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<blockquote data-quote="losthope" data-source="post: 58510379" data-attributes="member: 94863"><p>To joey down under,</p><p></p><p>You wrote this:</p><p> </p><p></p><p>Not that I can remember, no. Around the time that I first became a believer some did tell me to expect God to respond some kind of personal experience but they said not to expect something immediately, necessarily. Really, I was the one who commented about a lack of personal experience of God, but not until about a year after I first became a believer.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>That is right. There are many issues that the Bible does not deal with. At its most trivial, the Bible does not tell you how to drive a car, or make a rice pudding. But there are also many serious issues not touched in the Bible.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I do try to keep Bible promises, and anything else in the Bible, in context. Sometimes it is obvious who a passage is addressed to, but sometimes it is not at all obvious.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>No, I was not looking for emotions as proof of spiritual life. I was looking for a response from God. Any kind of response from God. There are many ways in which God could act, that do not involve the emotions. But these never happened for me either.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I am sorry but I do not understand what you mean when you say that I could have a relationship with God through other people.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>I would have thought that we are living proof that faith does not equal spiritual life. In John 6:47, Jesus says that those who believe have eternal life. Not spiritual life. I am not interested in eternal life, but I am interested in having a relationship with God. I also looked at the passage in 2 Corinthians, but could not understand its relevance here.</p><p></p><p>It is not proof of having a genuine faith that I am writing about. It is proof that God has responded, that God has answered the prayer for salvation. Besides, the 2 Corinthians passage implies that there are some who will not see the light of the gospel.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I probably do favour certain tempos. Lots of waltzes, for example. But no preference for major and minor keys, and sometimes I write in two keys at once, possibly major + minor at the same time. Not sure whose music mine sounds like; nobody has suggested that.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Very true. Though I repeat that God could respond in many ways that are not related to emotions. The fact that God has not responded in a way that I can recognise makes me wonder if God cannot or will not respond in this way.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I thought I was just telling you the truth. You may well understand what I am going through, but I do not understand why you suggest that the statement is self-pitying or selfish.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>1. I realise that you think I am self-pitying. As I have said before, I disagree. If there was ever any self pity, it had definitely disappeared 35 years ago.</p><p></p><p>2. I spend a lot of my time supporting other people, but it has made no difference to my situation at all. My load, if that is the right word for it, has not lightened; I still do not know God. I am certainly not always babied by other Christians; I am sometimes able to support Christians as well, even in their spiritual difficulties.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I do not have anger or resentment towards God. I am trying to understand my experience. I am not trying to lay blame.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I am trying to make use of my experience. But first I need to be at least reasonably sure that what I want to do is feasible.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="losthope, post: 58510379, member: 94863"] To joey down under, You wrote this: Not that I can remember, no. Around the time that I first became a believer some did tell me to expect God to respond some kind of personal experience but they said not to expect something immediately, necessarily. Really, I was the one who commented about a lack of personal experience of God, but not until about a year after I first became a believer. That is right. There are many issues that the Bible does not deal with. At its most trivial, the Bible does not tell you how to drive a car, or make a rice pudding. But there are also many serious issues not touched in the Bible. I do try to keep Bible promises, and anything else in the Bible, in context. Sometimes it is obvious who a passage is addressed to, but sometimes it is not at all obvious. No, I was not looking for emotions as proof of spiritual life. I was looking for a response from God. Any kind of response from God. There are many ways in which God could act, that do not involve the emotions. But these never happened for me either. I am sorry but I do not understand what you mean when you say that I could have a relationship with God through other people. I would have thought that we are living proof that faith does not equal spiritual life. In John 6:47, Jesus says that those who believe have eternal life. Not spiritual life. I am not interested in eternal life, but I am interested in having a relationship with God. I also looked at the passage in 2 Corinthians, but could not understand its relevance here. It is not proof of having a genuine faith that I am writing about. It is proof that God has responded, that God has answered the prayer for salvation. Besides, the 2 Corinthians passage implies that there are some who will not see the light of the gospel. I probably do favour certain tempos. Lots of waltzes, for example. But no preference for major and minor keys, and sometimes I write in two keys at once, possibly major + minor at the same time. Not sure whose music mine sounds like; nobody has suggested that. Very true. Though I repeat that God could respond in many ways that are not related to emotions. The fact that God has not responded in a way that I can recognise makes me wonder if God cannot or will not respond in this way. I thought I was just telling you the truth. You may well understand what I am going through, but I do not understand why you suggest that the statement is self-pitying or selfish. 1. I realise that you think I am self-pitying. As I have said before, I disagree. If there was ever any self pity, it had definitely disappeared 35 years ago. 2. I spend a lot of my time supporting other people, but it has made no difference to my situation at all. My load, if that is the right word for it, has not lightened; I still do not know God. I am certainly not always babied by other Christians; I am sometimes able to support Christians as well, even in their spiritual difficulties. I do not have anger or resentment towards God. I am trying to understand my experience. I am not trying to lay blame. I am trying to make use of my experience. But first I need to be at least reasonably sure that what I want to do is feasible. [/QUOTE]
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