God's personal relationship with each human being

[grannymh]

Originally Posted by jochoa

Here are some other ways:
He set up an Inalienable Right to Life for you that no one can take away.
He is motivated for you. He wants you to Celebrate with the Awesomeness of Peace, Happiness, and Energy.
He created Everything for you.
He showed you how to be Perfectly Patient and Kind and Motivated.
He filled the Earth with All the Pleasures one could ask for. Unfortunately, others as well as the self, have failed to fully trust in Him and His Ways, thereby causing harm and pain, instead of joy and peace.
He gave you an instruction manual as to How to Be the Greatest Person, Child, Spouse, Parent, Servant, Leader, Authority, "Lover," Teacher, Counselor, Sibling, Friend, and Enemy.
He Judges you based on your actions alone.
He is Incredibly Merciful.

Thoughts?

My thoughts?

"He is motivated for you." really set me thinking because that is so much a personal interest.

Blessings,
granny

Bible means Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

[jochoa]

Originally Posted by grannymh

My thoughts?

"He is motivated for you." really set me thinking because that is so much a personal interest.

Blessings,
granny

Bible means Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

I really dig, "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth". I just recently adopted the mindset as the Holy Bible is an Instruction Manual, and I am pleased your shared this!

Thank you for making my day better and I hope you have a good day!

[grannymh]

Originally Posted by grannymh
"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

How does God love each person in a personal way?
In ways besides the Cross of Reconciliation?

Originally Posted by jochoa

Here are some other ways:
He set up an Inalienable Right to Life for you that no one can take away.
He is motivated for you. He wants you to Celebrate with the Awesomeness of Peace, Happiness, and Energy.
He created Everything for you.
He showed you how to be Perfectly Patient and Kind and Motivated.
He filled the Earth with All the Pleasures one could ask for. Unfortunately, others as well as the self, have failed to fully trust in Him and His Ways, thereby causing harm and pain, instead of joy and peace.
He gave you an instruction manual as to How to Be the Greatest Person, Child, Spouse, Parent, Servant, Leader, Authority, "Lover," Teacher, Counselor, Sibling, Friend, and Enemy.
He Judges you based on your actions alone.
He is Incredibly Merciful.

Thoughts?

emphasis mine

"He judges you based on your actions alone." That is a mouthful.

We hear the phrase "God creates the soul directly" and most of the time we file it along with God created the world. Jochoa connected the moment of making us truly human with the rest of our lives. Somehow, knowing that God knew us in the safety of our mother's womb takes away the scary part of being judged. He was with us when we had silly thoughts, with us as we learned how to learn about Him in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, even with us when we told our first lie. God knows us as the person we have become.

"O Lord, You have probed me and You know me;
You know when I sit and when I stand;
You understand my thoughts from afar.
My journey and My rest You scrutinize,
with all my ways You are familiar."
Psalm 139

It can be a blessing to know that we cannot fool God. Because this frees us to love God in our personal way even when our love is so meager. Knowing that God is judging us personally frees us to directly ask God for mercy when we turn away from Him. Because we can skip the b.s. and simply ask Him to heal us.

[jochoa]

Originally Posted by grannymh

Originally Posted by grannymh
"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

How does God love each person in a personal way?
In ways besides the Cross of Reconciliation?



emphasis mine

"He judges you based on your actions alone." That is a mouthful.

We hear the phrase "God creates the soul directly" and most of the time we file it along with God created the world. Jochoa connected the moment of making us truly human with the rest of our lives. Somehow, knowing that God knew us in the safety of our mother's womb takes away the scary part of being judged. He was with us when we had silly thoughts, with us as we learned how to learn about Him in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, even with us when we told our first lie. God knows us as the person we have become.

"O Lord, You have probed me and You know me;
You know when I sit and when I stand;
You understand my thoughts from afar.
My journey and My rest You scrutinize,
with all my ways You are familiar."
Psalm 139

It can be a blessing to know that we cannot fool God. Because this frees us to love God in our personal way even when our love is so meager. Knowing that God is judging us personally frees us to directly ask God for mercy when we turn away from Him. Because we can skip the b.s. and simply ask Him to heal us.

Excellent Reflections!

I would like to offer another method of God's Personal Love for Us:
Although, this one needs quite a bit of in-depth understanding/explanation...
If You will Listen for/to God, He Will give you all the answers you seek.
Reflections on Listening for/to God
Every Single Action of a Person is the Culmination of:
-the qualities of Patience, Kindness, Motivation, and Knowledge towards others and the self
-the desiring of Peace, Happiness, Energy, and Wisdom for others and the self
-and the achievement of Peace, Happiness, Energy, and Wisdom for others and the self
If you will accept that your job in this world is to Achieve and "Spread the Means to" the Greatest Peace, Happiness, Energy, and Wisdom in a unique manner given your personal life and relationships, then every time you or your relationships are out of Peace, Happiness, Energy, or Wisdom, you will Listen for/to God, which is Everything/Love/Jesus/Holy Bible/Patience, Kindness, Motivation, and Knowledge in Others and Yourself/Authorities/The Creator of Everything/...

Thoughts?

[grannymh]

Originally Posted by jochoa

Excellent Reflections!

I would like to offer another method of God's Personal Love for Us:
Although, this one needs quite a bit of in-depth understanding/explanation...
If You will Listen for/to God, He Will give you all the answers you seek.
Reflections on Listening for/to God
Every Single Action of a Person is the Culmination of:
-the qualities of Patience, Kindness, Motivation, and Knowledge towards others and the self
-the desiring of Peace, Happiness, Energy, and Wisdom for others and the self
-and the achievement of Peace, Happiness, Energy, and Wisdom for others and the self
If you will accept that your job in this world is to Achieve and "Spread the Means to" the Greatest Peace, Happiness, Energy, and Wisdom in a unique manner given your personal life and relationships, then every time you or your relationships are out of Peace, Happiness, Energy, or Wisdom, you will Listen for/to God, which is Everything/Love/Jesus/Holy Bible/Patience, Kindness, Motivation, and Knowledge in Others and Yourself/Authorities/The Creator of Everything/...

Thoughts?

I can understand this as another method of "God's Personal Love for Us, but only if I look at the 'words" individually. I can see God as being all of the above. But for me, personally, it is hard to imagine having all these individual qualities. Yet, on the other hand, could all these qualities be part of true love?

Are you saying that God loves us completely in every way possible way? Of course, we know that God loves us completely; but have we ever tried to put that love into individual words such as those above. Is this a way of "learning" about God?

I believe that your words "in a unique manner" is key to our own personal relationship with God and how we spread God's message of love. For example, I am finding out that a granny no longer has the energy of youth. Thus, the question becomes how do I use the energy I have in my own unique manner.

There have been times when I have briefly fallen asleep during a 2:00 AM hour of 'Eucharistic Adoration. Our Chapel has Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration 24/7. Sometimes I think that the most important thing is my being there with Jesus truly present in the Eucharist. I believe that Jesus understands when there are times that I don't have the energy to keep my eye lids open. Yet, what amazes me is that I always am totally awake driving back and forth to the Chapel. There have been times when I spotted deer coming onto the road and each time animals and I pass in safety. I have been able to negotiate a curve in the road when the weather unexpectedly turned nasty. Energy? There must be different kinds of energy.

[grannymh]

Sometime ago, when I was trying to understand God's personal relationship with me, I wrote some notes. These are not theological notes; they are my own personal feelings. Something like a personal meditation. Scripture reference is Psalm 139

God Is In Love With Me, Musings on March 16, 2009

God loves me because I am valuable to Him personally.

When He misses me, He searches for me, never stopping until He scoops me up in His loving arms.

He doesn't mind if I am dirty and beat up. He kisses every wound. He washes away the dirty smudges in the same way He washed the feet of the apostles. He kisses my toes and my forehead so that I know He loves me from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head.

He understands my tears, telling me that He will always be with me. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there, He will be true to His promise of loving me.

He probes my soul, my heart, my mind, my being so that He knows and understands all of me because He is in love with me.

[jochoa]

Originally Posted by grannymh

I can understand this as another method of "God's Personal Love for Us, but only if I look at the 'words" individually. I can see God as being all of the above. But for me, personally, it is hard to imagine having all these individual qualities. Yet, on the other hand, could all these qualities be part of true love?

It is definitely MANY individual qualities. And...The number of individual qualities become even more numerous when considering that all factors must be individually applied to each distinct component of being: the Body, Thoughts, Will, and Spirit. However, Rest Assured, that as you focus on becoming more at one with each individual quality, factor, and component, Unbreakable Peace and Limitless Happiness and Unstoppable Energy will Consume Your Being and Relations, and that my friend, is the Awesomeness of Living in God's Kingdom!

I personally like to Recognize the Greatest Commandments as True Love/God's Nature. The following is a personal Interpretation: Achieve and "Spread the Means to" Unbreakable Peace, Limitless, Happiness, Unstoppable Energy, and Complete Wisdom, through the Means of Patience and Kindness and Motivation for God and Wisdom with All Your Body and with All Your Spirit and with All Your Thoughts and with All Your Will towards Others and Your Self, as Stated and Demonstrated by Jesus Christ, according to the Holy Bible, as Catholicism Teaches and Prays, through the Sacraments.

Are you saying that God loves us completely in every way possible way? Of course, we know that God loves us completely; but have we ever tried to put that love into individual words such as those above. Is this a way of "learning" about God?

Yes, God Loves Us Completely in Every Way Possible, ALL THE TIME!
To come to this Interpretation, I have reflected on Holy Scripture, Catechisms of the Church, Prayers of the Church, the Mass, the Passion of Christ, the Love Dare, and Life Experience. And I am not aware of other direct usage of wording.

The following is a method I use to "learn" about this Calling of God is in a series of Guiding Questions:
Do I want myself and others to experience Peace? If so, then: If my body is feeling tense, or my mind is thinking stressful thoughts: Why or How am I not being Patient?
Do I want myself and others to experience Happiness? If so, then: If my body is feeling hurt or angry, or my mind is thinking sad or frustrated thoughts: Why or How am I not being Kind?
Do I want myself and others to experience Energy? If so, then: If my body is feeling tired of being Patient and Kind, or my mind is fatigued of being Patient and Kind: Why or How am I not being Motivated for God?
Do I want myself and others to have the means to Share The Experience with others? If so, then: If my relationships are experiencing strife or boredom or sadness: Why or How am I not being, respectively, Patient or Kind? I also consider: How can I better “Spread the Means to Achieve the Purpose"?

I believe that your words "in a unique manner" is key to our own personal relationship with God and how we spread God's message of love. For example, I am finding out that a granny no longer has the energy of youth. Thus, the question becomes how do I use the energy I have in my own unique manner.

Based on my understandings, I am in complete agreement with you!

Energy? There must be different kinds of energy.

Please Note: There are different kinds of Peace, Happiness, Energy, and Wisdom. To provide a few examples:
There is Peace of Mind, Peace of Body, Peace of Relationships, Peace of Will, Peace of Spirit, Peaceful Nature, and others I have yet to come to know.
There is Relaxed, Good Mood, Cool, Happy, Excited, Pleased, Celebration, Joy, Party Time, and others...
There is Energetic Spirit, Power, Longevity, which encompasses Personal Lifespan, Offspring Lifespan, Societal Lifespan, Daily Energy, Fame, Remembrance Energy, etc.
There is Wisdom of How To's(walk, speak, listen, eat, etc.), Wisdom of Peace, Wisdom of Happiness, Wisdom of Energy, Wisdom of Being, Wisdom of Living, etc.

Thoughts?

[cap76]

God, as holy Law-giver displays His holiness. As Judge, He displays His hatred for Law-breakers: Psalm 7:11, 'God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.'

But He is also patient and full of mercy, and in this life daily displays His Fatherly kindness to all His creatures, despite their moral status before Him: Matthew 5:45, '...He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.'

As for the believer, God says of him:
Jeremiah 31:3, 'Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.'

[grannymh]

Today's Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was one of those special times where the Scripture readings spoke of God's personal relationship....."For thus says the Lord God: I Myself will look after and tend My sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark."

Maybe this is a time in my life when I truly appreciate God's relationship with all humans, including you and me.

Today's Scripture verses listed in the Sunday Bulletin are:
Ezekiel 34: 11-12,15-17
1 Corinthians 15: 20-26, 28
Matthew 25: 31-46

[SwissGuard25]

Originally Posted by grannymh

I believe that God has a loving relationship with every human being, past, present, and future.

Am I right or wrong?

Yes he loves us all.

He loves us so much he sent his only son to die for our sins so that way we can be in Heaven with him forever.

[grannymh]

I was fortunate enough to attend Thanksgiving's Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. For his homily, Father read the First Thanksgiving Proclamation given by President George Washington, October 3,1789. On that day for enjoyable eating, this was food for thought.

http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documen...ranscript.html

Blessings,
granny

God has given us many gifts.
Praise God! Everyday!

[Jcnava15]

Sorry I didn't respond sooner, I hadn't even checked for updates on this thread till today.

Originally Posted by grannymh

Your post says to me that on God's side, the personal relationship extends love to each human being regardless. What makes the difference comes from the person who extends either love or hate to God. What we choose to do cannot change God. We can only change ourselves.

Yes, and I think it is in agreement with what Paul says about being convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Was A.J. Ayers an atheist philosopher before his near death experience?
As I keep re-reading your point 2, it sounds like Ayers did not know a personal God because of the term "governing" of the universe. Or maybe he misunderstood Christianity in general. Sometimes people don't want to understand God's love because there is responsibility for one's actions when we desire to have a love relationship with God. Being the created ones, we need to live in free submission to our Creator.

Yes he was an atheist before, and an atheist after. The curious thing though, is that he said that even though this experience caused his belief that there is no afterlife to be shaken, he still had hope that there was no afterlife. It says a lot about him, but I do not want to judge him.

Personally, I am not too sure about near death experiences. I think that the mind is very powerful, but that pain, fear, guilt, emotions, peace can have some kind of effect on it.

Yea I agree with you, I am not too sure about NDE's, since I don't know anything about them first hand. However what caught my attention about the Ayer's NDE, was his reaction to what he described as a "divine light". His reaction was of rebellion.

Your phrase "the sense of inescapable guilt" is itself powerful. It makes me imagine that right before death, a person refuses God's loving mercy. The point of death would then make the sad choice inescapable.

It has been a long time since I've had this experience (June 22), but what I remember about this sensation, without resorting to what I wrote in my journal about it, was that it truly was inescapable.

I was made aware that God loved me, and was constantly extending his love freely to me, but it was that I rejected it left and right. Everything he did, I spat on. Yet he was there, still extending the offer like an innocent child giving their neglectful parent a hug, only to be pushed away.

The guilt was on me, self imposed, because I knew what I was doing. I was rejecting his free love.

I remember just dropping to the floor saying "Oh God, oh God" inwardly thinking "How could I have done that!".

It was very intense, and even writing about it now almost makes me want to cry.

Maybe the fact that we cannot change God's love for us is the one important fact that we need to remember when we fall into grave sin.

Jesus is the same today, yesterday, tomorrow and forever.

You know, I want to thank you for gving me the opportunity to write about this experience again. Not because I like to talk about, I don't think I've discussed it with anybody in a meaningful way at all, but because it has re-awakened me. I forgot how profound it actually was until I was trying to describe it to you.

I was on the road to backsliding from God again, but after writing about this again, I remember that God loves me, and that I need to accept that. If I have God's love with me, than the way I live should naturally reflect that.

Thank you.

[brb3]

Originally Posted by grannymh

I believe that God has a loving relationship with every human being, past, present, and future.

Am I right or wrong?

/ Wrong .

Jesus told us in scripture that ALL have sinned, and been separated from the Father & Son. And, scripture also tells us that at the Judgement, many will say "Lord, Lord" ... and Christ will reply .."Depart from me, for I NEVER knew you".

We all need to establish a "loving, covenantal, 'personal' relationship" with God ... during our lives. We are not Born into it. Our Catholic Church does not teach that ALL children go to heaven. It does teach ALL children are born in sin ... and that ALL children are in need of redemption and adoption into God's family.

Christ died for a reason. We must respond to God's calling of ALL of us. I believe [ and Catholic scripture teaches] that God CALLS us ALL,..... invites us to repent and receive his spirit and rebirth into his family, via Christ's Passion - FINISHED work on Cross. We must receive Baptism, become Christ's disciple, follow him in life ..... TIL THE END of our days. W/O perseverance ..... we can fall back into disbelief and 'lose' our salvations. Once saved, always saved .... seems right to our minds [especially Protestant minds] ... but, too much in scriptures contradicts it, and the majority of scripture teaches that OSAS is errant thinking.

If we die in God's grace, walking faithfully with Christ as his sheep, on our last day, [having this personal relationship with God, ...that He desires of us] .... then, we will not be cast out into the utter darkness of Hell, [as a goat], at the final Trump Call, & subsequent Judgement.

Am I Right or Wrong ? What does our Catholic Church teach ? We all must conform our thinking to what Christ's Church teaches. We must examine the scriptures daily, and conform our beliefs to be in accord with them ... and the Church.

I welcome correction, if I'm errant in my understanding of either scripture or Church teaching.

[grannymh]

Originally Posted by brb3

/ Wrong .

Jesus told us in scripture that ALL have sinned, and been separated from the Father & Son. And, scripture also tells us that at the Judgement, many will say "Lord, Lord" ... and Christ will reply .."Depart from me, for I NEVER knew you".

Because I learned Catholic doctrine before studying scripture, I do not always know chapter/verse locations for scripture quotes. Would you kindly give me the location for the above?

Most of my scripture learning has been from listening to it at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass so I am very aware of personal sins and the need for repentance. When given scripture quotations on CAF, I find that I have to read the paragraphs above and below the quotation in order to understand the context in which Jesus, or the author such as St. Paul, is speaking.

Until I can read the above references, it looks to me like Jesus is referring to the personal sins we commit during our life. Here on earth, it is the person who determines his or her own relationship with God. God being the Creator is not limited by the actions of His creatures. Therefore, God can continue His loving relationship with us, His creatures.

Does the "Depart from me, for I never knew you" follow from the judgment situation referring to what we have done for others, we have done for Jesus? In that case, the loving presence of Jesus is present to both the sheep and the goats before their death.

[fhansen]

Originally Posted by grannymh

Does the "Depart from me, for I never knew you" follow from the judgment situation referring to what we have done for others, we have done for Jesus? In that case, the loving presence of Jesus is present to both the sheep and the goats before their death.

I agree with this. On a non-Catholic forum we were debating whether or not God loves everyone. There're many theological perspectives that believe He only loves the “elect” while the rest are “vessels of wrath” (Rom 9:22), destined for damnation. brb3 was probably referring to Rom 3:23 where St Paul tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, and in the same chapter, quoting from various OT passages with similar sentiments including the following, he also tells us that,

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God”.

And many people like to quote Isaiah 64:6:

All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

But are these words meaning to describe Gods’ hatred for sin and evil, or of His hatred for sinners themselves who He’s predestined to hell? I wouldn’t find much justice in the latter possibility. However, supporters of this concept often counter that, being sinners, all men are deserving of hell-and it’s only due to Gods’ mercy, which He can mete out as He wishes, that any of us may escape its fires. There are also a few instances in the OT where man is referred to as a worm, or which otherwise emphasize his infinite inferiority as compared to God.

While there are truths to be gleaned from these sentiments, we attain a much fuller-orbed understanding of Gods attitude towards man in the NT. Here Gods unconditional love is demonstrated in no uncertain terms. He even demonstrates humility, lowering himself to our level, to live, suffer, and die as one of us, actually sanctioning the value of human life in the process by this Incarnation, by this intimate identification with us. He shows His power and compassion by miraculous healings and his truth and holiness by always opposing pride and hypocrisy. He then performs the ultimate act of love on the cross, dying for the undeserving, and then resurrecting to prove that mans hope is not in vain, eternal life is an authentic promise of an authentic reality. By the Atonement God proves what He shouldn't have to prove, that He loves man and is trustworthy beyond measure-always having man's best interest at heart. And all of this can be looked upon as God revealing something of man's worth, from His perspective, not only showing how much He expects from us, but, more importantly, how much He wants for us.

I think part of the differences come from a notion, mainly from certain non-Catholic theological circles, of God as being much sterner, exercising justice above all else, angry at man but condescendly merciful to a few He chooses to save. The Reformers taught that man fell from a naturally elevated state, which God created him in, to a corrupted state. Many understand this to mean that fallen man is just plain bad.

Catholicism teaches that man fell to a “natural” state , the state he’s in when he lacks the grace of God to enable Him to be who God intends him to be, or, to put it another way, the state he’s in when He lacks God, no longer “walking” with Him, as a consequence of man effectively rejecting Him at the Fall. Looked at in this way, man is still good, as all Gods’ creation is, but weakened, darkened in understanding, born turned away from God, subject to falling into sin.