Hello. I'm new here. I will be honest; I didn't finish all 12 pages. But I urge you to read my entire message. If you insist on reading all comments before you read mine, I promise to do it. I see everything from a different angle. I don't use scriptures to understand the world. The world and God (Reality) are much bigger. I formally agree with Matthias. I believe in the monotheistic Jewish God but understand Him a slightly differently. Jesus (I don't think it would be polite to call Yeshua by the name Jesus when you talk to him directly) is God's son, the first of many. The idea of being chosen is to pick someone you think is suitable. It is not like in a corporation where the old CEO wants to pick his right-hand man among the board of directors, where his son is also present, and picks his own son. If there are two sons, we can say the CEO made a choice. Jesus can't be chosen as Messiah from the beginning of creation or earlier.
When I started my journey in faith, I accidentally found a tiny Bible from the "Gideon Brothers." I didn't know much about God and Jesus. After reading two gospels, I formed the opinion that Jesus is a human who understands God and can hear Him. It was sad to me that people didn't get what Jesus taught, even his close disciples. My thoughts were: "Would I understand Jesus and God in their position at that time?" Obviously, hearing the sound of words and reading them is not enough. A few years later, I tried to pray to Jesus. Even though I truly respect him, I couldn't experience the same sensations as from my prayer to God, the Father. God is the source of everything; why do I need someone to be my mediator if I am another son? To reach that height, I need someone experienced in that path. Of course, Jesus is the only way to learn. This is my way of thinking. When you set your mind that other people, priests, and the Bible will teach you to understand God, you are limited by opinions and interpretations, even if they were inspired by God. Imagine a drought in the region. One person found water far away in the mountains. He brought some in his hands as proof. Will you ask for the path to its source or just drink from his hands? If I were Jesus, I would teach about how to hear God and be His children, free from sin. Plus, I would have to convince others that I am “the right guy”. I can understand the logic of Greek philosophers. How can gods have a son? They were well informed about this. Gods come down and have sex with a woman. Wait, God doesn't have a body. Okay, He did that spiritually. Then how should we be reborn? We are already here. As Moses was leading to Canaan, Jesus was showing the way to God’sKingdom. He walked that way and heard the guidance. We need to just follow his steps. Why, from the duration of Jesus' three years of preaching, do we know only miracles, the Sermon on the Mount, and occasional quotes? Oh well, nobody understood him. How can we be sure about collected rumors and interpretations in scriptures? The Holy Spirit! But the Spirit is in the shadows. Christianity is afraid to lean on it too much. We know well what can happen to believers when they are too "spiritual." What if Jesus was reborn as anyone can be? Let's think. He was baptized, received God's Spirit, and went to the desert. Why did he decide to do that? If he were God, he would know and understand the Father instantly without the Holy Spirit, prayer, and fasting. How would a "silver spoon boy" understand our struggles? Everyone else has only dirt. Only God, through His Spirit, can clean it out. But everything related to the Holy Spirit is vague for Christians. The Holy Spirit is guidance. It is the source for God's children of who I am, what I want, what is right, and so on—an alternative to what we have from our birth. Jesus had the same. Do you remember the lamb reference? What I understand is that we must be like that lamb before God. A pure heart means no ties to opinions, ideologies, idols, leaders, etc. Never come to God to prove your idea. Our character depends on what spirit we have or what guides us. Jesus said that his yoke is meek; it means God's Spirit is gentle and meek. You can't hear His voice if you are arrogant. You can become capable of hearing if you are willing to reject yourself. If you despair of being a slave to sin, then God will come to you. But how many times have you had a desire to dedicate your whole heart to God but heard the background voice saying you didn't finish the TV show, the last season is so great, or you want to find a partner, or "no more parties?" and so on? It is hard. You associate yourself with your feelings and desires, induced by instinctive nature—"nefesh." Rejecting it is painful. But it is what the Temple of God requires to sacrifice. Become a lamb, receive the Holy Spirit, and allow the lamb to disappear—be replaced by the Holy Spirit. You can't serve two masters—be guided by two sources of life. What people usually do is clean up their soul by repentance and continue to live on their own, with original guidance, and fall back. Why? When people receive God's Spirit—God visits them—their "lamb" feels so much joy. Those feelings overwhelm God's presence. What do they want after that? More feelings! They replace God with what they feel. You must step over those feelings and desire to meet God directly. Ask yourself, what is more precious to me? God Himself or these pleasurable feelings? The obvious choice is "obvious." Instead of being reborn, people become goats and run away from the altar. This is how false teachers and prophets appear. God doesn't come to lift you but to accept your full sacrifice. Then you will have God's Spirit guidance day and night.
