Post by Richard on Jun 2, 2023 12:35:41 GMT -5
I would love you to tell me, your version of the truth
I do not have a version of my own. All I have is scripture and I would gladly discuss it with you. Dave, as I, both have a strong Presbyterian background per se. Therefore we are grace based in theology not works based.
Grant me the pleasure of your understanding of God's grace.
He loves you. Even tho you do not deserve it or even desire it, he loves you.
In my own words, I use the poetry of a 19th century author named Mary Lathrap who coined the phrase, “Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes.”
God came to earth as a man and walked among men. He put on flesh not so we could relate to him, but that he could relate to us. As we take our pain to the lord in prayer, he understands. He has experienced our temptations and our pain, and he is understanding of our confusion.
There is only one God and John 1:1 makes it perfectly clear. Jesus Christ was and is God incarnate. Your idea that Christ and God must be two different gods only insults the creators unimaginable power and glory. Your idea that god cannot be in two places at the same time only insults god's abilities.
I agree with Dave in the idea it was not his death that saved us, but his resurrection that taught us this world of flesh is an illusion. Shakespeare, “All the world is a stage and we are just performers here”.
Faith has nothing to do with culture. As an American, I will never fathom life as a Korean, or even what it means to be English. Life as a Christian has nothing to do with being Catholic or Baptist. To act like a Catholic, or to act like a Baptist is a cultural choice. Neither has anything to do with acting like a Christian.
I agree with the Jewish teaching that our mission here is to live for him, not ourselves.
Reality is so much larger than man can imagine. Dave and I found one another because of the UFO phenomena. There is a larger reality than we can see. There is a larger reality than just this world of flesh and bone. Regardless of what label you give it, alien, inter-dimensional, angelic, or spiritual. There is an unseen reality all around us. It has been recorded in various ways throughout history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate validation of this fact.
Our congregation does not teach satan, we teach salvation through grace. Reality dictates that there are many satans everywhere. When Abram was called out of Ur, the world was already complete with many non-God gods. Thousands of them in Ur, in Egypt, In India, in Canaan. The Old Testament is filled with them. On a personal level, we are all satans loosed upon the earth as we exercise our greed, lust, and desires.
This is why I can understand why Dave uses the phrase we are all called to be a Christ. It does not make us THE CHRIST, only that we lead another to Christ. Just as our selfishness doe not make us THE SATAN, only that we lead others away from Christ.