Losing Faith?

[mpjw2]

I can’t imagine anyone having an objection to works that are not seen.
Doesn’t the bible say something about not letting the one hand know what the other is doing? Can’t remember it now.

Hi StrawberryJam

How you been???

the bible most certainly says something about not letting the one hand know what the other is doing.

"Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you
Matthew 6:1-4

notice too that God will only reward us in heaven for our works which are unseen.

reminds me of a story my wife told me…

imagine if you will having one of those really “bad” days where nothing seems to go right.
you are driving in congested traffic on the turnpike,
exit and then have to wait in a long line to pay the toll (this happened before EZPASS)
can’t find money to pay the toll

Get to the toll booth, and as you are ready to tell the toll collector you have no money to pay the toll…

the toll collector says to you
"no need to pay, the driver ahead of you payed for your toll"

How do you believe you would feel at this point??

My wife said she failed in her attempt to catch the driver to thank him/her.

I believe this is the type of work which God will reward us in heaven for.

That driver I am sure will be rewarded.

These verses in Matt 6, I believe parallel with the verse in 1 Corinthians where Paul writes…
his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 1 Corinthians 3:13

the “fire” here I believe is referring to God Himself

God talked with Moses through the fire in the burning bush

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” Exodus 3 1-4**

"After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. Acts 7:30

Hope that helps

God bless you

mpjw2

 

[fhansen]

Through original sin,
We have been made blind,
To seeing the Perfect Value of Love.

We are deterred from Love,
By the sacrifices involved in Love,
But in our sacrifices involved in Love,

We can see more clearly,

the hidden Value of Love,
And so the hidden Value of Love,
Slowly becomes perfectly self-evident.

This clarity of sight,
Is not something that can be rationalized.
It is as much received as the natural desire of Love.

In The Christ on the cross,
We see this mysterious principle which we follow,
The unity of Perfect Love (God), sacrifice, and humanity.

Blessed is the man who is united to Perfect Love.
Most Blessed is the man who is perfectly united to Perfect Love.

Got it now. Thanks.

 

[Pug]

All people experience
fear and confusion
When confronted
With the unexpected.

The unexpected, yes, that makes sense. Thanks for explaining.

 

[Psychotheosophy]

Got it now. Thanks.

What do you think of this…

One who believes without following
Is like a demon,
An enemy of God.
Who lead people away from God.

He who believes and follows,
Is like The Christ,
The Son of God.
Who leads people to God.

Now, we value love imperfectly,
And perhaps value other things more,
And therefore do not always choose Love.

But now, our sacrifice follows The Christ on the cross.

In the hope that we will perfectly see,
The Perfect Value of Perfect Love,
And always choose Love.

 

[fhansen]

What do you think of this…

One who believes without following
Is like a demon,
An enemy of God.
Who lead people away from God.

He who believes and follows,
Is like The Christ,
The Son of God.
Who leads people to God.

Now, we value love imperfectly,
And perhaps value other things more,
And therefore do not always choose Love.

But now, our sacrifice follows The Christ on the cross.

In the hope that we will perfectly see,
The Perfect Value of Perfect Love,
And always choose Love.

And if we persevere in following Him, although we stumble along the way, our hope is not in vain, we can still have confidence “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6

 

[Psychotheosophy]

And if we persevere in following Him, although we stumble along the way, our hope is not in vain, we can still have confidence “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6

So,
We hope in the principle of Perfect Love,
Which sometimes guides us to sacrifice,
Sometime guides us to not sacrifice,
But is our eternal end,
Not sacrifice?

What do you mean by “stumble?”

 

[fhansen]

So,
We hope in the principle of Perfect Love,
Which sometimes guides us to sacrifice,
Sometime guides us to not sacrifice,
But is our eternal end,
Not sacrifice?

What do you mean by “stumble?”

Jesus died for us while we’re yet sinners. We must struggle against sin-attachment to things other than God-on our way to our end- perfect happiness found in perfected love.

 

[Psychotheosophy]

Jesus died for us while we’re yet sinners. We must struggle against sin-attachment to things other than God-on our way to our end- perfect happiness found in perfected love.

For some,
Eating vegetables
Is more of a sacrifice
Then detaching from them,
For the good of the body.

How much more important
Is eating spiritual food,
For the good of the soul?

Practicing a number of sacrifices,
Could be considered a source of pride,
A pride which must always be sacrificed?

There can not be proper sacrifice without principle.

 

[fhansen]

For some,
Eating vegetables
Is more of a sacrifice
Then detaching from them,
For the good of the body.

How much more important
Is eating spiritual food,
For the good of the soul?

Practicing a number of sacrifices,
Could be considered a source of pride,
A pride which must always be sacrificed?

There can not be proper sacrifice without principle.

Yes, but ordinarily a person is not “attached” to vegetables in any way other than how the natural law might call for them to be. So I’m speaking of sin-which might be called disordered attachments-where we try to fulfill our desire for happiness outside of its true Source.

And I agree, when sacrifices are motivated by pride-generally to put on a show of holiness-then they are not of God and we must relearn the need for humility.

 

[authenticity]

I think that faith means keeping Christ at the center of one’s life instead of the self. To put it another way, one’s focus is always on God and everything else is peripheral. When a person has faith the ups and downs of life do not hold such a sway over them. They stop chasing after the temporary for their happiness and they don’t lose their cool when things don’t go their way. I think this is what the passage from Hebrews means. We get inner peace from faith, which is our assurance of things hoped for.

 

[Psychotheosophy]

Yes, but ordinarily a person is not “attached” to vegetables in any way other than how the natural law might call for them to be. So I’m speaking of sin-which might be called disordered attachments-where we try to fulfill our desire for happiness outside of its true Source.

And I agree, when sacrifices are motivated by pride-generally to put on a show of holiness-then they are not of God and we must relearn the need for humility.

So,

God is both the Principle of Happiness and the Principle of Goodness,
Ultimately, only Happiness can remove a lack of happiness,

Vegetables can have Goodness (unless rotting),
But vegetables are not Goodness itself,

Determining when to eat vegetables,
And when not to eat vegetables,
Is governed by Principles,
Delineated by rules?

Like health care,
Which is an art,
and a science?

Could you explain what the natural law is,
And how it relates to sacrifice?
Natural law is self-evident?
Fasting versus Dieting,
Comes to mind.

 

[fhansen]

The natural law, in theology, refers to that which is proper to a beings nature-how God created them to be according to His wisdom. Usually it concerns morality when discussed but anything can be involved. It’s proper to a dog’s nature to bark, for example. Humans have natural appetites, such as for food, but if we overeat or eat only fat foods we go beyond what is right and natural for us.

 

[Psychotheosophy]

The natural law, in theology, refers to that which is proper to a beings nature-how God created them to be according to His wisdom. Usually it concerns morality when discussed but anything can be involved. It’s proper to a dog’s nature to bark, for example. Humans have natural appetites, such as for food, but if we overeat or eat only fat foods we go beyond what is right and natural for us.

So,

God is the Principle of Life and Love,
And we are naturally governed,
By the Principle of Life,
For both body and soul,
Sacrificing to keep
Our hope in Life?

We Love,
In order To
Hope in Love?

If so,
Life, hope and Love,
Do not come from ourselves?