Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:29 am +0000 Posts: 4609
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SEla_Kelly wrote: 158:7.5 After they had recovered from the first shock of Jesus' stinging rebuke, and before they resumed their journey, the Master spoke further: “If any man would come after me, let him disregard himself, take up his responsibilities daily, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life selfishly, shall lose it, but whosoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's, shall save it. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What would a man give in exchange for eternal life? Be not ashamed of me and my words in this sinful and hypocritical generation, even as I will not be ashamed to acknowledge you when in glory I appear before my Father in the presence of all the celestial hosts. Nevertheless, many of you now standing before me shall not taste death till you see this kingdom of God come with power.”
181:1.8 in the full assurance that he was achieving the Father's will When I heard the first staged-production of "Resurection of the Publick Universal Friend", in Penn Yann, NY, I remember the actor saying, as Jemima Wilkinson, "Remember that God loves ya," during the epilogue of the play. But Remember this, she tried to do God's will, and she forsook herself. God's love is stern, and often enough it is the thing that you are most afraid of.
Jesus said "if you love me" you will feed my sheep. There is an advanced injunction that comes out of Peter's love, man's loyalty. If you know that God loves you, you must reciprocate this love.
180:5.8 this rule of universal relationship is revealed only in its spiritual realization, in the interpretation of the law of conduct by the spirit of the Son to the spirit of the Father that indwells the soul of mortal man "Any man's interpretation of the law", meaning "Universal Law", that every man has this relationship to the First Source, has that relationship to the Paradise Father.
Another horrific falsehood and misrepresentation!! God's love is NOT stern!! Or aloof or angry or withheld or difficult to acquire or to receive nor is it earned or deserved. Neither do we need to forsake ourselves or our own best interest or our happiness do know God's will or to do God's will!!!
To "disregard" self is merely to set aside self importance and false liberty in recognition of the value and importance of others - each and all others - as fellow children in the family of God. We may choose false liberty or true liberty and thereby come the results which accompany each of those choices....either blessing or consequences and suffering. The choice is ours.
You are posting quotations here again for which there are no sources except your own imagination!! Who said and where is it written - "Any man's interpretation of the law..." or that those words might mean "Universal Law"???????
180:5.8 is about the assurance that comes to mortals by their understanding of the Golden Rule:
180:5.8 (1950.3) But the highest realization and the truest interpretation of the golden rule consists in the consciousness of the spirit of the truth of the enduring and living reality of such a divine declaration. The true cosmic meaning of this rule of universal relationship is revealed only in its spiritual realization, in the interpretation of the law of conduct by the spirit of the Son to the spirit of the Father that indwells the soul of mortal man. And when such spirit-led mortals realize the true meaning of this golden rule, they are filled to overflowing with the assurance of citizenship in a friendly universe, and their ideals of spirit reality are satisfied only when they love their fellows as Jesus loved us all, and that is the reality of the realization of the love of God.
181:1.8 (1954.5) A certain amount of both stoicism and optimism are serviceable in living a life on earth, but neither has aught to do with that superb peace which the Son of God bestows upon his brethren in the flesh. The peace which Michael gives his children on earth is that very peace which filled his own soul when he himself lived the mortal life in the flesh and on this very world. The peace of Jesus is the joy and satisfaction of a God-knowing individual who has achieved the triumph of learning fully how to do the will of God while living the mortal life in the flesh. The peace of Jesus’ mind was founded on an absolute human faith in the actuality of the divine Father’s wise and sympathetic overcare. Jesus had trouble on earth, he has even been falsely called the “man of sorrows,” but in and through all of these experiences he enjoyed the comfort of that confidence which ever empowered him to proceed with his life purpose in the full assurance that he was achieving the Father’s will.
181:1.10 (1955.1) The peace of Jesus is, then, the peace and assurance of a son who fully believes that his career for time and eternity is safely and wholly in the care and keeping of an all-wise, all-loving, and all-powerful spirit Father. And this is, indeed, a peace which passes the understanding of mortal mind, but which can be enjoyed to the full by the believing human heart.
Me here: The lessons in the quotes referenced (but not posted) by Stephen are that the more we progress in the Spirit and the more we grow the fruits of the Spirit and embrace the Golden Rule, the more Divine Assurance we receive. Assurance is a mechanism and force of response by Deity to our response to Deity!! Divine Assurance is a feedback loop of reinforcement and supporting comfort and confidence and affirmation....assurance of our standing as beloved children!!
Only those living without Divine Assurance might believe or preach that God's love is stern or earned. The quote from Paper 158 is irrelevant to the topic and, as usual, posted out of context!! Here Peter has the audacity to lecture the Master on the mission and ministry of Michael's 7th bestowal and does so out of the childish belief in the earthly material kingdom he hopes to help rule and sit near the throne of!! This is a very particular and very personal and very situational rebuke of Peter's immature blindness and self interest. Peter's embrace of false liberty and self interest roused the Master's rebuke!
158:7.3 (1759.5) In answer to Andrew, Jesus said: “My brethren, it is because you have confessed that I am the Son of God that I am constrained to begin to unfold to you the truth about the end of the bestowal of the Son of Man on earth. You insist on clinging to the belief that I am the Messiah, and you will not abandon the idea that the Messiah must sit upon a throne in Jerusalem; wherefore do I persist in telling you that the Son of Man must presently go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, be rejected by the scribes, the elders, and the chief priests, and after all this be killed and raised from the dead. And I speak not a parable to you; I speak the truth to you that you may be prepared for these events when they suddenly come upon us.” And while he was yet speaking, Simon Peter, rushing impetuously toward him, laid his hand upon the Master’s shoulder and said: “Master, be it far from us to contend with you, but I declare that these things shall never happen to you.”
158:7.4 (1760.1) Peter spoke thus because he loved Jesus; but the Master’s human nature recognized in these words of well-meant affection the subtle suggestion of temptation that he change his policy of pursuing to the end his earth bestowal in accordance with the will of his Paradise Father. And it was because he detected the danger of permitting the suggestions of even his affectionate and loyal friends to dissuade him, that he turned upon Peter and the other apostles, saying: “Get you behind me. You savor of the spirit of the adversary, the tempter. When you talk in this manner, you are not on my side but rather on the side of our enemy. In this way do you make your love for me a stumbling block to my doing the Father’s will. Mind not the ways of men but rather the will of God.”
158:7.5 (1760.2) After they had recovered from the first shock of Jesus’ stinging rebuke, and before they resumed their journey, the Master spoke further: “If any man would come after me, let him disregard himself, take up his responsibilities daily, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life selfishly, shall lose it, but whosoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s, shall save it. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What would a man give in exchange for eternal life? Be not ashamed of me and my words in this sinful and hypocritical generation, even as I will not be ashamed to acknowledge you when in glory I appear before my Father in the presence of all the celestial hosts. Nevertheless, many of you now standing before me shall not taste death till you see this kingdom of God come with power.”
158:7.6 (1760.3) And thus did Jesus make plain to the twelve the painful and conflicting path which they must tread if they would follow him. What a shock these words were to these Galilean fishermen who persisted in dreaming of an earthly kingdom with positions of honor for themselves! But their loyal hearts were stirred by this courageous appeal, and not one of them was minded to forsake him. Jesus was not sending them alone into the conflict; he was leading them. He asked only that they bravely follow.
158:7.7 (1760.4) Slowly the twelve were grasping the idea that Jesus was telling them something about the possibility of his dying. They only vaguely comprehended what he said about his death, while his statement about rising from the dead utterly failed to register in their minds. As the days passed, Peter, James, and John, recalling their experience upon the mount of the transfiguration, arrived at a fuller understanding of certain of these matters.
Last edited by fanofVan on Wed Jan 08, 2020 7:03 am +0000, edited 2 times in total.
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