rdlb-spirit

Freedom to think and to do.

2011-08-05T13:32:00.001-06:00

It is objected by skeptics that the early chapters of Genesis contain false science and imaginary history, while they present an unworthy idea of God as an unjust, resentful and arbitrary being. In the spiritual sense, however, the difficulties disappear and criticism is disarmed. Instead of treating the first chapter of Genesis as a historical and scientific account of the

The Second Coming is within

2011-03-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Like the first coming of Christ, the second coming is primarily a spiritual event. We needn't be looking for dramatic changes of government or climate, because the Lord's kingdom is not a civil authority or a geographical location. His kingdom is concerned with the government of the human mind--with a life according to divine laws. The signs that He has come again should be the changes in our own

The Kingdom of God

2010-05-15T08:14:00.000-06:00

The Kingdom of God is the government of divine love and wisdom in the minds and lives of angels and of men; for wherever such government prevails, there the Almighty rules as in His own kingdom, and, consequently, there is the Kingdom of God. This kingdom is like a man who casts seed into the ground, because the seed, here spoken of, is the Word of God; and the ground into which the seed is cast

2009-12-27T09:19:00.003-07:00

It has been some time since I have posted here. The Lord has moved us from one state to another geographically. The change is stark in comparison to societal cultures from one region to another. Where we lived for most of our married life there were two kinds of "fences". One fence separated our homes, the other separated families. Where we live now a different type of fence exists, one of

2009-05-21T07:30:00.000-06:00

So, how does one decide what is a parable, what is literal or metaphorical? The answer is exists within the very book itself. I have found that the Bible is a book written for our “spiritual nature”, the non-physical self and has been provided for that purpose to bridge the gap between God, by God and us. A book written in a style to enlighten us to a more spiritually centered life away from a

2009-03-01T11:12:00.002-07:00

Here are three very important MUSTS that are in the Bible.The Greek dictionary/lexicon meanings: for the word MUST using Strongs numbers.*NT: 1163dei (die); third person singular active present of NT: 1210; also deon (deh-on'); neuter active participle of the same; both used impersonally; it is (was, etc.) necessary (as binding):*KJV-behoved, be meet, MUST (needs), (be) need (-ful), ought,

2009-03-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

Jas 2:14-264 Faith and Works What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, " Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works,

2008-04-27T13:09:00.004-06:00

"The Word cannot be understood without doctrine, and doctrine resembles a lantern which allows genuine truths to be seen; and that this is because the Word is entirely written by means of correspondences. That is why many things in it are appearances of truth and not bare truths, and why many things are written to be intelligible to purely natural people, and yet in such a way that the simple can

2008-03-30T12:23:00.000-06:00

Of SinThis scripture, found in Romans, is the most direct comparison to God of what sin is. We (all) do not think as God thinks. We miss the mark or fall short of the mind or thoughts of what God thinks. Interesting that the literal fundamentalists use it in their tract about spiritual laws.Romans 3:23 for all alike have sinned, and all consciously come short of the glory of God,Rom 3:23

2008-02-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

In beginning the consideration of this important subject, we would, first of all, clearly define what is meant by the Atonement. It is a word made up of three distinct syllables, at-one-ment--the latter part of the word being formed from the Latin mens, the mind, and, consequently, the word signifies at one mind. This doctrine takes into consideration that God and man--owing to man's having

2007-08-26T15:32:00.001-06:00

The case with the church in man is that it successively undergoes new states; for as man is strengthened in the truth of faith and the good of charity, so he is introduced into other states, the former state then serving as a plane for the following state, and so on continually. Thus the man who is a church, or who is being regenerated, is continually led toward more interior things, thus more

2007-02-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

I am reminded of the synoptic Gospel accounts of Jesus return to His own country (hometown) and the unbelief He encountered concerning Him. (Matthew 13:54-58, Mark 6:1-6 and Luke 4:16-30) In John’s Gospel a more pointed statement not just directed at Jesus’ hometown but, John’s indictment of the world and those who received the first laws given by Moses. John 1:10-11 He was in the world and

2007-01-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

Robert Jastrow (self-proclaimed agnostic): "For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries."

2006-07-23T11:54:00.000-06:00

ALL RELIGION IS OF THE LIFE, AND THE LIFE OF RELIGION IS TO DO THAT WHICH IS GOOD. Every man who has religion knows and acknowledges that he who leads a good life is saved, and that he who leads an evil life is damned; for he knows and acknowledges that the man who lives aright thinks aright, not only about God but also about his neighbor; but not so the man whose life is evil. The life of man is

2006-07-19T22:30:00.000-06:00

FAITH IS AN INTERNAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF TRUTH. At the present day the term Faith is taken to mean the mere thought that the thing is so because the church so teaches, and because it is not evident to the understanding. For we are told to believe and not to doubt, and if we say that we do not comprehend, we are told that this is just the reason for believing. So that the faith of the present day is

2006-07-02T09:56:00.000-06:00

A Sobering Thought: Did you see where Billy Graham's daughter was being interviewed on the Early Show sometime back about the September 11th terrorist attack and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe that God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been

2006-06-19T21:35:00.000-06:00

“Although the style of the Word seems simple in the sense of the letter, it is such that nothing can ever be compared to it in excellence, since Divine wisdom lies concealed not only in the meaning as a whole but also in each word; and that in heaven this wisdom shines forth.”

2006-06-19T21:32:00.000-06:00

The true meaning of love of one's neighbor is not that it is a command from God, which we are to fulfill, but that through it and in it we meet God. (Martin Buber)Whoever hates anyone hates Him who spoke and the world came into existence. (Hebrew proverb)Love and pity and wish well to every soul in the world; dwell in love, and then you dwell in God; hate nothing but the evil that stirs in your

2006-06-12T21:33:00.000-06:00

Eccl 11:7-8The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.NASU

2006-06-11T11:52:00.000-06:00

Some people take most of what the Bible says very literally. Others see the Bible as being largely symbolic with a deeper meaning. Sometimes a conflict arises between the two different points of view. One side insists that any search for a deeper meaning comes from a failure to believe what God plainly says. The other side claims that it is only by means of the symbolic interpretation that the

2006-05-29T11:15:00.000-06:00

I found that the Bible in its literal printed form is not completely a accurate history of actual events, many stories are true and other stories depict events that are allegorical. I have found that the Bible does not make itself clear scientifically of the existence of God. I have found that some translations are wanting and yet there are enough translations out there to do some comparison