I have faith, I think?
I am going through a difficult time financially. I have been out of work, that is full time work for over a year. I am a professional. I am educated and skilled. I have been doing what I do for more than a quarter a century. I do not have a job. I am at the level of money called broke.
I have moments of worry and doubt. I have moments of highs and moments of lows. My high moments come when I get an interview and the possibility of qualified work and my low moments creep in when I go to the mail box and I find another bill I can not pay. Highs and lows are a part of life and I believe they are natural. Faith on the other hand is not natural. My mind has to wrap itself around a concept, “...the evidence of things not seen...”.
People are welded to their five senses and the evidence they present to the body. Most of our senses are tied to our heads, sight, hearing, smell, taste while touch is all over our body. The eyes and ears tend to link together in our processing center. Smell and taste are physically linked and one can heighten or fool the other as in the apple – pear test. Touch is tricky. From the top of your head to the bottom of your feet it varies in degree. Some areas of the body are more sensitive than others, yet those areas are not used in exploring the world for a variety of reasons pain being the biggest reason to not expose those areas to the world.
For reasons more than the word 'seen' implies we fail in faith. Actually all of our senses come into play at all times. Our sensorium is the areas of the brain that process and register incoming sensory information and make possible the conscious awareness of the world and when we are aware there is the tendency to deny any thing that is not processed through that area. That is my humble estimation is being human, it is what people do, automatically, without external influence. What people do not do is that which is learned. Faith is a learned behavior.
What we do with behaviors, is dependent on multiple factors some which we control and a few we do not. How well we learn is dependent on the educating procedure. It can be formal, informal or a mixture of both. Early Christianity was informal, education was by word of mouth and example.
Rom 10:8 But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart: that is, the word of faith of which we are the preachers:
The early Christians had no New Testament. Scripture is the Old Testament writings and the spoken words followed by the epistles that were written and shared. Their faith was created and grew by the evidence of things not seen as they were beyond the days of Jesus but they grew in faith as they looked about at the substance of things hoped for that appeared in their lives. They extended their trust.
Faith is implied trust, trust is allowing one's self to be manipulated in someway by one or more others. Faith implies that one expects no harm to ensue from the manipulation. Defining the untranslated Greek evidence is proof or conviction and it also gets translated as assurance.
It there evidence in my life of what God has done for me, to me, and with me of course there is. Can I turn and show others the proof of what has been done for me, is it part of my witness, my story. Can I with the conviction of my life show to anyone that with Jesus in my life I have a better life.
Faith is also “...the substance of things hoped for...” again in the Greek we find that it is a restatement of assurance. So we get the assurance and conviction of what is not seen but hoped for but one who has faith in Jesus. This whole exercise in verbal manipulation is so that maybe I can overcome my “humanness”. I had a person pass through my life who warned me not to be intellectual about scripture. Being intellectual is the nature of this beast. It is not that the thinking excludes feeling but is spiritual connection, that sentiment that leads to a reaction based on the impression given by the indwelling spirit. The greater the spiritual connection the greater the faith, yes?
It is hard for the human to just believe.

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newview,

lol, we can always count on you to hate on whatever an Israelite says and try to discourage people from listening. You are revealing your own spirit in so doing.

Shalom
"...lol, we can always count on you to hate on whatever an Israelite says and try to discourage people from listening. You are revealing your own spirit in so doing..."

Are you serious?
Yall come on here and say some of the MOST blasphemous things about our Lord and Saviour and about our religion and then when you have no 'come back' or you can't boast in Christ about any of the gifts given to the Church by God - you scream foul.

You are all 'letter' and no 'spirit' and that 'gets your goat'.
Good - may you seek a living Saviour.
See there you go.... exposing your spirit.

You can't seem to approach any of us as individuals. You always JUDGE everyone according to others sharing the same family name. You're attacking what I said without real understanding of what I said. You're attacking it because I'm an Israelite and you are prejudiced against that. You have determined in your own mind that we are part of the same religion and therefore this all boils down to gang warfare.

But that's you. That has nothing to do with me. You aren't getting my goat. You couldn't get my goat if you tried to get my goat. I just think its FUNNY the way you attack but tend to dress it up like that's not what you're doing. I wasn't even trying to call you out on it but really it is your spirit that you are revealing and STILL revealing. I'm seeing straight through you right now; just like glass. There's no need to put up a front. I see you.

You have reduced spirituality to a weak book cover level and you think I should envy you? I remember when I WAS you. Thankfully now I am much better. You talk about personal relationships but your first thing is to find out about our "church" (even though we don't have one common congregation). I know that "church folk" mentality. My mother has it through and through. I pity you for it.

And for your futile attacks against all Israelites under the guise of Christianity... You're not defending Christianity. You're defending your SELF. No offense intended. Just though you should know.

And FYI.... love is the spirit of the law. LOVE. Are YOU love? You don't know who has the spirit. You are delude yourself into thinking you do but you don't. You don't know half what you think you know. But be encouraged. YHWH said that his people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. If you love G-d like you think you do you can learn more about him and seek the truth that he has waiting for you to hear but that you wont listen to because you don't believe it exists outside YOUR CHURCH. YHWH is beyond all churches and cannot be contained in any church. And I invite you to see through the eyes of love and allow G-d's love to flow through your vessel.


Shalom
"...You're attacking what I said without real understanding of what I said..."

Zealot, I do understand - therein lies the rub.

Dont waste your time posting (to me) about how Jesus is NOT God.
Your convo is like conversing about God with a Muslim or Hindu....
There is no there ---> there.

Although we can talk about taxes or fuel efficient cars - stuff like that. :-)
Why are you people so ..........sensitive...........to slight that do not exist.

You got your opinion and she and others have theirs.
And opinions are like .......... and smell often, just as bad.
If you don't want to deal with Christian celebration then don't.
Why would you want to be a party pooper and rain on my parade.


How does my celebration harm you?

I AM SO IN AGREEMENT WITH YOU REVZ62.

God himself has a way of taking what is meant for evil and turning it into good. Remember the story of Joseph?
How does my celebration harm you? It is a servant of God's job to correct error. If we did not correct it, anything in man's mind can be made true.
Hezekiah . . .

How does my celebration harm you? It is a servant of God's job to correct error. If we did not correct it, anything in man's mind can be made true.

You have stated your belief on this subject many times, and I have not changed.

So, are you going to continue harassing us Christians on our decision to continue celebrating Christmas, New Years and Easter?
@ Rev...."you people"? really? i think it saddens others (it saddens me) to see someone call themselves a teacher and teach against what the bible says.... so if you want to be in a position of a "teacher" or Reverend as you like to be called..maybe you should watch what you teach. does your pagan celebration bother me? not at all! does anyone want to rain on your parade?? i doubt it. but you put ~yourself~ in a position to be questioned and corrected by teaching your doctrine. can you not handle that? as far as opinions go..i would agree that your "opinion" does stink since scripture doesnt line up with it...but of course thats my opinion! :)
Ahhh, Rebekah....
I have said nothing 'against' what is in the bible.
If by "...you people.." you mean Hezzies group they separate themselves I did not.
Do I want to be a teacher, it is my gift. Teachers can only teach teachable people. Those are ready and willing to receive. Your opinion is a wall to being taught.
I am not trying to convince or change, I asked a question.
The very writers of the bible do not simply accept, there are books on books questioning what is written. Those who have studied theologically are full of questions.
I do not rubber stamp what has been taught. On any given day a sermon or words meant to instruct can raise questions. That is how we learn we question and hope to find answers and when we do we get more information that changes what we thought we knew.

This is a Discussion thread. I asked a question. I did not ask for agreement to my thought, I did expect intelligent conversation, rebuttal and ideas. What I got is attacks, that amuses me.
I am not teaching any doctrine, you are the second person here to misuse the word.
As far as scripture agreeing with my thought, it does.
We are tested and tried, faith wanes and waxes. I have a very low moment in my life and all the "good Christians" have are ways to make it worse.
Can't you recognize pain when you see it.

Isa 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness,

to undo the heavy burdens,

and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

Did you not notice my heavy burden? This is God speaking in the book of Isaiah and it is reflected in the gospels by Jesus, we are to give spiritual care to each other.

Be Blessed
well i apologize if you thought i was trying to kick you while youre down Rev. this was not my intention and i do sincerely hope your situation gets better. i was simply addressing the Xmas issue where you said....

If you don't want to deal with Christian celebration then don't.
Why would you want to be a party pooper and rain on my parade


i say doctrine - cuz your a "reverend" & doctrine means...something that is taught, teachings.
so again, i am in no group, and not trying to rattle your cage or anything :) it would just be nice if those that celebrate these pagan holidays would just be honest enuf to say that they want to do what they want to do instead of stamping "Christian" or Jesus on it. i think that is dangerous to do as a teacher when others look to you for knowledge. i hope you can understand where i am coming from.
Rebekah:

I am one of "those" who celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Easter (Resurrection Day) - and I AM A CHRISTIAN.

My focus on these holidays are on Jesus who is my Lord and Savior. As a matter of fact, I don't have to wait for these specific days to come around to celebrate Jesus; because of who He is and what He has done for me, it's a celebration every day.

Peace in Jesus' Name

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