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~Let all that you do be done in love. ~ ~Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. ~ ~And above all this put-on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ~ ~Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ~ ~Spiritually Inspired~
" Since being mentioned hundreds of times within the Divine words, it is evident love being of profound importance in our lives, with one another. So long as the attributes of love are acted upon. Goodness, kindness, gentleness, discipline and self-control being a few. Practice all the attributes and lives will come to know the power of love, in all our going and coming."
"The ability to love can never be taken away, except by self. And when you get selfish self-centeredness out of the way long enough to love others, it may well be the greatest feeling to come to know of, for peace and harmony shall be a gladness to behold.
"And the lack of practicing love and eliminating it from the core value and necessity of families and those around us...conceivably the main cause of precisely most all of societies predominant problems and difficulties.
" I hope and pray perhaps one day we may all come to know our greatest resource is love!"
When love is unattended to, so be spiritual discipline...unattended."~
~I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me by taking from what is mine and disclosing it to you. Everything that belongs to the father is Mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is mine and disclose it to you. ~
"For reasons unknown, this link has created more responses than others. Perhaps the underlying reason being that many know as followers of Christ, that is our responsibility to let our 'light' shine that troubled lives may come to know
of Christ in their lives.
'Yet, many appear spiritually vacant of spiritual consciousness or awareness, of which has given way to worldly intellectual behavior, that truly removes the significant importance of 'Christ in us' and in 'spirit and truth'.
' It has been warned of having the necessary knowledge God has provided, and not applying or acting upon shall be considered an act of grieving the Holy spirit. But then born again may not be honestly taken serious enough to know the Kingdom of God shall not come upon all...here in the now.
'And it has been spiritually reminded, that there shall be no remembrance, whatsoever, of things here in the now... Worldly things shall only prevail while here in the now. And be assured I stand on my spiritual hope and faith, knowing my peace and wellbeing, that of great importance for this life.... here in the now.
(Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content. Intended solely as informative and subjects of 'Reflections of Life'...'This side of the glass')
"Let us pray that we may become a channel for God's spirit. Let us pray that God's spirit may flow through us into the lives of others."
'Why does God need to draw us to salvation? Simply put, if He didn’t, we would never come. It has been explained that no man can come unless the father draws him (John 6:65). The natural man has no ability to come to God, nor does he even have the desire to come. Because his heart is hard and his mind is darkened, the unregenerate person doesn’t desire God and is actually an enemy of God (Romans 5:10). When Jesus says that no man can come without God’s drawing him, He is making a statement about the total depravity of the sinner and the universality of that condition.
So darkened is the unsaved person’s heart that he doesn’t even realize it: “ The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Therefore, it is only by the merciful and gracious drawing of God that we are saved. In the conversion of the sinner, God enlightens the mind (Ephesians 1:18), inclines the will toward Himself, and influences the soul, without which influence the soul remains darkened and rebellious against God. All of this is involved in the drawing process.
'There is a sense in which God draws all men. This is known as the “general call” and is distinguished from the “effectual call” of God’s elect. Passages such as Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:20 attest to the fact that God’s eternal power and divine nature are “clearly seen” and “understood” from what has been made, “so that people are without excuse.” But men still do deny God, and those who acknowledge His existence still do not come to a saving knowledge of Him outside of His drawing them. Only those who have been drawn through special revelation—by the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God—will come to Christ.
'There are tangible ways in which those who are being drawn to salvation experience that drawing. First, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sinful state and our need for a Savior (John 16:8). Second, He awakens in us a previously unknown interest in spiritual things and creates a desire for them that was never there before. Suddenly our ears are open, our hearts are inclined toward Him, and His Word begins to hold a new and exciting fascination for us. Our spirits begin to discern spiritual truth that never made sense to us before: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Finally, we begin to have new desires. He places within us a new heart that inclines toward Him, a heart that desires to know Him, obey Him, and walk in the “newness of life” (Romans 6:4) that He has promised.
"Truth and scripture that many cannot deal with or accept, are always ignored and never or rarely mentioned.... 'Fearful of truth must be a heavy burden to carry!"
(Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content. Intended solely as informative and subjects of 'Reflections of Life'...'This side of the glass')
Getting Saved is Not About Going to Heaven Most often, when Christians use the word “saved” we think about the following concepts:
getting forgiveness of sins escaping hell going to heaven when we die receiving eternal life Furthermore, we think that people “get saved” by doing some (or all) of the following:
ask Jesus into our hearts. confess our sin. repent of our sin get baptized. believe in Jesus. trust Jesus believe that Jesus is God, believe that Jesus died on the cross, and rose again from the dead believe that we are sinners and that Jesus died for our sin on the cross etc, etc, etc. 'But did you know that the word “saved” (and the other related words like save and salvation) are rarely used to express any of the concepts above? The closest we get is Acts 16:31, Romans 10:9-10, 1 Corinthians 15:2, and Ephesians 2:5-9, and being not convinced that even in these passages, the word “saved” means getting forgiveness of sins so we can escape hell, get eternal life, and go to heaven when we die. Taking a detailed look at each of these texts is beyond the scope of this blog post, so let me just summarize what the word saved means in the Bible.
saved salvation.
What does the word “Saved” mean? It means “deliverance.” To be saved means to be delivered.
And when we understand it this way, it opens up a whole new range of possibilities. We can be “delivered” from almost anything, right? I pray that as I write this blog post, I am delivered (saved) from theological and biblical errors, and my greatest nemesis of all – typographical errors!
But I can also be delivered from sickness, from a meteor falling out of the sky and landing on my house, from getting in a car accident while I drive to work, from enemies invading our country, from our economy sliding into collapse, from earthquakes, floods, storms, and on and on it goes.
In a more spiritual sense, I can be saved from slipping into sin so that I destroy my life and my witness. I can be saved from ruining my marriage and my family by treating them with the love and respect they deserve.
How is “Saved” used in the Bible? The vast majority of the times the word “saved” is used in Scripture, it is not used in reference to receiving eternal life or going to heaven when we die, but is used in one of these other ways mentioned above. If you doubt this, just pull out a concordance and start checking it yourself. When the Bible uses the word “saved” it is talking about the Israelites getting saved from their enemies, from sickness, from slavery, and from death. The disciples are saved from drowning in a storm. Christians can be saved from a life of empty living.
Even Jesus wasn’t saved.
(Anonymous author)
(Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content.
Intended solely as informative and subjects of 'Reflections of Life'...'This side of the glass')
Because of the widespread (and unbiblical) assumption that mankind possesses an immortal soul and that even in death the consciousness of a person lives on absent his or her body, many will take Luke 23:46 to mean that Jesus was with the Father that day in spirit form. Subsequently, they will assume that the criminal next to Him could have been as well.
However, the larger issue is what the Bible consistently shows happens at—and after—death. Yes, the spirits of both Jesus and the criminal returned to God the Father, as do the spirits of all people (Ecclesiastes 3:21; 12:7). Yet, at the same time, their consciousness ended, such that it could not be said that they—their complete persons—were with the father. Jesus committed His spirit to the Father, yet He clearly told Mary after His resurrection, "I have not yet ascended to My Father" (John 20:17).
What does it mean that His spirit was with the Father, but not His body or soul (see Acts 2:31)? Was His spirit conscious of being in Paradise? Notice what the Word of God says:
"For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks?" (Psalm 6:5). Thus, there is no praise of God or even contemplation of Him when a person goes into the grave—yet the spirit is with God!
"Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" (Psalm 88:11-12). The psalmist calls the grave "the place of destruction," "the dark," and "the land of forgetfulness." Consequently, death is a definite stopping point, and consciousness and experience do not continue in the grave.
"The dead do not praise the LORD, nor any who go down into silence" (Psalm 115:17). If the dead are automatically taken to the presence of God, why would they not praise Him? How could any being remain silent in the presence of the most awesome Person in the universe?
"His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish" (Psalm 146:4; our emphasis throughout). A person's spirit departs (and returns to God, as Ecclesiastes 3:21 and 12:7 show), yet at that point all of his plans (thoughts, KJV) perish. This is because the human spirit does not have consciousness inherent within it.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going" (Ecclesiastes 9:10). It could not be any clearer: The condition of death means a total cessation of consciousness and awareness.
In biblical usage, death is pictured as sleeping—there is no knowledge, no comprehension of the passage of time, no recognition of God, etc. There is no consciousness. The spirit in man allows understanding (Job 32:8; I Corinthians 2:11), but it depends on a living body for consciousness. The idea that some eternal consciousness continues after death comes from paganism, not the Holy Scriptures! The spirit in man, in its most basic definition, is a person's mind (heart, attitudes, etc.), not a separate sentient being.
As a result, even though all the spirits of all the dead throughout human history have returned to the Father, Jesus' statement, "No one has ever gone into heaven" (John 3:13), demonstrates that the "spirit in man" is not the entire person, just a component. Yet, that component, absent a body (physical or spiritual) that can sustain life, has no consciousness of its own. The spirit is given or returned to a body—physical or spiritual—at the time of a resurrection (Luke 8:55). Jesus' spirit returned to the Father, yet He—the Man, the Son of God, the whole Being—did not ascend to the Father until after He was resurrected three days and three nights later.
('Articles in this thread are compiled from various public sources. Intended solely as informative and subjects to reflect on. Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content. Intended solely as informative and subjects of 'Reflections of Life'...'This side of the glass')
"Make no mistake, I strive to focus on the here in the now. And Christ
returning being precisely that...for a practical purpose, and that being to earnestly striving to live and conduct my life here in the now the best I know how, and when time is done here, it is out of my realm of comprehension...enter the spirit realm, whatsoever that entails...unknown!
'And all of it all simply implies I have been allowed instructions for this life, and I am told, all works out for the good of those that strive to live by spiritual discipline here in the now. And any attempt to stray further than that shall likely bring cause of deep troublesome mental discord, plus unhealthy delusions!'
'I choose to stay in the now, it just feels better, and I leave it there. And I choose not to attempt to 'outsource' the Holy Spirit...for there may arise an open invite for the 'adversary' to take you on a dark path.... worldly delusions!
(*The Role of Reason in Theology) (*Theology is “the reasonable study of the Christian faith”. In Theology, scholars have to use more than just their own beliefs to describe their research. They need to understand what is recognized by the people who are part of the different religions and how their lives are impacted by following their God.
'Christians use several references when studying Theology. We use the experiences we have had in life. We also look at what traditions were passed down to us from our family, as well as what we learned from the Bible. We also must use reason. In other areas of scientific studies, such as biology, scholars will look under a microscope to figure out how things are impacting our bodies. However, in theology, we have to use more than what we can prove. We also can’t just look at what is written in the bible. We have to use reason. Reason is extremely important when we study Theology and must be used to explain the beliefs of Christians.)
"Apparently modern day 'Christians' simply rely on their theological 'studies' to know of and hopefully enter into God's Kingdom at some point... in time.
Christ in us and to worship in spirit and truth apparently has become 'old school' that has been removed for the sake of a new and different culture movement that has immersed upon society.'
(Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content. Intended solely as informative and subjects of 'Reflections of Life'...'This side of the glass')
"Perhaps due to great troublesome and disturbing events taking place across the land, that many may be showing up in the hope of finding out God may be the necessary reprieve away from a restless chaotic world within the wireless communities.
'And be assured, the Holy Spirit being the inspiration of putting forth words before you. I came to learn the hard way over two decades ago, that many of my life problems were brought about by not having God in my life, and I needed help. And a great lesson was learned!
"Take upon God before becoming overwhelmed by going alone with selfish self-centeredness, which simply is not compatible with any hope of finding peace and harmony in a troublesome world.
"Lessons of life learned through personal experience of having God in one's life are to be shared, in hope of lost souls finding a reprieve before things become out of control...life may well be more orderly and manageable if you...'nip it in the bud'. 'Praise God'
"To be crystal clear, this link is simply a reminder that God does often 'work' in mysterious ways that are simply not meant to understand, and often finds us in our darkest and most troublesome times. (Thank God for that!)
'And it may not be known or need to be known precisely why the seemingly increase in 'newbies' coming upon this community. As stated before, it being very conceivable that many lives may be searching for something that may be amiss in their lives, bringing cause of hoping to find new hope and encouragement.
'Let us stop and ponder this carefully! 'And I can only relate to personal experience over the past two decades. Troubled lives that have crossed my path is not something new, it has just happened.
' And I have found before and now just very resent, that many that are in a rehab or recovering programs are very often 'turned off' by hearing or listening to book educated 'counselors' that claim to have or know the answers to a person's personal problems.
'Yes, there are 'meetings' where 'counselors' that have had similar addictive or similar troublesome issues can and do share real life heartfelt testimonies of how and/or why they came to change. And here is where troubled lives pay attention and actually come to learn something of pertinent and present day valuable lessons.
'And in many 'Christian circles', there are those that are bent on attempting to put forth things that may well be out of their jurisdiction or ability to comprehend without personal experienced knowledge. And here is where much falls upon deaf ears for lack of interest.'
'Let us learn to 'listen' .... often being more important than one may fully realize!
(Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content.
Intended solely as informative and subjects of 'Reflections of Life'...'This side of the glass')
"And it is conceivable that hate is a by-product of resentment, jealousy and selfish self-centeredness. And thus, the iniquity often generates opposing opposition that brings cause of great and harmful discord. Sadly, to the point of many heinous acts of violence against other human beings'...abomination without regard of consequences.
' And a sense of entitlement being defined as " an unrealistic, unmerited, or inappropriate expectation of favorable living conditions and/or favorable treatment at the hands of others...and this perception in itself by many, have brought about untold havoc upon society, and worsening!
'And sad and disturbing that our greatest resource...love, has been virtually abandoned, leaving an imminent
reality of abomination of desolation now taking place and being witnessed in some of the nation's most prestigious areas across the land, and worsening!
' And it being conceivable the mood of the country rest upon the leaders, and this there appears none of substantial trust or character to bring any defining order of unity upon society. And God being left out of the equation shall surely bring about no reprieve. God only knows of the end was known from the beginning!
'Let us hope and pray God becomes more focused on as the most significant element in our lives...here in the now!
"Christian advice being conceivable, spiritual advice being inconceivable. Christian advice more specifically, this approach uses scripture and biblical teachings, to help you deal with life’s challenges. ' And it is possible to cause confusion from many who reads a lot but has not experienced a lot.
Confronting the soul of a person should be considered a profound undertaking, and never...
to be taken lightly!
'A spiritual awakening or awareness being an individual's personal experience of living it and coming to learn the deeper things of one's own self in relation to God, and this being by and through remembrance of the Holy Spirit and discipline of the principles of life, here in the now.
'Many worldly 'distractions' may often bring cause of a person's perceived evil or unwanted disturbing thoughts that may be causing great concern or unrest. And here, self-control and discipline being... of great importance to diligently strive to work on, with perseverance! (Thank God, this I have come to learn this truth over past two decades, and it is not meant to be easy!)
'To be crystal clear, I am not here to judge nor offend anyone...simply to share...from 'this side of the glass'. And to walk with God in today's world shall not be an easy task as many claim it to be easy. And here I say is a false assumption! Truth is often a greater burden to accept than falseness, as falseness and/or deception being a tool of the adversary...and easy to fall into this pit!
(Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content. Intended solely as informative and subjects of 'Reflections of Life'...'This side of the glass')
"Astounding how the man mind conjures up delusional ideas and/or concepts of biblical history...... appearing as if one was actually there. Perhaps Spiritual discernment has no meaningful significance.
'Perhaps many cannot accept the idea that the Divine words were inspired by many 'authors' from
many 'languages' (And/or 'tongues' of different languages) which being influenced from different spiritual reflections, and over millenniums. Common sense would direct a sound mind to the fact that many words were used in many different perimeters by and through different 'writers'.
'And over time it being impossible to know or have precise knowledge, or precise understanding of whom, why, where or when different authors were in reference to different certain things. The mysteries are simply out of the human capabilities. Disturbingly, some may think otherwise."
'Tools of great evil being implemented have become more prevalent within the Christian arena. And it will not end well as God being mocked surely a great disappointed, and perhaps consequences being witnessed of disturbing events being of subtle warnings."
(Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content.
Intended solely as informative and subjects of 'Reflections of Life'...'This side of the glass')
"And the simple truth continues to be a disturbing dilemma affecting minds of those bent on personal interpretations that will continue to bring cause of great division among people.
'And spiritual discernment being of such profound significance that it has been abandoned for lack of not fully comprehending the significance when in reference to God's 'work'...here in the now.'
'And the diabolical events being witnessed are realistic evidence...God's work appears not to being carried out adequately. And worsening across proclaimed 'Christian' 'groups'.
'And Christ our Lord God may be found only one place...'Mirror Mirror on the wall...what is it that YOU see'.
"And the sacredness of God continues to be inequitably and blatantly compromised, not only in this community, but across the 'Christian spectrum'.
*In the last 200 years, Christianity in America has been distorted — or, to use a more serious word, ravaged — Christianity in America has been ravaged by the dominant teaching that decisions for God are more basic in defining a Christian than delight in God.
“Christianity in America has been ravaged by the dominant teaching that decisions for God are more basic than delight in God.” The upshot of the dominance of this viewpoint — right across the Christian spectrum from Roman Catholic to fundamentalist Protestant — the dominance of this viewpoint is the emergence of thousands upon thousands of professing Christians who have made decisions about God and joined churches, but have no new gladness in God, and are not Christians. The effort of this dominant viewpoint in American evangelicalism to define saving faith, apart from spiritual affections is biblically futile.
(*Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content. Intended solely as informative and subjects of 'Reflections of Life'...'This side of the glass')
"Being witnessed is a dramatic society mood change since the digital wireless communication phenomenon came about. Bringing cause of many things... good, not so good and great evil...
'And conceivably has changed most all aspects of life, here in the now. And 'Christianity' being without exception. The 'light' of Christ has been darkened for the sake of entertainment and selfish self-centeredness. Too often many are seeing and hearing what they want to see or hear in reference to God.
'And many do not, have not or will not fully accept and practice the basic inspired teachings of Jesus Christ. Most likely because many may be in great doubt and so confused and bewildered, they turn away to their own desires.
'Disillusionment and doubt spoil life. The doubting ones are the disillusioned ones. When you are in doubt, you are on the edge. You are not going anywhere. Doubt poisons all action. 'And perhaps doubt being the 'hidden reason'...many conjure up worldly perceptions so as to evade truth, which would appear, truth being too much to mentally cope with...here in the now.
'And here comes the 'falling away from God'...events great and small are evidence of precisely just that......
A GREAT FALLING AWAY FROM GOD, AND THE INTENDED PURPOSE OF LIFE HERE IN THE NOW.
(Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content. Intended solely as informative and subjects of 'Reflections of Life'...'This side of the glass')
