We are taught that there is only one God. What we have not been taught is that we all have a different conception of God!! What blasphemy, they say. We have one, and only one Lord. But since we are all in different states and stages of consciousness... And since God is generally considered infinite, that is a rather large concept for each and every mortal to grasp uniformly!
Jesus warned his disciples of fellow, God-fearing Jews: "The time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service."
Elsewhere, Jesus made the astonishing declaration to the God-fearing listeners who did not believe in life after death: "Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
Now, to bring this discussion home to each of us:
"To ascertain what our progress is and what our state of Christianity, we have only to learn what God we acknowledge and obey. If we are progressing, God will become less personal and material to our understanding, and more practical, matter will be yielding to Spirit, and the Spirit we manifest will reveal us;" (1st Ed S&H)
So if we are progressing, our concept of God must change. How? Less personal and material. Here are some outgrown misconceptions:
1. The harder we pray, the more likely the Almighty will hear. [God is not a big ear in the sky!]
2. We must wait for that precious moment when He deems to speak to us. [The eternal Mind does not withhold for personal reasons, but is the constant outpouring of Life and Intelligence.]
3. When I attend church, it pleases Him and I feel closer to Him. ["Whither shall I go from His presence" says the Psalmist - even in hell, there He is.]
4. The more I do what I am supposed to do, the more He will smile on me. ["Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Doing what you are supposed to do is a far cry from doing the will of the Father. The first is humanly prescribed rules, the second is moment by moment striving to acknowlege, listen and obey the ever-present Intelligence.]