Resistance is Futile, Part II
Hmm... After such a stark, blunt, and I have to admit generally negative, yet incredibly truthful post as the last one, I think I'd like to write on the other side of the coin for a moment before I head off ot bed. I said before that I would only write on it once. In a very Real way, that's true - I did. Now it's time to let Jesus have a crack at it (meaning, He's had a "little talk" with me about this, and explained a few things to me about "resistance" and "irresistability.") I'm letting Him move through me here as He will. That doesn't mean that there's none of "me" in here. It just means that He and I are sometimes hard for me to tell apart, though at other times, it's really quite obvious. Or is it?
Last time, I pointed out the woes of forced religion, how cultish it is, etc. I will breifly restate here that I believe it to be cultish because even when people are of the same denomination/religion as each other, it's against their "inalienable rights," at least in THIS COUNTRY, the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, to, even under freely signed contracts, be forced to worship any diety who is believed or not believed to be real by said people. In other words, it's just sick to do that to someone, and all I know is that the God I Know and Trust doesn't do that to me.
Ok, so this time, the lighter side of the coin: the other half of the debate. "My" (His) side of it ;)
I AM OF GOD, as I've so plainly stated. Can others resist me or the God I worship? Well, plenty of old friends and ex-boyfriends have "resisted" me quite easily, so I guess where I'm concerned, resistance is FAR from futile! But now God? He's another story altogether. Um, I've MET Him, through His Spirit, and believe me - He's a Great Guy! Quite a catch! And you know what? He CAN'T resist me ;) In fact, I'm His weakness, heh. I was telling Erik about that when I first realized it almost a year ago now (is it really summer already?).
Yet I will say this: I didn't have GOD Living in my heart back in the day, so I can see why I was so resistable. It's not that there was anything wrong with me, per sey, but there wasn't anything extra special about me either, as so many people so adequately informed me. But now? Hmm... I can only hope and pray that Jesus can be seen in me periodically, and be the Iresistable "perfume" (oh drats, there I go again with another "true cliche") that will attract the hurting, the lost, the "sinners" to me so that I can point them to Him.
And to be completely honest, I think that's what "community" should be for, my dear June F., whereever you are... (Sorry, just HAD to stick that one in there, for old time's sake). It's NOT about making people do what you think God wants them to because you think it's right, and you are just SO SURE that the Holy Spirit will somehow see this as some grand opportunity which you, the great genius that you think you are, somehow managed to dream up all on your very own (college boards, you know who you are), and use it to your advantage for you! That's NOT a God-filled "community"! Gah! What in TARNATION is wrong with you people who ACTUALLY think that is somehow NOT a "creepy" idea???
God-based Community should simply be a bunch of people who God has chosen Himself to Move upon through His Spirit as He will for His own Purposes, as individuals independant of eachother's ideologies (or even their own) about what His "will" ought to be (according to their own interpretation of His will based on what they read in their own particular Bibles and on how they were raised in their own families, of course). I will say this much: though I believe that God NEVER intended for any individual or group of individuals to come up with some Utopian government based on their own religios ideologies, and though I RANT and RAVE on the topic, I will say this much: I'm a Democrat (that's NOT code for Liberal, and no, I'm not overly conservative either) because I BELIEVE and PRACTICE in independance for each individual NO MATTER WHAT. Why? Because I trust GOD to run my Life and to protect me from all the whacked out weirdos out there who would attempt to harm it. That's not a Brag. It's a Fact. So, in the end, all those silly people who actually think that forced worship attendance and/or participation is a good idea -- they can HAVE their wacko ways. That's just fine with me. Just don't EVER believe for one MINUTE that I'll EVER darken your doors again. I honestly just think you folks are very twisted.
As Erik loves to remind me, THERE IS NO LAW. Only God. Jesus is the Epitomy of God in a human being through the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? It means that, if God = Love = Heaven's Law = Jesus = Holy Spirit, and if the Holy Spirit can (and believe me, He DOES) Live and Love in human beings, if God's purposes are ALWAYS carried out in the end, then quite frankly, it's just silliness to make up laws for human interaction in the first place.
Should there be DMV laws? You know, I've thought about that somewhat... What causes people to need laws? Periodic abscent-mindedness? It used to be that if you got pulled over for obviousely doing something that was not intentional or the result of being under the influence, you got a WARNING and then never had to worry about it again, because you and that cop knew that you are normally a decent, law abiding citizen and you just made an unintentional error in judgement. Kinda reminds me of how God dealt with accidental killings in the OT. You had a chance at survival. But what causes people out on the roads to intentionally break the law, or to drive under the influence? In some cases, it's true that mental-health issues play a part in this. But can the law determine who has mental-health issues and who doesn't? Can it stop that person from doing stupid things? It can only deal with the aftermath when they've already done something dumb. But what about the other cases, where normally intelligent, clear-thinking individuals break the law? That's not too difficult to figure out, really. Either they ARE under the influence (think for awhile about everything that gets people to "party"), or they are angry with the law itself "I hate the law and think it's stupid, therefore I will forgoe it this time and just do the opposite instead, regardless of how stupid it might be (or whether I really want) to do this or not, and regardless of the consequences to me or my loved ones." It all boils down to intentions. If it's willful lawbreaking, then obviousely, there is hatred for the law! Perhaps it's hatred toward law enforcement, because some police officer POed someone at some point in their life, so now they want revenge. Who knows? The point is, it really boils down to hatred, one way or another.
Hatred is the opposite of Love. So is sin. Hatred = sin. But what did Jesus come to do? Did He merely come to wipe the slate clean as a form of fire insurance for willful sinners who go on sinning until He comes back? If you really think about the assumptions made in over half the sermons preached in churches today, you'll realize that this IS the impression given by those well meant sermons. Yet this is just not the truth (though it does keep people's butts in the pews, faithfully handing over their arms and legs to support broken down systems of religion). What then DID Jesus come here for? What was His point? What in the world did He do that ought to make Him Irresistable to me today? (Note to self - that's what it feels like for Jesus to type through my hands. I kinda didn't realize what I was saying there until it was written.) He did wipe the slate clean, that's true (I'll write on that topic later, I think). But He did MORE than that. He not only gave the Holy Spirit to His talmid (those He disciplined the hearts and minds of like any good Rabbi would, His disciples), but He gave it FOREVER and FOR EVERYONE!
Ok, let's sum this up.
Hatred is the opposite of Love. So is sin. Hatred = sin. God = Love = Heaven's Law = Jesus = Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit Lives and Loves in human beings, and God's purposes are ALWAYS carried out in the end. The Holy Spirit works and moves through those who God has chosen Himself to Move upon as He will for His own Purposes, as individuals.
Not only is THAT "Community" for real, but you know what? Honestly, as I've learned for myself, that's the kind of Community that's, well, Irresistable! God puts it Together Himself - He DOESN'T NEED our "help" in doing that! As if we are good enough to know how on our own? Are we really THAT conceited to think that we could play God in each other's lives, or even have some fathomable idea all on our own of "WWJD"???
Gah! GRRRRR!!!!!!!!! It's NOT "What would Jesus do?!!!!!!!!!!" It's "What IS JESUS DOING right now, all on His very own?!!!!" It's certainly NOT "What do I think should be done here?!!!"
It's all about You, God, not me, not anyone else. Just You. I give up.
Last time, I pointed out the woes of forced religion, how cultish it is, etc. I will breifly restate here that I believe it to be cultish because even when people are of the same denomination/religion as each other, it's against their "inalienable rights," at least in THIS COUNTRY, the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, to, even under freely signed contracts, be forced to worship any diety who is believed or not believed to be real by said people. In other words, it's just sick to do that to someone, and all I know is that the God I Know and Trust doesn't do that to me.
Ok, so this time, the lighter side of the coin: the other half of the debate. "My" (His) side of it ;)
I AM OF GOD, as I've so plainly stated. Can others resist me or the God I worship? Well, plenty of old friends and ex-boyfriends have "resisted" me quite easily, so I guess where I'm concerned, resistance is FAR from futile! But now God? He's another story altogether. Um, I've MET Him, through His Spirit, and believe me - He's a Great Guy! Quite a catch! And you know what? He CAN'T resist me ;) In fact, I'm His weakness, heh. I was telling Erik about that when I first realized it almost a year ago now (is it really summer already?).
Yet I will say this: I didn't have GOD Living in my heart back in the day, so I can see why I was so resistable. It's not that there was anything wrong with me, per sey, but there wasn't anything extra special about me either, as so many people so adequately informed me. But now? Hmm... I can only hope and pray that Jesus can be seen in me periodically, and be the Iresistable "perfume" (oh drats, there I go again with another "true cliche") that will attract the hurting, the lost, the "sinners" to me so that I can point them to Him.
And to be completely honest, I think that's what "community" should be for, my dear June F., whereever you are... (Sorry, just HAD to stick that one in there, for old time's sake). It's NOT about making people do what you think God wants them to because you think it's right, and you are just SO SURE that the Holy Spirit will somehow see this as some grand opportunity which you, the great genius that you think you are, somehow managed to dream up all on your very own (college boards, you know who you are), and use it to your advantage for you! That's NOT a God-filled "community"! Gah! What in TARNATION is wrong with you people who ACTUALLY think that is somehow NOT a "creepy" idea???
God-based Community should simply be a bunch of people who God has chosen Himself to Move upon through His Spirit as He will for His own Purposes, as individuals independant of eachother's ideologies (or even their own) about what His "will" ought to be (according to their own interpretation of His will based on what they read in their own particular Bibles and on how they were raised in their own families, of course). I will say this much: though I believe that God NEVER intended for any individual or group of individuals to come up with some Utopian government based on their own religios ideologies, and though I RANT and RAVE on the topic, I will say this much: I'm a Democrat (that's NOT code for Liberal, and no, I'm not overly conservative either) because I BELIEVE and PRACTICE in independance for each individual NO MATTER WHAT. Why? Because I trust GOD to run my Life and to protect me from all the whacked out weirdos out there who would attempt to harm it. That's not a Brag. It's a Fact. So, in the end, all those silly people who actually think that forced worship attendance and/or participation is a good idea -- they can HAVE their wacko ways. That's just fine with me. Just don't EVER believe for one MINUTE that I'll EVER darken your doors again. I honestly just think you folks are very twisted.
As Erik loves to remind me, THERE IS NO LAW. Only God. Jesus is the Epitomy of God in a human being through the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? It means that, if God = Love = Heaven's Law = Jesus = Holy Spirit, and if the Holy Spirit can (and believe me, He DOES) Live and Love in human beings, if God's purposes are ALWAYS carried out in the end, then quite frankly, it's just silliness to make up laws for human interaction in the first place.
Should there be DMV laws? You know, I've thought about that somewhat... What causes people to need laws? Periodic abscent-mindedness? It used to be that if you got pulled over for obviousely doing something that was not intentional or the result of being under the influence, you got a WARNING and then never had to worry about it again, because you and that cop knew that you are normally a decent, law abiding citizen and you just made an unintentional error in judgement. Kinda reminds me of how God dealt with accidental killings in the OT. You had a chance at survival. But what causes people out on the roads to intentionally break the law, or to drive under the influence? In some cases, it's true that mental-health issues play a part in this. But can the law determine who has mental-health issues and who doesn't? Can it stop that person from doing stupid things? It can only deal with the aftermath when they've already done something dumb. But what about the other cases, where normally intelligent, clear-thinking individuals break the law? That's not too difficult to figure out, really. Either they ARE under the influence (think for awhile about everything that gets people to "party"), or they are angry with the law itself "I hate the law and think it's stupid, therefore I will forgoe it this time and just do the opposite instead, regardless of how stupid it might be (or whether I really want) to do this or not, and regardless of the consequences to me or my loved ones." It all boils down to intentions. If it's willful lawbreaking, then obviousely, there is hatred for the law! Perhaps it's hatred toward law enforcement, because some police officer POed someone at some point in their life, so now they want revenge. Who knows? The point is, it really boils down to hatred, one way or another.
Hatred is the opposite of Love. So is sin. Hatred = sin. But what did Jesus come to do? Did He merely come to wipe the slate clean as a form of fire insurance for willful sinners who go on sinning until He comes back? If you really think about the assumptions made in over half the sermons preached in churches today, you'll realize that this IS the impression given by those well meant sermons. Yet this is just not the truth (though it does keep people's butts in the pews, faithfully handing over their arms and legs to support broken down systems of religion). What then DID Jesus come here for? What was His point? What in the world did He do that ought to make Him Irresistable to me today? (Note to self - that's what it feels like for Jesus to type through my hands. I kinda didn't realize what I was saying there until it was written.) He did wipe the slate clean, that's true (I'll write on that topic later, I think). But He did MORE than that. He not only gave the Holy Spirit to His talmid (those He disciplined the hearts and minds of like any good Rabbi would, His disciples), but He gave it FOREVER and FOR EVERYONE!
Ok, let's sum this up.
Hatred is the opposite of Love. So is sin. Hatred = sin. God = Love = Heaven's Law = Jesus = Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit Lives and Loves in human beings, and God's purposes are ALWAYS carried out in the end. The Holy Spirit works and moves through those who God has chosen Himself to Move upon as He will for His own Purposes, as individuals.
Not only is THAT "Community" for real, but you know what? Honestly, as I've learned for myself, that's the kind of Community that's, well, Irresistable! God puts it Together Himself - He DOESN'T NEED our "help" in doing that! As if we are good enough to know how on our own? Are we really THAT conceited to think that we could play God in each other's lives, or even have some fathomable idea all on our own of "WWJD"???
Gah! GRRRRR!!!!!!!!! It's NOT "What would Jesus do?!!!!!!!!!!" It's "What IS JESUS DOING right now, all on His very own?!!!!" It's certainly NOT "What do I think should be done here?!!!"
It's all about You, God, not me, not anyone else. Just You. I give up.
posted by Caroline Talita Ishshah | 1:08 AM
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