(06/17/2013) To Find A True Christian?

Judging others to find a “true Christian” is the topic, today.  Also, there is more on not feeling loved by GOD.  The “Yahoo! Answers Top Contributor” using ID “Forrest Toney” (Level 7 with 26,620 points, a member since February 12, 2011) posted the following:

Is it likely I can find a true Christian who is obeying all of Jesus’ sayings?  
Additional Details

MKE-MKE ……… I STILL LOVE YOU , ANYWAY . I GUESS I GOT YOUR GOAT . WHY CONSIDER YOURSELF A CHRISTIAN IF YOU DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE TO OBEY ALL OF HIS SAYINGS /

THE BATTLE AXE:  Feeling Loved By GOD? (06/16/2013)—Believers often fail at first to see the love of GOD that must appear in themselves through gradual change that is growth and transformation.  Like their own chin, their nose, or the back of their head, divine favor and love can be with a believer at all times, however is intended to be visible to others, partially viewed or unseen by themselves, glimpsed infrequently, or seen only as a mirror image and reflection.  The love of GOD is made visible through ministry and unselfish acts to serve and uplift others.  Believers therefore proceed on the basis of divine utterance and their own content of sacred substance such as faith, longsuffering, the promises of GOD, proclamation, prophecy, righteousness and wisdom.  Believers are to increasingly recognize spirit matter interwoven with the routine things of their experience, instead of seeking unusual displays of supreme authority such as exorcism, healing, marvels, miracles, raising the dead, signs, storms, upheavals, and wonders.  See 2nd Corinthians 5:  6-8, Mark 10:  35-45 and Hebrews 6:  10, KJV.

THE GOLDEN ARROW:  Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.  But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment:  yea, I judge not mine own self.  For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified:  but he that judgeth me is the Lord.  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts:  and then shall every man have praise of God.  (1st Corinthians 4:  1-5, KJV)

THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  About Preaching the Gospel (04/18/2013); When Does Gossip Become Sin? (01/08/2013); Understanding Hell (01/09/2013); Why Is GOD Blamed? (08/23/2012); Fire Baptism (08/24/2012); Jesus Our “Advocate” (08/16/2012); Wrong To Love? (08/17/2012)

Forrest, many make the mistake of seeking to assess and evaluate divine presence within created beings and living creatures by using reasoning and standards that only apply to carnal, material and social realities.   Here are some points for understanding important to avoiding spiritual confusion and unbelief:

(1)  Accurate and thorough examination of mankind requires a divine judge who has served as a righteous king, a holy priest, and a suffering savior.  Judgment to determine spiritual righteousness must be balanced, detailed, formal, impartial, and methodical, yet must embrace compassion, empathy, love and respect.

(2)  In divine judgment, attitude, behavior and conduct are “surface” effects that may indicate unseen spirit content, and sacred substance.  However, the same effects also may appear through the flesh (appetite such as hunger, thirst, and sexual cravings; sense such as hearing, seeing, tasting, touching; and operations of mind such as desire, fantasy, imagination, recall).

There is far more to be said, correctly applied, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (3)  Ones own human standard and process to apply the things from GOD that would identify a “true Christian” may be flawed, and may lack the necessary fineness to capture subtlety (barely visible differences) between and among operations of the Holy Spirit within believers.  Members of the body of Christ are to be complementary, diverse, interdependent, and perform at multiple levels of commitment, faith, gifts, knowledge, maturity, skill, and perfection.)   Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC

(06/10/2013) The End of Pain?

Confusions about the state of the dead are the topic, today, along with more on whether the Bible is always positive.  A “Yahoo! Answers” writer using the ID “in-cog-ni-t0” (Level 2 with 775 points, December 23, 2010) posted the following:

If all pain and suffering as we know it ends when we die…?

If all pain and suffering as we know it ends when we die, how then are we still connected to our loved ones who are living?

Many Christian/religious people believe all sorrow and pain ends when we die. Thereafter, we live blissfully in Heaven forever. That’s something that I will have to see for myself to believe because no living person can confirm it.

What causes a little confusion for me is when I hear people say “I know (insert deceased person’s name) is looking down on me. As a whole, this seems like an oxymoron to me because most pain and grief stems from loved ones.

So, am I to believe that a person dies, and their spirit stays connected to the family with no emotional association. Am I to believe, the spirit hovers over the living as they experience heartache and distress but has no sense of feeling? Or, is this just something we say to comfort ourselves?

THE BATTLE AXE:  Scriptures and Sayings? (06/09/2013)— (6)  The Bible is itself a sacred reality, and conveys the being and spirit substance of GOD.  Just as death is to be understood as “natural” and “normal” for mankind, the acknowledgment of GOD and sacred actuality are to be natural and normal, requiring truth, rather than special ceremonies and ritual.  Both the negative and positive accounts of Scripture are needed in order for mankind to receive the multiple levels of awareness, divine completeness, sanctification, and mature understanding that establish the new life in Christ.  Even so, the process of life that unfolds is in accordance with divine content, rather than data and factual knowledge.

THE GOLDEN ARROW:  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:  for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:  for the former things are passed away.  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write:  for these words are true and faithful.  And he said unto me, It is done.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:  which is the second death.  (Revelation 21:  1-8, King James Version)

THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Must We Really Die? (05/13/2013); Can GOD Die? (05/14/2013); Death Has Been Transformed (05/09/2013); Loving the Enemy? (05/10/2013); What’s The Way Out? (04/20/2013); A Kindness to Mary? (04/21/2013)

“in-cog-ni-to”, many long-time Christian believers also feel confused and uncertain regarding the Gospel teachings on death and eternal life.  Often, it is not that they are ignorant of their Bibles; it is that they still condemn, hesitate to accept, and refuse to acknowledge the clear statements put before them as sacred truth.  Even so, here are some points to consider that you may find useful for your further spiritual growth:

(1)  Consciousness of GOD and of spiritual truth does not directly and immediately result from awareness that comes by the flesh, a set of mechanisms for continuing our physical being.  Included in the flesh are appetite (e.g., hunger, thirst, sexual craving), sensation (e.g., hearing, seeing, touching), and mental functions (e.g., desire, fantasy, forgetting, imagination, recall).

(2)  The holy writings teach that the dead lose all awareness that permits participation in the world, a set of mechanisms for continuing our emotional, psychological and social being.  While the earth is the creation of GOD, the world is the creation of mankind.  Included in the world are culture, family, language, money, politics, religion, science and technology.

(3)  The comfort from GOD for those in bereavement includes proclamations, promises, and prophecies that pertain to the restoration of life to the dead (we say, the word of GOD, and hope).  Many seek to claim the benefit of the divine truths, and the sacred hope that is the inheritance of believers without also submitting themselves to GOD by obedience, rebirth, repentance, reverence, service, and trust.

(4)  The completion of mortality (we say, death) is not the completion of existence.  We all know that there are many objects that have being that do not possess the peculiar spirit that is life (e.g., door knobs, floor boards, mirrors, stones).  The holy writings teach that GOD uses death as a tool to continue Creation; and that resurrection is the divine tool for reuniting of body and spirit for deceased persons along with the aspects of their character, inner make-up, and integrity as human.

There is far more to be said, correctly applied, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (5)  Resurrection pertains to judgment, and the revelation of divinity among created beings and living creatures.  Dead persons do not exist in the direct celestial presence; the eminent being of GOD makes it that all are alive before him for the purpose of righteous judgment.  (The accused must be present for just and impartial hearing.)  Presently, only GOD is immortal; the holy angels and sacred beasts of heaven are neither immortal nor mortal.  Judgment of the wicked and the second death will eliminate all sin; and mortality will no longer exist.  All humans will have been transformed to be immortal and incorruptible.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC

(06/09/2013) Scriptures and Sayings?

A response is shared to a writer’s curiosity about the negative/positive character of Bible sayings.  Also, there is more on damnation, and if one is sent to hell.  A “Yahoo! Answers” writer using the ID “Ben” (Level 1 with 10 points, a member since April 25, 2013) posted the following:

Is all scriptures and sayings in the bible all positives?

I am not doubting or anything. I am just curious.

THE BATTLE AXE:  If You Are Sent…? (06/08/2013)—  (5)  The separation of life from flesh is called “death” and the completion of mortality.  However, existence is not finished for those who die; and in the divine operations of first and second resurrection, the spirit of life is returned to the body it was taken from along with the aspects of consciousness, identity and person that had been removed.  The imparted, indwelling Spirit of GOD that establishes adoption, rebirth, repentance, and sanctification while one is upon the earth returns to GOD at their death.  These are not returned to those who are resurrected, for higher levels of Spirit truth and perfection are bestowed upon believers as they are lifted up to be with Christ.  Angels do not die, and are neither immortal nor mortal.  The awareness, person and substance of angels endure as coherent being only through divine discretion, and by the will of GOD.  The lake of fire (also called, hell, perdition, the place of burning, and the place of torment) has been fashioned as a divine tool to remove the residue from operations of spirit, and all spirit content that no longer responds to the sovereign will of GOD.  The material that is sent to the lake of fire does not include any content from divine person, or aspect of divinity.  All features recognized as authority, awareness, character, dutifulness, expectation, feelings, integrity, personality, truth, and vision will no longer appear.  Those sent to hell can no longer exist as vessels for the peculiar endowments from GOD that establish angelic or human being.  Thus, the holy fire only destroys lifeless, mindless rubbish.

THE GOLDEN ARROW:  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God:  because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:  because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us.  Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.  Beloved, let us love one another:  for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  (1st John 4:  1-10, KJV)

THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  The Words Spoken By GOD? (06/05/2013); Teachings on Judgment (06/06/2013); How To Accept Bible Truth (04/17/2013); About Preaching the Gospel (04/18/2013); A Guide to Salvation? (04/10/2013); Faith, Language and “Mystery” (04/11/2013); On Producing Atheists (03/16/2013); The Children, not the Dogs (03/17/2013); What to Take Literally (03/11/2013); A GOD of War? (03/12/2013)

Ben, it is good that you are curious; it was curiosity that got Moses to turn aside and view a burning bush, not belief, not faith, not perfect knowledge.  Here are some points based upon the Gospel and other holy writings that most mature Christians would agree are accurate and useful:

(1)  The Bible is a collection of writings that include reports of sacred events used by divinity to shape awareness and knowledge in created beings and living creatures.  Included are covenants, divine law, guidance and principles for interaction as a sanctified people of GOD, and judgments against sin.

(2)  The Bible is a tool used by GOD to reveal divine person (we say, the heart and mind of GOD).   The Bible provides a divine perspective and “God’s-eye” view of reality, showing the operations of GOD through thousands of lives, over thousands of years.

(3)  The Bible is a tool used by GOD to further assist created beings and living creatures in detecting and resisting sin.  Sin is a non-material influence that may dominate self-will in the living.  Sin is not a spirit substance, has not been created by GOD or any created being, and (in this sense) sin is invisible.  Sin was first discerned and recognized through actions and attitudes displayed by Lucifer among the holy angels.

(4)  GOD has provided many gifts that enable the angels and mankind to detect and overcome sin.  Included are divine law, anointed judges, examples from lives of committed believers, patriarchs, prophets, divinely appointed rulers, and his own appearance upon the earth Incarnate.  GOD is not subject to sin; and all Creation is being transformed to eliminate sin through the imparted, indwelling Spirit of GOD and the ministry of Jesus Christ.

(There is far more to be said, correctly applied, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (5)  The Bible includes many accounts of human frailty.  The curses that are incurred through defiance, disobedience, and disrespect of GOD are described in detail.  Graphic language is used to clarify the horror and ugliness of betrayal, rebellion, stubbornness, treachery, and weakness.  Yet, the Bible also describes and explains the many divine provisions (we say, blessings) that counter and undo ruin caused through sin.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC