Where is God?

[jasmine]

It's only a quarter!

By Unknown

Several years ago a preacher moved to Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride the bus from his home to downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, you better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it. Then he thought, "Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from God and keep quiet."

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, "Here, you gave me too much change." The driver with a smile, replied, "Aren't you the new preacher in town? I have been thinking lately about going to worship somewhere. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change."

When my friend stopped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, and held on, and said, "Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter."

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read.

[sofiya]

fun » Where is God?

There were these three brothers who lived in this little town. The three brothers always got in trouble. So one day their mother called the priest in to talk to the three brothers. The preist called in the youngest one first. He asked the child, "where is God?" the little boy started to look around the room so the preist asked him again, the boy started to look under things and on top of shelves. The priest keep asking the boy "where is God?" the little boy finally ran out of the room to his older brothers and said "we're in trouble!" "why?" the brothers asked, he replied "cause god's missing and they think we have something to do with it".

[jasmine]

You will find Jesus there

By Unknown

"Tomorrow morning," the surgeon began, "I'll open up your heart..."

"You'll find Jesus there," the boy interrupted.

The surgeon looked up, annoyed. "I'll cut your heart open," he continued, "to see how much damage has been done..."

"But when you open up my heart, you'll find Jesus in there."

The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. "When I see how much damage has been done, I'll sew your heart and chest back up and I'll plan what to do next."

"But you'll find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He lives there. The hymns all say He lives there. You'll find Him in my heart."

The surgeon had had enough. "I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart. I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels. And I'll find out if I can make you well."

"You'll find Jesus there too. He lives there."

The surgeon left. The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery, "...damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein, widespread muscle degeneration. No hope for transplant, no hope for cure.

Therapy: painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis:," here he paused, "death within one year." He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said.

"Why?" he asked aloud. "Why did You do this? You've put him here; You've put him in this pain; and You've cursed him to an early death. Why?"

The Lord answered and said, "The boy, My lamb, was not meant for your flock for long, for he is a part of My flock, and will forever be. Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot imagine. His parents will one day join him here, and they will know peace, and My flock will continue to grow."

The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. "You created that boy, and You created that heart. He'll be dead in months. Why?"

The Lord answered, "The boy, My lamb, shall return to My flock, for he has done his duty: I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him, but to retrieve another lost lamb."

The surgeon wept.
The surgeon sat beside the boy's bed; the boy's parents sat across from him.

The boy awoke and whispered, "Did you cut open my heart?"
"Yes," said the surgeon.
"What did you find?" asked the boy.
"I found Jesus there," said the surgeon.

[sofiya]

>>Explanation of God by an 8 yr old THIS ONE IS FABULOUS!!!

>>It was written by an 8 year old, Danny Dutton of Chula Vista, CA, for
>>his third grade homework assignment. (This must have been when we could
>>still teach our children to love God and all that He does. Great Story.)
>>
>>The assignment was to explain God. I just wonder if any of us could do
>>as well???
>>
>>EXPLANATION OF GOD
>>
>>"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the
>>ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on
>>earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are
>>smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his
>>valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to
>>mothers and fathers."
>>
>>"God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot
>>of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at
>>times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV
>>because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible
>>lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off."
>>"God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which
>>keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going
>>over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you
>>couldn't have. Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I
>>don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who
>>come
>>to our church."
>>
>>"Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on
>>water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people
>>who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him
>>preaching
>>to them and they crucified him. But he was good and kind, like his
>>father,
>>and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to
>>forgive them and God said O.K. His dad (God) appreciated everything
>>that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't
>>have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did.
>>And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things
>>which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can
>>take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary,
>>only more important. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to
>>help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the
>>time."
>>
>>"You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God
>>happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't
>>skip church or do something you think will be more fun like going to the
>>beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach
>>until noon anyway. If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist,
>>you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with
>>you,
>>like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when
>>you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into
>>real
>>deep water by big kids. But...you shouldn't just always think of what
>>God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back
>>anytime he pleases. And..that's why I believe in God."

[Guest]

A Sunday School teacher began her lesson with a question. "Boys and girls, what do we know about God?"

A hand shot up in the air. "He is an artist!" said the kindergarten boy.

"Really?! How do you know?" the teacher asked.

"You know - 'Our Father, who does art in Heaven. . ."

[sofiya]

This morning when I wakened
and saw the sun above,
I softly said," Good Morning Lord",
Bless everyone I love.

Right away I thought of you
and said a loving prayer,
That He would Bless you specially
and keep you free from care.

I thought of all the happiness,
a day could hold in store;
I wished it all for you because,
no one deserves it more.

I felt so warm and good inside,
My heart was all aglow-
I know God heard my prayer for you,
He hears them all; you know..

Just to let you know,
" I'm thinking of you!!"

Author Unknown

[maheroonPradhan]

Why can't we see God?




The Holy Book teaches: Vision comprehends Him not, but He comprehends all vision.



After the Messenger's ascent to the heavens his Companions asked him if he had seen God. He answered: What I saw was the Light. How do I see Him? And on another occasion, he answered: I have seen a Light. These statements clarify the Well-Known saying; the light is the limit or veil of God. Between God and us is the light, which He created. All that we see we see by that light, within that light-the light is the ground and environment and the limit of our seeing, and that light shields or veils us from God. In fact, we see but a part of that light of creation, we see but a part of what veils Him.



Let us consider the matter from another direction. Great scholar Ibrahim Haqqi says: In the whole universe of creation there is nothing that is either the like or the equal or the contrary of God. God is exalted above all form, indeed immune to and free from form.



It is only because existing things have a like or an equal or a contrary that we are able to distinguish them and perceive them. We know what is 'long' only against what is 'short' by comparison or contrast; similarly, we know 'light' only against what is 'dark'. How then should we distinguish or perceive One who has neither like, nor equal, nor contrary? This is the meaning of the statement that God is exalted above form.



The reader will certainly have understood that the question of those who ask to directly perceive God is but an image of the question of those who ask to directly 'think' or 'know' His Being. But, in truth, we can no more 'think' or 'know' His Being, than we can 'see' Him. Just as He is beyond all measures of form or quality or quantity, He is also beyond all our powers of conception or reasoning. 'Whatever conception of God we form in our minds, He is other than it. God is beyond; and beyond all our conceptions; and we are surrounded by thousands of veils.'



Men of wisdom have said that God exists and He cannot be comprehended by human reason, nor perceived by human senses. The only means to knowledge of Him is through the Messengers, that is, the men whom God appointed as bearers of His Revelation. Where perception and reason have no access, we need to, indeed we must, accept the guidance of Revelation.



Imagine that we are in a closed room and hear a knocking at the door of that room. We may well form some vague impressions about who is knocking, but we can no more than guess at his attributes. We know for certain only that there is knocking at the door, and that we are free to go to the door and, on opening it, ask the person to make himself known to us so that we obtain thereby a more secure knowledge of his true attributes.



This poor analogy may help us to more usefully approach the question of how to seek God. The fact of creation, the immensity of it combined with an essential unity of form, the sheer beauty and harmony of it, and its usefulness to us as well as its demands upon our labor and our understanding, all make us aware of the existence of the Creator. In just the same way as we deduce from the manufacture of a wonderful diversity of fabrics out of a single material that there is certainly an agent who spins and mixes and dyes and weaves and otherwise prepares the final product, so we deduce from the stunning evidence of the Creation that there is a Creator. While a manufacturer of fabrics can be got hold of and may be persuaded to make himself known to us, no such impertinent curiosity can be addressed to the Creator. Indeed, it would be most incorrect to do so-as well as being impossible just as impossible as it would be for the fabric to address such curiosity to the fabric-maker. Thus, without assistance from the Creator himself, we can get no further than when, hearing the first knocking on the door; we began to indulge hopelessly vague surmises about who was knocking.



But the reality is that, by the Mercy of God, the Creation of mankind was accompanied by Revelation. Through God's Revelation to the Messengers and their teaching, the door is held open for us. We are enabled to respond to the Creation around us as signs manifesting not only the fact of the Creator's existence but also His Attributes. Through the Messengers we learn to contemplate His Attributes and to call them-the One, the All Merciful, the All Compassionate, the All Knowing, the All Powerful, and so on. A true understanding of these Attributes requires inward experience and contemplation, which are achieved only after sincere and total observance of the Divine decrees, objective study and long, profound meditation, according to the pattern of the Messengers. Only if a person has developed the inward faculties will he be able to grasp the meaning of the Divine works, that is, the Creation, and then rise to contemplation of the Divine Attributes manifested in it. Even then, it is by no means possible for any person to comprehend the Divine Essence. That is why it is said 'His Names are known, His Attributes are comprehended, and His Essence exists. What falls to us is to remain committed to our covenant with God, and to beseech Him in this way: 'O You, who alone are worshipped'. It needs no saying that we are unable to attain to true knowledge of You. Yet we believe that You are indeed nearer to us than our neck-veins. We feel Your existence and nearness in the depths of our hearts through the universe which You have created and opened to us like a book, and through the wonderful harmony of form between the least and the largest of what You have brought into being. We come to perceive that we are integrated into the whole realm of Your theophanies, and by that perception our souls are rested and consoled, and our hearts find serenity.'



But there are some who do not seek any such serenity or indeed any inward life at all. They are of a mechanical turn of mind and readily fall into a mechanical kind of sophistry, which entraps and paralyses their reason.

[logical]

Why can't we see God?

The Holy Book teaches: Vision comprehends Him not, but He comprehends all vision.

After the Messenger's ascent to the heavens his Companions asked him if he had seen God. He answered: What I saw was the Light. How do I see Him? And on another occasion, he answered: I have seen a Light.

Here's a question :
The hadith suggests that the Prophet saw the Light.
How can one see, with the eyes, the Light or the Essence of God?

Let us consider the matter from another direction. Great scholar Ibrahim Haqqi says: In the whole universe of creation there is nothing that is either the like or the equal or the contrary of God. God is exalted above all form, indeed immune to and free from form.

Ponder this:
If God was only Transcendent then, the above could be true or He sits on a throne in the 7th heaven, detached from his creations.

If God is also Immanent - Omnipresent then, God exists in all his creations which are forms. That is, unless you tell God where He may or may not exist.

[logical]

Why can't we see God?

The Holy Book teaches: Vision comprehends Him not, but He comprehends all vision.

After the Messenger's ascent to the heavens his Companions asked him if he had seen God. He answered: What I saw was the Light. How do I see Him? And on another occasion, he answered: I have seen a Light.

Here's a question :
The hadith suggests that the Prophet saw the Light.
How can one see, with the eyes, the Light or the Essence of God?

Let us consider the matter from another direction. Great scholar Ibrahim Haqqi says: In the whole universe of creation there is nothing that is either the like or the equal or the contrary of God. God is exalted above all form, indeed immune to and free from form.

Ponder this:
If God was only Transcendent then, the above could be true or He sits on a throne in the 7th heaven, detached from his creations.

If God is also Immanent - Omnipresent then, God exists in all his creations which are forms. That is, unless you tell God where He may or may not exist.

The Truth, imho, is the Light/Nur cannot be seen with physical eyes because it is formless. In order to be seen, the Divine has to manifest or take forms.

The Divine can be grasped by the inner eyes in state of deedar or meditation or fana-fi-ali.

[logical]

If I may continue from the previous post:

The Miraj is a PHYSICAL Journey as believed by Majority muslims where the Prophet flew to heaven TO NEGOTIATE with the Divine about reducing the namaz fom over 50 per day to 5 per day.

If the Prophet, as per the orthodox hadith, couldn't see the ESSENCE or Nur or Light which is called by many NAMES, for example, Divine, bhagvan, allah, Ali; then, how did the prophet negotiate with the Divine who has to have speech in order to negotiate?

[maheroonPradhan]

Always There


Hello God, I called tonight
To talk a little while
I need a friend who'll listen
To my anxiety and trial.

You see, I can't quite make it
Through a day just on my own...
I need your love to guide me,
So I'll never feel alone.

I want to ask you please to keep,
My family safe and sound.
Come and fill their lives with confidence
For whatever fate they're bound.

Give me faith, dear God, to face
Each hour throughout the day,
And not to worry over things
I can't change in any way.

I thank you God, for being home
And listening to my call,
For giving me such good advice
When I stumble and fall.

Your number, God, is the only one
That answers every time.
I never get a busy signal,
Never had to pay a dime.

So thank you, God, for listening
To my troubles and my sorrow.
Good night, God, I love You, too,
And I'll call again tomorrow!

Unknown