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Spiritual Advice and Guidance Blog: Urantia Book



Wednesday, August 19, 2009

What is your viewpoint about the baptism of Jesus and His Cross? Are you with sin or without sin now? How can you solve the problem of daily and futur

Q: What is your viewpoint about the baptism of Jesus and His Cross? Are you with sin or without sin now? How can you solve the problem of daily and future sins?

A: Thank you for your letter to Truthbook.com. We are always glad to hear from truth-seekers.

You asked: What is your viewpoint about the baptism of Jesus and His Cross?

I think that Jesus death on the cross was the great tragedy of our history; that a divine Son of God - the ambassador and creator of the universe - should be brutally tortured and hung on a cross to die is a spectacle of human depravity and cruelty. Nonetheless, through that decision that Jesus made - to allow his life to play out in the most human way - we are gifted with a shining example of human willingness to follow God's will to the nth degree. He showed us throughout his life how to be a son of God - how to live the spirit-filled and spirit-led life - how to overcome sorrow, disappointment and even death through faith and through willingness to do the Father's will.

You might like to read "Lessons from the Cross" from The Urantia Book

You then asked: Are you with sin or without sin now?

We are all without sin, in the sense that we are not born sinful. We may become sinful by our own willful choices that take us away from the Father's will of truth, beauty and goodness. But that is a freewill choice; we also have the choice to walk in God's ways and do our best to live a righteous life, full of the fruits of the spirit. There is no inherent sinfulness in man, no "original sin." Jesus never taught that; instead he taught that we are faith-sons of God, and through that faith we are granted salvation. Referencing your first question: I don't believe that Jesus' death on the cross had any bearing on the question of my being with or without sin. That is a function of freewill choice; always was, and always will be.

And: How can you solve the problem of daily and future sins?

Just so we are clear, the following is a passage from The Urantia Book, and the speaker is Jesus:

"Sin is the conscious, knowing, and deliberate transgression of the divine law, the Father's will. Sin is the measure of unwillingness to be divinely led and spiritually directed."

Turning that around we can say that solving the problem of daily and future sin is to deliberately follow divine law, and be willing to be divinely led and spiritually directed. This becomes more and more a real possibility when we understand that we are indwelt by God himself, in the form of the Thought Adjuster - that spark of God that indwells the mind of each mortal. We can choose to listen and be directed. We can choose to spend time seeking the "still, small voice" within at times of decision, doubt or confusion. We can choose to say "It is my will to do your will," and then actually try do it

It is a responsibility that all truth-seekers, and all spiritual seekers have - to walk the talk; to really put into practice what we say we believe. It is challenging to all who are sincere of heart, and we all falter - we all fail at times - we all choose the wrong thing sometimes...but one thing that I have noticed in my years of spiritual seeking: the closer I get to God, the worse I feel when I take the wrong path, and the quicker I am to try and make amends and get right again. And I know that I am forgiven when I sincerely recognize my error and decide to change. So, as time goes on, we should be able to expect that our own experience will help us to increasingly avoid sin. It feels much better when we do the right thing!

Thank you for this question. I hope the reply has been helpful...

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

My life is a mess. Everything I do fails.

Q: My life is a mess. Everything I do fails. I'm tired of all this failure. They say I attract negative spirits...what are they and how do I overcome them? Please help...

A: I am so sorry to hear that you feel like a failure. That's a hard place to be. I can relate, as there have been long stretches of time in my life when I felt that way, too.

I seriously doubt whether you are attracting negative spirit personalities, but you may be attracting negative energies, as that is where your mind seems to be. You appear to have an attitude of defeat in your question, and your attitude really does affect your reality.

Jesus once met a woman who harbored what he called the "spirit of infirmity." Here's the story:

p1835:5 (167:3.1) Abner had arranged for the Master to teach in the synagogue on this Sabbath day, the first time Jesus had appeared in a synagogue since they had all been closed to his teachings by order of the Sanhedrin. At the conclusion of the service Jesus looked down before him upon an elderly woman who wore a downcast expression, and who was much bent in form. This woman had long been fear-ridden, and all joy had passed out of her life. As Jesus stepped down from the pulpit, he went over to her and, touching her bowed-over form on the shoulder, said: "Woman, if you would only believe, you could be wholly loosed from your spirit of infirmity." And this woman, who had been bowed down and bound up by the depressions of fear for more than eighteen years, believed the words of the Master and by faith straightened up immediately. When this woman saw that she had been made straight, she lifted up her voice and glorified God.

Everybody thought it was a miracle, but it really wasn't; this woman needed to hear that she had the power within her to feel better just by changing her mind, and having faith! And that is what she did.

I think you could substitute the word "failure" for "infirmity," and the advice would still be the same. Jesus told her that she had only to believe and that her spirit would be revived. Sometimes, all it takes to really get a new and fresh start is to talk it over with God. I hope you have discovered God as the loving Father that he is. He is always ready to hear you and advise you.

It is my experience that being born of the Spirit, and living life in the service of the Kingdom is a sure cure for depression, for fear, and for that feeling of uselessness and hopelessness that can sometimes afflict our minds - and our very lives. As we think, so we are. Continued failure usually accompanies that sense of inner uselessness and defeat. Change that, and the rest of our lives change. It is inevitable.

It is a fact that ALL of us, at one time or another, WILL experience failure and defeat. It is a normal part of life, and cannot be escaped. But defeat is a great teacher, and here are a few quotes from Jesus to help you when you find yourself in that position. See When You're Discouraged

It might help you to realize also, that Jesus himself was considered a failure by some. His mission of establishing the Kingdom was in total ruins after the crucifixion, and even when he was spreading his gospel of salvation, people laughed at him and called him names. He remained unmoved, and now - 2000+ years later - the whole world knows of him, and his gospel of the Kingdom is once again restated with power and majesty in the pages of The Urantia Book to inspire a whole new generation of believers. Become friends with the Master through the pages of The Urantia Book, which is freely available online, and through the many special features of Truthbook.com . He will always lift you up

So, failure is not always what it seems. It is your attitude that is important here. Stay close to God, love yourself and your fellow travelers on this earth, and do good for others. And then no one can call you a failure because you will stop thinking of yourself that way...

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