Raven

Faith stems from knowing the truth. Truth is reliable and unchanging. It is unconditional. You can trust the truth explicitly, and it becomes so obvious that it is easy to have a conviction of its genuineness and authenticity. I have faith in the Truth. God is Truth. I have faith in God. Why wouldn't I.

@Vine Abider Forgiveness is letting go of resentment and anger; both are fear-based. The truth sets us free from fear. Without fear there is no resentment or anger. Unconditionality is based on 'knowing' the truth, and its expression is unconditional love and faith. Unconditional forgiveness is discerning the falsehoods behind all the fears involved, knowing that any attention to these is an example of bondage to self, to our old ways based on fear instead of truth. To act on these falsehoods is living in denial and in ignorance. "They do not know what they are doing". Once forgiveness holds no needs/wants for compensation, hence unconditional, the unfettered consciousness becomes filled with the truth. It becomes obvious that the culprit behind the resentment/anger is fear. Fear is a falsehood that tells a story about not being 'okay'. Only our ego (false, old self) has fears. Our true Being is from God and is okay, always has been and will always be okay _ we really have nothing to fear. Unconditional forgiveness 'knows' this truth, and all the reasons for forgiveness becomes mute and forgotten.

Cloning is only a process to produce a vehicle for the soul.

Babies are born with innocence (in-no-sense) of this world of disharmony (sin), until they start believing the disharmony.

Unconditional forgiveness reveals there was nothing to forgive in the first place.

Ego is a word invented by Sigmund Freud in 1923, but it describes our false-self, a self that we found for ourself to live by. Matthew 10:39 "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it". Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. If a person only discerns the scriptures at face value, then they may never understand the depths of the Christ's parables. Their thinking will get in the way of true consciousness of what is True.

Only the ego has a need to claim itself missing to remain undetected.

The human ego is nothing but a self-fabricated identity story to believe in. Deep down, humans know that this story is invalid, yet we keep trying to believe that it is valid. The ego can go to great lengths, including murder, to maintain a sense of validity. Validity is always sought by the ego, and this is what is also called a 'reward'. The ego will exploit others in very cunning ways in the hope to exploit themselves as valid. They invest in others to get their neediness fulfilled, and if they don't get it, fear rules them. For instance, anger is the fear of not coping with change, or with things not going their way... the way they need it to to feel valid again. Most of this reward hunting is done in subtle ways. Once a person becomes aware of their own exploitations, they become sensitive to these subtleties. They soon realize that the whole world operates this way. They also learn to accept anything not going their way. They become adaptable and serene to go with the flow, and experience great serenity from being released from the bondage of ego-self. They become essentially fearless _ never angry, resentful, jealous, envious, anxious, or blame others. They become patient, tolerant, forgiving, accepting, flexible, allowing, and loving unconditionally.

Your lack of neediness. . . even the need for a reward.

Patience is believing the truth of being okay regardless. Impatience is believing one is not okay until something happens to make them feel okay.

Unconditional love. It cannot be received conditionally.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Our original task given to us by God was to take care of God's creation.

That is humbling.

Perhaps there is no great church. Perhaps that is why Christ found all seven churches lacking in one way or another. If so, do the seven basically represent all churches, even in a small way? If so, is what is lacking in a church up to the individual to fill in for themselves, while being with that church?

However, also be aware that a church which thrives on issues and agendas only does so to serve its own. Truth has no need for issues or agendas to be more true than it already is. Only worldly humans have issues and agendas to satisfy an internal need to be validated, either as a church or individually.

Thank you missmuffet. I have not yet found such a church; though I love to worship God in fellowship (with friends). Some churches appear to be a great church, but often when speaking to the leader, all sorts of discrepancies surface which irk me. As a result, I am a hermit which goes to an empty church (non-service times) as a place to worship privately. Fellowship with individuals has been the raven's bread and meat for my faith. I seem to grow from it best. However, I have been wondering if there really is a great church. Or can a church simply be a small gathering _ which makes it great because it is small.

I find that many churches fall short on verse Ephesians 2:9 not by works, so that no one (church) can boast. (My parenthesis).

Yes.

I believe that a great church is one that challenges me to open to the Truth, to see my own truth, be truthful, and teaches me to face all my fears. Normally, most people would avoid being challenged, in this way, from a community. Most prefer to be always liked and supported. So, what do you think makes for a great church?

The humble are down to earth people. They are close to their unconditional authenticity, origins, and other-centered (in harmony). They are not worldly, which is conditional, false-self, and self-centered (disharmony). Then again, the words human and humble originate from humus (earth). Those that follow Christ are the way, the truth and the life are in harmony with the earth.

The truthful are humbled because they are discerning their own, as well as others, truth. They love being humble and meek because it keeps them aware of the truth. Those that fear the truth can only pretend to be humble and meek. They do so to hide their own truth from being vulnerable and exposed. Everybody 'knows' their own truth. They know when they are deceiving themselves, even if they may not think so. One has to know what they are denying before they can deny it. In the end, everybody will know their own truth, it's just that the humble know it beforehand.

Matthew 23:12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Matthew 5:5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. So, it is easier for the humble and meek to get through the heavens gate.

The Teacher creates scenarios for us to learn from, so we can learn how to be with the Truth. From lessons learnt the scenario changes.

Stand with Truth, and you can't go wrong.

We are the living example of being on the right path. We shall not swayed nor stumble off the path. We maintain our spiritual integrity of unconditional love, yet not yield to deceptions of its kind. We remain an open gateway to the right path for our children to follow when 'they choice' to. This is instruction without instructing.