Love - The Hub of Life

What is love?

Such a question has absorbed, bamboozled, and even frenzied people. It is a loaded question, of course. Entire libraries could be filled with relevant and incisive answers to such enquiries of curiosity, without fully explaining it.

But love is the hub of life, for God is love (1 John 4:16). As all things revolve around God, all things have their meaning in love. Even evil exists because of it - in such a case, evil is reviled by love and has vowed to fight against it to destroy it. But love can never be destroyed. The fight of evil versus good is because of love - the very presence of God that infuriates evil. The fight of good versus evil, similarly, is because of love. Love compels action because of justice, righteousness and fairness (see early Proverbs [1:3; 2:9]).

Love is behind creation; the Creative act. God 'created' because of love...

But this conversation is perhaps already too esoteric. Already we have travelled into the theological nebulae. This cannot be the intention: to annoy the reader.

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Love is broader than romance; than being nice to one another; than meaning well. It is a very practical thing based on truth:

"My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love." ~1 John 3:18 (Msg)

Practicing real love is about relating with people, and our world, in truth. When we love in real ways, by practicing truth, we care as God cares, and we exemplify the Spirit who lives within us. To practice real love is to aspire, every breathing moment, to live for truth.

REAL LOVE MERGES WITH TRUTH

If love is the hub of life, and that is our premise, it exists eternally by prevailing against any challenge to it. Such a thing can only occur if it is identified in truth.

God is innately relational and the Lord of Truth - God is truth. Love is formed in a complex mix within, and superintending over, these concepts - it subsists by truth, relationally. It is difficult to talk in these matters because they are impossible to pin down in concrete ways.

All we can do, if we wish to keep it simple, is note that love is relational and it is identified by truth. Love is not a lie. It has no falsity about it. It cannot be soft and mushy alone if it cannot be tough as well. It must encompass all that is truth.

These are challenging ideas.

But if we organise love into the realm of truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, we understand it as a concept that holds up under any enormity of pressure. If we organise love as a thing to be relied upon, we understand it well. If we organise love as that which is holy, righteous, just, and fair, we see it spread its empowering wings. We note the width and breadth of its wingspan. We can admire the wonder of it.

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Love is a much broader concept than any of us can fully understand. But as we attempt to understand it our worldview expands and our understanding blossoms.

Love cannot be 'lovely' if it cannot be tough as well. It must encompass all that is truth if it is to be real. And there is nothing more real than love, for God is love.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

Shuffled Priorities   Shutting the Door on Shame   3 Steps to Find Rest When You're Weary   Love Is an Act of the Will, Not a Burst of Emotions   

Jesus Christ in Islam and Christianity

Fourteen centuries ago a man named Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that Mother Mary was a pious virgin, when she gave birth to Jesus. He said that Jesus had been born miraculously without any male intervention. And he shut the mouthes of many of those, who used to abuse Mother Mary. It is because of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that around one and a half billion Muslims around the world respect, love and revere Jesus Christ. In fact Islam makes it an article of faith to believe in Jesus. A Muslim can not be a Muslim unless he believes in Jesus Christ

The miraculous birth of Jesus is a compulsory article of the Muslim faith and every Muslim has to believe in it, in order to be a Muslim. Muslims believe in his miracles. Qur'an mentions the miracle of Jesus as a young kid, when he gave life to birds that he had made out of clay, with God's permission. But if one checks the New Testament he would not find this miracle mentioned there. A few days ago while doing a research concerning the Bible, I came across some scriptures that the early Christians included in the Bible and called them the word of God, but the church did not include these scriptures in the New Testament. One of these scriptures is the Gospel of Infancy, which is about the childhood of Jesus Christ. This Gospel of Infancy and the Holy Qur'an contain this miracle, but the Bible does not.

Muslims also believe that he gave life to the dead with God's permission and healed those born blind and lepers. We believe in his second coming. It is astonishing that the Qur'an tries to defend Jesus against objectionable things mentioned about him in the Bible. For instance, The Bible says that Jesus Christ never called Mother Mary as "Mother or Mom", but rather called her "you woman!" This is highly objectionable because this is the same language that he uses for a prostitute in the Bible, "you woman!" Astonishingly the Qur'an in turn defends Jesus and says that he was obedient and respectful to his mother and would never say anything as such to his mother.

So astonishing as it maybe, Islam is the only Non Christian faith, which holds Jesus Christ in such high prestige and reverence and makes it an article of faith for its followers to believe in Jesus Christ. The major difference of opinion among Christians and Muslims is that some Christians believe that Jesus Christ claimed divinity and was God. While Muslims believe that he was a mighty messenger of God and never claimed to be God.

So Muslims believe that so many good things about Jesus only because Muhammad (peace be upon him) said so, not that Bible thumpers convinced them. Now the Bible thumpers are making serious efforts to convince Muslims that Jesus is God. They use a wide range of tactics for this purpose from common arguments that Jesus did not have a father so he should be God or that Jesus gave life to the dead that is why he is God. But these arguments have so far failed in front of Muslims, as even Adam did not have parents and even Moses gave life to his dead staff and made it a serpent. The Bible thumpers even get handy with the Qur'an. They quote verses from the Qur'an and tell Muslims that Jesus is "Kalimatullah, the word of Allah" and "Ruhullah, the Spirit of Allah". But the Muslims come forward with the argument that even John, the Baptist is referred to as "Kalimatullah, word of God" in the Qur'an. The Qur'an also says that Allah breathed into Adam of his spirit and also breathed of it into the whole mankind.

Efforts are also being made on the Muslim side as well to convince Christians that Jesus was not God, but is a messenger of God. Muslims use common arguments such as how can Jesus be God and also die for your sins, when God is Eternal? But Christians make some efforts to prove that death is of two types, spiritual death and physical death. While other Christians try to prove how Jesus has a dual nature. Muslims even get handy with the Bible. For instance, this post " Is Jesus God? " claims that Jesus Christ did not claim divinity anywhere in the Bible. It also makes an effort to answer the several Biblical verses quoted by Christians to prove the divinity of Jesus Christ.

So the major difference of opinion between Muslims and Christians is the divinity of Jesus Christ and both are trying to convince the other to accept their point of view. It is a healthy discussion and is surely going to continue for a long time.

Shuffled Priorities   Shutting the Door on Shame   3 Steps to Find Rest When You're Weary   The Presidency   Abraham's Thoughts While Preparing to Sacrifice Isaac   

Religion: The Creator of Atheists

A recent study showed that over 22.5 million atheists in America were raised in the Catholic faith. In addition to this, online social networking sites and discussion forums are showing that more and more Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist followers are losing their belief in God, and going in the way of agnostics and atheists. When confronted about these numbers, priests, pastors, and ministers of some of the world's most popular Christian denominations are clueless as to why. Many clergy members feel that more and more people are becoming atheist because of the failures of the Church in upholding moral accountability among its leaders. Some also believe that people are walking away from the faith to pursue the wealth and prosperity of the world. But what exactly are the real reasons for people leaving the church? In order to find these answers one must look at the very nature of religion itself.

From growing up in a Southern Baptist upbringing, I am quite familiar with the dogma and hypocrisy of religion in America. For years I battled with trying to reconcile the words that were spoken from the pulpit, with the actual actions of the vast majority of the congregation. There were about 25 fornicators for every 1 sermon preached about fornication. The numbers were similar for every other sin that you can think of. The sad reality is that the church was mostly hype and very little reality. Aside from the hypocrisy, many churches also begin to lose membership when they are not able to present the bible in a realistic and understandable way. It almost seems that many pastors are too busy trying to convince the world that every person on earth originated from two people; instead of exemplifying the virtues that were taught by Yehoshua himself. They refuse to acknowledge that the religion of Christianity is rooted in paganism, due to the fact that it was groomed and marketed by Constantine, a known Pagan. They refuse to acknowledge that most of what is taught in the Christian church today is not the same thing that was taught in the first century. They refuse to acknowledge that religion is not what Yehoshua intended, but that's what we are left with. What we consider to be religion is nothing more than a collage of superstitions and pagan practices. When are we going to wake up and realize it for ourselves?

Many atheists have come to realize that religion is nothing more than a hoax and a sham that is being perpetuated by those in charge for financial gain. Christianity is nothing more than a new version of Greek mythology. Until the church wakes up and realizes this, more and more people are going to call our bluff, and walk away. We have to figure out where we went wrong. We need to go back to that point and correct our mistakes.

Shuffled Priorities   Shutting the Door on Shame   3 Steps to Find Rest When You're Weary   Finding and Building Upon Our Sense-Of-Self   

Overcome The One Thing That Holds You Back

Even if you believe now you are journeying through the valley of death, remember your final destination is the safety of a warm embrace and a loving home. To get to that destination do not squander your life, nor spend it frivolously; invest what you have in the lives of others. Only one obstacle holds you back. Overcome that one obstacle.

To invest life, you must share unencumbered by guilt. What you experience, what you feel, fuels you. Choose good feelings.

For peace to reign, forgive - all and always.

By joining with others in relationship, in love, you become whole.

Today is not life in the fast lane; it is life in the oncoming lane. Ego puts you in the oncoming lane and accelerates life so that you find it difficult to hear the still, small voice guiding you home. To recognize truth, overcome the obstacles in your mind: "I have been wronged," and "I am unworthy." Both these misperceptions (arrogance and fear) require true forgiveness. The journey from sleep to awakening is made in small steps.

Overcome the hubris of ego by learning to forgive. Refuse to judge, condemn, criticize or complain. Accept responsibility for all you experience. Let go of perceived hurts and perceived injustices. There is no one to blame and nothing to fear. Forgiving is giving peace, allowing a smile and inviting laughter despite the circumstances.

You are not separate from your creator. You are not alone. You are one - whole, complete, powerful, and loving. You forgive yourself in the same measure as you forgive others.

The promise of life is this: your journey is meant to be one of abundance, excitement, joy, and opportunity. You have a unique purpose, a unique mission, and unique gifts. To fulfill your grand purpose, to contribute, to grow, to learn, to live, to love, to feel alive - overcome ego - that aspect of your being that insists you are alone, separate from others and separate from what is. To succeed, master ego.

Overcoming ego and instead trusting in the truth and beauty of the experience is the difference between life or death, happiness or despair. By facing fear and letting go of the need to judge, you learn to forgive. By forgiving you find your place and your purpose in this world. Open yourself to the journey - to the magnificent opportunity.

Recognize the promise of this life, and in so doing overcome ego to fulfill your potential.

The truth is, you only have one obstacle to overcome. The obstacle is inside you. Everything you see around you - the challenges, the trials, the confrontations - pale in comparison. The only obstacle holding you back is ego. Choose to overcome the one thing that holds you back. The choice is always yours. Make the right choice!

Shuffled Priorities   Shutting the Door on Shame   3 Steps to Find Rest When You're Weary   Why Do Some Choose To Believe In God Without Any Proof?   How Can We Walk on Water?   

If We Would Do Good Towards Others The Lord Will Do The Same For Us

Jesus went about doing good because He knew that by doing good towards others, God would do the same for Him. Ephesians 6:8 reads knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

I read Ephesians chapter six recently and verse eight stood out to me and every since then the Lord has been giving me opportunities to do good things for other people. Now I am not saying that I was not doing it but I know for sure that since I read verse eight, I have been aware of opportunities to do good things for other people.

When we do good things for other people it is a planted seed that God will take notice of and He will do good things for us. A seed is not just money given to the church. A seed can be planted in many different forms. If we have a garden mostly likely we would plant various types of seeds such as tomatoes, greens, okra, beans, onions, peppers and many others, so a spiritual seed can be planted in many different forms. We can plant seeds of kindness, encouragement, help, love, joy, laughter, peace and many others. All of these seeds that we plant into someone else's life; God will notice and He will reward us by giving back to us what we have planted.

We might not always feel like doing something good for someone when we are asked but it is always beneficial to us if we would lay aside our feeling and do it. Matthew 28:31 but what do you think? A man had two sons and he came to the first and said son, go, work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise and he answered and said, I go, sir but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said to Him, the first. Whenever we would do the will of our heavenly Father whether we feel like it or not, there is a blessing in it for us. He blesses us because of our obedience to Him and not by the way that we might feel.

If you think that good things are not happening to you, try doing something good for someone else then watch and see if things do not change for you. It will change because the word said that whatever good anyone does; he will receive the same from the Lord.

If we would only realize that we have the power inside of us to change our circumstance then we would be a lot better off. It will only take finding out what God said then doing it because He backs His word to perform it. The Holy Spirit is inside of us and He has great power. He is with us to lead us in the path of righteousness so that we can live a full life that gives glory to the Father.

Doing good towards others are only one way to receive the blessing of the Lord; there are many other ways and we should obey it because it would benefit us if we did obey it and God is no respecter of person.

Shuffled Priorities   Shutting the Door on Shame   3 Steps to Find Rest When You're Weary   Dorothy We're Not in Kansas, Christians We're Not in the OT   Hail the Designers   

Nurturing the Spiritual Gift of Faith

When God decrees something the planets align, so to speak.

It is very difficult to achieve anything worthwhile in this life without faith. And faith requires the truth and a vision - the discernment of the present state and the desire for a future state:

"There shall be no interpreter to a sinful nation: but he that observes the law is blessed." ~Proverbs 29:18 (Septuagint)

What this proverb, above, tells us is, without a vision of truth the people perish; without hope of a new land there is no need of faith to get there. Without vision we stagnate, nationally and personally.

Faith and vision, therefore, are interdependent concepts. A vision cannot be achieved without faith to get there. Likewise, without faith we cannot discern a vision and we struggle for hope.

If we have no hope, we, from the spiritual perspective, perish.

We can do a quick self-audit on whether we are living hopefully or not by asking ourselves: do we have a vision?

In other words, has our vehicle of faith got wheels beneath it? Has the vehicle the ability to roll? Does it have an engine, and, as importantly, will the engine and drive-train propel the vehicle - our faith - onward toward our vision?

A MOST IMPORTANT PRAYER - FOR [A] VISION

Whether we desire a vision, or simply vision, is only personally relevant. We decide having first sought God's input on the subject.

But it is a most important prayer - an ongoing type of prayer as we journey with God. If we have no vision we perhaps have no hope, and our faith freewheels in neutral.

The spiritual gift of faith, then, is quite contingent on having vision, or a vision, for what is essentially our call from God: the direction, purpose, and meaning of our lives.

If we ask God in our prayer time to give us a vision for what he wants us to do, he will most certainly give us the faith to realise our vision.

THE INERTIA OF FAITH

For faith to be faith it needs inertia; momentum is what defines the true basis of faith.

Faith, therefore, is inextricably linked to works - per James 2:14-26. When the vision inspires our faith it literally pushes us into action. We cannot stop it. And we wouldn't want to stop it, for this is the purpose of our very lives.

When faith has inertia it has become faith. Before faith has inertia it is simply a vision; the projection of our potential for helping others against the theatre screen of life. So when we get moving on our vision we are expressing faith; and, as the Scripture says, we are pleasing God (Hebrews 11:6).

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Faith requires us to act. But we cannot act unless we have a vision for what God wants us to do. Vision is hope which propels faith. When we have a vision, we have hope, and our faith becomes action. Then God is pleased. God wants us to have a vision of how we will help others.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

Shuffled Priorities   Shutting the Door on Shame   3 Steps to Find Rest When You're Weary   Abraham's Thoughts While Preparing to Sacrifice Isaac   Love Is an Act of the Will, Not a Burst of Emotions   There Is A Civil War Coming In The Church!   

Aleister Crowley: Reflection on the Pioneer of Magick

Aleister Crowley was a pioneer, a trailblazing searcher who opened the door of magick to reveal the secrets that had not been, until his time, even whispered in the confines of a closet. Aleister opened the doors and swung them wide for all followers of the occult to rush through in pursuit of their magical attainment. For this reason, he has been called a genius as well as a trivial madman but one thing is true; he has not faded into the facade of history nor has his persona quietly died. Quite to the contrary, Crowley has continued at the forefront of those cited as contributing the most to the spiritual dark arts.

During Crowley's youth, he travelled with his father who preached across the country and so, Aleister was exposed to the work and skills needed to communicate a message and idea to the masses. In the days before technological advances, the "face to face" communication was not only the most effective; it was one of the few ways to spread the word of any philosophy. Aleister was drawn to belief: not good or bad, but he had a deep-seeded wish to search for more and this trait was one that served him well throughout his life. Ever a student, he would spread the word of his magical workings throughout his entire life.

Young Aleister's father died of cancer and the experience left the impressionable youth stunned and ultimately, bitter. He set his path on an unspoken philosophy of "anything that does not conform". His earliest poetry illustrates the idea of "anti" while opening the mind to that which was "unthought" or never spoken. I do not say that Aleister's heart was filled with hate; that would be untrue and an easy way to dismiss his life-long works. Aleister was filled with something much different. He was filled with a burning want to question everything (a trait embraced by Satanists even today) and a tenant to believe only what could be proven. This served him quite well throughout his life.

Crowley was a connoisseur of sex and he loved sexual encounters with both men and women. He often remarked that he "only had sex to fulfill the requirements of his magical workings" yet it seems that he also took great pleasure in the many deviations to sex acts that were anything other than conventional. He would enjoy paying a prostitute to degrade him by inserting various household items into his rectum and on one occasion, was sodomized by two men in a Turkish bathhouse while performing ingeminating fellatio on yet a third man. He also enjoyed subjecting his partners to pain as well. During a sex magick ritual, he placed his fist into a young man's anus to the point of almost rupturing his intestinal wall. All within the spirit of magick and finding a higher awareness of "self".

Aleister was also interested and even curious about the fragility of life itself. After hearing a saying that a cat had nine lives, he reasoned that it would be almost impossible to kill a cat, and he set out to do just that. Crowley caught a cat and administered nine different terminal treatments to the animal which culminated with the cat being thrown from a second story window to "remove any remaining life". Quite to the contrary, the animal had been dead since giving it a lethal dose of arsenic; the first of the treatments. For the curious young lad, the event was performed in the name of science and the results were simply a byproduct of a scientific experiment.

Crowley's "The Book of the Law" is hailed as his best work even though there are other great titles to choose from. His writings were factual, confusing, poetic and mystifying, all at the same time. He had written poetry since a young boy and that motif operandi was seen as a common thread in all of his future writings. Prolific yet reserved, he preferred to write poetry and insisted on being called "The World's Best Poet".

He was an enigma that was perhaps, before his time and I often contemplate what he could have achieved if he lived in our wonderful time of email, internet and cyber chat. Oh, what he could have accomplished! Without conscience and devoid of humanity, he is what all members of the human race should strive to be... "a searcher". He was not encapsulated by hearsay, dogma or urban legend. He opened his mind and all senses to receive all he could discover. Satanists take so many of his attributes to heart and strive to learn that which will show itself during a magical endeavor.

Crowley's magick was without bounds and he did not set out to be evil at all. He believed there were forces and spirits just beyond our worldly grasp and he wanted to experience those dark images that do not cast any shadows on the floor. "Evil" was a moniker that was assigned to Aleister by a self- righteous society unable to open their minds enough to discover and benefit from Crowley's work. His acts frightened the population and his words angered the monarchy of the time. He was not a Satanist per se. Satanism was not his primary focus and Aleister did not seriously believe in a pointed-tail viper, as it were. He communicated with demons and spirits thus being more of a student of demonology than any other magical operation.

He has been the inspiration for countless searchers; myself included. He inspired L. Ron Hubbard through his magical workings which can be glimpsed in Hubbard's Dianetics and The Church of Scientology. Anton LaVey cited references and praised Crowley's written works. Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy Page, was an avid follower of Crowley and even purchased the house "Boleskine" once owned by Crowley, on the south-eastern shore of Scotland's Loch Ness. Page claimed the house was haunted and also confessed the house "held a sacred and creative feel that allowed for total artistic freedom". Crowley continues to inspire and influence music and writers in modern society today.

Aleister Crowley was one of the first practitioners of the occult to blend magick with consumption of mind-altering drugs during his rituals.His grimoires, which read like scientist's process books, recorded many occasions when Aleister and those asked to join him, would ingest large amounts of narcotics and natural stimulants to achieve a higher state of conscientiousness and open their minds to events that would enlighten the participants. Experimentation in such arenas was frowned upon and in some cases, the act of performing a blasphemous ritual as he often performed, was illegal. His connection with the other side of the human brain can be called "cutting edge" however, Crowley's grimoires were often dismissed as "drug induced gibberish".

Within the framework of magical operations, Aleister was meticulous in the execution of rituals. He would labor over the details and weigh the effects of each slight deviation from the original working to gauge the expected result. He also looked at magick as cumulative or "cross - collateralized", which built upon the earlier building block; increasing power and heightening the magician's experience. Nothing was taboo, too sinister or any idea dismissed without fully exploring the possibilities that might reap benefits. Aleister was anything but shy and if the ritual called for him to be treated with violence, disdain and abusively injured, so mote it be.

Aleister Crowley was a well-known member of the group Ordo Templi Orientis (Order of the Temple of the East) which closely resembled the Freemasons and Masonic Lodge until Aleister joined. He led the association in a different direction which adopted Thelema as the core principle. The Book of the Law communicated two of Crowley's best known verses which are still used quite often even today. First, the groundwork for his belief and theology was laid with a simple phrase; "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the law, love under will" which is cited regularly by those practitioners of all magical arts. He was never quick to dismiss anyone's ideas or beliefs without first evaluating and contrasting the belief compared to his very own.

Aleister was always fascinated with lines, angles and voids created by an enclosed symbol, especially a unicursal creation. Aleister's unicursal hexagram is a star that can be drawn in one line without stopping the continuous flow. Geometric shapes were often drawn by Crowley to illustrate his projections occurring in astral travels. He believed "reason" was shielded by logic and by understanding motivation, one could clearly look deep into the logical progression of magick. Transitional Logic and Cognitive Modeling were paramount to understanding the results of magick rituals and by disseminating the logic relationships, one could also change the variables to estimate the results of a ritual, having slightly changed the inputs and elements. The idea was revolutionary for its time and the general population was too critical of Crowley to even seriously consider the possibility that he might very well have a theorem that was truly brilliant. He did not help his cause when the press ran articles about his magical escapades including homosexual encounters, spells / hexes, animal sacrifice and a report revealing that Aleister had eaten his own feces as well as the feces of others in his ritual group. Reports of killing animals during sexual intercourse did not help his cause at all.

Aleister was also an avid Astrologer and he studied astrology almost as in-depth as magick. Evangeline Adams was one of the most important influences on the development of American astrology and Crowley developed a relationship with Adams that was based upon their mutual passion of studying the stars and planets. The two would collaborate on articles, papers and books about astrological aspects and the relationship of celestial bodies and planetary orbits. Crowley also used many astrological illustrations and references in his magical writings as well. One such reference was used to explain how a person cannot readily change their path through life and how inertia plays an important role in continuing the established directional path and momentum: "There are no 'standards of Right'. Ethics is balderdash. Each Star must go on its own orbit. To hell with "moral principle"; there is no such thing."

So, I have pointed out some facts and observations of Aleister Crowley; some good and some "not so good". To me, he is truly a pioneer that was perhaps a few generations ahead of his time. I read and study his works from time to time and I appreciate his dedication to his craft. His entire life reads like a grimoire of magick, experimentation, excess and theories "tried and proven". Because Crowley and searchers like him have documented so much - so well, we are able to take advantage of his efforts which allows us to be light years ahead of where we would be had he never written even an article about magick. We should recognize the advantages we have and the knowledge passed down to us by Crowley. His efforts of being totally uninhibited have allowed seekers to "pick up where he left off" in the never-ending quest for increased magical knowledge. We are better magicians, seekers, followers, practitioners and ultimately more powerful because of this man. Yes, he was eccentric and his approach to the magical arts was unorthodox (and stomach turning as well) however, he blazed a path into history and for his efforts and sharing of his art form, we are better for having access to his writings and privileged to do some of the same workings that he not only practiced, but actually created.

Aleister Crowley will live forever and his words will be shared for all eternity; which is something he could only dream of in his time.

Shuffled Priorities   Shutting the Door on Shame   3 Steps to Find Rest When You're Weary   Finding and Building Upon Our Sense-Of-Self   The Presidency   

Confession's Cleansing Power

In Australia, 'real men' (in their churches) meet to reinvent 'the shed' or have a 'pie night'. This is an important part of male culture. It's a time when men can be together and discuss their weaknesses, and their addictive or sinful natures; in relative safe privacy of their fellow kind. There is sure to be a similar process in other countries/cultures.

It is important for men, as well as women, to congregate together to hear testimonies of confession.

The power in confession is the vanquishment of the enemy. Satan hates it when we divulge our awful secrets, because, ironically, we become tremendously empowered, as we are not rejected. Indeed, we are ever more respected for having the intestinal fortitude - in plain language, guts - to 'fess up' in the presence of our fellow kind.

But one step better than accountability before a group is accountability before one individual. One individual has more power to affirm us, and to gently hold us to account, than a whole group.

CHOOSING A MENTOR TO WORK ON OUR PROBLEMS

Mentors are crucial in discipleship. They play a critical role in leveraging our growth. And central to our growth is honesty about our weaknesses - our struggles at a sin level - for we all have them.

Think about this: if we have a person who is perhaps 10 years older than us, who is someone we look up to, preferably of the same gender, and we can trust them to hold our darkest secrets, to the point where they won't reject us, but are prepared to push us to improve - we have our spiritual mentor. We can learn a thing or three from a person like this. Indeed, they, by their wisdom, will facilitate our growth out of these problem areas.

Where we have a will to improve, they, through their sponsorship, will be passionate to help.

And the body of work we collectively work on are the very things we will be confessing - our sins against the Lord.

Trust will work both ways and the power in confession will be realised by mutual courage and transparency within the relationship.

Mentors are wise in this: they know they will learn just as much as we will learn in being mentored. Not only that, but they will be blessed to be a blessing to us.

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Confession has the power to crush the enemy's wicked design to ruin our lives in shaming secrecy. When we confess our sins God, who is faithful, will forgive us our sins and make us clean.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

Shuffled Priorities   Shutting the Door on Shame   3 Steps to Find Rest When You're Weary   There Is A Civil War Coming In The Church!   Dorothy We're Not in Kansas, Christians We're Not in the OT   Hail the Designers   

Universalism, 12 - Peter and Universalism (2)

The spirits in prison, and preaching to the dead

I Peter 3:13-4:6. If you have marveled at difficult passages in Paul's writings, you will also be puzzling over this passage from Peter for quite some time.

I am a literalist. Unless the text screams "parable" I try simply to hear what is being said, and believe it. But there are cases, as this one, where literalism can take a person different directions. A doctrinal choice must be made based on the status of that doctrine throughout the rest of the Scriptures.

Important to understand first here is that this passage was not meant to deal with the afterlife. It is about suffering for and with Jesus Christ. It is about the cross.

A quick paraphrase of verses 13-17:

No one can cause you ultimate harm. But if you must suffer, that's a blessing. Just be ready to answer the persecutors' questions with a good conscience. Be sure you are not being punished for something bad you did.

Verse 18 brings Jesus into the discussion. Jesus also suffered. he did not deserve it. He was put to death in the flesh (His body) but made alive (His Spirit) by the Holy Spirit.

Then comes verse 19. It was while He was separated from His body, and thus in the form that He knew through all eternity, that He made a visit to the spirit world. While there He made an announcement to a very captive audience, called the "spirits in prison."

The Universalist smile widens when he defines these beings as humans now given a second chance to obey God. For the passage goes on in verse 20 to tell us that these spirits were disobedient in the days of Noah during the time the ark was being prepared.

Sounds convincing, doesn't it? These antediluvians defied God, were sent to Hades, but because of what Jesus did, they are given a chance to get out of their punishment by obeying the Gospel.

Whoa. First, there is no mention of Gospel here. Only preaching, "heralding", announcing. Triumphing, if you will, glorying in the victory just won. "Making an open show," says Paul. Colossians 2:15 says that Jesus "disarmed principalities and powers," and "made a public spectacle of them."

Did I just change the subject? We were talking about humans in Hell. But the Bible here and elsewhere is talking about demons in jail. Fortunately we do not have to go out of the writings of Peter to see that his focus is demonic and not human. Look at II Peter 2:4, and you will see that God punished disobedient angels by putting them in hell, bound by chains of darkness, reserved for judgment. That matches well with "spirits in prison" of I Peter.

Let Jude add his part (Jude 6): Angels who left their proper role are "reserved in everlasting chains under darkness... "

These are the angels referred to as "sons of God" in Genesis 6. Angels who had the audacity to come to earth and take human females as their wives... Back to our text. Jesus died but was still alive in Spirit. Now he is in heaven(22), and all those angelic hosts are subject to Him!

Chapter 4:1-5 is connected; here is another paraphrase: So, arm yourself with this same mentality. Enough with sin. Enough trying to keep up with the Gentiles. They may not like it, but one day they will face their judge.

And now another very difficult verse: Let me paraphrase once more:

Many have already died. But the Gospel was preached to them, that even though men judged and killed them, they will live on in the Spirit.

The text actually reads that "the gospel was preached to those who are dead." This, and the whole "spirits in prison" idea has led people through the years to say that indeed we receive chances after death to go on with God.

But believing that cancels out a host of other Scriptures that teach the opposite. For example, "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment." Look again at the rich man and Lazarus, and the "great gulf." Teachings that are clear must not be abrogated by teachings that are not clear.

Peter is telling us that just as Jesus was unjustly killed, we may be also, but because we know Him through the Gospel, we shall live with Him still, though we die in the flesh.

The message he is delivering sounds very much like a portion of a book circulating in Peter's day called The Wisdom of Solomon. It has been grouped with a collection of other books known as the Apocrypha, writings"of doubtful origin." Though not prophetic or apostolic in their beginnings, these books were held in high regard, contained much truth, and were even included in early Bible translations, notably the King James Version!

So we think it not strange that Peter might have read and been influenced by the truth of these words (3:1-7):

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality (II Peter 4:6b). Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good...

In summary, we do not believe that Jesus preached to Noah's audience. If that had happened, the question would immediately rise, "Why only Noah's?" Why not those who defied Moses, and the prophets, and Jesus Himself? The term for "spirits" here is almost always in reference to the supernatural, not the human. It seems to me that Jesus spoke to His arch-enemies in the spirit world, announcing to them that their captivity was not only just, but secure, and that He was now their eternal Master.

And in 4:6, which at first sight seems to relate back to chapter 3, all we have is the fact that the Gospel was preached to people who are now dead.

Yes, Jesus tells us in John that the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live! But Colossians 2:13 reminds us that all of us in Christ now were once dead. Jesus goes on to speak of dead bodies immediately after this (in John 5) when He says that all in the graves will also hear this voice, and come forth to two separate resurrections, one of which is the resurrection of condemnation. First he speaks of the spiritually dead hearing His voice, then the physically dead.

Let us be diligent to track down all that comes against the veracity and authority of what God has said. His word cannot change. He must be sought with all of our hearts so that we will not change either.

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The Ten Boom Life Story

Many people who learned about the life story of the ten Boom family said that it had changed their life and their faith. Corrie ten Boom had survived the holocaust but unfortunately, the rest of her family didn't. From 1943 to 1944, the family of ten Boom led by their father Casper had helped over 800 Jews and more Dutch undergrounds from being imprisoned by the Nazi soldiers. The holocaust had claimed the lives of millions of Jews led by its leader Adolf Hitler. At that time, Casper and his family driven by their great faith in God wanted to help save as many Jews as they can by making their house into a secret hiding place. Some Jews lived in their homes for awhile while others stay there until the family can find them another safe house to stay in.

On the eve of February 28, 1944, a secret police had paved the way for the capture of several Jews who visited their house. They eventually captured all the members of the family. They tried to look around the house searching for the 2 Jews that they were searching for but to no avail. That's because the house had a secret hiding place behind the walls so the soldiers were not able to locate them. Still, they captured and imprisoned the family. The first casualty was the elderly Casper. He died just a few days after the capture. Eventually, one by one the other members have died and only Corrie survived. Corrie believed that her life was God's gift to her and that she needs to share about what her family experienced. She wrote a book about their experience and the book was even turned into a movie.

The ten Boom Museum lies in Holland and people who have actually visited the place are in awe. This is a Christian family who helped save the lives of hundreds of people from sure death and in turn their lives were put in grave danger. They could have had no problem during the holocaust if they chose to keep a blind eye from all the problems they see but they chose to live their Christian life and helped save the Jews.

Callie ten Boom said it best, "You can't love Jesus without loving the Jewish people." In fact, it was written in the Bible that Jerusalem is the everlasting covenant of God to the people of Israel. God loves the people of Jerusalem. The ten Boom foundation wanted to continue the 100 year tradition of the family of praying weekly for Jerusalem and for all the Jews around the world. It started in 1844 and had to end abruptly in 1944 when they were all captured. Now, that tradition continues and more and more people, especially in the United States, are joining in on prayer for all the people of Jerusalem and also for peace in Israel.

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Your Life Will Be Better When You Turn It Over to God, He Said

Perhaps, you've been accosted by born again religious followers. If you are not one to fall for human superstitions, this might be somewhat bothersome to you. What I am saying is that it gets old. Still, there those who have made it their life's mission to go out and convert what they've determined to be lost souls and bring them to Christ. Well, whatever floats your boat I guess? Still, let's talk shall we?

First, I have a question for anyone who is heavy into their religion and/or wants to recruit other followers to join them. Better yet, let me ask a question of anyone interested in being converted into someone else's religion.

Why would you want to live under someone else's control, much less a figment of your imagination, and even if it is your imagination suggestively created through brain washing, and even if it is something YOU were coaxed and coached into creating, it didn't come from god. It came from other men, who convinced you to create this image and concept in your mind.

Which brings us to another serious point of contention between agnostics and atheists and their theologian recruiters, namely; if you created this mental image, then; man created god, not the other way around. An atheist should realize that he owns himself, no one else does.

He controls himself, no one else does.

Why would you turn your life and mind over to a mirage which is controlled by an authority, a church, a group of men? Do they really have your best interests in mind, how can they know, it's your mind, not theirs. I suppose brainwashing is an apropos topic here as well, of course, if you charge a church or religion with that, there will be hell to pay - figuratively of course, according to the literature; literally in some cases, as it is heresy.

Giving up your life experience to someone else, is giving up the gift of life and the honor of the extreme odds of being able to exist in the first place. Each of us is on this Earth a short time, yes, you have a choice to live your life your way, but if you choose to live by some contrived religious doctrine you are dishonoring your superior genes that got your ancestors to a place to have you here in this present period. Why would you do that? Why would you agree to follow a concept created by someone else to rule over your life? Sincerely, Lance.

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Jesus, the Soul Food Provider

The passage we have just heard from John's Gospel is part of the lengthy "bread of life" discourse in which Jesus shows that he is the only way we can satisfy the hunger we have in our souls. Hunger is a powerful motivator. When we are physically hungry, we get something to eat. When we are spiritually hungry, we look for something to satisfy it. Just like there is physical food that can best be described as junk food, there is also spiritual food that can also be described as junk food. Take, for example, some TV evangelists. I know of one who promotes the physical and material blessings you will receive if you call in and order his prayer handkerchief.

We all suffer from soul hunger. We all hunger for something more in life. Some people try to satisfy their spiritual hunger through beauty, power, prestige, sex, drugs, alcohol or other worldly means. The world's way is the way to sorrow and despair. You only have to consider what happened to people such as Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, and John Belushi to see what happens when people try to satisfy spiritual hunger by worldly means. Jim Bakker lost his ministry and was sent to prison, Jimmy Swaggart lost his ministry in disgrace and the others died from drug and/or alcohol abuse.

On the other hand, Jesus offers to fill us with his love. Only he can save our souls, change our tomorrows and grant us peace and joy for today. Jesus takes the initiative in our salvation, even if we confess him as our Lord and Saviour. He creates a longing within us. His love and presence and the difficulties he allows to enter into our lives force us to open up to him. Jesus takes the initiative and we choose to cooperate with him. That is the very definition of the Christian life.

God works in us to create spiritual hunger because he loves us and wants us to get to know him and love him in return. He uses the spiritual hunger to convict us of our sin and convince us to turn to him.

There are parallels between the manna God gave to the Israelites in the desert and Jesus. The manna came at night, and Jesus comes into our spiritual darkness. Manna was God's gift to the Israelites, and Jesus is God's gift to us. All we have to do is claim it for ourselves, and we will never be spiritually hungry again. The manna from heaven was associated in the minds of the Jews with the giving of divine teaching, and Jesus sees his own teaching as being just as essential as our daily bread.

We need to receive Jesus' spiritual food on a regular basis, just like the Israelites needed to receive the manna and quail from God every day. Without it, we will always be spiritually hungry. We can't get enough spiritual food by going to church only at Christmas or Easter or on special occasions such as weddings, funerals, baptisms or confirmations. Our spiritual hunger can only be satisfied by regularly studying God's Word and applying it to our lives. This means regular attendance at Sunday worship services.

In order to live with Christ, we have to die to our worldly way of life and take up his life-a life of forgiveness, goodness, trust and service. If we are grounded in Christ's unconditional love, we are free to lead like Jesus and love and serve others. It will not be easy, but God has drawn us to faith in him, and that faith will sustain us.

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Universalism and Paul: Universal Condemnation

The universal condemnation of mankind

I found something dealing with the subject of Universalism - actually the opposite thereof - in 12 of the 16 chapters of Romans. Truly this gem of the apostle Paul is key to a proper understanding of God's eternal program.

Romans 1:5-6,8. As in Acts, so here, the word all catches our attention. Paul has been called to bring the message to all nations, that people among them might be called to obedience. But immediately the contrast: "... among whom you also (people of Rome, Italy) are the called of Jesus Christ."

Did every person in Italy hear and obey the call? Not then, not now. It's a simple fact, but it is important to keep in mind, that God calls His people from among all nations, but also that not all individuals in the nations respond.

Paul uses another general verbal sweep in verse 8: The faith of the Romans is spoken of throughout the world. True. You could visit, in that day, any number of churches or synagogues, and hear people talking about the Roman Church. It was a real powerhouse. But did every creature on God's green earth know of the Christians in Italy? I think not.

All is not always all. Try to remember that...

Romans 1:16-18. God's power of salvation is for everyone! Everyone, that is, who believes. Faith is the qualifier, the divider, of earth's peoples. For all those unbelievers who will be without excuse because they suppress the truth about God, is reserved the wrath of God.

Romans 2 and 3. Paul's long discussion about man's deserved condemnation is very telling, but it tells us things we may not want to hear. God's judgment against all evil men is coming. Indignation, wrath, tribulation, anguish. It's all on the way, make no mistake.

But what of those who have never heard? The Universalist truly wants to upstage the Bible believer here with what he believes is the obvious answer to this centuries-old enigma: "Why, they will all be saved. This is a non-issue now."

Believing that all men will be saved from God's judgment eventually, certainly takes the teeth out of the Great Commission, and the entire missions history of the church of Jesus. Something in us wants to believe it, but it doesn't ring true when measured by other Biblical facts.

Without going further into that whole very difficult problem, let me just share Paul's short answer, here in Romans 2:12:

Damnation will come to those who sinned because they had no law, and it will come equally to those who had the law and sinned against it. Sin is sin. God's law is written in the hearts of even the Gentiles. They know what is right and wrong. God will judge every thought, every motive, of every man by the Man Christ Jesus.

Who will be able to stand in that day?

Paul says, in essence, no one. Righteousness is not obtainable by human effort. Only those who cling to the righteousness of Christ will be saved.

If there is a universalism in God's world, it is universal damnation. "... all the world may become guilty before God (3:19)." The planet is cursed with a curse. Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world... It was already condemned!

Out of this worldwide lost-ness shall be raised up a band of holy men and women from every nation on earth. It is this called-out assembly, the church, that cancels this original universalism, so that now no blanket statement covers all men of all time.

Many lost. Some saved. The righteousness of God is not poured on every man, but on every man who believes (3:22, 26, 28). Note the wording:

"... to all and on all who believe... "

"... the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus... "

"... a man is justified by faith... "

The teachers who promote a universal acceptance need to show upon what basis that acceptance comes. Certainly it is not based on the work of Jesus.

Jesus gave His blood for our sins. Without the forgiveness of sins, how can man be justified? Is it not obvious to even a child that not all men repent, that not all men believe? These who have not asked for God's forgiveness are still in their sins and shall be lost forever.

Salvation has always been a two-way covenant. God's grace and invitation are sent out. But men who despise such cannot ever hope to be swept into the Kingdom of God by default.

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Discouragement, Loneliness and Avoidance

"Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted." ~Psalm 25:16 (NRSV)

There is a cesspool that starts as discouragement, becomes loneliness, and ends up as avoidance. Whether it's a workplace situation, within the family, or within a church fellowship, or something else, or a mix of some of these, matters little.

Wherever we dwell in discouragement - where there is a void of encouragement - loneliness is the sure direction of regression.

Avoidance is a big enough problem at the best of times; when we are lonely in our discouragement we can become heavily dependent on avoidant strategies. The more we are disengaged the more disengaged we become. It becomes a vicious cycle.

Our prayer is like the psalmist's; we wish for God to turn to us through our circumstances to reduce our loneliness and affliction. But as life is so often, our circumstances won't be coerced just because we are suffering. These tumultuous circumstances will turn for the better independent of how we feel. This is obviously not much comfort. But it is important to understand the problem of discouragement and how it affects us detrimentally over the longer term.

THE PATHOLOGY OF DISCOURAGEMENT LEADING TO LONELINESS

If we have ever been chronically discouraged - to endure six months or more of a serious void of encouragement - we will most certainly have experienced a discernible loneliness within the soul.

The theory is the mature wait on God - that there's no better pat on the back than from God. The reality is different, however. Most people do require positive feedback and encouragement. This is weighed against the negative feedback we get. We can handle the negative feedback so long as we are getting some encouragement.

But then we find ourselves in a position where there is no encouragement. Is God bringing us through this hellish and parched land for a reason? It helps to see it that way; that there will be a reason, later to be discovered so we can testify about God's faithfulness.

HOW LONELINESS BREEDS AVOIDANCE

When we feel remote and isolated we cocoon into a shell. Things we became known for so far as boldness is concerned become the shadow of the former self. Suddenly we select for safety when courage would advise us to plunge on through and resume our boldness.

As the disencouraged sense of loneliness takes grip one of the first things we lose is our boldness; our courage. The key behavioural indicator then is avoidance. People notice us avoiding tasks and relational situations. A retreat from life occurs. We may even notice it ourselves.

And the irony is avoidance just compounds the whole process of discouragement and loneliness. And it can be a difficult process to be freed from.

We must go against the flow of the discouragement and seek our encouragement from God. To beat our avoidance we thrust ourselves into the bold fray of life.

***

Discouragement, loneliness and avoidance are all interlinked. It starts with discouragement and ends in avoidance. It's vital we draw our encouragement from God when we feel discouraged by work, the world, family, church, etc. This encouragement is eternally available through God's Word. Simply it works!

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

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Christmas the Religious Day Observed By Both Christians and Non-Christians

Christmas day is the most important day for the Christian calendar. That is the day when Jesus Christ was born 2012 years ago. Either in the end of December or in the first week of January every Christian commemorates the day by having festivities and by participating in midnight prayers. Being an integral part of the holiday season even the non Christians participate in festivities by decorating their homes and visiting Christian friends. It is also an important day for children as that is the day they get presents from Santa Claus.

In most countries in the world December 25th is a holiday and people celebrate Christmas in that day while in some countries the date may differ. Having special meals, decorating houses with Christmas trees, sending greetings cards, giving gifts and participating in prayers are all parts of the celebrations. There are only a few countries where the Christmas day is not a holiday. They include a few Middle Eastern countries, China, Thailand, Japan and North Korea.

Since new clothes, gifts, greeting cards and food are associated with it Christmas season is of economic value for shops and manufacturers of goods. People spend lots of money during this season. Also, it is the busiest month for churches. Starting on the Christmas day the church goers flock to churches until the Easter Sunday. Churches themselves are decorated to welcome those who come there for the religious observances.

When it comes to decorations made for the occasion red and green are the colors used most often. Red denotes the blood of Jesus that was shed when he was crucified. Green indicates the eternal life. This is why the Christmas tree has to be an evergreen tree that doesn't lose its leaves during the winter. The decorations generally change according to the location and the availability of resources. The first commercial decorations have appeared in Germany in the 1860s.

Christmas carols are also are a part of the festivities. The earliest reference available on it is from the 4th century Rome. Carols that we know today have been sung early on other celebrations such as "harvest tide". Later they have been adopted by church. They are the oldest of the songs that are being recited continuously.

Even the meal for the day is maintained as a tradition. In Sicily there is a tradition of serving 12 varieties of fish being served on Christmas Eve. In England Turkey, or goose, vegetables, meat and gravy are served.

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