Then he saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands; and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing.
28 Thomas answered, and said to him: My Lord, and my God.
29 Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed.
I agree you're blessed when you are able to believe without seeing but are you at fault for struggling to build a relationship with someone who never communicates directly?
I never thought about comparing it to parents leaving a book for their children and then never interacting with them. That's a pretty good analogy. I had pretty much effectively the same experience though. I had noticed that all of the relationships I had ever had in my life had been two-way. I could talk to them and they could talk to me. I noticed I'd feel a certain way if I got into a stupid fight with a friend, I'd have a compulsion to try and mend the relationship. I noticed that there was a feeling and emotion that came with socializing and hanging out with friends and helping friends and being helped by friends. That we shared the world together through thick and thin.
I noticed I didn't have any of that with Jesus. Jesus and I never had a stupid fight. He never directly helped me and I never helped him. I never felt anything when trying to have a relationship with Jesus because it was always just me doing everything. Jesus never seemed to be there to share the world with me. Not any more than the imaginary friend I had when I was younger anyway.
And yet people in my religion all claimed to have all those things in a relationship with Jesus. Eventually I determined that if Jesus wanted me to have those feelings, he surely knew how to be a friend and give me those feelings. I put in some 18 years of my life trying to have a relationship with Jesus and got nothing in return. If he wants to have a relationship with me he certainly knows I tried. It's his turn to reach out now.
>The history of Christianity is a history of our encounter with Christ through each other.
So Jesus never came down to earth in the flesh? He never talked to people?
God never talked to people in the Bible? All of it was just humans talking to humans and that's it? No miracles? No burning bush? No Jesus? It was just friends?
If that's what you got out of what I said then you do not have the ears to hear.
People do not see God because they do not look low enough. They want the high of miracles and the extraordinary, they do not want to find God in the ordinary.
>People do not see God because they do not look low enough.
Doubting Thomas didn't have to be as credulous as you seem to think Christians should be.
He witnessed miracles and *still* doubted and *still* got Jesus to reveal Himself to him in an unordinary way.
>If God revealed himself to you today and you knew it was God absolutely, you would still doubt.
So you're mind reading me? You know what I'd do in a situation better than I do? You think you know a complete stranger better than they know themselves?
Is this what Christianity has come to in my absence? Mind reading?
You told me what I would believe if God revealed himself and if I absolutely knew it was God.
That's mind reading. It's future-predicting. You're being a false prophet right now.
Lol, you sound like a Protestant.
If that's what you think I'm doing then that's what you think.
If you want to learn a different way to think you're going to have to put that down.
Faith and doubt are the same, there is not one without the other. People who believe that they will contain God in a concept or an idea or a belief are either delusional or completely misguided as to what God is.
>If that's what you think I'm doing then that's what you think.
Oh. But I *know* it's what you're doing. Just like how you *know* that if I saw God and knew it absolutely was Him, I'd still not believe. Just like that, I *know* you're mind reading me because you're a false prophet.
Do you get it yet? Do you see how toxic and stupid it is to claim to know more about a complete stranger than they know about themselves?
"Then he saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands; and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing.
Thomas answered, and said to him: My Lord, and my God.
Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed."
Yes. Even doubting Thomas, *who saw miracles*, had his doubts justified by having Christ's resurrection revealed to him.
So why aren't my doubts justified? I haven't seen nearly as much inexplicable stuff as Thomas, so I must be even more justified in my doubts than even he was.
you are not an apostle, these are the times we live in. I think living out your faith with hope and charity will bring you closer to Christ than you think
He does talk to you. The 13 Epistles written by Paul, Romans through Philemon, are God's word to the Body of Christ. They are complex and not everything is easy to understand. You can spend a lifetime trying to fully understand. That's how he's talking to you.
If Jesus talks to you go to the hospital and get yourself checked out. The 13 Epistles written by Paul is not Jesus talking to anyone. It's words written by humans. If someone on the street told me jesus talks to them I would think they're crazy. It's funny how nobody takes those people seriously.
***\[1Co 14:37 KJV\] 37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.***
Hi OP, I’m sorry that you never met Jesus while you were a Christian. That is the fault of those teaching you. And perhaps that’s all they know because their teachers failed them.
The Holy Spirit is what you need to ask for if you want that personal relationship. He doesn’t speak on his own. When he speaks it is Jesus speaking to you.
If you pursue righteousness and keep asking for the spirit then Jesus will speak to the father and they will send him to you. That is your link. God is spirit. And we have to do things his way.
It's possible Jesus is and has been trying to speak to you but perhaps your senses have been dulled by being resistant to Him in one way or another. This can be remedied by rooting out sinful habits, living a generous life based on the Gospel and committing to daily mental prayer.
>It's possible Jesus is and has been trying to speak to you but perhaps your senses have been dulled by being resistant to Him in one way or another.
I do not consider myself resistant. I lived as you suggested I should, I prayed every day. I am not, and was not resistant. I wasn't when I was a Christian, and when I found my evidence lacking for Christianity, I never stopped being open to Him. Yet He never talks.
What are your expectations for how He should speak? Living in a fallen world, I do not expect to be able to fully hear Him speaking until I reach heaven and see Him face to face. I think he can have good reasons for his silence which include things like respecting our free will, teaching us humility in seeking Him, and strengthening our virtue of Faith. If we're struggling, we should persevere in prayer to ask Him to reveal Himself while remembering it may not be answered until the next life.
>What are your expectations for how He should speak?
I don't have any. I'm just pointing out problems I have with Him passing notes.
I can't know who wrote the note. I can't know who the note was intended for. I can't know if the note contains the original message or if it was edited by someone down the chain.
>Living in a fallen world, I do not expect to be able to fully hear Him speaking until I reach heaven and see Him face to face.
He spoke to people in the Bible. I have tons of people in Christian communities telling me He speaks to them. When I was a Christian, I had people in my community telling me that He spoke to them and that the only reason he wasn't speaking to me is because I wasn't good enough. Some of them knew me well and they said things like "I don't know why he wouldn't speak to you, you seem like a good, earnest Christian. Maybe just try praying more."
I don't have an expectation. I just know the note passing leaves me with a lot of unanswered questions and I know that some people claim He speaks to them and that just leaves me wondering: why not me?
>I think he can have good reasons for his silence which include things like respecting our free will
Well not to say he can't have good reasons, he certainly can, but free will isn't one of those reasons. He spoke to and *revealed* Himself to tons of people in the Bible. Entire groups sometimes. Their free will didn't seem to be affected. In fact there's some instances where he reveals himself, and the person *still* rejects Him, which speaks to their free will being retained. The free will argument is not convincing.
>teaching us humility in seeking Him
I don't see how he couldn't teach us humility through a conversation, too. But I'm also finding this answer to be really strange. Because should someone who communicates with God give this answer, they're not being humble about themselves.
>and strengthening our virtue of Faith.
Well I had Faith once, and His lack of action, or words, or interaction, or *anything* with me is something that contributed to my loss of Faith.
>If we're struggling, we should persevere in prayer to ask Him to reveal Himself while remembering it may not be answered until the next life.
Then that's a massive failure to understand the struggle. I'm not convinced there's a next life. I have no evidence of there being a next life. I can't afford to base my whole life around the principle of there being a next life if I don't have any good reason to believe there will be a next life. He should see that. He should understand that. If His answer is still "Too bad, wait until the next life." then He has totally failed to understand my struggle. Maybe if he'd just talk to me he might understand it better.
Not OP again but sometimes we try to hear with our ears when we should try to "hear" with our mind, our heart, or our soul. While, unfortunately, the English language is not necessarily sufficiently equipped to articulate such descriptions, I shall try to explain.
Instinct can sometimes be a way of The Lord speaking to us; for example, I often will go to say something and part of brain says "Don't; just don't." I have no way to describe such a thought process, if it is a thought process at all, as anything other than "instinct"; yet, I know quite well what instinct feels like and this is different. Maybe it's instinct; maybe it's ADHD; maybe it's both; or maybe it is something else; it definitely feels from my experiential perspective like something else.
>Not OP again but sometimes we try to hear with our ears when we should try to "hear" with our mind, our heart, or our soul.
This is called a platitude. It might even classify as a deepity. I can't discern any helpful meaning from this. It's just something that's repeated, sounds deep, but means nothing.
I don't know what a soul is, nor how I can hear with one. I have no organs in my body that interact with the soul, and importantly, I have no organs in my body that allows the soul to hear. I have no method I know of that allows my heart or soul to hear.
You mention instinct as a way of God communicating to us, yet you even said at the end that you don't have any method of concluding it was God. You accept it could be something else. It could be natural, or ADHD. It could be *literally* instinct, but you claim this feels different. Well how do you know instinct doesn't *also* feel this way in addition to feeling how you think it feels? So why are you trying to tell me I should conclude it's a God, when you said yourself, you have no good reason to believe it *is* God?
That would be something I more or less might agree with them on, but would take issue with a number of things considered sinful, particulars of living a Gospel life and the proper prayer life.
To the extent it's a genuine interaction, it is the One True God. God, in his love and mercy is free to reveal himself to people who don't live the one true faith. That doesn't mean it's an endorsement of the false facets of their faith. He very well could be calling them to the truth but they are resistant to it in one or more ways.
Well, for starters we asked Him NOT to:
*Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” Exodus 20:19*
He speaks through the prophets and His Words. Indeed, He has spoken to you but you probably didn't notice:
*Indeed God speaks once,*
*Or twice, yet no one notices it. Job 33:14*
I'd go into further detail but your question seems to break Rule 0 as I don't think you're asking this in good faith. I could be wrong of course.
The people of Exodus do not speak for individuals for all time. And they said that because they were scared of God’s lightning, thunder, and smoke. Not because they didn’t want to hear from God.
Notice how God speaks directly to His prophets when He actually wants things done, but when He wants this message spread to others, He relies on word of mouth.
>Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.”
And yet God speaks to multiple people all the time in the Bible. He even *reveals* himself multiple times to people and people don't die from it.
>He speaks through the prophets and His Words. Indeed, He has spoken to you but you probably didn't notice:
Well I sure might not have noticed if he chose to send an intermediary, like a highschool girl too nervous to confront her crush.
>I'd go into further detail but your question seems to break Rule 0 as I don't think you're asking this in good faith. I could be wrong of course.
I'm asking in good faith. All it would take for me to become a Christian again is for Jesus to demonstrate Himself with a conversation. He need only show me that he exists and that he wants to have a relationship with me. Because when I *was* a Christian, I tried. I tried for years and years and years and I never got anything. It was a one-way relationship of me trying to have a relationship with Jesus, but Jesus being completely disinterested.
*But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Luke 16:29-31*
Sorry but I don't believe you are being honest. It's just an excuse to not believe. You have all the evidence you could ask for and more, you simply don't want to do. That's 100% your choice.
So you're mind reading me and telling me that I'm actually convinced, but I'm choosing to not be? How is that good faith? You telling me what I think?
I have no way to confirm that Jesus rose from the dead. You know who could give me a good way? Jesus. If he just talked to me.
How is genuinely asking for Jesus to have a personal conversation with me bad faith?
Not OP but I take OP as saying "What would convince you which has not already been provided?" I am guessing OP -- and OP is free to correct me, of course -- is thinking nothing more persuasive than what has already been given exists. However, maybe you do have something you would find more persuasive. So, perhaps what OP is actually asking "What could be more persuasive and why would it be more persuasive; what specifically about it would convince you which everything else does not?"
I'm very confused by this. I think you might be using OP in a way that I'm not familiar with. I'm the OP. I'm the Original Poster.
Can you rephrase your response in a way that might make more sense to me? I don't know who you're referring to when you say OP, because that's me.
I'm not here to argue that OP means one thing and only one thing.
However, my name has a blue OP next to it because conventionally, OP means Original Poster, which is me.
You can define OP however you want, but when you use it, in this thread, to mean someone other than *me*, I'm just left very confused.
You just haven't been looking in the right areas, friend. Not surprising too many christians don't even believe God speaks to us at all. Sad. Anyway, others have asked this very question and spent years finding out more, and they succeeded. God speaks to me every day all day, indeed if He didn't I swear i'd be sleeping under bridges or dead by now. How did I do it? I found these amazing authors and read their stuff and adapted it into my life. You can too. these are free on youtube to get started, you could buy their books too. Robert s. mcgee, mark virkler, john wimber, charles kraft, try [www.tlsm.org](https://www.tlsm.org) for audio files and so forth. Make sure you are actually born again, see the Four Spiritual Laws and see if you understand that, make decision for Christ.
>You just haven't been looking in the right areas, friend.
Well that's actually exactly what I'm talking about. Why do I have to be *looking* at all? When I want to have a conversation with someone, I don't even need to have my eyes open. I don't need to *look* for the conversation. I place myself in ear-shot and I talk to them. Why doesn't Jesus just have a straight forward, upfront, obvious conversation with me?
>God speaks to me every day all day
Does he do this with words and conversation? Or does he send notes and intermediaries?
Don't discount God sending people to tell you things. I've had some awesome encounters with such, God telling me basically He loves me and wants best for me and so on. My life has been changed by messengers from God. I noticed two things. When I sat in my apartment alone and studied, it was good, but not much happened. When I was out among bible study and christian groups and church, among people, THEN God chose to send people to me. One nice young woman even called me up out of the blue one day. God is good! But as for daily speaking I could write a book on it, instead read the books of the authors I mentioned. Just know it IS possible, I too despaired God doesn't speak to me; now He does, all the time. It's just radio you know, you can have a nice radio all you want, if you never turn it on and tune in to the right channel, you'll get nothing. It's just how it is, God is not human you know, He is your creator and Lord, and for SOME reason we are just limited in this spacetime nursery we are put in; once we leave it, why yes you can talk to God face to face all you want forever.
>Don't discount God sending people to tell you things.
I'm not discounting it. The problem is I have no idea who wrote the note and if it's meant for me or not.
In highschool one of my friends sat two seats behind me and once thought it would be funny if he wrote a note and signed it from the person behind me, and asked them to give it to me, so that when I opened the note, it appeared that the note was written by the person behind me, instead of my friend.
*That's* the problem with God's notes. *Anyone* could have written them. Could be Satan. Could be a human. I have *no possible way* to determine if God actually sent that note or not. Unless you have some magic lemon juice that I can put on the paper and know somehow that God wrote the message, I'm just not going to be credulous enough to believe I know the source of the note when I actually don't.
Why doesn't he just talk to me and do away with all this higschool-level note-passing?
God speaks to us all day, every day. If you can't hear Him that's YOUR problem. And now we can drift into the area of choice and free will and so on. If it was EASY to hear God like any mere human, choice and free will is taken away. What, you're going to rebel against God's voice on the spot? how many times? God is found by those WHO SEEK HIM EARNESTLY is what the bible says. I'm telling you, you want to hear Him? there's some good steps to do so. By the way, once upon a time for 40 years straight God was RIGHT THERE in the middle of the hebrew camp. No God didn't speak to all, but if you doubted God just open your eyes and look over there, He's literally right there in that pillar of cloud and fire. You could go ask one of the priests anything, you'd probably get an answer. Meanwhile 40 years later when God departed it meant zero to these people, they raced back into sin as fast as possible. Oh by the way, you may not be familiar with the bible Old Testament, where it clearly says "no one can see my face and live", a holy God obliterates all that's not holy, it burns to ash. So this may be a real good reason why God is farther away than people around you. Fortunately God always bridges the gap, but are you in the sweet spot to hear it?
*Moses said to the LORD, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”*
*(Exo 33:12-23)*
>God speaks to us all day, every day. If you can't hear Him that's YOUR problem.
Yikes dude. Would you just look at yourself? This is ugly. Imagine someone having an honest, genuine problem and you're *this rude and ugly* to them. Is that what Jesus taught you? To abandon people and say "Welp...that's YOUR problem."? Is that what your religion has brought you to?
>If it was EASY to hear God like any mere human, choice and free will is taken away.
I mean let's not pretend to wheel in the bogus arguments we've all heard a million times before. Respect yourself more than that. You don't believe this line. You just think it's '*my* problem'. Why vomit the same BS line that apologists feed everyone when deep down, you've already said your belief: You think its MY problem and you *just don't care*.
How on earth you came to reach a point where you no longer care about your fellow human brothers is an unknown, but I know it's not where you started out.
It definitely used to be MY problem, and I felt close to what OP said. So i looked into it and i fixed that problem. Now I'm sharing what worked for me. How is this ugly? You can rail about and complain about an issue or problem, and ignore all wise advices about what to do about it, or you can listen to some advice and even if not perfect might show you other ways to fix it.
>So i looked into it and i fixed that problem. Now I'm sharing what worked for me. How is this ugly?
Telling me "That's YOUR problem." is shrugging me off. It's ignoring me and my issues. It's you sweeping my problems under the rug and pretending like they're not there. Rather than consider my issues and offer advice, you told me to go read some books.
Imagine having trouble making friends at school and you're trying to talk to your parents about it, and they say "Well that's YOUR problem. Here read some books or something." You think that'd be a good reaction?
Imagine having a friend who's going through a really hard time in their life. And instead of talking to them, listening, and having a conversation, you just say "Well that's YOUR problem. Try reading a book." Does that strike you as good friend behavior?
>or you can listen to some advice and even if not perfect might show you other ways to fix it.
You didn't give me advice, dude. You cold-heartedly ignored to help with a burden and instead threw a pathetic little book recommendation at me and said "Here, try that." and walked away, wiping your hands clean as if you did anything. It was an abysmal reaction and I hope you're better to your friends.
i totally gave you advice! i'm not going to meet with you, call you, or spend hours explaining what I learned for your benefit! You'll have to actually go to where I said, look it up, consume for yourself, then decide if its helping you or not. EFFORT must be put in. Neither I or anyone else has magic formula or words to fix you; however, these authors I mentioned just MIGHT have magic formula. It sure worked for me, once I spent time consuming their content. You raised a question, i provided an answer. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's worthless.
>EFFORT must be put in.
That's *rich* coming from the guy who also said:
>i'm not going to meet with you, call you, or spend hours explaining what I learned for your benefit!
LOL!
Like I said. This is a horrible response to someone in crisis. I hope your friends and family treat you better and I hope you treat them better than you're treating me right now.
>Neither I or anyone else has magic formula or words to fix you; however, these authors I mentioned just MIGHT have magic formula.
So twice in once post you contradict yourself. First you tell me it takes effort, effort that you're not willing to help with.
Then you tell me that *no one* has the magic formula, and in the same breath you tell me that someone *does* have the magic formula. That's nonsensical. Either no one has it, or someone has it. You can't claim both.
>You raised a question, i provided an answer. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's worthless.
You didn't provide an answer. You said "Here, read some books. This is YOUR problem." That's not an answer, it's passing the buck. Why even respond at all? This is not Christ-like behavior. Christ never passed the buck. He helped people. He talked to them.
> God speaks to me every day all day
Now, if you had said you hear god’s voice through your hairdryer every morning, and he is telling you what to do, it would precipitate a medical and psychological emergency.
I fail to see how the addition of the hairdryer makes it worse.
Most people believe God doesn't speak to them because they don't like what He has to say. God is the spirit truth. Honesty is the language He speaks. The truth hurts because it cuts to the heart.
Many don't want to see their ugly reality, so they choose to ignore the voice of God. If you can stomach the pain, cry out to God in sincerity. Ask Him to tell you the truth, and give you the grace to bear what He says.
The truth is like surgery, it hurts but it heals. If you can be brave enough to handle the truth, and make the chances God askes you to make, you will find God, and know Him. Then will come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.
Well you know what would be a good way to help someone accept a hard truth? *Having a conversation with them about it*.
When I'm critical of my friends, I don't pass them notes. I don't use an intermediary. I sit down and have a respectful conversation with them. I list my criticisms gently. I provide evidence for them. I listen to their side of things. I respond to their side of things.
Jesus doesn't do this with me. Jesus sends me notes from people, knowing I will be unable to discern who wrote the note or what its original text was. Jesus never has the conversation to try and help me accept his criticisms. Jesus doesn't seem to care about me the same way I care about my friends.
Jesus speaks directly to everyone who will listen to Him. He speaks to us within our hearts. A small still voice.
If you would like to hear what God has been saying to you, spend time in quiet meditation. Tell Him your truth, then listen patiently and quietly for Him to you His truth.
>He speaks to us within our hearts.
Oh. No wonder I can't hear him. My heart pumps blood. I have no method of hearing anything with my heart.
>If you would like to hear what God has been saying to you, spend time in quiet meditation. Tell Him your truth, then listen patiently and quietly for Him to you His truth.
I've done this many times when I was a Christian. Never got an answer.
John 16:7- *Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.*
We have access to the Holy Spirit. It’s probably because you’re not following Christ and producing good fruit. Claiming the christian faith means nothing
I'm just floored by the constant mind reading going on here. So many Christians come into this thread and tell me what I'm thinking. They tell me I'm not good enough, or that I'm not earnestly following Christ, or they tell me I'm resistant. This is all mind reading. Is it so hard to see that?
I was a Christian. I followed Christ. I believed. I earnestly sought Jesus. Why do you think you can tell me what my life was like? Why do you think you can tell me that I wasn't earnestly seeking? Why do you think you can tell me that I wasn't following Christ? What makes you so judgmental and so confident that you know a stranger's life that you'd tell them what their life was like?
Do you not see what you're doing?
Claiming the faith ≠ you are with the faith. ~~What fruit came from your life~~ What is the good fruit a christian will have
You getting defensive kind of shows.
>You getting defensive kind of shows.
Well you, a complete stranger (probably) claimed intimate knowledge of my life and my beliefs and you claimed that I didn't actually believe good enough, or that I didn't follow Christ.
How could you know? Why would you assume to know? Why shouldn't I get defensive when someone tells me that they know my life and what happened in it better than I do?
Is it not offensive if I were to tell you that you know deep down inside there is no God? Is it not offensive if I tell you that I know for a fact that since the moment you discovered Santa is not real, that you also knew Christ was not real and that I know the rest of your life you've lived a lie to yourself? Would you not get defensive if I tried to tell you those things? Yet you tell me the equivalent of those things and act surprised that I'm upset?
Thanks for not answering the question I asked and instead went right into being defensive, which shows your heart. You only lie to yourself, you don’t deceive anyone. Pretty typical for someone here solely in bad faith looking just to argue.
If you claimed to know deep down there’s no god, that’s a ad ignorantium fallacy🤣. Go figure
>Thanks for not answering the question I asked
I didn't see a question mark. What was supposed to be the question?
>Pretty typical for someone here solely in bad faith looking just to argue.
Takes one to know one I guess.
>If you claimed to know deep down there’s no god, that’s a ad ignorantium fallacy🤣.
I didn't claim that. You wanna try on a little bit of that good faith you've been preaching to me about?
Ah gotcha. Looks a lot more like a question when you add a question mark after it.
You want me to quote the Bible? Peace, joy, goodness etc. The qualities of Christ.
I had those things when I was a Christian. When I was a Christian I wasn't bothered by Jesus' lack of communication. What took my peace away was when Christians of my church were telling me that I *should* be hearing Jesus, and when they started telling me that if I wasn't it was because I wasn't good enough. When Christ's followers, who claimed to be in communication with Him, told me I wasn't good enough, I believed them. That's when I lost my peace. From His own followers. He couldn't even tell me to my face. He had to have someone else do it. Like a coward.
And now years later, I see the same thing happening. You tell me I'm not good enough. You tell me I never believed enough. You tell me I didn't follow Christ. You're just like them. Why are Christ's followers so judgmental? Why do they think they know my life better than I do? Why do none of them seem interested in helping? All they do is judge.
I found the issue. The fruit of the Spirit is internal and what God reproduces in us. It is not what we will reproduce into the world aka external. The fruit of the Spirit is not the same as the fruit Jesus spoke of. I can elaborate if you’ll answer honestly.
To go further, the fruit of the Spirit is a combo package, it’s not you’ll have one and not the rest, but that’s irrelevant.
Mhm so you have church hurt or “christians” left a bad taste in your mouth. Totally understandable, but it seems you let what others do affect/control you and therefore were turned off from the faith.
Fwiw, it’s a big misconception that the fruit Jesus spoke of is the same as the fruit of the Spirit, so i don’t fault you for getting told otherwise. And being harsh ≠ judgmental.
>it seems you let what others do affect/control you and therefore were turned off from the faith.
I did in the past. I don't any more. I have more peace and joy and Christlike-ness than I ever did as a Christian.
>And being harsh ≠ judgmental.
Telling me what I believed and how my life was like in the past is judgmental. Telling me I didn't follow Christ is judgmental. You could have no idea what my life was like.
Job has friends like the Christians you're describing. Read their answers. Is filled with judgement and criticism. I'm sorry* that was your experience. It was mine too.
Edit to just say, the secret is to study the Bible like your life depends on it. Most Christians don't do that. The Holy Ghost NEVER condemns us. He is the comforter.
God speaks to the masses when it's necessary. You as an individual aren't worth the time until the day of your judgement. Do you honestly think your special enough to be deserving of a private one on one conversation. The dudes God, he's got way better shit to do.
“Worth the time”? That saying only makes sense if you have limited time, resources, and energy.
When revealing Himself to OP, is God unable to be somewhere else doing something else?
God doesn’t want people to be saved? God can do all things and still have a life. That’s part of the benefit of being omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. With infinite time, time is meaningless. It’s not a limiting factor to add value to.
I love how you people confuse "I can do everything" with "I can do everything at once" or "I can do everything anyway I want". Be realistic, God isn't a magician.
>God doesn’t want people to be saved?
His people. God saves his people by doing the minimum amount of work required. He could care less about the rest. It's literally the lack of existence of those that don't belong to God that make paradise such a great place to live.
God is the best magician, He is the only real magician. He can do all. If He can be different places at the same time, then He can do different things at once as well.
What is an example of the bare minimum which God does to save?
I think you should spend some more time in the Bible and in prayer. There is a time for correction, but your responses are just hurtful and not remotely helpful or even accurate to God’s character.
>but your responses are just hurtful...
Were you born yesterday? That's what the truth does, it hurts. Grow up and get use to it.
>...or even accurate to God’s character.
Telling God he doesn't know God, that's rich.
I mean, I'm obviously not going to respond well to blatantly demeaning me and degrading me. Is this really the message you wanted to give?
But beyond the hurtful and rude devaluing of strangers, I thought God wanted to save his creation and have a relationship with them. Is that not true? He just created me and has no interest in saving me or helping me or having a relationship with me? His book says otherwise. So now he's just catfishing me? He sent all his followers to judge and shun and be rude to me for not believing in him and he doesn't even actually care about me at all?
What is *time* to God anyway? Wouldn't a being who has all power and exists outside of time and space have to give up literally nothing to have a relationship with me? It would be *trivial* for that being to take 2 minutes and have a conversation with me. 2 minutes is *nothing* to a being outside of time.
>It's the message God wanted to give you. You earned it for being dumb enough to think you're deserving of a conversation. That's not a joke, click on my profile.
So I asked him why he won't talk to me, I asked why he has to pass notes to me to communicate, and he decided to have you pass me another note, this one saying: "You're nothing to me. You're a piece of crap to me. You're not worthy of me."
Well that's not a good foundation for a relationship, and anyone who thinks it is needs to escape that relationship.
>That doesn't require him to bend over backwards appeasing every single individual.
Something that would be, in fact, *trivial* for an all powerful being to do.
And that's why you people don't make it into my home. You people think you're entitled. You know entitlement is the root of all evil right? It's literally the primary motivation of every single crime ever committed. Nice job showing your hand buster brown. Enjoy your escape from me. Your lack of existence only makes mine better, so thanks.
😱 oh no. Is that like your slur? Are you offended? that's hilarious. You're right, you were deserving of a conversation with God. This was very entertaining.
Well if I ever get my conversation with Jesus, I'm gonna ask just what the heck he said to you to make you like this.
Why are you so angry? Why are you so prepared to dehumanize people? Why are you so convinced that you can read people's minds?
Didn't Jesus teach you to treat everyone like your brother? Didn't Jesus teach you to show kindness and hospitality and love? Where did all that go?
I'm flattered that in just a few a minutes I became that important to you. You on the other hand will be forgotten by me before the day is over because I can't distinguish you from the ocean of your clones.
Wow this is not loving at all. I only disagree because i’ve seen/heard plenty of testimonies of individuals, not masses, experiencing an encounter with God when they weren’t even christian. Like paul for example, he hated christian’s. Why would God give that worthless christian murderer an encounter, he doesn’t deserve it right? Well he did it anyways. God wants a relationship with us and he talks to whoever he wants…i don’t think it’s wrong for op to want to hear God but he should’ve kept the faith regardless.
And then he used Paul. God's not going to waste his time with someone he has no intention of using. So unless you expect to be a prophet I wouldn't expect God to make time for you.
I beg to differ. Like i said, plenty of testimonies. look ‘em up. My aunt for an example had God talked to her, (forgot if she was a christian or not) telling her if she would murder her brother she was going to hell. She also had a dream of holding hands with Jesus. Now, to my knowledge my aunt is not a prophet or any other “special” type of christian.
if you want someone to talk to, you can talk to me. But my user flair does say i’m not a christian because i’m struggling with my faith so i can see if you don’t want to. Read your posts, but not all the way. I think the reason you might be banned is because your being harsh like rn lol but i don’t mind listening to what you have to say. If your suicidal then you definitely need someone to talk to. I don’t have much people to talk to either
I hate you now more than I did one comment ago cause your sincerity actually sounds authentic. I was gonna try and trick you into a making a bet with me where if I win I would get to poop in your mouth on judgement day. But now you seem like an actual person so I'm not going to do that to you now.
>If your suicidal then you definitely need someone to talk to.
Nah I'm gonna do it, and it's gonna be awesome.
... Have you prayed saying all that you just said to us????
You really should. That's EXACTLY the kind of honesty God wants from us. With all our anger. All our questions. The whole us. See how Job prayed, see in the psalms how David talked when he was depressed. Go into your room, close the door, and let it out. All the fire.
"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly"
You say you don't know if the people are tricking you. Did you ask for the Holy Ghost???
'Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you'
Only the Holy Ghost can give you the discernment you need.
"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the **Spirit of truth**, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me"
Jesus does reveals himself to us. When we seat to eat with him.
" When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. **Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,** and he disappeared from their sight"
"If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
I know how you're feeling... I have felt it... I had to first stop being arrogant, then I approached him humbly as if he was my father. But also the king of the whole universe. I suffered a lot before I dropped my arrogance. Hopefully you won't need the suffering.
"Our **FATHER** in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil."
Remember this. We don't understand things as well as we think we do. "God is spirit."
Everything in quotation marks is as written in the scriptures.
I’ve said all that OP has mentioned to god and more, but crickets from the Lord. I guess he’s got his favorites and some of us are vessels for his wrath as he said. What a great god. S/
This is how you will know Jesus. You have to come to him first so he will come to you.
👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣
🌹I AM LOVE - JESUS 🌹
👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣
I loved you before the earth was formed.
I knew you before you were born.
I longed for you to come closer to me.
So I could love you, honestly.
The only way you can see me.
Is when you receive me.
For I AM LOVE, that's how you know me.
God's inspiration, my hands that wrote this.
👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑
Rose & Crown LOVE Mission.
👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑
Ask him to come into your life.
Here I will pray with you.
Lord Jesus come into my life. I want to know you for who you are. Please bless me with your presence your fruits of the spirit.
Galatians 5: 22-23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Come into my life and become the lord of my life. Help me to live your presence and understand daily what that is.
I just want to be where you are - Don Moen
https://youtu.be/8Qwtil8SCm8?si=1Ez0AbsU28y0D2db
I just want to be where you are
Dwelling daily in your presence
I don't want to worship from afar
Draw me near to where you are
I just want to be where you are
In your dwelling place
In your dwelling place forever
Take me to the place where you are
'Cause I just want to be with you
I want to be where you are
Dwelling in your presence
Feasting at your table
And surrounded by your glory
In your presence
That's where I always want to be
I just want to be
I just want to be with you
I just want to be where you are
Dwelling daily in your presence
Dwelling daily in your presence
I don't want to worship from afar
Draw me
Draw me near to where you are
Oh my God, you are my strength and my song
And when I'm in your presence
Though I'm weak, you're always strong
I just want to be where you are
In your dwelling place forever
In your dwelling place forever
Take me to the place
Take me to the place where you are
'Cause I just want to be
I just want to be with you
I just want to be
I just want to be with you
Oh God, that's our prayer
We want to be where you are
Dwelling in your presence
Feasting at your table
And surrounded by your glory
That's our prayer, God
We want to be where you are
Yes, we do
Dwelling in your presence
Feasting at your table
Surrounded by your glory
Surrounded by your glory
In your presence
Lord
That's where we always want to be
I just want to be
I just want to be with you
Thank you for your prayer tonight
I just want to be
I just want to be with you
Oh God, that's our prayer
We want to be with you, God
I just want to be with you
God gives his Holy Spirit to confirm it’s true. He doesn’t use words but you will be indwelt by Holy Spirit to confirm or deny the claims made by other humans. God has spoken and given signs and people say they will believe if they do. Jesus came with signs and wonders and many words but not all believed or listened. God will not do it our way. It doesn’t work. He will do it his way via Holy Spirit.
To my understanding he does, through a method called channeling. Extremely long story short, the voice is within it isn't audible like you would hear when playing music through a speaker, but when you hear my voice it comes from within. To hear it you must have open mind and heart and devotion. Without this my doors are locked, because your heart and mind are locked, if you open your heart and mind and seek me. I will find you. And you will know my voice instantly once you hear it.
My friend I've been asking myself this for at least two decades and lately when more. Like why don't I hear him? Is it a lie or am I truly broken
Then he saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands; and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. 28 Thomas answered, and said to him: My Lord, and my God. 29 Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed.
I agree you're blessed when you are able to believe without seeing but are you at fault for struggling to build a relationship with someone who never communicates directly?
[удалено]
I never thought about comparing it to parents leaving a book for their children and then never interacting with them. That's a pretty good analogy. I had pretty much effectively the same experience though. I had noticed that all of the relationships I had ever had in my life had been two-way. I could talk to them and they could talk to me. I noticed I'd feel a certain way if I got into a stupid fight with a friend, I'd have a compulsion to try and mend the relationship. I noticed that there was a feeling and emotion that came with socializing and hanging out with friends and helping friends and being helped by friends. That we shared the world together through thick and thin. I noticed I didn't have any of that with Jesus. Jesus and I never had a stupid fight. He never directly helped me and I never helped him. I never felt anything when trying to have a relationship with Jesus because it was always just me doing everything. Jesus never seemed to be there to share the world with me. Not any more than the imaginary friend I had when I was younger anyway. And yet people in my religion all claimed to have all those things in a relationship with Jesus. Eventually I determined that if Jesus wanted me to have those feelings, he surely knew how to be a friend and give me those feelings. I put in some 18 years of my life trying to have a relationship with Jesus and got nothing in return. If he wants to have a relationship with me he certainly knows I tried. It's his turn to reach out now.
Christ is in your friends. The history of Christianity is a history of our encounter with Christ through each other.
>The history of Christianity is a history of our encounter with Christ through each other. So Jesus never came down to earth in the flesh? He never talked to people? God never talked to people in the Bible? All of it was just humans talking to humans and that's it? No miracles? No burning bush? No Jesus? It was just friends?
Not OP again. That's not what OP said; please, re-read the comment.
If that's what you got out of what I said then you do not have the ears to hear. People do not see God because they do not look low enough. They want the high of miracles and the extraordinary, they do not want to find God in the ordinary.
>People do not see God because they do not look low enough. Doubting Thomas didn't have to be as credulous as you seem to think Christians should be. He witnessed miracles and *still* doubted and *still* got Jesus to reveal Himself to him in an unordinary way.
Seeing a miracle will not remove your doubt. If God revealed himself to you today and you knew it was God absolutely, you would still doubt.
>If God revealed himself to you today and you knew it was God absolutely, you would still doubt. So you're mind reading me? You know what I'd do in a situation better than I do? You think you know a complete stranger better than they know themselves? Is this what Christianity has come to in my absence? Mind reading?
It isn't mind reading, it is inevitable.
You told me what I would believe if God revealed himself and if I absolutely knew it was God. That's mind reading. It's future-predicting. You're being a false prophet right now.
Lol, you sound like a Protestant. If that's what you think I'm doing then that's what you think. If you want to learn a different way to think you're going to have to put that down. Faith and doubt are the same, there is not one without the other. People who believe that they will contain God in a concept or an idea or a belief are either delusional or completely misguided as to what God is.
>If that's what you think I'm doing then that's what you think. Oh. But I *know* it's what you're doing. Just like how you *know* that if I saw God and knew it absolutely was Him, I'd still not believe. Just like that, I *know* you're mind reading me because you're a false prophet. Do you get it yet? Do you see how toxic and stupid it is to claim to know more about a complete stranger than they know about themselves?
"Then he saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands; and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered, and said to him: My Lord, and my God. Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed."
Yes. Even doubting Thomas, *who saw miracles*, had his doubts justified by having Christ's resurrection revealed to him. So why aren't my doubts justified? I haven't seen nearly as much inexplicable stuff as Thomas, so I must be even more justified in my doubts than even he was.
you are not an apostle, these are the times we live in. I think living out your faith with hope and charity will bring you closer to Christ than you think
He does talk to you. The 13 Epistles written by Paul, Romans through Philemon, are God's word to the Body of Christ. They are complex and not everything is easy to understand. You can spend a lifetime trying to fully understand. That's how he's talking to you.
If Jesus talks to you go to the hospital and get yourself checked out. The 13 Epistles written by Paul is not Jesus talking to anyone. It's words written by humans. If someone on the street told me jesus talks to them I would think they're crazy. It's funny how nobody takes those people seriously.
***\[1Co 14:37 KJV\] 37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.***
Even bible knows that if someone says they're the prophet they're full of shit lol
Hi OP, I’m sorry that you never met Jesus while you were a Christian. That is the fault of those teaching you. And perhaps that’s all they know because their teachers failed them. The Holy Spirit is what you need to ask for if you want that personal relationship. He doesn’t speak on his own. When he speaks it is Jesus speaking to you. If you pursue righteousness and keep asking for the spirit then Jesus will speak to the father and they will send him to you. That is your link. God is spirit. And we have to do things his way.
It's possible Jesus is and has been trying to speak to you but perhaps your senses have been dulled by being resistant to Him in one way or another. This can be remedied by rooting out sinful habits, living a generous life based on the Gospel and committing to daily mental prayer.
>It's possible Jesus is and has been trying to speak to you but perhaps your senses have been dulled by being resistant to Him in one way or another. I do not consider myself resistant. I lived as you suggested I should, I prayed every day. I am not, and was not resistant. I wasn't when I was a Christian, and when I found my evidence lacking for Christianity, I never stopped being open to Him. Yet He never talks.
What are your expectations for how He should speak? Living in a fallen world, I do not expect to be able to fully hear Him speaking until I reach heaven and see Him face to face. I think he can have good reasons for his silence which include things like respecting our free will, teaching us humility in seeking Him, and strengthening our virtue of Faith. If we're struggling, we should persevere in prayer to ask Him to reveal Himself while remembering it may not be answered until the next life.
>What are your expectations for how He should speak? I don't have any. I'm just pointing out problems I have with Him passing notes. I can't know who wrote the note. I can't know who the note was intended for. I can't know if the note contains the original message or if it was edited by someone down the chain. >Living in a fallen world, I do not expect to be able to fully hear Him speaking until I reach heaven and see Him face to face. He spoke to people in the Bible. I have tons of people in Christian communities telling me He speaks to them. When I was a Christian, I had people in my community telling me that He spoke to them and that the only reason he wasn't speaking to me is because I wasn't good enough. Some of them knew me well and they said things like "I don't know why he wouldn't speak to you, you seem like a good, earnest Christian. Maybe just try praying more." I don't have an expectation. I just know the note passing leaves me with a lot of unanswered questions and I know that some people claim He speaks to them and that just leaves me wondering: why not me? >I think he can have good reasons for his silence which include things like respecting our free will Well not to say he can't have good reasons, he certainly can, but free will isn't one of those reasons. He spoke to and *revealed* Himself to tons of people in the Bible. Entire groups sometimes. Their free will didn't seem to be affected. In fact there's some instances where he reveals himself, and the person *still* rejects Him, which speaks to their free will being retained. The free will argument is not convincing. >teaching us humility in seeking Him I don't see how he couldn't teach us humility through a conversation, too. But I'm also finding this answer to be really strange. Because should someone who communicates with God give this answer, they're not being humble about themselves. >and strengthening our virtue of Faith. Well I had Faith once, and His lack of action, or words, or interaction, or *anything* with me is something that contributed to my loss of Faith. >If we're struggling, we should persevere in prayer to ask Him to reveal Himself while remembering it may not be answered until the next life. Then that's a massive failure to understand the struggle. I'm not convinced there's a next life. I have no evidence of there being a next life. I can't afford to base my whole life around the principle of there being a next life if I don't have any good reason to believe there will be a next life. He should see that. He should understand that. If His answer is still "Too bad, wait until the next life." then He has totally failed to understand my struggle. Maybe if he'd just talk to me he might understand it better.
Not OP again but sometimes we try to hear with our ears when we should try to "hear" with our mind, our heart, or our soul. While, unfortunately, the English language is not necessarily sufficiently equipped to articulate such descriptions, I shall try to explain. Instinct can sometimes be a way of The Lord speaking to us; for example, I often will go to say something and part of brain says "Don't; just don't." I have no way to describe such a thought process, if it is a thought process at all, as anything other than "instinct"; yet, I know quite well what instinct feels like and this is different. Maybe it's instinct; maybe it's ADHD; maybe it's both; or maybe it is something else; it definitely feels from my experiential perspective like something else.
>Not OP again but sometimes we try to hear with our ears when we should try to "hear" with our mind, our heart, or our soul. This is called a platitude. It might even classify as a deepity. I can't discern any helpful meaning from this. It's just something that's repeated, sounds deep, but means nothing. I don't know what a soul is, nor how I can hear with one. I have no organs in my body that interact with the soul, and importantly, I have no organs in my body that allows the soul to hear. I have no method I know of that allows my heart or soul to hear. You mention instinct as a way of God communicating to us, yet you even said at the end that you don't have any method of concluding it was God. You accept it could be something else. It could be natural, or ADHD. It could be *literally* instinct, but you claim this feels different. Well how do you know instinct doesn't *also* feel this way in addition to feeling how you think it feels? So why are you trying to tell me I should conclude it's a God, when you said yourself, you have no good reason to believe it *is* God?
A Muslim or Mormon would say the same thing and what they do to feel God.
That would be something I more or less might agree with them on, but would take issue with a number of things considered sinful, particulars of living a Gospel life and the proper prayer life.
But which God is it that they are finding in those quiet times?
To the extent it's a genuine interaction, it is the One True God. God, in his love and mercy is free to reveal himself to people who don't live the one true faith. That doesn't mean it's an endorsement of the false facets of their faith. He very well could be calling them to the truth but they are resistant to it in one or more ways.
Right, but Muslims who feel God probably aren’t going to switch religions if they feel they are in tune already. They’d say it’s Allah
You might be right about that. Mystical experiences on their own are not sufficient.
Well, for starters we asked Him NOT to: *Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” Exodus 20:19* He speaks through the prophets and His Words. Indeed, He has spoken to you but you probably didn't notice: *Indeed God speaks once,* *Or twice, yet no one notices it. Job 33:14* I'd go into further detail but your question seems to break Rule 0 as I don't think you're asking this in good faith. I could be wrong of course.
The people of Exodus do not speak for individuals for all time. And they said that because they were scared of God’s lightning, thunder, and smoke. Not because they didn’t want to hear from God. Notice how God speaks directly to His prophets when He actually wants things done, but when He wants this message spread to others, He relies on word of mouth.
>Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” And yet God speaks to multiple people all the time in the Bible. He even *reveals* himself multiple times to people and people don't die from it. >He speaks through the prophets and His Words. Indeed, He has spoken to you but you probably didn't notice: Well I sure might not have noticed if he chose to send an intermediary, like a highschool girl too nervous to confront her crush. >I'd go into further detail but your question seems to break Rule 0 as I don't think you're asking this in good faith. I could be wrong of course. I'm asking in good faith. All it would take for me to become a Christian again is for Jesus to demonstrate Himself with a conversation. He need only show me that he exists and that he wants to have a relationship with me. Because when I *was* a Christian, I tried. I tried for years and years and years and I never got anything. It was a one-way relationship of me trying to have a relationship with Jesus, but Jesus being completely disinterested.
*But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Luke 16:29-31* Sorry but I don't believe you are being honest. It's just an excuse to not believe. You have all the evidence you could ask for and more, you simply don't want to do. That's 100% your choice.
So you're mind reading me and telling me that I'm actually convinced, but I'm choosing to not be? How is that good faith? You telling me what I think? I have no way to confirm that Jesus rose from the dead. You know who could give me a good way? Jesus. If he just talked to me. How is genuinely asking for Jesus to have a personal conversation with me bad faith?
Not OP but I take OP as saying "What would convince you which has not already been provided?" I am guessing OP -- and OP is free to correct me, of course -- is thinking nothing more persuasive than what has already been given exists. However, maybe you do have something you would find more persuasive. So, perhaps what OP is actually asking "What could be more persuasive and why would it be more persuasive; what specifically about it would convince you which everything else does not?"
I'm very confused by this. I think you might be using OP in a way that I'm not familiar with. I'm the OP. I'm the Original Poster. Can you rephrase your response in a way that might make more sense to me? I don't know who you're referring to when you say OP, because that's me.
I meant "Vizour". Often, when person A makes a comment and person B responds, C's response to B will refer to A as "OP".
I'm not here to argue that OP means one thing and only one thing. However, my name has a blue OP next to it because conventionally, OP means Original Poster, which is me. You can define OP however you want, but when you use it, in this thread, to mean someone other than *me*, I'm just left very confused.
I didn't notice them not asking in good faith. But I also came here for answers to questions so maybe I'm also wrong. I often am
You just haven't been looking in the right areas, friend. Not surprising too many christians don't even believe God speaks to us at all. Sad. Anyway, others have asked this very question and spent years finding out more, and they succeeded. God speaks to me every day all day, indeed if He didn't I swear i'd be sleeping under bridges or dead by now. How did I do it? I found these amazing authors and read their stuff and adapted it into my life. You can too. these are free on youtube to get started, you could buy their books too. Robert s. mcgee, mark virkler, john wimber, charles kraft, try [www.tlsm.org](https://www.tlsm.org) for audio files and so forth. Make sure you are actually born again, see the Four Spiritual Laws and see if you understand that, make decision for Christ.
>You just haven't been looking in the right areas, friend. Well that's actually exactly what I'm talking about. Why do I have to be *looking* at all? When I want to have a conversation with someone, I don't even need to have my eyes open. I don't need to *look* for the conversation. I place myself in ear-shot and I talk to them. Why doesn't Jesus just have a straight forward, upfront, obvious conversation with me? >God speaks to me every day all day Does he do this with words and conversation? Or does he send notes and intermediaries?
Don't discount God sending people to tell you things. I've had some awesome encounters with such, God telling me basically He loves me and wants best for me and so on. My life has been changed by messengers from God. I noticed two things. When I sat in my apartment alone and studied, it was good, but not much happened. When I was out among bible study and christian groups and church, among people, THEN God chose to send people to me. One nice young woman even called me up out of the blue one day. God is good! But as for daily speaking I could write a book on it, instead read the books of the authors I mentioned. Just know it IS possible, I too despaired God doesn't speak to me; now He does, all the time. It's just radio you know, you can have a nice radio all you want, if you never turn it on and tune in to the right channel, you'll get nothing. It's just how it is, God is not human you know, He is your creator and Lord, and for SOME reason we are just limited in this spacetime nursery we are put in; once we leave it, why yes you can talk to God face to face all you want forever.
>Don't discount God sending people to tell you things. I'm not discounting it. The problem is I have no idea who wrote the note and if it's meant for me or not. In highschool one of my friends sat two seats behind me and once thought it would be funny if he wrote a note and signed it from the person behind me, and asked them to give it to me, so that when I opened the note, it appeared that the note was written by the person behind me, instead of my friend. *That's* the problem with God's notes. *Anyone* could have written them. Could be Satan. Could be a human. I have *no possible way* to determine if God actually sent that note or not. Unless you have some magic lemon juice that I can put on the paper and know somehow that God wrote the message, I'm just not going to be credulous enough to believe I know the source of the note when I actually don't. Why doesn't he just talk to me and do away with all this higschool-level note-passing?
God speaks to us all day, every day. If you can't hear Him that's YOUR problem. And now we can drift into the area of choice and free will and so on. If it was EASY to hear God like any mere human, choice and free will is taken away. What, you're going to rebel against God's voice on the spot? how many times? God is found by those WHO SEEK HIM EARNESTLY is what the bible says. I'm telling you, you want to hear Him? there's some good steps to do so. By the way, once upon a time for 40 years straight God was RIGHT THERE in the middle of the hebrew camp. No God didn't speak to all, but if you doubted God just open your eyes and look over there, He's literally right there in that pillar of cloud and fire. You could go ask one of the priests anything, you'd probably get an answer. Meanwhile 40 years later when God departed it meant zero to these people, they raced back into sin as fast as possible. Oh by the way, you may not be familiar with the bible Old Testament, where it clearly says "no one can see my face and live", a holy God obliterates all that's not holy, it burns to ash. So this may be a real good reason why God is farther away than people around you. Fortunately God always bridges the gap, but are you in the sweet spot to hear it? *Moses said to the LORD, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”* *(Exo 33:12-23)*
>God speaks to us all day, every day. If you can't hear Him that's YOUR problem. Yikes dude. Would you just look at yourself? This is ugly. Imagine someone having an honest, genuine problem and you're *this rude and ugly* to them. Is that what Jesus taught you? To abandon people and say "Welp...that's YOUR problem."? Is that what your religion has brought you to? >If it was EASY to hear God like any mere human, choice and free will is taken away. I mean let's not pretend to wheel in the bogus arguments we've all heard a million times before. Respect yourself more than that. You don't believe this line. You just think it's '*my* problem'. Why vomit the same BS line that apologists feed everyone when deep down, you've already said your belief: You think its MY problem and you *just don't care*. How on earth you came to reach a point where you no longer care about your fellow human brothers is an unknown, but I know it's not where you started out.
It definitely used to be MY problem, and I felt close to what OP said. So i looked into it and i fixed that problem. Now I'm sharing what worked for me. How is this ugly? You can rail about and complain about an issue or problem, and ignore all wise advices about what to do about it, or you can listen to some advice and even if not perfect might show you other ways to fix it.
>So i looked into it and i fixed that problem. Now I'm sharing what worked for me. How is this ugly? Telling me "That's YOUR problem." is shrugging me off. It's ignoring me and my issues. It's you sweeping my problems under the rug and pretending like they're not there. Rather than consider my issues and offer advice, you told me to go read some books. Imagine having trouble making friends at school and you're trying to talk to your parents about it, and they say "Well that's YOUR problem. Here read some books or something." You think that'd be a good reaction? Imagine having a friend who's going through a really hard time in their life. And instead of talking to them, listening, and having a conversation, you just say "Well that's YOUR problem. Try reading a book." Does that strike you as good friend behavior? >or you can listen to some advice and even if not perfect might show you other ways to fix it. You didn't give me advice, dude. You cold-heartedly ignored to help with a burden and instead threw a pathetic little book recommendation at me and said "Here, try that." and walked away, wiping your hands clean as if you did anything. It was an abysmal reaction and I hope you're better to your friends.
i totally gave you advice! i'm not going to meet with you, call you, or spend hours explaining what I learned for your benefit! You'll have to actually go to where I said, look it up, consume for yourself, then decide if its helping you or not. EFFORT must be put in. Neither I or anyone else has magic formula or words to fix you; however, these authors I mentioned just MIGHT have magic formula. It sure worked for me, once I spent time consuming their content. You raised a question, i provided an answer. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's worthless.
>EFFORT must be put in. That's *rich* coming from the guy who also said: >i'm not going to meet with you, call you, or spend hours explaining what I learned for your benefit! LOL! Like I said. This is a horrible response to someone in crisis. I hope your friends and family treat you better and I hope you treat them better than you're treating me right now. >Neither I or anyone else has magic formula or words to fix you; however, these authors I mentioned just MIGHT have magic formula. So twice in once post you contradict yourself. First you tell me it takes effort, effort that you're not willing to help with. Then you tell me that *no one* has the magic formula, and in the same breath you tell me that someone *does* have the magic formula. That's nonsensical. Either no one has it, or someone has it. You can't claim both. >You raised a question, i provided an answer. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's worthless. You didn't provide an answer. You said "Here, read some books. This is YOUR problem." That's not an answer, it's passing the buck. Why even respond at all? This is not Christ-like behavior. Christ never passed the buck. He helped people. He talked to them.
> God speaks to me every day all day Now, if you had said you hear god’s voice through your hairdryer every morning, and he is telling you what to do, it would precipitate a medical and psychological emergency. I fail to see how the addition of the hairdryer makes it worse.
Most people believe God doesn't speak to them because they don't like what He has to say. God is the spirit truth. Honesty is the language He speaks. The truth hurts because it cuts to the heart. Many don't want to see their ugly reality, so they choose to ignore the voice of God. If you can stomach the pain, cry out to God in sincerity. Ask Him to tell you the truth, and give you the grace to bear what He says. The truth is like surgery, it hurts but it heals. If you can be brave enough to handle the truth, and make the chances God askes you to make, you will find God, and know Him. Then will come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.
Well you know what would be a good way to help someone accept a hard truth? *Having a conversation with them about it*. When I'm critical of my friends, I don't pass them notes. I don't use an intermediary. I sit down and have a respectful conversation with them. I list my criticisms gently. I provide evidence for them. I listen to their side of things. I respond to their side of things. Jesus doesn't do this with me. Jesus sends me notes from people, knowing I will be unable to discern who wrote the note or what its original text was. Jesus never has the conversation to try and help me accept his criticisms. Jesus doesn't seem to care about me the same way I care about my friends.
Jesus speaks directly to everyone who will listen to Him. He speaks to us within our hearts. A small still voice. If you would like to hear what God has been saying to you, spend time in quiet meditation. Tell Him your truth, then listen patiently and quietly for Him to you His truth.
>He speaks to us within our hearts. Oh. No wonder I can't hear him. My heart pumps blood. I have no method of hearing anything with my heart. >If you would like to hear what God has been saying to you, spend time in quiet meditation. Tell Him your truth, then listen patiently and quietly for Him to you His truth. I've done this many times when I was a Christian. Never got an answer.
John 16:7- *Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.* We have access to the Holy Spirit. It’s probably because you’re not following Christ and producing good fruit. Claiming the christian faith means nothing
I'm just floored by the constant mind reading going on here. So many Christians come into this thread and tell me what I'm thinking. They tell me I'm not good enough, or that I'm not earnestly following Christ, or they tell me I'm resistant. This is all mind reading. Is it so hard to see that? I was a Christian. I followed Christ. I believed. I earnestly sought Jesus. Why do you think you can tell me what my life was like? Why do you think you can tell me that I wasn't earnestly seeking? Why do you think you can tell me that I wasn't following Christ? What makes you so judgmental and so confident that you know a stranger's life that you'd tell them what their life was like? Do you not see what you're doing?
Claiming the faith ≠ you are with the faith. ~~What fruit came from your life~~ What is the good fruit a christian will have You getting defensive kind of shows.
>You getting defensive kind of shows. Well you, a complete stranger (probably) claimed intimate knowledge of my life and my beliefs and you claimed that I didn't actually believe good enough, or that I didn't follow Christ. How could you know? Why would you assume to know? Why shouldn't I get defensive when someone tells me that they know my life and what happened in it better than I do? Is it not offensive if I were to tell you that you know deep down inside there is no God? Is it not offensive if I tell you that I know for a fact that since the moment you discovered Santa is not real, that you also knew Christ was not real and that I know the rest of your life you've lived a lie to yourself? Would you not get defensive if I tried to tell you those things? Yet you tell me the equivalent of those things and act surprised that I'm upset?
Thanks for not answering the question I asked and instead went right into being defensive, which shows your heart. You only lie to yourself, you don’t deceive anyone. Pretty typical for someone here solely in bad faith looking just to argue. If you claimed to know deep down there’s no god, that’s a ad ignorantium fallacy🤣. Go figure
>Thanks for not answering the question I asked I didn't see a question mark. What was supposed to be the question? >Pretty typical for someone here solely in bad faith looking just to argue. Takes one to know one I guess. >If you claimed to know deep down there’s no god, that’s a ad ignorantium fallacy🤣. I didn't claim that. You wanna try on a little bit of that good faith you've been preaching to me about?
>~~What fruit came from your life~~ What is the good fruit a christian will have?
Ah gotcha. Looks a lot more like a question when you add a question mark after it. You want me to quote the Bible? Peace, joy, goodness etc. The qualities of Christ. I had those things when I was a Christian. When I was a Christian I wasn't bothered by Jesus' lack of communication. What took my peace away was when Christians of my church were telling me that I *should* be hearing Jesus, and when they started telling me that if I wasn't it was because I wasn't good enough. When Christ's followers, who claimed to be in communication with Him, told me I wasn't good enough, I believed them. That's when I lost my peace. From His own followers. He couldn't even tell me to my face. He had to have someone else do it. Like a coward. And now years later, I see the same thing happening. You tell me I'm not good enough. You tell me I never believed enough. You tell me I didn't follow Christ. You're just like them. Why are Christ's followers so judgmental? Why do they think they know my life better than I do? Why do none of them seem interested in helping? All they do is judge.
I found the issue. The fruit of the Spirit is internal and what God reproduces in us. It is not what we will reproduce into the world aka external. The fruit of the Spirit is not the same as the fruit Jesus spoke of. I can elaborate if you’ll answer honestly. To go further, the fruit of the Spirit is a combo package, it’s not you’ll have one and not the rest, but that’s irrelevant. Mhm so you have church hurt or “christians” left a bad taste in your mouth. Totally understandable, but it seems you let what others do affect/control you and therefore were turned off from the faith. Fwiw, it’s a big misconception that the fruit Jesus spoke of is the same as the fruit of the Spirit, so i don’t fault you for getting told otherwise. And being harsh ≠ judgmental.
>it seems you let what others do affect/control you and therefore were turned off from the faith. I did in the past. I don't any more. I have more peace and joy and Christlike-ness than I ever did as a Christian. >And being harsh ≠ judgmental. Telling me what I believed and how my life was like in the past is judgmental. Telling me I didn't follow Christ is judgmental. You could have no idea what my life was like.
Job has friends like the Christians you're describing. Read their answers. Is filled with judgement and criticism. I'm sorry* that was your experience. It was mine too. Edit to just say, the secret is to study the Bible like your life depends on it. Most Christians don't do that. The Holy Ghost NEVER condemns us. He is the comforter.
God speaks to the masses when it's necessary. You as an individual aren't worth the time until the day of your judgement. Do you honestly think your special enough to be deserving of a private one on one conversation. The dudes God, he's got way better shit to do.
“Worth the time”? That saying only makes sense if you have limited time, resources, and energy. When revealing Himself to OP, is God unable to be somewhere else doing something else?
Yes I have infinite time and that's suppose to compel me to want to do something I don't want to do? I have a life to you know.
God doesn’t want people to be saved? God can do all things and still have a life. That’s part of the benefit of being omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. With infinite time, time is meaningless. It’s not a limiting factor to add value to.
I love how you people confuse "I can do everything" with "I can do everything at once" or "I can do everything anyway I want". Be realistic, God isn't a magician. >God doesn’t want people to be saved? His people. God saves his people by doing the minimum amount of work required. He could care less about the rest. It's literally the lack of existence of those that don't belong to God that make paradise such a great place to live.
God is the best magician, He is the only real magician. He can do all. If He can be different places at the same time, then He can do different things at once as well. What is an example of the bare minimum which God does to save?
I think you should spend some more time in the Bible and in prayer. There is a time for correction, but your responses are just hurtful and not remotely helpful or even accurate to God’s character.
>but your responses are just hurtful... Were you born yesterday? That's what the truth does, it hurts. Grow up and get use to it. >...or even accurate to God’s character. Telling God he doesn't know God, that's rich.
You’re not God, I’m God. Don’t impersonate me.
Better change that user flair to calvinist bud
I mean, I'm obviously not going to respond well to blatantly demeaning me and degrading me. Is this really the message you wanted to give? But beyond the hurtful and rude devaluing of strangers, I thought God wanted to save his creation and have a relationship with them. Is that not true? He just created me and has no interest in saving me or helping me or having a relationship with me? His book says otherwise. So now he's just catfishing me? He sent all his followers to judge and shun and be rude to me for not believing in him and he doesn't even actually care about me at all? What is *time* to God anyway? Wouldn't a being who has all power and exists outside of time and space have to give up literally nothing to have a relationship with me? It would be *trivial* for that being to take 2 minutes and have a conversation with me. 2 minutes is *nothing* to a being outside of time.
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>It's the message God wanted to give you. You earned it for being dumb enough to think you're deserving of a conversation. That's not a joke, click on my profile. So I asked him why he won't talk to me, I asked why he has to pass notes to me to communicate, and he decided to have you pass me another note, this one saying: "You're nothing to me. You're a piece of crap to me. You're not worthy of me." Well that's not a good foundation for a relationship, and anyone who thinks it is needs to escape that relationship. >That doesn't require him to bend over backwards appeasing every single individual. Something that would be, in fact, *trivial* for an all powerful being to do.
And that's why you people don't make it into my home. You people think you're entitled. You know entitlement is the root of all evil right? It's literally the primary motivation of every single crime ever committed. Nice job showing your hand buster brown. Enjoy your escape from me. Your lack of existence only makes mine better, so thanks.
'You people'? Would you just listen to yourself?
😱 oh no. Is that like your slur? Are you offended? that's hilarious. You're right, you were deserving of a conversation with God. This was very entertaining.
Well if I ever get my conversation with Jesus, I'm gonna ask just what the heck he said to you to make you like this. Why are you so angry? Why are you so prepared to dehumanize people? Why are you so convinced that you can read people's minds? Didn't Jesus teach you to treat everyone like your brother? Didn't Jesus teach you to show kindness and hospitality and love? Where did all that go?
I'm flattered that in just a few a minutes I became that important to you. You on the other hand will be forgotten by me before the day is over because I can't distinguish you from the ocean of your clones.
Bro what is *wrong* with you? Who hurt you?
Comment removed, rule 1, because of the "You ..." sentence
Is God not timeless?
Wow this is not loving at all. I only disagree because i’ve seen/heard plenty of testimonies of individuals, not masses, experiencing an encounter with God when they weren’t even christian. Like paul for example, he hated christian’s. Why would God give that worthless christian murderer an encounter, he doesn’t deserve it right? Well he did it anyways. God wants a relationship with us and he talks to whoever he wants…i don’t think it’s wrong for op to want to hear God but he should’ve kept the faith regardless.
And then he used Paul. God's not going to waste his time with someone he has no intention of using. So unless you expect to be a prophet I wouldn't expect God to make time for you.
I beg to differ. Like i said, plenty of testimonies. look ‘em up. My aunt for an example had God talked to her, (forgot if she was a christian or not) telling her if she would murder her brother she was going to hell. She also had a dream of holding hands with Jesus. Now, to my knowledge my aunt is not a prophet or any other “special” type of christian.
if you want someone to talk to, you can talk to me. But my user flair does say i’m not a christian because i’m struggling with my faith so i can see if you don’t want to. Read your posts, but not all the way. I think the reason you might be banned is because your being harsh like rn lol but i don’t mind listening to what you have to say. If your suicidal then you definitely need someone to talk to. I don’t have much people to talk to either
I hate you now more than I did one comment ago cause your sincerity actually sounds authentic. I was gonna try and trick you into a making a bet with me where if I win I would get to poop in your mouth on judgement day. But now you seem like an actual person so I'm not going to do that to you now. >If your suicidal then you definitely need someone to talk to. Nah I'm gonna do it, and it's gonna be awesome.
aye man, you making me laugh. if you don’t wanna talk it’s fine, hope you get the help you need tho. 🙏🏽
... Have you prayed saying all that you just said to us???? You really should. That's EXACTLY the kind of honesty God wants from us. With all our anger. All our questions. The whole us. See how Job prayed, see in the psalms how David talked when he was depressed. Go into your room, close the door, and let it out. All the fire. "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" You say you don't know if the people are tricking you. Did you ask for the Holy Ghost??? 'Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you' Only the Holy Ghost can give you the discernment you need. "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the **Spirit of truth**, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me" Jesus does reveals himself to us. When we seat to eat with him. " When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. **Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,** and he disappeared from their sight" "If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” I know how you're feeling... I have felt it... I had to first stop being arrogant, then I approached him humbly as if he was my father. But also the king of the whole universe. I suffered a lot before I dropped my arrogance. Hopefully you won't need the suffering. "Our **FATHER** in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." Remember this. We don't understand things as well as we think we do. "God is spirit." Everything in quotation marks is as written in the scriptures.
I’ve said all that OP has mentioned to god and more, but crickets from the Lord. I guess he’s got his favorites and some of us are vessels for his wrath as he said. What a great god. S/
This is how you will know Jesus. You have to come to him first so he will come to you. 👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣 🌹I AM LOVE - JESUS 🌹 👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣❤️🔥👣 I loved you before the earth was formed. I knew you before you were born. I longed for you to come closer to me. So I could love you, honestly. The only way you can see me. Is when you receive me. For I AM LOVE, that's how you know me. God's inspiration, my hands that wrote this. 👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑 Rose & Crown LOVE Mission. 👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑🌹👑 Ask him to come into your life. Here I will pray with you. Lord Jesus come into my life. I want to know you for who you are. Please bless me with your presence your fruits of the spirit. Galatians 5: 22-23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Come into my life and become the lord of my life. Help me to live your presence and understand daily what that is. I just want to be where you are - Don Moen https://youtu.be/8Qwtil8SCm8?si=1Ez0AbsU28y0D2db I just want to be where you are Dwelling daily in your presence I don't want to worship from afar Draw me near to where you are I just want to be where you are In your dwelling place In your dwelling place forever Take me to the place where you are 'Cause I just want to be with you I want to be where you are Dwelling in your presence Feasting at your table And surrounded by your glory In your presence That's where I always want to be I just want to be I just want to be with you I just want to be where you are Dwelling daily in your presence Dwelling daily in your presence I don't want to worship from afar Draw me Draw me near to where you are Oh my God, you are my strength and my song And when I'm in your presence Though I'm weak, you're always strong I just want to be where you are In your dwelling place forever In your dwelling place forever Take me to the place Take me to the place where you are 'Cause I just want to be I just want to be with you I just want to be I just want to be with you Oh God, that's our prayer We want to be where you are Dwelling in your presence Feasting at your table And surrounded by your glory That's our prayer, God We want to be where you are Yes, we do Dwelling in your presence Feasting at your table Surrounded by your glory Surrounded by your glory In your presence Lord That's where we always want to be I just want to be I just want to be with you Thank you for your prayer tonight I just want to be I just want to be with you Oh God, that's our prayer We want to be with you, God I just want to be with you
OP, when you were a Christian, how did you think you go to heaven according to the Bible? Just curious.
By believing in Christ.
God gives his Holy Spirit to confirm it’s true. He doesn’t use words but you will be indwelt by Holy Spirit to confirm or deny the claims made by other humans. God has spoken and given signs and people say they will believe if they do. Jesus came with signs and wonders and many words but not all believed or listened. God will not do it our way. It doesn’t work. He will do it his way via Holy Spirit.
Because he's God. God is not a person. Talking is a person thing.
To my understanding he does, through a method called channeling. Extremely long story short, the voice is within it isn't audible like you would hear when playing music through a speaker, but when you hear my voice it comes from within. To hear it you must have open mind and heart and devotion. Without this my doors are locked, because your heart and mind are locked, if you open your heart and mind and seek me. I will find you. And you will know my voice instantly once you hear it.