Right relationship with God query!

Missgrundy said:

Exactly! But what's the context of that with what I was asking ? You didmt understabd my post I guess its fine

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That verse is what came to mind. Sorry i didnt have more to add.

Missgrundy said:

Its fine was discussing it with someone just now and I've actually learnt a lot too about other churches in the process so it wasn't invain either killed two birds with one stone thanks W2L ! Does your name mean wired to love? ( oh that was a btw)

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Want to live/love

I've always had problems with understanding relationships, and realise that the adjectives we use to describe them can mean different things to different people. With God things get even more complicated, I think. Or maybe not - maybe it's just me thinking so.

There are kinds of relationships - formal (as in legal contracts, employer-employee, etc.), family or 'blood' relationships (father, mother, brother, sister, extended family, etc.), personal relationships (friends...maybe enemies or competitors?).

And there can be the status or standing of the relationship - is it good (or maybe not so good), right (a morally right or wrong relationship), close (or distant, stand off-ish), improving (or deteriorating), and so on?

So....I get confused when people equate 'right' with 'good.' (Even when you ask people how they are and they reply 'I'm good' I react, because I was brought up to think that good is not the same as 'healthy, well, not sick, happy,' or any such thing. Jesus said 'only God is good.') Other people don't seem to mind, don't see any distinction.

All personal relationships ultimately are individual and unique. My relationship with God is mine. MissG, your relationship with God is yours. We can both have good/strong/close and improving relationships with God that are very different from one another.

And yet we constantly find that our individual relationships affect each other. We get the situation where people say "Nobody who is a friend of hers can be a friend of mine!" Even God speaks this way sometimes. Either you serve God or you serve the devil. You can't have it both ways. 'You cannot serve God and mammon (money)' said Jesus.

In my relationship with God through time, I have found that He has shown me some things that are a hindrance to coming closer to him, things I used to think were OK, and which He is showing me aren't. Why didn't He say so earlier? Maybe I wasn't ready or receptive previously, and would have fought back. I think this is in part what the Bible means "He will not break a bruised reed." He knows better than me what I can tolerate. I have to pass grade 1 before I can cope with grade 2, so to speak.

Within groups of Christians I think the biggest lack may be grace. We somehow think everyone else is experiencing the same thing in their relationship with God as we ourselves are. We have 'got the light' so you should have too. We don't seem to understand that we all have individual journeys to travel with God. Yes, there are fundamentals that are common to all in our relationships with Him, but we don't all find them in the same order, or at the same rate. Because of our individual personalities and histories we have different issues to confront, different lessons to unlearn, and perhaps different lessons to focus on at any particular time. So you are OK, MissG, not feeling comfortable every time some group of Christians wants to tell you what is the "right" relationship with God.

Which brings me to my problem, which is my lack of grace towards people who tell me the same thing! I also need to learn grace toward all. And focus on my own relationship with God, through Jesus, rather than look at and judge other people's.

God bless you. Let Him draw you close. Listen to him, trust Him and obey; listen to others and evaluate against what God Himself has taught you. Try to be gracious, even when it's hard.

Missgrundy said:

Hi , I've just recently read a thread about the right relationship with God and how to achieve it to be genuinely honest I've always had a problem with this whole idea of a 'right' relationship with God and rules of how to go about it to achieve it. We have different personalities as christians in the body of Christ how I worship might not be appropriate for my church but when i go to another church its the best way or how I dress may be considered bad in some denoms and in others how you dress doesn't matter ( but decent of course) of course there are the basics that just come naturally through transformation but why should there be rules on how to have a proper relationship with God maybe how I relate with Him He gets it even though you as a brother or sister won't get it and it draws me closer to God! Aren't this rules basically what's driving many to create new churches and end up confused in christianity because they don't know if God accepts them as they are because the rules of christianity state its not proper to be this way or that way? I just don't get it honestly where this proper relationship comes from why we impose it on each other while God wants us to just be us! And let Him transform us by the renewal of spirit and mind that's how ive always seen it this rules are what's confusing many of us christians young and old in many ways and I don't know maybe someone can explain to me how this whole thing works

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Back in 1988 I personally thought that I had an awesome relationship with Messiah Yeshua - Jesus but.....
I began to wonder if there might be something terribly wrong with my view based on a few
issues that were facing me. I prayed and asked to be corrected.... and shown where I was wrong...... so that I could be of more use to others.

Within two years I was researching Christian near death experience accounts...
and I got myself disfellowshipped from two denominations in about a one month
period of time in 1991.

The Worldwide Church of God and the Philadelphia Church of God had dogmatic.....
Soul Sleep teachings..... and after reading NDE accounts I knew that I could no
longer just simply go along with that teaching.

If.... we are too scared to pray and ask for correction......
if we are too scared to ask to be shown what we are wrong about......
if our denomination bears some of the characteristics of an IDOL.....

there is something major missing in our relationship with our Messiah and with the Ancient of Days the Father and with the Holy Spirit.

In my opinion...... the Christian who cannot handle the near death experience account of
little Colton Burpo..... may be too worried about the specific doctrines of their particular
denomination.........

I highly recommend reading "Heaven is For Real" and after you digest that one.....
I highly recommend My Descent Into Death by Howard Storm Ph. D.......
I think that these are some of the most powerful tools for Evangelism available to
Christians in the year 2018.

I think you will find this interesting because so far..... the Bride of Messiah is very divided on the question of these NDE's:

Friends of yours watch Heaven Is For Real and ask you about it?

Is Colton Burpo a credible witness?
Edit

1. *
   Yes
   11 vote(s)
   47.8%
2. 
   No
   10 vote(s)
   43.5%
3. 
   I am not sure but I am looking into this.
   2 vote(s)
   8.7%

Change Your Vote

I have a theory on how we can become less divided on this potentially extremely useful tool:
Howard Storm Ph. D. near death experience.

DennisTate said:

Yes... I found them especially confusing for the first five or so years
in which I studied them.

One major key to verifying them... is.... was there a Life Review?

Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible, Baruch Chapter 6
"For my angel is with you: And I myself will demand an account of your souls."

Hebrews 9:27

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

The presence of a Life Review with Messiah Yeshua - Jesus or with G-d......
means that we are dealing with a near death experience that is on another level
altogether from a mere out of the body experience.

Messiah Yeshua - Jesus, after fasting for forty days may have had an out of the body experience.....
Matthew chapter 4 sounds like an out of the body experience in a lot of ways......
and prolonged fasting will bring one close to death......
but Messiah Yeshua - Jesus meets the Tempter/ Satan.

So if Messiah Yeshua - Jesus could meet Satan in an out of the body experience.....
then so could others.

Howard Storm Ph. D. has a powerful Review of his life.....
which in my opinion elevates his experience to a much higher level.

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All the right relationship with God thing means is doing things His way, follow His commands. It's got nothing to do with your dress codes or religious activity, it's being in alignment with God. As with all things human, people can get it out of whack and turn the meaning into something humanistic, or to fit a human program that they think pleases God. Read your bible and pray, He will bring you into alignment Himself.

Missgrundy said:

I understand the passages maybe elaborate on your own view farouk I appreciate the passage but I'm looking fir a humanly answer from encounters youve had with new christians or from yourself real life

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Over time... denominations tend to behave.....
in a manner that is surprisingly similar to
how two big oil companies..... may compete with each other with
such enthusiasm.... .that workers at each of these oil companies may
have a special hatred for the workers at the competing oil company.

A denomination...... often evolves a set of rules in order to appear.....
superior to competing denominations of Christianity.

Here are a couple of paragraphs that I believe you will find inspirational:

Reverend Howard Storm's Near-Death Experience
Howard Storm:

They advised me to recognize it when I made a mistake and to ask for forgiveness. Before I even got the words out of my mouth, I would be forgiven but, I would have to accept the forgiveness. My belief in the principal of forgiveness must be real, and I would have to know that the forgiveness was given. Confessing, either in public or in private, that I had made a mistake, I should then ask for forgiveness. After that, it would be an insult to them if I didn't accept the forgiveness. I shouldn't continue to go around with a sense of guilt, and I should not repeat errors I should learn from my mistakes.

"But," I said, "how will I know what is the right choice? How will I know what you want me to do?"

They replied, "We want you to do what you want to do. That means making choices and there isn't necessarily any right choice. There are a spectrum of possibilities, and you should make the best choice you can from those possibilities. If you do that, we will be there helping you."

I didn't give in easily. I argued that back there was full of problems and that here was everything I could possibly want. I questioned my ability to accomplish anything they would consider important in my world. They said the world is a beautiful expression of the Supreme being. One can find beauty or ugliness depending on what one directs one's mind toward. They explained that the subtle and complex development of our world was beyond my comprehension, but I would be a suitable instrument for the Creator. Every part of the creation, they explained, is infinitely interesting because it is a manifestation of the Creator. A very important opportunity for me would be to explore this world with wonder and enjoyment.

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Dave G. said:

All the right relationship with God thing means is doing things His way, follow His commands. It's got nothing to do with your dress codes or religious activity, it's being in alignment with God. As all things human, people can get it out of whack and turn the meaning into something humanistic, or to fit a human program that they think pleases God. Read your bible and pray, He will bring you into alignment Himself.

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This is excellent, excellent advice Dave G!

We humans sure do go after our own programs .... our own agenda......don't we?

Missgrundy said:

Hi , I've just recently read a thread about the right relationship with God and how to achieve it to be genuinely honest I've always had a problem with this whole idea of a 'right' relationship with God and rules of how to go about it to achieve it. We have different personalities as christians in the body of Christ how I worship might not be appropriate for my church but when i go to another church its the best way or how I dress may be considered bad in some denoms and in others how you dress doesn't matter ( but decent of course) of course there are the basics that just come naturally through transformation but why should there be rules on how to have a proper relationship with God maybe how I relate with Him He gets it even though you as a brother or sister won't get it and it draws me closer to God! Aren't this rules basically what's driving many to create new churches and end up confused in christianity because they don't know if God accepts them as they are because the rules of christianity state its not proper to be this way or that way? I just don't get it honestly where this proper relationship comes from why we impose it on each other while God wants us to just be us! And let Him transform us by the renewal of spirit and mind that's how ive always seen it this rules are what's confusing many of us christians young and old in many ways and I don't know maybe someone can explain to me how this whole thing works

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This is an interesting post and there were some very solid responses. I feel like many denominations treat views as if they were doctrine.

At the same time, we have to be careful on our personal journey not to lose a certain degree of conformity that aligns us with our faith. Sometimes we tend to wander in the process of looking for someone to justify our position on something. Sometimes we aren't looking for the truth, but looking for justification of our opinions. This can be counter productive and lead to an eclectic customized belief system that works for us, but does not align with the Bible.

Romans 14 I think sums up what you may be asking about. Some churches focus on rules and regulations in regards to "disputable matters" which drive people out instead of in. I avoid legalistic churches but it is important to read and study the Bible to discern what is important and what is trivial when it comes to our walk with God.

Missgrundy said:

Hi , I've just recently read a thread about the right relationship with God and how to achieve it to be genuinely honest I've always had a problem with this whole idea of a 'right' relationship with God and rules of how to go about it to achieve it. We have different personalities as christians in the body of Christ how I worship might not be appropriate for my church but when i go to another church its the best way or how I dress may be considered bad in some denoms and in others how you dress doesn't matter ( but decent of course) of course there are the basics that just come naturally through transformation but why should there be rules on how to have a proper relationship with God maybe how I relate with Him He gets it even though you as a brother or sister won't get it and it draws me closer to God! Aren't this rules basically what's driving many to create new churches and end up confused in christianity because they don't know if God accepts them as they are because the rules of christianity state its not proper to be this way or that way? I just don't get it honestly where this proper relationship comes from why we impose it on each other while God wants us to just be us! And let Him transform us by the renewal of spirit and mind that's how ive always seen it this rules are what's confusing many of us christians young and old in many ways and I don't know maybe someone can explain to me how this whole thing works

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Paul wrote about our work within the body of Messiah using the human body as an analogy. One might be an arm, another a leg, an elbow... perhaps the little toe. While this depicts the variations in callings people have from God, it also indicates that we won't all look, sound, and act the same. And that is OK, God understands and accepts this. All too often, however, man does not. Using his own understanding as the standard, he will often enter the life of another and dictate how that person should walk before their own Lord. Knowingly or unknowingly, that person has usurped the Lord all but making himself "Lord," as he passes decrees telling you how to dress, whether or not you can raise your hands in praise, dance before the Lord, whatever it happens to be.

I am not saying "everything goes" because everything doesn't go. God has standards and how we appreciate Him, praise Him, worship Him... is freely done within the confines of HIS standards, HIS will, and HIS authority. Messiah came to reverse the curse of sin and death, take the message of good news into the nations... but also be the model by which we all can follow and KNOW that in following his actions, we can walk pleasing before the Father.

Don't let anyone rob your joy sis... this is your walk, you answer for you, and nobody should interfere with that "unless" your walk is pulling others away from God. If that isn't happening, then you should be free to walk before Him as you feel convicted and led regardless of what anyone else says.

Missgrundy said:

Hi , I've just recently read a thread about the right relationship with God and how to achieve it to be genuinely honest I've always had a problem with this whole idea of a 'right' relationship with God and rules of how to go about it to achieve it. We have different personalities as christians in the body of Christ how I worship might not be appropriate for my church but when i go to another church its the best way or how I dress may be considered bad in some denoms and in others how you dress doesn't matter ( but decent of course) of course there are the basics that just come naturally through transformation but why should there be rules on how to have a proper relationship with God maybe how I relate with Him He gets it even though you as a brother or sister won't get it and it draws me closer to God! Aren't this rules basically what's driving many to create new churches and end up confused in christianity because they don't know if God accepts them as they are because the rules of christianity state its not proper to be this way or that way? I just don't get it honestly where this proper relationship comes from why we impose it on each other while God wants us to just be us! And let Him transform us by the renewal of spirit and mind that's how ive always seen it this rules are what's confusing many of us christians young and old in many ways and I don't know maybe someone can explain to me how this whole thing works

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God alone is the Lord of the conscience and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men. So as far as what we should do and be in order to please God, God's word alone which is contained in Holy Scripture is the only guide to direct us in how to glorify him.

If God's word says to do or be it, then we should do or be it.
If human teachers say to do or be it but cannot establish their doctrine from God's word then we have no obligation to listen to them.

Missgrundy said:

Hi , I've just recently read a thread about the right relationship with God and how to achieve it to be genuinely honest I've always had a problem with this whole idea of a 'right' relationship with God and rules of how to go about it to achieve it. We have different personalities as christians in the body of Christ how I worship might not be appropriate for my church but when i go to another church its the best way or how I dress may be considered bad in some denoms and in others how you dress doesn't matter ( but decent of course) of course there are the basics that just come naturally through transformation but why should there be rules on how to have a proper relationship with God maybe how I relate with Him He gets it even though you as a brother or sister won't get it and it draws me closer to God! Aren't this rules basically what's driving many to create new churches and end up confused in christianity because they don't know if God accepts them as they are because the rules of christianity state its not proper to be this way or that way? I just don't get it honestly where this proper relationship comes from why we impose it on each other while God wants us to just be us! And let Him transform us by the renewal of spirit and mind that's how ive always seen it this rules are what's confusing many of us christians young and old in many ways and I don't know maybe someone can explain to me how this whole thing works

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Churches need financial support. They do not expect much from people who have nothing. Pastors may have seen some people with fine clothes and expensive cars were able to offer more, thus they preferred them. Sometimes people with wealth donated money for the church mortgage, roof repairs and the pastor's salary.

One is more likely to have the finer clothes when one is richer or obsessed with appearance. I dated a fashionista who had over 100 pairs of shoes, but was in debt and sometimes broke before her next paycheck. Steve Jobs founded Apple. Jobs used to walk barefoot across a college campus as a student. He sometimes wore jeans to work after he became a billionaire.

If you are going to church, should you be going to listen to a message of salvation, or to make a fashion statement? Were people meeting other Christians in church, or not speaking to each other?

Missgrundy said:

Didnt*

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HI missgrundy

There is only one church, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth."

Every blessing

In the Lutheran tradition we make several important distinctions, for example the distinction between Law and Gospel; the distinction between what God commands us to do (e.g. don't murder, don't steal, don't worship other gods, love our neighbor as our self, turn the other cheek, etc) which is Law and what God promises and accomplishes by His own kindness and grace, which is Gospel. So when we say the good news is that God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, and that by Christ's death and resurrection we have been freely justified by God, by His grace, which we receive through faith, we are saying this is what God does for us, it isn't a work, an effort, something we do--it's something God does for us out of the richness of His own kindness. The Law cannot save or justify us, only the Gospel can do this--because only God by His own kindness can rescue lost sinners and reconcile them to Himself, which He does freely for us in, by, and through Christ who died on the cross and rose from the dead as victor over sin, death, hell, and the devil.

Part of this distinction, therefore, is what we describe as the distinction between Coram Deo (us before God) and Coram Hominibus (us before our fellow human beings). Coram Deo, who we are before God, can only be understood through the Gospel--of God's own loving kindness toward us in Jesus. Our relationship with God is not based upon our merits, our works, our efforts, or any contribution or activity on our part; it is purely this fundamental truth: that God, in Jesus, is for us, He loves us, calls us His children, He says we are His and He is ours, and that we have hope and eternal life with Him on account of His great and incomprehensible love toward us. The relationship we have with God is not about us going up to meet God where He is, but about God meeting us where we are--God in His kindness comes down to us, in Jesus Christ, in His death and resurrection, in His Word, in His Sacraments. God meets us here, God comes down to us, we don't go up to Him. And it is right here, where we are, that God loves us, saves us, and makes us His.

So then, why should we seek to live good and God-honoring lives? To impress God? God isn't impressed by our paltry and sinful works, but you know who does need our good works? Our neighbors. So even as God has come down to us, to meet us where we are, He sends us out to be for others, in love, service, and sacrifice. But don't look to your works to know where you are with God, look only to Jesus Christ and His cross, for this and this alone makes you right with God.

-CryptoLutheran

we have two Bible verses on our fridge ....one of my favs:
Proverbs 2:6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth
cometh knowledge and understanding

and cut from child's Sunday school paper
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another

live as though you have a child listening to your every word and watching your every move and needing your daily example and go to God for guidance
ask and you will receive and he'll help you in your relationship with him (he is a God of miracles)
forgive often and ask forgiveness, too