Did you wonder where I went?

[valerie]

I was first excited to get together with people and discuss not only my favorite book, but the entirety of me and my God. In a very short amount of time, I realized that people are just trying to prove themselves right, and by default me wrong. I felt that the purpose of me being on the site was backfiring. I wanted a deeper understanding of God and His word; I felt like I was being bombarded with opinion's that were not forged in the Bible, but church doctrine. I wanted to irenically share my faith and my interpretations, discuss theology with Christians, get questions answered by people who were rooted in Jesus Christ, be mentally stimulated (I work and play with my toddlers all day), but I ended up feeling like my relationship with my creator was being attacked. My faith was not shaken, but I felt burdened. I had to step out of the arena; I did not come to do battle.

The question "where does the Spirit of God dwell" or something similar is the main culprit of my departure. Personally, I believe that the Holy Spirit lives in us. I believe that we have an omnipresent God that is everywhere. I believe that the spirit can come upon us and move through us. As He says to do in Jeremiah, I called on God for Him to answer me about where His Presence dwells.
Consider:
In matt 3:13-17, Jesus is God and the Spirit of God came upon Him.
John 14:16-18, 'And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."
Matt 3:11, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire"
John 7:38, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water"
Joel 2:28a of times to come "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh...."
Acts 10 44-45, "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also."
Acts 19:2-6 "...“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”
So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them..."

Make of that what you will, but I know how I read it...........

I look forward to challenging discussions, and I am by no means thin-skinned or theology challenged. I was just taken aback. Theologica is my first experience with anything like this. I don't even have a blog or a webpage (yet anyway)! I came back because I wanted to. I have been dealt with and I am ready for battle eventhough I am only questing for knowledge.

I forget that not everyone interested in Theology is interested in a relationship with God. My Theology goes hand and hand with my relationship with Him. Like most of you, I am able to objectively read and interpret the Bible without relying on personal experience. However, I often feel like when it comes to a Book based on faith, I feel it is of most importance to include our experiences of faith. If we don't than we are just philosophers, and I want to be sure that I am a Christian first.

God Bless.

[Daniel]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Valerie. We don't want this to be a place where people come to do battle. It is a place for people who want to discuss, not debate. Should you run across "battle behavior" in the future, please use the link at the bottom of the page to report it to the moderators.
Daniel