What kind of religious/spiritual questions do you ask your self?

[MonkeyFire]

Imo you must know so questions may be few.

 

[WhyIsThatSo]

What is the question you ponder the most about during a day when you are focused on spiritual growth? How do you go about finding the answers to it?

There is only one question to ponder, in my mind. WHY the necessity for all the suffering in this world.
Every single one of us experience it to some extent every single day, so I just want to know...WHY ?

 

[WhyIsThatSo]

I am not focused much on "spiritual growth", to be honest. I think that comes naturally to us so long as we maintain an honest, humble, open stance in relation to ourselves and our circumstances. One of the reasons I am not religious is that religions are constantly telling people that they aren't who, what, where, and how they are "supposed to be". And I don't by it. I think that once we stop trying to be something other than what we are, we become exactly what we were intended to be, by default. The goal is not to attain some wise, mystical, state of being. The goal is to let go of our deluded, self-centered ideas of becoming some 'new and improved, super righteous holy being' so that we can just be what we are. Because that's exactly what we were always intended to be. And that 'us' is more wonderful than our egos could have ever imagined.

Well said.....and we all already ARE that "super righteous holy being",
we just all need to "re-member" it .

 

[URAVIP2ME]

I'm very concerned about the question as to whether or not I will be saved I've done some horrible things to people in my past and yes, I know God forgives... But I'm still worried

No need to be worried because Jesus paid the price for you and you would Not want to look back and take that back.
Standing faithful to the end (on going) is what ' saves /delivers / rescues ' - Matthew 24:13
Faithful in doing one's best to keep Jesus' New commandment of John 13:34-35.
To have the same self-sacrificing love for others as Jesus has.
In other words, to now love neighbor 'more' than self, more than the Golden Rule.
And to follow Jesus' instruction as found at Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:8.
Tell others about the good news of God's kingdom (Daniel 2:44) now in the hands of Christ Jesus.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

There is only one question to ponder, in my mind. WHY the necessity for all the suffering in this world.
Every single one of us experience it to some extent every single day, so I just want to know...WHY ?

I find the WHY is because of the challenge that Satan presented to Job (Job 2:4-5) and extended to us.
Satan challenges ' touch our flesh...' (loose physical health) and we would Not serve God.
Both Jesus and Job under adverse conditions proved Satan a liar and so can we.
Remember: all the suffering is temporary.
We can look forward to the healthy conditions as described in Isaiah 35th chapter.
There will be ' healing ' for earth's nations according to Revelation 22:2
This is why we are all invited to pray the invitation of Rev. 22:20 for Jesus to come !
Come and undo all the suffering Satan and Adam brought upon us.

 

[WhyIsThatSo]

I find the WHY is because of the challenge that Satan presented to Job (Job 2:4-5) and extended to us.
Satan challenges ' touch our flesh...' (loose physical health) and we would Not serve God.
Both Jesus and Job under adverse conditions proved Satan a liar and so can we.
Remember: all the suffering is temporary.
We can look forward to the healthy conditions as described in Isaiah 35th chapter.
There will be ' healing ' for earth's nations according to Revelation 22:2
This is why we are all invited to pray the invitation of Rev. 22:20 for Jesus to come !
Come and undo all the suffering Satan and Adam brought upon us.

Yes, I know this suffering here is only temporary. And to be honest I don't care about my own (suffering).
But I have to "endure" the suffering of others around me, and that's what hurts most.

I also know what "Satan" is , and what the story of Job is really saying.
and no matter how much I "know", I still have to endure the suffering of others .

 

[URAVIP2ME]

My current question I am focusing on is does God choose one group of people over another group people. Is there a "chosen" people is my question.....................

In illustration form Jesus does favor one group: the figurative humble 'sheep'-like people of Matthew 25:37, 40.
The other group: the figurative haughty 'goat'-like people are Not chosen at the 'separating time' of Matthew 25:31-33.
The figurative 'sheep' group comes out of ALL nations according to Revelation 7:9.
Those figurative 'sheep' will come through the coming 'great tribulation' (Revelation 7:14).
Come through in order to be the foundation of Jesus' coming 1,000-year governmental reign over Earth.
What is written in the ^above^ is history written in advance for us.
Only the wicked will be ' destroyed forever ' according to Psalms 92:7

 

[WhyIsThatSo]

I keep wondering how much longer I'll be able to stay sane in this world and how much more God can forgive me for my weaknesses. Something tells me my credit rating isn't the best.

The True God (Father) does not care about your "weaknesses" .

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Yes, I know this suffering here is only temporary. And to be honest I don't care about my own (suffering).
But I have to "endure" the suffering of others around me, and that's what hurts most.
I also know what "Satan" is , and what the story of Job is really saying.
and no matter how much I "know", I still have to endure the suffering of others .

I find many have to endure the suffering of others, or see others suffer.
With biblical hope then we know what we endure is: temporary.
To me only the Bible gives us genuine hope. HOPE of things Not only getting better, but getting to be the BEST.
H old
O n
P ain
E nds

 

[WhyIsThatSo]

I find many have to endure the suffering of others, or see others suffer.
With biblical hope then we know what we endure is: temporary.
To me only the Bible gives us genuine hope. HOPE of things Not only getting better, but getting to be the BEST.
H old
O n
P ain
E nds

That's true...and "hope" is a very real thing. More "real" in fact, than this "world" ( cosmos, universe, physical creation )

 

[URAVIP2ME]

The True God (Father) does not care about your "weaknesses" .

I find at 1 Thessalonians 5:14 that The True God (Father) does care about one's weaknesses.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

That's true...and "hope" is a very real thing. More "real" in fact, than this "world" ( cosmos, universe, physical creation )

Yes, without hope there would be nothing to look forward.
God gave father Abraham hope as found at Genesis 12:3; Genesis 22:18
ALL families of Earth will be blessed. ALL nations of Earth will be blessed.
Blessed with the benefit of ' healing ' for earth's nations - Revelation 22:2
At this beneficial time: No one will say, " I am sick..." according to Isaiah 33:24

 

[WhyIsThatSo]

I find at 1 Thessalonians 5:14 that The True God (Father) does care about one's weaknesses.

The "warning" is against "the god of this world" ( YHWH, Jehovah, etc. ). He is "just", but the Father is "Good".

 

[URAVIP2ME]

The "warning" is against "the god of this world" ( YHWH, Jehovah, etc. ). He is "just", but the Father is "Good".

in Scripture I find the ' god of this world... ' according to 2 Corinthians 4:4 is sinner Satan.
Sinner Satan is the god of this world of badness, but Not for long.
As per Hebrews 2:14 B Jesus will destroy Satan.

 

[wizanda]

What is the question you ponder the most about during a day when you are focused on spiritual growth? How do you go about finding the answers to it?

Everyday - "In what way am I delusional in some way?"

Wisdom is being able to accept we are always learning; there is always another climb higher than the last.

In my opinion.

 

[dfnj]

In illustration form Jesus does favor one group: the figurative humble 'sheep'-like people of Matthew 25:37, 40.
The other group: the figurative haughty 'goat'-like people are Not chosen at the 'separating time' of Matthew 25:31-33.
The figurative 'sheep' group comes out of ALL nations according to Revelation 7:9.
Those figurative 'sheep' will come through the coming 'great tribulation' (Revelation 7:14).
Come through in order to be the foundation of Jesus' coming 1,000-year governmental reign over Earth.
What is written in the ^above^ is history written in advance for us.
Only the wicked will be ' destroyed forever ' according to Psalms 92:7

My concern about "chosen" people came from reading the Dead Sea scrolls:

https://www.preteristarchive.com/Books/pdf/1994_martinez_dead-sea-scrolls-in-english.pdf

"Blessed be the God of Israel, the one who keeps mercy for his covenant and pledges of deliverance - for the people he has redeemed"

"The God of Israel has summoned the sword against all the nations"

"The God of Israel will humiliate"

"Rejoice, Zion, passionately! Exult, all the cities of Judah! the gates for ever so that the wealth of the nations can go in to you! Their kings shall wait on you, all your oppressors lie prone in front of you, and the dust of your feet shall they lick. Blank Daughters of my people, shout with jubilant voice! Deck yourselves with splendid finery!"

Deuteronomy 14:2, "For you are a holy people to YHWH your God, and God has chosen you to be his treasured people from all the nations that are on the face of the earth."

I think there is something seriously wrong with religions that have a "chosen" people. The people who are not part of the "chosen" group are then given a derogatory label ("heathen", "gentile", "goy", "infidel", "kafir"). Whenever you label someone then you are free to no longer treat them as an equal human being. There is no moral consequence to killing people who are not part of the "chosen" group.

It seems to me the ultimate purpose of religion is to teach tolerance, cooperation, love, and forgiveness for all people just because they are human beings. But when you have labeling bigotry and prejudice are built into the teaching of the religion, It seems to me we are all sons and daughters of the same creator. At some point back in time we all share the same mother and father through birth. So we are all equal in the eyes of God because we all share the same creator.

I'm not a big fan of your 'sheep' metaphor. I see too much psychological weakness in Christian philosophy. The problem with Christianity is a psychological one. Friedrich Nietzsche had some acute criticisms of Christianity. He said Christianity was born in response to Roman oppression. It took hold in the minds of timid slaves who did not have the courage or strength to take what they really wanted. The slaves could not admit to their own failings. So they clung to a philosophy that made virtue of cowardice. Everything the Christians wanted and wished they had in their lives for fulfillment was considered to be a sin. A position in the world, prestige, good sex, intellectual mastery, personal wealth were too difficult or beyond their reach. The Christian slaves created a hypocritical creed denouncing what they really wanted but were incapable of achieving while praising what they did not want was being virtuous. So in the Christian value system sexlessness turned into 'purity', weakness became "goodness," submission to authority became "obedience," and in Nietzsche's words, "not-being-able-take-revenge" turned into "forgiveness." A Christian slave was too weak to have any personal voice and was only capable of bending a knee to whoever was in authority. We have to balance submission to authority with a healthy self-esteem and confidence in our own inner authority.

I have no desire to kneel like a sheep:

No, being a sheep is not our natural state.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

My concern about "chosen" people came from reading the Dead Sea scrolls:

https://www.preteristarchive.com/Books/pdf/1994_martinez_dead-sea-scrolls-in-english.pdf

"Blessed be the God of Israel, the one who keeps mercy for his covenant and pledges of deliverance - for the people he has redeemed"

"The God of Israel has summoned the sword against all the nations"

"The God of Israel will humiliate"

"Rejoice, Zion, passionately! Exult, all the cities of Judah! the gates for ever so that the wealth of the nations can go in to you! Their kings shall wait on you, all your oppressors lie prone in front of you, and the dust of your feet shall they lick. Blank Daughters of my people, shout with jubilant voice! Deck yourselves with splendid finery!"

Deuteronomy 14:2, "For you are a holy people to YHWH your God, and God has chosen you to be his treasured people from all the nations that are on the face of the earth."

I think there is something seriously wrong with religions that have a "chosen" people. The people who are not part of the "chosen" group are then given a derogatory label ("heathen", "gentile", "goy", "infidel", "kafir"). Whenever you label someone then you are free to no longer treat them as an equal human being. There is no moral consequence to killing people who are not part of the "chosen" group.

It seems to me the ultimate purpose of religion is to teach tolerance, cooperation, love, and forgiveness for all people just because they are human beings. But when you have labeling bigotry and prejudice are built into the teaching of the religion, It seems to me we are all sons and daughters of the same creator. At some point back in time we all share the same mother and father through birth. So we are all equal in the eyes of God because we all share the same creator.

I'm not a big fan of your 'sheep' metaphor. I see too much psychological weakness in Christian philosophy. The problem with Christianity is a psychological one. Friedrich Nietzsche had some acute criticisms of Christianity. He said Christianity was born in response to Roman oppression. It took hold in the minds of timid slaves who did not have the courage or strength to take what they really wanted. The slaves could not admit to their own failings. So they clung to a philosophy that made virtue of cowardice. Everything the Christians wanted and wished they had in their lives for fulfillment was considered to be a sin. A position in the world, prestige, good sex, intellectual mastery, personal wealth were too difficult or beyond their reach. The Christian slaves created a hypocritical creed denouncing what they really wanted but were incapable of achieving while praising what they did not want was being virtuous. So in the Christian value system sexlessness turned into 'purity', weakness became "goodness," submission to authority became "obedience," and in Nietzsche's words, "not-being-able-take-revenge" turned into "forgiveness." A Christian slave was too weak to have any personal voice and was only capable of bending a knee to whoever was in authority. We have to balance submission to authority with a healthy self-esteem and confidence in our own inner authority.
I have no desire to kneel like a sheep:
No, being a sheep is not our natural state.

Please notice Post # 28 under " Is the Idea of Having a "Chosen People" Detrimental to the World ? "
Being a ' figurative sheep ' is Not speaking about the literal animal's state at Matthew 25:31-33,37