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My belief is that God is our best friend who loves us in the deepest way possible; in a way we cannot comprehend. I believe the thought of God and salvation should fill us with peace, joy, hope. I see God as wanting a relationship with us and understanding us fully and knowing that if we keep His commandments, we are staying strong and trying to walk with Him. He is slow to anger, meek, humble, and gives rest. I imagine Heaven will be paradise and rest.
When people say we need to worship God and thank God and praise God, I do not think of God as a king that needs people to worship Him, but rather when we worship God, we are rejoicing in all that is God: love, compassion, peace, joy. When we thank God we focus on God and what is positive, not the negativity of the world or the materials of this world. Thanking God allows us to be humble and focused on the light and on Him instead of getting bogged down in the world and what we don't have or wish we had.
I also feel as if God would not create the torment of Hell and takes NO delight in punishing the wicked and that it is His hope that ALL people would receive paradise. After all, God's only intention was to fill us all with his peace and Spirit. It is the enemy, however, who wanted a place of fire and torment and God, being merciful and giving free will, gave the devil the kingdom he wanted, but said he has to go there to versus God making the worst torment possible to punish the devil. I would imagine God would have just casted the evil out of Heaven. Is this accurate, or am I making things up???
Also, when I pray to God, I feel like I can talk to Him casually like a friend, and that He walks beside me like a friend and does not forsake me but rather sees me as a child learning and growing. But when I read things like fire and brimstone coming from Heaven, God's wrath destroying sacrifices in the OT, and God being angry because people do not worship Him right, I get scared and think what if God is angry and instead of being the unconditional friend that I hope for and thing of, wants us to bow down to pray and does not delight in casual talk with Him and that it says He is a "consuming fire." When I think of the past sacrifices, I think that because of the curse over the Earth due to the fall which resulted in animals consuming other animals to live (God never intended this), one of many things, people burning animal offerings, or their food, was a way of rejecting the earthly possessions and keeping focus on God. I've gone on another rant.
What God do we serve? The God that is our best friend, the God of love, peace, joy, happiness, rest...a God we can talk to casually when we wish, but a God we should always repent to and ask for forgiveness when needed. Or a God that is wrathful and angry or insulted when we do not worship Him correctly. The God of the Baptist churches (sing and praise with their hands held up in joy), or the strict, stern God like that of the most traditional churches. A God that instead of wanting us to worship Him as in worshipping love, compassion, peace, joy and keeping our focus on Him to walk the narrow path just wants us to worship Him as we would worship a king who wants acknowledgment?
I know we serve a God that delights in giving, is slow to anger, humble, meek, loving, and will not forsake us. But what about the above examples? I know God fights for the disadvantaged, poor, ill, lost and is the superhero for the good against the wicked. But what about the above examples? Are we not to talk to Him casually? Is He an angry God or a God of love? Do we worship God as we would worship a king on a throne, or worship God in the sense of praising His love, joy, happiness, peace that comes only with God and the He delights in this because He sees His children happy in Him?
God bless you all and thank you for helping me understand and grow.
When people say we need to worship God and thank God and praise God, I do not think of God as a king that needs people to worship Him, but rather when we worship God, we are rejoicing in all that is God: love, compassion, peace, joy. When we thank God we focus on God and what is positive, not the negativity of the world or the materials of this world. Thanking God allows us to be humble and focused on the light and on Him instead of getting bogged down in the world and what we don't have or wish we had.
I also feel as if God would not create the torment of Hell and takes NO delight in punishing the wicked and that it is His hope that ALL people would receive paradise. After all, God's only intention was to fill us all with his peace and Spirit. It is the enemy, however, who wanted a place of fire and torment and God, being merciful and giving free will, gave the devil the kingdom he wanted, but said he has to go there to versus God making the worst torment possible to punish the devil. I would imagine God would have just casted the evil out of Heaven. Is this accurate, or am I making things up???
Also, when I pray to God, I feel like I can talk to Him casually like a friend, and that He walks beside me like a friend and does not forsake me but rather sees me as a child learning and growing. But when I read things like fire and brimstone coming from Heaven, God's wrath destroying sacrifices in the OT, and God being angry because people do not worship Him right, I get scared and think what if God is angry and instead of being the unconditional friend that I hope for and thing of, wants us to bow down to pray and does not delight in casual talk with Him and that it says He is a "consuming fire." When I think of the past sacrifices, I think that because of the curse over the Earth due to the fall which resulted in animals consuming other animals to live (God never intended this), one of many things, people burning animal offerings, or their food, was a way of rejecting the earthly possessions and keeping focus on God. I've gone on another rant.
What God do we serve? The God that is our best friend, the God of love, peace, joy, happiness, rest...a God we can talk to casually when we wish, but a God we should always repent to and ask for forgiveness when needed. Or a God that is wrathful and angry or insulted when we do not worship Him correctly. The God of the Baptist churches (sing and praise with their hands held up in joy), or the strict, stern God like that of the most traditional churches. A God that instead of wanting us to worship Him as in worshipping love, compassion, peace, joy and keeping our focus on Him to walk the narrow path just wants us to worship Him as we would worship a king who wants acknowledgment?
I know we serve a God that delights in giving, is slow to anger, humble, meek, loving, and will not forsake us. But what about the above examples? I know God fights for the disadvantaged, poor, ill, lost and is the superhero for the good against the wicked. But what about the above examples? Are we not to talk to Him casually? Is He an angry God or a God of love? Do we worship God as we would worship a king on a throne, or worship God in the sense of praising His love, joy, happiness, peace that comes only with God and the He delights in this because He sees His children happy in Him?
God bless you all and thank you for helping me understand and grow.