going to try to back you into a corner on this.
Good enough. We've been over this many times before--I'm not going to try to hijack the thread and take it off course. I'm sure we could spend the next 50 pages arguing (we have before ). We have some disagreements on it...but we'll leave it at that. I think I explained the context of the verses...feel free to ask more questions if you want.
Good enough. We've been over this many times before--I'm not going to try to hijack the thread and take it off course. I'm sure we could spend the next 50 pages arguing (we have before ). We have some disagreements on it...but we'll leave it at that. I think I explained the context of the verses...feel free to ask more questions if you want.
Assume that I am a little child and I ask you to tell me who or what God is. Keep in mind that you’re starting with a clean slate – my open and enquiring mind. Your goal is not to dazzle me with words and concepts I can’t possibly understand, but to help me know who it is you're talking about when you use the word "God." Tell me everything you can think of that I will be able to comprehend. Then tell me what my relationship is to Him. Tell me what He thinks of me (if, in fact, He even knows me). If you tell me that He created me, explain to me why.
This is of course too immature to use in an adult class, but sometimes it is a good thing to shed all you "know" and become as a child
This is similar to what I tell my own children/grandchildren and great grandchildren..
"Look around you. See the trees, flowers, grass, your pets and all the pretty colors in the setting sun? Remember how the moon looks on the water?
People cannot make those things although they may copy them in pictures from their camera's or from a box of crayons. All those things had a beginning just as you did.
There is a maker who we call God who first made all the beautiful things you love so much about what is around you when we are outside or on vacation to the ocean.
God is not a man like dad because God lives inside you as the good part of you that makes you obey me when I tell you not to go near the road. He is the part of you that loves and depend on me and dad (or grandma, grandpa) to always take care of you and warn you when you are about to make a big mistake. You can't see God because he is so good, so pure so loving that there is nothing in this world we can compare him to. God is like the love and comfort you feel when I hold you and rock you and kiss your forehead.
God is the part of you that makes you not afraid when we turn off your bedroom light at night. You can talk to God anytime you desire without saying a word out loud, because he knows you very well.
Like I said it is very elementary but it seems to answer your question.
Overall, I loved your answer! I'm just a little foggy on what you mean here, Mystic. You say that Jesus' "human mind" was "reborn as Spirit." Could you explain what you mean by "spirit"? I'm pretty sure, from our numerous past conversations, that you don't believe in the Trinity as defined in the early Christian creedal statements. Are you saying that God's spirit and Jesus' spirit are the same? What about our individual spirits? Do we retain them at death or merge into a single spirit?
The Trinity is a primitive explanation developed in ignorance of the concept of consciousness. All consciousness is of the same "substance" . . . it is God's consciousness . . . because that is the universal field that establishes our reality. But all consciousness must eventually acquire the character of God's agape love (resonate with Him). No human mind was remotely close because we were so primitive and savage. We had to evolve and develop the self-control necessary to override our animal instincts by a love of life. When we had evolved sufficiently . . . Christ was sent as a human to show us how to do it and as the "designated hitter" for us all.
Jesus had direct contact with the Father's Holy Spirit. The Father taught Jesus all that He is and Jesus did achieve the character (Holy Spirit) of God's consciousness (what is called perfect resonance or identity). So, yes Jesus and the Father have the same character of consciousness (Holy Spirit) . . . which is our goal as well. When He died and was reborn as Spirit His human consciousness (Holy Spirit ) connected all human consciousness with God. We are still very bad at it . . . but now we have Christ's Holy Spirit (Comforter) within our consciousness to guide and aid us to achieve it. He abides with us and guides us to the truth God has "written in our hearts." Fortunately our imperfections are covered by Christ's perfection as long as we develop some harmonic resonance (harmony) with His love for us all. That is why we are told to "love God and each other" daily and repent when we don't.
This is of course too immature to use in an adult class, but sometimes it is a good thing to shed all you "know" and become as a child
This is similar to what I tell my own children/grandchildren and great grandchildren..
"Look around you. See the trees, flowers, grass, your pets and all the pretty colors in the setting sun? Remember how the moon looks on the water?
People cannot make those things although they may copy them in pictures from their camera's or from a box of crayons. All those things had a beginning just as you did.
There is a maker who we call God who first made all the beautiful things you love so much about what is around you when we are outside or on vacation to the ocean.
God is not a man like dad because God lives inside you as the good part of you that makes you obey me when I tell you not to go near the road. He is the part of you that loves and depend on me and dad (or grandma, grandpa) to always take care of you and warn you when you are about to make a big mistake. You can't see God because he is so good, so pure so loving that there is nothing in this world we can compare him to. God is like the love and comfort you feel when I hold you and rock you and kiss your forehead.
God is the part of you that makes you not afraid when we turn off your bedroom light at night. You can talk to God anytime you desire without saying a word out loud, because he knows you very well.
Like I said it is very elementary but it seems to answer your question.
Well said Miss Blue. Makes you wonder how anyone with normal functioning capacities could ever deny God.
Psalms 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
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). We have some disagreements on it...but we'll leave it at that. I think I explained the context of the verses...feel free to ask more questions if you want.
