Paradise Cafe Discussions - A Place For Bible Research And Christian Encouragement

What do you believe in?

P.S. - Let's not use this thread as an opportunity to challenge or debate the beliefs of others. Let's use it as a way of getting to know one another and appreciating the diversity that exists.

John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives Life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."

Jesus, our head... give us life, the Spirit.  He does this through his words.  For is he not the WORD of God?  Our flesh will profit us nothing... nothing of value.  Only our Lord.. and the baptisim he gives.

This is What I believe in.

Love Lynn

hum,

That's a good question....first thing I'd say is I see and I feel there is a difference between my faith in Jesus and YHWH and my beliefs about what is and will happen to us all. ;)

So IF your asking what kinds of things do I believe in well....
I believe there is only one hope and reward for all faithful believers.
I believe the earth is where all of us will live forever.
I believe the Kingdom of God is not at all like a government that will rule over other people.

I believe the power of God's kingdom will be fully shown when each person alive has choosen to live in harmony with Gods will.
I see the Kingdom as something that grows out from the heart of each person. I don't see it as something put on a person from the outside like rules and laws....
I believe the greatest joy and happiness we can have at this time as Christians is to live the Kindgom now, like a small child living in our imagination, we need to walk in the Kindgom. We can have the sweet fruitage of the spirit now, because it's the same spirit that will be with us in the future.

Where do I believe we are in the stream of time? I believe the locust of Rev and Joel are the human race 'eating up ' the planet.

When do I think the resurrection will take place...I see this event patterned in the exodus of Israel from Egypt. During the darkest hour the firstborn of every living thing of Egypt died and the firstborn of Israel was made alive.
Thus I believe a moment will come when all life on this planet will be facing the path of extinction, not that they will be extinct, but that first beginning moment when they start to go backwards towards extinction. I believe the resurrection of the righteous will begin at that moment.

These are some of the things I believe.....

Digging

Goodmorning Anthony...hope you are well:hibye:

1 John 5

1. Whosever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God:

7. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is the truth 8 For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one. 9. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for the witness of God is this, that he has borne witness concerning his Son. 10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath witness in him: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar: because he hath not believed in the witness that God hath born concerning his Son 11. And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son 12. He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life.

20. And we know that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding, that we know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

Colossians 3: 1-4 If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth. For ye died and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory.

John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him. 22. Judas (not Iscarriot) saith unto him, Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest theyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him.

15:26 But when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me: 27 and ye also bear witness,because ye have been with me from the beginning.

16: a little while, and ye behold me not, and a little while ye shall see me......25 These things have I spoken unto you in dark sayings: the hour cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in dark sayings, but shall tell you plainly of the Father. 26 In that day ye shall ask in my name:and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you 27 for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father.

Anthony ...something that stood out while reading these scriptures are Jesus saying he would pray the Father for us in verse 26 and those I underlined

John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask anything in my name, that will I do  16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter that he shall be with you forever
Jesus pleads for us to the Father......the way the WTS taught us , was to by pass Jesus....he was only a name at the end of our prayers....we were taught not to have Jesus actively living in our lives....IN MY NAME.  Not simply prayer that mentions Jesus name, but prayer in accordance with all that the person who bears the name is. It is prayer aimed at carrying forward the work Jesus did..prayer that he himself will answer.
So many things are becoming abundantly clear to me, and the Spirit of truth, the comforter will lead us into all truth:heartbeat::thumbup:

WTS teachings will lead us into condemnation.....Christ Jesus will lead us to the Father...by sending us the Comforter...the Spirit of Truth.

God bless you, and I Pray we can all endure in love and kindness and mercy for all

Sandi

Some thoughts as I sit here half-asleep.  (Either the best or worst time to write depending on the day. :) )

I believe in God, the Father, and the one whom he sent forth, his only-begotten, firstborn son Jesus Christ, his everlasting Word ...  (John 3:16)

And that the Word of God is the means by which the Father brings all things to be and causes to become.   (Isa 55:11)   The Word of God is the image of God, and is the visible representation of the invisible God.   The Word of God was always with God (in the same manner that Eve was always within Adam), but in eternity, God's Word was brought forth from inside him - born and not created.  

I believe the Word of God was sent down from the Father and took on the flesh in a man named Jesus and that he died for mankind and was raised from the dead and in the process reconciled humans back to God, allowing us to be reborn as children of God, and liberated us from sin and death, giving us life.  

I believe in his baptism and his ressurection and our ability to have a share in both and that this is gracious and undeserved gift.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the essence of God, the divine quality, the deity - that at its very core is the Love of God.  The Holy Spirit, the spirit of God that indwelled Christ, has been gifted to those who put faith in Jesus.    I believe in the modern-day reality of the fruitage of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22,23) and the gifts of the spirit - wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, charity.  (1 Cor 12:4-14; Romans 12:6-8)

I believe that Jesus is expressed today through his Congregation, whenever two or more are gathered together in his name. He is the head and we are the body.

I believe in the Kingdom of God and that Jesus is King of that Kingdom since he was raised from the dead, and that all authority rests in him.   I affirm the present day reality of the Kingdom of God that those who recognize Jesus as Lord can be a part of that Kingdom.    I believe that while we live this life we must be active in advancing the Kingdoms interests to the individual ability - by preaching it, by making disciples, by living as Christ and our peaceable, selfless service to others through love, charity, and care for our surroundings.   The Kingdom is not of this earth but will one day be established fully over the kingdoms of this earth.

I'm not sure what exactly the future holds but from tastes I've been given I'm quite confident that the reality will be much, much more than we could possibly imagine.

And my thoughts have run out ... As I have time I go back and correct spelling and grammer and add scriptural citations ... now I'm off to work.

Hi Brothers and Sisters
I now believe in 'simplicity'. Mich 6:8.
Goodness there are some days I can't even remember,
what I ate for lunch...
no less all the new thoughts and teachings y'all express.
I just don't have the intelligence to run in the big league like so
many of you here.
So, I just work on putting on the mind of Christ and drawing closer
to our Grand Creator, Almighty God Jehovah,
and His Loving Son, Christ Jesus.
And helping as many loved ones and friends around me, with whatever resourses I have..
whether time, energy or $$.  Whatever the situation calls for.
Knowledge doesn't come easy for me at this stage of my life.
But I do so, very much appreciate what I do learn..
retaining and finding is another subject. :)

I guess this sums it up for me!

"I Believe"
I believe for every drop of rain that falls
A flower grows,
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night
A candle glows.
I believe for everyone who goes astray
Someone will come to show the way.
I believe,
Oh, I believe.
I believe above the storm
The smallest prayer, will still be heard.
I believe that someone in that great somewhere
Hears every word
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry,
Or touch a leaf
Or see the sky,
Then I know why I believe.
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry,
Or touch a leaf
Or see the sky,
Then I know why I believe!!

Very Much Christian Love to you all!
Phil. 4

But really, the simple stuff is what Jesus wants us to focus on. It is also, for being so simple, rather hard to accomplish. I think that's why sometimes it's easier for us to focus on the complex stuff. We can pontificate all day on the 'isms', but it doesn't always us get us closer to a relationship with God, nor does it always help our fellow man. Showing love is actually the most difficult achievement of all in our world, but it's truly what counts!

That may sound cheesy, but I just felt a need to backup your thoughts. I enjoyed the poem too.

The simple stuff is not really simple at all.....Faith is the truly important thing, is it simple???

Where as 'beliefs' or doctrine well we might have a whole lot of 'beliefs' or we might just have a few, but the faith can be very weak for the first one and very strong in the second.....

That's why I asked if this post was about faith or about beliefs...

Digging

I am writing this first, before reading others' replies so that my reply isn't influenced by everyone else's. (Does that make sense?) After that, I'll read everyone's reply, just to get to know ya'll better!

1. I believe in the Almighty Jehovah/Yahweh as the only true God.
2. I believe in His Son, Jesus, as mankind's mediator and Saviour.
3. I believe the Bible is God's Word for mankind.
4. I believe Baptism is symbolic of our belief in Christ's forgiveness of our sins.
5. I believe that Christ is yet to come again, though it will be soon.
6. I believe God and Christ to be two distinct entities
7. I believe Hell is simply the grave
8. I believe that heaven is coming to earth, thus no one actually leaves earth to live in heaven. (this is a new belief to me, and I haven't yet had the time to make the updates on the CommonTruth site)
9. I believe that all true believers are both teachers and students. We all teach each other and we all learn from each other.
10. I believe that Yahweh continues to work major miracles today.
11. I believe anyone can receive understanding, knowledge, and wisdom from Him.
12. I believe in prayer only to Yahweh
13. I believe Christ died on a stake, not a cross, due to scientific evidence.
14. I believe the Lord's Evening Meal should be a full, gathered meal, not just a bite of bread and sip of wine.
15. I believe Thanksgiving and Birthdays are okay if you keep the pagan influences out.


This list is probably long enough! LOL! But anyway, that's most of what my beliefs are.

Love to all of you!

Tami

Thanks ... can you strip or modify the "I do not believe"'s to a more positive "I believe ..."?

Just trying to keep things positive! :thumbsup:

Your brother -Anthony

I believe the 2 most important commandments are actually 3 commandments.

I believe that loving Jehovah our God with our whole heart, whole soul, and whole mind is the most important thing we can do with our lives.

I believe that loving ourselves must be done first, before we can love our neighbor as ourselves. And loving our neighbor, as we first love ourselves, is the second most important thing in the universe.

I believe that the new commandment to "love one another", is God's way of telling us what is really important---not rules and regulations, but love and forgiveness.

I believe that without love, faith is dead. I believe that without love, there is no hope.

I believe Jesus died for my sins, and therefore, to continue to hold myself in contempt and not show myself love and forgiveness, to continue feeling guilty over anything that Jesus has already forgiven me for, is to invalidate the ransom sacrifice- to count as nothing the death of our Lord and Saviour.

I believe I will live on Earth forever in paradise- or possible other planets- that I will not be going to heaven, although if Jehovah saw fit to call me up, I would go without hesitation.

I believe that if everyone on the planet would simply follow the religion that they claim to belong to, the world would be without war, crime, hatred, and abuse. I also believe this will never happen without divine intervention. I believe Jehovah will step in, and clean us up.

I believe "all good things will come to pass, and the truth is all you have to have." I believe that "everybody needs somebody to love," and that in this imperfect world, "everybody needs somebody to hate." I believe that "its hard to hold on when there's no one to lean on"- if we don't lean on Jehovah, we are lost.

I believe that who/what we are is God's gift to us, and what we do with ourselves, with our talents, brainpower, and abilities, is our gift to God.

I believe everything else is just gravy.

I believe I love everybody on this board, and everyone everywhere, who is just holding on until God steps in and delivers us.

I believe you are right. :ok: :giverose:

I like it.

Dear Anthony...I'm writing this with tears of Joy...I had to stop what I was doing...and come and write this....the pieces are all falling into place....I read what you believe this morning and I've probably heard it before many times....but until the Comforter opens your eyes...until Jesus opens your eyes through the Comforter which leads us into all truth ...which all proceeds from the Father....

What finally fits and all the rest makes sense and falls into place...is that Jesus was not created...but was born from the Father, as you said in your what I believe post...all other things being created.

Thankyou for sharing  and may we all have understanding

your friend/sister in Christ

SAndi

Hi Again...
Great comments up above, everyone..
and the ones that are to follow , I'm sure.
Amen.

If I might interject here...in a hurry...
this is the tune to the 'song' "I Believe".
thanks for the pm. ;
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/ibelieve2.htm

Christian Love