Undying Hope

112 posts · 9 participants · started Oct 9, 2017, 2:36 PM

1. M

   MaraParticipant
   Oct 9, 2017, 2:36 PM

   Yesterday we met in the home of one of our study group buddies for a topical discussion on “Undying Hope”. The presenter handed out sealed envelopes and on the outside of each envelope was a question or two relating to the topic. Each envelope was numbered. Starting with number one, the person read the question/s out loud and had an opportunity to respond in his/her own words. Then the envelope was opened and the UB references pertaining to the questions were read. It was a fascinating way to study this topic and it was a marvelous day.

   I am opening this topic to share with you the questions. It will be up to forum participants and readers to develop your own answers and provide references. I hope you enjoy it.

   1.  What is the difference between “hoping” and “wishing”?
   2. What do we gain by living in an insecure and uncertain world?
   3. What is the source of all our insecurities and uncertainties during our mortal lives? What forces can we harness to combat our struggles during our life in the flesh?
   4. How has religion historically addressed this struggle between human desires and uncertainty, and faith in the unseen God?
   5. In the Urantia Book there are descriptions of hosts of spiritual forces: the ministering spirits of the Central Universe, supernaphim, counselors, advisers and on our planet, all the seraphim, cherubim and midway creatures. What is their purpose?
   6. What happens if we disobey our Thought Adjuster’s admonitions?
   7. Is there any way we can escape or lessen the hardships of our mortal life?
   8. How can we know we are responding to our Thought Adjuster, and not just hearing voices in our head, in other words really being spirit-led?
   9. Of what can we be certain, on what can we place our “undying hope”?
   10. Can we use a new understanding of insecurity and uncertainty to fortify our “undying hope”?
2. A

   AndréParticipant
   Oct 9, 2017, 3:31 PM

   Dear Mara,

   Very interesting methods.

   Yesterday, out of the blue I red all 4 pages in thread

   “administration, I would like to formally lodge a complaint“

   …. after so much verbalise expressive exercise ‏finally sprouted out wiser advises …..

   You may attack an idea, if you must attack something, but never the person expressing it.   Rick # 27774

      The problem was I would then mistake my misunderstandings for my beliefs.     Nigel # 27867

   I’ m interested Mara, count me in. Let me inquiring “my beliefs” and come back, lay them down.

   André

3. M

   MaraParticipant
   Oct 9, 2017, 3:42 PM

   andré wrote:

   I’ m interested Mara. . . .

   Thanks andré    As the spirit moves you . . .

4. A

   AndréParticipant
   Oct 9, 2017, 5:20 PM

   What is the difference between “hoping” and “wishing”?

   I’ am answering from perspectives developped during the last 60 years. Not looking at the blue book.

   I hope =… is expectative as the future goes.

   I wish = expectative as above but including past and present time.

   André

5. B

   BonitaParticipant
   Oct 9, 2017, 5:26 PM

   I think hope is an exercise of faith based upon the realization and trust in the fact that goodness is at the heart of everything.  Wishing is miracle thinking while hoping is a faith-trust in a friendly universe.

6. A

   AndréParticipant
   Oct 9, 2017, 5:53 PM

   What do we gain by living in an insecure and uncertain world?

   Before faith is distill, we gain desesperation without certainty. Logic fade out confronted with inexplainable, beyond comprehensive facts of life.

   André

7. A

   AndréParticipant
   Oct 9, 2017, 6:24 PM

   What is the source of all our insecurities and uncertainties during our mortal lives?

   Perfection processus. Those “in” and “un” are settle to be improved as delicacy in quality and quantity till we knock on heaven’s doors.  26:4.13

   What forces can we harness to combat our struggles during our life in the flesh?

   The self.

   Surrender willingly us to the guidance of our indwelt beloved Divine part.

   André

8. A

   AndréParticipant
   Oct 9, 2017, 6:51 PM

   How has religion historically addressed this struggle between human desires and uncertainty, and faith in the unseen God?

   “Human desires” respond from innate gifted Divine will.

   i.e. mental/adjutants, personnality/free will, T/A / God’s will.

   Pre-primitive and primitive religion took the determined evolutive path, step by step as God’s plans.

   Unfolding new perceptions of reality as we mature under T/A adjustments.

   André

9. A

   AndréParticipant
   Oct 9, 2017, 7:07 PM

   In the Urantia Book there are descriptions of hosts of spiritual forces: the ministering spirits of the Central Universe, supernaphim, counselors, advisers and on our planet, all the seraphim, cherubim and midway creatures. What is their purpose?

   Ministering spirits of the Central Universe= angels

   ^26:1.15 … they form that unbroken chain of spirit ministers which has been provided by the Infinite Spirit for the help and guidance of all who seek to attain the Universal Father through the Eternal Son.

   André

10. A

    AndréParticipant
    Oct 9, 2017, 7:24 PM

    What happens if we disobey our Thought Adjuster’s admonitions?

    I do not thing admonitions stuff adress T/A responsability.

    Would think more suitable regarding Spirit of Truth and Holy Spirit.

    TUB define errors (desobedience) resulting as maladaptation, ignorance of God’s ways to do things.

    Thats is why Spirit of Truth stand on patway to redirect the ill-advised, innapropriate conduct.

    The Holy Spirit gouvernance through angels ministries.

    André

11. G

    GeneParticipant
    Oct 9, 2017, 8:01 PM

    8: How can we know we are responding to our Thought Adjuster, and not just hearing voices in our head, in other words really being spirit-led?

    i think the hearing voices thing is related to mysticism type efforts to contact spirit. Somewhere in paper 100 it talks about how dangerous this can be. As opposed to effort to contact the adjuster, simple prayer of thanksgiving and worship is more beneficial.

    i also think real contact with adjuster followed by real effort to respond equals growth and realizing growth may not happen immediately, maybe not for weeks or months. Remember we do not cause growth, we are grown by spirit.

    also, when we crave righteousness it is a clue that the adjuster is in there and functioning.

12. A

    AndréParticipant
    Oct 9, 2017, 8:06 PM

    Is there any way we can escape or lessen the hardships of our mortal life?

    Escape seems a wrong human immature perception.

    Lessened the impact of perfecting processus imply change of perceptions.

    One of this changement suggest an illogical sequence.

    1:6.3 (30.2) Never lose sight of the antipodal viewpoints of personality as it is conceived by God and man. Man views and comprehends personality, looking from the finite to the infinite; God looks from the infinite to the finite. Man possesses the lowest type of personality; God, the highest, even supreme, ultimate, and absolute. Therefore did the better concepts of the divine personality have patiently to await the appearance of improved ideas of human personality, especially the enhanced revelation of both human and divine personality in the Urantian bestowal life of Michael, the Creator Son.

    2:0.3   All our efforts to enlarge the human concept of God would be well-nigh futile except for the fact that the mortal mind is indwelt by the bestowed Adjuster of the Universal Father and is pervaded by the Truth Spirit of the Creator Son. 

    André

13. A

    AndréParticipant
    Oct 9, 2017, 8:20 PM

    How can we know we are responding to our Thought Adjuster, and not just hearing voices in our head, in other words really being spirit-led?

    First of all “hearing voices” never been there.

    Secondo … “Spirit-led” after commitment from my part “TO DO God’s will” sincerely done … is all God request demand. Through effective closenest to T/A +   prayers… all done with sincere, desirable attitude may infaillibly respond to God’will

    André

14. A

    AndréParticipant
    Oct 9, 2017, 8:38 PM

    Of what can we be certain, on what can we place our “undying hope”?

    Incertainty as discuss earlier is our lot of ascending journey.

    With faith endowment we can solely rest on God’promisses.

    André

15. A

    AndréParticipant
    Oct 9, 2017, 8:48 PM

    Can we use a new understanding of insecurity and uncertainty to fortify our “undying hope”?

    You bet !

    •   Association with one’s fellows. ^160:2.8
    •  Renew our minds by the transformations of the indwelling spirit.  ^144:5.81

    André

16. B

    BonitaParticipant
    Oct 9, 2017, 9:47 PM

    Mara wrote:

    Of what can we be certain, on what can we place our “undying hope”?

    Truth.  Truth is inconcussible.

    118:3.3  Truth is inconcussible — forever exempt from all transient vicissitudes, albeit never dead and formal, always vibrant and adaptable — radiantly alive.

17. M

    MaraParticipant
    Oct 10, 2017, 3:07 PM

    Mara wrote:

    What is the difference between “hoping” and “wishing”?

    I got envelope #1 and I said the difference (to me) was that “wishing” is like a christmas wish or a birthday wish list in the sense that I want something someone can provide or do for me.  I said I thought “hoping” was a soul thing, that it was inside (pointing to my heart).  I told the group about something I recently heard about that phrase about the door: knock and it shall be opened, seek and you shall find.  The person who told me this pointed out that the door-knob of that door is on the inside.  The door has to be opened from the inside.  I said I thought hope had to do with faith, because faith encompasses all that we cannot see or know, and yet we know of a certainty that overarching goodness prevails to those who love God.

18. S

    starvisionParticipant
    Oct 10, 2017, 8:30 PM

    Reacting to the question: Hoping or Wishing.

     

    Hoping is always hanging by a thread.  Wishing at least has some power behind it.  However, both would penetrate the void with a shot of faith.  I think the idea of undying hope pertains to that part of you that does have faith.  It won’t give up what it struggles to find because it’s faith musters eternal excitement :)

19. M

    MaraParticipant
    Oct 11, 2017, 12:18 PM

    Welcome to the forum starvision.

    Here is a correlating reference, one of the inevitabilities, from the Urantia Book:

    3:5.8   3. Is hope — the grandeur of trust — desirable? Then human existence must constantly be confronted with insecurities and recurrent uncertainties.

     

20. B

    BonitaParticipant
    Oct 13, 2017, 1:01 PM

    Mara wrote:

    What do we gain by living in an insecure and uncertain world?

    Wouldn’t the obvious answer be TRUST?  Isn’t the goal to eventually realize that “In liaison with God, nothing—absolutely nothing—is impossible.” (26:5.3)?  If that’s the goal, the only way I know of getting there is faith-trust in the person who transcends all the insecurities and uncertainties of this world, and the next, and the next after that.

    Why is it important to gain trust?  That’s the real question, I think.

    39:5.7-9 The Spirits of Trust. Suspicion is the inherent reaction of primitive men; the survival struggles of the early ages do not naturally breed trust. Trust is a new human acquisition brought about by the ministry of these planetary seraphim of the Adamic regime. It is their mission to inculcate trust into the minds of evolving men. The Gods are very trustful; the Universal Father is willing freely to trust himself–the Adjuster–to man’s association.

    This entire group of seraphim was transferred to the new regime after the Adamic miscarriage, and they have ever since continued their labors on Urantia. And they have not been wholly unsuccessful since a civilization is now evolving which embodies much of their ideals of confidence and trust.

    In the more advanced planetary ages these seraphim enhance man’s appreciation of the truth that uncertainty is the secret of contented continuity. They help the mortal philosophers to realize that, when ignorance is essential to success, it would be a colossal blunder for the creature to know the future. They heighten man’s taste for the sweetness of uncertainty, for the romance and charm of the indefinite and unknown future.

    Perhaps those folks who rail against insecurity and uncertainty are missing romance and charm?

Reply on the current forum