The Offspring of God

Paul proclaims a lost truth. God is a physical personage, he is known (or can be known) to us. In Acts 17: 23, Paul proclaims to the people of Athens (who worshiped idols and an Unknown God) “him declare I unto you.” God is not impersonal, he is not invisible, insofar as we seek him. He wants us to know him, the same way that Moses did, face to face.

God is also a personage of physical proportions. He has a tangible body. Paul declares in Acts 17: 28-29, that we are the offspring of God. He is the creator of our spiritual beings, our earthly parents are the creators of the physical bodies that house our spirits.

Darkness Dispelled is a Call to Action

I read the First Presidency message, May We So Live,  for this month in preparation for Home Teaching tonight. President Monson talks about death, resurrection, and the fragility of life. All of these things are reminders and should the impetus that moves us to doing good.

First we realize that death is a reality (the one thing everybody, regardless of anything, is assured to pass through). Death happens, it can be tragic, sudden and unexpected. Because it is such, it is often dreaded. Because those who are dead are out of communication with the living, it could be terrifying. Not knowing what will come next, or if anything does.

Second we realize and have hope and faith that the resurrection is a reality. Jesus, the first and only one with power, overcame death. That means he had the knowledge and spiritual and physical power to undo the affects of death. Physical death is a separation of body and spirit. The body we know well, the physical matter from which it is made, the physical properties it contains. The spirit is less known, scientifically unquantifiable. It is the dark matter of our selves. Yet the spirit is real, and connected with our bodies. It is the substance of us. It gives us our character, our wills, it is where our knowledge is stored. Death is the separation of spirit and body. With out the spirit to animate it, the body is useless, a lump of clay. Jesus had the knowledge and power to decide when this separation would happen, and to put them back together. He was the first of the resurrection. We will all be resurrected. This means our spirits and bodies will reunite, but this time they will never again separate. Our bodies will be of finer and greater make this next time. They will never tire, get sick, endure pain, age, and never be separated from our spirit again. I digress….

With that knowledge of the surety of death, the temporariness of life, we should endeavor to fill our life with good works. To do good things for others, to fill our hearts and minds with service. As President Monson says: “Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved.”

So, what can I do today to help someone else? How can I be of service?

Prayers

I’m trying to improve my prayers. I want to move away from the rote and repetitive one-sided speech I have now, and have a conversation with Heavenly Father. I read in John 11, today, where Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead. As he stood before the open tomb, Jesus said aloud to his Father that he was thankful he had heard him (v 41-42). This presupposes that Jesus had a conversation with his Father before hand. He obviously had the best relationship with Heavenly Father out of all people who have ever lived on the earth. His example is to be emulated. So how can I improve my prayers and my relationship with God?

I’ve decided to do a study of prayer in the scriptures. I’m going to note all instances of people praying and conversing with God, and then study and analyze the results in an effort to improve my own relationship with God. My favorite words about prayer come from the Bible Dictionary.

As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7: 7-11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings. [Prayer, Bible Dictionary]

It is this type of relationship that I want to have, my will being brought into correspondence with the Father’s.

Blind Sabbath

I read John chapter 8 today. This is the story of Jesus healing the blind man on the Sabbath day. I think there are two important lessons to learn here. One about faith, and the other about the Sabbath day.

Faith

Jesus heals a man that has been blind from birth. All of the Jews know him (the Pharisees at least), so they know that he is truly blind. But in their hard hearts and spiteful minds, they can not see the great miracle that happened, and only see the supposed violation of the law of the Sabbath. The Pharisees had always wanted a miracle to happen for them to believe Jesus, yet here is one they can not deny, but won’t believe because they interpret the act as a violation of a law. The Pharisees question the man, trying to understand, and trying to find some proof that Jesus is of the devil. I love the reply of the man who was healed.

30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born ablind.
33 If this man were not of aGod, he could do nothing.

The man, through logic and faith, testifies that any man who can heal a blind man must be of God. The Pharisees, with pride and unbelief, cast him out. Jesus seeks out the man and asks him if he believes on the Son of God. The man wants to know who he is, and upon learning it is Jesus, immediately believes and worships him.

Such great faith. We must also have such great faith. It comes only when your heart and mind are open to receive it.

Sabbath

The other lesson to learn is about the Sabbath day. Division arose among the Pharisees because some believed the breaking of the Sabbath law greater than the miracle done. Others questioned, can a sinner do such a great miracle? This brings out the great debate between the letter and the spirit of the law. In this case Jesus broke neither, but it is a question and debate we should all have with our Sabbath observance. Jesus did not break the letter of the law. As he explained at a different occurance, even the Pharisees will feed and water their animals, should not a human being be blessed with site?

I have read often how the current prophets and apostles have declared that the Sabbath day should be kept holy. That great blessings come from this observance, and great calamities come with breaking it. I’m always amazed at people who claim to have a strong belief in Jesus Christ a testimony and desire to follow his commandments, yet can not follow one of the simple Ten Commandments. They shop, work, and play on the Sabbath day, and it’s just not right. They break the law and the spirit when they do not have their hearts set on serving other people and worshiping God.

Anyhow, those were a couple of thoughts I had today.

Eat the flesh, drink the blood

As I was skimming through John chapter 6 looking for instances of prayer, I slowed down and read the reply of Jesus to the multitude who had followed him after he miraculously fed them bread and fish. They wanted more of that tangible food for which they had to do no work, but was provided by the Son of God. At least four times in this chapter Jesus uses the phrase “verliy, verily” to begin his reply to the people. This does not happen often. It means literaly “truely, truely” and signifies that what he is about to say is of utmost importance (as is everything he says).

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