Was feeling pretty bad about not knowing how to trust God, and not knowing how to receive love correctly, and wondering what I was going to do about any of it, until I heard a great sermon tonight. A sermon about Abraham. A man who didn't know how to trust or be loved. A man who suffered from depression as a result. A man who did really, really really stupid things as a result. A man who had to learn, just like the rest of us, that God is good, and loves us, and is worthy of our trust. And it took him years, and years, and years.
And not only Abraham, but Moses, and Elijah, and Job, and Gideon, and Jonah, and all the rest. All people whom God had to teach to trust, because they were not taught it. All people who had no idea how good God is and how much He loves them.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Saturday, May 02, 2009
The Greatest Weapon in the World
The greatest spiritual weapon in the world is the ability to receive love. This ability makes one impervious to fear, guilt, shame, pride, (the wrong kind), insecurity, etc. Without it, all these other things can grow. Where love is, there can be no fear, guilt, shame, insecurity, etc. Therefore, the ability to receive love is critical. Where love is not, there will be fear, pride, insecurity, shame, etc. (this is only a partial list of the other things that grow where there is no love).
Therefore, the greatest spiritual weapon available to a human being is the ability to receive love. If you don't have it, you must get it! If you have the ability to help someone else get it... give it to them! Being loved is a person's greatest defense in this world. Defend someone today!
Therefore, the greatest spiritual weapon available to a human being is the ability to receive love. If you don't have it, you must get it! If you have the ability to help someone else get it... give it to them! Being loved is a person's greatest defense in this world. Defend someone today!
The Determing Factor
Here is something that used to not make sense to me. I couldn't understand why it was that I could see no consistency between people's belief in God and their well being or success as a human being. I had always thought that belief and faith in God were the sure ways to go and were the things that would set a person right in this life. I was sure that they were the path of life that the Bible talked about. But, when I looked objectively at people, I did not always see consistency between people's faith and their overall well being as a person.
In other words, I would see people with no faith or belief in God doing wonderfully well in their lives, while seeing people with faith and belief not doing well. And then I would see some who DID have faith in God doing well, while others who had no faith were not doing well. In other words, their seemed to be no direct correlation between a person's faith, or lack of faith, and their well being as a person, either for or against. It all just seemed to be random. Until now. I have discovered the determining factor.
Love is the determining factor. And love knows no theological bounds. It crosses them all. Love occurs in Christians, atheists, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhists, Paiutes, agnostics... All people have the ability to experience love. And any human being's well being is a direct result of how much love they have received, experienced, lived in, and currently live in! A child of atheists who receives more genuine love than the child of a Christian is going to be better off. And, the child of a christian family who receives more genuine love is going to be better off than the child of athiest who do not love. Theology is not the issue! Love is!
Belief and faith in God are factors in a person's well being, in that they connect them with God, who is love. So they are contributing factors, but they are not the most important factor. The most important, overriding, all important factor for being a human being, is, and will always be, love.
In other words, I would see people with no faith or belief in God doing wonderfully well in their lives, while seeing people with faith and belief not doing well. And then I would see some who DID have faith in God doing well, while others who had no faith were not doing well. In other words, their seemed to be no direct correlation between a person's faith, or lack of faith, and their well being as a person, either for or against. It all just seemed to be random. Until now. I have discovered the determining factor.
Love is the determining factor. And love knows no theological bounds. It crosses them all. Love occurs in Christians, atheists, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhists, Paiutes, agnostics... All people have the ability to experience love. And any human being's well being is a direct result of how much love they have received, experienced, lived in, and currently live in! A child of atheists who receives more genuine love than the child of a Christian is going to be better off. And, the child of a christian family who receives more genuine love is going to be better off than the child of athiest who do not love. Theology is not the issue! Love is!
Belief and faith in God are factors in a person's well being, in that they connect them with God, who is love. So they are contributing factors, but they are not the most important factor. The most important, overriding, all important factor for being a human being, is, and will always be, love.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Destroying religion, bit by bit
We, those of us who have been around religious circles for a while, have all heard this phrase, that "Jesus has the keys to death and hell". (I think it's somewhere in the book of Revelation).
Well what does this really mean? Here is one thought. Since we know that hell is something, or somewhere, as evidenced by so many of Jesus other teachings, then why would he want, or need, the keys to it? Why would he want to go there? If somebody has the keys to a place, this infers that they will be going there at some point, and have access to it, and can go there whenever they want. It infers, at the least, authority to be there, if they so choose. So, He can go there any time He wants to.
Well,why? What is He going to do there? Isn't He the one who sent all those people to it in the first place? Or, it was His Father, at least, wasn't it?
Let me make a couple of suggestions, based on a couple of Bible verses that seem to be almost universally ignored. Jesus said, in the book of John, that a time is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and those who hear it will live. So, assuming that some of those dead are in this place called hell, apparently Jesus went to hell, spoke to them the word of the gospel, and those who heard it (accepted it?) lived. Just like He did (does) here on earth. Amazing. So much for the theory that all the people who lived before Jesus showed up on earth are burning in hell for eternity.
And, here is the other conveniently ignored verse. This one comes from 1 Peter 4, and says, " for this reason, the gospel has been preached also to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God". Wow! Like God is actually fair and just, and understands that there is deception and darkness that affects people and their decision making processes while they are here on earth, and so gives them the chance, when they are dead (physically) and can see it all clearly. This sounds like just what Jesus said, that He Himself went, or maybe even still, goes there, and preaches the gospel to the people who blew it and found themselves there. Just a thought. So much for the theory that everyone who dies without hearing the gospel is going to burn in hell for eternity!!
Maybe this is why He needs the keys!!
Well what does this really mean? Here is one thought. Since we know that hell is something, or somewhere, as evidenced by so many of Jesus other teachings, then why would he want, or need, the keys to it? Why would he want to go there? If somebody has the keys to a place, this infers that they will be going there at some point, and have access to it, and can go there whenever they want. It infers, at the least, authority to be there, if they so choose. So, He can go there any time He wants to.
Well,why? What is He going to do there? Isn't He the one who sent all those people to it in the first place? Or, it was His Father, at least, wasn't it?
Let me make a couple of suggestions, based on a couple of Bible verses that seem to be almost universally ignored. Jesus said, in the book of John, that a time is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and those who hear it will live. So, assuming that some of those dead are in this place called hell, apparently Jesus went to hell, spoke to them the word of the gospel, and those who heard it (accepted it?) lived. Just like He did (does) here on earth. Amazing. So much for the theory that all the people who lived before Jesus showed up on earth are burning in hell for eternity.
And, here is the other conveniently ignored verse. This one comes from 1 Peter 4, and says, " for this reason, the gospel has been preached also to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God". Wow! Like God is actually fair and just, and understands that there is deception and darkness that affects people and their decision making processes while they are here on earth, and so gives them the chance, when they are dead (physically) and can see it all clearly. This sounds like just what Jesus said, that He Himself went, or maybe even still, goes there, and preaches the gospel to the people who blew it and found themselves there. Just a thought. So much for the theory that everyone who dies without hearing the gospel is going to burn in hell for eternity!!
Maybe this is why He needs the keys!!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Danger Will Robinson
A dangerous thing to do-- Believe that the trial that you are or may be going through is ordained by God to make you stronger.
The trial you are going through is a result of living in this world. The goal that God wants for you from it and through it is to draw you closer to Him in absolute dependence and trust and love.
This doesn't happen when you believe that He has ordained the trial for you to make you stronger. That breeds pride. Pride is always very dangerous.
Living in this world has trials. God certainly does use those trials for His purposes, but His purpose is always to love you and to show you His love for you. That love MUST be your only goal through any trial you face.
God works through the trials that we go through to bring us closer to Him... FOR LOVE.
The trial you are going through is a result of living in this world. The goal that God wants for you from it and through it is to draw you closer to Him in absolute dependence and trust and love.
This doesn't happen when you believe that He has ordained the trial for you to make you stronger. That breeds pride. Pride is always very dangerous.
Living in this world has trials. God certainly does use those trials for His purposes, but His purpose is always to love you and to show you His love for you. That love MUST be your only goal through any trial you face.
God works through the trials that we go through to bring us closer to Him... FOR LOVE.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Real security vs. fake security
Fake security-- acting against your fear and insecurity to try to make it change
Real security-- trusting and being loved
Can your religion and let God love you.
Real security-- trusting and being loved
Can your religion and let God love you.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Proof that God needs you
Here is proof that God needs us, that God needs people.
The world is in a mess. If God worked in this world apart from people then the world would be just fine. God will not and can not ignore people and walk all over them to just do what he wants and get what he wants done. Because of the nature of us, his creation, and his own nature, that is impossible. He is love, which means that He will always respect us, our choices, and our freedom. That is what love does. We are autonomous beings. We would not be better off if God just ran us over to make things how he wants them. That would not be good for us.
Because of the nature of the reality in which we find ourselves, it has to be a joint effort between us and Him. We are all, us and Him, free, autonomous, beings. He does need you, just the same as you need Him.
God needed about several million or billion people that didn't know it or believe it, and so they were not able to do what God needed them for, and so the world is in the shape that it is in. If every one of those people had realized the truth that God needed them, badly, then they would have come to Him, responded to His love, and out of that love done whatever beautiful and good thing God had planned for them to do in the world, and the world would be in a much better state.
And, conversely, those that have realized God's need of them, have come to Him and found out why, and done, by His empowering love and grace, whatever astoundingly beautiful thing that He had for them to do in this world, have made it better off for the rest of us today. I. e, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, Bill Wilson, Rich Mullins, George Mueller, etc.
Now, I know that those who disagree with this theory would quote the verse out of the book of Esther (4:14) where Mordecai says to Esther, "if you remain silent at this time, deliverance will rise for us from somewhere else". He may have been right, however, this is not God speaking. This is Mordecai speaking. People often give verses out of the Bible as proof of something and say, "it's the word of God" without realizing that at a lot of places in the Bible, it is simply recording dialogue by fallible, broken human beings, like the place in Acts where the Pharisee strikes Paul and Paul calls him a whitewashed wall. (23:3) The point is, the things that the people say in the Bible are not necessarily "the Word of God".
If God didn't need people, and He raised up someone else to do a person's job whenever that person failed to do it, the world would be perfect. As it is, the world is pretty jacked up. Which tells me that a whole lot of people that God needed didn't agree with Him about that!
God needs you.!!!! Refuse to listen to the religious crowd that tells you differently!
The world is in a mess. If God worked in this world apart from people then the world would be just fine. God will not and can not ignore people and walk all over them to just do what he wants and get what he wants done. Because of the nature of us, his creation, and his own nature, that is impossible. He is love, which means that He will always respect us, our choices, and our freedom. That is what love does. We are autonomous beings. We would not be better off if God just ran us over to make things how he wants them. That would not be good for us.
Because of the nature of the reality in which we find ourselves, it has to be a joint effort between us and Him. We are all, us and Him, free, autonomous, beings. He does need you, just the same as you need Him.
God needed about several million or billion people that didn't know it or believe it, and so they were not able to do what God needed them for, and so the world is in the shape that it is in. If every one of those people had realized the truth that God needed them, badly, then they would have come to Him, responded to His love, and out of that love done whatever beautiful and good thing God had planned for them to do in the world, and the world would be in a much better state.
And, conversely, those that have realized God's need of them, have come to Him and found out why, and done, by His empowering love and grace, whatever astoundingly beautiful thing that He had for them to do in this world, have made it better off for the rest of us today. I. e, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, Bill Wilson, Rich Mullins, George Mueller, etc.
Now, I know that those who disagree with this theory would quote the verse out of the book of Esther (4:14) where Mordecai says to Esther, "if you remain silent at this time, deliverance will rise for us from somewhere else". He may have been right, however, this is not God speaking. This is Mordecai speaking. People often give verses out of the Bible as proof of something and say, "it's the word of God" without realizing that at a lot of places in the Bible, it is simply recording dialogue by fallible, broken human beings, like the place in Acts where the Pharisee strikes Paul and Paul calls him a whitewashed wall. (23:3) The point is, the things that the people say in the Bible are not necessarily "the Word of God".
If God didn't need people, and He raised up someone else to do a person's job whenever that person failed to do it, the world would be perfect. As it is, the world is pretty jacked up. Which tells me that a whole lot of people that God needed didn't agree with Him about that!
God needs you.!!!! Refuse to listen to the religious crowd that tells you differently!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Phenomenon of Loneliness
Ever experience true loneliness? I don't mean that general ache that most of us feel from time to time that comes from living in this world. I mean the real thing. Like you feel when you come home to an empty house that is usually full. And the full force of actually being by yourself with nobody else around hits you right in your heart. It is not a pleasant experience. And, of course, I'm sure you all know by now where I'm going with this. We are not meant to be alone.
We operate best in relationship. And, of course, since we are made in the image of God, this means that He doesn't like to be alone either.
I hear people teach all the time that God doesn't need us, that God can do what He wants to do without us, God will find somebody else, etc. etc. etc. Like He cares more about getting what He wants done than He does about us, which is simply not true.
So, if God doesn't need us, then why would He go through so much effort to reach us and have a relationship with us?
I think, again, that there are too many people out there saying things that they've heard somewhere in the annals of churchdom and believing that they are true of the nature if God, instead of being responsible for their own relationship with Him so that they could hear some truth that might actually help someone or encourage someone.
God feels loneliness. And the only antidote for His loneliness is YOU.
We operate best in relationship. And, of course, since we are made in the image of God, this means that He doesn't like to be alone either.
I hear people teach all the time that God doesn't need us, that God can do what He wants to do without us, God will find somebody else, etc. etc. etc. Like He cares more about getting what He wants done than He does about us, which is simply not true.
So, if God doesn't need us, then why would He go through so much effort to reach us and have a relationship with us?
I think, again, that there are too many people out there saying things that they've heard somewhere in the annals of churchdom and believing that they are true of the nature if God, instead of being responsible for their own relationship with Him so that they could hear some truth that might actually help someone or encourage someone.
God feels loneliness. And the only antidote for His loneliness is YOU.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Worship?
So I have never understood the term worship. It has always just been one of those religious terms that has never done me any good... until now.
My understanding of the term has led me to think that it means always paying attention to something, giving something (or someone,) all of your attention, or most of your attention, or more attention than you give to anything or anybody else. And, I can honestly say that I think I have reached a state in my life where I give more attention to God than I do to anything or anyone else. But the key is how I got here. And, for any of you who have been reading this blog for any length of time now, you can probably guess what it is that I'm going to say.
I have reached this place that looks like what I perceive worship to be by love. Because He has so unrelentingly hammered it into my brain that he loves me, and I am falling so in love with Him, I think about Him more than anything or anybody else. Gee, I guess this is my faith working through love again. That has got to be just about my favorite verse in the entire Bible. Because it is so stinking true. Faith works through love. It is the only way it works.
So, the point here, is that while worship of God is so preached and held up as the standard for us to live, I think that there is only one way that we are going to reach that goal... and that is by learning and coming to know of His love for us!
My understanding of the term has led me to think that it means always paying attention to something, giving something (or someone,) all of your attention, or most of your attention, or more attention than you give to anything or anybody else. And, I can honestly say that I think I have reached a state in my life where I give more attention to God than I do to anything or anyone else. But the key is how I got here. And, for any of you who have been reading this blog for any length of time now, you can probably guess what it is that I'm going to say.
I have reached this place that looks like what I perceive worship to be by love. Because He has so unrelentingly hammered it into my brain that he loves me, and I am falling so in love with Him, I think about Him more than anything or anybody else. Gee, I guess this is my faith working through love again. That has got to be just about my favorite verse in the entire Bible. Because it is so stinking true. Faith works through love. It is the only way it works.
So, the point here, is that while worship of God is so preached and held up as the standard for us to live, I think that there is only one way that we are going to reach that goal... and that is by learning and coming to know of His love for us!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Greatest Miracle in the World!
This is by far the greatest miracle that I have ever seen accomplished in this world and in my life. I know that Jesus raised the dead, and walked on water, and healed blind people, etc. etc., .... and even in my own life I have seen people healed on the spot, and seen God come through for people, myself included. And I've read the Bible, and know all about how He parted the Red Sea, and made Manna fall from heaven, and turned water into wine, etc., etc., etc.. But I have seen a miracle greater than them all. A miracle of such beauty and wonder that all the others pale in comparison with it.
I have seen my heart come to believe that God loves me.
Believe it, or not.
Yes folks, it has taken nigh on twenty years of constant hammering on the door of my heart on God's part, but it has happened. I am convinced that God really truly loves me. And, as if that weren't enough, I have also come to believe that He loves everybody else as well. And if you had seen inside of my heart twenty years ago, you would know why these two accomplishments are such astonishing miracles. And if you could also see the struggle, the astonishingly difficult struggle that we (me and Him) have had to go through over the past twenty years to get here, then you would be even more astonished at the fact that this has taken place.
This may sound trite, or insignificant, or even silly to some, but it's not. To change a human heart, knowing now what I know about them, is by far a greater work than healing the lame or opening the eyes of the blind, or parting the sea. To me, who has to live with me, and who knows what it has taken to get here, it truly is, without sarcasm or exaggeration, the greatest miracle I have ever seen happen. And I mean it.
Thank you, and good night!
I have seen my heart come to believe that God loves me.
Believe it, or not.
Yes folks, it has taken nigh on twenty years of constant hammering on the door of my heart on God's part, but it has happened. I am convinced that God really truly loves me. And, as if that weren't enough, I have also come to believe that He loves everybody else as well. And if you had seen inside of my heart twenty years ago, you would know why these two accomplishments are such astonishing miracles. And if you could also see the struggle, the astonishingly difficult struggle that we (me and Him) have had to go through over the past twenty years to get here, then you would be even more astonished at the fact that this has taken place.
This may sound trite, or insignificant, or even silly to some, but it's not. To change a human heart, knowing now what I know about them, is by far a greater work than healing the lame or opening the eyes of the blind, or parting the sea. To me, who has to live with me, and who knows what it has taken to get here, it truly is, without sarcasm or exaggeration, the greatest miracle I have ever seen happen. And I mean it.
Thank you, and good night!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Easy vs. Hard
I would like to compare and contrast two things and show how easy it is for us as human beings to do the one and how difficult it is for us as human beings to do the other.
It is extremely easy for us to receive fear, anger, abuse, hurt, judgment, shame, guilt, insults, etc., and it is very easy for us to respond to these things. Why? Because that is what we are used to, so we know how to do it without even thinking about it. That is what we have received in life, and so we know how to respond to those things. We are very adept at these "skills".
When it becomes difficult for us as human beings, is when someone tries to love us. When people or God, try to love us, we don't know how to respond, and we don't know how to receive it. This is a skill that we are not very adept at.
How do I know this is true? Because I have seen it in my own life. I have noticed that it is soooooo easy for me to respond to fearful input and to go with it. Whenever anybody puts fear on me, or guilt, or shame, or pressure, it is the most natural thing in the world for me to accept it. It is very easy, and I am natural at it. It is very very easy for me to receive fear, believe fear, and act out of that fear. It is because that is what I have learned in this world.So it is what I am good at. What I am not good at is receiving love. Because almost every time God loves me, (which is all He can do), I watch myself get nervous, anxious, and not know how to respond. I literally get insecure and start wondering what to do, and usually try to respond in some way that I think I am supposed to. In other words, I do not know how to be loved.
The point is, this world doesn't operate on love, so it doesn't know how to love, or be loved. People learn what happens to them. People learn what happens to them over and over and over and over again. And in this world, people learn pride, fear, anger, guilt, shame, pain, abuse, manipulation, irresponsibility, etc, etc, etc. So people know how to receive and live all of that stuff. Because that is what has happened to them over and over and over again. So because love is so foreign to us, we don't know how to receive it. (Not to mention give it!)
The most important skill in life is knowing how to receive love. It is the most crucial skill necessary to being a human being, and it is the one thing that we seem to be the worst at.
There is a book out there called "The Velveteen Rabbit". This is one of the greatest books in the world, because it teaches this principle. And it is right!
It is extremely easy for us to receive fear, anger, abuse, hurt, judgment, shame, guilt, insults, etc., and it is very easy for us to respond to these things. Why? Because that is what we are used to, so we know how to do it without even thinking about it. That is what we have received in life, and so we know how to respond to those things. We are very adept at these "skills".
When it becomes difficult for us as human beings, is when someone tries to love us. When people or God, try to love us, we don't know how to respond, and we don't know how to receive it. This is a skill that we are not very adept at.
How do I know this is true? Because I have seen it in my own life. I have noticed that it is soooooo easy for me to respond to fearful input and to go with it. Whenever anybody puts fear on me, or guilt, or shame, or pressure, it is the most natural thing in the world for me to accept it. It is very easy, and I am natural at it. It is very very easy for me to receive fear, believe fear, and act out of that fear. It is because that is what I have learned in this world.So it is what I am good at. What I am not good at is receiving love. Because almost every time God loves me, (which is all He can do), I watch myself get nervous, anxious, and not know how to respond. I literally get insecure and start wondering what to do, and usually try to respond in some way that I think I am supposed to. In other words, I do not know how to be loved.
The point is, this world doesn't operate on love, so it doesn't know how to love, or be loved. People learn what happens to them. People learn what happens to them over and over and over and over again. And in this world, people learn pride, fear, anger, guilt, shame, pain, abuse, manipulation, irresponsibility, etc, etc, etc. So people know how to receive and live all of that stuff. Because that is what has happened to them over and over and over again. So because love is so foreign to us, we don't know how to receive it. (Not to mention give it!)
The most important skill in life is knowing how to receive love. It is the most crucial skill necessary to being a human being, and it is the one thing that we seem to be the worst at.
There is a book out there called "The Velveteen Rabbit". This is one of the greatest books in the world, because it teaches this principle. And it is right!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The Belief of Lies
Ok wow. I think that the belief of lies is the single most destructive tool used by the enemy against humanity. I believe that a very large portion of the problems in the world, in every level of human relationships, is caused by the belief of lies about the other guy.
If you believe something about someone else, something bad, then that will cause you to look at them in a judgmental way. This will right away separate you from them. Then you will lose the ability to trust them in any way. This will further separate you from them. Then, if not seen and let go of, the lie(s) you have believed about them might make you not like them. Then it may cause you to not love them (treat them correctly). Which then does damage to them. So now they are hurt. And, because of your separation from them, you are missing out on the point of life, which is love, and knowing people. So you are suffering, even if you feel good in your judgment and consequential actions against them. In the big picture, you are suffering lack.
I believe this happens in every level of human relationships. From big to small. In between husband and wife, parents and children, friends, neighbors, coworkers, sections of town, political groups, clubs, races, cultures, religions, nations... we are believing lies about each other and therefore are living in separation from people. And this causes division, strife, hatred, disunity, separation, killing, etc.
This is why God has to tell us to love each other. Because if we didn't know that we were supposed to love each other, we might never do it! Fortunately, with that command in mind, we can at least begin to do the opposite; try to treat each other good.
If you believe something about someone else, something bad, then that will cause you to look at them in a judgmental way. This will right away separate you from them. Then you will lose the ability to trust them in any way. This will further separate you from them. Then, if not seen and let go of, the lie(s) you have believed about them might make you not like them. Then it may cause you to not love them (treat them correctly). Which then does damage to them. So now they are hurt. And, because of your separation from them, you are missing out on the point of life, which is love, and knowing people. So you are suffering, even if you feel good in your judgment and consequential actions against them. In the big picture, you are suffering lack.
I believe this happens in every level of human relationships. From big to small. In between husband and wife, parents and children, friends, neighbors, coworkers, sections of town, political groups, clubs, races, cultures, religions, nations... we are believing lies about each other and therefore are living in separation from people. And this causes division, strife, hatred, disunity, separation, killing, etc.
This is why God has to tell us to love each other. Because if we didn't know that we were supposed to love each other, we might never do it! Fortunately, with that command in mind, we can at least begin to do the opposite; try to treat each other good.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Broken Record
I'm going to say it again simply because it needs to be said. The absolute most important thing that people need is to be loved. Human beings need love more than anything else. We need to be loved. I know I say it a lot, but every day I become more and more convinced of it. Human beings need to be loved. It's what we need more than anything else. It just is.
More than anything else in your life, you need to be loved. I'm just saying it like it is. I don't care if people don't believe me, or don't think I'm enough of an authority to listen to, or it doesn't jive with your theology or what you believe about life... you still need to be loved. I am absolutely convinced that every single person on the face of this planet needs to be loved, and they need it more than they know and they need it worse than they know.
We are like children in this world, and we need direction, encouragement, comfort, correction, etc. Without it we are like children trying to make their way through life without any help from their parents. Could you imagine your five year old trying to provide him/herself with a place to live, or food, or direction on where to go and what to do in their life? Can you imagine if they tried to do that on their own?? With no help from their mom or dad whatsoever?? This is what human beings are like trying t live in this world without direction from their Father. We have no idea, and the fact that so many are sure that they do, without Him, just makes it all the scarier!
I offer as evidence the world we live in. Need I say more? Trying to tell me that human beings don't need the love and guidance of their Creator and looking at the present state of the world is like watching a building that is being engulfed in flames and swearing up and down that there's no need for any water or firemen. It's just absolutely ludicrous. To me it's like deliberate ignorance. Besides being illogical.
You need to be loved. The world needs to be loved. I wish I could communicate this to everybody on the entire planet. You need it more than you need your religious beliefs. You need it more than you need anything else.
More than anything else in your life, you need to be loved. I'm just saying it like it is. I don't care if people don't believe me, or don't think I'm enough of an authority to listen to, or it doesn't jive with your theology or what you believe about life... you still need to be loved. I am absolutely convinced that every single person on the face of this planet needs to be loved, and they need it more than they know and they need it worse than they know.
We are like children in this world, and we need direction, encouragement, comfort, correction, etc. Without it we are like children trying to make their way through life without any help from their parents. Could you imagine your five year old trying to provide him/herself with a place to live, or food, or direction on where to go and what to do in their life? Can you imagine if they tried to do that on their own?? With no help from their mom or dad whatsoever?? This is what human beings are like trying t live in this world without direction from their Father. We have no idea, and the fact that so many are sure that they do, without Him, just makes it all the scarier!
I offer as evidence the world we live in. Need I say more? Trying to tell me that human beings don't need the love and guidance of their Creator and looking at the present state of the world is like watching a building that is being engulfed in flames and swearing up and down that there's no need for any water or firemen. It's just absolutely ludicrous. To me it's like deliberate ignorance. Besides being illogical.
You need to be loved. The world needs to be loved. I wish I could communicate this to everybody on the entire planet. You need it more than you need your religious beliefs. You need it more than you need anything else.
Love and Work
People, human beings, need love just as much as they need work (or any number of other good things). However, there seems to be an over-emphasis on the work part. Why is this? I think it is because we don't REALLY know who God is and what He's like. If we would really get to know him, we would see (and life itself speaks of this) that we need love, and we need work, and we need rest, and we need struggle, and we need a balance of many things.
Why there is so much emphasis placed on the work part is beyond me.
Why there is so much emphasis placed on the work part is beyond me.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Bridge of sighs?
Was thinking about why so many people have skewed views of God. And this post is going to deal directly with the name of my blog, giving God back his good name. I believe it is because of this.
People, human beings, have in them an innate sense of and desire for God. We come from him, so this only makes sense. So people look up, throughout their lives, to see Him, and to find Him. It is a natural thing for human beings to do. But this is where it starts to get messed up. There is, at the present time, a spiritual reality other than God's hanging around over and throughout our world. This is talked about all throughout the Bible, see Ephesians 6:12, Matthew 4:8-9, etc. This spiritual climate is 180 degrees the polar opposite of God's reality. So people, naturally longing for God, look up to find Him and see Him, and see this other reality, and therefore attribute it to Him.
This has the unfortunate effect of giving God a bad name. Because people think God is unforgiving, angry, harsh... all of the things that are the polar opposite of how He really is.
I was thinking about this this morning as I was singing that song by Robin Trower, Bridge of Sighs. In it he is looking up, feeling and experiencing the spiritual climate of unforgiveness, anger, and coldness, and asking why. The Gods look down in anger, etc. Robin Trower is doing just what I explained. Having an innate sense of God, and looking for Him, and seeing something cold, angry, and unforgiving... and putting the two together.
So why doesn't God do something about this? Well, he has, and is, but there is also this. Because God is so good, and kind, and loving and gentle, and respectful and courteous, he won't act in a lot of the ways that the other side will act. The enemy has no moral boundaries to stay inside of, and so, in the space created by God's respect for humankind's freedom and autononomy, a space created out of love and respect, the enemy moves in , and without any love, or respect, or courtesy, for anybody, dumps a bunch of crap into that space. In other words, the enemy takes full advantage of and exploits the goodness and kindness and respect and courtesy and gentlemanliness of God, and uses it to his advantage. All this has the unfortunate effect of causing humans, people to think that God is a jerk. Which he's not. He is actually the exact opposite.
Once I asked God if I could go to heaven. His answer was to give me a glimpse of it. I saw it, and the best way that I can describe it was this: pure unconditional love, that had absolutely nothing to do with what I have done, good or bad, and they wanted me there really badly. This is the exact opposite of "why so unforgiving, and why so cold?"
All this leads to me to this conclusion, which I have been becoming more and more convinced of the longer I live. Which is this: God really, really, really loves us. A whole lot. A really, really, really lot. And it's only this opressive matrix like spiritual climate that has been pushed onto the world by a lot of evil forces that is keeping us from knowing it.
People, human beings, have in them an innate sense of and desire for God. We come from him, so this only makes sense. So people look up, throughout their lives, to see Him, and to find Him. It is a natural thing for human beings to do. But this is where it starts to get messed up. There is, at the present time, a spiritual reality other than God's hanging around over and throughout our world. This is talked about all throughout the Bible, see Ephesians 6:12, Matthew 4:8-9, etc. This spiritual climate is 180 degrees the polar opposite of God's reality. So people, naturally longing for God, look up to find Him and see Him, and see this other reality, and therefore attribute it to Him.
This has the unfortunate effect of giving God a bad name. Because people think God is unforgiving, angry, harsh... all of the things that are the polar opposite of how He really is.
I was thinking about this this morning as I was singing that song by Robin Trower, Bridge of Sighs. In it he is looking up, feeling and experiencing the spiritual climate of unforgiveness, anger, and coldness, and asking why. The Gods look down in anger, etc. Robin Trower is doing just what I explained. Having an innate sense of God, and looking for Him, and seeing something cold, angry, and unforgiving... and putting the two together.
So why doesn't God do something about this? Well, he has, and is, but there is also this. Because God is so good, and kind, and loving and gentle, and respectful and courteous, he won't act in a lot of the ways that the other side will act. The enemy has no moral boundaries to stay inside of, and so, in the space created by God's respect for humankind's freedom and autononomy, a space created out of love and respect, the enemy moves in , and without any love, or respect, or courtesy, for anybody, dumps a bunch of crap into that space. In other words, the enemy takes full advantage of and exploits the goodness and kindness and respect and courtesy and gentlemanliness of God, and uses it to his advantage. All this has the unfortunate effect of causing humans, people to think that God is a jerk. Which he's not. He is actually the exact opposite.
Once I asked God if I could go to heaven. His answer was to give me a glimpse of it. I saw it, and the best way that I can describe it was this: pure unconditional love, that had absolutely nothing to do with what I have done, good or bad, and they wanted me there really badly. This is the exact opposite of "why so unforgiving, and why so cold?"
All this leads to me to this conclusion, which I have been becoming more and more convinced of the longer I live. Which is this: God really, really, really loves us. A whole lot. A really, really, really lot. And it's only this opressive matrix like spiritual climate that has been pushed onto the world by a lot of evil forces that is keeping us from knowing it.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The big principle
Disclaimer... I am not absolutely convinced of the truth of this post like I am of so many of my other posts... yet. This one is still in the trial stage.
Let's try to explain why things happen the way they do. Tall order, I know, but let's take a stab at it. I mean especially in our faith. Why is it that sometimes things seem to work like they are supposed to and sometimes they don't? Why do some people get healed and some people don't? Why does God seem to bless some people who do all the right things and not bless some other people who also do all the right things? Why do great men and women of the faith, who know God, and have served Him faithfully all of their lives, get Alzheimer's when they get old? And other such seeming contradictions? In other words, why don't things, or why doesn't God, work like He's supposed to? Like the Bible says He's supposed to?????
Well, I think it is because of this. If you read the entire Bible, and read it from God's perspective, then you will see that there is one seriously predominant and overarching principle that seems to govern every other principle in there. And this principle is love.
Love overrides everything else. Whenever there is a conflict between love and some other lesser principle, then the lesser principle will submit to the greater principle. So if you are acting on some principle of God's kingdom, and it is not going to be conducive to you knowing or understanding love, then it will probably be subjected and (in my opinion) held off til later. It will work for you, but there is something else much more important that you must learn first. God is not constrained by the limits of time and space.
Also, God himself is a free, autonomous, loving being. He does not want to be put in a box, just like you and I don't want to be put in a box. And I honestly think (opinion) that He places less value on things that are less valuable so that we will learn to place more value on the things that are of more value... namely, love. In other words, He wants to have a relationship with us, as love and friendship are His highest priorities, and so will bend all the laws of the universe in order to get us to that place with Him.
The minute I get more info on this one, I will let you know. Thank you, and good night.
Let's try to explain why things happen the way they do. Tall order, I know, but let's take a stab at it. I mean especially in our faith. Why is it that sometimes things seem to work like they are supposed to and sometimes they don't? Why do some people get healed and some people don't? Why does God seem to bless some people who do all the right things and not bless some other people who also do all the right things? Why do great men and women of the faith, who know God, and have served Him faithfully all of their lives, get Alzheimer's when they get old? And other such seeming contradictions? In other words, why don't things, or why doesn't God, work like He's supposed to? Like the Bible says He's supposed to?????
Well, I think it is because of this. If you read the entire Bible, and read it from God's perspective, then you will see that there is one seriously predominant and overarching principle that seems to govern every other principle in there. And this principle is love.
Love overrides everything else. Whenever there is a conflict between love and some other lesser principle, then the lesser principle will submit to the greater principle. So if you are acting on some principle of God's kingdom, and it is not going to be conducive to you knowing or understanding love, then it will probably be subjected and (in my opinion) held off til later. It will work for you, but there is something else much more important that you must learn first. God is not constrained by the limits of time and space.
Also, God himself is a free, autonomous, loving being. He does not want to be put in a box, just like you and I don't want to be put in a box. And I honestly think (opinion) that He places less value on things that are less valuable so that we will learn to place more value on the things that are of more value... namely, love. In other words, He wants to have a relationship with us, as love and friendship are His highest priorities, and so will bend all the laws of the universe in order to get us to that place with Him.
The minute I get more info on this one, I will let you know. Thank you, and good night.
Why people are afraid of the Bible
I think that people are afraid of the Bible because they are so unused to being loved that they can't see that the Bible is really all about love. In other words, people view the world through a lens given to them through their upbringing in this world. If they were given a lens of fear, then that is how they are going to see the Bible (and everything else). If they were given a lens of love, then they would see the Bible (and everything else) through that lens.
Because so much of the world is not used to being loved, and so can't recognize it when it happens to them or is happening to them, they interpret love as anything else besides love, mainly, through whatever lens they have been given.
So people view love, from God, or from people, as whatever lens that they were given dictates things to be for them. Specifically, when people read the Bible, it will appear to be something that it is not. I know, because this happened to me for years. It wasn't until after years and years and years of God's relentless assault on my fears that I began to believe that He really did love me. And now, after all that time, and all his relentless pounding upon my paradigms, I read the Bible, even the parts that used to scare me so much, and they are magically transforming before my eyes. When I read them now, they affirm God's love astonishingly. Which causes me to fall more and more in love with Him. God's love is feeding itself exponentially in my life. The more I learn about His love, and become convinced of it, the more all other things in life begin to do the same, and these feed the first ones, and vice versa, and they all create more and more of a lens of love through which I am learning to see the world! My lens is being drastically changed, at an exponential pace! I am in a serious upward spiral!
Because so much of the world is not used to being loved, and so can't recognize it when it happens to them or is happening to them, they interpret love as anything else besides love, mainly, through whatever lens they have been given.
So people view love, from God, or from people, as whatever lens that they were given dictates things to be for them. Specifically, when people read the Bible, it will appear to be something that it is not. I know, because this happened to me for years. It wasn't until after years and years and years of God's relentless assault on my fears that I began to believe that He really did love me. And now, after all that time, and all his relentless pounding upon my paradigms, I read the Bible, even the parts that used to scare me so much, and they are magically transforming before my eyes. When I read them now, they affirm God's love astonishingly. Which causes me to fall more and more in love with Him. God's love is feeding itself exponentially in my life. The more I learn about His love, and become convinced of it, the more all other things in life begin to do the same, and these feed the first ones, and vice versa, and they all create more and more of a lens of love through which I am learning to see the world! My lens is being drastically changed, at an exponential pace! I am in a serious upward spiral!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The matrix revisited?
I don't know about the rest of you, but it seems to me that so many thoughts and feelings that I deal with all seem to be geared toward convincing me that God does not really love me. And its all very subtle. Works off of the very real circumstances of my life. Almost seems like some sort of conspiracy!
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
The narrow path revisited
Must remind everyone (all three of you) that the narrow path that Jesus spoke about in the book of Matthew is being loved... something not a whole lot of humanity seems to know how to do! Some people are good at being strong; some people are good at being kind; some people are good at persevering; some people are good at working hard; some people are good at math; but who is good at being loved??
God will not...
...ever condone what is not of love. I have said this before, but I am becoming absolutely convinced of it. If you are doing any sort of religious activity, (i.e. fasting, praying, studying, etc.), and it is not conducive to love, His love for you and love for others, He's not going to bless it! Why? Because He is love and He cannot violate His law of Himself!! So you are better off stopping the religious activity than trying to push your way through it!
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