Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Jesus walked the earth giving everyone everything they asked for and yet it was still not enough for man NOT to fear God.
Even in the beginning it was not enough for man.
In Genesis 1:26-28
26And God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and LET THEM HAVE DOMINION over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
27So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
IF GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE THEN WHAT IS HIS IMAGE???
1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
BACK TO GENESIS CHAPTER 1 VS 28
28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
GOD SAID IT IS FINISHED…IT IS GOOD…BUT, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT???
GOD REALIZED THAT HE HAD MADE MAN SPIRITUAL, BUT HE NEEDED TO MAKE MAN PHYSICAL (A LIVING SOUL) SO THAT THE EARTH COULD BE TILLED. HE TOLD MAN THAT IT WAS ALL HIS. HE DID NOT WANT MAN TO LOSE PARADISE WHICH TO ME MEANT THAT OUR SOULS WOULD BE LOST TO THE WORLD AND WE WOULD PHYSICALLY DIE SO HE WARNED MAN TO STAY AWAY FROM THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL BECAUSE WE WOULD SURELY DIE! BUT MAN WENT TO IT ANYWAY. WHAT IS THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL? FOR ME THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL IS WHERE MAN HIMSELF WOULD CREATE HIS OWN KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT IS BAD. HE DID IT RIGHT AWAY WHEN HE HID. HE FELT ASHAMED, BUT GOD WAS NEVER ASHAMED NOR WAS MAN UNTIL…
Genesis 3:4,5
FOR ME THIS IS WHERE RELIGION COMES INTO MAN AND MAN BECOMES ASHAMED.
4And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die;
5for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and ate, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he ate.
7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves things to gird about.
BEFORE THEY HAD EATEN FROM THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL…THEY DID NOT KNOW THAT THEY WERE NAKED!!!! SO, FROM THIS POINT FORWARD WHAT ELSE WAS GOD TO DO?? HE HAD ALREADY TOLD THEM THEY WERE GOOD, BUT NOW THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS NOT GOOD. GOD COULD NOT CHANGE WHAT THEY SAW. MAN HAS THE ALBILITY TO SEE THEMSELVES AS GOOD, BUT THEY HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT FIRST.
SO LETS MOVE FORWARD TO THE NEW TESTAMENT. GOD SENT US HIS SON. HIS SON TRIED TO TELL US THAT WE ARE GOOD. JESUS WALKED THE EARTH GIVING US EVERYTHING WE WANTED. HE HEALED THE SICK, HE WALKED ON WATER, HE TURNED WATER INTO WINE AND FOR CHRIST SAKE EVEN DIED ON THE CROSS!!
OK, THIS FOR ME IS THE BEST PART OF IT ALL!!
COLOSSIANS 2: 9- 23
9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature,[a] not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,[b] God made you[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[d] 16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. 19He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. 20Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21"Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
ONCE AGAIN ALLOW ME TO QUOTE THE BIBLE
Genesis 2: 25
25And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
HOW ABOUT WE ALL TRY TO GET BACK TO THE GARDEN AND EAT FROM THE TREE OF LIFE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE GOOD WITHIN. WE DON’T NEED SAVED ANYMORE. GOD SAVED US ALL AT THE CROSS.
“do you submit to its rules” Mindy, I think that is so important to remember, that although Man has rules we are not ruled by Man.
We were forgiven at the cross. This needs to be accessed by faith.
Faith is born out of repentance and forgiveness. it is not a one time event but a process.
St. Paul says, “For those of us BEING SAVED…”
Since we still continue to sin, we still ought repent and be forgiven. Over and over and over again.
Repentance and forgiveness. That is the shape of the life of the believer.
Thank you.
Steve,
I would have to disagree with the part about faith being born out of repentance and forgiveness. How do you explain the children of the world?
How do you explain my wonderful friend Shawn (my other husband) who I have known for many years. I met him when I was 18 and he was only 10. I fell in love with this young mans spirit right from the beginning. Everything was pure and simple to him. He is now 25 and we have unofficially been married. I gave him a ring and I have a ring. It made him so happy and the best part is that my “other” husband knows about it and my new husband has always known that I have been married to the same man for 10 years and we all LOVE each other. Shawn may have a disability, but it hasn’t stopped him from living life to the fullest! I admire his strength and courage. He doesn’t give a poop about going to church every Sunday and repenting. What the hell does he have to repent? What…? that he unofficially married someone who will love him for the rest of his life? Is that a sin? I mean I have committed my love to another man while I am still committed to another? Should I repent in order to find my faith so that I can be forgiven of this terrible sin? This young man will never have a romantic relationship with anyone and lay beside them at night. He will never “walk” down the aisle with someone and officially get married. He will never drive a car by himself. He may never go to college and get a degree, but I can tell you the one thing he can do and that is to love and that alone makes him happy. I would have to say for Shawn and for the rest of us that it is a one time event…at the cross.
COLOSSIANS 2:13,14
13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
The shape of the life of the believer is LOVE and only LOVE.
Mindy-
“Michael Corleone: Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in.”
Steve:
YOU WROTE:
This needs to be accessed by faith
Who’s Faith? Yours, Mine or The Son of God’s?
JESUS AUTHORED AND FINISHED the requirement of faith. It is His Faith, His Baptism NOT YOURS! God made Him both LORD and Savior of ALL.
Peace
Geo
You Steve CANNOT make Him Lord and Savior! If you can then that makes YOU God and NOT God, God
Peace
Geo
Steve you wrote: Since we still continue to sin, we still ought repent and be forgiven. Over and over and over again.
I am really interested in knowing what you think would happen if you did commit a “sin” and before you had time to repent and be forgiven, you dropped dead of a heart attack or hit by a truck or whatever. Does that mean you would be among those you consider to be lost??? Does that mean you would not make it to “heaven” and be into what the organized church calls hell to burn forever?
I believed along those lines for many years and lived in constant fear of never being able to make it to heaven, but now that I have seen His redemption and that it is through His faith and not mine, I have been set free and I no longer have any fear. How can you ever be sure you will make it if you rely on your faith and hoping you have time to repent and ask forgiveness for each time you do whatever it is you call sin??? Like I said, I lived in that fear for years but now that I know it is by His faith that this has been given to me and not through mine, I can now rest.
I sit here tonight with a with a kitten on my right foot, brought to me malnourished, dehydrated . It was found lost cold and wet by two people that only had one desire, and that was to save a creacher of God.
There is no doubt in my mind that these two people are totally and without question devoted and deeply in love with each other. I believe they have the kind of love that will take them beyond death. The kind of love my Mother knew , my aunt Mid knew, , my aunt Norma knew , my uncle Joe and aunt Abby had.
One of these two has never been exposed to the rules and laws, the conditions ,expectations of organized religion, the other has been wrapped in it like an iron glove.
I am speaking to those two tonight, and anyone else who will listen, to tell them that , there is no God that will punish a man siting with a kitten on his right foot, or the ones that saved him to be there.
Love never fails kids
Steve, repentance is simply a change of mind! You did something that didn’t feel right that maybe violated love so you changed your mind about it. You hope you don’t do it again but you might. It has nothing to do with getting right with God.
Quite honestly, a lot of this discussion is way over my head, but the thought of Doug sitting with a kitten on his right foot……..now that made me smile! Isn’t it a delight how you can paint a picture with words and send it out over the internet and make someone miles away pause and smile? Thanks for that!
I read somewhere that the word “sin” when literally translated from Ancient Greek means “to miss the mark”. I believe that if I have been “guilty” in my life of anything it has been “missing the mark”. For so long I searched for the answers outwardly in the world but something never felt right so I just decided I didn’t believe in God. Now I see that the separation between myself and the whole universe was and is an illusion. The only place to find true peace is inside ourselves. Being in a world where you are afraid of going to hell because you are not living right is the real punishment-that to me is truly “sinning”-or missing the whole bigger picture.
Way to go Angie! You’ve got it. You said ‘ Now I see that the separation between myself and the whole universe was and is an illusion.The only place to find true peace is inside ourselves’
This understanding you have seen is none other than a revelation from the ONE who IS LOVE that lives IN you. Our human minds have no knowledge of this ONE and can never understand spiritual things, because it only has 5 senses and spirit cannot be seen heard felt or tasted, so it imagines instead. Religion is one of its wildest imaginings. As soon as we imagine a God outside of ourselves we feel that separation. When we behold him within we are one with him again. It is BEHOLDING him that takes away the sin of the world, not his death. He died to hand his LIFE to us, and that LIFE is within us. You have rightly said – this universe is an illusion – it’s all transient and passing away, under the law of ‘falling short’ and punishment by death.
.
Another word that has been mis-translated is REPENT. It does not mean ‘feel sorrow or regret’, As someone else on this thread said, it means to ‘re-think’, to think from a different source -your heart instead of your head. The real word is ‘metanoia’, turning from your head to your heart. Keep doing that Angie and much more will be revealed to you! I feel very excited for you.
Thank you Audrey.
Hi, I know I haven’t posted here in awhile. I appreciate you sharing this Mindy. However, I would like to add that God actually brought us to something better than back to the Garden of Eden. According to Paul’s letters, Jesus’ sacrifice more than made up for Adam’s partaking into the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If Jesus had just undone all the harm the first Adam did that alone would have been awesome. However, He did even more. While in Eden God had to come at a certain time to walk with man now He lives directly inside of us (Holy Spirit). We have even greater access to God now than Adam did at the garden. Thanks again for posting. I can already see your Dad’s legacy in your writings.
I know he’s proud of you!
Thank you so much Kiara!