Does God care if we are happy?

[El Naked Neck]

HOW WILL YOU USE THE GIFT FROM GOD?

As was noted in Chapter 5, humans were created with free will. Do you realize what a precious gift that is? God has made countless animals, and these are driven largely by instinct. (Proverbs 30:24) Man has made some robots that can be programmed to follow every command. Would we be happy if God had made us like that? No, we are glad to have the freedom to make choices about what kind of person to become, what course of life to pursue, what friendships to form, and so on. We love to have a measure of freedom, and that is what God wants us to enjoy.

Jehovah is not interested in service performed under compulsion. (2 Corinthians 9:7) To illustrate: What would please a parent more—a child’s saying “I love you” because he is told to say it or his saying it freely from the heart? So the question is, How will you use the free will that Jehovah has given you? Satan, Adam, and Eve made the worst possible use of free will. They rejected Jehovah God. What will you do?

You have the opportunity to put the marvelous gift of free will to the best possible use. You can join the millions who have taken a stand on Jehovah’s side. They make God rejoice because they take an active part in proving Satan a liar and a miserable failure as a ruler. (Proverbs 27:11) You too can do that by choosing the right course of life.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Great verse! Soonerdog, your roo is absolutely beautiful!!!! What breed?

 

[debilorrah]

I wanted to ask: is there anyone else here that has become STRONGER in faith after leaving a church? I know the verse "Where two or more are gathered in His name..." But it doesn't specify how those two or more are gathered. I was just wondering because I am churchless and not too inclined to change that fact.

Not so much a bad experience, just complete abandonment. I had some medical issues and no one, and I mean NO ONE called, emailed, nothing. I had been attending for over 5 years and my pastor and his wife were my neighbors!

 

[sourland]

YES! My relationship with God in a non-church environment is far superior to that which I had within the structure of the church.

 

[Beekissed]

Well, in my estimation, if you let hurt feelings about someone's not checking on you keep you from your worship and fellowship with other Christians, then your faith hasn't exactly deepened at all. Faith and wisdom usually go hand in hand. If the Bible states one should fellowship and worship together with one another, then I would venture to say that is a literal statement and not to be sorted out and disposed of if one doesn't particularly like it.

Maybe if you were to actually address your concerns with those people and about how much it hurt you and your Christian walk, they could see and learn from it. That's why we worship together...to learn from and edify one another.

Just think, there may be another person in that church that you could comfort in their time of need...but you won't know it because you don't attend any longer. Isn't that just perpetuating the cycle?

 

[El Naked Neck]

Quote:
debiraymond, sorry that no one called you, but we need our brothers to make us stronger in our faith Hebrews 10; 24-25 say

24 And let us consider one another to incite to love and fine works, 25 not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as YOU behold the day drawing near.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I think you made some assumptions from my post that couldn't be further from the truth. I fellowship with other Christians all the time, and most of us have no church home. I participate in online studies, and I feel I have gathered MORE wisdom since leaving. I was disappointed to say the least that no one called at all, most of them supposed close friends. I went back for a while and it just felt off.

I did speak to some of them about it, and a few I am still close with, just not at church. Another friend who had a similar experience from that church left town. Moved 3 hours away. Yesterday I ran into her at Target. She is only in town for 24 hours and we ran into each other at a store neither of us ever went to. THAT was a God thing.

 

[Beekissed]

Sorry...maybe your post left it open to assumption that you no longer attended church or fellowshipped with believers.

It didn't exactly explain much further...so one has to surmise.

I admit that I've never been too thrilled with the churches I have attended and some have really hurt me...I think they have that capacity because they are your "family"....you trust them with the education and nurturing of your heart and soul. When they don't cherish that, it hurts. When they have feet of clay, it makes one doubt their sincerity.

Now though, I have matured in my Christianity and see things more clearly. I still feel a let down when they don't exactly walk the walk, but I now realize that MY walk is the one that is most important. What I do may be influencing someone also and so I just try to set a good example so that I won't cause anyone else to stumble.

 

[HeatherLynn]

Quote:
I would say mine did. Oddly enough, while in the church I was content with what I was fed. I knew there was something missing but when you talk to anyone you got reassurance that you were on the right path. Then the really bad thing happened that broke my trust and I left the church. I will say at first it did not lessen my faith but it did nothing to strengthen it. I even tried to ignore it for a bit. That worked out soooo well. ( not really) Oddly enough once I allowed myself to forgive and move on I grew tremendously in faith. I still had no interest in the church though. My trust was very broken. Now 15 years later I have once again joined a church because its what I felt I needed to do in order to be obedient. All I could think was man things have got to get easier now. Not so much. I joined because its what I felt God was telling me to do, only to then have him point me in a direction that shows how off the church itself has gotten from what true Christianity is. Well dang-it, it was supposed to get easier. I find without the church faith is much easier. I don't have to guard myself from people when its just me and God. I go to church and I constantly have to guard my heart so peoples actions don't push me onto a path I know is not right for me. Churchless I was also not inclined to be so sloppy about my own worship with God. It seems its easier to hand over a check and let the church minister for me rather than ever do it myself. Thats a battle I am fighting with myself right now. I am not used to tithing to a church. I would give monies to ministries or charities as I felt led but it was all done by me. It was personal and almost a spiritual event. Handing the church a check feels so much less so.

I would not worry about being churchless. I get so much just from my own reading or talking with others. I enjoy the sermons I hear but I still do not enjoy fellowship at church.

 

[El Naked Neck]

Worship That God Approves


Are all religions pleasing to God?

How can we identify the true religion?



JEHOVAH GOD deeply cares for us and wants us to benefit from his loving direction. If we worship him in the right way, we will be happy and will avoid many problems in life. We will also have his blessing and his help. (Isaiah 48:17) There are, however, hundreds of religions that claim to teach the truth about God. Yet, they differ greatly in their teachings about who God is and what he expects of us.

How can you know the right way to worship Jehovah? You do not have to study and compare the teachings of all the many religions. You need only learn what the Bible really teaches about true worship. To illustrate: In many lands, there is a problem with counterfeit money. If you were given the job of picking out such false money, how would you go about it? By memorizing every kind of counterfeit? No. Your time would be better spent if you studied real money. After you knew what real money looked like, you could recognize a counterfeit. Similarly, when we learn how to identify the true religion, we can recognize those religions that are false.

It is important that we worship Jehovah in the way that he approves. Many people believe that all religions are pleasing to God, but the Bible does not teach that. It is not even enough just to claim to be a Christian. Jesus said: “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.” To have God’s approval, therefore, we must learn what God requires of us and do it. Jesus called those who do not do God’s will “workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:21-23) Like counterfeit money, false religion has no real value. Even worse, such religion is actually harmful.

Jehovah gives everyone on earth the opportunity to gain everlasting life. To have eternal life in Paradise, however, we must worship God properly and live now in a way that is acceptable to him. Sadly, many refuse to do so. That is why Jesus said: “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.” (Matthew 7:13, 14) True religion leads to everlasting life. False religion leads to destruction. Jehovah does not want any human to be destroyed, and that is why he is giving people everywhere an opportunity to learn about him. (2 Peter 3:9) Really, then, the way we worship God means either life or death for us.