Is God really real to you? Please share.

[Tellyontellyon]

I've heard Christians talking about their relationship with God or with Jesus....
..... I'm interested in what they are really talking about. Is this language more of a metaphor or is there an actual tangible sense of God being there and an unequivocal communication (in whatever form that takes).
If this is really real then it sounds wonderful.
There is a lady on Youtube called 'ieva f', her description of actually seeing dark shadows leaving her body after praying when she first believed is fascinating... she has many interesting videos.

**Would you please share your experiences of these aspects of your religion.

I'm still figuring out what I believe, though I have a lot of confidence in the Buddha's teachings I am quite open minded about other faiths.

 

[Jeshu]

My faith leads me to communicate with God in a unreal way. It is through love and truth that i communicate together with Him. He in turn instils His loving desires into me and i exercise them and so we work in tandem.

My faith in God has not always been like this. At first God was far away and distant and demanding but then i learned the truth that God loved us so much that while we were still sinners Jesus died to pay our price. He freed me from countless evil forces. For once i internalised His love my life began to overflow with Him and His goodness. i never serve another god ever. The Creator of Heaven and earth is the only One who deserves my praises.

Jesus teaches us to love God and neighbour as well as self and fills us with love, faith and hope.

 

[Going_Nowhere]

Real enough, I'd say.

 

[Tolworth John]

I'm still figuring out what I believe, though I have a lot of confidence in the Buddha's teachings I am quite open minded about other faiths.

I have always known there is a God, the argument that nothing caused everything was rediculous to me even as a teenager. It was a dry academic examination of comparative religion untill I had an experience that convinced me Jesus was real and that Ashe was the only way to God I had to follow him.

You have to decide whether Christianity is true or not. If you decide it is fake/false etc, it follows that Islam is also take and you have to determine what religion is true?

I can't help you search,but I can give a clue.
Jesus said, by there fruits you will know them.
If someone is a Christian they will live as a Christian, copying Jesus. What sort of results from a religion would indicate it is true.
What religion has done most to help the poor, liberates slaves, grant rights to people both historicaly and currently.

 

[Daniel9v9]

Hey, I'm glad you're reaching out and hope I can be of some help!

I think the first thing I'd say is that God is good and the source of all that is good. God is a personal God, not an absent, subjective or mystical force. God is concrete, external and objective. God is the Creator of all things, and He walked on earth in bodily form and taught us in the person and works of Jesus Christ, who is incomprehensibly fully man and fully God. God, through faith, is with and in the believer.

The second thing I'd say is - Living in Japan, I'm somewhat familiar with Buddhism (and also Shintoism), and I think whenever we contrast different religions, faiths and philosophies, we should always try and understand their teachings on their own terms. All religions, belief systems and philosophies make very exclusive claims. Christianity is no different, but unique in one major aspect, which has to do with salvation. When we consider Jesus Christ, we can already learn much from the name:

Jesus - The meaning of this name is "God saves".
Christ - This is a title that means "The anointed", which denotes: King and Prophet.

So by His name and title, we can understand it thus: "This man, Jesus, is a Prophet and King, Lord of all, who is God with us, who saves us. He alone is our Saviour." And God being a Saviour, we can learn (1) that we need saving, (2) that we cannot save ourselves, (3) God is willing to save us, (4) God can and does save us.

So, the Christian faith is not, at its heart, a religion of morals or philosophy, but a matter of God's great love, mercy and grace towards us, which we desperately need, though we may not recognise it. God, in the person of Jesus, died and raised for us, so that we too may die and be raised to life in Him. And the fruit of this is the forgiveness of our sins, being free of condemnation, adoption as children of God, and in our Christian walk: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

 

[Aussie Pete]

I've heard Christians talking about their relationship with God or with Jesus....
..... I'm interested in what they are really talking about. Is this language more of a metaphor or is there an actual tangible sense of God being there and an unequivocal communication (in whatever form that takes).
If this is really real then it sounds wonderful.
There is a lady on Youtube called 'ieva f', her description of actually seeing dark shadows leaving her body after praying when she first believed is fascinating... she has many interesting videos.

**Would you please share your experiences of these aspects of your religion.

I'm still figuring out what I believe, though I have a lot of confidence in the Buddha's teachings I am quite open minded about other faiths.

It is real and it is wonderful. Christianity is not religion, unless people choose to make it so. It is a relationship with with God through Christ. Everyone has a deep down emptiness that we are born with. It is a space that is reserved for God. Nothing else can fill that space. I talk to God and he hears me. He does answer me, although not often in words. It is more an impression, a sensation in the inner man that guides me. Sometimes God does speak directly. Twice His words have saved my life and once saved me from a serious health problem. Sometimes it may seem trivial, like showing me where I'd put my mobile phone or car keys. Often it is problem solving. God is a real Person, not just a force or a great power. He wants to be actively involved in our lives. He will not force Himself on us. We have to choose. It is the best possible life.

 

[splish- splash]

My faith leads me to communicate with God in a unreal way. It is through love and truth that i communicate together with Him. He in turn instils His loving desires into me and i exercise them and so we work in tandem.

My faith in God has not always been like this. At first God was far away and distant and demanding but then i learned the truth that God loved us so much that while we were still sinners Jesus died to pay our price. He freed me from countless evil forces. For once i internalised His love my life began to overflow with Him and His goodness. i never serve another god ever. The Creator of Heaven and earth is the only One who deserves my praises.

Jesus teaches us to love God and neighbour as well as self and fills us with love, faith and hope.

Oh He's real alright. Only my mates don't understand How I was miraculously rescued from all those mishaps.

 

[NBB]

Yes, God can interact with us, for those who received blessings from him, he is the only God, that kind of proof makes other religions false. Is just logical to think that way once you meet Jesus and the Holy spirit.

 

[Mantishand]

Yeah he is very real. You can have a relationship with the creator. Here is my Testimony:

My meeting of Christ, a la John 10:27

 

[Sanoy]

When it comes to other people in the world, we don't experience them directly, we apprehend them. Whether the person is in front of us, or writing us a few sentences on a forum, we apprehend that a being is establishing a relationship with us and we begin to perceive the invisible nature of that mind. Other minds cannot be apprehended through our 5 senses, so God, who created our intellectual faculties, also gave us the ability to apprehend the unseen. You are using that ability right now in reading my post. A few sentences is all it took for you to perceive another mind addressing your own mind. It is in this same manner that God has established a relationship with us through the Holy Spirit.

I really like the way John Hick, who isn't even a theist, explains what he perceives as the guiding force behind the actions of the disciples and apostles. "God was known to them as a dynamic will interacting with their own wills, a sheer given reality, as inescapably to be reckoned with as destructive storm and life-giving sunshine . . . They did not think of God as an inferred entity but as an experienced reality. To them God was not . . . an idea adopted by the mind, but an experiential reality which gave significance to their lives."

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

I've heard Christians talking about their relationship with God or with Jesus....
..... I'm interested in what they are really talking about. Is this language more of a metaphor or is there an actual tangible sense of God being there and an unequivocal communication (in whatever form that takes)..

Good question. We all have to interpret our experiences. I have never seen Jesus, angels or saints. Nor have I seen or the Trinity in any way I could recognize. But I do believe they exist. May experience is more tangible, through the senses, incarnational. I tend to associate peace with the presence of God. I am learning that God is also perhaps present even in situation where my emotions are far from peace.

 

[Marumorose]

I've heard Christians talking about their relationship with God or with Jesus....
..... I'm interested in what they are really talking about. Is this language more of a metaphor or is there an actual tangible sense of God being there and an unequivocal communication (in whatever form that takes).
If this is really real then it sounds wonderful.
There is a lady on Youtube called 'ieva f', her description of actually seeing dark shadows leaving her body after praying when she first believed is fascinating... she has many interesting videos.

**Would you please share your experiences of these aspects of your religion.

I'm still figuring out what I believe, though I have a lot of confidence in the Buddha's teachings I am quite open minded about other faiths.

Whenever i'm in need of help, i ask God for help and he responds
I see him or communicate with him through visions and dreams

 

[Sketcher]

I've heard Christians talking about their relationship with God or with Jesus....
..... I'm interested in what they are really talking about. Is this language more of a metaphor or is there an actual tangible sense of God being there and an unequivocal communication (in whatever form that takes).
If this is really real then it sounds wonderful.
There is a lady on Youtube called 'ieva f', her description of actually seeing dark shadows leaving her body after praying when she first believed is fascinating... she has many interesting videos.

**Would you please share your experiences of these aspects of your religion.

I'm still figuring out what I believe, though I have a lot of confidence in the Buddha's teachings I am quite open minded about other faiths.

Not tangible, but present.

 

[JayEss22]

Hey, I'm glad you're reaching out and hope I can be of some help!

I think the first thing I'd say is that God is good and the source of all that is good. God is a personal God, not an absent, subjective or mystical force. God is concrete, external and objective. God is the Creator of all things, and He walked on earth in bodily form and taught us in the person and works of Jesus Christ, who is incomprehensibly fully man and fully God. God, through faith, is with and in the believer.

The second thing I'd say is - Living in Japan, I'm somewhat familiar with Buddhism (and also Shintoism), and I think whenever we contrast different religions, faiths and philosophies, we should always try and understand their teachings on their own terms. All religions, belief systems and philosophies make very exclusive claims. Christianity is no different, but unique in one major aspect, which has to do with salvation. When we consider Jesus Christ, we can already learn much from the name:

Jesus - The meaning of this name is "God saves".
Christ - This is a title that means "The anointed", which denotes: King and Prophet.

So by His name and title, we can understand it thus: "This man, Jesus, is a Prophet and King, Lord of all, who is God with us, who saves us. He alone is our Saviour." And God being a Saviour, we can learn (1) that we need saving, (2) that we cannot save ourselves, (3) God is willing to save us, (4) God can and does save us.

So, the Christian faith is not, at its heart, a religion of morals or philosophy, but a matter of God's great love, mercy and grace towards us, which we desperately need, though we may not recognise it. God, in the person of Jesus, died and raised for us, so that we too may die and be raised to life in Him. And the fruit of this is the forgiveness of our sins, being free of condemnation, adoption as children of God, and in our Christian walk: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Why would the actual creator of all things need to come to earth, die, be resurrected just for us to be "saved"? Couldnt the apha and omega or creativity have thought of a better or more creative or non creative way? Also, if God loves us so deeply and dearly, why are we adopted lol. Why dont we just start out as his? One more thing, if we desperately need Gods grace, but he is so loving to give it to us, why do we even need it in the first place? Why dont we just naturally have it?

 

[JayEss22]

Whenever i'm in need of help, i ask God for help and he responds
I see him or communicate with him through visions and dreams

Is it possible you're imagining that you're speaking with god and that's enough?

 

[JayEss22]

God is really real to me, but then there's this:

Isaiah 14:12-14 "How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

Basically saying the devil of earth is pretending to be God, which leads me to my next point.

I think that the Devil actually had the bible written as a part of his plot to "ascend above the top of the clouds" as a pathetic but intelligent ploy to get a taste of what it feels like to actually be worshipped like the ACTUAL GOD IS IN HEAVEN (might explain all the unanswered prayers and people constantly having they're questions answered with question provoking answers, and life genuinely not getting any better, and more times getting worse etc...). I think the whole bible is actually just a lie of the devil, and the reason it doesnt rest properly within us is because DEEP DOWN our ACTUAL SPIRIT knows this and is trying to make us drift away from the lies, manipulation and contradicory rules, so we can find the TRUE GOD WITHIN US, and live an actual GOOD LIFE. I honestly think it's possible no human EVER has had actually contact in anyway with the actual REAL GOD.

This might be "blasphemous", but only if I'm wrong and it's a 50/50 chance I'm also right. Remember the people whose hands the bible has been passed through have edited out A LOT of that book and also made a lot of changes. You gotta wonder why the Vatican has 1000s or more secret books that aren't available to the public, possibly even more. I think maybe they're actually just hiding the evidence that could prove our bible is actually a tool for mind and population control, and that it's all made up, or that the bible is just a sneaky white light satanic bible cover up, and the real actual gospel has never been written by human hands because no one on this earth can be trusted with something so pure and perfect.

I'm not saying this is true, I'm just saying people lie, and more so when it comes to control, power and money.

Why would the actual God need his son to be killed so we can be saved? I'm sure the REAL GOD who created EVERYTHING could save us without that step, just saying. The god who we "so love" is tormenting us all through different ways, but telling us to be strong and accept him anyways, might be the Isaiah 12:12-14 god (devil), and not the actual creator. Or maybe it is and he just likes screwing with people's lives... but I can't imagine a creator who would create us just to send us through crap for no reason. Maybe the actual test of God is like that "evil twin" movie like scenario where you can only save one, and the evil twin is trying way harder to look like the good one, when the actual good one is just chilling there quietly because he knows who he is and has nothing to prove whether you pick him or not... but who knows I guess.

 

[Daniel9v9]

Why would the actual creator of all things need to come to earth, die, be resurrected just for us to be "saved"? Couldnt the apha and omega or creativity have thought of a better or more creative or non creative way? Also, if God loves us so deeply and dearly, why are we adopted lol. Why dont we just start out as his? One more thing, if we desperately need Gods grace, but he is so loving to give it to us, why do we even need it in the first place? Why dont we just naturally have it?

God could indeed save us through any means, yet He chose to do so personally, in humility, and in a language that we understand, for our sake and benefit. The cross is deeply profound, for in it, we see God's love, righteousness and humility all at work in the person of Jesus Christ.

We did start out as God's people and in His grace, but we rejected God and we continuously do reject Him. When we reject God, as we are all guilty of, we reject what is good and the source of all that is good, which is to be and to do evil. This is why we're separated from God, and why we need saving and adoption. We have separated ourselves from God by our own doing, but God reconciles us through Jesus.

God's salvation is for everyone and it's free, but it's only apprehended through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

[JayEss22]

God could indeed save us through any means, yet He chose to do so personally, in humility, and in a language that we understand, for our sake and benefit. The cross is deeply profound, for in it, we see God's love, righteousness and humility all at work in the person of Jesus Christ.

We did start out as God's people and in His grace, but we rejected God and we continuously do reject Him. When we reject God, as we are all guilty of, we reject what is good and the source of all that is good, which is to be and to do evil. This is why we're separated from God, and why we need saving and adoption. We have separated ourselves from God by our own doing, but God reconciles us through Jesus.

God's salvation is for everyone and it's free, but it's only apprehended through faith in Jesus Christ.

That was really well said, I guess I forgot about humility and how jesus lowered himself to a poor person and basically lived the worst life to prove it, and also died for our sins. I guess I look at how crummy my life can be and get mad at God for not answering my prayers. But you're right, we have salvation through jesus christ, which kicks in after we die. But since that is the case, is that why even though we all pray and believe and hope for a good life God doesn't answer, because he only cares about what happens when we die? Like who cares about life all that matters is what happens after? Honest question, you're obviously smart with this stuff. Thanks

 

[Daniel9v9]

That was really well said, I guess I forgot about humility and how jesus lowered himself to a poor person and basically lived the worst life to prove it, and also died for our sins. I guess I look at how crummy my life can be and get mad at God for not answering my prayers. But you're right, we have salvation through jesus christ, which kicks in after we die. But since that is the case, is that why even though we all pray and believe and hope for a good life God doesn't answer, because he only cares about what happens when we die? Like who cares about life all that matters is what happens after? Honest question, you're obviously smart with this stuff. Thanks

Well, I'm not sure how smart I am, but thank you anyway! When we think of God's love and what that means for us, we can understand it in two senses:

(1) God's governance - God cares for all of His creation. He gives us life and good gifts; He sustains us regardless of our faith in Him. He cares for the just and the unjust. He looks after the earth, upholds what we often understand as laws of nature, and He feeds and cares for the animals, and makes the whole universe even in their minutest detail run, despite the world being broken as a consequence of our evil. He does all of this out of His love for us as Creator of all things. Here we see God's longsuffering and bearing with us, even in our sin - that even though the world is full of evil, God has not abandoned us, but still does good and works all things out for the good of those who believe in Him.

(2) God's grace through Jesus Christ - The forgiveness of sins and its fruits (Justification and Sanctification). God's love in this sense is the Gospel: The good news that Jesus, who is God in flesh, took our punishment in full, that we may live in Him. This is Justification - that we are declared righteous and free of sin and condemnation, because of the person and works of Jesus Christ. This certainly holds promise for eternity, in that God Himself has promised that we will be raised to a new life where there is no sin, pain, death or evil of any kind. But it also holds promise for our lives on earth, because God gives us His Holy Spirit through His Word, who is with us and produces faith and good fruit in us: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This is Sanctification - the working of the Holy Spirit in us, gradually making us Christ-like, which culminates in the resurrection.

No one cares more about life, love, goodness and righteousness than God, who alone is the source of all of these things. However, as a Christian, that does not mean that we are free of pain and suffering, for even Jesus said that we should suffer for His sake. For as the world rejected Him, it will surely also reject us. And as Christ and the apostles lived humbly, so it is often granted that we too should live humbly. Yet, in whatever situation we're in, we can take great comfort in that God does hear our prayers, and He works all things out for our good, and He is with us in our pain and suffering, and He will always be with us, as a true Father to us. A concrete example of this is the Lord's Prayer, where we pray for and see that God does sustain us, forgive our sins, deliver us from evil, and moulds us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

[Tellyontellyon]

JayEss22 interesting questions, but they aren't what I was asking about. I'm asking about people's personal encounters, I'm not really interested in opinions or thoughts so much on this particular thread. I'm really after people's spiritual experiences.

Have you had spiritual experiences that are leading to your ideas, or is it speculation and philosophy?

This thread is asking for testimony of spiritual experiences, communication, feelings, intuitions etc, of God, Jesus or other beings, angels, demons etc.
Could we stick to those sorts of answers please.