Jesus has been my friend and 'hero' ever since I can remember, and that is a very long time (you see, I will soon be 79).
My beliefs about Jesus have changed numerous times over the years.
When I was a little fella I was taught in Sunday School and catechism that Jesus is the second person of a Trinity, and in 1964 when I was ordained as a Presbyterian minister I continued to teach this doctrine. I did not believe my teachings were in error; in fact I believed and taught it as 'the truth'. Still, in my private thinking, I still looked at Jesus as my personal friend and 'hero' (though of course I never taught this in public).
The personal feelings I had about Jesus grew deeper when I visited the ancient 'holy land' with a small band of clergy fiends in 1971. While the other clergy (11 of us from various religious traditions making a pilgrimage to our roots; our small group even included a Rabii) were admiring so-called 'holy shrines' I was off somewhere admiring the landscape and trees and rocks and waters that I imagined Jesus saw and touched. I went into the River Jordan and imagined myself in the group of people gathered to be baptized by John the Baptizer.
Later on in my personal spiritual journey I went through a 'conversion experience' and changed my allegiance and beliefs about Jesus. I changed from a rather liberal Presbyterian minister and political activist (example: protesting against the war in Vietnam, and helping Negroes to vote in the State of Alabama), to a very conservative Pentecostal minister. I was baptized again, this time not in the Trinitarian formula, but by complete immersion in the name of Jesus. This was a significant departure from my background and upbringing and theological training. I no longer saw Jesus as part of a trinitarian God, but I believed Him to be fully GOD, in fact, as 'God in the flesh'. I believed and taught this particular belief for 14 years while I was a Pentecostal.
Then again something happened. I saw that I was teaching error and did something about it; I abruptly left the comfort and friendships in the Pentecostal Church. In the years that followed I went through a time of 'hell' and soul searching and seeking for I-did-not-what. My prayers continued, sometimes very weakly, but they did continue. I spoke a lot to Jesus my friend and 'hero' ... and he or some spirit 'eventually spoke to me. Or perhaps it was that I finally heard what was being said. One day I heard this 'voice' and it said: Others are afraid to ask questions but you are not. This began an "internal conversation" with spirit(s). This began to happen back in the late 1980s. It was a long journey, and I had not yet heard of James Padgett and the messages that he received from Jesus and other spirits. This did not happen until 2006, one month before my 71st birthday.
Why am I telling this story? Only because I feel like telling it. Perhaps, dear friend reading this, you may appreciate that I told it. The basic message in this anedote from my life is that we can ask just about anything to spirit, and to Jesus if you will. I did, and I still do. Answers do come and will come if we are sincere and honest in our quest. This is especially true concerning the subject of the Divine Love and if it is the true Jesus of the Bible that gave messages to James that we now commonly call the Padgett Messages.
Yes, it is true that Jesus is still my friend and 'hero'. Now I would rather say that he is my elder brother and friend. It has been a very long journey for me and now I know that my journey will continue for a very very long time ... how about eternity?!?
With much love - Divine Love - to us all,
Joseph