Most Viewed Religion & Spirituality Blogs (1,491)

How can some claim to love God and hate their own brother, sister, neighbor, friend, spouses.

1 john 4:20 says, if a man says, I love God and hateth his own brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his own brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen

People have been flooded by all types of religions and cultures!Have people realised that most of the world's conflicts are caused by religions and politics?

What if finally on the "judgement day" JESUS CHRIST do not recognise any religion?

If the only question to permit you enter into heaven, which THE LORD JESUS CHRIST will ask is "What was your relationship on earth with ME and "THE ALMIGHTY GOD"? What will be your response?

A compilation Nov 03, 2015

We all have our safety zone, that range of circumstances that we’re comfortable with or the people that we’ve learned to interact with easily and without much conscious effort. The borders of that zone are often determined by our fears, and what we think will be acceptable to others in our behavior, and what exceeds comfortable levels of effort on our part.

The safety zone is nice and cozy. The problem is that if we allow it to govern our decisions, it can end up leaving little room for growth or development. It can stifle our experiencing all that life has to offer, and unless we continue to stretch ourselves, we can risk becoming complacent in heart, mind, and spirit.

The danger of our staying within our personal safety zone if the Lord is trying to broaden our horizons is that we can gradually be lulled into a mediocre existence where we don’t explore our potential. We can lose the ability to see how much more we can attain, to the point that we no longer take those exciting leaps of faith.

It’s uncomfortable to break through those boundaries and there are risks, because we don’t know what we’ll encounter. But the satisfaction, the fulfillment, and the excitement of facing new people, new ideas, and new opportunities is all part of what makes us deeper, purpose-driven individuals. We can never know our full potential unless we are willing to stretch beyond what we think are our limits.

Peter was telling me about a time when he visited a physical rehabilitation center and watched a man who was learning to walk again. The man had been taking only shuffling tiny steps, but the therapist had decided that it was time for him to do more. The man protested, fearful that it was impossible and that he would fall. However, with a therapist on either side, virtually forcing him to walk faster and faster, he realized that he really could do it. He never would have taken those steps of progress on his own.

The nature of the Lord is such that He sometimes disrupts our comfort zones and brings new challenges into our lives that force us to take a hard look at the limitations we’ve placed on ourselves, so that we can step outside them. As we do, we often find out that it’s not quite as unsettling as we had imagined, and many times we find a new world of opportunities and potential that we hadn’t previously thought was possible.—Maria Fontaine





Anchor TFI [Posted Video - "Decade of Deception" 9/11]

God, is the most important and foundational concept in Islam.Muslims believe in one God who created the universe and has power over everything within it. Heis unique and exalted above everything He creates, and His greatness cannot be compared to His creation. Furthermore, He is the only one deserving of any worship and the ultimate purpose of all creation is to submit to Him. The Islamic understanding of God is distinct from all other religions and beliefs in various respects since it is based on a pure and clear understanding of monotheism. This essentially captures the concept of God in Islam, which will be further elaborated in this pamphlet.Muslims often refer to God asAllah. This is a universal name forGod and does not refer to an exclusively ‘Islamic’ God. Interestingly, this name is related to the Aramaic and Hebrew namesfor God,AllahaandElohim. Therefore,Allahis simply the Arabic name for God which affirms that He is One singular God with no partners or equals. The nameAllahcannot be pluralized or limited to a specific gender, which establishes that Godis One and that He is unique from everything He creates. Muslims continue to use this original Arabicname for God (Allah) since it perfectly expresses His unique qualities.God is the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe who created everything for a reason. Muslims believe that He created humankind with a simple purpose – to worship Him. He sent messengers to guide people in fulfilling this purpose. Some of these messengers include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon all of them. They all taught a consistent message about God by affirming His greatness as the Creator and guiding people to worship Him alone. This basic concept has always resonated with people’s natural understanding of God. (Clickhereto learn more about prophets in Islam.)

Yes, Yes, we all know Christmas is soon upon us, and many will be celebrating with family and friends, enjoying much laughter,food-food and more food... while many will be alone but still enjoying much laughter, food food, and keeping warm by the fire place, or heater, etc.

There are many Christians who are annoyed and get very upset when some in the secular world, or those who don't believe in Christ and reject Him as the Savior who died on the cross for our sins, and those refuse to believe or have anything to do with Christianity, who use Xmas instead of Christmas as to eliminate the use of Christ in Christmas... and that's okay with me as a Christian, because God gave everyone he created a free will choice to choose whom they will serve.

Well, I must not allow any of you to live in ignorance any longer therefore, I thought it would be wise of me to enlighten everyone, the saved, unsaved, saints and sinners bringing all of you out of darkness into the marvelous light. This is for the saved, saints (who believe in Christ) and unsaved (sinners/unbelievers who do not believe in Christ) who think Xmas deletes the name of Christ from the word CHRISTMAS.

So what shall we say to these things? Shall it be Christmas or Xmas? You judge for yourselves...

Xmas is a common abbreviation of the word Christmas . It is sometimes pronounced /'?ksm?s/, but it, and variants such as Xtemass, originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation /'kr?sm?s/. The "-mas" part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass, while the "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word ???st?? which comes into English as "Christ".

There is a common misconception that the word Xmas stems from a secular attempt to remove the religious tradition from Christmas by taking the "Christ" out of "Christmas", but its use dates back to the 16th century.

The word "Christ" and its compounds, including "Christmas", have been abbreviated in English for at least the past 1,000 years, long before the modern "Xmas" was commonly used. "Christ" was often written as "X?" or "Xt"; there are references in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as far back as 1021. This X and P arose as the uppercase forms of the Greek letters ? (Ch) and ? (R) used in ancient abbreviations for ???st?? (Greek for "Christ"), and are still widely seen in many Eastern Orthodox icons depicting Jesus Christ. The labarum, an amalgamation of the two Greek letters rendered as ?, is a symbol often used to represent Christ in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian Churches.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and the OED Supplement have cited usages of "X-" or "Xp-" for "Christ-" as early as 1485. The terms "Xtian" and less commonly "Xpian" have also been used for "Christian". The OED further cites usage of "Xtianity" for "Christianity" from 1634. According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, most of the evidence for these words comes from "educated Englishmen who knew their Greek".

In ancient Christian art, ? and ?? are abbreviations for Christ's name. In many manuscripts of the New Testament and icons, ? is an abbreviation for ???st??, as is XC (the first and last letters in Greek, using the lunate sigma); compare IC for Jesus in Greek.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmas

For 2015, keep in mind that KNOWLEDGE IS A SOURCE OF PERSONAL POWER!

MERRY CHRISTMAS i.e. XMAS AND HAVE A HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR... If the Lord is willing that we all should live to see it in good health and strength!!

During my whole life, I always thought that I loved somebody. Now, being here for the first time with you, I ask myself: have I ever really been in love? Am I even able to love? Am I able to love you? Or has life brought me to a point where happiness in love does not happen any more?

The basic fallacy that you are carrying within you is that you always loved somebody.

This is one of the most significant things about all human beings; their love is always for somebody, it is addressed – and the moment you address your love, you destroy it. It is as if you are saying, “I will breathe only for you – and when you are not there, then how can I breathe?”

Love should be like breathing. It should be just a quality in you – wherever you are, with whomsoever you are, or even if you are alone, love goes on overflowing from you. It is not a question of being in love with someone – it is a question of being love.

People are frustrated in their love experiences, not because something is wrong with love…they narrow down love to such a point that the ocean of love cannot remain there. You cannot contain the ocean – it is not a small stream; love is your whole being – love is your godliness. One should think in terms of whether one is loving or not. The question of the object of love does not arise. With your wife, you love your wife; with your children, you love your children; with your servants, you love your servants; with your friends, you love your friends; with the trees, you love the trees; with the ocean, you love the ocean.

Who is Jesus?

In chemistry,
He turned water to wine.

In biology,
He was born without the normal conception;

In physics,
He disapproved the law of gravity when He ascended into heaven;

In economics,
He disapproved the law of
diminishing return by feeding 5000 men with
two fishes & 5 loaves of bread;

In medicine,
He cured the sick and the blind without administering a single dose of drugs;

In history,
He is the beginning and the end;

In government,
He said that He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace;

In religion,
He said no one comes to the Father except through Him;

So, Who is He? He is Jesus!

The Greatest Man in History

Jesus had no servants,
yet they called Him Master.

Had no degree,
yet they called Him Teacher.

Had no medicines,
yet they called Him Healer.

He had no army,
yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles,
yet He conquered the world.

He committed no crime,
yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb,
yet He lives today.

I feel honoured to serve such a Leader who loves us.

Join me and let's celebrate Him; He is worthy.

The eyes beholding this message shall not behold evil,

The hand that will send this message to everybody shall not labor in vain,

and The mouth saying Amen to this prayer shall smile forever.

Remain in God and seek his face always.

Amen!

In God I've found everything!

Send this to all whom you care for.

Let someone know of the works of Our Lord JESUS.

Let the whole world appreciate the Lord of Lords.

Do not hesitate to spread the gospel..??

Dont be tired of spreading it forth.

God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with him. Jim Elliot

Written by Joyce Suttin January 2014

I went to the Farmer’s Market this morning and was so pleased to find a good deal on some organic produce. When I got home and pulled the tomatoes out of the bag, however, I realized that some of them were too squishy to use, and I had to cull out the bad ones so they wouldn’t harm the others. As the saying goes, “One rotten apple (or in this case, tomato) spoils the whole bunch.”

As I examined the tomatoes, I was surprised by their many imperfections. I’ve been used to going to the grocery store and finding piles of perfectly shaped fruits and vegetables. However, when I cut one of the “imperfect” tomatoes in half and took a bite, I was amazed at the flavor. I decided that in this case “imperfect” can definitely be better.

We often judge by appearance, but looks can be deceiving. Often, those apparently perfect pieces of produce have much deeper flaws that can’t be seen. It could very well be that they have no bug bites because they have been sprayed with chemicals whose long-term effects might be worse than the insects. The processes used to speed their growth probably affected their flavor as well. Judging between the imperfect, organic tomatoes and the seemingly perfect ones in a supermarket, the imperfect is definitely better.

God could have created a perfect world with perfect people, but He allowed man to have a choice. After the fall of man, imperfections entered our world, and man began to have to deal with problems, disease, bugs, and pain.1 But all of these imperfections drive us back into the arms of our heavenly Father. If the road were perfect and our path without difficulties, we would never find the better way to the perfect place He is preparing for us.

Sometimes, people think they can get along without God. It is only when we take a good look at our imperfections that we see the need for a Savior. Then we open our heart and receive the greatest, most perfect gift of all.
So give me the imperfections of life. Give me the odd-looking produce. Give me the rocky path. Give me all the problems and weaknesses that drive me into God’s arms. Because I know how imperfect I am, I am thankful for a perfect Savior who looks at me through the eyes of love, and whose perfect love has changed my life.






Activated TFI

What does it mean to be Spiritual but not Religious,
as several persons here on CS claim they are?

What is an Atheist?

What does the term “God” signify to you?
Is it an anthropomorphism as taught by religion?

anthropomorphism
- “the attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a god, animal, or object”.

George Bernard Shaw said:

“The Bible says that God created man in his own image,
and man has been returning the favour ever since.”


Without resorting to anthropomorphism, do you think that there is some overriding principle, order or phenomenon that governs everything in the cosmos, and that one can have a personal direct awareness of this phenomenon, independent of the teachings of any religion?
Some may refer to it as a divine or supreme power, force, or even spirit.
This awareness can be experienced through a closeness to Nature, or through meditation.

Is it possible that such persons can be categorised as “spiritual but not religious”?


In addition, is it possible that an atheist who has abandoned the concept of God as an anthropomorphism, can also have a direct awareness of this phenomenon?

I know that several persons on CS claim to be atheists.
If you are such a person, in view of the points mentioned above, could you please share with us, the basis of your claim of being an atheist?

Also, if you claim to be “spiritual but not religious”, could you please share with us the basis of your claim?

Thanks for your input!

Open discussion welcome!

Yesterday someone I know committed suicide.

Somehow I was not surprised, but it saddens me profoundly.

He was not a nice man, mostly rude and harsh, though he was never rude to me directly.

People were afraid to talk to him because they never knew how he could react. Sometimes he could burst into an anger attack, just because he woke up with the wrong foot.

I remember once I needed a favor from him. He waited for me to ask and then said: No. Pure and simple, no explanations.

He was not my friend. I wonder if he had any. He was a bitter, lonely man, the opposite of a pleasant person. Still, I cried for him, not because I will miss him, but because I can only slightly grasp how he felt and this is already a huge pain.

I remember someone here on the blogs who said that people who reject love are the ones who need it most. That was his case, he needed it desperately and pushed away every person who crossed his path.

He was utterly alone in a world full of people. No one listened to his swam song; it came out as a silent scream.

Oddly enough, he had a sheep as a pet, which kept his lawn short. Perhaps it noticed something, but sheep don't tell stories.

Today, I'm am his speaker for the dead, I hope he finally finds peace.