"Knowing and loving God was always meant to be a desirable and wonderful experience. Getting to know God better an even more pleasant and grand experience. Religion has made getting to know God cumbersome and difficult, full of complexities and ambiguity. What a shame.
The Apostles, the men and women of God, priests, pastors, rabbis were entrusted to tell the gospel; share with others God's wonders and love and forgiveness and power and blessings. In that sharing men, women and children would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus and find peace in their heart and solace in their soul. God would commune with them in the cool of the day and console them at night. God would listen attentively to their request, and pain and cries and troubles and then carry them through it all with the gentleness of a mother and her baby.
Your view of God would be built on a relationship that started with trust and love and interaction and continued as you presented yourself before God as a student, a father or mother, sister or brother, teen or child, a person interested in the ways of the creator, carefully desiring and moving forward with the intent to follow the footsteps of Jesus and the leadings of the Holy Spirit. Each person content with their portion and willing to walk another mile if necessary, not needing all the answers except that God was with them and they knew it.
What have we done with the simplicity of loving God and finding His favor?
What has become of the inner understanding that God is in it all with you?
What has deteriorated the trust that comes with salvation?
What artist has painted God in your heart as an austere old man waiting for you to screw up so he could pounce on you and crush you and reduce you?
What got in the way between you and God so that you don't even try anymore to bridge the gap?
I think it is religion. If your religious experience has not steered you to a direct and personal relationship with God, what has it steered you to do? Are you missing out on a real and wonderful, beyond your wildest expectations experience with God in order to placate your denominations religious requirements?
I think you can have both, but in no way would I nurture any relationship that did not free me to be at peace with God, all the time. Please read the first three paragraphs a few times before making a decision."
Friday, January 27, 2017
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Getting To Know God Better 12
"If you are at all like me you just want the truth. It doesn't even matter what the subject is, you you just want it straight. You deserve to have it straight. One thing about God, God did not leave a guessing game for all of us to play. God did not leave us unattended and unprepared to attend to managing the world's religious affairs. But God did give it to us straight.
The Bible is the answer to the corruption that we see today of all that is from God. Religious orders have stepped in and put doubt in the hearts of men and women and children as to God's system, God's order, God's economy. Look, I don't just want to say the Bible is the answer to it all, but I do want to say that the Bible contains the correct answer/s to it all.
In baseball if you can't get a hit, you can't get on base unless you get a walk. Today people expect a walk. They aren't even trying to get a hit. As a matter of fact too many want to be on the team, but they want to stay in the dugout. To get a hit, I mean step up to the plate with the intent to hit the ball as hard and as far as possible. That's the whole idea behind getting to know God better. You have to get up to bat and do the best you can with what you've got. Ask yourself these questions, and please don't ask it through the eyes of your religion, denomination.
Before I go any further if you can't answer yes to these questions, you have a religious relationship with God. Don't even think it. Somehow I must be against organized religion. That is not true at all. Organized religion can be a stepping stone toward getting to know God, but it will never replace getting to know God.
It's really not complicated. God did not make it difficult. God made it easy and we have made it complicated. My thinking is that we need to unlearn a great many things."
The Bible is the answer to the corruption that we see today of all that is from God. Religious orders have stepped in and put doubt in the hearts of men and women and children as to God's system, God's order, God's economy. Look, I don't just want to say the Bible is the answer to it all, but I do want to say that the Bible contains the correct answer/s to it all.
In baseball if you can't get a hit, you can't get on base unless you get a walk. Today people expect a walk. They aren't even trying to get a hit. As a matter of fact too many want to be on the team, but they want to stay in the dugout. To get a hit, I mean step up to the plate with the intent to hit the ball as hard and as far as possible. That's the whole idea behind getting to know God better. You have to get up to bat and do the best you can with what you've got. Ask yourself these questions, and please don't ask it through the eyes of your religion, denomination.
- "Have I stepped up and asked God to be a part of my life in the everyday way?
- Do I have a clear understanding of what is in the Bible based on my own personal reading of the Bible?
- Have I made up my mind to believe what I read?
- Have I invited the Holy Spirit to abide in me?
- Have I made an attempt to enter into the presence of God, personally and not just in a religious setting?
- Do I hear the voice of God in my heart?
- Am I currently fulfilling my God ordained/breathed calling?
Before I go any further if you can't answer yes to these questions, you have a religious relationship with God. Don't even think it. Somehow I must be against organized religion. That is not true at all. Organized religion can be a stepping stone toward getting to know God, but it will never replace getting to know God.
It's really not complicated. God did not make it difficult. God made it easy and we have made it complicated. My thinking is that we need to unlearn a great many things."
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Getting To Know God Better 11
"Religion and relationship.
Is your relationship with Jesus religious only? What I mean by that is, since you learned of Jesus, has your knowledge base of how Jesus operates in your life stayed about the same?
Let's get this straight; going to Church or being a part of a ministry in any way is wonderful and fulfilling. There are no real negatives concerning being a part of a congregation and any role that you have is helpful to others and beneficial to your own spiritual health. You can go to church and be religious and have a personal relationship with Jesus, but you can also go to church and be religious and not have a relationship with Jesus. Religion is learned and practiced primarily through conditioning. Most denominations teach/preach a philosophy that incorporates the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of the church denomination. Sometimes the church dogma, polity is the primary focus and that is religion.
That being said I really just want to focus on relationship. Here's why. There are many religions and to be religious you can be a part of any religious order, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhism, etc. You can be very religious and not have any relationship with Jesus, the Christ. Religion can produce good works and even good morals and it brings with it cultural significance, but religion cannot be born again and the Holy Spirit does not come and dwell within the religious, just because they are religious.
The Spirit of God is reserved for the believing Christian; one who has recognized that Jesus is the Savior of mankind and that they need a Savior to save them from their own demise. You can't be a Christian without believing that Jesus is Christ.
Everybody knows John 3:16, but have you understood John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
This isn't a very popular passage with the "All Paths lead To God" group. There are today millions of Christians that believe that they know better than God how to do the salvation thing. Many, many Christians want to include other religious philosophies in the one big eclectic "god in the sky" philosophy. None of the rhetoric is biblical, but no problem, they will have god on their terms and they believe that they know better than God how to put it all together. That's the trouble with scripture. You have a choice to believe it or deny it. But the real trouble is that people want to deny it but receive the benefits of saying they believe it. That's the group I was talking about, the group that "since they learned of Jesus, their knowledge base of how Jesus operates in their life stayed about the same? This same group doesn't believe John 3:18, their Bible stops at John 3:16.
Where does your Bible stop?
Is your relationship with Jesus religious only? What I mean by that is, since you learned of Jesus, has your knowledge base of how Jesus operates in your life stayed about the same?
Let's get this straight; going to Church or being a part of a ministry in any way is wonderful and fulfilling. There are no real negatives concerning being a part of a congregation and any role that you have is helpful to others and beneficial to your own spiritual health. You can go to church and be religious and have a personal relationship with Jesus, but you can also go to church and be religious and not have a relationship with Jesus. Religion is learned and practiced primarily through conditioning. Most denominations teach/preach a philosophy that incorporates the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of the church denomination. Sometimes the church dogma, polity is the primary focus and that is religion.
That being said I really just want to focus on relationship. Here's why. There are many religions and to be religious you can be a part of any religious order, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhism, etc. You can be very religious and not have any relationship with Jesus, the Christ. Religion can produce good works and even good morals and it brings with it cultural significance, but religion cannot be born again and the Holy Spirit does not come and dwell within the religious, just because they are religious.
The Spirit of God is reserved for the believing Christian; one who has recognized that Jesus is the Savior of mankind and that they need a Savior to save them from their own demise. You can't be a Christian without believing that Jesus is Christ.
Everybody knows John 3:16, but have you understood John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Where does your Bible stop?
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Getting To Know God Better 10
"Loosen up. It pleases God to see you enjoying life. Try not to be encumbered with too many rules and too much religion while traversing this life you have. Yes you should be aware of right and wrong and yes you should make every effort to do the right thing and to be all that you can be, but no you don't have to do these things to please God. God loves you and God likes you right now.
What I mean by loosen up is this: I want you to go through an entire day where you believe that God empowered you to be you and that all that you do this day will be blessed by God. I can tell you from much experience that not many people are comfortable with God. They are worried all the time that God is looking over His shoulder, watching them like a hawk, looking for mistakes or missteps so He can punish them. So many Christians believe that their lot in life is left up to the angels following out God's orders to make them pay for their faults and indiscretions. Nothing could be further from the truth.
You have already been made in the image of God with imprints of holiness, the Holy Spirit living in you, leading and guiding you. Whatever you do, do it unto the LORD. You are already good enough. You are already pure enough. You are already smart enough. You are already pure enough. If you are missing anything, it is that you don't believe enough.
What I mean by loosen up is this: I want you to go through an entire day where you believe that God empowered you to be you and that all that you do this day will be blessed by God. I can tell you from much experience that not many people are comfortable with God. They are worried all the time that God is looking over His shoulder, watching them like a hawk, looking for mistakes or missteps so He can punish them. So many Christians believe that their lot in life is left up to the angels following out God's orders to make them pay for their faults and indiscretions. Nothing could be further from the truth.
You have already been made in the image of God with imprints of holiness, the Holy Spirit living in you, leading and guiding you. Whatever you do, do it unto the LORD. You are already good enough. You are already pure enough. You are already smart enough. You are already pure enough. If you are missing anything, it is that you don't believe enough.
- If God to you is dormant in your daily life
- Unreachable through prayer
- Is constantly demanding more from you
- Is never satisfied with your behavior
- Can't be reached in a moments notice
- God is active in your life
- God is being reached by you 24/7
- God demands nothing from you
- God is satisfied with your behavior
- God can be reached in a moments notice
Monday, January 2, 2017
Getting To Know God Better 9
"I want to give you credit for staying with your faith, hanging in there when times were unfortunate and keeping the faith when the bottom dropped out. You might wonder, how does he know that the bottom dropped out? well if it has never dropped out it will, so whether you are on the before side or the after side, life delivers enough issues, positive and negative, to assure that you understand the meaning of having the bottom dropped out.
If you are currently going through this experience, Getting To Know God Better will be quite a comfort. Even a little more of God cannot be compared to anything else. Adding to your knowledge base will assist you in getting to the other side of this current negative/bad/unfortunate experience.
God like you. It's true. God does not only love you,which you hear a lot about, but God likes you also. Some of your family members might not like you, you might have enemies, users and leaches that hang onto you or those who ignore you completely. There are also those who might hate you. I have found that with some people they don't like you and they have never known you. Oh well. People can be so unforgiving and mean.
Back to God. God likes you.
What a shame on our religious system. Pastors and teachers spreading their guilt to the congregation at large, hoping to bring people into submission through guilt and duty. generations of this kind of preaching/teaching is hard to break away from, because what has happened is that you/all of us have been conditioned to think about God in a certain way. You could actually go through your entire life thinking that God has bad thoughts toward you and never break away from the cycle.
Jer_29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
Jas_1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
Even though the entire Bible was written as a letter about God's love for you and to what extent God would go on your behalf (to take on your sin and die for you) somehow way too many people still think that God is like a cowboy with two six shooters on his side just waiting for you to get out of line so he could shoot at the ground and make you dance. In my mind and based on what the Bible teaches, today people believe many erroneous things and they trust in many books/teachings/philosophies and they are at war with themselves because of much false teaching/thoughts concerning God.
Can you read the two verses above for a few days in a row and try to let the truth of them sink deep into your inner man and let God, the Holy Spirit fill you with Himself and just trust God. Do you really believe that God died for your sins so that you could go through the rest of your entire life trying to pay God back? Salvation was a free gift and if there are any strings attached, you allowed your religious upbringing to attach them. They were not from God. There are no strings and God likes you just the way you are.
OK. I know that you might be having trouble with this and some of you might even think it is heresy, but if you were to unlearn all the extra-biblical teachings that you have learned along the way and get back to a simple and profound relationship with God, trusting God and not trying to be something that you are not, you might find the wisdom in it. God likes you.
While getting to know God better, why not try it from the vantage point of believing that God likes you. Maybe if you went to God believing that God likes you and wants to be your friend, you would be more open to talking about something other than what you want God to do for you."
Joh_15:15 "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you."
If you are currently going through this experience, Getting To Know God Better will be quite a comfort. Even a little more of God cannot be compared to anything else. Adding to your knowledge base will assist you in getting to the other side of this current negative/bad/unfortunate experience.
God like you. It's true. God does not only love you,which you hear a lot about, but God likes you also. Some of your family members might not like you, you might have enemies, users and leaches that hang onto you or those who ignore you completely. There are also those who might hate you. I have found that with some people they don't like you and they have never known you. Oh well. People can be so unforgiving and mean.
Back to God. God likes you.
- Did you know that God blesses your decisions?
- Have you gone through life thinking that God has been watching you like a hawk and since you have strayed away from God's perfect design for you that God must be disappointed?
- Do you have any thoughts at all that God is disappointed with you?
What a shame on our religious system. Pastors and teachers spreading their guilt to the congregation at large, hoping to bring people into submission through guilt and duty. generations of this kind of preaching/teaching is hard to break away from, because what has happened is that you/all of us have been conditioned to think about God in a certain way. You could actually go through your entire life thinking that God has bad thoughts toward you and never break away from the cycle.
OR
You could believe God.Jer_29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
Jas_1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
Even though the entire Bible was written as a letter about God's love for you and to what extent God would go on your behalf (to take on your sin and die for you) somehow way too many people still think that God is like a cowboy with two six shooters on his side just waiting for you to get out of line so he could shoot at the ground and make you dance. In my mind and based on what the Bible teaches, today people believe many erroneous things and they trust in many books/teachings/philosophies and they are at war with themselves because of much false teaching/thoughts concerning God.
Can you read the two verses above for a few days in a row and try to let the truth of them sink deep into your inner man and let God, the Holy Spirit fill you with Himself and just trust God. Do you really believe that God died for your sins so that you could go through the rest of your entire life trying to pay God back? Salvation was a free gift and if there are any strings attached, you allowed your religious upbringing to attach them. They were not from God. There are no strings and God likes you just the way you are.
OK. I know that you might be having trouble with this and some of you might even think it is heresy, but if you were to unlearn all the extra-biblical teachings that you have learned along the way and get back to a simple and profound relationship with God, trusting God and not trying to be something that you are not, you might find the wisdom in it. God likes you.
While getting to know God better, why not try it from the vantage point of believing that God likes you. Maybe if you went to God believing that God likes you and wants to be your friend, you would be more open to talking about something other than what you want God to do for you."
Joh_15:15 "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you."
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