The ONE thing that encompasses EVERYTHING (Part 3)

The one who loves her neighbor as herself listens to her neighbor as she wants to be listened to. Her goal is to understand her neighbor's truest need or desire.   Notice these words from scripture:

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Ephesians 4:29

The effective speaker is an effective listener. He doesn't say anything "unwholesome."  She only says what is helpful for building others up according to their needs.  But of course she cannot KNOW the needs of the listener unless she first listens.  And of course her words won't benefit the one who listens UNLESS SHE HERSELF HAS FIRST LISTENED!

Now we come full circle.

"Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophecy."

We have pursued love by examining the supreme act of love towards God and people, the act of listening.  

Now we will desire the gift of prophecy, which is indeed the gift of listening to God and sharing what He says.  For a prophet and prophetess do nothing more than listen to God and share his words!  But I believe that EVERY spiritual gift is encompassed in prophecy in this sense:  all who believe in Christ are empowered by the Spirit to be WITNESSES: those who bear witness to the word of Christ, as it is written, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."  

The ONE thing that encompasses EVERYTHING (Part 2)

The Lord Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."  
John 14:15  

The Apostle Paul said these words:

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.  The commandments, 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not covet,' and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Romans 13:8-10

Paul quotes from the Ten Commandments, and includes "whatever other commandment there may be."  This means the laws of the land (where they agree with the one command of love.)  This means all principles and every principle.  They can all, according to Paul, be summed up in the one command, the "golden rule," "Love your neighbor as yourself."  Love does no harm, therefore love fulfills the law, AND ALL LAWS.  

Now, Jesus and Paul, of course, agree.  Love is the fulfillment of ALL of God's commands. And love for God is expressed in obedience to God.  But how does one obey a command unless one first HEARS the command?  Now we can go all the way back to the first man, the first woman, and the first Garden, where the man and woman LISTENED to Satan instead of God.

The first woman LISTENED to the deception of Satan.
The first man LISTENED listened to the deceived first woman.
Neither of them LISTENED to God.

The Apostle Paul said, "The only thing that counts is faith, expressing itself in love." Remember, love for Christ expresses itself in obedience.  So we have this progression:

Faith--Love--Obedience.

Yet Paul also says, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

Now we have this progression:

Listen--Trust--Love--Obey

The one who loves God with all of his heart and soul and strength listens to God's commands, trusts in God's supreme authority and perfect goodness, loves God above all others, and does what God says no matter the consequences.  But it all starts from listening.


                                                     

The ONE thing that encompasses EVERYTHING (Part 1)

"Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy."
I Corinthians 14:1  ESV

Listening is the one thing that encompasses everything.  It is the one virtue that encompasses every virtue, and the one power that encompasses every power.

Here are the virtues of which I speak:

love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
gentleness
self-control

The Word of God calls these virtues the "fruit of the Spirit."  These are the result of following the Holy Spirit.

Here is the power of which I speak:
prophecy.

Both involve one thing:  listening.

To truly listen to someone is to truly love him or her.  Listening is the first and foremost act of humility, the essential trait of a servant, the opposite of the supreme vice: pride.
The one who listens is a truly humble servant, for how can we meet a need or desire if we don't know what need or desire is to be met?  And how can we know a person's need or desire without asking?  How can we know the answer without truly listening?

• Listening is love, 
• resulting in joy, for we all enjoy being truly listened to.
• Listening results in peace, for every argument involves one or both of the arguers not truly listening.  But if one of them will simply stop, listen, and comprehend, then the argument can indeed come to an end.  
• Listening assumes patience, waiting to hear and understand before one speaks.
• Listening is the truest act of kindness, because it is the highest act of value for that which is most valuable to us:  the expression of our souls--our thoughts, feelings, and choices. 
• Listening is the highest act of goodness.  A good listener is more desirable than a good speaker. 
• Listening expresses the truest faithfulness of a friend.  Who are our very best friends?  The very best listeners; those who know us and understand us most. 
• Listening is gentleness, while interrupting is harshness.  Those who interrupt abruptly and harshly tell us that our thoughts and feelings are worthless, or that they are of far less value than the thoughts of the interrupter.

• Listening is the highest self control, as it is written, "If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body."  As it is written again, "When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise."  It is written yet again, "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." 

So we see that listening encompasses ALL of the fruit of the Spirit.  A Christian who listens is following the Spirit. (To be continued.)


   

Two LIES of the DEVIL

According to the Lord Jesus, the devil is the father of lies.  Thus, by definition, he hates and opposes the truth.  God's word is truth, as the Lord said.  So the devil tells two lies against God's word.  You may hear these two lies when there is a disagreement among Christians.  He puts these two lies in the mouths of the immature, the selfish, the rebellious.  If one of the Christians attempts to use scripture to establish a truth or refute a falsehood, the immature or unrepentant Christian usually says one of these two lies:

1. "The devil can quote scripture too."
2. "The Bible can be twisted to mean whatever we want it to mean."  (Or "The Bible can be used to establish whatever our personal opinions are.")

Let those who love and submit to truth expose and resist these two lies.  

The first step is to unveil the false assumptions behind these two deceptions.  It began in the garden of Eden with these words from Satan to the first woman, "Did God indeed say..."  Satan's assumption is that God's words are uncertain.  We can't know what He really means (or even what He really has said.)  After all, isn't it a matter of discussion and interpretation?  That is the assumption behind Satan's conversation with Eve.  She should have NEVER entertained the discussion.  God's command was not open to discussion and was very clear in interpretation.  We must resist any attempt of Satan or a person to make God's word's unclear and thus untrustworthy.

The first lie comes from a misapplication of Jesus' temptation.  Jesus was tempted by the devil three times on His 40th day of fasting in the wilderness.  Jesus resisted each of the three temptations with scripture.  This alone shows that we should use scripture to resist the tempter and deceiver, Jesus being our example.  Notice one of the temptations of Satan:

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

'He will command his angels concerning you,

and they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  Matthew 4:5-7

Satan misquoted scriptures, taking them out of the overall context of the God's word as a whole.  Jesus resisted this misuse of scripture by a correct use of scripture.

In other words, the first lie assumes that because the devil can use scripture, we cannot rely upon scripture, or that scripture is unreliable in resisting evil.  This is not what Jesus thought or taught.  The Apostle Paul calls the word of God the "sword of the Spirit."  It is a part of the whole armor of God by which we resist the deceptive schemes of the devil.  Yes, the devil and other liars can use and twist the scriptures for their selfish ends.  But this does not make scripture unreliable.  It makes those who misuse it unreliable.  

The second lie is not very different from the first.  In both lies there is an attack on the character of the ones who use the scriptures.  They are made out as no more sincere than the devil himself in his use of scripture in Jesus' temptation.  Yet in the second one, though there is still the assumption of insincerity, the main issue is scriptural reliability.  Can the scriptures be used and interpreted accurately to establish truth and refute deception?

The devil would have us believe it cannot;  that there is no absolute standard of truth, even in using the Bible.  But instead of listening to the devil, we should listen to the Lord Jesus.  Hear his words:

 Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked. So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. 

John 7:14-17 NLT

Notice the two things Jesus said about His message:

1.  It was not His own.  (Not merely his opinion, view, or perspective.)

2.  It's origin, and the origin of his mission, was God Himself.  (not his own initiative)

And how did Jesus say anyone will know whether His teaching was from God or merely His own?  This is a crucial question.  This exposes the crucial assumptions and accusations against those who use scripture to establish truth.  Isn't this what we want to know:  Is this person's teaching/interpretation of scripture merely His own, or is it from God?  How can we know?

Jesus gives a clear answer:

Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether a teaching is from God or merely comes from human opinion.

ANYONE.  Not just those educated in Greek or Hebrew or seminary.  This idea of being untrained is the very thing that started the discourse with Jesus in the scriptures above.  They were amazed that Jesus knew so much WITHOUT TRAINING. So training alone is not the issue.  The issue is our desire to DO God's will.  GOD'S WILL.  NOT OUR OWN.  

So, if we want to do God's will, we will know whether a teaching if from God or merely human opinion.  Jesus held Himself to this standard!  He said that if anyone wanted to know whether HIS OWN TEACHING was from God or merely His opinion, all they need to do is sincerely seek to do God's will.  

Isn't this what those who are in dispute should be seeking?  Is it possible to remain in dispute if both ONLY want to do God's will?  They don't want to be "right" or "win the argument."  They want the will of God alone!  And if both want God's will, and thus to agree with God, will God refuse to reveal His will?  Not according to the promise of the Lord.  He promises that anyone who wants to do God's will will know whether a teaching is from God or merely from man.

Do you want to do God's will alone?

If so, then you can expose and resist the two lies, as it is written, 

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2 NIV

This present world system is against God's will.  It does not seek nor approve of God's will.  It considers God's will bad, displeasing, and imperfect.  As believers in Christ, we reject this present world and all that is in it, the temporal and transitory.  Paul again says that one who seeks God's will will have the ability to test and approve what God's will is.  

We can know if the devil is misusing or abusing scripture without dishonoring the reliability of scripture.  And we can know whether someone's use of God's words is merely to promote his or her own opinion, without ever discrediting the words of God.  

May we never deceive or be deceived.  May we always honor God's word as perfectly trustworthy, giving God glory.

In the name of the Lord Jesus and by His Spirit,

Amen.

 

Is Freedom of Speech simply the right to be WRONG?

People who are in fact wrong tend to express their wrong views loudly, confidently, and boldly.  But make no mistake:  they are, indeed, WRONG.  And they often strongly defend their right....to be WRONG!

Now when people who are in fact right express their RIGHT views just as loudly, confidently, and boldly, the people who are in fact wrong feel "offended," accusing the people who are in boldly right of being arrogant or intolerant.  Please don't forget that those who are in fact wrong are also intolerant and offensive to those who are right, AND EVEN SOMETIMES TO THOSE WHO ARE ALSO WRONG. 

Question:   How is it prideful to be right and know that you are right, but humble to be wrong and not know that you are wrong?  Or worse still, is it humble to be wrong and to care nothing about right and wrong at all?  One of the most successful deceptions of Satan is this:  To make us believe that those who are wrong MUST be heard, while those who are right MUST be silenced.

What do you think?  Am I wrong?
Or do you "respectfully disagree?"
Or do you simply not care AT ALL, one way or another?
Or better still, do you think I am "entitled" to my "opinion" or "perspective?"

Well what if I said, "The Lord Jesus Christ is the standard by which we measure all reality and beauty, by which we measure right and wrong, by which we measure good and bad; if one accepts and obeys the Lord Jesus, this one is indeed right, and if one rejects and deliberately disobeys the Lord Jesus, this one is indeed and in fact, wrong.  This is not my opinion or perspective, but truest and most real reality, whether I believed it or not?"  What if I said that?  In America, surely I have the "right" to believe AND BOLDLY EXPRESS this, do I not?  Even if you think I'm wrong--in America don't I have the right to be boldly wrong?

Many commonly say things like, "Well, as long as your views/opinions/perspectives/actions based upon your opinions don't cause me harm or infringe upon my freedoms." 

Says who?  Who says that one's views/opinions/perspectives shouldn't impose upon the freedoms of others?  How or why is freedom an ABSOLUTE STANDARD?

Because that's what we believe ABSOLUTELY as Americans:  

That everybody is free...except God.

Was Jesus ever OBNOXIOUS?

The answer should be obvious to us.

But it isn't.

The word "Christian" means "Christ like."

If Christians are obnoxious, then they communicate to those who don't believe in Christ that they are being like Him; and that He is, indeed, obnoxious.

I was once accused of this, which means at that moment, I was not being like Christ.

According to dictionary.com, the word "obnoxious" means:
  
Annoying or objectionable due to being a showoff or attracting undue attention to oneself.

Let's focus on the word "annoying," which means:

To disturb or bother (a person) in a way that displeases, troubles, or slightly irritates.

Jesus was NEVER described as annoying or irritating.  Yes, some hated him to the point of killing Him, but not because He was annoying or irritating to listen to or be around.  Quite the opposite.  Notice these descriptions of Jesus from scripture:

People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." Mark 7:37 NIV

The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. (That He was possibly the Messiah) Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

“No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards declared.

“You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. “Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” John 7:32,45-49 Parenthetical note mine.

Notice, they didn't say that Christ did SOME things or MOST things well...except that sometimes His voice is irritating...AND OBNOXIOUS!  The guards, sent to arrest Him, couldn't stop listening to Him.

Now what makes me write these words are two experiences I've had recently where I've experienced obnoxiousness among my brothers and sisters in the Lord, the obnoxiousness of which I myself was accused one time in the past.

One is a musician...specifically a "Christian Rapper."

The others are ministers, speakers I've heard on "Christian Radio."

I'm torn with the Christian Rapper.  (I actually bought his CD for my birthday.)  I love the music and the words, but the WAY the words are spoken irritates me at times.  I've tried to be open minded to his style, or his accent, or his personality...and part of me really likes how he raps.  But part of me feels irritated for two reasons:

1.  At times I simply cannot understand what he is saying.

2. At other times, even when I do understand the words, I don't understand the references.  Alot of rap is highly slang oriented, as well as  American youth culture oriented, which is understandable because youth are usually the target audience.  But this doesn't lessen the annoyance of not being able to follow what the rapper is saying sometimes.

After all, as Paul said in dealing with the abuse or misuse of tongues in I Corinthians 14, all languages have significance in the context of COMPREHENSION.  In other words, it is pointless for the speaker to speak in such a way that FAILS to be comprehensible to the listener. 

Because of the target audience situation, I can bare the irritation of point two.  But point one is different entirely.  Part of the issue with not understanding the rapper seems to be his exaggeration of a southern accent...but at times it becomes ridiculous.  The way the rapper pronounces certain vowels is just plain WRONG!  Not simply an accent...but wrong!  To the point where English vowels simply lose their meaning.  Now this is not an issue of "proper English" or "Ebonics" or anything related to race or ethnicity.  Some ethnicities simply don't use vowels in their native languages the way Americans do.  I perfectly understand, respect, and even like this.   

What I'm speaking of is the EXAGGERATION that I hear in the rapper's communication.  It sounds like he is TRYING to mispronounce these vowels, as if he is REVELING in the inaccuracy of some of his southern accents.  For example, take the word, "ungodly."  This rapper pronounces it "an-Gad-lih."   

OK.  

I'm from the south, born and raised in Macon, Georgia.  Some say I don't have very much of a southern accent (which may be due to my mother being an English teacher.)  Yet there are words that betray my southern origin.   But there is NO excuse for "an-Gad-lih."  NONE! 

In addition to all of this, his voice sounds somewhat whiny and juvenile at times, which leads me to my issues with some Christian ministers on some Christian radio stations. 

Some of the male ministers sound like they just turned 13...whiny, cracking, grating voices.  It seems like they are trying to express sincerity, or passion, or intensity, maybe even comedy.  But they sound like they just reached puberty, which is not how Christ sounded.

I don't listen to these men or the rapper and think, “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”  

Quite the opposite!  I usually think, "This guy sounds EXACTLY like the last guy did!"  Or, "This rapper sounds like a Christian version of Lil' Wayne,"  aka "LIL WEEZY!!"

 (LOL!  I finally have an excuse to write those words!) 

I hope you are with me, that you "feel me."

I'm not saying Christians shouldn't use slang or can't have a southern accent, or pronounce things "wrong."  I'm saying that the effect we have on people when we speak or act should NEVER be obnoxiousness.  Of course this doesn't mean people will always like what we say, or like to listen to us.  But their hatred shouldn't be based on our inherent annoyingness.  Instead, they should hate us as they hated our Lord:  Because we live and speak the truth in such a convicting way that they know where they stand in their rejection of God.

 

Where is the Lord?

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17

Are you free?
Do you set others free?

If so, then the Spirit of the Lord is with you, where you are, wherever you are.

But don't mistake me.

As I said here, freedom is not self centered self focused selfish purpose. It is not self conscious.  So, if our focus is self conscious, or we make others self conscious, we oppress, and the Spirit is not with us.  

No.
Gone.

But if people are feel free to experience the reality of God's identity and their own God given identity, we bring true liberty, and the Spirit is with you and me.

Heavenly!
God's glory!

But how?

Ironically, through slavery, there is true liberty.

"You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."  Romans 6:18

Free from sin.  Self-consciousness.
Slave to righteousness.  Divine purpose.

We choose our masters.  In this choice is liberty. 
Who controls you?

Choose.

If you submit to God alone, then no one can enslave you, control you, rule you.
But if you reject God, then you are anyone's and every one's slave, depending on the day and hour or your desire.  As Watchman Nee said,

Resolve.
Choose.
Refuse.
Resist.

Resolve to be free.
Choose self control.
Refuse to be controlled by others or to control others.
Resist controlling others or being controlled by others.

Do this, and the Spirit will be with you.
And you will be truly free!

Is the LORD in America? (Part 2)

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
2 Corinthians 3:17

Christians should be abolitionists.
Freedom fighters.
Liberators.
Filled, led, and empowered by The Liberator:  The Spirit of the Lord.

Liberty is from Christ.
Slavery is Antichrist.

But we speak flippantly of our liberties, so a definition is necessary.

By "liberty," I mean that we are free to be what God made us to be and do what God made us to do. That we follow One alone, and are subject to One alone:  Our Creator, Maker, Master, Owner.  

We have one identity and Identifier.  We are only what He says we are.  God defined.
Free.

Free from the system of Satan's deceptions of self-centered self gratifications--
Self consciousness.
Self focus.
Selfishness instead of Divine Purpose.

Not free to simply say what we want and do what we want and go where we want and believe what we want.  This is slavery.  Slavery to impulses and people and politics.  How often can you have a conversation without a demand of categorization or denomination?

"Are you Democrat or Republican?"
"Are you Baptist or Anglican?"
"Are you Liberal or Conservative?"
"Of whom are you supportive?"

Slaves
Robots
Clones
Drones

Christ came to set captives free.
All who sin are slaves of sin.
He came to set us free from living self consciously.

This is liberty, the end of all slavery:  God's glory.
 
Be free, and set others free.
In America, show true liberty.

 
 

Is the LORD in America? (Part 1)

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
2 Corinthians 3:17

The Declaration of Independence 

The Land of the Free

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

What defines America?
Freedom.
Liberty.
These are America's glories.
Or so we say, or think, or desire.

We would love to be the light of the world, a bastion of liberation to the world's oppressions.

But there is one Liberator:  The Spirit of the Lord.

How do you know when He is present?  
Liberty.

My ancestry is one of slavery.  I am a descendent of the oppressed and enslaved.
My ancestors were redefined by those who did not create them, and had no right to command them.

There was no liberty in this country for my ancestry.
Nor for those who were here originally.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
So where was He in the founding of this country?

 

Are YOU on God's side? (Part 2)

"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters."
The Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew 12:30  NIV

I find these words humbling and encouraging.

They humble me in the sense that the Lord takes no half hearted following.  All or nothing.

They encourage me because the choice is clear and clarifying.  I define all allegiances and every allegiance by my sole allegiance to Christ.  And this allegiance, once chosen, makes obvious the opposition.  I know where I stand and I know where all others stand.

It humbles me because neutrality is enmity.  If I refuse to actively choose Christ, I am passively against Him and His mission.  

But if I choose to simply and actively choose His purposes as supreme, then my life becomes simple as a result of this choice.

Jesus is Lord.

The Lord came to do three things:

1.  Bear witness to the truth.
2. Seek and save the lost.
3. Destroy the works of the devil.

These three are one.  Because the truth is, we are all lost without Christ, which is the ultimate work of the devil.  

The truth is our need of His salvation, which is indeed the devil's destruction.

To be on God's side is to ONLY focus on what Jesus focused on. 

What are you focused on?
Are you on God's side?

 

Are YOU on God's side? (Part 1)

"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters."
The Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew 12:30  NIV

As Americans, or even American Christians, we too easily assume that we, the so called "Christian Nation founded on Judeo-Christian Principles" are on God's side.  Or even worse that God Himself is on OUR side!

But how can we REALLY know if we are on God's side or not?  

We can know by how we REALLY view The Lord Jesus.

Pay special note to the words "The Lord."

THE

Not "A" or one among many.

LORD

Not "president" or "governor" or "mayor."

As the Lord Jesus said before He ascended into heaven, "All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth."

ALL

Not some or most or the majority

IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH

That means that there is no realm on earth or beyond the earth that is not under the supreme and absolute dominion of the Lord Jesus.

So to be on God's side is to be on God's side ALONE!!  SUPREMELY!! ONLY!!

It means you measure all "sides" by God's side.

If the Republicans say things that agree with God's side, then we may agree WITH THOSE STATEMENTS.

If the Democrats say things that agree with the Lord, then we may agree WITH THOSE THINGS.

But our allegiance is to the Kingdom of God alone, supremely, and only.
Those who obey God ALONE are our family, as it is written,

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:46-50 NIV

And as it is also written,

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple."  Luke 14:26

To be on God's side is to be on His side alone.

Are YOU on God's side?

How to really be "spiritual"

“The start, middle, and end of the spiritual journey is the conviction that God is always present.”
Thomas Keating

To touch God.
To feel Him in the room.
To be one with The One.
This is the zenith of spirituality.

Not just thinking, reading, arguing, and debating about Him.
Not just listening to others tell of their encounters with Him.

You and God.
God and You.
One.
In you.
In the same room with you.

Because of who who God is, it must be true that He is already in the room with you as you read this email.

"When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.'"  Genesis 28:16 NIV

Unaware of The Presence behind The Stillness of The Life that surrounds us all

Unaware of The Listening Ear behind the Silence we all hear and always feel near

Unaware of the Timelessness in and behind Time

Unaware of Life's Burning Bushes

Unaware

 

Start there.

Start by thinking of who He really is and must be.

He must be with you and me...already.

Now.

In your room.

Looking at the same screen.

Why it is sometimes hard to pray

"All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent."
St. Teresa of Avila

It's usually easier to talk on the phone than to text or email, not in terms of convenience and time, but in terms of clearer or fuller communication.  And it's easier to talk face to face than on the phone for the same reasons.  In person we can consider facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language as affirmations of the words spoken.  In addition, we can simply feel the person out by intuition, sensing their vibe or spiritual impressions through all of the mentioned communications.

With God it is the same, though our senses are spiritual instead of physical.  In other words, because God is a Spirit, or because He is Spirit, He simply is who He is.  He is always all of Himself, and never less than real, never other than genuine.

Prayer is simply conversation with God, the Supreme Ultimate Person, Personality, and Community of Personalities. 

But think of this.

Imagine you are with two other people who both know you, or at least know of you.  They talk to each other about you, as if you were absent.  How do you like that?  How does that make you feel? 

Or imagine you and one other person in conversation, someone you like to think of as a friend.  This "friend" talks to you as if you are absent, as if he has NO idea who or what you really are, as if she has never met you (or anyone like you) before in her life.

It's hard, if not IMPOSSIBLE, to communicate or respond to someone who speaks to you as if you are absent. 

God is all knowing, which makes Him infinitely sensitive in the most beautiful and strongest sense of the word.  He knows when He is being treated as though He isn't there (or worst of all, as though He does not exist.)

Would you share your thoughts or emotions with someone who treated you like this?

Ghost Dogs on The Block: The Way of the Warrior and the Desire of Gang Members

Honor.

This is the way of the warrior.

This is the desire of gang members.

I am a descendant of slaves.  The Lissongo. 

I felt a desperate desire for the way of the warrior as a boy and young man.

I feel a kinship with African American boys who seek what they do not know they want in gangs.

In the movies "Ghost Dog," and "Attack the Block,"  there are two characters that exemplify the desire of the warrior for honor.

The character Ghost Dog assumes the way of the samurai as a code of life, in repayment of a debt he feels that he owes to a member of the mafia.  As my friend and warrior brother James-Michael Smith accurately pointed out in a discussion he and I had, Ghost Dog does not actually embody the true  code or spirit of the samurai.  (See James-Michael's article, "The Way of the Samurai...or Disciple?")

Yet I see what Ghost Dog wanted in his own warped understanding, and based on his assumed background and story in the movie.  He wanted a purpose bigger than himself and beyond himself, something and someone to devote himself to; a "transcendent cause" worth suffering for and dying for, as described in the book "Raising a Modern-Day Knight." 

I believe the same is true for the character "Moses" in the movie "Attack the Block."  Moses was a leader of a young gang in London, all of whom seemed admirably (though foolishly) brave in the face of "battle;" especially and primarily Moses.  Moses and his gang had a loyalty for their territory:  "The Block."  Many gangs feel this, desire this, fight and die for this.  But they do so in ignorance, not realizing that "The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man." Psalms 115:16.  Yes.  God intended men and women to take dominion; to rule the earth as He rules heaven.  We all want this and should have this in submission to the God of creation.  But Satan stole our birthright.  And we all want it back. 

Again, Moses' gang seemed admirably brave in the face of battle. 

In fact, all they seemed to really want was a good battle, a monumental battle, an epic battle against very real evil.  Until they had this in the alien invasion, they acted like drug using, drug dealing thugs; menaces to society.  But I saw in Moses' eyes the same thing that I saw in the eyes of Ghost Dog:  the eyes of a warrior protector that needed a Master; a leader; a trainer; a mentor.

I think now of a quote from C.S. Lewis' "Perelandra."   In this story, the quintessential protagonist, Ransom, fights ultimate antagonist, "The Unman."  It is a physical battle to the death.  As Ransom fights he has this revelation:

"All that rich world was asleep about them. There were no rules, no umpire, no spectators; but mere exhaustion, constantly compelling them to fall apart, divided the grotesque duel into rounds as accurately as could be wished. Ransom could never remember how many of these rounds were fought. The thing became like the frantic repetitions of delirium, and thirst a greater pain than any the adversary could inflict. Sometimes they were both on the ground together. Once he was actually astride the enemy’s chest, squeezing its throat with both hands and-he found to his surprise-shouting a line out of The Battle of Maldon: but it tore his arms so with its nails and so pounded his back with its knees that he was thrown off.

Then he remembers-as one remembers an island of consciousness preceded and followed by long anaesthesia-going forward to meet the Un-man for what seemed the thousandth time and knowing clearly that he could not fight much more. He remembers seeing the Enemy for a moment looking not like Weston but like a mandrill, and realising almost at once that this was delirium. He wavered. Then an experience that perhaps no good man can ever have in our world came over him--a torrent of perfectly unmixed and lawful hatred. The energy of hating, never before felt without some guilt, without some dim knowledge that he was failing fully to distinguish the sinner from the sin, rose into his arms and legs till he felt that they were pillars of burning blood. What was before him appeared no longer a creature of corrupted will. It was corruption itself to which will was attached only as an instrument. Ages ago it had been a Person: but the ruins of personality now survived in it only as weapons at the disposal of a furious self-exiled negation. It is perhaps difficult to understand why this filled Ransom not with horror but with a kind of joy. The joy came from finding at last what hatred was made for.

As a boy with an axe rejoices on finding a tree, or a boy with a box of coloured chalks rejoices on finding a pile of perfectly white paper, so he rejoiced in the perfect congruity between his emotion and its object. Bleeding and trembling with weariness as he was, he felt that nothing was beyond his power, and when he flung himself upon the living Death, the eternal Surd in the universal mathematic, he was astonished, and yet (on a deeper level) not astonished at all, at his own strength. His arms seemed to move quicker than his thought. His hands taught him terrible things. He felt its rib break, he heard its jaw-bone crack. The whole creature seemed to be crackling and splitting under his blows. His own pains, where it tore him, somehow failed to matter. He felt that he could so fight, so hate with a perfect hatred, for a whole year."  (All emphasis mine.)

Think again with me of these words in scripture, as we reach the climax of my contemplations.  This is the answer Eve gave God in response to Adam blaming Eve (and God) for his sin; and of Eve blaming the serpent for her sin:

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all the livestock

and all the wild animals!

You will crawl on your belly

and you will eat dust

all the days of your life.

And I will put enmity

between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and hers;

he will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel.”

"ENMITY!"

"PURE, UNMIXED, AND LAWFUL HATRED!"

This is what I feel for slavery, oppression, and the negation of the true masculine and feminine!  As it is written,

"It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. 

Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." 

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

I feel that those who have been enslaved, like the African American, the Native American, Jewish Americans, men and women, feel this.

They value that which has been and still is taken, or at least the attempts to take them.

But where, or who, is the true object of hatred that C.S. Lewis speaks of through Ransom!?

SATAN!

DEMONS!

THE EVIL ONES!

EVIL!

As it is written,

"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse tongue I HATE."  (emphasis mine.)

In "The Case for Hate,"  it is shown, as C.S. Lewis showed, that there is a place and a case for righteous anger, loathing, and enmity.

This is what I see in the eyes of Ghost Dog and Moses:  a desire to kill the enemy of God's glory:  their God given masculinity and ethnic identity. 

I feel them. 

Do you?  Then Hate evil!

Hate the evil one!

With pure, unmixed, lawful hatred!

Embrace the enmity God placed in you and me for our TRUE enemy.

And if you meet a Ghost Dog, or a Moses, train them. 

Teach them to focus their rage. 

Teach them to embrace the Lord's mission, as it is written:

"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." I John 3:8b

THE most IMPORTANT thing in LIFE

"I have hope in God ...that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.  This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense towards God and men."  Acts 24:15-16 NKJV

This is THE most important thing in LIFE:

To be perfectly pleasing in the sight of God for the day of judgment

And to know that this is so in the present

 Why?

1.  The purpose and meaning of life will be truly seen on the day our lives are judged by our Creator.

2. Therefore, we need to know now how we will be judged then.

As it is written,

"Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether they be good or evil."  

The last words of the Book of Ecclesiastes

This was written to show the truest meaning and justice in life.  

The writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes, whom I believe to be King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, with wisdom given by God Himself, observed this life on earth with the eyes of divinely given wisdom, and found it to be meaningless and unjust.  Whether there was pleasure or displeasure, whether dealing with the wise or the unwise, whether dealing with the just or unjust, Solomon found all of life to be meaningless and unjust because all people die, no matter their state in life!

In the end of all of his contemplations of life and its meaning, purpose, and justice, he found this:  

Meaning and justice 

come from giving supreme honor and obedience 

to God 

our Creator

Lord

and Master.  

Justice will come to all in the end, after death, and every thing done in public or private will be judged by the same standard:  Honor and obedience to God our Creator.

We know now what the standard will be then, and we know now the true meaning and justice of this life and the next.

What is more important than having a conscience without offense towards God and people?

What is more important than being perfectly pleasing in the sight of our Creator for the day of judgment, and knowing this is so in the present?

What duty do we have above honoring and obeying our Creator?

What is more meaningful?

What is more just?

If you can think of anything more important, then pursue that.

If you cannot, then woe be unto you and unto me if we neglect what we now know.