This blog is posted to answer questions from a comment by Arch on Part 2. Since Blogger would not allow me to post a comment after his, and I could not work out why!
His Question:
Is calling an internal or an external thing? Meaning do you regard it as something God asks of you, or is it something you choose to do? I guess the two are not exclusive, but I'm wondering if you have a different name for something God asks of you and something you feel compelled to do?
My answer:
Hi Arch,
The calling I feel in my heart, and 'know' in my soul, is a very internal reaction. It is based in calmness, peace and healing (though, having ego, I might not always react that way). All of us were created through the energy of love and curiosity. In other words, we appear to mirror our creator. Given the right circumstances, humans are capable of incredible Love; and when we are of a balanced mind and emotions, we become incredibly creative .. in a million different ways.
Created from love, we express love (give out the vibes/energy) when we are happy and satisfied, and the opposite when we are not. When we 'live' our calling, we share that love with the world in many forms, some more obvious than others. If you are Christian you might call it God's love; the Wiccans see the Goddess' love .. and then there is the 'wisdom' of Buddha or Confuscius, each of whom taught love in different ways. Here, then, is a very stong central theme .. Love.
A calling is something that satisfies our internal need to give love through external action. A person called to serve God might do so by praying all their waking hours. The act of praying answers an internal need, the external action might answer someone else's need to believe that people are capable of sacrificing their lives in prayer for others, or some other way, although they might also think them completely nuts. The Love the praying person is expressing through their prayers may change the foundations of the world, or a grieving person's heart .. and we might never know it, and nor might the person praying .. but change happens anyway. Remember the comment about the butterfly.
We were created with the gift of free will. We have the right to say no, and to control our own destinys, so I do not believe that God has asked me to do anything except be myself. I try to serve humanity in the capacity I was created to achieve. I know this from the peace it gives my soul. It is my choice to listen to the 'still quiet voice' that sometimes says 'write this' and sometimes says 'Ama, sit on your hands' (in other words, reconsider that paragraph or thought LOL). I follow because I want to, I am never 'compelled'.
In my opinion, a person may define God as anything they like, as long as they are at peace with their decision. My son says he is a Jedi .. that's fine with me.
May the force be with you,
Love & Peace
Ama
Showing posts with label free will. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free will. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thursday, December 17, 2009
How can I Pray and be Heard by God?
Would you like to Know the Truth (part 4)
How can we possibly not be? God is everywhere. God created all things. God is in all things. If God is in ‘all’ things, so then God is in, and within, us. Since God created ‘all’ things, s/he created atheists and people with other belief systems. Since God created all things, then God created other belief systems and other ways of coming ‘Home’ to the source energy that is in ‘all’ of us .. in other words, God.
So why is there separation? Separation begins with us, with our lack of belief, or faith (which are two different things). When we doubt we put a barrier between us and God. That barrier is our free will. Because we were granted it back at our creation, and because it was restored to us by Christ at the Crucifixion, (after we had so foolishly given it away to the ‘devil’ .. see the story of Adam and Eve as a metaphor for our choices ...) we have the power to stop God from helping us, to remove his/her ability to give to us what we most want – Love.
Sometimes our prayers are not answered, or seem not to be. There is a saying “be careful what you ask for, you might get it”. God in his/her infinite wisdom does not always give us what we want, because s/he knows that spiritually most of us are like small children demanding sweets. We try to bargain (if you do this, I will do that) and what we bargain for may well not be what is for our greatest good, and so we are not given what we seek. And God knows that we don’t always understand, at the time, why this is so, nor do we all understand about free will, but s/he doesn’t punish us when we become angry and despondent ... no, s/he loves us anyway, whole heartedly, unconditionally, knowing that we will understand one day – and that day might be the last of this lifetime, or it might be tomorrow.
So praying to God is important because it takes down the barrier between us and him/her, and tells God what we want, and, if we get it right, gives God permission to help us. It also tells God that we are listening when s/he speaks, and that we are grateful for all the good that comes our way each day, and accepting of the challenges that also are part of our lives.
The brochure says that for God to listen to us we have to pray in ways that s/he approves of. That seems a bit of a conundrum, given that first we have to learn God’s will, and then pray accordingly. How do we first learn God’s will? We can find lessons throughout the New Testament in the words of Jesus Christ. Love one another, be honest, truthful and kind. And the Watchtower quotes 1 John 5:14, which says “And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us”. So be bold, be truthful, be trusting, be loving .. and just Be .. a daughter or son of God, a spiritual being in the material world.
Do you remember to say thank you when you pray? Gratitude is incredibly important. Or do you mouth rituals without thought for what the words mean? I agree with the Watchtower brochure here – do not just mouth prayers that you know without putting your heart and soul into the words. (Matthew 6:7-8) Keep it simple. Make it obvious. The Lord ’s Prayer in Matthew is lovely, to begin with –
How can we possibly not be? God is everywhere. God created all things. God is in all things. If God is in ‘all’ things, so then God is in, and within, us. Since God created ‘all’ things, s/he created atheists and people with other belief systems. Since God created all things, then God created other belief systems and other ways of coming ‘Home’ to the source energy that is in ‘all’ of us .. in other words, God.
So why is there separation? Separation begins with us, with our lack of belief, or faith (which are two different things). When we doubt we put a barrier between us and God. That barrier is our free will. Because we were granted it back at our creation, and because it was restored to us by Christ at the Crucifixion, (after we had so foolishly given it away to the ‘devil’ .. see the story of Adam and Eve as a metaphor for our choices ...) we have the power to stop God from helping us, to remove his/her ability to give to us what we most want – Love.
Sometimes our prayers are not answered, or seem not to be. There is a saying “be careful what you ask for, you might get it”. God in his/her infinite wisdom does not always give us what we want, because s/he knows that spiritually most of us are like small children demanding sweets. We try to bargain (if you do this, I will do that) and what we bargain for may well not be what is for our greatest good, and so we are not given what we seek. And God knows that we don’t always understand, at the time, why this is so, nor do we all understand about free will, but s/he doesn’t punish us when we become angry and despondent ... no, s/he loves us anyway, whole heartedly, unconditionally, knowing that we will understand one day – and that day might be the last of this lifetime, or it might be tomorrow.
So praying to God is important because it takes down the barrier between us and him/her, and tells God what we want, and, if we get it right, gives God permission to help us. It also tells God that we are listening when s/he speaks, and that we are grateful for all the good that comes our way each day, and accepting of the challenges that also are part of our lives.
The brochure says that for God to listen to us we have to pray in ways that s/he approves of. That seems a bit of a conundrum, given that first we have to learn God’s will, and then pray accordingly. How do we first learn God’s will? We can find lessons throughout the New Testament in the words of Jesus Christ. Love one another, be honest, truthful and kind. And the Watchtower quotes 1 John 5:14, which says “And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us”. So be bold, be truthful, be trusting, be loving .. and just Be .. a daughter or son of God, a spiritual being in the material world.
Do you remember to say thank you when you pray? Gratitude is incredibly important. Or do you mouth rituals without thought for what the words mean? I agree with the Watchtower brochure here – do not just mouth prayers that you know without putting your heart and soul into the words. (Matthew 6:7-8) Keep it simple. Make it obvious. The Lord ’s Prayer in Matthew is lovely, to begin with –
Our Father who is in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive our debts
As we also have forgiven our debtors
And do not bring us to the time of trial
But rescue us from the evil one.
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive our debts
As we also have forgiven our debtors
And do not bring us to the time of trial
But rescue us from the evil one.
Begin with this and move on.
Sometimes I do feel unworthy of being the crumbs beneath his/her table, but most of the time I know that God seems me as s/he created me ... a perfect ‘likeness’. The imperfections are my own beliefs and attitudes that put the barrier up between what I want from God and what s/he wants from me. Just how thick is your barrier?
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Would you like to know the Truth (Part 2)
What is the Truth? In my opinion, God is big enough to encompass all our Truths without feeling we are not satisfying some integral part of his/her whole being, otherwise why does s/he not act to stop us. Oh yes, free will. That is a subject I have spoken of many times before. God gave us the right to choose the path we follow to him/her. That thought helps to negate the one before. If there is only one path back to God then why did God give us so many other options, paths and belief systems to follow? Or was it the devil? And who is the devil? The one who inspires human nastiness.
Truthfully, I think we are more than capable of being appalling, if not horrific, without any help from an outside entity – but then, I do know demons exist, and are not working for our greater good. But that is another subject.
So where were we in the Truth document?
Will War and Suffering Ever End? The brochure tells us that under His Kingdom, a heavenly government, people will not “learn war anymore”. Instead they will beat their swords into ploughshares ... (Isaiah 2:4), “because the Lord will judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many people”. Looks like they are still arguing. What is an argument anyway? A difference of opinion. What is a war? A huge difference of opinion. What gives us the right to have opinions different from one another? Will these ‘nations’ (separated by what exactly under God’s one government??) have different opinions? I thought that once we all come together in the end times, those of us good enough to go to wherever Zion is, nothing would separate us from one another, for we are all one people under God? Oh, now I remember, we have free will. Is that taken away when God comes and collects us all? And which God? Do I get to go if I don’t like Jehovah? Why Jehovah? According to 1 Samuel ‘the Lord’ is Jehovah. This part of Isaiah speaks only of the Lord. I am siding with El.
Free will gives us the right to say no to war, if we don’t hand our power over to our governments. Just look at the world today? Does one word you say make any difference to your government’s decision to send troupes to Afghanistan, for example? I don’t think mine does. I have been saying NO since the twin towers catastrophe. No one blamed God for that, no, we blamed the terrorists .. an amphorous mass that the American Government said was Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda – and it well might be him and them. Funny name ‘bin laden’ .. been laden .. with a huge weight on his back if it isn’t him. And is he dead, or really in Pakistan as our Australian news said the other night? (A good reason to invade perhaps?) And how does that relate to God and no war?
God’s children, those of us who believe in him/her, have the right to say ‘no more’. We might only be able to say it in our hearts, and hopefully act from that choice in our everyday lives, but it can be enough to change world energy. So why don’t we? Why do you still argue with your brother, mother, sister, neighbour, Telstra, the guy you owe money to, the one who owes you money, your best friend? Why do you, we, me, still harbour grudges? Why do we still hate ourselves, or even dislike ourselves, without some understanding of the causes and a desire to change? Why do people war with themselves? Because it is that war that creates other wars. For in God’s kingdom, and this is God’s kingdom, regardless of whether you think S/He is here now or not, energy follows thought. If we can learn to love ourselves, and our neighbours, as God, and Jesus, Loves us, then yes, there will be no more war. And we don’t need a second coming for that, nor do we need God to step in and whip the ‘good guys’ (all 144,000 of them? What happens to the other 6+ billion) away to somewhere safe. We can do it now, today. Here. NOW. Not tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.
And the brochure continues: The bible promises: “God will wipe out (away NOAB) every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry (crying NOAB) nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away”. (Rev 21:3-4) Although they quote only from 21:4 I think 21:3 is interesting as well . “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.” It raises one question .. are we not already His/her people? Why do we have to wait until the end times to be His/her people? The Watchtower people sincerely believe they are one of God’s people. I believe I am. Why does Revelation seem to separate us from God? I must research that one.
To be Continued
Truthfully, I think we are more than capable of being appalling, if not horrific, without any help from an outside entity – but then, I do know demons exist, and are not working for our greater good. But that is another subject.
So where were we in the Truth document?
Will War and Suffering Ever End? The brochure tells us that under His Kingdom, a heavenly government, people will not “learn war anymore”. Instead they will beat their swords into ploughshares ... (Isaiah 2:4), “because the Lord will judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many people”. Looks like they are still arguing. What is an argument anyway? A difference of opinion. What is a war? A huge difference of opinion. What gives us the right to have opinions different from one another? Will these ‘nations’ (separated by what exactly under God’s one government??) have different opinions? I thought that once we all come together in the end times, those of us good enough to go to wherever Zion is, nothing would separate us from one another, for we are all one people under God? Oh, now I remember, we have free will. Is that taken away when God comes and collects us all? And which God? Do I get to go if I don’t like Jehovah? Why Jehovah? According to 1 Samuel ‘the Lord’ is Jehovah. This part of Isaiah speaks only of the Lord. I am siding with El.
Free will gives us the right to say no to war, if we don’t hand our power over to our governments. Just look at the world today? Does one word you say make any difference to your government’s decision to send troupes to Afghanistan, for example? I don’t think mine does. I have been saying NO since the twin towers catastrophe. No one blamed God for that, no, we blamed the terrorists .. an amphorous mass that the American Government said was Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda – and it well might be him and them. Funny name ‘bin laden’ .. been laden .. with a huge weight on his back if it isn’t him. And is he dead, or really in Pakistan as our Australian news said the other night? (A good reason to invade perhaps?) And how does that relate to God and no war?
God’s children, those of us who believe in him/her, have the right to say ‘no more’. We might only be able to say it in our hearts, and hopefully act from that choice in our everyday lives, but it can be enough to change world energy. So why don’t we? Why do you still argue with your brother, mother, sister, neighbour, Telstra, the guy you owe money to, the one who owes you money, your best friend? Why do you, we, me, still harbour grudges? Why do we still hate ourselves, or even dislike ourselves, without some understanding of the causes and a desire to change? Why do people war with themselves? Because it is that war that creates other wars. For in God’s kingdom, and this is God’s kingdom, regardless of whether you think S/He is here now or not, energy follows thought. If we can learn to love ourselves, and our neighbours, as God, and Jesus, Loves us, then yes, there will be no more war. And we don’t need a second coming for that, nor do we need God to step in and whip the ‘good guys’ (all 144,000 of them? What happens to the other 6+ billion) away to somewhere safe. We can do it now, today. Here. NOW. Not tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.
And the brochure continues: The bible promises: “God will wipe out (away NOAB) every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry (crying NOAB) nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away”. (Rev 21:3-4) Although they quote only from 21:4 I think 21:3 is interesting as well . “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.” It raises one question .. are we not already His/her people? Why do we have to wait until the end times to be His/her people? The Watchtower people sincerely believe they are one of God’s people. I believe I am. Why does Revelation seem to separate us from God? I must research that one.
To be Continued
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