More on Love...

[tommy]

You guys got me reaching this topic of love yesterday, now and I wanted to share some of it with you. It is sort of tempting to get into the same old dialogue about which religion is right, but the common ground between various religion is love. It goes a little bit further too. It has to do with how we worship and praise God by his name (we see that quite a bit in the Bible, but God is not a name). God gave his name to Moses in Exodus 6:3 and told us to love his name, Yahweh in Hebrew and Jehovah in English and also the Almighty One and He asked we praise his "name" from Psalms 93 through Psalms 104 and do this through the Mighty One, Jesus, who rules in Heaven. The apostle John writes: "do not be loving either the world of the things in the world" - the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one's means of life - does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world" 1John 5:19. Jesus Christ warned against seeking glory from men. He scathingly denounced the hypocritical religious leaders of the Jews who liked to pray standing in synagogues and who loved the prominent places at evening meals and sitting in the front seats in the synagogues. These leaders received honor from men and not God Mt 6:5, 23:2, 5-7 Luke 11:13. Therefore, love should project to God and not men and perhaps religious leaders are Brothers and not Fathers, that place the wrong authoiry (one that belongs to God and not man) I don't know the answer here for sure. Jesus said, "He that is fond of his soul destroys it, but he that hates his soul in this world will safeguard it for everlasting life John 12:23-25. But one who considers life in the world secondary and loves Yahweh God and Jesus Christ and their righteousness above everything else, will receive everlasting life. God hates liars because they have no love of the truth. Love, such as God is so wonderful it is hard to define. Paul details, "Love is long-suffering and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interest, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things 1co 13:4-7. Love is long suffering and kind. It puts up with unfavorable conditions and wrong actions of others, doing so with a purpose, namely, to work out the eventual salvation of those doing wrong or others involved in the circumstances, as well as bring honor and vindication, finally, to God's name 2 Peter 3:15. God is not a name but a title, so why do we always just say God? I don't know the answer here but maybe others do?

 

[path_of_one]

Love is long suffering and kind. It puts up with unfavorable conditions and wrong actions of others, doing so with a purpose, namely, to work out the eventual salvation of those doing wrong or others involved in the circumstances, as well as bring honor and vindication, finally, to God's name

Thanks for the beautiful words on love. I agree that it is compassionate and patient, reaching out to all with the love of God, as we learn in the example of Christ. By always reaching out in love, we show to others the manifestation of God in us- the work of the Spirit. In so doing, we are obedient to God and also the source of change for goodness in this world. I do believe love has a purpose- ultimately it is God Himself and is the unifying force of all creation and between creation and Creator.

2 Peter 3:15. God is not a name but a title, so why do we always just say God? I don't know the answer here but maybe others do?

Many could give you the standard arguments against God only having one name in the Bible. I will give you a different perspective of why I call God, God. First, I believe that the different languages of the world create a word or words that expresses for them the experience of what it is to connect to the Big Divine Something. The Jews had the word Yahweh, and they also had numerous descriptions associated with that name that described their experience with the Divine. Christians, believing that God was somehow manifest in Jesus Christ (incarnation, indwelling, etc.) and immanent in the form of the Holy Spirit, refer to God in their own language (God for us, Dieu for French people, etc.) by a term that corresponds to this concept of Trinity- Father/Creator, Son, and Spirit.

Personally, I don't think it matters what I call God. I recognize that it matters to you, and so I would encourage you to follow what you feel is best in your worship of God. However, for me, I have never felt it appropriate to address God by a name. Saying "God" to me is not saying a title, nor is it specifically a personal name. It is an attempt to describe a Being who I experience and with whom I connect, and this Being sometimes comes to me in different ways. By calling God, God or one of the other terms I use, like the Divine One, Being, etc. or by calling Him by the aspect of Himself that I am experiencing (Christ, Spirit, Creator)- I am acknowledging the great mystery of His Presence, the limitedness of my understanding and capacity to express this Presence, and my own cultural roots, which are not Jewish, but rather gentile.

Others will probably give their different reasons, but there you have mine.

 

[tommy]

Thank you for your thoughtful insight into my question and it is important that what may draw one closer to God may be different for another. Since I learned that the true God has a name several things have happened in my life that has demonstrated to me that there is a true God. Signs begin to happen, when I went into another parish where I learned that it is not within the norm of my former religion to use God’s name from a young priest named Father Neil, I told him God is a Spirit and you can’t see him. He said that sometimes you can see sun rays and rainbows and that is God showing you his beauty through nature, his creation. He didn’t know much about the divine name and would not acknowledge that the name appears in many church entrances in Europe. I drove home over a small summit and it was the very end of the longest storm we had this year. I saw the most spectacular sun rays shining through the clouds that I got a tear in my eye and the goose pimples realizing that through nature, this may be God showing his spirit to me and the timing was amazing. This may sound funny, but signs began happening this same day. I got home and was feeling pretty blessed about what had happened. A Dove landed on the fence in my backyard. I walked two feet from him and he wasn’t afraid of me. I noticed other Doves would land near me and stair at me and I still do not know what made the birds in my backyard act differently that day. I now learn from you Path that it has to do with being in harmony with nature as well. A few months later, my old high school friend’s daughter died and he had no faith. I sent him material on God’s name and how it worked for me to praise his name through Jesus and sent the New Testament on CD’s, he now believes in God and Jesus. I felt God called me to do this mission and there are certain times he calls when there is something to be accomplished. He had me humble myself to my Sister and Brother-in-law to tell them words I could not have put together to help put their marriage back on track. He has taught me not to love money as I was stuck in the material world and always needed more and have since found other ways to get rich, through him in prayer through Jesus and studying the Bible. By learning to pray to Him it has also made my family a lot closer. It is such a good point that you make that what works for one does not always work for all. The point I make on the personal name is really hard to express here over the Internet, but it has had a fantastic outcome for me and the family. Blessings, tommy

 

[Quahom1]

Perhaps people (like me) use the term "God" not as a title, but a sign of respect and intimacy. For example, my father has a name, but I do not call him by his name...I call him "Dad". If I am in a formal situation, I address him as "Father" because he is.

God is of the same (or of similar familiarity as my relationship with my father).

I'd like to remind here that when Jesus was dying on the cross, He did not say "Yaweh, Yaweh, why have you forsaken me..." It is recorded that He said "Eloy, "Eloy, why have you forsaken me..." (Eloy means My God).

I also point out that Jesus make it clear that He was in the Father and the Father was in Him.

suffice it to say there is justification for Representitives of the Church, such as ministers and priests, being called Reverend, Monsengiour, or Father as a sign of respect and intimacy. It doesn't matter what we call eachother. What does matter is the intent behind the address we give others.

The fact that Jesu called the Gentile woman a "little dog" plays this point out with clarity. His use of the descripter "little dog" was a term of endearment, instead of the standard derogatory meaning of the term "dog" as meant by some Jews when describing a gentile.

Things to ponder...

v/r

Q

 

[JonMarc]

tommy....
from one new kid to another... welcome!

you have many interesting things to say and what you've said about your experiences has touched me.

path of one....

always a pleasure to read your thoughts and insights. your posts have some very interesting qualities that make them easy to read, even if you're saying something i don't fully agree with. though in many cases you are not.

that said... the god issue, as i see it:

one thing to always keep in mind is the context. many say why do you call it a god when the term god is nothing more than a title. however, it is only context that makes it a title, and thus is context that also makes it the most personalized term that i can say, coming straight from the heart through Jesus Christ to God.

father is only a 'title', yet we are also told to call Him that as you, i think, pointed out in another post. going right along with what path of one said, for me the important thing is what's in our hearts when we say it. because it is what's in our hearts that draws us closer to, or pushes us farther away from, God. thus where we come from when we say it is what separates god from God. sometimes in prayer i use His name, but mostly the name you'll hear when i pray is Jesus. as it is through him that we will come to see The Father, so it is through him that i do most of my communicating with The Father.

now when i type it's easy. obviously i do not capitalize anything when i type. except those words that i use to describe the Word, His Word, my God, or the Holy Spirit. i fail to capitalize strictly out of habit, which formed out of a combination of laziness and just liking the way it looks. of course if i'm typing an official letter, statement, school paper, or anything like that i do capitalize, but that's beside the point.

my take on it anyway.

q....how'd you sneak that post in while i was typing this one!? i should have just said "reference the post by path of one and what Quahom is about to post for my ideas on the subject." hehe

 

[Bandit]

i believe the name of God revealed to us in our dispensation is Jesus.

Jesus is the name both literally & in authority.

father, son, king, sargeant, attorney etc, are titles that hold no authority without the name.

i believe there is a written revelation concerning the name of Jesus in the bible.

 

[InLove]

Hello, Love and Peace to All,

Tommy, if I have not said so yet, welcome to CR. I have been reading more than writing lately (which means I must be doing a great deal of reading ). Your testimony touches my heart, and my heart is in the Spirit.

But this thread invites me, and if I were to try and quote and highlight all the Truth I see in here through the eye of the Spirit, I would probably have to just quote the whole thread.

This is, to me, is pretty much what it is all about. And even though I do not exactly know His name yet, I know He knows mine. And I believe that He even has a name for me--a holy name I do not even know yet. But when He reveals it, I will recognize it.

And, yes, as those Spiritual lyrics go--"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus/There's just something about that Name...."

InPeace,
InLove

 

[tommy]

Your the greatest, stay in love and at peace. I know you will...It has been an awsome experience coming to know his name and being so intrigued by His son Jesus. Peace and Love to you!