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In the same vein

“The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.”

Soren Kierkegaard

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AMEN! yes it speaks if we let it, is why He calls it the Word - is hard to do, thanks to God for the grace He gave me in allowing me to know Him - I used to wonder, of all the traits (virtues?) we are called to exhibit, why did He select forgiveness above all else; and over time I realize because if we can't obtain forgiveness, it leads to separation, which ultimately is what keeps us from Him (or us from each other) - but only over time trying to live/learn/love His Word does that and similar truths become clear. And having these discussions with family and friends is essential, thanks to you for prompting it.

Have been thinking of this lately -- does it seem that Jesus healed/granted miracles only after the person asked for help (in some fashion or other; heal my son, remove the demon from my child, heal my leprosy...)? Was this important? Is it similar to God's mercy of forgiveness after we repent, and ask forgiveness?

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I believe it is important.

The Prodigal Son had to return to receive his father's love. Presumably his father could have inquired after him. Presumably, it was possible for the father to have known the child was not doing well.

Yet the father waited for the son to return.

Similarly, in Isaiah we see again and again that forgiveness and redemption come when a wayward Israel has had enough of suffering.

Even in our own experiences, have we not encountered someone obviously struggling with something who gets offended if we just charge in and "help" them?

Similarly, can any of us receive forgiveness from anyone if we do not acknowledge a need for that forgiveness?

So yes, I believe that the asking for help is an essential predicate to receiving help. The ask is also I believe the opening of the heart, and when the prayer for relief is granted then there is space for gratitude.

That should not be taken to mean that we should ignore those in obvious distress. We should never fear to extend the helping hand. We simply must be mindful that our choice is to extend the helping hand. It is the other's choice to take hold of it--or not.

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Do you expect the churches to ever realize the harms they caused by furthering the covid fraud and coercing their followers to suffer many harms including by the vax?

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I pray that all churches realize that no law of man can ever surpass God's Law.

The inoculation mandates and coercions brought to bear on people that they would submit to the inoculations are indisputably man's laws. Which immediately renders them inferior to God's Law.

Any church which fell in behind those mandates and applied those coercions by definition put man's laws above God's Law. I do not see how any church can do that and remain a true church and community of God.

Will the wayward churches realize this? I pray they will. I expect some will. I expect others will not.

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Keep in mind, God’s ultimate Law is Love. This includes goodwill towards men, peace on earth, kindness, caring, and pretty much anything you do that is done with the intention of ‘loving kindness’. There are passages in the New Testament that say in effect that if you have faith, if you do good works, but have not love in your heart, it’s not right. So, I walk with God, I campaign against evil (to protect the innocent), but I try to have all of my intentions and actions be based on Love, in accordance with God’s will.

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As Jesus teaches in the Gospels, the greatest commandment is "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

Indeed, God’s ultimate law is indeed love--love of God, love of people, and love of self. Moreover, we see throughout Jesus many teachings that all three modes of love are inextricably intertwined. We cannot love others without loving God, we cannot love ourselves without loving others, and we cannot love God without loving others and ourselves.

But when we remember these teachings, we must remember that these teachings have always been with us. The commandments Jesus cited are found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that we have always had this teaching, we have always had this law, and so it is only the hardness of our own hearts that brings us to choose not to love in this all-encompassing way.

In Buddhist teaching, much is said about importance of bodhicitta, the essence of which a loving-kindness which is similarly all-encompassing. From this we may see that even people who have not Mosaic Law have received at least this much of God's Law, however it came to be transmitted. In Romans, the Apostle Paul teaches that even those not given the law yet still conform to the law are still justified.

And so we can see that, no matter how we apprehend God's Law, there is little rebuttal to the proposition that we have always known God's Law. We know what is Right and what is Wrong. It is this knowledge which invites consequence upon us if we ignore God's Law.

And it is God's Grace and God's Mercy that we have but to open our hearts and embrace God's Law--the all-encompassing loving-kindness which Jesus reminds us is God's Supreme Commandment--to receive God's Forgiveness.

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And you give me more reasons to adore you, Peter!

Something I learned decades ago, which stayed with me, is the origin of the word ‘sin’. It’s from an ancient word (Ancient Greek, if I remember right) that means “missing the mark”, as in archery. We take aim, but we miss the mark. So our ‘sins’ aren’t necessarily evil or wrong, they can just be errors.

If a toddler is learning to walk, he ‘misses the mark’ repeatedly before he gets it right. His parents don’t consider him to be evil or even wrong, he just hasn’t mastered it yet, and they still love him. I believe God’s love is similar. Our life’s journey involves us making errors one after another, but we are just “missing the mark”, and God forgives us and loves us.

But you are right, we must acknowledge our errors, and strive to walk a better path, as that is the path to being more like God.

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Did anything prompt this? Just thinking over recent events and wondering if a specific situation provoked you?

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No specific event. Sometimes events will call a specific verse to mind, but most commonly I select Bible verses at random and see if it triggers any ideas. It's sort of an extended spiritual experiment, working on letting the Bible just speak to me, if that makes any sense.

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