Sounds great. Glad I could be of help. Feel free to ask again with any questions you have.

Thank you sir for your patience with my questions. I prayed to God and thanked him for sending his son and said sorry for any bad stuff I did and any stuff that had offended him that I wasn't aware of. I felt accepted in him you know. I don't feel so confused no more. I feel hope you know? Like it don't matter what I don't know or understand. Don't think I'm cut out to be no bible teacher or such but I get faith. It's good to believe and expect help cos God is good you know? Made me see how little I am and that we need God you know? I'm gonna help my family best I can and maybe they'll ask what's made me happier you know and I can say what I found and maybe that will help them.

God bless you sir. I feel I can say that and mean it now

> Do you get persecuted for being a Christian like the bible says, like if you follow Jesus?

A lot of people around the world are being persecuted (physically tortured, imprisoned, and even killed). Here in the United States there's none of that, but there is a lot of intellectual persecution (if you're a Christian you're an idiot, a homophobe, a bigot, a hater, etc.) I have a whole list of evidences (news articles from the Internet): people losing their jobs, students being bullied on campus, Christian groups thrown off of college campuses, refused admission to certain schools, etc. There's quite a bit of intellectual persecution here in the US. Even on this forum, there is a lot of verbal abuse of Christians.

Do you get persecuted for being a Christian like the bible says, like if you follow Jesus? I dunno if that was just like in those days because of how things were? I know you read about Christians getting persecuted in some places with different religion and whatnot but if it's a spiritual war like the bible says, do you get attacked for being on God's side or is it different these days for places that are supposed to be civilised? Is it still a spiritual war now and how is it fought you know? I ask cos I find that a bit scary you know? Like we are chess pieces or whatnot you know and these powers fight it out over us? If that's true how come no one sees that you know?

> But does it change your life though?

Oh, yes! Profoundly and immensely.

> How does it change your life?

My values, priorities, attitudes, and behavior are all constructed to conform to the reality and truth that God is real, that Jesus is God, and I have given my life to him. I specifically treat people the way God would want me to (despite how I want to treat them). I be nice to people who have been rotten to me and who try to put me down. I tolerate those who disagree with me. I don't retaliate against people. I look to the Bible to see what my values should be, and I make those my values (honesty, integrity, responsibility, compassion, etc.). I don't lie, cheat, steal, have sex with women who aren't my wife, or be dishonest in any way. I check pride and greed when they rise in me. I control my anger, and I don't lash out at people, even when I want to. I conform my priorities in life to what I think would please God and honor Him.

I value research, evidence, science, reason, and logic. (But that's probably no different from what I would have done anyway. Certainly my faith doesn't take them away or make me ignore them or devalue them.)

All in all I have learned to think differently. I put my head in a different place, knowing God as I do. It affects the way I respond to suffering, success, achievement and failure, friends and attacks.

> I still feel hella dumb for asking but it's important to me you know?

Don't feel dumb. These are good questions, and I'm glad to answer.

But does it change your life though? How does it change your life? You now have Jesus nature right or some way on I suppose being a Christian and all who knows about it all and has put off their sin nature as you say. Do you see differently like in your mind and does it change how you really perceive things you know? I still feel hella dumb for asking but it's important to me you know?

It's great that you're trying to understand. I wish everyone were so honestly curious and open to learning.

> What I'm struggling with is the difference between God and man I guess.

The difference between God and man is almost unexplainable. It's why God is called *holy*: completely other. He has no body (no gender, no physicality), he is all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere at the same time, completely righteous (never does anything wrong), completely just (always knows what a person deserves and how to treat a person), pure love, pure truth, eternal, and a hundred other things. To think that the universe is a speck on his "finger" is to think too small of Him. He is majestic, full of splendor, and glorious.

We humans are amazing mortals with an immense capacity for love, knowledge, and skill while at the same having the same wide capacity for evil, cruelty, and stupidity. We are separated from God both by nature and behavior, and we need help to be what we were created to be. Well, we need more than help, we need to be redeemed and remade (2 Cor. 5.17).

Jesus didn't talk much about this stuff. His focus was mostly the kingdom of God and salvation. Most of what He taught was about how to participate in the kingdom of God, as opposed to "love each other."

> But ain't God seeing us as his neighbour?

No, not really. We are supposed to see our fellow human beings as our "neighbor" (Lk. 10.25-37). Right now, if we are separated from God, he sees us as enemies (James 4.4), but He wants to adopt us as His children (Jn. 1.12; Romans 5.6-10; 8.14-21).

> I mean we look like him

We don't. God has no physicality. He has no body, no appearance.

> and if the Holy spirit is as you say then we think like him too right?

We are supposed to learn to think like him (Rom. 12.2), but most of us don't. We're too human (Rom. 7.15-24).

> But seems like God is pleased to bestow everything on us, like didn't even spare his own son right?

He wants to, but we are the ones who have to open that door and invite Him to do so (Ephesians 4.14-24).

> And I been puzzling about what we must all be to receive all this stuff with nothing to give back? What on earth are we?

We have to have open hands and humility to receive what God wants to give us (Matthew 18.3-4). We have to repent of our sins (Matthew 4.17; 1 Jn. 1.9; Acts 2.38, and many others), deny ourselves and follow the ways of Jesus (Luke 9.23-25). We have to put off our sin nature and receive into ourselves the nature of Jesus (Romans 6.11; 13.14).

What I'm struggling with is the difference between God and man I guess. I mean it's easy to look at the world and universe and say wow God is amazing right? But Jesus don't talk much about that stuff. If I look at the simplest thing Jesus says it's 'love your neighbour as yourself'. Anyone can get that. But ain't God seeing us as his neighbour? I mean we look like him and if the Holy spirit is as you say then we think like him too right? Now I ain't so stupid as to think we ain't just creatures. But seems like God is pleased to bestow everything on us, like didn't even spare his own son right? And I been puzzling about what we must all be to receive all this stuff with nothing to give back? What on earth are we?

When I say these thoughts are nothing like my day to day, I mean my day to day life ya know? I have a lot of chores and school and whatnot and I most don't have to think beyond that. The thoughts I have about what I been reading in the bible are about something more and its hard to think on. Like we been asleep or some such. I can't really describe too well what I'm saying but it's like there's something underneath everything, like hidden, like one of them prize cards you buy and I only really figured out you gotta scratch away at it to see what's hidden you know? I know I ain't explaining so well so again I'm sorry. Trying you know?

Glad to talk. I agree that it's better to an arm hair in the Body of Christ than to miss the kingdom (Prov. 12.9; 16.19). I want to belong, too, and I'll pay any price and make any sacrifice to get it.

Yes, Jesus is God, and you're also right that "he cared so much about people he did become like us and showed what it was like to be connected up to the invisible God" (Philippians 2.5-13; Heb. 4.14-16; 12.1-3). But we still never forget that His connection to God is always different from ours. We are supposed to be connected, all right, but we can never be the "radiance of [God's] glory and the exact representation of His being" (Heb. 1.3).

> That's the Holy spirit thing right?

The Holy Spirit is the one who indwells us (Romans 8.11), reveals God to us (Jn. 14.26; 16.13), and helps us become more like Christ (Romans 8.1-17). But Jesus is always in a distinct category.

> These thoughts are nothing like my day to day you know?

No, whaddaya mean?

Right, thank you for your plain speaking. I'm trying to figure out my place in it is all. I'd be happy to be called an arm hair in the body, you know? I just want to belong, you know. Obviously, Jesus is God, right?, but it just seems he cared so much about people he did become like us and showed what it was like to be connected up to the invisible God right? Like we can be too? That's the Holy spirit thing right? I'm sorry if I'm not saying it right. These thoughts are nothing like my day to day, you know?