Universal Father's Week on June, 2024: Universal law: when we give, do we naturally receive back?
Universal Father's Week 2024. Big Education Ape: Jan 6, 2013 *Founding Fathers on Universal
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Hi, this goes against the flow but...
Jesus said a cool thing: When you throw a party, don't invite your friends who can repay you - invite the poor, the lame, blind, crippled (the lame etc were usually beggars in those days)....
Another thing he said was that when you give you shouldn't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing:) Then your heavenly father will reward your giving done in secret.
So give for no other reason than to love someone, give anonymously.
Jesus said if you give even a cup of water to a kid, to God that's awesome. Give to those who are low in society, whose opinion doesn't matter to society.
We think the opinion of those high up in the eyes of people matters - that if they admire or like us we are somehow more valuable...WRONG... Give to those who won't even be able to thank you...because you already KNOW your value.
We were made in the image of God - and He paid the price of the blood of His own beloved Son for us - that's our value to our Creator. Infinite value....before you even do 1 good thing.
Was there a children's book that taught you a spiritual truth?
Glee...I teach at my synagogue's religious school and I read Old Turtle to the children two weeks ago!!
It has a universal message that is wonderful.
However, for my own childhood, books connecting me to nature often spoke to my spiritual nature..
the Disney versions of these stories nearly ruined it for me but please read the originals..
Bambi by Felix Salten
The Fox and the Hound ( Disneys' version of this made me sick )
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell..about human nature in relation to the elements and other species
Elsa, The Story of a Lioness
Born Free
Living Free..all by Joy Adamson
And while these aren't all children's books I read them when quite young
In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall
and in my senior year of high school..a book that is now out of print by Dr. Michael Fox stands out..Between Animal and Man
As a small child..Hans Christian Anderson was one of my favorites, too
And KIPLING! OH I loved the Jungle Books...1 and 2..( and again the Disney versions I did NOT like so much )
And again..I agree with Glee
Horton Hears a Who was a GREAT favorite.
I loved Dr. Seuss stories..the Lorax is still a great favorite, too!
Notice a common spiritual theme to my favorites? They have to do with the relationship between humans and all other life.
Shalom :)
EDIT I can't believe that I forgot one that really did speak to my concept of God and man..and it was a very old book ( that I cannot remember the title ) that contained a children's version of the Midrash of Abraham and the idols. It told the story of Abraham in charge of his Father's "store" of idols while he was out. While away..Abraham would play with the idols..the largest one would be the Father, the largest female idol the Mother and the smaller idols the children. He played "house" with them and would have the Father idol scold the children idols. Well, during the course of his play he knocked one over and it shattered. Thinking quickly, he took a long stick and placed it in the arms of the "Father" idol. As his own father returned and saw the idol broken he scolded Abraham because he was supposed to have been watching over his father's shop..Abraham said he didn't do it..that the Father Idol was scolding the other idol and he broke it. He pointed to the stick.
I can still recall in my mind's eye the illustration of a child Abraham standing in front of broken idols and a large one holding a stick while his father points accusingly and Abraham looks up at his father.
Abraham's father scolded again and told him that an idol cannot punish anyone.
Abraham said to him..then why do you bow down to idols?
Abraham's father looked at the idol and back at his son and told him there was great wisdom in what the boy said.
Abraham then declared to his father that idols were not gods but that there was a great Creator God who we cannot see but who can speak to us if we listen.
Out of the mouth of babes, eh?
When I read that as a child and realized that human beings.."grown ups" as well as children..believed in idols for millenia...it just boggled my mind.
For people of the Jewish faith... another question?
Check the previous answers to this. It gets asked once a week.
What is the Messiah supposed to accomplish? The Bible says that he will:
A. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
B. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).
C. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)
D. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world -- on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9).
2) JESUS DID NOT EMBODY THE PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS OF MESSIAH
A. MESSIAH AS PROPHET
Jesus was not a prophet. Prophecy can only exist in Israel when the land is inhabited by a majority of world Jewry. During the time of Ezra (circa 300 BCE), when the majority of Jews refused to move from Babylon to Israel, prophecy ended upon the death of the last prophets -- Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
Jesus appeared on the scene approximately 350 years after prophecy had ended.
B. DESCENDENT OF DAVID
The Messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David (see Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1). According to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no father -- and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father's side from King David!
C. TORAH OBSERVANCE
The Messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah observance. The Torah states that all mitzvot remain binding forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah is immediately identified as a false prophet. (Deut. 13:1-4)
Throughout the New Testament, Jesus contradicts the Torah and states that its commandments are no longer applicable. (see John 1:45 and 9:16, Acts 3:22 and 7:37)
3) MISTRANSLATED VERSES "REFERRING" TO JESUS
Biblical verses can only be understood by studying the original Hebrew text -- which reveals many discrepancies in the Christian translation.
A. VIRGIN BIRTH
The Christian idea of a virgin birth is derived from the verse in Isaiah 7:14 describing an "alma" as giving birth. The word "alma" has always meant a young woman, but Christian theologians came centuries later and translated it as "virgin." This accords Jesus' birth with the first century pagan idea of mortals being impregnated by gods.
B. CRUCIFIXION
The verse in Psalms 22:17 reads: "Like a lion, they are at my hands and feet." The Hebrew word ki-ari (like a lion) is grammatically similar to the word "gouged." Thus Christianity reads the verse as a reference to crucifixion: "They pierced my hands and feet."
C. SUFFERING SERVANT
Christianity claims that Isaiah chapter 53 refers to Jesus, as the "suffering servant."
In actuality, Isaiah 53 directly follows the theme of chapter 52, describing the exile and redemption of the Jewish people. The prophecies are written in the singular form because the Jews ("Israel") are regarded as one unit. The Torah is filled with examples of the Jewish nation referred to with a singular pronoun.
Ironically, Isaiah's prophecies of persecution refer in part to the 11th century when Jews were tortured and killed by Crusaders who acted in the name of Jesus.
