How to recognize the spirit of God.

originally posted by: Justso
So, I was "saved" at 10 and baptized by the Holy Spirit himself. So, I got that going for me; once saved always saved.

So, now as an educated adult, I am a member of the "I don't really know" group. Did I lose the spirit of God? Do I deserve hell?

So confusing-and no one knows any answers-if you say you do-you are just a liar. Add it to the burning bin in the backyard.

Church baptism is a ritual. It is symbolic representation of what happens spiritually when you do actually acknowledge Him and give your life over.

Apologies in advance for my crude analogy.

Jesus was both God and man in sense.

Jesus is The Word of God and as such is part of God himself. Jesus can to earth as a man. The crude analogy is that the man was Christ's avatar. It had the full human nature we all have and The Word felt all the things we experience, but being The Word of God, His divine nature was stronger than our own, even stronger than our own with the Holy Spirit which is also of God.

The Word of God spent time in His ministry and fulfilled His mission to prepare the way for our redemption and salvation and then He was taken back to His place as God's Word.

Everyone experiences God differently so there is no common ground for discussion.

originally posted by: ketsuko
Apologies in advance for my crude analogy.

Jesus was both God and man in sense.

Jesus is The Word of God and as such is part of God himself. Jesus can to earth as a man. The crude analogy is that the man was Christ's avatar. It had the full human nature we all have and The Word felt all the things we experience, but being The Word of God, His divine nature was stronger than our own, even stronger than our own with the Holy Spirit which is also of God.

The Word of God spent time in His ministry and fulfilled His mission to prepare the way for our redemption and salvation and then He was taken back to His place as God's Word.

No reason for an apology......

Winner Winner .... chicken dinner!

Only a child of God would have the courage and SPIRIT to say something like this.

March on soldier.....

God Bless you and your family. My hope is that 2017 bring health, happiness and peace upon you.

originally posted by: dfnj2015
Everyone experiences God differently so there is no common ground for discussion.

I can agree with you on that. I think we do all experience Him differently. I certainly can't describe it adequately.

But,

that doesn't change the source of it all.

a reply to: DISRAELI
Also those who swap out John's words "Jesus Christ" with "God" in their opening statement (in the phrase "They say that God did not become man."). Or do it too Paul's words at 1 Tim. 3:16 and swap out "he/who/which" with "God" to further propagandize in favor of their theosophies and human traditions+doctrines.
An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture - Wikipedia:

Newton [demonstrated and proved beyond any reasonable doubt] that, by a small alteration in the Greek text, the word "God" was substituted to make the phrase read "God was manifest in the flesh." instead of "which was manifested in the flesh."

Between brackets is mine; my opinion and conclusion based on the evidence and my powers of reason and applying Hebrews 5:14 (and several other pieces of advice regarding the search for truth about important matters as found in the bible):

But solid food belongs to mature people, to those who through use have their powers of discernment* trained to distinguish both right and wrong.

*: Or “their perceptive powers.”

a reply to: whereislogic
As long as we recognise that John is objecting here to those who undervalue Christ, one way or another, not allowing him to be "the one from heaven". That is the essence of the problem.

God's spirit is what gives us and other animals life, you cannot be alive without God's spirit in you. Without God's spirit you are just a dead lump of flesh because God's spirit is what gives your flesh life and animation.

When someone takes their last breath it is God's spirit leaving their body, only the body is left, no life at all.

The idea that only a few of us are God's children is ridiculous and only undermines God's authority in my opinion.

a reply to: DeathSlayer

how is this thread not closed for review

was derailed in the first couple posts

a reply to: Akragon

Jesus Himself said that believers should listen His disciples. Those same disciples became Apostles, so I still don't understand your logic.

a reply to: DeathSlayer

So how does that work for converts? If you were atheist or pagan at one point and a Christian sticks a sword in your face and declares you Christian now, does that mean that you have god in you now? What about a Christian who decides that he wants to leave the faith? Does god leave them then?

So he's got the Gospel Porn thingy going on......lost in his own belief. .a reply to: Woodcarver

a reply to: DeathSlayer

Have I met God or any spiritual being before? Need to define and clarify that question.

I have been honored to be in the presence of some wonderful, caring people. I have felt supreme love and peace in myself and others.

I have been the recipient of grace, pure love and acceptance. I don't need to define my experiences in your terms and you don't need to try to place your beliefs on others-what you need is acceptance and an open heart and mind for all the wonder that is available to you if you just could open your mind and heart and put aside ancient writings. You have blocked yourself off by hiding behind the walls of strict ancient teachings and the present over-exposed religiosity-and it is poisoning you. Think on these things.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

If you were atheist or pagan at one point and a Christian sticks a sword in your face and declares you Christian now, does that mean that you have god in you now?

NO

What about a Christian who decides that he wants to leave the faith?

If you told your family that you never want to se them again and walked away from your family ..... how would your mother, father and siblings feel? You show them how you feel by walking away, right? So what do you think?

a reply to: DeathSlayer

From my point of view if a spirit is good it will give you awareness to intellectually see the hidden mysteries to get a bigger view of what is happening. It does not just manipulate you but make sure you are mentally aware of what is going on. Those who know do not need "faith" since they are already aware and informed on the level they can handle.

Faith and ignorance instead of real leap of spiritual awareness is for the ones who choose to be Pharisee. The ones who lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. The do not go in themselves, and keep others from going in. They even make a big show of wearing Scripture verses on their foreheads and arms, and they wear big tassels for everyone to see.

While my choice is to believe that this is so, and I will freely express that I personally do believe Christ is the son of God...

... I also firmly believe that judgment is not mine, but God's. I also know that for decades I was agnostic and while never scornful of believers, made very vigorous arguments in defense of my agnosticism and doubt, because it seemed utterly right to me at the time.

I believe in the spirit of forgiveness and love that Christ taught. Even facing those who would take His life, he asked God to forgive them. He instructed us not to judge, and forgave even murderers. Therefore, I choose not to force my faith on anyone else or condemn others for not sharing it.

I can only tell others what I myself believe. We have the gift of free will, and faith is and must be a free choice, or else it defeats the purpose. And I do not wish to harm, attack, shame, or diminish other human beings... in whose face I DO see the image of God, irrespective of where they may be on their spiritual journey (or whether they are on one at all) ... especially since I myself am most assuredly a sinner and fall short.

A year ago, it was utterly unthinkable to me that I would believe. I mean, it sincerely was not even a possibility in my mind. And in retrospect, I now believe this was the case for a reason. All the experiences I had during those decades, good and bad, helped form me and give me insight into both faith and those who like my former self choose (or are compelled by rational evidence and its lack, to adhere to) the lack thereof. With that in mind, I also keep myself mindful of the fact that, as He did in my own life, God can work in very mysterious ways we don't always understand.

There is a repeated duality He commands us to keep in mind. Judge not, lest ye be judged. Love others, as yourself. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. Love and pray, for those who curse you. Etc. With that in mind, I think back to when I could not bring myself to believe, and ask, "How would I want Christians to treat me?" All too often, they treated me with scorn, condemnation, and anger. They told me I was destined for hell, and that I deserved it. Add to that my liberal ideology (which I still have, despite now being a professing Christian,) and I had even more scorn directed at me. Often very viciously so.

I would never, ever want to submit anyone to that. Love others, as yourself. So I choose to handle my "evangelism" differently than many do. I just try to focus on love, humility, and being willing to say what I believe, without condemning anyone else for what they do. As He tells us, there is only one who condemns and one who judges, and it isn't supposed to be me. On top of that, a lot of people are suffering in the world today, and I think paying heed to that and doing what I can for those people is a more Christian and noble pursuit than condemning those who through whatever factors, as I did, lack faith.

It's also just not in my nature - the nature I now believe God gave me - to be outgoing or confrontational, owing to social anxiety and general shyness. So I choose a more humble, passive, and quiet form of worship and - I hope - service to Him. But again, that's just my choice and how I choose to commune with God. I know there is scriptural basis and doctrinal basis for being more "outgoing" about it. But that does not feel like what I'm supposed to be doing.

I love everyone, and refuse to judge those who see reality through eyes different from my own, though (obviously) I don't agree with them. I'm not here to call people sinners, except to the extent that I too am a sinner. I wish no one anything but peace. But personally, I do now believe Christ to be the Son of God. I know that to be surprising to many here, and I hope it doesn't change how people see me too much. It's just the personal choice I have freely made for myself and my own life.

Peace.

a reply to: DeathSlayer

Since keeping mysteries annoy me. I will inform that some people who go thru the Amagydala fear overload and conquer their fear can end up in the energized body bliss state that will over energized their speech centers that will make them talk in tongues when they let go of their speech control.

There are scientific logical understanding that can be made on how the spiritual and the human body interact. Some religions have very sophisticated models that are revealed plainly and others religions shroud the information in mystery that need a very special kind of mind to decipher.

a reply to: openyourmind1262

I must have missed your post....sorry

Reading this thread it's obvious you are so far gone into religion & belief that nothing, Nathan, nada, that any of us say is gonna have any affect on you. Your writing this for your God & have no control of your actions or words.

I am not into religion....lol

I hate religion. I love God ..... BIG difference....

I am into God....

To hard to grasp?

Not to hard to grasp...just stupid.a reply to: DeathSlayer

a reply to: DeathSlayer

hi - no i do not worship any dieties , nor do i have any religious faith or affiliation to a religion