I heard a radio program the other day that was basically repeating everything, or a lot, of what it is I am trying to say in these entries. I have always known that I am not the only one who has asked these questions or given what I think are God's messages. I know other people believe this way and there are others who know they talk to God and try to understand his desires for us. It has always been that way. That is another reason I have always wanted this to not be about me or have anything attributed to me in any way. I know it is unavoidable, but I want the message to speak for itself. Believe it, don't believe it, it doesn't matter. If it speaks to you, then listen. If you have your own way of speaking to God, then do that. I can only offer what it is I believe God is trying to get me to tell you. I do not purpose I do it well or if I even get the correct message across. It is the feeling or the knowledge or the understanding I am trying to invoke and not the specific words I use in my messages that should be focused upon.
That being said, where am I going today. I don't really know and I don't have a plan. God said he wanted to let me know that I am not alone but to also let others know that if they are looking for answers, the answers are there. If not from me, then from others in the strangest places. Or what would seem strange to me but really I should say unexpected places. For example, the radio program. The message I got today was from someone who does not believe in God. Someone who questions if there is a God. Someone who actually grew up Jewish and apparently knew a lot about what it means to be Jewish but who, in his present day life, had no room for God, religion, or His teachings.
But he did say this. Having no belief in God or his plan, the words he grew up speaking and the messages those words conveyed still spoke to him today, when he would repeat them. They still gave him comfort and they still had a power that he could feel. Not that he was changing his mind about religion but he did say, on some level, the words had power. The message was still meaningful and still held true over all those years.
That is what God tells me. It is not the words, it is not the way they are presented, it is not even who is doing the presenting. It is the meaning, the feelings they invoke, the knowing that there is something right about it and there is something that has power we can always feel and experience. God is in those words. God has a message and whatever method you use or you find that speaks his knowledge to you, that it is what he is looking for. He is looking for you to understand that He is talking to you and He is telling you something that only you can understand. It is His relationship with you. It is your words, your feelings, and your understanding that matters. Not what someone else is saying, not what they are doing, but how do those words or those actions speak to you about your relationship with God. There is no wrong way. There is not a set way to talk to God. If he speaks to you in a book, or he speaks to you in a picture or if he speaks to you in a feeling, it is the relationship that matters. Only you can decide what God is saying to you. No one can tell you what God has to say. Not me, not the preacher, not the pastor, not the rabbi, not the Iman, no one can tell you what God has to say to you other than God himself.
You can listen to whomever you choose as your religious leader. What they are saying is probably not wrong, but it is your interpretation of what they have to say or you interpretation of what you have read that is the important part of listening for God. God wants me to say that if someone is telling you that they are the word of God and theirs is the only way to speak to or know what God is saying, then they are not telling you the truth. Whatever it is they are saying might be God's words, but they might not be God's word to you. Only you can decide if they are and it is up to you to form a relationship with God to allow you to know what it means and how you should know when someone is speaking for God to you. It might be the message they are telling is for the speaker, or someone else entirely. It could be that someone in the room or in the church, or wherever this is taking place, has need to hear God's message in this way, in those words, and this is how God has chosen to talk to that person. But it does not mean it has to be for you. You will know when it is God's word and you will know when you need to hear this message. God lives within you and He will tell you what you need to know.
The other thing God is telling me about this is it should not be hard. You should not have to concentrate or try to work out what God's message is. It should be plain and easy to understand. If you have to study or pray for an answer or ask someone else what it is God is trying to tell you, then you are not really listening to God. The answer is within you. It may be that God chooses to speak to you through others but it should not be hard to understand. You should be able to listen to what they say, ask God what it means and the answer should be there for you to understand.
For me, it is a feeling. Not really words or anything, it is just a feeling of knowing what is right. Knowing that when God is trying to tell me something, I just have to forget thought and ask, what does this mean to me. Maybe I don't understand it, maybe I don't know what it means, but I know that it is right or it is wrong. I know that whatever it is, something I have thought, something that someone is telling me, or just a general situation of what is going on around me, God lets me know that it is right or what I am thinking about it is right. I might think the wrong thing. I might miss-interpret what he is telling me. But I can feel it. I know I am wrong or it is wrong. I may not have the right answer, but I do know that the answer I have is wrong and I need to keep thinking about it. The right answer is always there. Sometimes, I choose to ignore it. Sometimes, I do not want the right answer and I try to convince myself that I know what is best. But I always know when I am wrong. It is my choice to do whatever I think I should do, right or wrong, but I always know when it is right and when it is wrong.
None of this is a power that I have. None of this is something that God is doing for me and not for anyone else. He has told me again and again that everyone has this within them. Everyone has the knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. It is my feeling that most choose to ignore it. They do what they have been taught or what someone else is telling them to do and they even convince themselves that it might be from God. But God says, you always know what is right and what is wrong.
Choose to ignore it or follow it, you have free will, but God say, you always know. You always know right from wrong. Your relationship with God is up to you. He loves you either way. Live what he tells you or don't. But you cannot pretend that you do not know right from wrong. God knows that you know, and that is the only thing that matters.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
God Will Punish
God Will Punish
God is wanting me to get more aggressive with these entries. I know what He wants but I think it is still too early to do that. But, as occurs so often, He will get His way so I should just start doing it and get it over with. But I continue to resist. I think I know why he wants me to get more content out there but I am afraid of the answer and I choose not to listen until He makes me. Probably won't be too long from now. Anyway.
What God wants me to talk about is this insistence by most religious leaders, and I include most religions in this, the insistence that God is going to punish you if you do not do His bidding or follow what the religious leaders have determined is the best way to follow God. They seem to say in one breath that you have all these gifts and love and acceptance by God but in the next breath you can in some way do things that this will no longer be true and He will punish you for it. I know I have spoken to this on many occasions but I can't help but try to get the point across in as many ways as I can. God loves you and He did not create you so that He could then punish you. It is not true. It cannot happen and those that insist that you need to live in fear that God is going to get you if you step out of line are, in very simple terms, wrong.
This is where a lot of people will turn off and once again proclaim me to be a horrible person (I save myself from what they will really call me) and that I do not speak the words of God or that I do not represent what God is all about.
I do not claim to be the speaker for God, nor do I claim to be the final end all be all of what God is trying to tell us. I relate what he is telling me. If it speaks to you then we have found a common place. If it does not, then find your way to God in whatever method you can find. Listen to whatever voices that are telling you what to do and assume they are from God. I cannot say one way or the other. I can only tell you what God tells me and not really what God tells me but I can only try to relate in whatever way I can through this written language what it is God is trying to tell me. It is my interpretation and my understanding that I am writing about. It is not meant to be yours. But I will continue to try because God insists and no amount of my procrastination or ignoring or not following what He wants will change that fact that He wants me to try. I might get it wrong and I might look back someday and wonder how I could have ever come to that conclusion or spouted those words, but for now, this is what I can do and I have committed to doing it the best way I can. I didn't know I was going to go down that path but there it is and now I will get back the message I am trying to write about today.
When someone tells you that God is going to punish you if you are not good, they are wrong. They do not speak the words of God and they are trying to bend you to their will and not God's. In most cases, it is them trying to make themselves the arbitrator of what God is and what God wants and they have taken the words they have read, the power those words might contain, and are using them to escalate themselves. To make it seem they are more important in God's eyes than you are. That God only tells them the truth and you are mere vassals for them to control and manipulate to making them greater, not God.
Now you might say, what about me. Isn't that exactly what I am doing. Am I not trying to make it seem that I am greater because I say that God speaks to me. You could be right. I might be doing that and not even realise it or I might be doing it and actually I do realise it. To be honest, that is why I have fought this my whole life. I do not want to be the point of this conversation. I do not want to be speaking the words of God as if I have some inner knowledge that others do not. But that is just an excuse. That may or may not be true. My message is, and always will be, You are the only one who can say what God is telling you. Not me, not the preacher, not even the Bible can say what God is speaking to you. Your relationship with God is just that, your relationship with God. If it helps for you to listen to someone else, to try to get others opinions, to try to get someone to interpret what God might be saying, then I cannot say what is right and what is wrong. The only thing I am trying to convey is this.
GOD IS TALKING TO YOU RIGHT NOW.
No one can take that away from you and no one can tell you what it means. I am totally, completely, and absolutely believing that God is within us and he is talking to us and we know right from wrong. God has told me that everyone has that within them. Everyone, everyone, everyone, has God within them and they know right from wrong and they can follow what God has to say. Free will allows us to ignore it, or to choose something else or to make excuses or choices that are not what He is saying but it does not change that the words of God are there and He is telling us what the right thing is. He is there.
Again, I strolled off into something that I did not intend to talk about in this entry. In fact, I have kind of lost the point about what I thought God wanted me to say. But, I think He led me there and wanted me to write more about that. I think it is part of His demand that I get more aggressive and speak His words more forcibly. So I leave it here and try to get back to the topic I started with.
At one point, I said that not even the Bible can tell you what God is telling you. I have a whole sermon or entry or several entries that I will make that will address what God is telling me about the Bible. In order that you do not immediately turn this off and never come back, I believe that everything we need to learn and know is in the Bible. I do not have a problem with the Bible. I just do not think that people who use the Bible as a club to harass and harangue people into doing what they think is the right thing to do are not using the Bible as it was meant to be used. But, again, I will not go off into another loop about that here. I will leave it for later, unless as I write about this, God takes me off topic again, but I want to say what I came here to say today and not tangent off into other topics.
People will tell me that it says that God does punish people, that it says so in the Bible. That is has to be true because that is what God does. He rewards those that are good and punishes those that are bad. That is wrong. God did not create you so He can punish you. It simply is not true of God. You have the love of God. You have the gifts of God. You have everything that God has provided for you. You cannot do anything to change that. If you think you can, or more importantly someone tells you that if you do wrong God will do something about it, they are lying. I didn't expect to type that word but God insisted that I do. They are lying.
Now I will give them an out. I will backpedal and allow them some form or way to justify what they are saying. If they are saying that, then it is an interpretation of the Bible or what they have been taught. It is how they came to understand what God is telling them. It is their interpretation. Maybe it is right for them. Maybe it allows them to follow God more closely. Maybe it is right for you. I cannot tell you what God is saying or what is right for you. I can't and no one else can.
When you read the Bible or someone is preaching to you or just talking to you about anything, you have to ask yourself, what is God saying to me. What is God telling me, at this moment, about what I am reading or what I am hearing and how can I interpret it so it makes sense to me. We always have the answer. We don't really have to ask, the answer is there. We can ignore it or listen to it but it is there, God is always talking to you and He is talking to you right now as you read this.
So to wrap this up and I think if I don't I will go on forever and begin to lose my way in what God wants me to get across, I will say these final things.
When people tell you that God is going to punish you if you do not do the right thing, do not fall into that trap. Do not allow whomever is telling you that to create that power over you. Do not allow someone or something to make you bow to their will. It is God you must ask and God you must follow and it is God that will tell you what is right and what is wrong and there is no one who can say otherwise.
And if you do not follow what God has told you is right? What happens? I don't know. I can tell you what I think or what God has tried to make me understand but I don't know if that has any meaning to you. You have to interpret or decide what will happen if you do not do what is right. But whatever happens, God loves you. He wants to be with you and He wants you to do the right thing. Because in the end, that is the only thing that matters. Do you do the right thing or do you not. Does God care. I think so, but he gave you free will. He said, you are free to choose. He does not punish you for making the wrong choice. It is your choice to make, regardless of what God is telling you or anyone else. It is up to you.
I am about to go off on another tangent. Maybe I should just sit here and type out everything God is trying to make me say. I choose not to. God understands. He will get his way in the end, but for now, I choose not to go off on any more tangents. At some point, I will have to dedicate my life to this, but not now. It is my choice.
The gist of it is, God is not here to punish you. You cannot do something to make him angry at you. You cannot lose the love of God. Punishment is a concept of Man. It is not what God has intended and we need to stop letting other men use God as a club to beat us into submission with. God does not want that.
And I say I cannot tell you what God is telling you but I can say, when you read this that you know it to be true. God is there, He is talking to you, and He is telling you that what I have said about Him punishing you is true. God is Love.
God is wanting me to get more aggressive with these entries. I know what He wants but I think it is still too early to do that. But, as occurs so often, He will get His way so I should just start doing it and get it over with. But I continue to resist. I think I know why he wants me to get more content out there but I am afraid of the answer and I choose not to listen until He makes me. Probably won't be too long from now. Anyway.
What God wants me to talk about is this insistence by most religious leaders, and I include most religions in this, the insistence that God is going to punish you if you do not do His bidding or follow what the religious leaders have determined is the best way to follow God. They seem to say in one breath that you have all these gifts and love and acceptance by God but in the next breath you can in some way do things that this will no longer be true and He will punish you for it. I know I have spoken to this on many occasions but I can't help but try to get the point across in as many ways as I can. God loves you and He did not create you so that He could then punish you. It is not true. It cannot happen and those that insist that you need to live in fear that God is going to get you if you step out of line are, in very simple terms, wrong.
This is where a lot of people will turn off and once again proclaim me to be a horrible person (I save myself from what they will really call me) and that I do not speak the words of God or that I do not represent what God is all about.
I do not claim to be the speaker for God, nor do I claim to be the final end all be all of what God is trying to tell us. I relate what he is telling me. If it speaks to you then we have found a common place. If it does not, then find your way to God in whatever method you can find. Listen to whatever voices that are telling you what to do and assume they are from God. I cannot say one way or the other. I can only tell you what God tells me and not really what God tells me but I can only try to relate in whatever way I can through this written language what it is God is trying to tell me. It is my interpretation and my understanding that I am writing about. It is not meant to be yours. But I will continue to try because God insists and no amount of my procrastination or ignoring or not following what He wants will change that fact that He wants me to try. I might get it wrong and I might look back someday and wonder how I could have ever come to that conclusion or spouted those words, but for now, this is what I can do and I have committed to doing it the best way I can. I didn't know I was going to go down that path but there it is and now I will get back the message I am trying to write about today.
When someone tells you that God is going to punish you if you are not good, they are wrong. They do not speak the words of God and they are trying to bend you to their will and not God's. In most cases, it is them trying to make themselves the arbitrator of what God is and what God wants and they have taken the words they have read, the power those words might contain, and are using them to escalate themselves. To make it seem they are more important in God's eyes than you are. That God only tells them the truth and you are mere vassals for them to control and manipulate to making them greater, not God.
Now you might say, what about me. Isn't that exactly what I am doing. Am I not trying to make it seem that I am greater because I say that God speaks to me. You could be right. I might be doing that and not even realise it or I might be doing it and actually I do realise it. To be honest, that is why I have fought this my whole life. I do not want to be the point of this conversation. I do not want to be speaking the words of God as if I have some inner knowledge that others do not. But that is just an excuse. That may or may not be true. My message is, and always will be, You are the only one who can say what God is telling you. Not me, not the preacher, not even the Bible can say what God is speaking to you. Your relationship with God is just that, your relationship with God. If it helps for you to listen to someone else, to try to get others opinions, to try to get someone to interpret what God might be saying, then I cannot say what is right and what is wrong. The only thing I am trying to convey is this.
GOD IS TALKING TO YOU RIGHT NOW.
No one can take that away from you and no one can tell you what it means. I am totally, completely, and absolutely believing that God is within us and he is talking to us and we know right from wrong. God has told me that everyone has that within them. Everyone, everyone, everyone, has God within them and they know right from wrong and they can follow what God has to say. Free will allows us to ignore it, or to choose something else or to make excuses or choices that are not what He is saying but it does not change that the words of God are there and He is telling us what the right thing is. He is there.
Again, I strolled off into something that I did not intend to talk about in this entry. In fact, I have kind of lost the point about what I thought God wanted me to say. But, I think He led me there and wanted me to write more about that. I think it is part of His demand that I get more aggressive and speak His words more forcibly. So I leave it here and try to get back to the topic I started with.
At one point, I said that not even the Bible can tell you what God is telling you. I have a whole sermon or entry or several entries that I will make that will address what God is telling me about the Bible. In order that you do not immediately turn this off and never come back, I believe that everything we need to learn and know is in the Bible. I do not have a problem with the Bible. I just do not think that people who use the Bible as a club to harass and harangue people into doing what they think is the right thing to do are not using the Bible as it was meant to be used. But, again, I will not go off into another loop about that here. I will leave it for later, unless as I write about this, God takes me off topic again, but I want to say what I came here to say today and not tangent off into other topics.
People will tell me that it says that God does punish people, that it says so in the Bible. That is has to be true because that is what God does. He rewards those that are good and punishes those that are bad. That is wrong. God did not create you so He can punish you. It simply is not true of God. You have the love of God. You have the gifts of God. You have everything that God has provided for you. You cannot do anything to change that. If you think you can, or more importantly someone tells you that if you do wrong God will do something about it, they are lying. I didn't expect to type that word but God insisted that I do. They are lying.
Now I will give them an out. I will backpedal and allow them some form or way to justify what they are saying. If they are saying that, then it is an interpretation of the Bible or what they have been taught. It is how they came to understand what God is telling them. It is their interpretation. Maybe it is right for them. Maybe it allows them to follow God more closely. Maybe it is right for you. I cannot tell you what God is saying or what is right for you. I can't and no one else can.
When you read the Bible or someone is preaching to you or just talking to you about anything, you have to ask yourself, what is God saying to me. What is God telling me, at this moment, about what I am reading or what I am hearing and how can I interpret it so it makes sense to me. We always have the answer. We don't really have to ask, the answer is there. We can ignore it or listen to it but it is there, God is always talking to you and He is talking to you right now as you read this.
So to wrap this up and I think if I don't I will go on forever and begin to lose my way in what God wants me to get across, I will say these final things.
When people tell you that God is going to punish you if you do not do the right thing, do not fall into that trap. Do not allow whomever is telling you that to create that power over you. Do not allow someone or something to make you bow to their will. It is God you must ask and God you must follow and it is God that will tell you what is right and what is wrong and there is no one who can say otherwise.
And if you do not follow what God has told you is right? What happens? I don't know. I can tell you what I think or what God has tried to make me understand but I don't know if that has any meaning to you. You have to interpret or decide what will happen if you do not do what is right. But whatever happens, God loves you. He wants to be with you and He wants you to do the right thing. Because in the end, that is the only thing that matters. Do you do the right thing or do you not. Does God care. I think so, but he gave you free will. He said, you are free to choose. He does not punish you for making the wrong choice. It is your choice to make, regardless of what God is telling you or anyone else. It is up to you.
I am about to go off on another tangent. Maybe I should just sit here and type out everything God is trying to make me say. I choose not to. God understands. He will get his way in the end, but for now, I choose not to go off on any more tangents. At some point, I will have to dedicate my life to this, but not now. It is my choice.
The gist of it is, God is not here to punish you. You cannot do something to make him angry at you. You cannot lose the love of God. Punishment is a concept of Man. It is not what God has intended and we need to stop letting other men use God as a club to beat us into submission with. God does not want that.
And I say I cannot tell you what God is telling you but I can say, when you read this that you know it to be true. God is there, He is talking to you, and He is telling you that what I have said about Him punishing you is true. God is Love.
Saturday, September 29, 2018
The Miracle is You
The Miracle is You
The title of this entry might be a bit misleading and I might change it in the future but I can't really come up with a better one yet. And I am sure you are saying, 'ask God', but He is the one who is telling me to just write it and then worry about a title later. And, if have read this far, he did tell me to change it although I think it is still misleading. It used to be Why are You Here.
What I am going to do here is steal a story I have heard from several sources. I once gave it during a sermon but I think I need to tell it here and go into what it means to me or what God has for me to say about it. Right now, I am not sure but we will see where He leads me. I am not sure I can get all the details right or tell it as it should be told. I am not sure what it will look like in print as I have only ever heard it and not read it. But here it is.
A religious man was listening to the radio during a storm one day. He lived near the river and was listening to a warning that said there was flooding coming and everyone near the river should get away before it was too late. The man said, I am a religious man and I go to church and I worship every day. I will stay here and let God protect me.
As the water started to rise, it came up to his door. A man in a boat came by and said, hop in and I will take you to safety. The man said, I am a religious man, I go to church and pray on Sunday and I worship God in all his glory. I will stay here and let Him protect me. So the man in the boat moved on to save others.
Later, the flood got really bad and the religious man was forced to climb onto the roof of his house as the water was up over the first floor. It was rushing by very quickly and the house was starting to sway and he thought it would not be long before it was swept away. At that time, a helicopter was flying overheard. It came down to try to rescue the man on the roof. They said, climb the ladder and we will fly you to safety. The man said, I am a religious man and I have always loved God and worshipped him. I go to church on Sunday and I pray to him everyday. I will wait on God to save me knowing that he would not let me drown. The helicopter then flew away to rescue others.
Eventually, the house was swept away and the man drowned in the overflowing river. Soon he found himself in front of God. He spoke up and said, God, why did you not save me. I am a religious man and I have worshipped you all my life yet you allowed me to die in the river.
God said,
I warned you on the radio.
I sent a boat and a helicopter to rescue you.
My question to you is, why are you here.
Now for those that have heard that story I apologize for going through it again and for my inability to tell it properly or as you have heard it. The reason I have included it here is I want to talk about what it means. It ties directly into God's message about listening to Him and being able to talk to and relate to God. It says God does talk to us. He does answer our prayers and He is there for us when we need Him. What is lacking is our understanding or inability to recognize God when he is talking to us.
As you may know, God says he is always listening to us and He is always speaking to us. You cannot get away from that. It is the key thing God wants me to get across. I speak to that all the time but I relate this story to try to instill in you a better idea of how God talks to you and how you can seek to listen to Him. Maybe this is the trigger that rolls over in your mind what I am trying to teach. Maybe not. Even if it does nothing for you, it is a good story and you can have fun with that.
What I get from this story is that I cannot tell you how God will choose to talk to you. I know how he talks to me and I know when it is God and not just me trying to justify what I think is right. It is just a feeling but the story says that God does not have one way to talk to us. He can speak to us in many different ways. He may not speak to us in words or thoughts or in any other form, regardless of what we think is the 'right' way for God to talk to us. It could take any form and most often, I think, it does. He might choose someone else to speak His words to us, he might choose to show you a picture or something happening around us that is meant to portray God's will. I cannot say what form that might be. But I can say, if you know how to speak to God and to recognize His love, then the answers are always provided. I firmly believe His words are there, no matter what anyone else might tell you.
I know that is kind of like me telling you what to think but for me, and I have to say it is what God is telling me, it is something fundamental to your walk with God. He is always there, He is always listening, and He will always answer. As I have said before, you cannot change that. You cannot hide from it and you cannot find a place or time when it is not true. All we can do is try to understand it and try to make sense of what God is telling us and how He chooses to tell us. Sometimes, often in my case, we may not like the answer, but that does not change the fact that God has given us His answer and it is up to us to either ignore it or follow it. He doesn't say it is easy or hard, it just is.
And, God wants me to say that He understands. He knows that we will not always understand and that sometimes, we will not be listening and we will not know what is the right thing to do. For me, I think we do, I think we always know the right thing to do because God has told us or let it be known what the right thing is, but due to circumstances, or fear, or lack of trust, we choose something else. We choose to justify to ourselves whatever action we take and choose not to recognize that it is wrong and is not what God intended. I think that we always know but we choose to do whatever decision we have made anyway. Not out of rebellion or rejection of God but just because it is what we do. Some might say it is the Devil steering us wrong but that is a topic for another time. I don't believe that, but that is something that God wants me to talk about and I will try to do so soon. It doesn't mean it is not the Devil but just that I do not really believe that.
Now that I have said that, I am sure a lot of people will call me a blasphemer and not believe anything else I have to say. So be it. I am not here to push my beliefs on anyone else. I am just trying to relate what God tells me in a way that I think will help others. Devil or no Devil, if you choose to believe in that, then I say more power to you and I hope it helps you as it should. For me, it is something, and if we choose to call it Devil, then I have no problem with it. I just choose to call it something else. But again, another entry where I can explain that belief in more detail.
For now, I just want the focus to be on this message. That no one can tell you how God will choose to speak to you. No one can say, this is how God speaks and this is how you will know Him. It is up to each individual to learn to recognize God in all His forms and that He does speak to us and that we can talk to and listen to God. We need to know that we cannot be stuck in our beliefs so profoundly that we ignore what God is trying to do for us because it is not 'His way'. God is not limited by us. We cannot dictate what God will do or what He will not do. He is God and he will use whatever method or means He chooses to speak to us. Sometimes the answer is, 'Help yourself'. You do what is needed to solve or resolve whatever issues you may be facing.
God does not do miracles because WE ARE the miracles. Most of the time, we are how God chooses to show Himself to us. Yes, there are other forms of miracles, but God wants you to know that the miracle he most often chooses is you.
Follow your heart. Follow what God is telling you. Don't ignore the obvious because you are waiting for God to reveal himself. Don't get stuck with the idea that God is one thing and if there is anything else then it is not God. Talk to Him, listen to Him and always know that God is there for you.
God does talk to you, but more importantly, God does listen to you. Always and forever. God is there for you. He is inside you and He wants to help. You cannot escape that. Listen to what God is saying and always remember that He loves you.
The title of this entry might be a bit misleading and I might change it in the future but I can't really come up with a better one yet. And I am sure you are saying, 'ask God', but He is the one who is telling me to just write it and then worry about a title later. And, if have read this far, he did tell me to change it although I think it is still misleading. It used to be Why are You Here.
What I am going to do here is steal a story I have heard from several sources. I once gave it during a sermon but I think I need to tell it here and go into what it means to me or what God has for me to say about it. Right now, I am not sure but we will see where He leads me. I am not sure I can get all the details right or tell it as it should be told. I am not sure what it will look like in print as I have only ever heard it and not read it. But here it is.
A religious man was listening to the radio during a storm one day. He lived near the river and was listening to a warning that said there was flooding coming and everyone near the river should get away before it was too late. The man said, I am a religious man and I go to church and I worship every day. I will stay here and let God protect me.
As the water started to rise, it came up to his door. A man in a boat came by and said, hop in and I will take you to safety. The man said, I am a religious man, I go to church and pray on Sunday and I worship God in all his glory. I will stay here and let Him protect me. So the man in the boat moved on to save others.
Later, the flood got really bad and the religious man was forced to climb onto the roof of his house as the water was up over the first floor. It was rushing by very quickly and the house was starting to sway and he thought it would not be long before it was swept away. At that time, a helicopter was flying overheard. It came down to try to rescue the man on the roof. They said, climb the ladder and we will fly you to safety. The man said, I am a religious man and I have always loved God and worshipped him. I go to church on Sunday and I pray to him everyday. I will wait on God to save me knowing that he would not let me drown. The helicopter then flew away to rescue others.
Eventually, the house was swept away and the man drowned in the overflowing river. Soon he found himself in front of God. He spoke up and said, God, why did you not save me. I am a religious man and I have worshipped you all my life yet you allowed me to die in the river.
God said,
I warned you on the radio.
I sent a boat and a helicopter to rescue you.
My question to you is, why are you here.
Now for those that have heard that story I apologize for going through it again and for my inability to tell it properly or as you have heard it. The reason I have included it here is I want to talk about what it means. It ties directly into God's message about listening to Him and being able to talk to and relate to God. It says God does talk to us. He does answer our prayers and He is there for us when we need Him. What is lacking is our understanding or inability to recognize God when he is talking to us.
As you may know, God says he is always listening to us and He is always speaking to us. You cannot get away from that. It is the key thing God wants me to get across. I speak to that all the time but I relate this story to try to instill in you a better idea of how God talks to you and how you can seek to listen to Him. Maybe this is the trigger that rolls over in your mind what I am trying to teach. Maybe not. Even if it does nothing for you, it is a good story and you can have fun with that.
What I get from this story is that I cannot tell you how God will choose to talk to you. I know how he talks to me and I know when it is God and not just me trying to justify what I think is right. It is just a feeling but the story says that God does not have one way to talk to us. He can speak to us in many different ways. He may not speak to us in words or thoughts or in any other form, regardless of what we think is the 'right' way for God to talk to us. It could take any form and most often, I think, it does. He might choose someone else to speak His words to us, he might choose to show you a picture or something happening around us that is meant to portray God's will. I cannot say what form that might be. But I can say, if you know how to speak to God and to recognize His love, then the answers are always provided. I firmly believe His words are there, no matter what anyone else might tell you.
I know that is kind of like me telling you what to think but for me, and I have to say it is what God is telling me, it is something fundamental to your walk with God. He is always there, He is always listening, and He will always answer. As I have said before, you cannot change that. You cannot hide from it and you cannot find a place or time when it is not true. All we can do is try to understand it and try to make sense of what God is telling us and how He chooses to tell us. Sometimes, often in my case, we may not like the answer, but that does not change the fact that God has given us His answer and it is up to us to either ignore it or follow it. He doesn't say it is easy or hard, it just is.
And, God wants me to say that He understands. He knows that we will not always understand and that sometimes, we will not be listening and we will not know what is the right thing to do. For me, I think we do, I think we always know the right thing to do because God has told us or let it be known what the right thing is, but due to circumstances, or fear, or lack of trust, we choose something else. We choose to justify to ourselves whatever action we take and choose not to recognize that it is wrong and is not what God intended. I think that we always know but we choose to do whatever decision we have made anyway. Not out of rebellion or rejection of God but just because it is what we do. Some might say it is the Devil steering us wrong but that is a topic for another time. I don't believe that, but that is something that God wants me to talk about and I will try to do so soon. It doesn't mean it is not the Devil but just that I do not really believe that.
Now that I have said that, I am sure a lot of people will call me a blasphemer and not believe anything else I have to say. So be it. I am not here to push my beliefs on anyone else. I am just trying to relate what God tells me in a way that I think will help others. Devil or no Devil, if you choose to believe in that, then I say more power to you and I hope it helps you as it should. For me, it is something, and if we choose to call it Devil, then I have no problem with it. I just choose to call it something else. But again, another entry where I can explain that belief in more detail.
For now, I just want the focus to be on this message. That no one can tell you how God will choose to speak to you. No one can say, this is how God speaks and this is how you will know Him. It is up to each individual to learn to recognize God in all His forms and that He does speak to us and that we can talk to and listen to God. We need to know that we cannot be stuck in our beliefs so profoundly that we ignore what God is trying to do for us because it is not 'His way'. God is not limited by us. We cannot dictate what God will do or what He will not do. He is God and he will use whatever method or means He chooses to speak to us. Sometimes the answer is, 'Help yourself'. You do what is needed to solve or resolve whatever issues you may be facing.
God does not do miracles because WE ARE the miracles. Most of the time, we are how God chooses to show Himself to us. Yes, there are other forms of miracles, but God wants you to know that the miracle he most often chooses is you.
Follow your heart. Follow what God is telling you. Don't ignore the obvious because you are waiting for God to reveal himself. Don't get stuck with the idea that God is one thing and if there is anything else then it is not God. Talk to Him, listen to Him and always know that God is there for you.
God does talk to you, but more importantly, God does listen to you. Always and forever. God is there for you. He is inside you and He wants to help. You cannot escape that. Listen to what God is saying and always remember that He loves you.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Talking to God
Talking to God
I want to start writing about how we can talk to God. I mention it a lot as it is a running theme in most of my posts but I need to speak about what this means and how everyone can talk to and hear from God.
Talking to God is important and I will discuss it in more detail as I write more of these. For one thing, I think it is one of the most important things to know about God. How to talk to Him, when to talk to Him and what you should be saying to God. I believed I have addressed this in an earlier post and I will continue to do so in almost every post I make. It is that important. The most important thing to know is that God loves you but being able to have a relationship with God is something we all want and need to have.
If you have read my earlier post on prayer, you will know some of what I am talking about when I say you can talk to God. In a nutshell, I say, or God tells me to say, that you are always talking to God, no matter what you are doing or saying or even thinking. God is always there and there is no time when he is not listening to you. But that is not the real reason for this entry.
What God wants me to tell you is that he is not only listening to you, but he is answering you all the time. God talks to you everyday, whenever you want, and he is always providing you with answers to your questions. He is giving you advice on what you should do and what you should be doing and He is comforting you in your times of need. God is always there and He will always answer you. What we have to do is learn how to hear Him.
I firmly believe that God is within all of us. And that He is there to help us in anyway we need. He 'talks' to us all the time and we only need to listen to Him to receive his thoughts and blessings and advice and comfort and as I have said, anything we need, He is there to provide it. He lives within us so it can be no other way. He is there always.
A lot of people have told me that there is no way God can be talking to me. That if God is talking to me then I must be delusional or not right in the head. They say that God does not talk to us and that we cannot have a conversation with God. If God were to be talking to any of us, then He would be talking to our priests or our leaders and there is no way we can talk to God or have him reply to us as an individual. They say that God works through the church and it is what He is telling them that is important and not any delusion I might have about God talking to me.
God says that is not true. God says that He will and can talk to anyone. He not only can talk to you but He does all the time. We just do not listen or more correctly, we do not know how to listen. He also tells me that even though we might be hearing Him, we are ignoring Him. He says that that is the most common problem. We hear from God but we ignore what He is saying to us. He says free will. He gave us free will and we can choose to listen or not to listen. It is up to us to decide if we listen or not but we should never say that God does not talk to us.
I believe we all know this to be true, but we hide behind the church and what we are told so that we do not have to admit that we are not doing what God has told us to do. We say, it's not my fault, God did not tell me the right answer, or I am waiting for God to tell me what I should do or to tell the leaders what we should do and I will follow that.
God says that is not true. Now, I cannot say what form God chooses to talk to you. I cannot say what God is telling you. I can only relate my experience and how I perceive what God is telling me. I cannot tell you what God is saying to you. As I write this, God is telling me that soon, I will have to begin telling you what God is saying to you and not keep copping out with my lame excuses, but for now, I will stick to it and say what God says and how He says it to you is an individual experience and no one, and I mean no one, can tell you otherwise, not even me.
For me, God's words are more of a feeling. It is not really a voice or a sound or anything I can describe. I can try to put it into words but that is just me trying to relate to you how my relationship with God manifests itself.
I know God is there. I can feel His presence all the time. I cannot say I am always listening or even acting like I am listening to Him. I also mostly ignore what God is telling me. That is all part of being who we are. But I do not deny that He is there and He is telling me what I should or should not be doing. I just say that I am no better than anyone else and I can choose to follow Him or not. These blog entries, God has been telling me to do this for a very long time. He wants me to not only do this but to deliver them to others in some way. But that is way too much to go into right now so I will get back to the subject.
We need to learn how to listen to God. I can say that for me, I just have to think about it and trust God to give me the answer. It is not always the answer I want, which by the way, is why I think most people think that God does not talk to them. They do not like the answers so they say God does not talk to them. When I am directly trying to talk to God and receive His help, I just think about what the problem is. I then think about what I think the solution should be. God puts it into my mind whether that is right or wrong. Mostly, it is the first thing I think of which is why I think He is there all along putting the answer there for me to know but sometimes, it is not and I get the feeling that my answer is wrong. It is very hard to put into words. It is just a feeling. I get calm when I know the answer is from God. I relax about it but not really relax. I just cannot really describe it. I just know. If what I am thinking is wrong, then God kind of laughs at me and tells me I know what the real answer is and generally, I already do. It is just there.
It is really, really hard to describe. But I think I can help others if that is what they want to do. The very first step is to ask, what is God telling me. Don't look it up in a book, or ask a preacher or clergy man, ask yourself, what is God telling you. That is what I do when people ask me questions. I say, what is God telling you. I know that I know that I know that God is telling us what to do. It is always there. We just have to learn how to listen and understand.
Most of the time, if I an confronting someone and they are asking me what to do or asking me for advise, I ask them that question, what is God telling you. I always preface it with I cannot tell you what God is telling you but as I mentioned before, God does talk to me all the time and he does tell me if what you are relating to me is actually what he is saying. I am not here to interpret or to judge anyone about what their conversations with God are like. He does not tell me what he is saying to you. But if I ask, he does tell me if that is what he is trying to tell you or not. I do not like giving people that advice or putting myself between you and God but He is telling me right now that I need to be telling you this. I have no idea why and I do not understand why but for some reason, he wants me to put myself out there and let you know that this is happening. I hate it when He does that. But who am I to question what He wants. I do it all the time, but in the end, He will get His way and there is nothing I can do about it.
I did not start this entry with the intention of relating any of this. I was just going to try to tell you that you can listen to God and that God is talking to you and try to help you in your relationship with Him. I have said before, this is not about me and I do not want it to ever be about me. But apparently God had other plans.
I know I have not really said anything. I know that you are still wondering what I am talking about and how can I help you become closer to God. I do hope I have helped someone out there to come closer to God. This is just not something that lends itself to words. I cannot describe what it is like for me and I certainly cannot tell you what it is like for you. I guess the point is just to tell you that He is there, talking to you, and you can talk to Him. God wants to be closer to you and if you can find a way to relate to him in a personal way, that is how you can become closer to God.
Who knows where He will lead me next. I am sure there are a lot of points I left out and I will think of them when I go back and read this but for now, God says post it. I personally don't think this will help but God says I only need to reach one other person and my work is done.
A final note, please do not let anyone tell you that God does not talk to you. He does. He is there and he wants to help. He wants to be in a relationship with you that you can both understand and that you are not afraid to let it happen. God knows you are not perfect, none of us are, and he understands. He just wants to be there when you need Him.
I want to start writing about how we can talk to God. I mention it a lot as it is a running theme in most of my posts but I need to speak about what this means and how everyone can talk to and hear from God.
Talking to God is important and I will discuss it in more detail as I write more of these. For one thing, I think it is one of the most important things to know about God. How to talk to Him, when to talk to Him and what you should be saying to God. I believed I have addressed this in an earlier post and I will continue to do so in almost every post I make. It is that important. The most important thing to know is that God loves you but being able to have a relationship with God is something we all want and need to have.
If you have read my earlier post on prayer, you will know some of what I am talking about when I say you can talk to God. In a nutshell, I say, or God tells me to say, that you are always talking to God, no matter what you are doing or saying or even thinking. God is always there and there is no time when he is not listening to you. But that is not the real reason for this entry.
What God wants me to tell you is that he is not only listening to you, but he is answering you all the time. God talks to you everyday, whenever you want, and he is always providing you with answers to your questions. He is giving you advice on what you should do and what you should be doing and He is comforting you in your times of need. God is always there and He will always answer you. What we have to do is learn how to hear Him.
I firmly believe that God is within all of us. And that He is there to help us in anyway we need. He 'talks' to us all the time and we only need to listen to Him to receive his thoughts and blessings and advice and comfort and as I have said, anything we need, He is there to provide it. He lives within us so it can be no other way. He is there always.
A lot of people have told me that there is no way God can be talking to me. That if God is talking to me then I must be delusional or not right in the head. They say that God does not talk to us and that we cannot have a conversation with God. If God were to be talking to any of us, then He would be talking to our priests or our leaders and there is no way we can talk to God or have him reply to us as an individual. They say that God works through the church and it is what He is telling them that is important and not any delusion I might have about God talking to me.
God says that is not true. God says that He will and can talk to anyone. He not only can talk to you but He does all the time. We just do not listen or more correctly, we do not know how to listen. He also tells me that even though we might be hearing Him, we are ignoring Him. He says that that is the most common problem. We hear from God but we ignore what He is saying to us. He says free will. He gave us free will and we can choose to listen or not to listen. It is up to us to decide if we listen or not but we should never say that God does not talk to us.
I believe we all know this to be true, but we hide behind the church and what we are told so that we do not have to admit that we are not doing what God has told us to do. We say, it's not my fault, God did not tell me the right answer, or I am waiting for God to tell me what I should do or to tell the leaders what we should do and I will follow that.
God says that is not true. Now, I cannot say what form God chooses to talk to you. I cannot say what God is telling you. I can only relate my experience and how I perceive what God is telling me. I cannot tell you what God is saying to you. As I write this, God is telling me that soon, I will have to begin telling you what God is saying to you and not keep copping out with my lame excuses, but for now, I will stick to it and say what God says and how He says it to you is an individual experience and no one, and I mean no one, can tell you otherwise, not even me.
For me, God's words are more of a feeling. It is not really a voice or a sound or anything I can describe. I can try to put it into words but that is just me trying to relate to you how my relationship with God manifests itself.
I know God is there. I can feel His presence all the time. I cannot say I am always listening or even acting like I am listening to Him. I also mostly ignore what God is telling me. That is all part of being who we are. But I do not deny that He is there and He is telling me what I should or should not be doing. I just say that I am no better than anyone else and I can choose to follow Him or not. These blog entries, God has been telling me to do this for a very long time. He wants me to not only do this but to deliver them to others in some way. But that is way too much to go into right now so I will get back to the subject.
We need to learn how to listen to God. I can say that for me, I just have to think about it and trust God to give me the answer. It is not always the answer I want, which by the way, is why I think most people think that God does not talk to them. They do not like the answers so they say God does not talk to them. When I am directly trying to talk to God and receive His help, I just think about what the problem is. I then think about what I think the solution should be. God puts it into my mind whether that is right or wrong. Mostly, it is the first thing I think of which is why I think He is there all along putting the answer there for me to know but sometimes, it is not and I get the feeling that my answer is wrong. It is very hard to put into words. It is just a feeling. I get calm when I know the answer is from God. I relax about it but not really relax. I just cannot really describe it. I just know. If what I am thinking is wrong, then God kind of laughs at me and tells me I know what the real answer is and generally, I already do. It is just there.
It is really, really hard to describe. But I think I can help others if that is what they want to do. The very first step is to ask, what is God telling me. Don't look it up in a book, or ask a preacher or clergy man, ask yourself, what is God telling you. That is what I do when people ask me questions. I say, what is God telling you. I know that I know that I know that God is telling us what to do. It is always there. We just have to learn how to listen and understand.
Most of the time, if I an confronting someone and they are asking me what to do or asking me for advise, I ask them that question, what is God telling you. I always preface it with I cannot tell you what God is telling you but as I mentioned before, God does talk to me all the time and he does tell me if what you are relating to me is actually what he is saying. I am not here to interpret or to judge anyone about what their conversations with God are like. He does not tell me what he is saying to you. But if I ask, he does tell me if that is what he is trying to tell you or not. I do not like giving people that advice or putting myself between you and God but He is telling me right now that I need to be telling you this. I have no idea why and I do not understand why but for some reason, he wants me to put myself out there and let you know that this is happening. I hate it when He does that. But who am I to question what He wants. I do it all the time, but in the end, He will get His way and there is nothing I can do about it.
I did not start this entry with the intention of relating any of this. I was just going to try to tell you that you can listen to God and that God is talking to you and try to help you in your relationship with Him. I have said before, this is not about me and I do not want it to ever be about me. But apparently God had other plans.
I know I have not really said anything. I know that you are still wondering what I am talking about and how can I help you become closer to God. I do hope I have helped someone out there to come closer to God. This is just not something that lends itself to words. I cannot describe what it is like for me and I certainly cannot tell you what it is like for you. I guess the point is just to tell you that He is there, talking to you, and you can talk to Him. God wants to be closer to you and if you can find a way to relate to him in a personal way, that is how you can become closer to God.
Who knows where He will lead me next. I am sure there are a lot of points I left out and I will think of them when I go back and read this but for now, God says post it. I personally don't think this will help but God says I only need to reach one other person and my work is done.
A final note, please do not let anyone tell you that God does not talk to you. He does. He is there and he wants to help. He wants to be in a relationship with you that you can both understand and that you are not afraid to let it happen. God knows you are not perfect, none of us are, and he understands. He just wants to be there when you need Him.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
The Love of God
The Love of God
There is nothing in life that is free. Everything has a price or a cost that must be payed. We can gain nothing nor lose anything without giving something of our own. These are the words of the world. This is what we are told and what we live by. It is the price of living in this world.
It is not true. Many of you know that or profess to know that and can tell me what it is that is free without asking. But we still do not completely believe it. We still think that we have to do something or give something up or 'be better' to receive this gift that is already completely ours. It was given to us before we were born and it is ours for as long as we live and forever after.
I am not trying to be cryptic with this. I just want you to think about what you have, what you have been given and what you can expect in the future. What I am talking about is the love of God. It is yours, now, then and forever. You do not have to do anything to receive it, you cannot do anything to lose it. It is yours. It is mine. It belongs to everyone. God loves you. If he did not, then he would not have created you. God decided you were the person he wanted to create and he did it. He created you because he wanted to be with you. He wanted to have you in His life. You don't have to think about it, you don't have to even believe it. But you can ask yourself, if God did not want you here, then why did he create you. There can be no other answer other than God loves you and wanted you to be with Him. To question this is to deny God.
I say these words and yet I still know that not everyone believes it, and those that do, still question what that means or do not understand what that means. God loves you all the time. All the time. You cannot escape it, you cannot make it not so, you cannot influence God to make him not love you. It is there, always and forever.
I am not saying that you cannot or do not do bad things. We have free will, God gave that to us. We have to ability to do bad things or to be bad people. That is our choice and we are free to make it. But it does not change how much God loves you. If does not change the fact that God created you and you are one of His children. That cannot be changed no matter what you say, or what you do, or how you think or what you believe. God still loves you and understands you and is always there for you. You cannot influence how much God loves you.
I wish people would understand that. I wish they would stop trying to hide from God. That is not what God wants. That is not the plan He has made for us. It is not a punishment to be wielded over us by God as retribution for anything we do. God does not remove his love for you and you cannot change that. God loves you, always.
What seems to be happening is that we are told to do what the church says, or what a religion is telling us is the right thing to do and if we do not, then we are no longer loved by God. We are wicked and have lost our place in God's heart. If you do not do the right thing, then God will punish you.
That is not what God has intended. It is not. God wants me to tell you that you cannot lose God's love. God's plan or instructions were that He loves you and He is always there. He will not abandon you no matter what you have done or what you do. God is there for you.
What does that mean or how does it help you. What it means is that when you do bad things, when you do not follow God's plan, when we are the worst that we can be, God is there for you. He loves you and he is there for whatever you need. We spend way too much time punishing ourselves for the things we have done. We convince ourselves that God cannot love us because we have done something wrong. But that is not what God is telling you. He says, I am there. I am here to help. I am your salvation from whatever you have done and whatever you are doing or plan to do. God is there.
If we keep using God as a punishment, as something to be feared or that somehow he will abandon us in our greatest times of need, then we are not following what God is teaching us. God is not a punishment and when someone tells us that He is or that we have lost the faith of God then they are wrong. They are not worthy of whatever authority they seem to have taken in the name of God. God IS love. He is not a threat to frighten small children or the harbinger of a punishment that is reserved for the wicked. He is love and He will be there for you no matter what. And why?
Because God loves you and you cannot change that.
I am going to make this particular topic a series of entries. God has way too much to say for it all to fit into one entry. It basically is a running topic through all the things God wants me to say. I will return to this on occasion and try to make what He is trying to get me to convey more clear. Because this is the most important message He has told me. He wants you to understand and to comprehend that you are not alone. He is always there. Please think about that and try to understand that God is not only your creator but He is your friend and He wants to help you, all the time and in anyway you will let him.
God is Love
There is nothing in life that is free. Everything has a price or a cost that must be payed. We can gain nothing nor lose anything without giving something of our own. These are the words of the world. This is what we are told and what we live by. It is the price of living in this world.
It is not true. Many of you know that or profess to know that and can tell me what it is that is free without asking. But we still do not completely believe it. We still think that we have to do something or give something up or 'be better' to receive this gift that is already completely ours. It was given to us before we were born and it is ours for as long as we live and forever after.
I am not trying to be cryptic with this. I just want you to think about what you have, what you have been given and what you can expect in the future. What I am talking about is the love of God. It is yours, now, then and forever. You do not have to do anything to receive it, you cannot do anything to lose it. It is yours. It is mine. It belongs to everyone. God loves you. If he did not, then he would not have created you. God decided you were the person he wanted to create and he did it. He created you because he wanted to be with you. He wanted to have you in His life. You don't have to think about it, you don't have to even believe it. But you can ask yourself, if God did not want you here, then why did he create you. There can be no other answer other than God loves you and wanted you to be with Him. To question this is to deny God.
I say these words and yet I still know that not everyone believes it, and those that do, still question what that means or do not understand what that means. God loves you all the time. All the time. You cannot escape it, you cannot make it not so, you cannot influence God to make him not love you. It is there, always and forever.
I am not saying that you cannot or do not do bad things. We have free will, God gave that to us. We have to ability to do bad things or to be bad people. That is our choice and we are free to make it. But it does not change how much God loves you. If does not change the fact that God created you and you are one of His children. That cannot be changed no matter what you say, or what you do, or how you think or what you believe. God still loves you and understands you and is always there for you. You cannot influence how much God loves you.
I wish people would understand that. I wish they would stop trying to hide from God. That is not what God wants. That is not the plan He has made for us. It is not a punishment to be wielded over us by God as retribution for anything we do. God does not remove his love for you and you cannot change that. God loves you, always.
What seems to be happening is that we are told to do what the church says, or what a religion is telling us is the right thing to do and if we do not, then we are no longer loved by God. We are wicked and have lost our place in God's heart. If you do not do the right thing, then God will punish you.
That is not what God has intended. It is not. God wants me to tell you that you cannot lose God's love. God's plan or instructions were that He loves you and He is always there. He will not abandon you no matter what you have done or what you do. God is there for you.
What does that mean or how does it help you. What it means is that when you do bad things, when you do not follow God's plan, when we are the worst that we can be, God is there for you. He loves you and he is there for whatever you need. We spend way too much time punishing ourselves for the things we have done. We convince ourselves that God cannot love us because we have done something wrong. But that is not what God is telling you. He says, I am there. I am here to help. I am your salvation from whatever you have done and whatever you are doing or plan to do. God is there.
If we keep using God as a punishment, as something to be feared or that somehow he will abandon us in our greatest times of need, then we are not following what God is teaching us. God is not a punishment and when someone tells us that He is or that we have lost the faith of God then they are wrong. They are not worthy of whatever authority they seem to have taken in the name of God. God IS love. He is not a threat to frighten small children or the harbinger of a punishment that is reserved for the wicked. He is love and He will be there for you no matter what. And why?
Because God loves you and you cannot change that.
I am going to make this particular topic a series of entries. God has way too much to say for it all to fit into one entry. It basically is a running topic through all the things God wants me to say. I will return to this on occasion and try to make what He is trying to get me to convey more clear. Because this is the most important message He has told me. He wants you to understand and to comprehend that you are not alone. He is always there. Please think about that and try to understand that God is not only your creator but He is your friend and He wants to help you, all the time and in anyway you will let him.
God is Love
Saturday, September 1, 2018
My Story
I have been asked on several occasions to tell my story. Basically, who I am, where I come from, and what makes me think I can speak about God or anything that has to do with religion or the church or anything else anyone holds dear. I think I should address that at some point but it will not be in this entry. Maybe someday, but for now, I will let my words speak for themselves.
You see, I have always told God that I do not want any of this to be about me. I do not want it to say anything about me or to have anything I have said or done to influence the words that I am trying to pass on. God has agreed but then again, I have no idea what he has planned for the future. Maybe someday it would help for people to know who I am but I don't think that day is today and God tells me I need to get more of his message out there before I can think about what the future is.
I want my words or writings to speak for themselves and to allow others to make up their own minds about what they mean and how you can relate to what I have written. I do not want to cloud anyone's judgement or allow any preconceptions to be made or influenced by who I am or what I have been through or done. I am just trying to pass on things that He has tasked me to pass on. It has nothing to do with me. It may be right and it may speak to you or it may not speak to you, but who I am should have nothing to do with it.
God tells me to put the words out there, as crudely as I do it, and see what it invokes from people. As far as I know it invokes rage or misunderstanding or maybe it actually does speak to people and allows them to consider their relationship with God. I can't say one way or the other and I do not want to. I want you to come to God in your own way and in your own time and if my words help, then that is great. But in the end, all my intention really is, is to invoke thought. To maybe lead you to think about what you believe and think about whether your relationship with God is what you want it to be. That is all. I am not a preacher, I'd like to be a teacher, but in the end, that is up to you. I do not want to be the story, I just want to tell it in the best way I know how.
You see, I have always told God that I do not want any of this to be about me. I do not want it to say anything about me or to have anything I have said or done to influence the words that I am trying to pass on. God has agreed but then again, I have no idea what he has planned for the future. Maybe someday it would help for people to know who I am but I don't think that day is today and God tells me I need to get more of his message out there before I can think about what the future is.
I want my words or writings to speak for themselves and to allow others to make up their own minds about what they mean and how you can relate to what I have written. I do not want to cloud anyone's judgement or allow any preconceptions to be made or influenced by who I am or what I have been through or done. I am just trying to pass on things that He has tasked me to pass on. It has nothing to do with me. It may be right and it may speak to you or it may not speak to you, but who I am should have nothing to do with it.
God tells me to put the words out there, as crudely as I do it, and see what it invokes from people. As far as I know it invokes rage or misunderstanding or maybe it actually does speak to people and allows them to consider their relationship with God. I can't say one way or the other and I do not want to. I want you to come to God in your own way and in your own time and if my words help, then that is great. But in the end, all my intention really is, is to invoke thought. To maybe lead you to think about what you believe and think about whether your relationship with God is what you want it to be. That is all. I am not a preacher, I'd like to be a teacher, but in the end, that is up to you. I do not want to be the story, I just want to tell it in the best way I know how.
The Name of God
The Name of God
The names of God in the Bible are numerous. There seems to be a name for God for every aspect of life and heaven. Not only in the Bible but in many other writings and teachings. They are varied and plentiful. We honor God with these names and they have meaning to us in how we describe and relate to Him.
I could list many, many names but I will leave that to you to look up and find them. There are lots of places to go to find lists of names and their meanings. In lots of different languages and lots of different interpretations. I am sure it is helpful and wonderful for a lot of different people. It helps you to understand God and what he has and will do for us.
But God gave me a question. He kept needling me about it every time I would here someone start to list the names of God. As I am fond of saying, this is all well and good and if it helps then go forth and list the names. Make it work for you and allow his wonder to pass over you when you announce His name. But he asked, and I say asked but it is more He put it into my mind to ask others, He said, I have a question.
What is wrong with the name God. Why is simply saying God not enough for people. Why is there a need to add superlatives and enhancements and generally to say that God is more than God. He is God. There are no greater words or adjectives or upgrades you can add that are greater than the word God. He is everything and the connotations of that word should bring forth in you a joy that does not need enhancement. He is God. That says it all.
Now God can understand the need to make it more, to show how much you love God by saying whatever words you can that add to that love. But if you really love God, then using the word God is sufficient. He knows what is in your heart. He knows what you mean when you say God. God is within you and there is no need to add something to how you address Him or show your love for Him. God says it all.
It should be enough. When you invoke the name of God, there is no need to make it greater than that. And here is where I offend people, but this is what God wants me to say. If you are adding superlatives to the name of God, then you are just showing off. You are just saying that somehow, your words are greater than God. That the adjectives or enhancements you have added are more meaningful than just simple saying God. God asks, why are you doing it. God knows what his name should evoke and if you simply say the name God, that should have all those meanings and all those connotations already rolled into that simple word. God.
Now, again, if your understanding of God has more meaning to you by adding things to it, so it reminds you of what God is and what God can do for you, then do it. God is not saying it is wrong. But you have to understand that simply saying God should be enough. That no matter where you go or what you do, by saying the word God, you invoke all that he is and all that he can do. You are saying that God is the savior and God is what you live for and everything that can be added to it is already present just by saying God.
This also leads into another discussion that God wants me to have but I am not sure if I should do it here or in a separate entry. I will probably do both. It has to do with the language of God and what words we use and what we take meaning from when we talk about God or speak the words of the Bible.
What I want to say is, do we really think God speaks English. I am not saying that God does not understand English or that there is some other secret language that God speaks and we need to learn that. What I am saying is, the English language is what we use to express what we think God is telling us or what God has created and it is our way of putting that into a language that we can understand.
This blog is written in English. It is what I know. But it is a language of man. It is a way for us to communicate with each other. There are lots of languages in the world. English has no special meaning to God and neither does any other language. If this was written in French, maybe we would not understand it but it does not make it any better or worse. It is simply a way for us to communicate to each other what we interpret the words of God to mean.
So what does this have to do with the name of God. It means that all these things we add to the name of God are simply words man has created to express a greater meaning to the name of God than what the name God already means. The words, written in any language, are just that, words. If you add a superlative in Spanish, does that make it unworthy to those that speak English or French. If you say something in Hebrew, is that more holy or less holy than whatever language you know. God tells me the answer is no. They are just words created by man. God understands all languages but more importantly, he understands what is in your heart. He does not care what language you speak or how many adjectives you use to describe Him or your love for Him. He knows what you mean, no matter how you say it.
So what I am saying is, we need to make the name God be the highest thing we can say about Him. It is the beginning, the end and everything that is in-between. It is the name of God, no matter what language you speak. We need to make sure that when we say God, we bring all that it means and all that it can mean. And anytime we say God, we know that it is the highest form of praise we can give. He is God.
The names of God in the Bible are numerous. There seems to be a name for God for every aspect of life and heaven. Not only in the Bible but in many other writings and teachings. They are varied and plentiful. We honor God with these names and they have meaning to us in how we describe and relate to Him.
I could list many, many names but I will leave that to you to look up and find them. There are lots of places to go to find lists of names and their meanings. In lots of different languages and lots of different interpretations. I am sure it is helpful and wonderful for a lot of different people. It helps you to understand God and what he has and will do for us.
But God gave me a question. He kept needling me about it every time I would here someone start to list the names of God. As I am fond of saying, this is all well and good and if it helps then go forth and list the names. Make it work for you and allow his wonder to pass over you when you announce His name. But he asked, and I say asked but it is more He put it into my mind to ask others, He said, I have a question.
What is wrong with the name God. Why is simply saying God not enough for people. Why is there a need to add superlatives and enhancements and generally to say that God is more than God. He is God. There are no greater words or adjectives or upgrades you can add that are greater than the word God. He is everything and the connotations of that word should bring forth in you a joy that does not need enhancement. He is God. That says it all.
Now God can understand the need to make it more, to show how much you love God by saying whatever words you can that add to that love. But if you really love God, then using the word God is sufficient. He knows what is in your heart. He knows what you mean when you say God. God is within you and there is no need to add something to how you address Him or show your love for Him. God says it all.
It should be enough. When you invoke the name of God, there is no need to make it greater than that. And here is where I offend people, but this is what God wants me to say. If you are adding superlatives to the name of God, then you are just showing off. You are just saying that somehow, your words are greater than God. That the adjectives or enhancements you have added are more meaningful than just simple saying God. God asks, why are you doing it. God knows what his name should evoke and if you simply say the name God, that should have all those meanings and all those connotations already rolled into that simple word. God.
Now, again, if your understanding of God has more meaning to you by adding things to it, so it reminds you of what God is and what God can do for you, then do it. God is not saying it is wrong. But you have to understand that simply saying God should be enough. That no matter where you go or what you do, by saying the word God, you invoke all that he is and all that he can do. You are saying that God is the savior and God is what you live for and everything that can be added to it is already present just by saying God.
This also leads into another discussion that God wants me to have but I am not sure if I should do it here or in a separate entry. I will probably do both. It has to do with the language of God and what words we use and what we take meaning from when we talk about God or speak the words of the Bible.
What I want to say is, do we really think God speaks English. I am not saying that God does not understand English or that there is some other secret language that God speaks and we need to learn that. What I am saying is, the English language is what we use to express what we think God is telling us or what God has created and it is our way of putting that into a language that we can understand.
This blog is written in English. It is what I know. But it is a language of man. It is a way for us to communicate with each other. There are lots of languages in the world. English has no special meaning to God and neither does any other language. If this was written in French, maybe we would not understand it but it does not make it any better or worse. It is simply a way for us to communicate to each other what we interpret the words of God to mean.
So what does this have to do with the name of God. It means that all these things we add to the name of God are simply words man has created to express a greater meaning to the name of God than what the name God already means. The words, written in any language, are just that, words. If you add a superlative in Spanish, does that make it unworthy to those that speak English or French. If you say something in Hebrew, is that more holy or less holy than whatever language you know. God tells me the answer is no. They are just words created by man. God understands all languages but more importantly, he understands what is in your heart. He does not care what language you speak or how many adjectives you use to describe Him or your love for Him. He knows what you mean, no matter how you say it.
So what I am saying is, we need to make the name God be the highest thing we can say about Him. It is the beginning, the end and everything that is in-between. It is the name of God, no matter what language you speak. We need to make sure that when we say God, we bring all that it means and all that it can mean. And anytime we say God, we know that it is the highest form of praise we can give. He is God.
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