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The Real Face Of The Anti-Christ
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- H2.inner {color: #800000; font-family: "arial rounded mt bold", verdana; font-size: 22pt; font-weight: 600; line-height: 80%;} #picntext {width: 300px; float: right; padding: 5px; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; margin: 5px; background-color: #ffffff;} p.inner {font-size: 10pt;} LI.bw {margin-bottom: 7px; color: #000000;} --> </STYLE> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER> <h2 class="inner">The Real Face Of The Anti-Christ</H2> through <A HREF="#author">David Nelmes</A><BR> (8/6/2006) </DIV> <p class="inner">Throughout the Old Testament and within the New Testament as well, God is written in a way and reacted to in a way that sets in place a method of thinking where he does not have to follow the spirit of the teachings he expects the rest of us to follow. It's just somehow accepted that he is above having to behave in the manner in which he asks us to behave. It's just somehow accepted that he is simply given a blank check to do as he pleases, when he pleases and to whom he pleases...and we are required to believe we cannot question his actions...no matter how far out of line they are with his own teachings...because for some reason, the act of not following the spirit of his own teachings is how he teaches us lessons..</p> <p class="inner">Why is there a double standard? From a religious perspective, God is the potter and we are the clay and he can do with us as he pleases...and I accept this concept as well. The only problem is what the religious community assumes to be the things he would do to us. As with the concept of Zeus, God is often seen as a puppet master...spending his time pulling the strings on the events here on earth and either engineering or endorsing our cataclysmic events.</p> <p class="inner">God, as he is written in the Bible, is allowed to do as he pleases and as he wishes, no matter how much pain and suffering this might include and we cannot disagree or question this because the God depicted by the Bible is a God to be feared...not loved and understood. Of course followers of the Biblical God will scream back to me "<i>I love my God with all my heart!</i>" and I believe that you think this is so, but to truly love your God, you have to love all that he represents and has been said to have done. With this in mind, do you love and endorse the following:</p> <ul> <li class="bw"> do you love and endorse... The obliteration of millions of animal life forms and tens of thousands of people as reported in the story of Noah? (Gen 6-9) <ul> <li class="bw"> Are you happy that these people and animals died? Are you proud to be associated with the God who performed this act? If given a picture of bloated and decaying bodies floating on the water, would you turn to somebody and say with pride, "My god did that. Isn't he wonderful? Look how loving and forgiving he is." If anyone else had done this, other than the God whom you hold unaccountable for his actions, would you love them dearly as well? </ul> <li class="bw"> do you love and endorse... The death of family members and years of pain and suffering as part of a wager God made with Satan? (Job 1:1-5, 13-22; 2:7-13) Satan was give permission by God to destroy Job’s crops, his livestock and even his children...not to mention that God allowed Satan to give Job sores all over his body. <ul> <li class="bw"> How could you not love this concept of God? He's willing to let you suffer and allow your loved ones to die so that he can prove something to the town's bully (Satan). Again, if anyone else had done this, other than the God whom you hold unaccountable for his actions, would you love them dearly as well? </ul> <li class="bw"> do you love and endorse... The use of evil spirits to purposely confuse the world leaders and ensure war and difficulties occur as when God sent a lying spirit to the prophets of Ahab so that he would go to war and die in battle (1 Kings 22:22)</span>) or how about when God repeatedly and purposely hardened Pharaohs heart (Ex 9:12) so that plague after plague and calamity after calamity could occur? <ul> <li class="bw"> Imagine you were about to make a good decision or even just a normal decision, but then God makes you change your mind about doing the better thing and so you change your mind and do the bad thing and then get punished by God for it. Again, if anyone else had done this to you, other than the God whom you hold unaccountable for his actions, would you love them dearly as well and brag about how you deserved it? </ul> </ul> <p class="inner">This kind of stuff is nearly endless where God has been written into the hearts of his followers by the way the stories are written about him in the Bible....and so many of the things God has been recorded to have done, goes against the spirit of his own teachings.</p> <p class="inner">Consider this...the stories are not true and <b>God does follow the spirit of his own teachings</b> and everything written to the contrary is simply mans mistaken and feeble attempt to rationalize what he thinks he should fear...but does not have to. For some reason, man has a problem with accepting God as truly being loving, forgiving and peaceful. When you fear anything, your perception of that thing is tainted, clouded and will always appear as a ghostly shadow...demanding even more fear. Stop fearing God by seeing that there is no reason to be fearful of him. The stories of his retribution, punishment and visions of hell are all mistakes made by fearful minds.</p> <p class="inner">A primary issue with how God and Jesus are perceived is that most followers of the Biblical God limit themselves to only those things written in the Bible. This seemingly good choice to hold these teachings as the exact and only words from God, is exactly why many people in this world do not truly see our loving and forgiving God as he truly is. These ancient words were written by primitive people with primitive concepts of gods and spirits. Every natural calamity or attack from an enemy nation would be conceived as a message from God at that time because they could not explain it...so it was fearful...but it had to happen for a reason, right?...and the reason had to be that God was angry. They could not fathom that sometimes, things just happen or that you sometimes bring events about on your own.</p> <p class="inner">On the other hand, from a modern and more enlightened point of view, we see that God only endorses things that are loving and peaceful, which means that vast portions of the Bible cannot be neither inspired nor endorsed by God since it includes so much murder, deception, killing, endorsing of wars, creation of famines, destruction of cities, etc...and inevitably, the genocide of billions of people as depicted in the Book Of Revelation.</p> <p class="inner">With respect to the Book of Revelation and many other prophesies within the Bible, whether you actively or submissively accept that your god will send millions of angels to this world to slay billions of people, you need to consider yourself as an accessory to the act and realize that you will be as responsible for the billions of murders as the ones who actually perform them. You need to take another look at Hitler, Saddam, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, abortionists, gays, alcoholics and prostitutes, and realize they have done nothing to humanity that even compares to the scale of death, brutality, anguish and destruction you have accepted as a necessary step for you to reach god.</p> <p class="inner">To have lusted in your heart is no different than having performed the act (Matt 5:27-28). Likewise, to endorse the massacre of billions in your heart is no different than having performed the act yourself. Therefore, <b style="color: #800000;">if you desire, have accepted and have agreed to the necessity of prophetic end times where billions will be slaughtered, you are a murderer in your heart</b> and this is as far from the spirit of Jesus' teachings of love and forgiveness as you can possibly get. If you truly wish to see the real face of the anti-christ, you need just pick up a mirror and behold the face of one who would eagerly or blindly accept the death and suffering of billions. Jesus' last act before he died was to forgive...not lust for the death of anyone, let alone the death of billions. Be loving and forgiving. Be like the Christ and not an antichrist.</p> <p class="inner">There is an alternative to how you can see God. You can step back from your beliefs for a moment and see that they cannot be true since the actions that God is said to have performed and is prophesied to perform, are totally out of line with the spirit of his teachings, and therefore, the bulk of what you believe, can not be true. Open your heart to God's unconditional love and see that your current perception of him is not true. It can't be true. There is no way any loving creature, God, human, or even animal can perform the atrocities and apocalyptic acts described within the bible and expect to be loved for their acts of goodness and mercy.</p> <p class="inner">The only question you need ask is whether you think a truly loving God would desire you love him because he is loveable or that you love him because he'll kill you otherwise. If your own children believed that they had no choice other than to love you or you'll torment them and kill them...do you think they would be seeing you for who you really are? Just because they think they should fear you, has absolutely nothing to do with how you really feel for your children. You love your children...sometimes unconditionally....Now, imagine God did this too. Imagine for just one moment that God could be as unconditionally loving of his children as you are. Do you think he has it in him to do this? Do you think that somehow he cannot achieve this love that even we can sometimes find?</p> <p class="inner">You are created in God's image and his image is love. You love your children unconditionally and would never do anything to harm them. You will see their mistakes as opportunities to teach, not punish. You will see their rebellions as phases they will outgrow, not threats to your authority. You may anger on occasion, but you will not cling to any reason to hold onto your anger and you will forgive them time and time again...even if they don't ask you...because they are your children and you love them and you want them to know you are there to help them and guide them...with love, not threats of doom. Can you imagine for one moment that God can do this as well. Can you imagine for a moment that God can do this on a scale that even dwarfs our own capacity? He can, He does and He always will.</p> <p class="inner">In a nutshell, with respect to the end of times and the thoughts that Armageddon is near...Jesus is not coming back to slay billions in order to create an earthly kingdom. This entire concept is contrary to all his teachings. He taught love and forgiveness and he taught about the spirit of the law being more important than the letter of the law because when you understand the purpose for the rules, you no longer need the rules. Jesus' mission was spiritual, not physical and he has neither a need nor a desire to create a physical kingdom. This concept is simply a Jewish belief in the Messiah that has been extended into many modern beliefs...and just like YHWH, the ancient god of war, Jesus is now depicted as a slayer of men...simply because there are people in the world who don't know him in the way a specific belief claims is necessary.</p> <p class="inner">Step back for a moment and be open to see God and Jesus differently. Simply say "<i>I would rather see things clearly. I am open to see things differently. I prefer to see things truthfully.</i>"...and then lay down any defenses you have of your current beliefs and let God heal your mind and open your heart to who he really is...and who you really are. You are his child that he loves and that he will walk beside for billions of years if necessary, until we all choose to let go of all the lies of the world and accept him as he is, a loving God.</p> <p class="inner"><b>Be part of peace.</b> Be part of the reason why the mid east finds answers. Be part of the reason why racial issue are resolved. Be part of the reason why less wars occur in the world.</p> <p class="inner"><b>Be part of love.</b> Be part of why families are happier. Be part of why God is seen as loving. Be part of why all life is cherished, no matter what you believe, where you live, or who you pray to.</p> <p class="inner">I extend my love, I extend my peace and I extend the truth of the unconditional love and forgiveness that God has for you.</p> <BR CLEAR=ALL> <HR SIZE=1 COLOR="#3E1300"> <p><I><A NAME="author"><IMG SRC="http://www.beingwilling.com/articles/graphics/david_nelmes.jpg" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=100 alt="David Nelmes" BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=10 STYLE="border-style: inset; border-color: #DDDDDD; border-width: 2px;"></A> <B>David Nelmes</B> - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him.</I></P> <p><I>His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fbrowse%2F-%2F10405901%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fqid%3D1181498397&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bible</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" and "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCourse-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace%2Fdp%2F0670869759%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1181498802%26sr%3D1-1&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">A Course in Miracles</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />".<BR> You can visit David's website at: <A HREF="http://www.beingwilling.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.BeingWilling.com</A></I></P> <p >This article Copyright ©2006 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission.</P> Highlight & Copy Html Version	THE REAL FACE OF THE ANTI-CHRIST through David Nelmes (8/6/2006) Throughout the Old Testament and within the New Testament as well, God is written in a way and reacted to in a way that sets in place a method of thinking where he does not have to follow the spirit of the teachings he expects the rest of us to follow. It's just somehow accepted that he is above having to behave in the manner in which he asks us to behave. It's just somehow accepted that he is simply given a blank check to do as he pleases, when he pleases and to whom he pleases...and we are required to believe we cannot question his actions...no matter how far out of line they are with his own teachings...because for some reason, the act of not following the spirit of his own teachings is how he teaches us lessons.. Why is there a double standard? From a religious perspective, God is the potter and we are the clay and he can do with us as he pleases...and I accept this concept as well. The only problem is what the religious community assumes to be the things he would do to us. As with the concept of Zeus, God is often seen as a puppet master...spending his time pulling the strings on the events here on earth and either engineering or endorsing our cataclysmic events. God, as he is written in the Bible, is allowed to do as he pleases and as he wishes, no matter how much pain and suffering this might include and we cannot disagree or question this because the God depicted by the Bible is a God to be feared...not loved and understood. Of course followers of the Biblical God will scream back to me "I love my God with all my heart!" and I believe that you think this is so, but to truly love your God, you have to love all that he represents and has been said to have done. With this in mind, do you love and endorse the following: - do you love and endorse... The obliteration of millions of animal life forms and tens of thousands of people as reported in the story of Noah? (Gen 6-9) Are you happy that these people and animals died? Are you proud to be associated with the God who performed this act? If given a picture of bloated and decaying bodies floating on the water, would you turn to somebody and say with pride, "My god did that. Isn't he wonderful? Look how loving and forgiving he is." If anyone else had done this, other than the God whom you hold unaccountable for his actions, would you love them dearly as well? - do you love and endorse... The death of family members and years of pain and suffering as part of a wager God made with Satan? (Job 1:1-5, 13-22; 2:7-13) Satan was give permission by God to destroy Job’s crops, his livestock and even his children...not to mention that God allowed Satan to give Job sores all over his body. How could you not love this concept of God? He's willing to let you suffer and allow your loved ones to die so that he can prove something to the town's bully (Satan). Again, if anyone else had done this, other than the God whom you hold unaccountable for his actions, would you love them dearly as well? - do you love and endorse... The use of evil spirits to purposely confuse the world leaders and ensure war and difficulties occur as when God sent a lying spirit to the prophets of Ahab so that he would go to war and die in battle (1 Kings 22:22)) or how about when God repeatedly and purposely hardened Pharaohs heart (Ex 9:12) so that plague after plague and calamity after calamity could occur? Imagine you were about to make a good decision or even just a normal decision, but then God makes you change your mind about doing the better thing and so you change your mind and do the bad thing and then get punished by God for it. Again, if anyone else had done this to you, other than the God whom you hold unaccountable for his actions, would you love them dearly as well and brag about how you deserved it? This kind of stuff is nearly endless where God has been written into the hearts of his followers by the way the stories are written about him in the Bible....and so many of the things God has been recorded to have done, goes against the spirit of his own teachings. Consider this...the stories are not true and GOD DOES FOLLOW THE SPIRIT OF HIS OWN TEACHINGS and everything written to the contrary is simply mans mistaken and feeble attempt to rationalize what he thinks he should fear...but does not have to. For some reason, man has a problem with accepting God as truly being loving, forgiving and peaceful. When you fear anything, your perception of that thing is tainted, clouded and will always appear as a ghostly shadow...demanding even more fear. Stop fearing God by seeing that there is no reason to be fearful of him. The stories of his retribution, punishment and visions of hell are all mistakes made by fearful minds. A primary issue with how God and Jesus are perceived is that most followers of the Biblical God limit themselves to only those things written in the Bible. This seemingly good choice to hold these teachings as the exact and only words from God, is exactly why many people in this world do not truly see our loving and forgiving God as he truly is. These ancient words were written by primitive people with primitive concepts of gods and spirits. Every natural calamity or attack from an enemy nation would be conceived as a message from God at that time because they could not explain it...so it was fearful...but it had to happen for a reason, right?...and the reason had to be that God was angry. They could not fathom that sometimes, things just happen or that you sometimes bring events about on your own. On the other hand, from a modern and more enlightened point of view, we see that God only endorses things that are loving and peaceful, which means that vast portions of the Bible cannot be neither inspired nor endorsed by God since it includes so much murder, deception, killing, endorsing of wars, creation of famines, destruction of cities, etc...and inevitably, the genocide of billions of people as depicted in the Book Of Revelation. With respect to the Book of Revelation and many other prophesies within the Bible, whether you actively or submissively accept that your god will send millions of angels to this world to slay billions of people, you need to consider yourself as an accessory to the act and realize that you will be as responsible for the billions of murders as the ones who actually perform them. You need to take another look at Hitler, Saddam, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, abortionists, gays, alcoholics and prostitutes, and realize they have done nothing to humanity that even compares to the scale of death, brutality, anguish and destruction you have accepted as a necessary step for you to reach god. To have lusted in your heart is no different than having performed the act (Matt 5:27-28). Likewise, to endorse the massacre of billions in your heart is no different than having performed the act yourself. Therefore, if you desire, have accepted and have agreed to the necessity of prophetic END TIMES WHERE BILLIONS WILL BE SLAUGHTERED, YOU ARE A MURDERER IN YOUR HEART and this is as far from the spirit of Jesus' teachings of love and forgiveness as you can possibly get. If you truly wish to see the real face of the anti-christ, you need just pick up a mirror and behold the face of one who would eagerly or blindly accept the death and suffering of billions. Jesus' last act before he died was to forgive...not lust for the death of anyone, let alone the death of billions. Be loving and forgiving. Be like the Christ and not an antichrist. There is an alternative to how you can see God. You can step back from your beliefs for a moment and see that they cannot be true since the actions that God is said to have performed and is prophesied to perform, are totally out of line with the spirit of his teachings, and therefore, the bulk of what you believe, can not be true. Open your heart to God's unconditional love and see that your current perception of him is not true. It can't be true. There is no way any loving creature, God, human, or even animal can perform the atrocities and apocalyptic acts described within the bible and expect to be loved for their acts of goodness and mercy. The only question you need ask is whether you think a truly loving God would desire you love him because he is loveable or that you love him because he'll kill you otherwise. If your own children believed that they had no choice other than to love you or you'll torment them and kill them...do you think they would be seeing you for who you really are? Just because they think they should fear you, has absolutely nothing to do with how you really feel for your children. You love your children...sometimes unconditionally....Now, imagine God did this too. Imagine for just one moment that God could be as unconditionally loving of his children as you are. Do you think he has it in him to do this? Do you think that somehow he cannot achieve this love that even we can sometimes find? You are created in God's image and his image is love. You love your children unconditionally and would never do anything to harm them. You will see their mistakes as opportunities to teach, not punish. You will see their rebellions as phases they will outgrow, not threats to your authority. You may anger on occasion, but you will not cling to any reason to hold onto your anger and you will forgive them time and time again...even if they don't ask you...because they are your children and you love them and you want them to know you are there to help them and guide them...with love, not threats of doom. Can you imagine for one moment that God can do this as well. Can you imagine for a moment that God can do this on a scale that even dwarfs our own capacity? He can, He does and He always will. In a nutshell, with respect to the end of times and the thoughts that Armageddon is near...Jesus is not coming back to slay billions in order to create an earthly kingdom. This entire concept is contrary to all his teachings. He taught love and forgiveness and he taught about the spirit of the law being more important than the letter of the law because when you understand the purpose for the rules, you no longer need the rules. Jesus' mission was spiritual, not physical and he has neither a need nor a desire to create a physical kingdom. This concept is simply a Jewish belief in the Messiah that has been extended into many modern beliefs...and just like YHWH, the ancient god of war, Jesus is now depicted as a slayer of men...simply because there are people in the world who don't know him in the way a specific belief claims is necessary. Step back for a moment and be open to see God and Jesus differently. Simply say "I would rather see things clearly. I am open to see things differently. I prefer to see things truthfully."...and then lay down any defenses you have of your current beliefs and let God heal your mind and open your heart to who he really is...and who you really are. You are his child that he loves and that he will walk beside for billions of years if necessary, until we all choose to let go of all the lies of the world and accept him as he is, a loving God. BE PART OF PEACE. Be part of the reason why the mid east finds answers. Be part of the reason why racial issue are resolved. Be part of the reason why less wars occur in the world. BE PART OF LOVE. Be part of why families are happier. Be part of why God is seen as loving. Be part of why all life is cherished, no matter what you believe, where you live, or who you pray to. I extend my love, I extend my peace and I extend the truth of the unconditional love and forgiveness that God has for you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nelmes - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him. His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both "The Bible" and "A Course In Miracles". You can visit David's website at: http://www.BeingWilling.com This article Copyright ©2006 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission. Highlight & Copy Text Version

Where Have All The Blessings Gone?
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- H2.inner {color: #800000; font-family: "arial rounded mt bold", verdana; font-size: 22pt; font-weight: 600; line-height: 80%;} #picntext {width: 250px; float: right; padding: 5px; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; margin: 5px; background-color: #ffffff;} p.inner {font-size: 10pt;} LI.bw {margin-bottom: 7px; color: #000000;} --> </STYLE> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER> <H2 class="inner">Where Have All The Blessings Gone?</H2> through <A HREF="#author">David Nelmes</A><BR> (5/1/2006) </DIV> <p class="inner">For the longest time, man could only envision God as a being that required appeasing. For the longest time, man could only envision a God who would only bless you if you somehow found his favor or become worthy of his blessings in some way. There was a time when we even believed we had to be of a particular race in order to be blessed.</p> <p class="inner">It's time to change this vision. It's time to see you are already worthy, no matter what. It's time to see you are already blessed and entitled to everything at any time. It's time to see that <b>you are unconditionally blessed</b>.</p> <p class="inner">We have all prayed for things and later questioned why God did not help us. Why do some people have miracles and appear blessed when you are not? What is it that you must do to gain God's favor and receive the blessings that will heal your body, mind and spirit? Why isn't God listening to you? Where have all the blessings gone?</p> <p class="inner">When no reply appears evident and when no sign of change can be seen, we are given countless reasons why God did not grant your request...</p> <ul> <li class="bw"> you did not pray correctly <li class="bw"> you have unforgiven sins <li class="bw"> you don't belong to the right church <li class="bw"> you haven't done anything to be worthy of God spending his time on you <li class="bw"> God has afflicted you for a reason <li class="bw"> your sickness is who you are and you should embrace it </ul> <p class="inner">Basically, we are lead to believe that it is God who is holding out on us and that he is the one who has chosen not help us with our problems...for reasons that seem very unfair and not clear at all. We are simply expected to consider Gods lack of response as a mystery that may never be resolved.</p> <p class="inner">When you see no action from God after having done all the things our religions have explained you must do, you are left feeling inadequate and undeserving. The situation raises the general feeling that you have failed in some way and that you are simply not worthy in Gods eyes...for some unknown reason. Having tried your best and having been rejected, anger and confusion will often follow. You ask... "<i>Why would God allow this to happen? Why didn't God stop this? What else could I have done to please God so that he would listen to me? Why isn't God helping me?</i>"</p> <p class="inner">There is an answer to these questions. There is a answer so clear and so very simple and once you embrace this answer, you will never need to ask those questions again.</p> <p class="inner"><b>First</b> let's consider that God has already given us every capacity to heal and perform miracles, just like Jesus. Jesus wasn't an exception...he was the template to follow and he even said "<i>Greater miracles than these shall you do</i>".</p> <p class="inner"><b>Secondly</b>, set aside any thought that you must earn or deserve God's blessings because each of us...no matter what we have done or ever will do, has every blessing of God at our feet. There is nothing to earn. We are God's children and we inherited his blessings. They are simply ours, no matter what.</p> <p class="inner"><b>Thirdly</b>, you don't have to ask God to grant you any favors or help you because that is what he already wants to do. There is never any reason to ask or beg. There is never any reason to believe you have to find something or do something to make yourself worthy of God's attention or blessings.</p> <p class="inner"><b>Finally</b>, with all three thoughts accepted above, you just need to do one thing...allow God in. He's not waiting to find you worthy, he's waiting to be allowed in. In this world, you will get what you believe and if your beliefs embrace fear and lack...that is what you will experience here. In essence, whenever you embrace fear or lack, you are not allowing God in, and your life will appear to be without Gods blessings, but that is not so. God's blessings are always here, we just often fail to believe it or to accept it.</p> <p class="inner">Jesus once said "<i>Your faith has healed you</i>"...not your faith in me or your faith in God or your faith in crystals and crosses...he said "<b><i>Your Faith</i></b>...period. This kind of thinking isn't making light of Jesus or God ...it is re-establishing them in their proper place...as a Father and Big Brother who have already given us what we need, while patiently waiting for us to accept their blessings.</p> <p class="inner">Your capacity to heal or be healed has nothing to do with Jesus being crucified or with the concept that God required a sacrifice to appease him. Jesus was and is our true brother. He was as human as you and I and was born in the same way as you and I. He was no more special to God than you or I...otherwise, he could not be our brother and template to follow. Many contend that healing and forgiveness are due his shedding of blood, but he healed before he shed blood and he forgave before he shed blood. His death and shedding of blood was neither required to receive blessings nor required to appease God, it was simply the path he had chosen to follow to help us overcome other issues in our lives.</p> <p class="inner">We are identical to Jesus in every way, with one single exception, he allowed God in on a level that has not yet been repeated...but will surly happen to all of us in time. His purpose to come here was to open a door we could not open ourselves and help us get past a stumbling block that had us seeing God in the same way as the Romans and Greeks viewed their gods...as supreme and fearful beings that required sacrifice and bloodshed to be appeased. His purpose was to open a path for the Holy Spirit to enter our lives and help us grow past these ancient perceptions of God and see the truth about our loving, peaceful and patient God.</p> <p class="inner">As with Jesus, there is nothing God needs of you to appease him or for him to choose to bless you. Your blessings are already available. You are already worthy. You are his child and everything he has is also yours, without the asking and simply for the taking...we just have to believe it. Jesus believed it. You can believe it too.</p> <p class="inner">When you feel lack or a need in any way, this is a sign you do not believe you have Gods blessings. Instead of focusing on your lack, which makes you feel even more unworthy and damned, see if you can catch yourself when you have these thoughts and instead, remind yourself that you do not have to experience this need or lack and that it is up to you alone to choose to see this differently and choose to accept the blessings of God that are already there. Say:<br> "<i>These feelings and thoughts of lack or need, I hand over to the Holy Spirit to correct. I would rather see I am blessed. I choose to receive my blessings. I open the door for God to be one with me again.</i>"</p> <p class="inner">Today, right now, you can start working on seeing and believing that Gods blessing are already available to you. Consider and practice these things:</p> <ul> <li class="bw"> "<i>God is a God of love and he does not teach through fear or use fear in any way.</i>" Apply this to anything you read or hear. <li class="bw"> Set aside what the world has taught you about God and be willing to see him differently. <li class="bw"> Accept that you are a Son of God and are already worthy in Gods eyes for anything you feel you need. <li class="bw"> God already wants you to be happy, healthy and secure because it is the only way you can ever truly be of help to yourself or others. <li class="bw"> You never need to ask. Asking implies you believe you can be denied. Simply accept Gods blessings. Be thankful for the blessings you have experienced and for the blessing you are yet to experience. <li class="bw"> For any need, no matter how great or small it may appear, say something like this "<i>Thank you for teaching me and helping me to grow. I choose to be open to see my situation differently. I choose to accept your blessings and to see this problem as the opportunity for change that it really is. All thoughts of suffering, loss or lack, I hand over to you to correct. Instead I choose to embrace thoughts of love, peace, blessings, abundance and eternal happiness with you.</i>" </ul> <p class="inner">I think of miracles in the same way I view love. I believe love and peace exist at all times and never need to be sought or discovered, however, we do put things in our way and they obscure our sight of love and peace. In essence, we cover them. To regain our sense of love or peace, you need to remove what has been placed in the way and you will find love and peace right where it always has been...patiently waiting for you to return.</p> <p class="inner">Miracles and blessing work in the same way as love and peace because they will be there for as long as we need them. When we are not experiencing blessings, it's simply because we have put something in the way. Be open to see what it is that you are placing between yourself and your blessings and remove the obstacle. With the obstacle removed, you will find God's blessings right where they always have been...patiently waiting for you to return.</p> <p class="inner">I extend my love, peace and perception of God to you.</p> <BR CLEAR=ALL> <HR SIZE=1 COLOR="#3E1300"> <P><I><A NAME="author"><IMG SRC="http://www.beingwilling.com/articles/graphics/david_nelmes.jpg" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=100 alt="David Nelmes" BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=10 STYLE="border-style: inset; border-color: #DDDDDD; border-width: 2px;"></A> <B>David Nelmes</B> - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him.</I></P> <P><I>His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fbrowse%2F-%2F10405901%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fqid%3D1181498397&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bible</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" and "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCourse-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace%2Fdp%2F0670869759%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1181498802%26sr%3D1-1&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">A Course in Miracles</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />".<BR> You can visit David's website at: <A HREF="http://www.beingwilling.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.BeingWilling.com</A></I></P> <P>This article Copyright ©2006 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission.</P> Highlight & Copy Html Version	WHERE HAVE ALL THE BLESSINGS GONE? through David Nelmes (5/1/2006) For the longest time, man could only envision God as a being that required appeasing. For the longest time, man could only envision a God who would only bless you if you somehow found his favor or become worthy of his blessings in some way. There was a time when we even believed we had to be of a particular race in order to be blessed. It's time to change this vision. It's time to see you are already worthy, no matter what. It's time to see you are already blessed and entitled to everything at any time. It's time to see that you are unconditionally blessed. We have all prayed for things and later questioned why God did not help us. Why do some people have miracles and appear blessed when you are not? What is it that you must do to gain God's favor and receive the blessings that will heal your body, mind and spirit? Why isn't God listening to you? Where have all the blessings gone? When no reply appears evident and when no sign of change can be seen, we are given countless reasons why God did not grant your request... - you did not pray correctly - you have unforgiven sins - you don't belong to the right church - you haven't done anything to be worthy of God spending his time on you - God has afflicted you for a reason - your sickness is who you are and you should embrace it Basically, we are lead to believe that it is God who is holding out on us and that he is the one who has chosen not help us with our problems...for reasons that seem very unfair and not clear at all. We are simply expected to consider Gods lack of response as a mystery that may never be resolved. When you see no action from God after having done all the things our religions have explained you must do, you are left feeling inadequate and undeserving. The situation raises the general feeling that you have failed in some way and that you are simply not worthy in Gods eyes...for some unknown reason. Having tried your best and having been rejected, anger and confusion will often follow. You ask... "Why would God allow this to happen? Why didn't God stop this? What else could I have done to please God so that he would listen to me? Why isn't God helping me?" There is an answer to these questions. There is a answer so clear and so very simple and once you embrace this answer, you will never need to ask those questions again. FIRST let's consider that God has already given us every capacity to heal and perform miracles, just like Jesus. Jesus wasn't an exception...he was the template to follow and he even said "Greater miracles than these shall you do". SECONDLY, set aside any thought that you must earn or deserve God's blessings because each of us...no matter what we have done or ever will do, has every blessing of God at our feet. There is nothing to earn. We are God's children and we inherited his blessings. They are simply ours, no matter what. THIRDLY, you don't have to ask God to grant you any favors or help you because that is what he already wants to do. There is never any reason to ask or beg. There is never any reason to believe you have to find something or do something to make yourself worthy of God's attention or blessings. FINALLY, with all three thoughts accepted above, you just need to do one thing...allow God in. He's not waiting to find you worthy, he's waiting to be allowed in. In this world, you will get what you believe and if your beliefs embrace fear and lack...that is what you will experience here. In essence, whenever you embrace fear or lack, you are not allowing God in, and your life will appear to be without Gods blessings, but that is not so. God's blessings are always here, we just often fail to believe it or to accept it. Jesus once said "Your faith has healed you"...not your faith in me or your faith in God or your faith in crystals and crosses...he said "Your Faith...period. This kind of thinking isn't making light of Jesus or God ...it is re-establishing them in their proper place...as a Father and Big Brother who have already given us what we need, while patiently waiting for us to accept their blessings. Your capacity to heal or be healed has nothing to do with Jesus being crucified or with the concept that God required a sacrifice to appease him. Jesus was and is our true brother. He was as human as you and I and was born in the same way as you and I. He was no more special to God than you or I...otherwise, he could not be our brother and template to follow. Many contend that healing and forgiveness are due his shedding of blood, but he healed before he shed blood and he forgave before he shed blood. His death and shedding of blood was neither required to receive blessings nor required to appease God, it was simply the path he had chosen to follow to help us overcome other issues in our lives. We are identical to Jesus in every way, with one single exception, he allowed God in on a level that has not yet been repeated...but will surly happen to all of us in time. His purpose to come here was to open a door we could not open ourselves and help us get past a stumbling block that had us seeing God in the same way as the Romans and Greeks viewed their gods...as supreme and fearful beings that required sacrifice and bloodshed to be appeased. His purpose was to open a path for the Holy Spirit to enter our lives and help us grow past these ancient perceptions of God and see the truth about our loving, peaceful and patient God. As with Jesus, there is nothing God needs of you to appease him or for him to choose to bless you. Your blessings are already available. You are already worthy. You are his child and everything he has is also yours, without the asking and simply for the taking...we just have to believe it. Jesus believed it. You can believe it too. When you feel lack or a need in any way, this is a sign you do not believe you have Gods blessings. Instead of focusing on your lack, which makes you feel even more unworthy and damned, see if you can catch yourself when you have these thoughts and instead, remind yourself that you do not have to experience this need or lack and that it is up to you alone to choose to see this differently and choose to accept the blessings of God that are already there. Say: "These feelings and thoughts of lack or need, I hand over to the Holy Spirit to correct. I would rather see I am blessed. I choose to receive my blessings. I open the door for God to be one with me again." Today, right now, you can start working on seeing and believing that Gods blessing are already available to you. Consider and practice these things: - "God is a God of love and he does not teach through fear or use fear in any way." Apply this to anything you read or hear. - Set aside what the world has taught you about God and be willing to see him differently. - Accept that you are a Son of God and are already worthy in Gods eyes for anything you feel you need. - God already wants you to be happy, healthy and secure because it is the only way you can ever truly be of help to yourself or others. - You never need to ask. Asking implies you believe you can be denied. Simply accept Gods blessings. Be thankful for the blessings you have experienced and for the blessing you are yet to experience. - For any need, no matter how great or small it may appear, say something like this "Thank you for teaching me and helping me to grow. I choose to be open to see my situation differently. I choose to accept your blessings and to see this problem as the opportunity for change that it really is. All thoughts of suffering, loss or lack, I hand over to you to correct. Instead I choose to embrace thoughts of love, peace, blessings, abundance and eternal happiness with you." I think of miracles in the same way I view love. I believe love and peace exist at all times and never need to be sought or discovered, however, we do put things in our way and they obscure our sight of love and peace. In essence, we cover them. To regain our sense of love or peace, you need to remove what has been placed in the way and you will find love and peace right where it always has been...patiently waiting for you to return. Miracles and blessing work in the same way as love and peace because they will be there for as long as we need them. When we are not experiencing blessings, it's simply because we have put something in the way. Be open to see what it is that you are placing between yourself and your blessings and remove the obstacle. With the obstacle removed, you will find God's blessings right where they always have been...patiently waiting for you to return. I extend my love, peace and perception of God to you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nelmes - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him. His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both "The Bible" and "A Course In Miracles". You can visit David's website at: http://www.BeingWilling.com This article Copyright ©2006 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission. Highlight & Copy Text Version

Truth Will Set You Free From Fear
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- H2.inner {color: #800000; font-family: "arial rounded mt bold", verdana; font-size: 22pt; font-weight: 600; line-height: 80%;} #picntext {width: 350px; float: right; padding: 5px; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; margin: 5px; background-color: #ffffff;} p.inner {font-size: 10pt;} --> </STYLE> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER> <H2 class="inner">Truth Will Set You Free From Fear</H2> through <A HREF="#author">David Nelmes</A><BR> (4/9/2006) </DIV> <p class="inner">Everyone has a desire to see things more clearly and more truthfully...even if they are not aware of it. We all have a drive to grow and learn and discover who we are and who created us. Like our creator, we are also creators, thus we are creative and love to build things and express our true image, which is God. We are created in his likeness, spiritually, and all our aspirations to embrace love, peace, kindness and compassion are direct results of our true nature...our God-like nature.</p> <p class="inner">To take a closer look at what a truth really is, imagine you had the capacity to build a giant castle. This castle would have walls higher than any weapon could cross over, walls thicker than any weapon could penetrate and a foundation deeper than any miner could tunnel under. Inside this castle you would have all the fresh water and food needed for several lifetimes and all the services necessary to live life to its fullest.</p> <p class="inner">If and when a person or country decided to attack your castle, you wouldn't have to give it a thought. You are safe beyond safe and your happiness cannot be thwarted. There is even no need to keep watch on who is approaching since it wouldn't matter anyway. There is nothing they could do to damage your castle. It is solid, sure and true.</p> <p class="inner">Truth...real truth is exactly like that castle. Real truth does not need a defense. Real truth does not have any need to show or explain how or why it is so, simply because it is flawless, perfect and without blemish.</p> <p class="inner">When Jesus stood before Pilate and was being persecuted, he didn't stand silent just to portray an image of a ignorant lamb about to be slaughtered. This is a picture man painted. Jesus was silent because there was nothing for him to defend. There was no reason for him to try to prove he was right. His truths were solid ...unbreakable ...impossible to attack, harm or destroy. Why would he feel compelled to defend something that cannot be harmed or hurt in any way? Regardless of what actions his oppressors may have planned, he knew there was no way they could attack his spiritual truths which were untouchable in this physical world.</p> <p class="inner">If and when you find yourself defending your beliefs, it is only because your beliefs are capable of being attacked. You do not need to defend what cannot be damaged or attacked. Truth needs no defense, so why do so many religions spend so much time trying to prove they are right...defending their positions....pushing their beliefs by using fear of eternal abandonment as a reason to love God? Because you need to defend anything that has faults...or it will be destroyed. Where you are weakest, you must defend the most by being the loudest and distracting anyone from seeing your weakness.</p> <p class="inner">Take a moment and think of a belief that you have ever defended or are now defending, and consider this...stop defending it. If it needs a defense, it's not a truth. The time and resources you are spending on defending your specific beliefs are preventing you from seeing and embracing other truths that do not need a defense.</p> <p class="inner">When your castle...religion... has weaknesses or inconsistencies and contradictions in spirit, one possible reaction is that you say it is like that on purpose and that is how it was meant to be. You can say we are not to question Gods reasons, but to believe what he says, or else...even if the spirit of what he says we should do, goes against what he has been written to have done himself. All this appears to be accepted without question since, for some reason, many religions make God exempt from following the spirit of his own teachings.</p> <p class="inner">If God can do what he wants...but we have to do as he says, then does God want us to behave better than he has demonstrated he can behave? Does God want us to love on a level higher than he can love? If this is so, shouldn't we be God? Is it possible we have this whole scenario reversed somehow? With God set in such an "Unaccountable" position within so many of our religious frameworks, you are basically given a blank check to provide an excuse for anything that appears to contradict, since your whole religion is based upon a premise that embraces exceptions and one-sided thinking. Our current society defines this is form of leadership as a dictatorship.</p> <p class="inner">For any religion, whenever anyone asks you about something that does not appear to make sense, you have no choice other than to defend that which has more holes than solid matter. You could fix the flaws...but this would mean admitting to yourself and those around you that there is a flaw...and somehow this translates into an irrational method of thinking that if there is one flaw in the castle, then the whole castle is worthless. This is not so.</p> <p class="inner">Ask yourself, would it be better for you to spend your time defending breaches in a castle that will need defense forever or would it be better to spend your time allowing the breaches to be healed by acknowledging the flaws and then embracing new truths that need no defense? The first option will consume your time and resources, while the latter will free your resources and provide additional blessings as well.</p> <p class="inner">If the Bible were your castle and it was shown to have flaws...would you be willing to see how to get past these flaws and correct them or would you be adamant that there are no flaws...no matter how much evidence exists to say it is so...even when much of the evidence is within the Bible itself? Truth cannot be damaged or hurt or threatened...so are you willing to be open to see things more clearly? Are you willing to see more truthfully? Then just set aside your defenses for a moment and be open to hear and see things differently. Don't be afraid of what something might mean, instead, be happy you have found truer meaning.</p> <p class="inner">For example...the Bible states in 1Jn.4:18 that "<i style="color: red;">Perfect Love casts out fear</i>". I believe this is a truth. I see no reason to debate it or argue it. This statement appears to be a well balanced thought since the simple presence of love should totally annihilate fear. In the same way as turning on a light switch has the result of making the darkness simply vanish, so does love make fear vanish. Love and fear cannot exist at the same time, in the same place or be used together in any way, since one would annihilate the other in the same way that light annihilates darkness. Likewise, in 1Jn.1:5 it states "<i style="color: red;">God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.</i>". This confirms the spirit behind the truth that love and light are identical in the same way that darkness and fear are identical.</p> <p class="inner">With respect to the story of Babel (Gen 11:6&7), the Bible quotes God as saying "<i style="color: red;">Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they begin to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, lets us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one anothers speech.</i>"</p> <p class="inner">For reasons not explained, it didn't set well with God of what we might accomplish and he caused the languages of the people to change so that they could not accomplish things as easily. The statement is very clear in showing God as being concerned...fearful and even a bit paranoid of where our actions might lead us if we were allowed to progress unimpeded. Since only fear or love can exist at the same time, in this story, was God motivated by his love of what we were doing, or by his fear of what our actions might lead to?</p> <p class="inner">The only time anyone gets angry or upset is when they fear how something may conclude...be it the reason to flood the earth, the reason to swallow thousands in an earthquake, the reason to use a sea to drown an enemy, the reason to bring plagues upon a nation, the reason to rain fire from heaven...etc,. Nothing of this form ever, ever, ever comes about except though being motivated by the fear of what will happen if some form of action is not taken. So then, is God a god of Love?...then how can he fear. Love and fear cannot coexist.</p> <p class="inner">A loving God says "<i style="color: red;">Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.</i>" (Matt 5:44) and he would walk into Sodom and embrace the people and see their need and the suffering of their empty hearts. He would do what he could to help heal the scars in their lives that have allowed them to sink so low. His unconditional love would motivate him to bring about positive change and healing for the entire city. A loving God has no reason to fear what these people are doing because his truths...his castle, is perfect and solid. Nothing anyone does here on earth can affect him or upset him. He has no reason to do anything other than help because everyone in that city is one of his children and he wants all of them to be well.</p> <p class="inner">A fearful God says "<i style="color: red;">I only love those that love me</i>" (Prov 8:17) and he would tower over the city of Sodam and smash it's buildings and kill all life...without remorse. A fearful would God see the actions of the people in this city as a threat to his leadership and since there is no way they could possibly love him naturally...because he is an angry God, he has to rule through threat of death and punishment. An angry and fearful God cannot and will not look at any way to help these people, because he thinks this would be a sign of weakness....and a fearful God has so much weakness as it is, so he can't allow the possibility that somebody might see that his castle is full of holes and he has to stand watch at all times to protect what he knows is not perfect.</p> <p class="inner">There are only two motivations at the very heart of any action, love or fear. There is never any possibility that you can ever rationalize that God killed because of the love he had for the people he killed or that God destroyed cities because of the love he had for the cities...and this leaves the only motivation as fear and hatred.</p> <p class="inner">No matter how you try to rationalize how the Bible says what it says, you have to accept that either there are flaws in the stories depicting him as being upset and reacting out of fear, or you have to accept there is a flaw in saying that perfect love casts out fear or that God is light, not darkness. One of these concepts is flawed. One of these concepts is not true...and if God truly is a God of love, which one would you believe has to be the true statement? Is it so hard to fathom that many of our fearful depictions of a angry and vengeful God were simply an ancient attempt to try to create order in their society? Many of the stories...tales, are the obvious result of them not being able to fathom a god with unconditional love. Today, we can better fathom this, so we need to move past centuries old tales of fear and embrace the truths of a loving God instead.</p> <p class="inner">So we move on. There are flaws in the Bible. This does not mean your religion is shattered or that the whole Bible gets tossed. God speaks to you through any avenue provided...so if you are reading the Bible and are looking for truths, you can begin to weed through those parts that are mans written thoughts and find those things that are truths. For any story...any chapter...any verse, simply ask yourself if the words are using fear or love to motivate you. If the words are using love, they are inspired by the heart of God. If the words are using fear, they are inspired from the heart of the person that wrote the words. All this means is that the writers were human, just like you.</p> <p class="inner">I've had somebody say, "<i>So you just pick and choose those parts of the Bible you say are true.</i>"...and basically, the answer is yes, but that's OK. There is never any penalty handed to you when you seek the truth and your heart is open to see clearly. My favorite saying is "<i style="font-weight: 600;">God is a God of Love and He does not teach through fear or use fear in any way</i>". I firmly believe this to be true and so as I read any book, including the Bible, if I find something that does not go along with the loving spirit of what I believe to be true, I simply conclude the statement is from man and I move on until I find words from God.</p> <p class="inner">What is our conclusion? "<i style="color: red;">Truth will set you free</i>" (John 8:32). It will not bind you, punish you or threaten you. Truth will set you free. Anything that binds, punishes, inflicts pain or takes advantage of suffering....is not a truth and will not set you free. God wants your hearts and minds free of fear, so just choose to be open to see more clearly...more truthfully and God will hold your hand and walk you through whatever is necessary to free you from any current perception of him being associated with fear in any way.</p> <p class="inner">God is Love. God is Light. Gods real teachings are extensions of who he is and he is not exempt from his own teachings because it is simply not possible for him to act or behave any differently than who he is. Set aside any concepts of God being fearful or God using fear and darkness as tools because they simply do not exist in his presence and so they are not there to be used.</p> <p class="inner">Open your heart and mind to see God differently and more truthfully and you will see no fear, no punishment, no judgments, no conditions for love, no requirements of sacrifice, no blaming with sin and no threats of any kind. You will see pure love, pure peace, pure kindness and a solid desire to do all that is necessary to help us undo what we have done to ourselves. Just say, "<i>I choose to see more clearly.</i>", and your path to seeing and experiencing unbiased truths will begin.</p> <p class="inner">All Blessings.</p> <BR CLEAR=ALL> <HR SIZE=1 COLOR="#3E1300"> <P><I><A NAME="author"><IMG SRC="http://www.beingwilling.com/articles/graphics/david_nelmes.jpg" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=100 alt="David Nelmes" BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=10 STYLE="border-style: inset; border-color: #DDDDDD; border-width: 2px;"></A> <B>David Nelmes</B> - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him.</I></P> <P><I>His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fbrowse%2F-%2F10405901%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fqid%3D1181498397&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bible</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" and "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCourse-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace%2Fdp%2F0670869759%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1181498802%26sr%3D1-1&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">A Course in Miracles</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />".<BR> You can visit David's website at: <A HREF="http://www.beingwilling.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.BeingWilling.com</A></I></P> <P>This article Copyright ©2006 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission.</P> Highlight & Copy Html Version	TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE FROM FEAR through David Nelmes (4/9/2006) Everyone has a desire to see things more clearly and more truthfully...even if they are not aware of it. We all have a drive to grow and learn and discover who we are and who created us. Like our creator, we are also creators, thus we are creative and love to build things and express our true image, which is God. We are created in his likeness, spiritually, and all our aspirations to embrace love, peace, kindness and compassion are direct results of our true nature...our God-like nature. To take a closer look at what a truth really is, imagine you had the capacity to build a giant castle. This castle would have walls higher than any weapon could cross over, walls thicker than any weapon could penetrate and a foundation deeper than any miner could tunnel under. Inside this castle you would have all the fresh water and food needed for several lifetimes and all the services necessary to live life to its fullest. If and when a person or country decided to attack your castle, you wouldn't have to give it a thought. You are safe beyond safe and your happiness cannot be thwarted. There is even no need to keep watch on who is approaching since it wouldn't matter anyway. There is nothing they could do to damage your castle. It is solid, sure and true. Truth...real truth is exactly like that castle. Real truth does not need a defense. Real truth does not have any need to show or explain how or why it is so, simply because it is flawless, perfect and without blemish. When Jesus stood before Pilate and was being persecuted, he didn't stand silent just to portray an image of a ignorant lamb about to be slaughtered. This is a picture man painted. Jesus was silent because there was nothing for him to defend. There was no reason for him to try to prove he was right. His truths were solid ...unbreakable ...impossible to attack, harm or destroy. Why would he feel compelled to defend something that cannot be harmed or hurt in any way? Regardless of what actions his oppressors may have planned, he knew there was no way they could attack his spiritual truths which were untouchable in this physical world. If and when you find yourself defending your beliefs, it is only because your beliefs are capable of being attacked. You do not need to defend what cannot be damaged or attacked. Truth needs no defense, so why do so many religions spend so much time trying to prove they are right...defending their positions....pushing their beliefs by using fear of eternal abandonment as a reason to love God? Because you need to defend anything that has faults...or it will be destroyed. Where you are weakest, you must defend the most by being the loudest and distracting anyone from seeing your weakness. Take a moment and think of a belief that you have ever defended or are now defending, and consider this...stop defending it. If it needs a defense, it's not a truth. The time and resources you are spending on defending your specific beliefs are preventing you from seeing and embracing other truths that do not need a defense. When your castle...religion... has weaknesses or inconsistencies and contradictions in spirit, one possible reaction is that you say it is like that on purpose and that is how it was meant to be. You can say we are not to question Gods reasons, but to believe what he says, or else...even if the spirit of what he says we should do, goes against what he has been written to have done himself. All this appears to be accepted without question since, for some reason, many religions make God exempt from following the spirit of his own teachings. If God can do what he wants...but we have to do as he says, then does God want us to behave better than he has demonstrated he can behave? Does God want us to love on a level higher than he can love? If this is so, shouldn't we be God? Is it possible we have this whole scenario reversed somehow? With God set in such an "Unaccountable" position within so many of our religious frameworks, you are basically given a blank check to provide an excuse for anything that appears to contradict, since your whole religion is based upon a premise that embraces exceptions and one-sided thinking. Our current society defines this is form of leadership as a dictatorship. For any religion, whenever anyone asks you about something that does not appear to make sense, you have no choice other than to defend that which has more holes than solid matter. You could fix the flaws...but this would mean admitting to yourself and those around you that there is a flaw...and somehow this translates into an irrational method of thinking that if there is one flaw in the castle, then the whole castle is worthless. This is not so. Ask yourself, would it be better for you to spend your time defending breaches in a castle that will need defense forever or would it be better to spend your time allowing the breaches to be healed by acknowledging the flaws and then embracing new truths that need no defense? The first option will consume your time and resources, while the latter will free your resources and provide additional blessings as well. If the Bible were your castle and it was shown to have flaws...would you be willing to see how to get past these flaws and correct them or would you be adamant that there are no flaws...no matter how much evidence exists to say it is so...even when much of the evidence is within the Bible itself? Truth cannot be damaged or hurt or threatened...so are you willing to be open to see things more clearly? Are you willing to see more truthfully? Then just set aside your defenses for a moment and be open to hear and see things differently. Don't be afraid of what something might mean, instead, be happy you have found truer meaning. For example...the Bible states in 1Jn.4:18 that "Perfect Love casts out fear". I believe this is a truth. I see no reason to debate it or argue it. This statement appears to be a well balanced thought since the simple presence of love should totally annihilate fear. In the same way as turning on a light switch has the result of making the darkness simply vanish, so does love make fear vanish. Love and fear cannot exist at the same time, in the same place or be used together in any way, since one would annihilate the other in the same way that light annihilates darkness. Likewise, in 1Jn.1:5 it states "God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.". This confirms the spirit behind the truth that love and light are identical in the same way that darkness and fear are identical. With respect to the story of Babel (Gen 11:6&7), the Bible quotes God as saying "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they begin to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, lets us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one anothers speech." For reasons not explained, it didn't set well with God of what we might accomplish and he caused the languages of the people to change so that they could not accomplish things as easily. The statement is very clear in showing God as being concerned...fearful and even a bit paranoid of where our actions might lead us if we were allowed to progress unimpeded. Since only fear or love can exist at the same time, in this story, was God motivated by his love of what we were doing, or by his fear of what our actions might lead to? The only time anyone gets angry or upset is when they fear how something may conclude...be it the reason to flood the earth, the reason to swallow thousands in an earthquake, the reason to use a sea to drown an enemy, the reason to bring plagues upon a nation, the reason to rain fire from heaven...etc,. Nothing of this form ever, ever, ever comes about except though being motivated by the fear of what will happen if some form of action is not taken. So then, is God a god of Love?...then how can he fear. Love and fear cannot coexist. A loving God says "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matt 5:44) and he would walk into Sodom and embrace the people and see their need and the suffering of their empty hearts. He would do what he could to help heal the scars in their lives that have allowed them to sink so low. His unconditional love would motivate him to bring about positive change and healing for the entire city. A loving God has no reason to fear what these people are doing because his truths...his castle, is perfect and solid. Nothing anyone does here on earth can affect him or upset him. He has no reason to do anything other than help because everyone in that city is one of his children and he wants all of them to be well. A fearful God says "I only love those that love me" (Prov 8:17) and he would tower over the city of Sodam and smash it's buildings and kill all life...without remorse. A fearful would God see the actions of the people in this city as a threat to his leadership and since there is no way they could possibly love him naturally...because he is an angry God, he has to rule through threat of death and punishment. An angry and fearful God cannot and will not look at any way to help these people, because he thinks this would be a sign of weakness....and a fearful God has so much weakness as it is, so he can't allow the possibility that somebody might see that his castle is full of holes and he has to stand watch at all times to protect what he knows is not perfect. There are only two motivations at the very heart of any action, love or fear. There is never any possibility that you can ever rationalize that God killed because of the love he had for the people he killed or that God destroyed cities because of the love he had for the cities...and this leaves the only motivation as fear and hatred. No matter how you try to rationalize how the Bible says what it says, you have to accept that either there are flaws in the stories depicting him as being upset and reacting out of fear, or you have to accept there is a flaw in saying that perfect love casts out fear or that God is light, not darkness. One of these concepts is flawed. One of these concepts is not true...and if God truly is a God of love, which one would you believe has to be the true statement? Is it so hard to fathom that many of our fearful depictions of a angry and vengeful God were simply an ancient attempt to try to create order in their society? Many of the stories...tales, are the obvious result of them not being able to fathom a god with unconditional love. Today, we can better fathom this, so we need to move past centuries old tales of fear and embrace the truths of a loving God instead. So we move on. There are flaws in the Bible. This does not mean your religion is shattered or that the whole Bible gets tossed. God speaks to you through any avenue provided...so if you are reading the Bible and are looking for truths, you can begin to weed through those parts that are mans written thoughts and find those things that are truths. For any story...any chapter...any verse, simply ask yourself if the words are using fear or love to motivate you. If the words are using love, they are inspired by the heart of God. If the words are using fear, they are inspired from the heart of the person that wrote the words. All this means is that the writers were human, just like you. I've had somebody say, "So you just pick and choose those parts of the Bible you say are true."...and basically, the answer is yes, but that's OK. There is never any penalty handed to you when you seek the truth and your heart is open to see clearly. My favorite saying is "God is a God of Love and He does not teach through fear or use fear in any way". I firmly believe this to be true and so as I read any book, including the Bible, if I find something that does not go along with the loving spirit of what I believe to be true, I simply conclude the statement is from man and I move on until I find words from God. What is our conclusion? "Truth will set you free" (John 8:32). It will not bind you, punish you or threaten you. Truth will set you free. Anything that binds, punishes, inflicts pain or takes advantage of suffering....is not a truth and will not set you free. God wants your hearts and minds free of fear, so just choose to be open to see more clearly...more truthfully and God will hold your hand and walk you through whatever is necessary to free you from any current perception of him being associated with fear in any way. God is Love. God is Light. Gods real teachings are extensions of who he is and he is not exempt from his own teachings because it is simply not possible for him to act or behave any differently than who he is. Set aside any concepts of God being fearful or God using fear and darkness as tools because they simply do not exist in his presence and so they are not there to be used. Open your heart and mind to see God differently and more truthfully and you will see no fear, no punishment, no judgments, no conditions for love, no requirements of sacrifice, no blaming with sin and no threats of any kind. You will see pure love, pure peace, pure kindness and a solid desire to do all that is necessary to help us undo what we have done to ourselves. Just say, "I choose to see more clearly.", and your path to seeing and experiencing unbiased truths will begin. All Blessings. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nelmes - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him. His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both "The Bible" and "A Course In Miracles". You can visit David's website at: http://www.BeingWilling.com This article Copyright ©2006 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission. Highlight & Copy Text Version

When You Can't Forgive
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- H2.inner {color: #800000; font-family: "arial rounded mt bold", verdana; font-size: 22pt; font-weight: 600; line-height: 80%;} #picntext {width: 350px; float: right; padding: 5px; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; margin: 5px; background-color: #ffffff;} p.inner {font-size: 10pt;} --> </STYLE> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER> <H2 class="inner">When You Can't Forgive</H2> through <A HREF="#author">David Nelmes</A><BR> (1/15/2006) </DIV> <p class="inner">It was a dark night and the attack upon you was vicious...or perhaps a cherished person in your life abandons you for another...or perhaps school-mates or co-workers are very cruel in their treatment of you. These are three of what could be endless trillions of reasons to be upset...endless trillions of reasons to not forgive.</p> <p class="inner">It's easy to say "You must forgive.", when the situation that requires forgiveness does not directly affect you. It's easy to preach these words, but focus and clarity in thinking are required to practice these words.</p> <p class="inner">Before we go on, it can be helpful for you to understand that everything I ever express to you or provide as suggestions, does not mean that I have mastered that problem or situation. It only means that I am aware what the best steps are and I am sharing this information with you. I also struggle with practicing those things that are best, just like you, so don't be so hard on yourself when you feel you cannot do something. This situation makes you no different than anyone and it's the reason why the rest of us are here for you...and why you are here for the rest of us.</p> <p class="inner">When you can't forgive somebody or something, you are not hurting that person or thing. The only result of not forgiving, is a perpetuating sadness within yourself. Unforgiveness sets your mind in a place where you will gravitate to more things that are sad...to more things that are not peaceful. The lack of forgiveness leads to increased misery in your life and in the way you see all the things in the world. Everything you see will be tainted by your misery and the things you see and experience will be twisted in your mind and will serve as evidence to you that the world is responsible for your pain, but not you.</p> <p class="inner">Knowing that you should forgive, how do you even attempt to forgive somebody when every cell in your body is crying with hate and screaming for vengeance? Even when you attempt to force yourself to say the words, "I forgive you", you know you are lying and have accomplished nothing other than having made sounds with your vocal cords. Words mean nothing when the heart is not in sync. God is neither fooled nor upset by this. He is just patiently waiting for your heart to open for this issue to be healed.</p> <p class="inner">A very important lesson I learned was to "live on the level you believe". For example, if you have a severe toothache, spend a moment in prayer and do your best to be open for healing...but if nothing happens, do not be upset, because this is not God punishing you or testing you. It is simply a matter that you really do not believe you will be healed, so instead of writhing in pain, do the thing you do believe...take the pain killer or go to the dentist, but don't punish yourself for not believing. Live on the level you do believe so that you can restore your peace and regain your focus and return to a place where you can work on being open to increase the level you believe. </p> <p class="inner">If you can't forgive, step back a moment and stop wasting your time trying to do something you don't believe you can do. Before you can forgive what you believe somebody has done to you, you must first fix what you have surely done to yourself. Your desire to forgive has become clouded and needs to be healed. Simply clear your mind for a moment and focus on what you know you can do or what you know is true for you. When you say "I forgive you" and you know it is not true, you are just wasting your time. Instead, try to find something that is true. Say "I would rather that I could forgive", because that is the truth and you can only start healing from a point in which you truly believe. </p> <p class="inner">The purpose of the Holy Spirit is for the correction of errors in how we see things, how we experience things and for what we believe is true. When you know you would rather forgive, but just can't...what are you really doing? <b style="color: red;">You are believing you can't forgive</b>, and therefore, you can't forgive. There is actually nothing wrong with your ability to forgive...you just don't believe you can and so your mind is not open to allow this to happen.</p> <p class="inner">Sit back. Remind yourself that God wants what is best for you. He sent Jesus to help open your mind and he sent the Holy Spirit to guide your mind, when it is open. Be open to see that he is looking to help you remove any discomfort in your life and that he wants your mind fully healed and he wants you to be able to communicate with him fully once again. When you are open for inner healing, the answer is always "Yes" because that's where all our real problems originate and that's the only place where real change can actually occur.</p> <p class="inner">Basically, most of our problems stem from us disbelieving things that should just naturally occur. We are created in our creators image. He is perpetually forgiving and so are we. It is your 100% natural ability to forgive without any hesitation or condition, just like your creator. Our errors in thinking make us disbelieve those things which should be totally natural for us.</p> <p class="inner">Consider this. All the miracles Jesus did, were not great feats of God's powers or just special moments to rarely occur again. Those miracles were simply the direct result of Jesus doing what came naturally to him, because he didn't believe he couldn't...he just knew he could. We are no different than Jesus...we just don't believe it and so we don't often achieve those things that occurred so naturally for him...but eventually we all will.</p> <p class="inner">When you can't forgive, when you can't find peace, when you don't want to get out of bed anymore and when you hate your job, don't get trapped into thinking you have to be brave by sacrificing your true happiness and lie to yourself about what you know doesn't feel true to you. Don't pretend to forgive if you can't. Don't pretend to be at peace if you're not. Instead, start with a real thought that is true. 'I would rather that I wasn't so sad'. 'I would rather I didn't hate my job'. 'I would rather that I wanted to get out of bed'. Hand those thoughts over to the Holy Spirit. Don't focus on what you don't think you can do, but focus on what you would rather you could do.</p> <p class="inner">For example, if my thought was 'I can't forgive', I would pray, "This thought that 'I can't forgive', I hand over to you to correct. I would rather I could forgive". Similarly, if my thought was 'I can't get out of bed and have a good day'. I would pray, "This thought that 'I can't get out of bed and have a good day', I hand over to you to correct. I would rather that I could get out of bed and have a great day"</p> <p class="inner">Upon handing over these errors in thinking, the Holy Spirit is invited to intervene in this part of your mind, and where he goes, healing and greater perception of truth follows. The errors in thinking will cease to exist and that part of your mind will be healed. There will be no boom...there will be no flashing light...there will be no burning bush. What will occur is a gentle and peaceful reorganization of your thoughts. There will not be a spike at the moment where you feel the miracle of new thinking. Instead, later that day, you will just notice that you are now seeing that problem differently. You will see that you can now move forward to the next stage of your healing because now you can forgive, or now you want to get out of bed or now you no longer hate your job.</p> <p class="inner">Now, with your mind clear of the lies of what it can't do, you can now more readily move on to what it can do, which often consists of identifying more and more areas of your life where you believe you can't do something. This is fine and most likely, necessary. Hand over all your can'ts to the Holy Spirit and then you will discover, that no matter the situation, you can.</p> <p class="inner">So, when you think you can't forgive, you are simply mistaken and have simply forgotten how. The Holy Spirit will help you remember that <b>You can forgive</b>...and you will be at peace again.</p> <BR CLEAR=ALL> <HR SIZE=1 COLOR="#3E1300"> <P><I><A NAME="author"><IMG SRC="http://www.beingwilling.com/articles/graphics/david_nelmes.jpg" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=100 alt="David Nelmes" BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=10 STYLE="border-style: inset; border-color: #DDDDDD; border-width: 2px;"></A> <B>David Nelmes</B> - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him.</I></P> <P><I>His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fbrowse%2F-%2F10405901%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fqid%3D1181498397&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bible</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" and "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCourse-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace%2Fdp%2F0670869759%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1181498802%26sr%3D1-1&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">A Course in Miracles</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />".<BR> You can visit David's website at: <A HREF="http://www.beingwilling.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.BeingWilling.com</A></I></P> <P>This article Copyright ©2006 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission.</P> Highlight & Copy Html Version	WHEN YOU CAN'T FORGIVE through David Nelmes (1/15/2006) It was a dark night and the attack upon you was vicious...or perhaps a cherished person in your life abandons you for another...or perhaps school-mates or co-workers are very cruel in their treatment of you. These are three of what could be endless trillions of reasons to be upset...endless trillions of reasons to not forgive. It's easy to say "You must forgive.", when the situation that requires forgiveness does not directly affect you. It's easy to preach these words, but focus and clarity in thinking are required to practice these words. Before we go on, it can be helpful for you to understand that everything I ever express to you or provide as suggestions, does not mean that I have mastered that problem or situation. It only means that I am aware what the best steps are and I am sharing this information with you. I also struggle with practicing those things that are best, just like you, so don't be so hard on yourself when you feel you cannot do something. This situation makes you no different than anyone and it's the reason why the rest of us are here for you...and why you are here for the rest of us. When you can't forgive somebody or something, you are not hurting that person or thing. The only result of not forgiving, is a perpetuating sadness within yourself. Unforgiveness sets your mind in a place where you will gravitate to more things that are sad...to more things that are not peaceful. The lack of forgiveness leads to increased misery in your life and in the way you see all the things in the world. Everything you see will be tainted by your misery and the things you see and experience will be twisted in your mind and will serve as evidence to you that the world is responsible for your pain, but not you. Knowing that you should forgive, how do you even attempt to forgive somebody when every cell in your body is crying with hate and screaming for vengeance? Even when you attempt to force yourself to say the words, "I forgive you", you know you are lying and have accomplished nothing other than having made sounds with your vocal cords. Words mean nothing when the heart is not in sync. God is neither fooled nor upset by this. He is just patiently waiting for your heart to open for this issue to be healed. A very important lesson I learned was to "live on the level you believe". For example, if you have a severe toothache, spend a moment in prayer and do your best to be open for healing...but if nothing happens, do not be upset, because this is not God punishing you or testing you. It is simply a matter that you really do not believe you will be healed, so instead of writhing in pain, do the thing you do believe...take the pain killer or go to the dentist, but don't punish yourself for not believing. Live on the level you do believe so that you can restore your peace and regain your focus and return to a place where you can work on being open to increase the level you believe. If you can't forgive, step back a moment and stop wasting your time trying to do something you don't believe you can do. Before you can forgive what you believe somebody has done to you, you must first fix what you have surely done to yourself. Your desire to forgive has become clouded and needs to be healed. Simply clear your mind for a moment and focus on what you know you can do or what you know is true for you. When you say "I forgive you" and you know it is not true, you are just wasting your time. Instead, try to find something that is true. Say "I would rather that I could forgive", because that is the truth and you can only start healing from a point in which you truly believe. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is for the correction of errors in how we see things, how we experience things and for what we believe is true. When you know you would rather forgive, but just can't...what are you really doing? You are believing you can't forgive, and therefore, you can't forgive. There is actually nothing wrong with your ability to forgive...you just don't believe you can and so your mind is not open to allow this to happen. Sit back. Remind yourself that God wants what is best for you. He sent Jesus to help open your mind and he sent the Holy Spirit to guide your mind, when it is open. Be open to see that he is looking to help you remove any discomfort in your life and that he wants your mind fully healed and he wants you to be able to communicate with him fully once again. When you are open for inner healing, the answer is always "Yes" because that's where all our real problems originate and that's the only place where real change can actually occur. Basically, most of our problems stem from us disbelieving things that should just naturally occur. We are created in our creators image. He is perpetually forgiving and so are we. It is your 100% natural ability to forgive without any hesitation or condition, just like your creator. Our errors in thinking make us disbelieve those things which should be totally natural for us. Consider this. All the miracles Jesus did, were not great feats of God's powers or just special moments to rarely occur again. Those miracles were simply the direct result of Jesus doing what came naturally to him, because he didn't believe he couldn't...he just knew he could. We are no different than Jesus...we just don't believe it and so we don't often achieve those things that occurred so naturally for him...but eventually we all will. When you can't forgive, when you can't find peace, when you don't want to get out of bed anymore and when you hate your job, don't get trapped into thinking you have to be brave by sacrificing your true happiness and lie to yourself about what you know doesn't feel true to you. Don't pretend to forgive if you can't. Don't pretend to be at peace if you're not. Instead, start with a real thought that is true. 'I would rather that I wasn't so sad'. 'I would rather I didn't hate my job'. 'I would rather that I wanted to get out of bed'. Hand those thoughts over to the Holy Spirit. Don't focus on what you don't think you can do, but focus on what you would rather you could do. For example, if my thought was 'I can't forgive', I would pray, "This thought that 'I can't forgive', I hand over to you to correct. I would rather I could forgive". Similarly, if my thought was 'I can't get out of bed and have a good day'. I would pray, "This thought that 'I can't get out of bed and have a good day', I hand over to you to correct. I would rather that I could get out of bed and have a great day" Upon handing over these errors in thinking, the Holy Spirit is invited to intervene in this part of your mind, and where he goes, healing and greater perception of truth follows. The errors in thinking will cease to exist and that part of your mind will be healed. There will be no boom...there will be no flashing light...there will be no burning bush. What will occur is a gentle and peaceful reorganization of your thoughts. There will not be a spike at the moment where you feel the miracle of new thinking. Instead, later that day, you will just notice that you are now seeing that problem differently. You will see that you can now move forward to the next stage of your healing because now you can forgive, or now you want to get out of bed or now you no longer hate your job. Now, with your mind clear of the lies of what it can't do, you can now more readily move on to what it can do, which often consists of identifying more and more areas of your life where you believe you can't do something. This is fine and most likely, necessary. Hand over all your can'ts to the Holy Spirit and then you will discover, that no matter the situation, you can. So, when you think you can't forgive, you are simply mistaken and have simply forgotten how. The Holy Spirit will help you remember that You can forgive...and you will be at peace again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nelmes - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him. His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both "The Bible" and "A Course In Miracles". You can visit David's website at: http://www.BeingWilling.com This article Copyright ©2006 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission. Highlight & Copy Text Version

Why Did God Create Things That Decay and Die?
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- H2.inner {color: #800000; font-family: "arial rounded mt bold", verdana; font-size: 22pt; font-weight: 600; line-height: 80%;} #picntext {width: 350px; float: right; padding: 5px; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; margin: 5px; background-color: #ffffff;} p.inner {font-size: 10pt;} --> </STYLE> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER> <H2 class="inner">Why Did God Create Things That Decay and Die?</H2> through <A HREF="#author">David Nelmes</A><BR> (11/15/2005) </DIV> <p class="inner">You are not living in a world created by God because God could not create the things you see and experience here. Since God is perfect, he can only create perfect things....and this world, this reality, is far, far from perfect.</p> <p class="inner">God is perfect peace and love. God is everlasting growth and giving. God is growing and expanding and creating all things eternal and perfect. God is unquenchable life beyond any concept of life we may have. God is eternal blessings where everything benefits everything else, all the time.</p> <p class="inner">The process of creation is expansion...a never ending growth of perfect things and beings. Creation is a direct reflection of the creator. What is created will be perfect and will never become anything less, but in itself, it will also have the capacity to create other things that are perfect. It can't do anything more. It can't do anything less.</p> <p class="inner">God is also eternal, so since he creates by extending himself, his creations also are eternal. God's creations are perfect and eternal, just like him. They have all the attributes of God and the only difference between them and himself is that he created them, otherwise, they are identical, perfect, eternal and creative.</p> <p class="inner">Everything that is created has the capacity to create without losing anything of itself in the process, because creation is the expansion and replication of an idea without cost to the originator. It's similar to when you tell somebody a story. Once you share the story, somebody else also has the story and they can share it with somebody else and so on and so on until the whole world has heard the story. Meanwhile, you have not lost the story because you did not give it away, you shared it...and it grew without loss to you. This is how creation works. The idea goes forth and reproduces itself perfectly. Once created, not only does it not take anything to be created, but it will give or expand when it also creates. Creation never takes because it can only give. It can only grow. Since it dosen't take, it leaves no vacuum in its trail, therefore nothing exists to pull it back or undo its creation.</p> <p class="inner">Since God can only create things that are perfect and eternal, and things that only give and never take, he cannot create a living organism that grows old and dies. God cannot create a system where one thing has to die in order for another thing to live...be it plant-life, flesh or micro-organisms. God cannot create anything that consumes something else and does not give back more than what was originally there. God cannot create anything that takes.</p> <p class="inner">How then do we account for us...this world...this entire physical universe based upon rules of taking, using, consuming, decaying and eventual death? Even our scientists have already concluded that the universe itself will eventually stop expanding and contract back into the atom sized particle that started the big bang in the first place. Our whole universe eventually dies because it consumes energy and leaves a vacuum in its wake. A vacuum that will eventually pull it back and undo its existance. So if God can only create something that is perfect and eternal, how do we account for an entire universe that will eventually die?</p> <p class="inner">Since only perfect and eternal things can be created, only perfect and eternal things really exist. Nothing that is not perfect really exists in the way a perfect being views things. So, from a perfectly spiritual point of view, this entire physical universe does not really exist. It is not perfect... it is not eternal and so it could not have been created by God since God could not create a universe that consumes and dies.</p> <p class="inner">Let's step back a moment. The spirit that is you was created by God and this spirit, this mind, is perfect, is eternal and is real. God created us as an extension of himself, but he did not create us physically because physical things are not perfect and they are not eternal. God created us spiritually, which is perfect and eternal. You may inhabit a body, but that body is not who you are. You are a perfect and eternal spiritual being and your body is just a temporary transportation device...a car.</p> <p class="inner">As spiritual beings, we also created things that were perfect and eternal. As eternal and perfect beings, we would pursue every thought that could ever be conceived. Thoughts that would not lead towards a perfect thing were discarded since this was not something that could be created and you can only create things perfect and eternal.</p> <p class="inner">In the midst of the billions and trillions of perfect thoughts that were created and the non-perfect thoughts that were discarded, somewhere, somehow, we held onto a thought that could not be created perfect and eternal. The thought should have been discarded like the trillion of other thoughts before, so by holding onto the thought, we made our first error in thinking. The thought, whatever it was, was not a perfect thought, so it could not be created, but we were somehow intrigued or drawn to it, and for a micro-second (Just an expression. In an eternal setting, there is no time.) we chose not to let go of this thought.</p> <p class="inner">This error in thinking had to have an effect. All thoughts lead to something. All thoughts are focused energy that will produce a result. Since only a perfect thought can create eternal things, an error in thinking can only lead to a shadow of creation...as we might visualize a dream or hallucination which is nowhere near perfect or eternal and is in a separate space, void of God's perfection and void of the ability to exist eternally.</p> <p class="inner">This method of thinking leads to something being "made", not created. Created things are perfect and eternal and create more things like itself, but something that is made, can only make more things like itself, that are also not perfect or eternal. Anything made, will not last forever and will eventually die. Anything made can also be un-made and will eventually cease to exist. This is perfect balance. This is the correcting of errors.</p> <p class="inner">While in this void, an illusion developed as a shadowy reflection of creation where the error in thinking attempts to act like creation...but it is not. This error in thinking eventually manifested itself as a pin-point of energy in a non-perfect reality...a physical reality. Time was invented and within its first micro-second, energy beyond what we can even now fathom, burst from this pin-point and manifested itself to make more things like itself, to make things that were also errors and also not perfect and also not eternal. The universe...the big bang was born.</p> <p class="inner">God did not create this physical world, we made it, we dreamed it and we decided to not let it go. We knew we should have just discarded the thought and moved onto real creations, but we didn't. We did not want to give up this dream or illusion of creation. We knew it was not the better choice. We knew this was something our creator would not do. We knew we should just let it go.</p> <p class="inner">Since we were holding onto an error, we no longer saw all things clearly. Things were unclear because our minds were warped by holding onto the error. With a clouded mind came the final and virtually fatal error. We had another thought...a thought we knew was not true, but our clouded mind hid this from us. We thought God would disapprove of what we have done. We thought that God would make us let go of this thing we made. We thought God would be upset at us. We experienced the first sensation of guilt...and then we believed we had no choice. We believed we had to hide from God.</p> <p class="inner">Have you ever seen a circumstance where a young child did something that he knew wasn't the better thing? Then have you ever seen where he acted and felt so guilty that he even hid from you, even though you really weren't upset or angry...even though you had no desire to punish him for something so trivial, something so accepted as a natural effect of growing? In this situation, no matter what your actual intentions or thoughts, the child felt his actions were worth being punished. That is what we did...as a young spiritual child, we assumed something that was not so, and like this earthly example of a child, we decided to judge ourselves and hide from God.</p> <p class="inner">Our fall, as you might call it, was a spiritual event. Man did not exist so he could not fall. Instead, man was a result of our judgment upon ourselves. Man and this entire physical, metaphysical and clouded spiritual reality was the result of our spiritual fall.</p> <p class="inner">Everything that has transpired on this planet has brought this original thought of God's wrath and anger right along. We have worked it into our religions and have made God the architect of disasters, the deliverer of punishment and the author of guilt and judgment. None of this is from God's mind, just ours and just while we choose to hide from God.</p> <p class="inner">God has not abandoned us. He is exactly where he always has been. He has not changed. His love for us has not changed. His desire for us to be wholly one with him again has not changed. The only difference between the way it was and the way it is, is that we stepped away. We stepped back. Upon stepping back, a void appeared between us and God. This void created an "unknown" area that gave birth to fear, in which we built thick walls...solidifying our fears. These walls, or errors in thinking...errors in perception, made it more and more difficult for us to see God, while also making it easier and easier for us to believe we were successfully hiding from God.</p> <p class="inner">From God's point of view, we are right where we always have been. He sees us right where we were, only now, we appear to be asleep since we are not communicating with him like we used to. God wants us to regain this communication with him, but will not and does not want to force us to awaken. In order to gently help us awaken, he created the Holy Spirit to help increase communication with him again. He then sent Jesus to prepare a way and enable the door to be opened to let the Holy Spirit in.</p> <p class="inner">We are not abandoned. We are not alone. God has not forgotten a single one of us. God works with us on an eternal, timeless scale because we are eternal and so he has no reason to hurry. He has no need to fear what may happen to us while we sleep because he knows that no matter what we manifest in our dreams, our true selves are sitting right there with him, blessed by him and surrounded by him...totally safe for all eternity.</p> <p class="inner">We cannot die nor do we have any reason to fear harm in any way because God cannot create things that decay and die. This body is a car. Things may happen to your car that you do not like, but it's just a car. Even when the car is totally destroyed, you still exist as you always have...and perhaps you'll even find another car and return again. I can't say I know how that works, but whether we are experiencing this void physically, metaphysically or spiritually, we are here because we think God is upset at us and we think we can hide.</p> <p class="inner">While we are here, we can choose to be open and willing to see things differently...more clearly. We can choose to pursue God's truths and set aside the fears that created this world. One by one we can remove the blocks in the wall that we have built between us and our creator...and one day, we will take one step forward together, and God will reach out his hand and help us safely leap across the abyss. Then, our eyes will open and we will know we are with our creator. Once again, we will feel the full love and peace of God and continue our eternal existance with him.</p> <BR CLEAR=ALL> <HR SIZE=1 COLOR="#3E1300"> <P><I><A NAME="author"><IMG SRC="http://www.beingwilling.com/articles/graphics/david_nelmes.jpg" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=100 alt="David Nelmes" BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=10 STYLE="border-style: inset; border-color: #DDDDDD; border-width: 2px;"></A> <B>David Nelmes</B> - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him.</I></P> <P><I>His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fbrowse%2F-%2F10405901%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fqid%3D1181498397&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bible</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" and "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCourse-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace%2Fdp%2F0670869759%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1181498802%26sr%3D1-1&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">A Course in Miracles</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />".<BR> You can visit David's website at: <A HREF="http://www.beingwilling.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.BeingWilling.com</A></I></P> <P>This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission.</P> Highlight & Copy Html Version	WHY DID GOD CREATE THINGS THAT DECAY AND DIE? through David Nelmes (11/15/2005) You are not living in a world created by God because God could not create the things you see and experience here. Since God is perfect, he can only create perfect things....and this world, this reality, is far, far from perfect. God is perfect peace and love. God is everlasting growth and giving. God is growing and expanding and creating all things eternal and perfect. God is unquenchable life beyond any concept of life we may have. God is eternal blessings where everything benefits everything else, all the time. The process of creation is expansion...a never ending growth of perfect things and beings. Creation is a direct reflection of the creator. What is created will be perfect and will never become anything less, but in itself, it will also have the capacity to create other things that are perfect. It can't do anything more. It can't do anything less. God is also eternal, so since he creates by extending himself, his creations also are eternal. God's creations are perfect and eternal, just like him. They have all the attributes of God and the only difference between them and himself is that he created them, otherwise, they are identical, perfect, eternal and creative. Everything that is created has the capacity to create without losing anything of itself in the process, because creation is the expansion and replication of an idea without cost to the originator. It's similar to when you tell somebody a story. Once you share the story, somebody else also has the story and they can share it with somebody else and so on and so on until the whole world has heard the story. Meanwhile, you have not lost the story because you did not give it away, you shared it...and it grew without loss to you. This is how creation works. The idea goes forth and reproduces itself perfectly. Once created, not only does it not take anything to be created, but it will give or expand when it also creates. Creation never takes because it can only give. It can only grow. Since it dosen't take, it leaves no vacuum in its trail, therefore nothing exists to pull it back or undo its creation. Since God can only create things that are perfect and eternal, and things that only give and never take, he cannot create a living organism that grows old and dies. God cannot create a system where one thing has to die in order for another thing to live...be it plant-life, flesh or micro-organisms. God cannot create anything that consumes something else and does not give back more than what was originally there. God cannot create anything that takes. How then do we account for us...this world...this entire physical universe based upon rules of taking, using, consuming, decaying and eventual death? Even our scientists have already concluded that the universe itself will eventually stop expanding and contract back into the atom sized particle that started the big bang in the first place. Our whole universe eventually dies because it consumes energy and leaves a vacuum in its wake. A vacuum that will eventually pull it back and undo its existance. So if God can only create something that is perfect and eternal, how do we account for an entire universe that will eventually die? Since only perfect and eternal things can be created, only perfect and eternal things really exist. Nothing that is not perfect really exists in the way a perfect being views things. So, from a perfectly spiritual point of view, this entire physical universe does not really exist. It is not perfect... it is not eternal and so it could not have been created by God since God could not create a universe that consumes and dies. Let's step back a moment. The spirit that is you was created by God and this spirit, this mind, is perfect, is eternal and is real. God created us as an extension of himself, but he did not create us physically because physical things are not perfect and they are not eternal. God created us spiritually, which is perfect and eternal. You may inhabit a body, but that body is not who you are. You are a perfect and eternal spiritual being and your body is just a temporary transportation device...a car. As spiritual beings, we also created things that were perfect and eternal. As eternal and perfect beings, we would pursue every thought that could ever be conceived. Thoughts that would not lead towards a perfect thing were discarded since this was not something that could be created and you can only create things perfect and eternal. In the midst of the billions and trillions of perfect thoughts that were created and the non-perfect thoughts that were discarded, somewhere, somehow, we held onto a thought that could not be created perfect and eternal. The thought should have been discarded like the trillion of other thoughts before, so by holding onto the thought, we made our first error in thinking. The thought, whatever it was, was not a perfect thought, so it could not be created, but we were somehow intrigued or drawn to it, and for a micro-second (Just an expression. In an eternal setting, there is no time.) we chose not to let go of this thought. This error in thinking had to have an effect. All thoughts lead to something. All thoughts are focused energy that will produce a result. Since only a perfect thought can create eternal things, an error in thinking can only lead to a shadow of creation...as we might visualize a dream or hallucination which is nowhere near perfect or eternal and is in a separate space, void of God's perfection and void of the ability to exist eternally. This method of thinking leads to something being "made", not created. Created things are perfect and eternal and create more things like itself, but something that is made, can only make more things like itself, that are also not perfect or eternal. Anything made, will not last forever and will eventually die. Anything made can also be un-made and will eventually cease to exist. This is perfect balance. This is the correcting of errors. While in this void, an illusion developed as a shadowy reflection of creation where the error in thinking attempts to act like creation...but it is not. This error in thinking eventually manifested itself as a pin-point of energy in a non-perfect reality...a physical reality. Time was invented and within its first micro-second, energy beyond what we can even now fathom, burst from this pin-point and manifested itself to make more things like itself, to make things that were also errors and also not perfect and also not eternal. The universe...the big bang was born. God did not create this physical world, we made it, we dreamed it and we decided to not let it go. We knew we should have just discarded the thought and moved onto real creations, but we didn't. We did not want to give up this dream or illusion of creation. We knew it was not the better choice. We knew this was something our creator would not do. We knew we should just let it go. Since we were holding onto an error, we no longer saw all things clearly. Things were unclear because our minds were warped by holding onto the error. With a clouded mind came the final and virtually fatal error. We had another thought...a thought we knew was not true, but our clouded mind hid this from us. We thought God would disapprove of what we have done. We thought that God would make us let go of this thing we made. We thought God would be upset at us. We experienced the first sensation of guilt...and then we believed we had no choice. We believed we had to hide from God. Have you ever seen a circumstance where a young child did something that he knew wasn't the better thing? Then have you ever seen where he acted and felt so guilty that he even hid from you, even though you really weren't upset or angry...even though you had no desire to punish him for something so trivial, something so accepted as a natural effect of growing? In this situation, no matter what your actual intentions or thoughts, the child felt his actions were worth being punished. That is what we did...as a young spiritual child, we assumed something that was not so, and like this earthly example of a child, we decided to judge ourselves and hide from God. Our fall, as you might call it, was a spiritual event. Man did not exist so he could not fall. Instead, man was a result of our judgment upon ourselves. Man and this entire physical, metaphysical and clouded spiritual reality was the result of our spiritual fall. Everything that has transpired on this planet has brought this original thought of God's wrath and anger right along. We have worked it into our religions and have made God the architect of disasters, the deliverer of punishment and the author of guilt and judgment. None of this is from God's mind, just ours and just while we choose to hide from God. God has not abandoned us. He is exactly where he always has been. He has not changed. His love for us has not changed. His desire for us to be wholly one with him again has not changed. The only difference between the way it was and the way it is, is that we stepped away. We stepped back. Upon stepping back, a void appeared between us and God. This void created an "unknown" area that gave birth to fear, in which we built thick walls...solidifying our fears. These walls, or errors in thinking...errors in perception, made it more and more difficult for us to see God, while also making it easier and easier for us to believe we were successfully hiding from God. From God's point of view, we are right where we always have been. He sees us right where we were, only now, we appear to be asleep since we are not communicating with him like we used to. God wants us to regain this communication with him, but will not and does not want to force us to awaken. In order to gently help us awaken, he created the Holy Spirit to help increase communication with him again. He then sent Jesus to prepare a way and enable the door to be opened to let the Holy Spirit in. We are not abandoned. We are not alone. God has not forgotten a single one of us. God works with us on an eternal, timeless scale because we are eternal and so he has no reason to hurry. He has no need to fear what may happen to us while we sleep because he knows that no matter what we manifest in our dreams, our true selves are sitting right there with him, blessed by him and surrounded by him...totally safe for all eternity. We cannot die nor do we have any reason to fear harm in any way because God cannot create things that decay and die. This body is a car. Things may happen to your car that you do not like, but it's just a car. Even when the car is totally destroyed, you still exist as you always have...and perhaps you'll even find another car and return again. I can't say I know how that works, but whether we are experiencing this void physically, metaphysically or spiritually, we are here because we think God is upset at us and we think we can hide. While we are here, we can choose to be open and willing to see things differently...more clearly. We can choose to pursue God's truths and set aside the fears that created this world. One by one we can remove the blocks in the wall that we have built between us and our creator...and one day, we will take one step forward together, and God will reach out his hand and help us safely leap across the abyss. Then, our eyes will open and we will know we are with our creator. Once again, we will feel the full love and peace of God and continue our eternal existance with him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nelmes - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him. His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both "The Bible" and "A Course In Miracles". You can visit David's website at: http://www.BeingWilling.com This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission. Highlight & Copy Text Version

Persecuted For Being Like God
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- H2.inner {color: #ff0000; font-family: "copperplate gothic bold", "arial rounded mt bold"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 600; line-height: 80%;} #picntext {width: 350px; float: right; padding: 5px; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; margin: 5px; background-color: #ffffff;} p.inner {font-size: 10pt;} --> </STYLE> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER> <H2 class="inner">Persecuted For Being Like God</H2> through <A HREF="#author">David Nelmes</A><BR> (9/15/2005) </DIV> <p class="inner">The Bible states that God created us in his image. Since most of us no longer think of God as an old man with a long flowing beard, we realize he is a spirit being and that if we were created in his image, this is a direct reference to our spiritual essence and abilities. We are like him spiritually because he created us spiritually, just as our children are like us physically because we create them physically.</p> <p class="inner">So, I pose the question...why has the world, past and present, chosen to kill and attack individuals who act a lot like our Biblical God and demonstrate many of the traits associated with God? Why are people and leaders of the world hated and destroyed when they act like the Biblical God? Christians are expected to act like Jesus who is also God, so why do we continue to chastise many of those God-like prophets that have been brought into the world these past few centuries? We really need to take a closer look at the people we choose to persecute if we are also choosing to model our lives after God.</p> <p class="inner">More recently, let's look at Saddam. Saddam dictated his people follow certain rules under penalty of punishment or death...just like God. Saddam killed thousands or millions who would not bow to him and follow his rules...just like God. Saddam desired to be revered and even worshipped...just like God. Saddam was nervous and had anxiety about what would happen to him if his people were allowed to interact without him...just like God. Saddam did not want his people to look at or be exposed to other beliefs unlike his...just like God. Saddam released a mist of fear that all should obey him without question...just like God. Saddam provided just enough to eat and exist on and said you should just be grateful he didn't kill you, because he can...just like God.</p> <p class="inner">So, the question is this...if we are created in the image of God and are told to desire to be like God...why do we attack and kill those leaders and individuals...those prophets that actually achieve this goal and act like God? Like all ancient concepts of God and gods, bloodshed is expected and required, so what's the basis for us having issue with world leaders that require this as well? Why the double standard? Why doesn't Saddam deserve our admiration and respect?</p> <p class="inner">If you say we are not allowed to be like that part of God that has the right to be vengeful, angry and murderous since this is what makes him holy and worthy of our worship (? Hmmm )...then we are not created in his image and we are created simply as toys...somewhat like the concept of Zeus and his earthling amusements. We are nothing but things to play with...to be tossed aside and destroyed at will. If that is the case, we are not created in Gods image...and even then, not even created as a shadow of his image, but as a slave to the whims of his image. If this were the case, everybody would eventually be tortured for the pleasure and amusement of this God, no matter how well they behaved, because only a sadistic being would create such a condition for life.</p> <p class="inner">When looking at the regime of Saddam or any dictatorship...why doesn't forced allegiance under penalty of punishment and death work? Think about this. What is the inevitable end result of this kind of rule? What is wrong with Saddam or any dictator demanding obedience...or else? What is wrong with using fear and punishment as a means to gain something? When is it OK to threaten a life to get what you don't need, but simply want? Why are we upset at Saddam for acting like God?</p> <p class="inner">Hmmm, for a moment, let's say the Biblical version of God is true and that God does eventually massacre all non-believers on earth in a battle more bloody than ever recorded (because he is YHWH, the god of war...currently at war with Satan and all non-believers) and let's say he sets up a kingdom on earth and lays down the new rules. He cannot change and so he will still say ...<I>"Do this or I will Kill You...Do that and I will kill you...think differently of me tomorrow and I will kill you...disobey me and I will send you to a place where you will feel like your entire body is on fire forever and ever. Look down when I say look up and I will torture you</i>"....<b>I think I would rather take my chances with Saddam.</b></p> <p class="inner">If you can answer or explain the reasons why Saddam was not a good leader and why it would not be a natural thing for people to love him and follow him and why he should not have done the things he did, then apply this to the Biblical God as well because <B>we are created in his image</b>. We do know better than to act in the way that Saddam, Hitler, Napoleon and Caesar acted.....and So Does God! If we can so easily see that this kind of behavior is unacceptable, how can you even begin to fathom that God does not already know this? You simply need to set aside the angry vision of God that is drawn by the Bible and open your heart to see him as he really is...a loving God.</p> <p class="inner">We know there is never any good that comes out of forcing people to do things they don't want to do...and so does God. We know that using fear to motivate people might show some initial results, but that the final effect will be disastrous...and so does God. We know that threatening somebody with death and punishment is not motivation enough for people to choose to change....and so does God. We know that using guilt to get what we want ends up with sad and unhappy people that don't want to be with us...and so does God.</p> <p class="inner">We know that being patient and being loving is the only way for an individual to truly love....and so does God. We know that our children will eventually listen to us if we be patient and remain there always for them as they need help...and so does God. We know that the only real love is the love freely given, without condition and without threat...and so does God.</p> <p class="inner">We have yet to learn we have no reason to defend that which is perfect and true...but God already knows this. We have yet to learn that the rules and sacrifices we demand within this physical world are neither needed nor required to please God...but God already knows this. </p> <p class="inner">We have yet to conceive that more than one book or one set of guidelines was created to follow as steps towards knowing who God really is...but God already knows this and has been leaving bits and pieces of truth with millions upon millions of people since time began.</p> <p class="inner">I was prompted to write this article after hearing a story of a young Christian woman who was depressed and considering suicide because of her churches teachings about the End Times...and I can't say I blame her. If you believe your God is like Saddam....and even worse, what would be the reason for joy? What else but confusion could arise in your heart when told your loving God is going to kill millions of people and feel totally justified in doing so? What would be your motivation to want to live? Why would you want to spend eternity with a God like that?</p> <p class="inner">For you, young woman, God is not like the God the churches describe to you and he is not going to end the world. Man has so totally misunderstood God and is still acting like primitive tribes, worshipping their God of Bloodshed, of which YHWH originally was king.</p> <p class="inner">YHWH was one of many worshipped Gods in ancient times. YHWH was the God of War and the Israelites chose him as their sole God at times to ensure the destruction of their enemies, but would revert back to Baal for help with their harvests. The Israelites eventually focused in on one primary god, so they may have the distinction of perhaps being the race to first embrace the concept of worshipping one god, but it was the God of War they chose to worship and that has nothing to do with my God, the God of love, peace, patience and eternal blessings.</p> <p class="inner">Any attempt you make to rationalize why God has the right to act in the murderous, jealous and paranoid way as described in the Bible, is only further preventing you from letting go of these misconceptions and preventing you from seeing God more clearly as he really is....a God who is not angry at you, does not require or desire bloodshed, does not want your sacrifice and does not want your worship. All those traits are indications of a very sick, insecure, ungrounded and warped individual and God is not like that.</p> <p class="inner">Most religions go right out the window if you eliminate the concept of a God that requires sacrifice...and this is finally starting to become more and more clear to the people of the earth. All it takes to see this more clearly is to think of God as having <b style="color: red;">UNCONDITIONAL LOVE</b>. That means no condition for you...no expectations about you...no demands from you....no rules to break......no magic words to say...no specific actions to perform...no specific thing required to believe...no conditions of any kind. He just loves us. He has not left you nor set any obstacles in your way to be one with him again.</p> <p class="inner">Since it is <b>"WE"</b> who have freely created the mess in this world and <b>"WE"</b> who have turned our eyes away from his guidance, <b>"HE"</b> is not responsible for the state of the world nor would <b>"HE"</b> be involved with bringing about its destruction. <b>"HE"</b> is just patiently and lovingly walking beside us, helping us whenever <b>"WE"</b> truly decide to be open to be helped, but otherwise <b>"HE"</b> is allowing us to experience this world situation <b>"WE"</b> created while endlessly teaching us how to be more open and more willing to listen to his truths and guidance.</p> <p class="inner">We are created in the image of God. We are powerful spiritual beings and we have a tendency to bring about things in this world that we believe are inevitable...and so if you choose to believe the world is going to have wars and famines and terrible cataclysmic events, <b>you are part of why they occur</b>.</p> <p class="inner">Stop wanting them. Stop believing they have a purpose. Stop believing God is using them to punish. Stop believing God wants them or is endorsing their existence.</p> <p class="inner">We are created in Gods image and collectively we have the power to change the world for better or worse. Do you believe the world can improve? If not, you can change your mind and choose to believe the world will improve. Choose to believe peace is stronger than war. Choose to believe forgiveness can enter every heart.</p> <p class="inner">If you choose to believe the world has a bright future with a glorious awakening of spirit, you will be helping the world move in that direction. If you choose to believe the world is doomed and headed for destruction, you will have helped the world move in that direction. What would you prefer? What would a genuinely loving God prefer? It will help you to see that God is not doing this to the world or playing us like puppets with some grand plan or scheme where this one single planet earth will determine the fate of the universe...we are doing this. Let's choose to do this differently.</p> <p class="inner">We are not alone and the earth is not a battleground between God and Satan. You really need to step back a moment from this type of thinking and let yourself see how primitive this concept is. This is based solely upon fear of what we think cannot be understood....but our understanding is not being suppressed by God. We are denying our own ability to see the truth that we did this to ourselves. There is no devil to blame, but there is also no angry God looking to punish us. Our whole concept of God is mired and needs to be looked at again with a fresh new perspective.</p> <p class="inner">Our beliefs about God are about as far off from the truth as you can possibly attempt to go. Stop trying to rationalize all the conflicting issues that represent a loving, but murdering god and simply see that it does not make sense and there is nothing to rationalize because it simply is not true. The longer you believe the lie, you longer you will have to constantly try to find ways to explain it and rationalize it...adapting it as time passes...as the ages pass. Just stop. Stop defending the Bible and your churches beliefs and let God truthfully speak to you. Stop believing the lie. Stop believing God ever has or ever would kill. Stop believing God ever has or ever will be angry. Stop believing the lessons taught by the fear of men and hold onto this one thought....<i>anything that teaches through fear or uses fear in any way, is not from God</i>. </p> <p class="inner">Choose peace. Peace will guide you. Embrace peace and then listen to who peace would have you be.</p> <p class="inner">Choose love. Love will guide you. Embrace love and then listen to who love would have you be.</p> <p class="inner">Choose God. God will guide you. Embrace God and then listen to who God would have you be.</p> <p class="inner">There is nothing to do except to be open to hear and to be willing to be peace, be love and be what God would have you be. </p> <BR CLEAR=ALL> <HR SIZE=1 COLOR="#3E1300"> <P><I><A NAME="author"><IMG SRC="http://www.beingwilling.com/articles/graphics/david_nelmes.jpg" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=100 alt="David Nelmes" BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=10 STYLE="border-style: inset; border-color: #DDDDDD; border-width: 2px;"></A> <B>David Nelmes</B> - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him.</I></P> <P><I>His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fbrowse%2F-%2F10405901%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fqid%3D1181498397&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bible</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" and "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCourse-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace%2Fdp%2F0670869759%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1181498802%26sr%3D1-1&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">A Course in Miracles</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />".<BR> You can visit David's website at: <A HREF="http://www.beingwilling.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.BeingWilling.com</A></I></P> <P>This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission.</P> Highlight & Copy Html Version	PERSECUTED FOR BEING LIKE GOD through David Nelmes (9/15/2005) The Bible states that God created us in his image. Since most of us no longer think of God as an old man with a long flowing beard, we realize he is a spirit being and that if we were created in his image, this is a direct reference to our spiritual essence and abilities. We are like him spiritually because he created us spiritually, just as our children are like us physically because we create them physically. So, I pose the question...why has the world, past and present, chosen to kill and attack individuals who act a lot like our Biblical God and demonstrate many of the traits associated with God? Why are people and leaders of the world hated and destroyed when they act like the Biblical God? Christians are expected to act like Jesus who is also God, so why do we continue to chastise many of those God-like prophets that have been brought into the world these past few centuries? We really need to take a closer look at the people we choose to persecute if we are also choosing to model our lives after God. More recently, let's look at Saddam. Saddam dictated his people follow certain rules under penalty of punishment or death...just like God. Saddam killed thousands or millions who would not bow to him and follow his rules...just like God. Saddam desired to be revered and even worshipped...just like God. Saddam was nervous and had anxiety about what would happen to him if his people were allowed to interact without him...just like God. Saddam did not want his people to look at or be exposed to other beliefs unlike his...just like God. Saddam released a mist of fear that all should obey him without question...just like God. Saddam provided just enough to eat and exist on and said you should just be grateful he didn't kill you, because he can...just like God. So, the question is this...if we are created in the image of God and are told to desire to be like God...why do we attack and kill those leaders and individuals...those prophets that actually achieve this goal and act like God? Like all ancient concepts of God and gods, bloodshed is expected and required, so what's the basis for us having issue with world leaders that require this as well? Why the double standard? Why doesn't Saddam deserve our admiration and respect? If you say we are not allowed to be like that part of God that has the right to be vengeful, angry and murderous since this is what makes him holy and worthy of our worship (? Hmmm )...then we are not created in his image and we are created simply as toys...somewhat like the concept of Zeus and his earthling amusements. We are nothing but things to play with...to be tossed aside and destroyed at will. If that is the case, we are not created in Gods image...and even then, not even created as a shadow of his image, but as a slave to the whims of his image. If this were the case, everybody would eventually be tortured for the pleasure and amusement of this God, no matter how well they behaved, because only a sadistic being would create such a condition for life. When looking at the regime of Saddam or any dictatorship...why doesn't forced allegiance under penalty of punishment and death work? Think about this. What is the inevitable end result of this kind of rule? What is wrong with Saddam or any dictator demanding obedience...or else? What is wrong with using fear and punishment as a means to gain something? When is it OK to threaten a life to get what you don't need, but simply want? Why are we upset at Saddam for acting like God? Hmmm, for a moment, let's say the Biblical version of God is true and that God does eventually massacre all non-believers on earth in a battle more bloody than ever recorded (because he is YHWH, the god of war...currently at war with Satan and all non-believers) and let's say he sets up a kingdom on earth and lays down the new rules. He cannot change and so he will still say ..."Do this or I will Kill You...Do that and I will kill you...think differently of me tomorrow and I will kill you...disobey me and I will send you to a place where you will feel like your entire body is on fire forever and ever. Look down when I say look up and I will torture you"....I think I would rather take my chances with Saddam. If you can answer or explain the reasons why Saddam was not a good leader and why it would not be a natural thing for people to love him and follow him and why he should not have done the things he did, then apply this to the Biblical God as well because we are created in his image. We do know better than to act in the way that Saddam, Hitler, Napoleon and Caesar acted.....and So Does God! If we can so easily see that this kind of behavior is unacceptable, how can you even begin to fathom that God does not already know this? You simply need to set aside the angry vision of God that is drawn by the Bible and open your heart to see him as he really is...a loving God. We know there is never any good that comes out of forcing people to do things they don't want to do...and so does God. We know that using fear to motivate people might show some initial results, but that the final effect will be disastrous...and so does God. We know that threatening somebody with death and punishment is not motivation enough for people to choose to change....and so does God. We know that using guilt to get what we want ends up with sad and unhappy people that don't want to be with us...and so does God. We know that being patient and being loving is the only way for an individual to truly love....and so does God. We know that our children will eventually listen to us if we be patient and remain there always for them as they need help...and so does God. We know that the only real love is the love freely given, without condition and without threat...and so does God. We have yet to learn we have no reason to defend that which is perfect and true...but God already knows this. We have yet to learn that the rules and sacrifices we demand within this physical world are neither needed nor required to please God...but God already knows this. We have yet to conceive that more than one book or one set of guidelines was created to follow as steps towards knowing who God really is...but God already knows this and has been leaving bits and pieces of truth with millions upon millions of people since time began. I was prompted to write this article after hearing a story of a young Christian woman who was depressed and considering suicide because of her churches teachings about the End Times...and I can't say I blame her. If you believe your God is like Saddam....and even worse, what would be the reason for joy? What else but confusion could arise in your heart when told your loving God is going to kill millions of people and feel totally justified in doing so? What would be your motivation to want to live? Why would you want to spend eternity with a God like that? For you, young woman, God is not like the God the churches describe to you and he is not going to end the world. Man has so totally misunderstood God and is still acting like primitive tribes, worshipping their God of Bloodshed, of which YHWH originally was king. YHWH was one of many worshipped Gods in ancient times. YHWH was the God of War and the Israelites chose him as their sole God at times to ensure the destruction of their enemies, but would revert back to Baal for help with their harvests. The Israelites eventually focused in on one primary god, so they may have the distinction of perhaps being the race to first embrace the concept of worshipping one god, but it was the God of War they chose to worship and that has nothing to do with my God, the God of love, peace, patience and eternal blessings. Any attempt you make to rationalize why God has the right to act in the murderous, jealous and paranoid way as described in the Bible, is only further preventing you from letting go of these misconceptions and preventing you from seeing God more clearly as he really is....a God who is not angry at you, does not require or desire bloodshed, does not want your sacrifice and does not want your worship. All those traits are indications of a very sick, insecure, ungrounded and warped individual and God is not like that. Most religions go right out the window if you eliminate the concept of a God that requires sacrifice...and this is finally starting to become more and more clear to the people of the earth. All it takes to see this more clearly is to think of God as having UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. That means no condition for you...no expectations about you...no demands from you....no rules to break......no magic words to say...no specific actions to perform...no specific thing required to believe...no conditions of any kind. He just loves us. He has not left you nor set any obstacles in your way to be one with him again. Since it is "WE" who have freely created the mess in this world and "WE" who have turned our eyes away from his guidance, "HE" is not responsible for the state of the world nor would "HE" be involved with bringing about its destruction. "HE" is just patiently and lovingly walking beside us, helping us whenever "WE" truly decide to be open to be helped, but otherwise "HE" is allowing us to experience this world situation "WE" created while endlessly teaching us how to be more open and more willing to listen to his truths and guidance. We are created in the image of God. We are powerful spiritual beings and we have a tendency to bring about things in this world that we believe are inevitable...and so if you choose to believe the world is going to have wars and famines and terrible cataclysmic events, you are part of why they occur. Stop wanting them. Stop believing they have a purpose. Stop believing God is using them to punish. Stop believing God wants them or is endorsing their existence. We are created in Gods image and collectively we have the power to change the world for better or worse. Do you believe the world can improve? If not, you can change your mind and choose to believe the world will improve. Choose to believe peace is stronger than war. Choose to believe forgiveness can enter every heart. If you choose to believe the world has a bright future with a glorious awakening of spirit, you will be helping the world move in that direction. If you choose to believe the world is doomed and headed for destruction, you will have helped the world move in that direction. What would you prefer? What would a genuinely loving God prefer? It will help you to see that God is not doing this to the world or playing us like puppets with some grand plan or scheme where this one single planet earth will determine the fate of the universe...we are doing this. Let's choose to do this differently. We are not alone and the earth is not a battleground between God and Satan. You really need to step back a moment from this type of thinking and let yourself see how primitive this concept is. This is based solely upon fear of what we think cannot be understood....but our understanding is not being suppressed by God. We are denying our own ability to see the truth that we did this to ourselves. There is no devil to blame, but there is also no angry God looking to punish us. Our whole concept of God is mired and needs to be looked at again with a fresh new perspective. Our beliefs about God are about as far off from the truth as you can possibly attempt to go. Stop trying to rationalize all the conflicting issues that represent a loving, but murdering god and simply see that it does not make sense and there is nothing to rationalize because it simply is not true. The longer you believe the lie, you longer you will have to constantly try to find ways to explain it and rationalize it...adapting it as time passes...as the ages pass. Just stop. Stop defending the Bible and your churches beliefs and let God truthfully speak to you. Stop believing the lie. Stop believing God ever has or ever would kill. Stop believing God ever has or ever will be angry. Stop believing the lessons taught by the fear of men and hold onto this one thought....anything that teaches through fear or uses fear in any way, is not from God. Choose peace. Peace will guide you. Embrace peace and then listen to who peace would have you be. Choose love. Love will guide you. Embrace love and then listen to who love would have you be. Choose God. God will guide you. Embrace God and then listen to who God would have you be. There is nothing to do except to be open to hear and to be willing to be peace, be love and be what God would have you be. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nelmes - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him. His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both "The Bible" and "A Course In Miracles". You can visit David's website at: http://www.BeingWilling.com This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission. Highlight & Copy Text Version

Seeing God For The First Time
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- H2.inner {color: #ff0000; font-family: "copperplate gothic bold", "arial rounded mt bold"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 600; line-height: 80%;} LI.inner {margin-bottom: 7px; color: #000000;} #picntext {width: 410px; float: right; padding: 5px; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; margin: 5px; background-color: #ffffff;} p.inner {font-size: 10pt;} --> </STYLE> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER> <H2 class="inner">Seeing God For The First Time</H2> through <A HREF="#author">David Nelmes</A><BR> (7/15/2005) </DIV> <p class="inner">References are great things, but nothing beats actually meeting a person, as compared to what others may have said about the person. Our own conclusions of right and wrong, good and bad, ideologies and standards, will have a great impact on how we might describe an individual and this description might be totally inaccurate or only partially true. This does not make the description wrong...it only makes the description a description that one person provided of another.</P> <p class="inner">We often see others in much the same way as we see ourselves. For example, if you are a selfish person, you are very likely to assume this trait exists in others. Since you think selfishly about yourself, you can't imagine others do not do the same. You might not have an actual thought that you are selfish, but if you are, you will often attach that trait to others and assume they are selfish whether they are or not. You will deduce things that they have said or done, based upon what you think it means and not based upon why they really did it or said it. You will create the situation and memory to fit the image you have given them and this might have little or nothing to do with who they really are.</P> <p class="inner">In ancient times, our perspective of God or gods was based upon extreme fears we had of a world we did not even begin to understand or fathom. Much of what became our religion was based upon fears that we must do certain things to please God, because otherwise, he will punish us. Our fall from God, no matter how you might like to deduce it occurred, created a major rift between us and God and we put ourselves in a position where we believed God was looking to punish us and we had written history to mimic that method of thinking.</P> <p class="inner">Just imagine that you could to go back 4000 years in time for just one moment. Upon entering a small village, you sit at the well and start showing people things from the future.</P> <p class="inner">When you press a button and a flame instantly appears on your butane lighter, what is their response? They assume it is magic and that perhaps you are a god, an angel or even an evil spirit. They have responded the way they did because they did not have the history of related facts to help them understand what this object was. This has little to do with their level of intelligence, but it has a lot to do with them just not having had enough experience to understand things. The world was primitive and the thinking was primitive as well.</P> <p class="inner">Knowing they can't even begin to comprehend this simple butane lighter, are you going to believe the perception they have of you and the lighter or are you going to believe what history and knowledge has taught you to be true about yourself? It's easy to see that just because they believe something to be true, doesn't make it true, it just makes it what they believed was true, based upon the knowledge they had at the time.</P> <p class="inner">If you are not going to believe what they think of a simple butane lighter, why would you even begin to believe their conclusions about God? Most of us understand that a butane lighter is something that contains a fuel of some sort and a lighting mechanism. There is no magic...it's just science and mechanics. We understand this because of what we are learning today and because of what we have evolved to understand over thousands of years of history.</p> <p class="inner">If we apply this same method of thinking to God, we would not put so much stock in what an ancient tribe told us God was. Instead, we would use our evolved knowledge and awareness of all we have learned through thousands of years to help us be open and willing to see things more clearly. Otherwise, we must always and forever conclude the butane lighter is magical and holy, or evil, no matter all the other evidence time and history provides us with, because that's what they believed it was 4000 years ago and we are not allowed to disagree.</P> <p class="inner">By not blindly accepting an ancient version of God, we instantly become willing to see things more truthfully and more openly. On the other hand, to accept an ancient point of view as being solid and unchangeable, we have eliminated the possibility of seeing things clearly today and we will then have to create religions and rules and concepts to explain away all the things that really don't make sense.</P> <p class="inner">If you step back from the Bible for a moment, you can begin to see the non-spiritual human duality that the writers have given our unchangeable God. It was not possible for the writers to assume God would be any different than they were, had they the immense power he had. For example:</P> <ul> <li class="inner"> He created us through perfect love, but he chooses to punish us...(the garden of Eden). <li class="inner"> He can do things when he's angry and then feel sorry about it later...(the flood of Noah). <li class="inner"> He can make a decision and then make compromises...(Lot and the story of Sodom). <li class="inner"> He's a spiritual being, yet he requires physical blood to be shed to help him look past things you might have done...(all concepts of sacrifice). <li class="inner"> He'll destroy even his most loved if they fail to follow a simple rule...(the story of the passover). <li class="inner"> He tells you that you must forgive everyone automatically, no matter what they have done, yet he won't forgive you unless you meet his qualifications...(Christ's story of forgiving somebody 7 times 70). <li class="inner"> He created an entire universe and provided us with vast intelligence, yet he feared us and became paranoid when we chose to build a tall structure...(the tower of babel). </ul> <p class="inner">If many of these same Bible stories were written by a Roman or Greek and the gods name was changed from YHWH to Zeus, we would so easily see how unlikely they are to be true. We would not be compelled in any way to justify them and make them a part of how we should live because we would so clearly see that this was simply an ancient and ignorant attempt to understand why things were the way they were. Consider this question from an ancient Greek child:</p> <div style="margin-left: 15px; background-color: #f0f0f0; padding: 5px;"> <p class="inner"><b>Father, why are the people in that village so big?</b></p> <p style="margin-left: 10px;">There was a time when we were all the same size, but then many of Zeus's servants became jealous of the luxuries and pleasures of man and they came down and mated with the people in that village and when their children were born, they were like giants. Giants come from the mating of gods and humans. This is also why Hercules, son of Zeus is so strong and large as well.</p> </div> <p class="inner">Do you believe this explanation to be true...that giants were the results of gods and humans mating and that Hercules may have actually existed as a result of the gods mating with a human? If not, why then believe where the Bible uses this same idea to explain giants in the Old Testament?</p> <p style="margin-left: 10px; font-style: italic;">Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the <i>sons of God</i> (angels or demons) came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.</p> <p class="inner">All over the world, in centuries gone by and even today, folk tales are written and told in an effort to help explain the unexplainable. These stories were necessary to help provide comfort and understanding when no other explanation can be fathomed, but they are generally based upon the lack of knowledge, not God's inspired knowledge.</p> <p class="inner">On a more practical note, if the stories of God's retribution throughout ancient history were all true, why would anyone want to spend an eternity with such an angry and vengeful god? You would never be at peace because the Bible teaches us that no matter how strict you followed God, he'll take everything off of you and make your life miserable, the moment you tap a stone twice instead of once (the story of Abraham). Perhaps he'll even upset your whole life, bring disease and poverty to you and allow your family to be killed as part of a wager to prove a point (the story of Job). He might even condemn an entire city to death and destruction and require you perform certain tasks to prevent it from happening (a story of Lot...oops, this really was a Greek story about Perseus). Are we talking about our loving God or a human manufactured story about a manipulating Zeus?</P> <p class="inner">So, if you would like to see God for the first time, there are a few ancient perceptions that you need to let go. Once you do this, you will begin to see everything in a whole new light. <ol type="1"> <li class="inner"> <b>God is a God of Perfect Love</b><br> Drop the human perception of love that requires conditions to be met. God's love does not require conditions. God's love is perfectly equal for all, at every point in history, for every individual that ever existed. God's love is unconditional. There is nothing we need to do to earn it and there is nothing we can do to lose it. God cannot change how he sees us and cannot change how he loves us. <ul> <li class="inner"> Basically, no sacrifices of any kind are desired or required. Nothing needs to be sold or given away to earn God's love or attention. </ul> <li class="inner"> <b>God Does Not Have Favorites</b><br> If God loves unconditionally, there can be no favorites. There is no chosen race. There is no damned race. There is no right religion. There are no chosen people. There is no single religion or philosophy that entitles you to salvation over another being. There is nobody less worthy than you. There is nobody more worthy than you. God loves Napoleon and Mother Theresa equally. <ul> <li class="inner"> God never destroyed nor endorsed the destruction of a single life. None of the battles recorded in the Old Testament ended up as they did because God blessed one side or damned the other. When the Israelites won a battle, it was later written how God blessed them. When they lost a battle, it was later written how God punished them. These actual events have nothing at all to do with what God did, but only with how events were perceived by an ancient people that would stand in awe of a butane lighter if given the opportunity. <li class="inner"> Jesus actually demonstrated there are no favorites when he was asked for healing by a Gentile. He basically concluded that the blessings of God were not for the Jewish race only, but for all races. Since we consider God to be changeless, there never could have been a time when only the Jewish race was blessed. This wasn't a moment where Jesus changed his or God's mind about blessing other races. It was simply a correction by stating how it always was and always will be. Unconditional love cannot have a favorite. </ul> <li class="inner"> <b>Sacrifice Was Never Required</b><br> If God loves unconditionally and never favored any one person more than another, then we have always been blessed by God and were never required to ask God's forgiveness because he never saw us as being at fault. God was never upset with us. God was never angry with us. God was never jealous or vengeful because of us. These are all human traits given to God by ancient writers, but they have nothing to do with who God really is. <ul> <li class="inner"> Most ancient civilizations believed they were unworthy of their god and the concept of sacrifice was part of every ancient belief, whether it be Aztec, Mayan, Jewish or Roman </ul> <li class="inner"> <b>Anything That Teaches Through Fear Or Uses Fear In Any Way, Is Not Inspired By God</b><br> If perfect love casts out all fear, God cannot use fear or be associated with it in any way and still love unconditionally. You must choose to see God as either a God of Love or a God of fear. He cannot be both. One of these traits cannot exist while the other exists. <ul> <li class="inner"> All prophecy of doom...all concepts of hell...all forms of sickness...any and all reasons to fear retribution from God were created from the minds of men and not from the mind of God. </ul> <li class="inner"> <b>God Has Never Changed</b><br> God does not make deals or reconsider things. God does not feel sorry for something he has done. God does not barter or compromise. God does not hold back his anger for now. God is not happy one moment and then upset the next. People are often unsure of who they are and are therefore apt to think differently about things over time. God does not have these insecurities. The only reason we compromise is because we are unsure of ourselves. God knows who he is and only ever does and says once that which is perfect. <ul> <li class="inner"> Lot never bartered for the lives at Sodom, and Sodom was not destroyed by Gods anger. Nobody ever deserves to die in Gods eyes. Nobody ever deserves any pain or discomfort in Gods eyes. Lot could not compromise with God because God does one thing only...love, and nothing we do or say will ever change that. <li class="inner"> The story of Job never happened. God does not make deals or peddle flesh to prove a point. God has nothing to prove because he knows perfectly well who he is and who we are. God would not agree to anyone suffering to make a point. All life is precious to God and he would never accept the death of some to make a point. When you are perfect and when you know all there is to know, it doesn't matter to you what anyone thinks or says because you know it doesn't matter. There is nothing to defend. There is no reason to attack. <li class="inner"> God is not holding back his anger from the world because of anything Jesus did. This would assume that God compromises and therefore is not changeless. Jesus did not come here as a sacrifice to appease God. Jesus came here as a door to help open our eyes to see God differently. </ul> <li class="inner"> <b>God Neither Desires Nor Requires Anything From This Physical World</b><br> God is a spirit, as are all our true selves. There is nothing on this earth...nothing in this entire universe that God requires or desires from you. There is nothing you can physically do or give that matters to him. God is a spirit and the physical things of this world can not affect him or our own spirits. This physical world is something of our own making ( we'll discuss that in greater detail later). Allow yourself to see that the confusion of believing God is interwoven into the fabric of this physical world is what gave birth to the concepts of sacrifice, religion, favorites and judgments. <ul> <li class="inner"> The thought that this physical world is what God values is what lead to the belief that Jesus was going to come to rule as a king for the Israelites. Jesus didn't come to set up a physical kingdom, but to help us see that the spiritual kingdom is all that matters. <li class="inner"> The thought that Jesus will again return to set up a physical kingdom is a Christian variation and continuation of what the ancient people watching for the Messiah, thought he would do. Jesus's final message to us when he was resurrected is that "Nothing that anyone does to you here on earth matters". "Nothing physical matters." This physical experience is a temporary place we are interacting, but there is nothing here than can harm our true selves. </ul> </ol> <p class="inner">These perceptions of God are vastly different than what the Bible and many ancient texts teach us. The only reason things appear so different is because we had chosen to use these references in a way that created bondage and stunted our spiritual growth, instead of using them as stepping stones. There are truths in the Bible, but the Bible itself was never meant to be taken word for word...for thousands of years.</P> <p class="inner">Imagine if you were still reading the book about 'Spot'. Your vocabulary and writing skills would be limited to things such as "See Spot run". All that you knew and were capable of understanding would be limited to that one book. If you believed that was the only book to reference and only the words in that book mattered, you would have grown to a certain level and just stopped...not growing for ages...so determined that only that book was the book to follow. To defend your book, you would have to denounce all other books that were different than yours. Things that did not make sense in your book would be rationalized over and over again as the ages went by...in attempts to preserve what you believe is the only source of truth. You would have to purposely not allow any other truth into your life because it was not allowed to show anything different than your book.</P> <p class="inner">Now, let's take a look at the Bible. This book was vital and necessary to bring order and a sense of God to a world that had multiple gods. The information in this book was perfect for the people of its time, but this information was never supposed to be set aside as the "end all be all" words of God. God never stopped communicating and God never just communicated through a single book. What you are reading now are words from God...no more or less valuable than any words in the Bible or any other text inspired by God.</P> <p class="inner">In the Bible, God is communicating to the authors, but how the authors perceive what God is saying and how they think God is interacting in their lives, creates a huge gap in what they are inspired to say and what they believe they are inspired to say. This also includes what I am writing at this moment. Every moment of every day, all of us are learning and being drawn towards a greater understanding of the truth. None of us have ever experienced real truth, but we are much closer than we were 4000 years ago and we will continue to draw closer and closer to God as we continue to be more and more open to hear his truths and apply them to our lives.</P> <p class="inner"> God is on your side...no matter what your race...no matter what your religion...no matter who you are...no matter what you have done...no matter where you live...no matter what you eat...no matter what physical laws you have broken...no matter what you think of God...no matter whether you are seeking him or not...no matter whether you believe in him or not...no matter what. There is no condition God has set to love you. You can't earn it or lose it....it's just there.</P> <p class="inner">Be open and be willing to hear what God is saying to you today and for every day to come. In time, you will see that God's answer to any problem is not to judge a person and punish them as the Bible teaches, but to love that person and join with them to help them get past the problem. God wants to help you resolve your problems, so he's not going to punish you for needing help any more than a good parent would punish an infant because they fell when attempting to walk. As much as we can provide moments of unconditional love and forgiveness to our own children, God already does this for all of us at every moment.</P> <p class="inner">Sit back, close your eyes and be still for a moment. Be willing to see the truth and be willing to let go of what this world has taught you about God, our creator. Be still and say hello to your loving and forgiving God...perhaps for the first time.</P> <BR CLEAR=ALL> <HR SIZE=1 COLOR="#3E1300"> <P><I><A NAME="author"><IMG SRC="http://www.beingwilling.com/articles/graphics/david_nelmes.jpg" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=100 alt="David Nelmes" BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=10 STYLE="border-style: inset; border-color: #DDDDDD; border-width: 2px;"></A> <B>David Nelmes</B> - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him.</I></P> <P><I>His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fbrowse%2F-%2F10405901%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fqid%3D1181498397&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bible</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" and "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCourse-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace%2Fdp%2F0670869759%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1181498802%26sr%3D1-1&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">A Course in Miracles</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />".<BR> You can visit David's website at: <A HREF="http://www.beingwilling.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.BeingWilling.com</A></I></P> <P>This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission.</P> Highlight & Copy Html Version	SEEING GOD FOR THE FIRST TIME through David Nelmes (7/15/2005) References are great things, but nothing beats actually meeting a person, as compared to what others may have said about the person. Our own conclusions of right and wrong, good and bad, ideologies and standards, will have a great impact on how we might describe an individual and this description might be totally inaccurate or only partially true. This does not make the description wrong...it only makes the description a description that one person provided of another. We often see others in much the same way as we see ourselves. For example, if you are a selfish person, you are very likely to assume this trait exists in others. Since you think selfishly about yourself, you can't imagine others do not do the same. You might not have an actual thought that you are selfish, but if you are, you will often attach that trait to others and assume they are selfish whether they are or not. You will deduce things that they have said or done, based upon what you think it means and not based upon why they really did it or said it. You will create the situation and memory to fit the image you have given them and this might have little or nothing to do with who they really are. In ancient times, our perspective of God or gods was based upon extreme fears we had of a world we did not even begin to understand or fathom. Much of what became our religion was based upon fears that we must do certain things to please God, because otherwise, he will punish us. Our fall from God, no matter how you might like to deduce it occurred, created a major rift between us and God and we put ourselves in a position where we believed God was looking to punish us and we had written history to mimic that method of thinking. Just imagine that you could to go back 4000 years in time for just one moment. Upon entering a small village, you sit at the well and start showing people things from the future. When you press a button and a flame instantly appears on your butane lighter, what is their response? They assume it is magic and that perhaps you are a god, an angel or even an evil spirit. They have responded the way they did because they did not have the history of related facts to help them understand what this object was. This has little to do with their level of intelligence, but it has a lot to do with them just not having had enough experience to understand things. The world was primitive and the thinking was primitive as well. Knowing they can't even begin to comprehend this simple butane lighter, are you going to believe the perception they have of you and the lighter or are you going to believe what history and knowledge has taught you to be true about yourself? It's easy to see that just because they believe something to be true, doesn't make it true, it just makes it what they believed was true, based upon the knowledge they had at the time. If you are not going to believe what they think of a simple butane lighter, why would you even begin to believe their conclusions about God? Most of us understand that a butane lighter is something that contains a fuel of some sort and a lighting mechanism. There is no magic...it's just science and mechanics. We understand this because of what we are learning today and because of what we have evolved to understand over thousands of years of history. If we apply this same method of thinking to God, we would not put so much stock in what an ancient tribe told us God was. Instead, we would use our evolved knowledge and awareness of all we have learned through thousands of years to help us be open and willing to see things more clearly. Otherwise, we must always and forever conclude the butane lighter is magical and holy, or evil, no matter all the other evidence time and history provides us with, because that's what they believed it was 4000 years ago and we are not allowed to disagree. By not blindly accepting an ancient version of God, we instantly become willing to see things more truthfully and more openly. On the other hand, to accept an ancient point of view as being solid and unchangeable, we have eliminated the possibility of seeing things clearly today and we will then have to create religions and rules and concepts to explain away all the things that really don't make sense. If you step back from the Bible for a moment, you can begin to see the non-spiritual human duality that the writers have given our unchangeable God. It was not possible for the writers to assume God would be any different than they were, had they the immense power he had. For example: - He created us through perfect love, but he chooses to punish us...(the garden of Eden). - He can do things when he's angry and then feel sorry about it later...(the flood of Noah). - He can make a decision and then make compromises...(Lot and the story of Sodom). - He's a spiritual being, yet he requires physical blood to be shed to help him look past things you might have done...(all concepts of sacrifice). - He'll destroy even his most loved if they fail to follow a simple rule...(the story of the passover). - He tells you that you must forgive everyone automatically, no matter what they have done, yet he won't forgive you unless you meet his qualifications...(Christ's story of forgiving somebody 7 times 70). - He created an entire universe and provided us with vast intelligence, yet he feared us and became paranoid when we chose to build a tall structure...(the tower of babel). If many of these same Bible stories were written by a Roman or Greek and the gods name was changed from YHWH to Zeus, we would so easily see how unlikely they are to be true. We would not be compelled in any way to justify them and make them a part of how we should live because we would so clearly see that this was simply an ancient and ignorant attempt to understand why things were the way they were. Consider this question from an ancient Greek child: ----------- Father, why are the people in that village so big? There was a time when we were all the same size, but then many of Zeus's servants became jealous of the luxuries and pleasures of man and they came down and mated with the people in that village and when their children were born, they were like giants. Giants come from the mating of gods and humans. This is also why Hercules, son of Zeus is so strong and large as well. ------------ Do you believe this explanation to be true...that giants were the results of gods and humans mating and that Hercules may have actually existed as a result of the gods mating with a human? If not, why then believe where the Bible uses this same idea to explain giants in the Old Testament? Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God (angels or demons) came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. All over the world, in centuries gone by and even today, folk tales are written and told in an effort to help explain the unexplainable. These stories were necessary to help provide comfort and understanding when no other explanation can be fathomed, but they are generally based upon the lack of knowledge, not God's inspired knowledge. On a more practical note, if the stories of God's retribution throughout ancient history were all true, why would anyone want to spend an eternity with such an angry and vengeful god? You would never be at peace because the Bible teaches us that no matter how strict you followed God, he'll take everything off of you and make your life miserable, the moment you tap a stone twice instead of once (the story of Abraham). Perhaps he'll even upset your whole life, bring disease and poverty to you and allow your family to be killed as part of a wager to prove a point (the story of Job). He might even condemn an entire city to death and destruction and require you perform certain tasks to prevent it from happening (a story of Lot...oops, this really was a Greek story about Perseus). Are we talking about our loving God or a human manufactured story about a manipulating Zeus? So, if you would like to see God for the first time, there are a few ancient perceptions that you need to let go. Once you do this, you will begin to see everything in a whole new light. GOD IS A GOD OF PERFECT LOVE Drop the human perception of love that requires conditions to be met. God's love does not require conditions. God's love is perfectly equal for all, at every point in history, for every individual that ever existed. God's love is unconditional. There is nothing we need to do to earn it and there is nothing we can do to lose it. God cannot change how he sees us and cannot change how he loves us. - Basically, no sacrifices of any kind are desired or required. Nothing needs to be sold or given away to earn God's love or attention. GOD DOES NOT HAVE FAVORITES If God loves unconditionally, there can be no favorites. There is no chosen race. There is no damned race. There is no right religion. There are no chosen people. There is no single religion or philosophy that entitles you to salvation over another being. There is nobody less worthy than you. There is nobody more worthy than you. God loves Napoleon and Mother Theresa equally. - God never destroyed nor endorsed the destruction of a single life. None of the battles recorded in the Old Testament ended up as they did because God blessed one side or damned the other. When the Israelites won a battle, it was later written how God blessed them. When they lost a battle, it was later written how God punished them. These actual events have nothing at all to do with what God did, but only with how events were perceived by an ancient people that would stand in awe of a butane lighter if given the opportunity. - Jesus actually demonstrated there are no favorites when he was asked for healing by a Gentile. He basically concluded that the blessings of God were not for the Jewish race only, but for all races. Since we consider God to be changeless, there never could have been a time when only the Jewish race was blessed. This wasn't a moment where Jesus changed his or God's mind about blessing other races. It was simply a correction by stating how it always was and always will be. Unconditional love cannot have a favorite. SACRIFICE WAS NEVER REQUIRED If God loves unconditionally and never favored any one person more than another, then we have always been blessed by God and were never required to ask God's forgiveness because he never saw us as being at fault. God was never upset with us. God was never angry with us. God was never jealous or vengeful because of us. These are all human traits given to God by ancient writers, but they have nothing to do with who God really is. - Most ancient civilizations believed they were unworthy of their god and the concept of sacrifice was part of every ancient belief, whether it be Aztec, Mayan, Jewish or Roman ANYTHING THAT TEACHES THROUGH FEAR OR USES FEAR IN ANY WAY, IS NOT INSPIRED BY GOD If perfect love casts out all fear, God cannot use fear or be associated with it in any way and still love unconditionally. You must choose to see God as either a God of Love or a God of fear. He cannot be both. One of these traits cannot exist while the other exists. - All prophecy of doom...all concepts of hell...all forms of sickness...any and all reasons to fear retribution from God were created from the minds of men and not from the mind of God. GOD HAS NEVER CHANGED God does not make deals or reconsider things. God does not feel sorry for something he has done. God does not barter or compromise. God does not hold back his anger for now. God is not happy one moment and then upset the next. People are often unsure of who they are and are therefore apt to think differently about things over time. God does not have these insecurities. The only reason we compromise is because we are unsure of ourselves. God knows who he is and only ever does and says once that which is perfect. - Lot never bartered for the lives at Sodom, and Sodom was not destroyed by Gods anger. Nobody ever deserves to die in Gods eyes. Nobody ever deserves any pain or discomfort in Gods eyes. Lot could not compromise with God because God does one thing only...love, and nothing we do or say will ever change that. - The story of Job never happened. God does not make deals or peddle flesh to prove a point. God has nothing to prove because he knows perfectly well who he is and who we are. God would not agree to anyone suffering to make a point. All life is precious to God and he would never accept the death of some to make a point. When you are perfect and when you know all there is to know, it doesn't matter to you what anyone thinks or says because you know it doesn't matter. There is nothing to defend. There is no reason to attack. - God is not holding back his anger from the world because of anything Jesus did. This would assume that God compromises and therefore is not changeless. Jesus did not come here as a sacrifice to appease God. Jesus came here as a door to help open our eyes to see God differently. GOD NEITHER DESIRES NOR REQUIRES ANYTHING FROM THIS PHYSICAL WORLD God is a spirit, as are all our true selves. There is nothing on this earth...nothing in this entire universe that God requires or desires from you. There is nothing you can physically do or give that matters to him. God is a spirit and the physical things of this world can not affect him or our own spirits. This physical world is something of our own making ( we'll discuss that in greater detail later). Allow yourself to see that the confusion of believing God is interwoven into the fabric of this physical world is what gave birth to the concepts of sacrifice, religion, favorites and judgments. - The thought that this physical world is what God values is what lead to the belief that Jesus was going to come to rule as a king for the Israelites. Jesus didn't come to set up a physical kingdom, but to help us see that the spiritual kingdom is all that matters. - The thought that Jesus will again return to set up a physical kingdom is a Christian variation and continuation of what the ancient people watching for the Messiah, thought he would do. Jesus's final message to us when he was resurrected is that "Nothing that anyone does to you here on earth matters". "Nothing physical matters." This physical experience is a temporary place we are interacting, but there is nothing here than can harm our true selves. These perceptions of God are vastly different than what the Bible and many ancient texts teach us. The only reason things appear so different is because we had chosen to use these references in a way that created bondage and stunted our spiritual growth, instead of using them as stepping stones. There are truths in the Bible, but the Bible itself was never meant to be taken word for word...for thousands of years. Imagine if you were still reading the book about 'Spot'. Your vocabulary and writing skills would be limited to things such as "See Spot run". All that you knew and were capable of understanding would be limited to that one book. If you believed that was the only book to reference and only the words in that book mattered, you would have grown to a certain level and just stopped...not growing for ages...so determined that only that book was the book to follow. To defend your book, you would have to denounce all other books that were different than yours. Things that did not make sense in your book would be rationalized over and over again as the ages went by...in attempts to preserve what you believe is the only source of truth. You would have to purposely not allow any other truth into your life because it was not allowed to show anything different than your book. Now, let's take a look at the Bible. This book was vital and necessary to bring order and a sense of God to a world that had multiple gods. The information in this book was perfect for the people of its time, but this information was never supposed to be set aside as the "end all be all" words of God. God never stopped communicating and God never just communicated through a single book. What you are reading now are words from God...no more or less valuable than any words in the Bible or any other text inspired by God. In the Bible, God is communicating to the authors, but how the authors perceive what God is saying and how they think God is interacting in their lives, creates a huge gap in what they are inspired to say and what they believe they are inspired to say. This also includes what I am writing at this moment. Every moment of every day, all of us are learning and being drawn towards a greater understanding of the truth. None of us have ever experienced real truth, but we are much closer than we were 4000 years ago and we will continue to draw closer and closer to God as we continue to be more and more open to hear his truths and apply them to our lives. God is on your side...no matter what your race...no matter what your religion...no matter who you are...no matter what you have done...no matter where you live...no matter what you eat...no matter what physical laws you have broken...no matter what you think of God...no matter whether you are seeking him or not...no matter whether you believe in him or not...no matter what. There is no condition God has set to love you. You can't earn it or lose it....it's just there. Be open and be willing to hear what God is saying to you today and for every day to come. In time, you will see that God's answer to any problem is not to judge a person and punish them as the Bible teaches, but to love that person and join with them to help them get past the problem. God wants to help you resolve your problems, so he's not going to punish you for needing help any more than a good parent would punish an infant because they fell when attempting to walk. As much as we can provide moments of unconditional love and forgiveness to our own children, God already does this for all of us at every moment. Sit back, close your eyes and be still for a moment. Be willing to see the truth and be willing to let go of what this world has taught you about God, our creator. Be still and say hello to your loving and forgiving God...perhaps for the first time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nelmes - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him. His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both "The Bible" and "A Course In Miracles". You can visit David's website at: http://www.BeingWilling.com This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission. Highlight & Copy Text Version

Living Without
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- H2.inner {color: #ff0000; font-family: "copperplate gothic bold", "arial rounded mt bold"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 600; line-height: 80%;} LI.bw {margin-bottom: 7px; color: #000000;} #picntext {width: 300px; float: right; padding: 5px; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; margin: 5px; background-color: #ffffff;} p {font-size: 10pt;} --> </STYLE> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER> <h2 class="inner">Living Without</H2> through <A HREF="#author">David Nelmes</A><BR> (5/15/2005) </DIV> <p>So many of the letters I receive are often related to financial or physical restrictions the person is currently experiencing. These individuals reach out because they know life could be better...but they just don't know how to get there on their own. They are tired of feeling they are living without so many of the good things that life could or should provide.</p> <p>We all have these thoughts and experiences in one way or another, but they can all be worked on and healed by applying a few basic concepts.</p> <br> <p><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">#1</span> Determine The True Source Of Your Problem</b></p> <p>We often attempt to fix the result of a problem instead of the source of the problem. You can put a band-aid on a cut and say your problem is now healing...but that does not eliminate another cut from occurring. The cut isn't the problem...but whatever is creating the cut, that is the source of the problem and that is what needs to be seen and healed. The goal would be to stop the cuts, debt, illness, etc. from occurring...not fixing them as they occur.</p> <ul> <li class="bw"> You can't fix a problem if you believe God is the source of your problem. He is the only one who can help, but if you believe he is also responsible for your situation, you can only be angry and upset at him and you will not be in a position to hear him or follow his guidance. To see the source of your problem, you must first conclude, without reservation, that whatever your problem or situation is, God is not doing this to you. </p> <li class="bw"> We all project what we believe will occur in our lives and we are therefore open to those events to occur. The Holy Spirit's job is to help bring about the perfect situation that will draw you closer to the light and he works within these events we create and looks for every second or micro-second where we are open to make new and better choices. The Holy Spirit always has, does and will provide us with the strength to make the better choice and eventually move past our current situation. The current situation, although being used in the best way by the Holy Spirit, is not created by the Holy Spirit. </ul> <p>Every situation in our lives is brought about by what we allow to occur. We are the sources of all our problems. We initiate the cycles of poor health, bad finances, depression and all things that do not gravitate towards peace, love and happiness. This statement is not one of condemning ourselves, but is only meant to be used as an awareness of where our problems originate.</p> <p>You are not guilty in God's eyes for having brought bad things upon yourself and God does not want you to feel sadness or remorse. He only wants you to see the light of awareness with respect to what your actions have brought about. Guilt creates a reason to defend yourself or become sad or depressed and often increases the walls you have placed between yourself and anybody attempting to help you. However, awareness creates an openness for truth and change. It allows peace and the healing power of God to flow into your mind. With awareness and not guilt, you are more likely to be open to allow God to heal your situation. </p> <br> <p><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">#2</span> Be Open For Change</b></p> <p>Every problem or situation is part of a cycle that we must be willing and open to allow it to conclude...to finish...to end...to cease to exist. As long as we make the same decision, time and time again, the cycle will return...for millennia to come. Ending a cycle often means facing issues you have chosen not to face...thus, if you do not face them and change the end result, the cycle continues and will return to you again in some form.</p> <p>It has been said, and I have experienced this myself, that when you become open for a problem to be resolved and are open for God to bring about the best situations to resolve the problem...your world turns upside down. Parts of your life as you know it appear to deteriorate and all outward appearances indicate that your life has not improved and is now worse than ever.</p> <p>The reason for this is simple...God does not resolve issues by placating them as we do. He does not use band-aids. For example, our answer to resolving a past due debt might be approval of a loan, winning the lottery, ignoring it till it goes away, etc. God's answer is to help change that part of you that allowed the debt to exist in the first place. He will not focus on resolving your specific late payment, but will bring about the situation you have not resolved and will provide you with the opportunity to choose differently than before and heal your mind of the method of thinking that allowed your situation to occur in the first place. This might not appear to resolve your current situation as quickly as you think you could resolve it, but Gods answers help ensure the problem does not occur again and again. In essence, God is not looking to help you solve your problems, he's looking to teach you to prevent them in the first place.</p> <p>The Holy Spirit knows exactly what is the most perfect series of events that will help you be more open for change. By allowing the results of your previous actions to exit the closets and stand upright before you, He is offering you opportunity after opportunity (problem after problem) so that you have the chance to make a different choice as compared to how you had chosen before. Problems are resolved by facing them and choosing differently than you chose before...thus ending the cycle.</p> <br> <p><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">#3</span> Know Your Answer Has Been Provided</b></p> <p>When you are open for change and you have handed something over to God, your results are guaranteed. You don't have to hope and you don't have to perform certain acts to help convince God to cooperate. You don't have to do anything other than to hand it over and know it has been resolved. Know that God is listening. Know that he desires your life to improve. Know that God wants you to have a life of love, peace and happiness and he will help you achieve anything that will help bring about those things into your life.</p> <p>The Holy Spirit sees a picture of our life that is complete, while we only see the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more going on and so many more influences and so many other events underway...and that is why we will never know what is the best thing to occur and we will almost never know how a problem should be resolved. Jesus and the Holy Spirit see our lives differently than we do. They see a picture we can't yet comprehend and so when you truly hand something over...don't judge how things change or how long they appear to take to change. Don't assume how the issue should be resolved or have a time frame where you believe results should be obtained. All those actions are indications that you really have not turned the issue over to God and are still thinking you know what is best.</p> <p>Turn your issue over to God and trust that he will provide the most perfect answer. Trust that God loves you and will only do the most perfect and best things. Don't be afraid of what you think the answer might be. Don't be sure God will take away something from you...that your answer will include losss in any way. God never takes...he only gives and frees. God's answer is not to be feared, but to be embraced as a wonderful step forward. God will bring about the perfect answer that will heal your mind and allow you to grow further than before.</p> <br> <p><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">#4</span> Move On To Your Next Issue</b></p> <p>As you hand over each issue or cycle to God, you are allowing the foggy veil between you and God...between you and truth, to thin out a bit. More light will get through. More truth will make sense. More understanding will occur. </p> <p>No matter what you believe you are living without, the only real thing missing is having God at the core of that thing you believe you are missing. Upon doing that, you will see that item, issue or problem differently than before and you will no longer see it as something you are living without. You will see it as an opportunity for change and as an opportunity to increase your communication with our creator.</p> <BR CLEAR=ALL> <HR SIZE=1 COLOR="#3E1300"> <P><I><A NAME="author"><IMG SRC="http://www.beingwilling.com/articles/graphics/david_nelmes.jpg" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=100 alt="David Nelmes" BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=10 STYLE="border-style: inset; border-color: #DDDDDD; border-width: 2px;"></A> <B>David Nelmes</B> - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him.</I></P> <P><I>His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fbrowse%2F-%2F10405901%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fqid%3D1181498397&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bible</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" and "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCourse-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace%2Fdp%2F0670869759%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1181498802%26sr%3D1-1&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">A Course in Miracles</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />".<BR> You can visit David's website at: <A HREF="http://www.beingwilling.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.BeingWilling.com</A></I></P> <P>This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission.</P> Highlight & Copy Html Version	LIVING WITHOUT through David Nelmes (5/15/2005) So many of the letters I receive are often related to financial or physical restrictions the person is currently experiencing. These individuals reach out because they know life could be better...but they just don't know how to get there on their own. They are tired of feeling they are living without so many of the good things that life could or should provide. We all have these thoughts and experiences in one way or another, but they can all be worked on and healed by applying a few basic concepts. #1 Determine The True Source Of Your Problem We often attempt to fix the result of a problem instead of the source of the problem. You can put a band-aid on a cut and say your problem is now healing...but that does not eliminate another cut from occurring. The cut isn't the problem...but whatever is creating the cut, that is the source of the problem and that is what needs to be seen and healed. The goal would be to stop the cuts, debt, illness, etc. from occurring...not fixing them as they occur. You can't fix a problem if you believe God is the source of your problem. He is the only one who can help, but if you believe he is also responsible for your situation, you can only be angry and upset at him and you will not be in a position to hear him or follow his guidance. To see the source of your problem, you must first conclude, without reservation, that whatever your problem or situation is, God is not doing this to you. We all project what we believe will occur in our lives and we are therefore open to those events to occur. The Holy Spirit's job is to help bring about the perfect situation that will draw you closer to the light and he works within these events we create and looks for every second or micro-second where we are open to make new and better choices. The Holy Spirit always has, does and will provide us with the strength to make the better choice and eventually move past our current situation. The current situation, although being used in the best way by the Holy Spirit, is not created by the Holy Spirit. Every situation in our lives is brought about by what we allow to occur. We are the sources of all our problems. We initiate the cycles of poor health, bad finances, depression and all things that do not gravitate towards peace, love and happiness. This statement is not one of condemning ourselves, but is only meant to be used as an awareness of where our problems originate. You are not guilty in God's eyes for having brought bad things upon yourself and God does not want you to feel sadness or remorse. He only wants you to see the light of awareness with respect to what your actions have brought about. Guilt creates a reason to defend yourself or become sad or depressed and often increases the walls you have placed between yourself and anybody attempting to help you. However, awareness creates an openness for truth and change. It allows peace and the healing power of God to flow into your mind. With awareness and not guilt, you are more likely to be open to allow God to heal your situation. #2 Be Open For Change Every problem or situation is part of a cycle that we must be willing and open to allow it to conclude...to finish...to end...to cease to exist. As long as we make the same decision, time and time again, the cycle will return...for millennia to come. Ending a cycle often means facing issues you have chosen not to face...thus, if you do not face them and change the end result, the cycle continues and will return to you again in some form. It has been said, and I have experienced this myself, that when you become open for a problem to be resolved and are open for God to bring about the best situations to resolve the problem...your world turns upside down. Parts of your life as you know it appear to deteriorate and all outward appearances indicate that your life has not improved and is now worse than ever. The reason for this is simple...God does not resolve issues by placating them as we do. He does not use band-aids. For example, our answer to resolving a past due debt might be approval of a loan, winning the lottery, ignoring it till it goes away, etc. God's answer is to help change that part of you that allowed the debt to exist in the first place. He will not focus on resolving your specific late payment, but will bring about the situation you have not resolved and will provide you with the opportunity to choose differently than before and heal your mind of the method of thinking that allowed your situation to occur in the first place. This might not appear to resolve your current situation as quickly as you think you could resolve it, but Gods answers help ensure the problem does not occur again and again. In essence, God is not looking to help you solve your problems, he's looking to teach you to prevent them in the first place. The Holy Spirit knows exactly what is the most perfect series of events that will help you be more open for change. By allowing the results of your previous actions to exit the closets and stand upright before you, He is offering you opportunity after opportunity (problem after problem) so that you have the chance to make a different choice as compared to how you had chosen before. Problems are resolved by facing them and choosing differently than you chose before...thus ending the cycle. #3 Know Your Answer Has Been Provided When you are open for change and you have handed something over to God, your results are guaranteed. You don't have to hope and you don't have to perform certain acts to help convince God to cooperate. You don't have to do anything other than to hand it over and know it has been resolved. Know that God is listening. Know that he desires your life to improve. Know that God wants you to have a life of love, peace and happiness and he will help you achieve anything that will help bring about those things into your life. The Holy Spirit sees a picture of our life that is complete, while we only see the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more going on and so many more influences and so many other events underway...and that is why we will never know what is the best thing to occur and we will almost never know how a problem should be resolved. Jesus and the Holy Spirit see our lives differently than we do. They see a picture we can't yet comprehend and so when you truly hand something over...don't judge how things change or how long they appear to take to change. Don't assume how the issue should be resolved or have a time frame where you believe results should be obtained. All those actions are indications that you really have not turned the issue over to God and are still thinking you know what is best. Turn your issue over to God and trust that he will provide the most perfect answer. Trust that God loves you and will only do the most perfect and best things. Don't be afraid of what you think the answer might be. Don't be sure God will take away something from you...that your answer will include losss in any way. God never takes...he only gives and frees. God's answer is not to be feared, but to be embraced as a wonderful step forward. God will bring about the perfect answer that will heal your mind and allow you to grow further than before. #4 Move On To Your Next Issue As you hand over each issue or cycle to God, you are allowing the foggy veil between you and God...between you and truth, to thin out a bit. More light will get through. More truth will make sense. More understanding will occur. No matter what you believe you are living without, the only real thing missing is having God at the core of that thing you believe you are missing. Upon doing that, you will see that item, issue or problem differently than before and you will no longer see it as something you are living without. You will see it as an opportunity for change and as an opportunity to increase your communication with our creator. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nelmes - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him. His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both "The Bible" and "A Course In Miracles". You can visit David's website at: http://www.BeingWilling.com This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission. Highlight & Copy Text Version

Prophecies of The End Times
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- H2.inner {color: #4488FF; font-family: "times new roman", arial, verdana; font-size: 30pt; font-weight: 600; line-height: 80%;} .thinking {font-family: verdana, arial; font-style: italic; color: #532525; font-size: 11pt;} LI.bw {margin-bottom: 7px; color: #000000;} .iborder1 {border-style: inset; border-color: #E1E1E1; border-width: 3px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;} --> </STYLE> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER> <h2 class="inner">Prophecies of The End Times</H2> through <A HREF="#author">David Nelmes</A><BR> (3/15/2005) </DIV> <p style="text-align: left; border-left: 1px solid black; border-top: 1px solid black; border-right: 2px solid black; border-bottom: 2px solid black; background-color: #F5F5F5; font-size: 12pt; padding: 5px;"><b>Revelations 6:9 - 11 (KJV)</b><br> <b>9</b> And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:<br> <b>10</b> And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "<i style="color: red; font-weight: 600; font-family: verdana, arial;">How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?</i>"<br> <b>11</b> And white robes were given unto every one of them...</p> <p>If the spirit of God is in any part of you, you will not want to become thirsty for blood and vengeance and you would neither request nor expect God to agree with you about having earned the right to kill other people. If the spirit of God is in any part of you, you will not want to judge, but will want to embrace love and forgiveness. If the spirit of God is in any part of you, you will always and forever want what is best for the earth and all who exist there.</p> <p>The spirit of God <b>is</b> in every part of you. If you open your heart to hear his voice, you will see that the verse above, and thousands of similar verses, have nothing to do with the loving and forgiving God that is part of you. You can find his love and forgiveness and really feel it...deep, deep inside that part of you that has never totally forgotten the goodness of our creator.</p> <p>How can the same God, the same Jesus, who looked upon his attackers while hanging from the cross, feel such compassion and forgiveness for those people and then later desire to kill them? Only a god that can change and only a god that reacts the way man does, could act this way. Only a god without the capacity to forgive can be this way...and that god is not the God that was part of Jesus, but a god made by man and embellished by stories of self-rightousness aimed to control by fear through the threat of punishment and death.</p> <p>If it was my destiny to die for the sake of spreading Gods word, and then after dyeing, if I were to cry out for vengeance and the death of my attackers, then it would be very clear that I never understood the word of God in the first place. Love and forgiveness is not temporary or set aside here and there to accomplish ungodly things. In the Book of Revelation, John's vision of these angry martyrs only represents his own anger and feelings of the revenge he wanted and this has nothing to do with anything God would ever fathom to pursue. It's what he felt was his right to demand upon God for having lived self-righteously and having sacrificed. The reality is that God does not require nor demand these things from us and therefore there is no real grounds for having a right to punish those who did not follow any of the rules and regulations created and interpreted by man.</p> <p>The Book of Revelation may possibly be based upon John having actually seen some future events, just like Nostradamus or any other psychic...but his perception of what these events were, what they meant and the spirit in which God was involved...these are all clearly John's own personal gloom and doom depictions of who he felt God was and how he felt God would interact and how he felt man should be punished. There is no New Testament forgiveness here, but only the Old Testament's angry, vengeful and unforgiving god. The Book of Revelations has nothing to do with God.</p> <p>As with John, many may wish to push their version of God upon us and will march on the capital city with posters and chants to end abortion...while also having accepted the concept that God should kill all non believers in a bloody massacre at the end of times. The pursuit of life or death cannot be placed on the same plate. Only one is true...the other is not. Your god is either a god that cherishes life or a god that destroys life...he cannot be both because his own words indicate that a house divided against itself cannot stand. None of this adds up in religions eyes which is why religion does not work, because God is a God of love and not of fear and death. Man has added the stories and perceptions of fear and death to attract and control by fear, but that has nothing to do with who God is.</p> <p>Many who are followers of the end times are anxiously waiting for the tragic events of the Book of Revelations to unfold... so can it also be said that they are the looking forward to people being tortured and killed? Their desired future of Gods kingdom on earth depends upon it. Jesus said is was just as sinful to have lusted after your neighbors wife as is was to have actually been with her. By the same token, would it be just as sinful to desire and condone the mass murder of all non-believers as to having performed the mass murder of millions yourself?</p> <p>My thought is this...if God is such an angry and vengeful entity, why would anyone want to be with him? This explains, of course, why he has to threaten us to force us to obey him and love him and worship him. Doesn't any of this sound like a story of Zeus gone bad with hints of a modern day dictatorship? Even within your own lives, haven't we all learned that love is only really worth it when it is given freely and unconditionally...and without threat of repercussion? Have we somehow surpassed Gods own capacity to understand love...or has our past so terribly misinterpreted and underestimated Gods capacity to love and we are only now just starting to fathom how much more glorious, beautiful, peaceful and loving he is?</p> <p>If God is not behind the tragic events of the day, what then is responsible for the worlds condition? We are. On so many levels, both spiritual and physical, we have created and continue to support the hostile man-made and natural environments that exists here. We have accepted, eerily enjoy and also look forward to both man-made and natural tragic events. These events serve to both justify our religious positions and to provide entertainment in predicting them and watching then again afterwards. Even though it is often not apparent, we are very powerful spiritual beings. We have, are, and will continue to manifest things upon this earth based upon what we think we want...regardless of the pain and suffering that comes along with it. When we stop accepting tragedies as inevitable and stop desiring they occur to justify our beliefs and provide entertainment, they will stop...in just the same way Jesus stopped the storm. Jesus saw the storm as neither necessary nor desirable and it simply ceased to exist.</p> <p>There may be evil and misguided actions performed by people in the world, but still at the heart of most men is a genuine desire to help and be helpful, to love and be loved. We confuse our emotions and our abilities at times...leading to hostilities and misunderstandings, but overall we would rather have peace. Even though it's not immediately helpful, most of our fighting is because we believe it's a necessary step towards achieving peace. Granted, we might not have figured out how to achieve peace...but it's still what we truly want and we will continue to work with it until we finally figure it out in the ages to come.</p> <p>Think for a moment about recent stories of the kindness, love, and compassion that the worlds people demonstrate, especially after tragedies when our needs are greatest. If man has this capacity and desire to help...if man has this capacity for compassion...if man has this capacity for forgiveness...if man has this capacity for kindness...if man has this capacity for good...if man has this capacity to choose love over hate, how much more do you think our Father...our Creator has the capacity to do these things? Other than what centuries old beliefs have told you, can you see in yourself today, the light that is a real part of God and can you see that this light can not and will not ever, ever pursue anything other than love and peace. Anything that says otherwise or does otherwise is not in line with the desires of God.</p> <p>Prophecies of The End Times are not from God. God is not looking to destroy the world and punish us. God would never do anything to evoke fear. Absolute love casts out all fear...so God cannot be Love and then do things that would create fear. Those two concepts cannot exist at the same time. These view points come from a total misunderstanding of God as being vengeful and angry as opposed to being loving and forgiving. So many of the things written about God, especially the things that are centuries upon centuries old, were written from a frightened and limited perspective. It's time to let go of these primitive beliefs and start seeing God as the loving and forgiving god he really is.</p> <p>History sometimes has a tendency to repeat itself because there are lessons we still need to learn and certain events will occur again and again until we choose to see things differently and change what we are being and doing. The concept that Jesus will return to establish a worldly kingdom has already come and gone. The ancient belief was that Jesus, the Messiah, would come to establish a new government...and when he made it apparent that it was not his mission to create a physical world government...everything changed and he was killed. Today, again many are waiting for Jesus to come and create an earthly kingdom, a primary purpose of the existence of the Book of Revelation, and it's not going to happen because his mission is a spiritual one, not a physical one. Because we often forget we are spiritual beings temporarily interacting here, we often confuse Gods goals and desires for us as being physical, and they are not. Gods goals and desires for us are spiritual and they have nothing to do with anything physical.</p> <p>Spiritual things are eternal...physical things are not. God is eternal...he created us eternal and he, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will continue to work with us for ages and ages to come until we also choose once again to only pursue the eternal and then to forever leave this physical place where everything dies and nothing is eternal. God didn't create this mess we are in, so he's not going to do anything to extend the time we are here, but is doing everything possible to give us the tools to shorten our time here and finally come home to him.</p> <p>Meanwhile, due to the concept of the end times and the world being destroyed, many lives are possibly being wasted and tormented with thoughts of no future and thoughts of pending wars and tribulations...all leading up to living in a state of fear which is totally out of line with Gods desire that each day be peaceful, joyful, forgiving and loving...with no regrets from the day before and no apprehensions of tomorrow to mess up your today.</p> <p>Know this...God is not unaware of you. God loves you beyond anything ever imagined. God is waiting patiently for your heart to be open to walk through life without fear...and then you will truly hear him and feel his guidance. While you are motivated by fear and subjecting others to fear, it's difficult for you to properly interpret what God is saying. For you, as with John, God never stops communicating and never stops telling you things that will help your growth, but any and all fear you embrace will blur and taint what you are hearing, making it difficult to see Gods true desires clearly. Under these circumstance, you may think you have a world of truth, but all you will have is a word of truth surrounded by fear, to be delivered through fear, accepted with fear and followed because of fear. Set aside fear and don't accept anything that even hints at it and you will be open for rivers of truth to flow into your being.</p> <p>Live this...Since God is love, simply ignore the stories, perceptions and rumors created and spread through fear, because they are not from God. God is working with everyone at all times, so just be patient while you and the people of the world work through being fearful and be happy to know that God has not forgotten a single one. Pray that we all open our minds more and more each day to hear God's truth and set aside man-made truths. Just rest in peace to know that God is patiently working with everybody. Extend your love and peace as well and our time here will be shortened...not with end times of death and destruction and the creation of Gods physical kingdom on earth, but with end times of everybody simply leaving this place and returning to an eternal existence with our creator in his spiritual kingdom that always has and always will be.</p> <BR CLEAR=ALL> <HR SIZE=1 COLOR="#3E1300"> <P><I><A NAME="author"><IMG SRC="http://www.beingwilling.com/articles/graphics/david_nelmes.jpg" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=100 alt="David Nelmes" BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=10 STYLE="border-style: inset; border-color: #DDDDDD; border-width: 2px;"></A> <B>David Nelmes</B> - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him.</I></P> <P><I>His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fbrowse%2F-%2F10405901%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fqid%3D1181498397&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bible</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" and "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCourse-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace%2Fdp%2F0670869759%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1181498802%26sr%3D1-1&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">A Course in Miracles</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />".<BR> You can visit David's website at: <A HREF="http://www.beingwilling.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.BeingWilling.com</A></I></P> <P>This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission.</P> Highlight & Copy Html Version	PROPHECIES OF THE END TIMES through David Nelmes (3/15/2005) Revelations 6:9 - 11 (KJV) 9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them... If the spirit of God is in any part of you, you will not want to become thirsty for blood and vengeance and you would neither request nor expect God to agree with you about having earned the right to kill other people. If the spirit of God is in any part of you, you will not want to judge, but will want to embrace love and forgiveness. If the spirit of God is in any part of you, you will always and forever want what is best for the earth and all who exist there. The spirit of God is in every part of you. If you open your heart to hear his voice, you will see that the verse above, and thousands of similar verses, have nothing to do with the loving and forgiving God that is part of you. You can find his love and forgiveness and really feel it...deep, deep inside that part of you that has never totally forgotten the goodness of our creator. How can the same God, the same Jesus, who looked upon his attackers while hanging from the cross, feel such compassion and forgiveness for those people and then later desire to kill them? Only a god that can change and only a god that reacts the way man does, could act this way. Only a god without the capacity to forgive can be this way...and that god is not the God that was part of Jesus, but a god made by man and embellished by stories of self-rightousness aimed to control by fear through the threat of punishment and death. If it was my destiny to die for the sake of spreading Gods word, and then after dyeing, if I were to cry out for vengeance and the death of my attackers, then it would be very clear that I never understood the word of God in the first place. Love and forgiveness is not temporary or set aside here and there to accomplish ungodly things. In the Book of Revelation, John's vision of these angry martyrs only represents his own anger and feelings of the revenge he wanted and this has nothing to do with anything God would ever fathom to pursue. It's what he felt was his right to demand upon God for having lived self-righteously and having sacrificed. The reality is that God does not require nor demand these things from us and therefore there is no real grounds for having a right to punish those who did not follow any of the rules and regulations created and interpreted by man. The Book of Revelation may possibly be based upon John having actually seen some future events, just like Nostradamus or any other psychic...but his perception of what these events were, what they meant and the spirit in which God was involved...these are all clearly John's own personal gloom and doom depictions of who he felt God was and how he felt God would interact and how he felt man should be punished. There is no New Testament forgiveness here, but only the Old Testament's angry, vengeful and unforgiving god. The Book of Revelations has nothing to do with God. As with John, many may wish to push their version of God upon us and will march on the capital city with posters and chants to end abortion...while also having accepted the concept that God should kill all non believers in a bloody massacre at the end of times. The pursuit of life or death cannot be placed on the same plate. Only one is true...the other is not. Your god is either a god that cherishes life or a god that destroys life...he cannot be both because his own words indicate that a house divided against itself cannot stand. None of this adds up in religions eyes which is why religion does not work, because God is a God of love and not of fear and death. Man has added the stories and perceptions of fear and death to attract and control by fear, but that has nothing to do with who God is. Many who are followers of the end times are anxiously waiting for the tragic events of the Book of Revelations to unfold... so can it also be said that they are the looking forward to people being tortured and killed? Their desired future of Gods kingdom on earth depends upon it. Jesus said is was just as sinful to have lusted after your neighbors wife as is was to have actually been with her. By the same token, would it be just as sinful to desire and condone the mass murder of all non-believers as to having performed the mass murder of millions yourself? My thought is this...if God is such an angry and vengeful entity, why would anyone want to be with him? This explains, of course, why he has to threaten us to force us to obey him and love him and worship him. Doesn't any of this sound like a story of Zeus gone bad with hints of a modern day dictatorship? Even within your own lives, haven't we all learned that love is only really worth it when it is given freely and unconditionally...and without threat of repercussion? Have we somehow surpassed Gods own capacity to understand love...or has our past so terribly misinterpreted and underestimated Gods capacity to love and we are only now just starting to fathom how much more glorious, beautiful, peaceful and loving he is? If God is not behind the tragic events of the day, what then is responsible for the worlds condition? We are. On so many levels, both spiritual and physical, we have created and continue to support the hostile man-made and natural environments that exists here. We have accepted, eerily enjoy and also look forward to both man-made and natural tragic events. These events serve to both justify our religious positions and to provide entertainment in predicting them and watching then again afterwards. Even though it is often not apparent, we are very powerful spiritual beings. We have, are, and will continue to manifest things upon this earth based upon what we think we want...regardless of the pain and suffering that comes along with it. When we stop accepting tragedies as inevitable and stop desiring they occur to justify our beliefs and provide entertainment, they will stop...in just the same way Jesus stopped the storm. Jesus saw the storm as neither necessary nor desirable and it simply ceased to exist. There may be evil and misguided actions performed by people in the world, but still at the heart of most men is a genuine desire to help and be helpful, to love and be loved. We confuse our emotions and our abilities at times...leading to hostilities and misunderstandings, but overall we would rather have peace. Even though it's not immediately helpful, most of our fighting is because we believe it's a necessary step towards achieving peace. Granted, we might not have figured out how to achieve peace...but it's still what we truly want and we will continue to work with it until we finally figure it out in the ages to come. Think for a moment about recent stories of the kindness, love, and compassion that the worlds people demonstrate, especially after tragedies when our needs are greatest. If man has this capacity and desire to help...if man has this capacity for compassion...if man has this capacity for forgiveness...if man has this capacity for kindness...if man has this capacity for good...if man has this capacity to choose love over hate, how much more do you think our Father...our Creator has the capacity to do these things? Other than what centuries old beliefs have told you, can you see in yourself today, the light that is a real part of God and can you see that this light can not and will not ever, ever pursue anything other than love and peace. Anything that says otherwise or does otherwise is not in line with the desires of God. Prophecies of The End Times are not from God. God is not looking to destroy the world and punish us. God would never do anything to evoke fear. Absolute love casts out all fear...so God cannot be Love and then do things that would create fear. Those two concepts cannot exist at the same time. These view points come from a total misunderstanding of God as being vengeful and angry as opposed to being loving and forgiving. So many of the things written about God, especially the things that are centuries upon centuries old, were written from a frightened and limited perspective. It's time to let go of these primitive beliefs and start seeing God as the loving and forgiving god he really is. History sometimes has a tendency to repeat itself because there are lessons we still need to learn and certain events will occur again and again until we choose to see things differently and change what we are being and doing. The concept that Jesus will return to establish a worldly kingdom has already come and gone. The ancient belief was that Jesus, the Messiah, would come to establish a new government...and when he made it apparent that it was not his mission to create a physical world government...everything changed and he was killed. Today, again many are waiting for Jesus to come and create an earthly kingdom, a primary purpose of the existence of the Book of Revelation, and it's not going to happen because his mission is a spiritual one, not a physical one. Because we often forget we are spiritual beings temporarily interacting here, we often confuse Gods goals and desires for us as being physical, and they are not. Gods goals and desires for us are spiritual and they have nothing to do with anything physical. Spiritual things are eternal...physical things are not. God is eternal...he created us eternal and he, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will continue to work with us for ages and ages to come until we also choose once again to only pursue the eternal and then to forever leave this physical place where everything dies and nothing is eternal. God didn't create this mess we are in, so he's not going to do anything to extend the time we are here, but is doing everything possible to give us the tools to shorten our time here and finally come home to him. Meanwhile, due to the concept of the end times and the world being destroyed, many lives are possibly being wasted and tormented with thoughts of no future and thoughts of pending wars and tribulations...all leading up to living in a state of fear which is totally out of line with Gods desire that each day be peaceful, joyful, forgiving and loving...with no regrets from the day before and no apprehensions of tomorrow to mess up your today. Know this...God is not unaware of you. God loves you beyond anything ever imagined. God is waiting patiently for your heart to be open to walk through life without fear...and then you will truly hear him and feel his guidance. While you are motivated by fear and subjecting others to fear, it's difficult for you to properly interpret what God is saying. For you, as with John, God never stops communicating and never stops telling you things that will help your growth, but any and all fear you embrace will blur and taint what you are hearing, making it difficult to see Gods true desires clearly. Under these circumstance, you may think you have a world of truth, but all you will have is a word of truth surrounded by fear, to be delivered through fear, accepted with fear and followed because of fear. Set aside fear and don't accept anything that even hints at it and you will be open for rivers of truth to flow into your being. Live this...Since God is love, simply ignore the stories, perceptions and rumors created and spread through fear, because they are not from God. God is working with everyone at all times, so just be patient while you and the people of the world work through being fearful and be happy to know that God has not forgotten a single one. Pray that we all open our minds more and more each day to hear God's truth and set aside man-made truths. Just rest in peace to know that God is patiently working with everybody. Extend your love and peace as well and our time here will be shortened...not with end times of death and destruction and the creation of Gods physical kingdom on earth, but with end times of everybody simply leaving this place and returning to an eternal existence with our creator in his spiritual kingdom that always has and always will be. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nelmes - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him. His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both "The Bible" and "A Course In Miracles". You can visit David's website at: http://www.BeingWilling.com This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission. Highlight & Copy Text Version

An Act of God
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- H2.inner {color: #4488FF; font-family: "times new roman", arial, verdana; font-size: 30pt; font-weight: 600; line-height: 80%;} .thinking {font-family: verdana, arial; font-style: italic; color: #532525; font-size: 11pt;} LI.bw {margin-bottom: 7px; color: #000000;} .iborder1 {border-style: inset; border-color: #E1E1E1; border-width: 3px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;} --> </STYLE> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER> <h2 class="inner">An Act of God</H2> through <A HREF="#author">David Nelmes</A><BR> (1/15/2005) </DIV> <p>Most concepts we have of life often leave a little window or hint towards the origins of why we feel the way we feel and why we view things the way we view things. Psychiatrists and sociologists will look for these so called <i>"Freudian Slips"</i> while talking with you. Often, becoming aware of these little windows into how we really feel is the only way we can hope to understand and see what is really motivating us.</p> <p>When a tragic event occurs on earth or even when a smaller local event does damage to your home or property, the phrase often used to describe the event is <I style="font-weight: 600;">"An Act of God"</i>. On the surface, most of us don't believe that God specifically focused in on you so that the flood hit your house or that the tornado ruined your farm. Since God is a God of love, <I style="font-weight: 600;">"An Act of God"</i> is more likely to be a beautiful spring day, as compared to a tragic event. However, the concept that God is somehow responsible or involved with tragic events still exists and we call it <I style="font-weight: 600;">"An Act of God"</i> for a reason.</p> <p>Man has always feared what he does not understand. For most early cultures around the world, this fear has lead to an image of an unforgiving and angry God. These early cultures were so sure they had to appease their gods or else they would be punished. Their history and scriptures were written where they viewed good times in their lives as being blessed by their god or gods and the bad times in their lives as being punished by their god or gods.</p> <p>Picking and choosing what you deduce was blessing or punishment has nothing to do with anything our God ever did or did not do. It was and still is just the perspective of the person being affected by an event. In ancient times, if it rains for a long time and your fields are flooded and your crops are ruined, this is an act of God punishing you, yet a few miles away, on higher ground, this rain is a blessing for somebody else because their crops were drying up and now God has decided to bless them. Whichever one of these individuals has the greater capacity to record this event...that is what history and sacred text will say how God treated man that day....even though it was just a storm that existed because of the way the worlds weather system works.</p> <p>Today, science has helped us see past many of the things we had blamed on God in the past, yet, we still have never fully let go of the thought that God is somehow responsible for these events...or at least he should be helping to prevent them.</p> <p>What is the purpose of having a God in the first place if he isn't going to protect the good and punish the bad? What purpose does it serve to sacrifice and live the good life if both the good and bad are punished or it the bad are even rewarded? What kind of an evil, sadistic, Zeus-like, puppet mastering, god do we have? How incompetent and unloving could he possibly be? How uncompassionate of the worlds troubles is he? How long will he continue to turn a blind eye towards our needs?</p> <p>This is how we often feel and think...to one degree or another. Would you like to get past this point of view? Would you like to understand a little bit more about who God really is? Would you like to see a bigger and more accurate picture of why the world is the way it is? Would you like to see God's real purpose in this world? Would you like to finally understand why the world is in the chaos that it is....with war, disease, weather, earthquakes and related tsunamis?</p> <p>To take this step closer to the truth of why the world is the way it is and who God really is, we first have to let go of the picture of God and of this world that we have already drawn in our minds. Once removed, God can replace these images with the truthful ones that will help us see things more clearly. Our free will empowers us to see and deduce things as we desire, but it also blocks the truth from our site. There is a picture in your mind of who and what God is, and God will not force you to change it or make you do anything you do not want to do. It always has and always will be your choice as to what you are truly willing to be open to see.</p> <p>If God is not willing to force his will upon you, then this is not the reaction of the vengeful, unforgiving and angry God that history and ancient text have described. It is this man-made picture of God that you need to forgive and let go. It is this man-made picture of God that blinds you and disempowers you from seeing all things in the world more clearly.</p> <p>If you let go of your current picture of God, then how should you see Him? To better see and understand this, you must be willing to take the next step to be open to realize that there are things that have never changed or have never been taken away....we have only obscured them from our vision. For example:</p> <ul> <li class="bw"> Peace has never left a single one of us, but we can place things in our lives and embrace things that will obscure peace from being seen or felt, but peace is still there...patiently waiting for you to remove the blocks and obstacles you have placed in the way. <li class="bw"> All the power that is Gods, is at our disposal at all times, but we have chosen not to see this. We are afraid to believe this because even deeper within us is buried a fear that we deserve punishment and when we ran from the God who we decided was our punisher, we hid the facts from ourselves that we are just like him. If we didn't do this, we would have to conclude that we were doing all these things to ourselves and it works so much better to continue this illusion of separation between us and God to believe it is he who is oppressing us and that we are powerless. This self-perpetuating belief is at the core of why we see what we see, why we accept what we accept and why we selectively choose not to see things that would reveal the truth to us that we are like God and are really one with him. </ul> <p>When you allow all man-made concepts of God to be removed from your mind, you don't have to search for things to replace them with or wonder where you should go to find new concepts of God. The perfect and truthful thoughts are already there, hidden and obscured by your current beliefs, so the last thing you want to do is to replace your old man-made perspectives of God with new man-made perspectives of God. The search for God and his truths is not about how much you can find out, but about how much you can let go, so that the truths that already exist, can and will rise to the surface.</p> <p>Now we arrive at the point where our explanation of the state of the world makes no sense. If God is this ever loving and peaceful being that I am telling you about, how do I explain why life is the way it is and why the world is like it is? The answer to this is very simple...if God didn't make this world the way it is, that leaves us. This world is what we made...not what God created. God will not interfere with the world we made...for several reasons...</p> <ul> <li class="bw"> Remember, we are spiritual beings, so no matter what sickness, death and destruction that might appear to exist in this physical reality, nothing here can hurt our true selves...our spirits. This was the point of Jesus' death and resurrection....not as a sacrifice to appease an unforgiving and blood-thirsty god, but as a sign that no matter what happens here, the real you...<i>the spirit that is you</i>, can never be destroyed or injured in any way and you can or have come back here again, just as Jesus did. Since God knows your spirit is totally safe, no matter what terrors and nightmares we conjure up here, he has no reason to be concerned about you because you always have been and always will be totally secure and safe. The reality we are currently experiencing in this world is more of a dream or bad thought our spirits are embracing, but piece by piece, God is helping us to awake from this nightmare, so we can go on to better things and return to full communication with him. <li class="bw"> Here on earth, we always have and always will have a life just as we have chosen it or allowed it to be. God is neither blessing us or punishing us. It always was and always will be our individual and collective choice to be open for better things to happen by being open to accepting the good that is already there for us to receive. When we don't see anything good to receive, it's simply because we have placed things in the way of our vision and it has nothing to do with the good having gone away. It's just obscured. This means that all sickness and calamity is our doing. We have set up the world with certain concepts we called "Laws" and collectively as one spiritual body, we have all let ourselves believe certain things can only be a certain way. So, as much as you might not specifically choose to have cancer, we have all collectively agreed that it can occur and will occur.<br> <br> Jesus cured because he did not believe he was bound by the laws of this world. Jesus fed thousands because he did not believe he was bound by the laws of this world. Jesus walked on water and calmed storms because he did not believe he was bound by the laws of this world. <li class="bw"> Because we made this world, we cherish it, even though there is so much wrong with it. As long as we desire this reality greater than our true reality with God, God will not force us to do anything we don't want to do. He sent the Holy Spirit to help guide us towards seeing more clearly, to help us wake up gradually from this nightmare, but he will not force us to awaken. He's allowing all of us to choose. </ul> <p>God will not interfere with what we have chosen to follow, but he will help us to choose and see differently and help us to choose to follow a different path. This path has nothing to do with reaching any worldly or physical goal. This path, your spiritual path, is one of becoming more peaceful, becoming more loving, becoming more forgiving and becoming more open to see things clearly. It doesn't matter to God what you are physically doing here on earth because this earth is not eternal and therefore is not real to him. You, however, are eternal and are real to him, so while in this reality, his efforts are not focused towards the things you are doing, but towards the things you are being...being peaceful, being loving, being forgiving and being willing. In short, it's about remembering who you really are and who God really is.</p> <p>Individually and collectively, as we change what we are being, this physical world will change to reflect our state of mind. For example, if you want peace, there is nothing you can do to create peace, but you can choose to be peaceful and then the world around you will become more peaceful and the things you do will help extend this sense of peace. Individually it might appear that there is little you can do to improve the world, but our mind is one mind and anything and everything you overcome, helps us all get closer to the day when we remember we really are one with God and will choose to be with him again.</p> <p><I style="font-weight: 600;">"An Act of God"</i> is the sending of the Holy Spirit. <I style="font-weight: 600;">"An Act of God"</i> is continuing to love us unconditionally, no matter what we have chosen to be at this time. <I style="font-weight: 600;">"An Act of God"</i> is never letting go of us and never letting our true selves, our spirits, come to harm in any way.</p> <p>The first <I style="font-weight: 600;">"Act of Man"</i> was to believe God wanted to punish us and then we made this world of punishment that we can blame on God. The last <I style="font-weight: 600;">"Act of Man"</i> will be to forgive ourselves for having thought about God that way and then we'll all go home again. We will all return. We will all once again know and understand we are one. I look forward to seeing you there.</p> <BR CLEAR=ALL> <HR SIZE=1 COLOR="#3E1300"> <P><I><A NAME="author"><IMG SRC="http://www.beingwilling.com/articles/graphics/david_nelmes.jpg" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=100 alt="David Nelmes" BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=10 STYLE="border-style: inset; border-color: #DDDDDD; border-width: 2px;"></A> <B>David Nelmes</B> - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him.</I></P> <P><I>His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fbrowse%2F-%2F10405901%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fsr%3D53-1%2Fqid%3D1181498397&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bible</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" and "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCourse-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace%2Fdp%2F0670869759%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1181498802%26sr%3D1-1&tag=beinwill-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">A Course in Miracles</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=beinwill-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />".<BR> You can visit David's website at: <A HREF="http://www.beingwilling.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.BeingWilling.com</A></I></P> <P>This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission.</P> Highlight & Copy Html Version	AN ACT OF GOD through David Nelmes (1/15/2005) Most concepts we have of life often leave a little window or hint towards the origins of why we feel the way we feel and why we view things the way we view things. Psychiatrists and sociologists will look for these so called "Freudian Slips" while talking with you. Often, becoming aware of these little windows into how we really feel is the only way we can hope to understand and see what is really motivating us. When a tragic event occurs on earth or even when a smaller local event does damage to your home or property, the phrase often used to describe the event is "An Act of God". On the surface, most of us don't believe that God specifically focused in on you so that the flood hit your house or that the tornado ruined your farm. Since God is a God of love, "An Act of God" is more likely to be a beautiful spring day, as compared to a tragic event. However, the concept that God is somehow responsible or involved with tragic events still exists and we call it "An Act of God" for a reason. Man has always feared what he does not understand. For most early cultures around the world, this fear has lead to an image of an unforgiving and angry God. These early cultures were so sure they had to appease their gods or else they would be punished. Their history and scriptures were written where they viewed good times in their lives as being blessed by their god or gods and the bad times in their lives as being punished by their god or gods. Picking and choosing what you deduce was blessing or punishment has nothing to do with anything our God ever did or did not do. It was and still is just the perspective of the person being affected by an event. In ancient times, if it rains for a long time and your fields are flooded and your crops are ruined, this is an act of God punishing you, yet a few miles away, on higher ground, this rain is a blessing for somebody else because their crops were drying up and now God has decided to bless them. Whichever one of these individuals has the greater capacity to record this event...that is what history and sacred text will say how God treated man that day....even though it was just a storm that existed because of the way the worlds weather system works. Today, science has helped us see past many of the things we had blamed on God in the past, yet, we still have never fully let go of the thought that God is somehow responsible for these events...or at least he should be helping to prevent them. What is the purpose of having a God in the first place if he isn't going to protect the good and punish the bad? What purpose does it serve to sacrifice and live the good life if both the good and bad are punished or it the bad are even rewarded? What kind of an evil, sadistic, Zeus-like, puppet mastering, god do we have? How incompetent and unloving could he possibly be? How uncompassionate of the worlds troubles is he? How long will he continue to turn a blind eye towards our needs? This is how we often feel and think...to one degree or another. Would you like to get past this point of view? Would you like to understand a little bit more about who God really is? Would you like to see a bigger and more accurate picture of why the world is the way it is? Would you like to see God's real purpose in this world? Would you like to finally understand why the world is in the chaos that it is....with war, disease, weather, earthquakes and related tsunamis? To take this step closer to the truth of why the world is the way it is and who God really is, we first have to let go of the picture of God and of this world that we have already drawn in our minds. Once removed, God can replace these images with the truthful ones that will help us see things more clearly. Our free will empowers us to see and deduce things as we desire, but it also blocks the truth from our site. There is a picture in your mind of who and what God is, and God will not force you to change it or make you do anything you do not want to do. It always has and always will be your choice as to what you are truly willing to be open to see. If God is not willing to force his will upon you, then this is not the reaction of the vengeful, unforgiving and angry God that history and ancient text have described. It is this man-made picture of God that you need to forgive and let go. It is this man-made picture of God that blinds you and disempowers you from seeing all things in the world more clearly. If you let go of your current picture of God, then how should you see Him? To better see and understand this, you must be willing to take the next step to be open to realize that there are things that have never changed or have never been taken away....we have only obscured them from our vision. For example: - Peace has never left a single one of us, but we can place things in our lives and embrace things that will obscure peace from being seen or felt, but peace is still there...patiently waiting for you to remove the blocks and obstacles you have placed in the way. - All the power that is Gods, is at our disposal at all times, but we have chosen not to see this. We are afraid to believe this because even deeper within us is buried a fear that we deserve punishment and when we ran from the God who we decided was our punisher, we hid the facts from ourselves that we are just like him. If we didn't do this, we would have to conclude that we were doing all these things to ourselves and it works so much better to continue this illusion of separation between us and God to believe it is he who is oppressing us and that we are powerless. This self-perpetuating belief is at the core of why we see what we see, why we accept what we accept and why we selectively choose not to see things that would reveal the truth to us that we are like God and are really one with him. When you allow all man-made concepts of God to be removed from your mind, you don't have to search for things to replace them with or wonder where you should go to find new concepts of God. The perfect and truthful thoughts are already there, hidden and obscured by your current beliefs, so the last thing you want to do is to replace your old man-made perspectives of God with new man-made perspectives of God. The search for God and his truths is not about how much you can find out, but about how much you can let go, so that the truths that already exist, can and will rise to the surface. Now we arrive at the point where our explanation of the state of the world makes no sense. If God is this ever loving and peaceful being that I am telling you about, how do I explain why life is the way it is and why the world is like it is? The answer to this is very simple...if God didn't make this world the way it is, that leaves us. This world is what we made...not what God created. God will not interfere with the world we made...for several reasons... - Remember, we are spiritual beings, so no matter what sickness, death and destruction that might appear to exist in this physical reality, nothing here can hurt our true selves...our spirits. This was the point of Jesus' death and resurrection....not as a sacrifice to appease an unforgiving and blood-thirsty god, but as a sign that no matter what happens here, the real you...the spirit that is you, can never be destroyed or injured in any way and you can or have come back here again, just as Jesus did. Since God knows your spirit is totally safe, no matter what terrors and nightmares we conjure up here, he has no reason to be concerned about you because you always have been and always will be totally secure and safe. The reality we are currently experiencing in this world is more of a dream or bad thought our spirits are embracing, but piece by piece, God is helping us to awake from this nightmare, so we can go on to better things and return to full communication with him. - Here on earth, we always have and always will have a life just as we have chosen it or allowed it to be. God is neither blessing us or punishing us. It always was and always will be our individual and collective choice to be open for better things to happen by being open to accepting the good that is already there for us to receive. When we don't see anything good to receive, it's simply because we have placed things in the way of our vision and it has nothing to do with the good having gone away. It's just obscured. This means that all sickness and calamity is our doing. We have set up the world with certain concepts we called "Laws" and collectively as one spiritual body, we have all let ourselves believe certain things can only be a certain way. So, as much as you might not specifically choose to have cancer, we have all collectively agreed that it can occur and will occur. Jesus cured because he did not believe he was bound by the laws of this world. Jesus fed thousands because he did not believe he was bound by the laws of this world. Jesus walked on water and calmed storms because he did not believe he was bound by the laws of this world. - Because we made this world, we cherish it, even though there is so much wrong with it. As long as we desire this reality greater than our true reality with God, God will not force us to do anything we don't want to do. He sent the Holy Spirit to help guide us towards seeing more clearly, to help us wake up gradually from this nightmare, but he will not force us to awaken. He's allowing all of us to choose. God will not interfere with what we have chosen to follow, but he will help us to choose and see differently and help us to choose to follow a different path. This path has nothing to do with reaching any worldly or physical goal. This path, your spiritual path, is one of becoming more peaceful, becoming more loving, becoming more forgiving and becoming more open to see things clearly. It doesn't matter to God what you are physically doing here on earth because this earth is not eternal and therefore is not real to him. You, however, are eternal and are real to him, so while in this reality, his efforts are not focused towards the things you are doing, but towards the things you are being...being peaceful, being loving, being forgiving and being willing. In short, it's about remembering who you really are and who God really is. Individually and collectively, as we change what we are being, this physical world will change to reflect our state of mind. For example, if you want peace, there is nothing you can do to create peace, but you can choose to be peaceful and then the world around you will become more peaceful and the things you do will help extend this sense of peace. Individually it might appear that there is little you can do to improve the world, but our mind is one mind and anything and everything you overcome, helps us all get closer to the day when we remember we really are one with God and will choose to be with him again. "An Act of God" is the sending of the Holy Spirit. "An Act of God" is continuing to love us unconditionally, no matter what we have chosen to be at this time. "An Act of God" is never letting go of us and never letting our true selves, our spirits, come to harm in any way. The first "Act of Man" was to believe God wanted to punish us and then we made this world of punishment that we can blame on God. The last "Act of Man" will be to forgive ourselves for having thought about God that way and then we'll all go home again. We will all return. We will all once again know and understand we are one. I look forward to seeing you there. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nelmes - David considers it a wonderful blessing that his insight and writings can provide opportunities for those around him to see things from perspectives they had not considered before. He pursues Gods truths and is open and willing to see what God would have him see. He invites you to join him. His influences consist of truly being open to seeing and applying the truths he has discovered through life and through both "The Bible" and "A Course In Miracles". You can visit David's website at: http://www.BeingWilling.com This article Copyright ©2005 David Nelmes - Reproduced with Permission. Highlight & Copy Text Version

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