6 Responses to God With Us

1. Mike R says:

   December 26, 2009 at 7:18 pm

   Sharon,

   Thanks.That was blessing.
   Thanks also for your labor of love to the
   Mormon people.
2. falcon says:

   December 22, 2011 at 10:10 am

   There is no greater question that needs to be answered than “Who is/was Jesus?” Was He a good man? Certainly He was. Was He a prophet? Yes, I’d say that Jesus was a prophet. Was He anointed by the Holy Spirit? I’d say yes to that too. Was He the Son of God? I’m going with the affirmative there also.
   However the real nitty gritty of the issue gets down to whether or not Jesus is a being created by “God” or is Jesus the actual physical manifestation of the Godhead, God in essence, and not a created being?
   The Church, after four centuries of debate, settled on a term to describe who the “Logos” Jesus is. That term is “homoousios” which means “of the same substance as”. The conclusion was that if the word “homoousios” is applied to Jesus the Logos”, then He is divine in the same way as God the Father is divine.
   Jesus would not be an inferior, different or nominal being. If Jesus is “homoousios with the Father then He is God alongside the Father. This term, while defining who Jesus is, doesn’t even begin to answer the question of the relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But it does tell us who Jesus is.
   So I would say to our Mormon friends, do you know whom you worship? Do you worship Jesus? That’s a major question. When Christian’s worship Jesus they do so because He is God and is due all of our praise, adoration and devotion. I can’t imagine going through the Christmas season (especially) with a belief that Jesus is less than He really is.
3. falcon says:

   December 22, 2011 at 10:45 am

   Although there was a lot of speculation in the early Church regarding who exactly Jesus is, the major players came down to those who believed Jesus to be God incarnate and those who believed He is a created being. The latter group were known as the Arians.
   Athanasius understood that the gospel would be lost if the Arians won the day. Two of Athanasius’ major points were that (1) Only God can save and (2) Christ was worshiped in Christian churches, even those churches that endorsed the view of the Arians.
   As to the idea that only God can save, a mere created creature can’t save anyone. An elevated created creature cannot save no matter how high the elevation. Salvation is the prerogative, privilege and potential act of God alone.
   As to the second point the question is asked, “How can a church worship Christ if Christ is not God?” Worshiping a created being is blasphemy. The blasphemy is actually two-fold. First of all a created being is being worshiped and secondly God incarnate is being called a created being.
   When the Son is worshiped He is being worshiped as deity who finds source in the deity of the Father. Athanasius wrote: “For the radiance also is light, not a second light besides the sun, nor a different light, not a light by participation in the sun, but a whole proper offspring of it. No one would say that there are two lights, but that the sun and its radiance are two, while the light from the sun, which illuminates things everywhere, is one. In the same way the godhead of the Son is the Father’s”.
   I guess Mormons have settled the problem by not worshiping Jesus. That’s kind of a sad commentary during the season of Christmas.
4. falcon says:

   December 22, 2011 at 11:09 am

   In Matthew 2:7-11 it is written that Herod told the Magi to go and find this child who they were seeking, come back and report to him so that he “may come and worship Him”. When the Magi found Jesus they “came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
   We clearly understand Herod’s reason for seeking the Child and it certainly wasn’t to worship Him but it’s interesting that he would recognize the Child as someone to be worshiped. Who is this Child that He should be worshiped? When the Magi found Jesus they “fell down”. That’s pretty dramatic. They “worshiped” him. That tells us that the Magi recognized this Child, Jesus, as more than a potentially gifted and talented kid.
   Only God is to be worshiped! Why do Mormons refuse to worship Jesus. It’s simple, they don’t believe that He is God. To Mormons Jesus is a created being. They respect Jesus much like one would respect a valiant older sibling, but they do not give Him His proper standing as God incarnate.
   The miracle of Christmas is that God became man. Jesus is the only qualified Savior because He is God. I would not want fixated in my mind as Mormons do, a picture of Jesus as the spirit offspring of one of the gods that populates the universe and one of his many wives. YUK!!!! It’s revolting, blasphemous and not only robs Jesus of His rightful title but also robs the rank and file Mormon of the potential of knowing Jesus for whom He really is.
5. Mike R says:

   December 22, 2011 at 11:25 am

   Falcon, well put ! This is such a special time of year because we get to draw attention to
   JESUS . It’s all about Him ! How sad it is that sincere people having been influenced by
   a false prophet(s) have been detoured into embracing ” another Jesus ” . So our desire to help
   the Mormon people is similar to how Paul was concerned for those in his day might be led astray
   into believing another Jesus—-2 Cor.11:4 . How many gifts bought for those in need , how much
   money deposited in the Salvation Army’s red kettle, how consistent at getting up every morning
   to go off to work in order to provide for your family, how many fast offerings, dressing your kids
   well for church, or making sure your family is gathered on Monday nights , how many good deeds
   thru your Church , how much of all these and more can make up for believing in another Jesus ?
   Only the true Jesus has the ability to give eternal life to a person. To those Jesus met when He
   walked in Israel, people who were very disciplined in living a moral lifestyle , He said , ” unless
   you believe that I am He you shall die in your sins ” [ Jn.8:24]. The apostle John stated a
   similar warning to those in his day who were promoting another Jesus— 1Jn. 4:2. Jesus said
   that the latter-days would see many false prophets arise to mislead —Matt 24:11,24. Peter was
   warning about those men who might talk about a Jesus in order to ” introduce” false doctrine
   on vital issues—2Pt 2:1. The above links on the Virgin Birth will vindicate all these scriptural
   warnings.
6. Mike R says:

   December 23, 2011 at 9:03 pm

   To Sharon, Bill, Eric,Aaron , and your beautiful families :

   Merry Christmas !