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There was a time in my life when pattern recognition consisted of little more than realizing I had repeatedly uttered the same expletive as I slammed the same toe against the same leg of the same coffee table. But when I began to develop an interest in things, other than self, a tapestry of someone else’s design, began to unfold revealing the cyclical nature of time and favoring glimpses of something larger. God weaves the totality of reality with an infinite thread count; spotlighting portions with such selective intensity, holding our attention must seem to him like child’s’ play. It’s when we pull back the threadbare curtain on our own core values that we sometimes want to lower all the stage lights.

Perhaps it is the disconnect between the talk we talk and the walk we walk that makes us feel exposed. Then again, it would seem being conflicted is a part of being human. We may not see the value of opposition. But the Person that designed the hands with which we weave, certainly did. Appreciating a loyal opposition is a bit more difficult than learning to value the purpose built opposable thumb. The first question put to the loyalist must be; loyal to what? It’s not just a matter of being “equally yoked” but one of also being usefully yoked; part of a team pulling in the same direction.

While contrariness grows tiresome, as resistance to every proposal wears us down, when impedance for it’s own sake seems to be all pervasive at times, we should realize that these things also serve a purpose. Many of us who were born and raised in a political town like Washington, DC are conditioned to have a hard time relaxing, even when things appear to be going well. When things are too easy we ask “What’s your angle” We wonder “Where’s the gotcha?” And we worry “What’s this going to cost?” As I think about being conflicted, I am reminded of a group called the Young Bloods and an old drinking song they recorded in the sixties called Euphoria. It builds rather amusing imagery with the line “Outa’ your mind, reelin’ and a rockin’ with your inside bosses, squealing and a squawk’n.”

In the same way persons of faith don’t actively seek bones of contention that put us at odds with a loyal opposition, we do not love our enemies simply for the purpose of defeating them, even when we want our values to emerge victorious. We recognize that a loyal opposition is often true to certain goals or principles shared by us while opposing, perhaps, our methods. We love others in ways that help them to defeat those things that impair their vision, misdirect their motivation, and impede or attenuate their joy. Such a prayerful effort informs us so that we too may serve in the most appropriate manner.

The way we deal with a loyal opposition is to recognize the myriad ways human endeavor serves the Divine purpose. Truly inspired leadership simply cannot exist without this purpose. Moses did not condescend from a platform built with inherited wealth. He got down in the mud and pushed alongside his Hebrew brethren. Christ did not gain the Throne of Glory by arbitrary assumption. Sure, he conducted a high profile public ministry. But his work-a-day service leading up to that was important as well. He was made lower than the angels for a time, and for a reason. He lived and labored among working men and women. And, as a humble carpenter, he built high integrity relationships as well as trustworthy boats upon which mortal lives would depend.

The highly integrated personality of Jesus exhibits nothing of a defeatist sentiment. Sure, in certain cases we should come to accept that some things are best left as they are. But then sometimes we simply need to develop more understanding and strength before we can intelligently make changes, untie ourselves, punch our way out of a box, or blow through an artificial ceiling.

At times we have become separated from God as the life and teachings of Jesus were somehow eclipsed. We may have traded the obligations of discipleship for a form of chameleonship within, what amounts to, a personality cult. In extreme cases we would even place our trust in a human being intent on building walls within our minds, thereafter lining those walls in rigid lath coated with an impenetrable psycho-sclerotic plaque. Sometimes those walls come to resemble a system of mazes complete with triggers and traps.

Altruistic leaders know how to provide wholesome fruit. They also recognize the contrasts between licentious behavior and the exercise of true liberty. In the unified personality of Jesus, we see just how the true mastery of self is achieved. He was not locked into a life and death struggle between the animal nature and the Spirit, although he was actively and calmly engaged in spiritual warfare. In reflecting upon those times, and even now, we can sense the Command Presence.

As Peter finally recognized Jesus for who he is, the greatest teacher of all time said: “The Spirit has revealed this to you.” Consider how Jesus came forth after being scourged, wearing a crown of thorns, and a purple robe. When Pilate, in his hollow, derisive, mocking tone said: “Behold the man!” It became clear that the magnificent life and the kingly bearing of Jesus impressed even the cowardly procurator. When viewed through the victorious spirit with which Jesus met death, even the mighty Roman Empire with all its temporal power, must have seemed puny by comparison.

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Thomas Jefferson once wrote: “We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as for civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.” With each passing generation there is a renewed emphasis on such growth together with what favors it and what constricts it. Likewise, our concept of God has unfolded over time.

While God the Father is unchanging, our own understanding of him has grown steadily through a palette of mental filters, from conflicting ideas about an offended monarch to the ideal of a loving Father. In our human conception, his domain has expanded from that of a tribal Deity to the Creator, Controller and Upholder of the Universe of Universes. Throughout this time, and not withstanding the periodic and sometimes defamatory caricatures of him, Our Devoted Father has made his unifying and unfailing goodness available for the asking.

Even our concept of faithfulness has grown. A mature response to fraternal devotion is more than the passive assent to fleeting standards. It encourages continued growth. It encompasses relationships that endure. It operates eternally as well as temporally. It fosters courageous loyalty, sincere fairness, forgiving tolerance, enlightened honesty, confiding trust, even loving service.

It would seem, the primary ingredients of faith are loyalty and a devotion to duty that is intelligent, as well as wholehearted. While we recognize the indwelling Spirit, we may tend to usurp the authority, and interfere with the working of that Spirit by imposing our incomplete understanding and personal theology on others through an amateurish practice of psychology. It’s as if we think the Spirit is somehow weak and that we have some sort of monopoly on wisdom.

Human parents, teachers, counselors, mentors and other supporters must remain ever teachable. We must work in a coordinated way with Our Divine Parent throughout the process of child rearing and the act of befriending. It is not our mandate to draw others to ourselves, but rather to set them sure footed on the path to our Heavenly Father’s Divine Embrace.

The loyalty we speak of then, is devotion to the highest duty. The seed bearing fruit born of the Divine Spirit is incorruptible. And at some point we must accept the fact that God is in control. We must give up the tendency to micromanage as if the consequences were somehow ours, instead of His.

No one wants to be lied to, unless of course the question is; “Does this outfit make me look fat?” If, for most people of normal mind, Truth, Beauty and Goodness are to be preferred over deception, ugliness and foul intent; then it’s a good bet we have a built-in preference for those things that we tend to associate with our highest and best understanding of God. These values work much like the way the primary colors complement one another, combine to give us the whole spectrum. They emanate from God and they can be resolved as the will of God on the focal planes of the mind and heart.

Suppose you had printed the word Love in blue ink on a white piece of paper. If you then illuminated that paper, with only blue light, you wouldn’t be able to see the word, but it would still be there. Emotionally, if you were intent on feeling blue, you could be surrounded by the love of God and that of others without ever noticing. What if someone close to you is green with envy over the friendship you maintain with another? If the jealous person insists on nurturing resentment over any and all other competing influences, your love must reflect a reality far greater than the immediate context if it is ever to be truly appreciated.

Finally, think about a time when someone who cared deeply about you was so angry with you that their face turned red. Ask yourself: Does the “seeing red” metaphor mean that we filter out certain visual clues about how much we are loved? Is it at all possible that anger is often an expression of frustration on the part of one who feels unloved; and that it seems to them their feelings are not appreciated or respected?

When Jesus warned us concerning the folly of casting one’s pearls before swine, was it because the swine would disrespect our offering out of some deep seated resentment about the condition of his pen? Or is the swine simply incapable of perceiving the value of our offering? We must learn to discern just when someone is a teachable person, to correctly identify the teachable moment, Our service to the brotherhood and sisterhood of human kind is performed on God’s behalf. It should not be squandered and it is never a solo performance; for there is always a seraphic accompaniment, a spiritual choreography and a divine orchestration in all manifestations of faithful service.

There is much to be said for that loyalty that is sophistry proof. For it arises out of a pure heart and an immaculate mind. It is entirely focused on the best interests of those we serve in accordance with our highest and best understanding of just how God would have us serve. In the final analysis our devotion to others is inspired by the devotion God the Father has demonstrated throughout our lives. The essence of all that is true and beautiful is also the ancestor of all goodness. It is the love Jesus highlighted when he lived his God-revealing bestowal so that we might experience the God-knowing career.

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The highest expression of human freedom is to fulfill our first, best destiny. This is achieved through consecration of our individual, personal will to that of the divine, that unifying and coordinating quality of Deity. God’s will is expressed as “Be you perfect even as I am perfect.” The rewards attendant upon pursuing perfection are made possible through the mind endowment. By using all the resources of our personality, to condition our spiritual reflexes and develop our soul power, we thereby take control as the true arbiters of our eternal destiny and truly become a being of light.

In the prose of Jesus we were told:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and be led to glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

If we, as individuals, are ever to stand in the personal presence of the Father in His likeness as a perfected being, it will be because of our decisions and our efforts. It will be because we have begun, in the here and now, to move towards perfection in obedience to the Jesusonian command: “Love one another as have loved you.”

Achieving the goal of the ages means that we will have reached perfection. If, on the other hand, we reject responsibility for our thoughts, decisions, and actions, we will give up our control. We would react pathetically to the circumstances of life without making any real progress. Our lives would become chaotic, our physical systems would become discordant, our societies would show evidence of disorder, a lack of harmony, and regression as it pertains to all of the most meaningful qualities of life.

In such dysfunctional societies the center cannot hold. The irreflexive members are unaccountable for their actions. They have embraced a false liberty. Within their supposed freedom to do whatever they want, without taking any responsibility for the result, is the seed of a sure and certain outcome. It will be just as foretold long ago: “Whoever sows iniquity shall reap calamity; they who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.”

The only realm, or range of choices, in which we can truly exert complete control, is that through which we traverse as we struggle to achieve self-mastery. When we choose the higher path, we are thereby becoming independent of the material world, its situations, its appearances, its contradictions, its incessant wants, and all of its false priorities. When we mature, as a child of God, we forsake childish things.

When we can think independently of such a world and all of its distractions, we will be truly liberated, free to choose the higher path, free to achieve our highest and best destiny, free to realize the most complete and replete expression of our being. To understand the will of the Father is to know the love of a Divine Parent. For every true parent desires only the most promising, most fulfilling career for each of their children.

Fidelity of mind and a unified personality are the prerequisites for quality thinking. “By their fruits you shall know them”. And those who also reach for the values of the most real, most abundant life, are your cohorts, your fellow travelers for the long journey ahead. If you are becoming an individual capable of navigating the confusing currents of this world without losing sight of the guiding star that will bring us into an era of light and life, then you are helping to move all of us along the way to the brightest possible future.

Jesus once asked: “Why do you call me good?” And then he said: “There is no one good but God.” He also told us that ‘He who rules his own spirit is mightier than he who takes a city’. When you choose the path that leads to eternal life, you will be transforming your whole being into one filled with the truth, the beauty, and the goodness that can only come from God. The highest creative achievement of human life is one of mutual collaboration between God and each human being. Our Heavenly Father is far more than just your upstairs advisor. He is truly your partner in life.

We can nitpick. We can experience theological hiccups. We can fret about things that didn’t go our way. But, in the final analysis, the only thing that matters is our faith because it is our faith that truly says it all. Faith is, first and foremost, loyal. The highest form of loyalty is manifest when we pray to God saying “It is my will that your will be done.” The certitude about our future that stems from such loyalty is rooted in the knowledge that Our God is, in all respects, faithful. 

While the non-believers and the unfaithful do their little dance, as marionettes of destiny within the fiction of self-determination, we must remember: False liberty is unintelligent, unconditioned, and uncontrolled. It is a cruel form of self-deception. True liberty is found in the reach for our highest and best destiny and this is only enjoyed through the embrace of living truth.

When all is said and done, we are truly the arbiters of our own destiny.

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In his 1989 Feeling Good Handbook, Dr. David Burns described what he termed Cognitive Distortions. The target demographic for the doctor’s book was anyone that might be suffering from bouts of depression. He wrote that “We all tend to think in extremes…and when traumatic events happen we think that way even more.” Although the book was authored for the people who are most inclined to internalize the “glass half full” kind of negative interpretations for the circumstances of life, experience has also shown that such “distortions” can affect everyone’s perception of others.

In the late 1990s, I was asked to organize and develop a peer support group for single parents. As one might imagine, the group spent a lot of time processing a wide variety of frustrations. It was a co-ed group, mostly comprised of people that were pretty ticked-off with the other parent, whether he or she was an estranged lover or a former spouse, One evening, we prayerfully considered the entire list of cognitive distortions in light of our own feelings.

Burns had suggested the reader consider the common cognitive distortions to, and I quote: “see if any of them are getting in your way.” I had shared the list with our group to see if the items on it would somehow apply if, in addition to blaming ourselves, we were blaming another person. In the case of what might be described as self-loathing, Burns had suggested the distortions could be internalized as follows” 

• Because your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure. 
• You see a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat. 
• You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively so that your vision of all reality becomes darkened.
• You reject positive experiences by insisting they “don’t count” for some reason.
• You make a negative interpretation even though there are no definite facts that convincingly support your conclusion. 
• You arbitrarily conclude that someone is reacting negatively to you and don’t bother to check it out. 
• You anticipate that things will turn out badly and feel convinced that your prediction is an already-established fact. 
• You exaggerate the importance of things (such as your goof-up or someone else’s achievement), or you inappropriately shrink things until they appear tiny (your own desirable qualities or the other fellow’s imperfections).
• You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are.
• You try to motivate yourself as if you had to be whipped and punished before you could be expected to do anything. 
• Instead of describing your error, you attach a negative label to yourself: “I’m a loser.”
• You see yourself as the cause of some negative external event for which, in fact, you were not primarily responsible.

As members of our group discussed each of these points and how they may have applied to ourselves, it was easy to see the loving / loathing fulcrum and just how such habits of thought could also be directed at others that we might be inclined to write off as worthless. We acknowledged the need to develop a more charitable attitude. And, although the group made a concerted effort to forgive, it was clear that, at times, this was not heart-felt or that it was done grudgingly.

Our regular meeting place was a church parlor and, clearly, the elephant in the room was the example Jesus gave when he was targeted by certain hateful Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees, and Herodians. They wanted to distract and entrap Jesus while effectively burning off any time he would otherwise have for the proclamation of certain teachings they found to be problematic.

Their spokesman identified himself as a lawyer and asked Jesus which, in his opinion, is the greatest commandment. Jesus answered saying: “There is but one commandment, and that one is the greatest of all, and that commandment is: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second commandment is like this first; indeed, it springs directly therefrom, and it is: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these; on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Because Jesus led by example he was able, throughout his exemplary life, to augment these commandments by providing a personal and practical application of these essential principles. His spiritual attitude was clearly and consistently that of a loving parent. He was quick to correct, quick to forgive, and always ready to move on. There was no foreboding, no nursing of resentment, no harboring of grudges. 

Jesus was never distracted by those who sought to distract and entrap him. He was never the victim of cognitive distortions. He had a heart for service and this is evidenced by his revelationary life together with the revolutionary statement: “I give you this new commandment: That you love one another even as I have loved you. And by this will all men know that you are my disciples if you thus love one another.”

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Could an individual attempting to navigate without the benefit of rudder, charts, sextant, knowledge of atmospheric and sea conditions or familiarity with his or her craft truly be called its master? Or, would the graduating class of 1492 vote such a person “most likely to fall off the edge of the Earth?”

To achieve any form of mastery one must not only know where they are going, but just how to get there. They must also develop a healthy respect for the obstacles, physical and psychological, along the way. Individual humans will, as a normal part of growth, continue to experience new centricities and eccentricities not unlike the paradigm shift that took place as a result of the Copernican revolution. For example, the egocentric infant is acutely aware of the mother’s revolutions about him. From his perceptual standpoint, or lay-point, he is the center of infinity, but only until he is challenged.

Like the child, whole societies must trade childlike perceptions for larger realities if they are to grow. The egocentric is traded for the family-centric. Geocentric planetary systems are traded for heliocentric ones and now, thanks to space telescopes orbiting Earth, great spiral galaxies are clearly seen to be moving about some unseen universe center. The olden prophet described this center as obscured by light, and behold, from the modern Earth astronomer’s viewpoint it has been revealed, the prophet was right. But there’s so much more to the cosmos than astrophysics. And it takes more than three-dimensional thinking to comprehend what is far more than holographic paradigm.

As a direct consequence of the Lucifer rebellion, the human masses have been conditioned for disbelief. Like fleas in a closed jar, we have practiced thought under a conceptual ceiling. And, once the lid is removed, the fleas can’t jump out of the jar due to muscle conditioning. Likewise, individual humans have limited their leaps of faith as well as their flights of fancy for reasons directly traceable to an unhealthy conditioning that yields in turn a variety of cognitive distortions obscuring truth as well as fact. This holds for the wage slave, the abused spouse, even whole societies.

As they might with a series of love affairs gone bad, our fellows oftentimes feel they can avoid the frustrations associated with misplaced faith by giving up. Upon considering their disillusionment and general skepticism, those resident on the planet, early in the third millennium point to some major personal or historical event as a significant factor contributing to a so called “loss of faith.”

There are those of us who are, to use the vernacular, simply hell bent, whose light of truth is refracted and confused to the point where its spectral array lacks definition, is muddled, or almost imperceptible. There are some whose concept of beauty is so contextualized that the greater gift itself is never beheld. And there are others of us to whom goodness is systematically disqualified so that our self-righteousness may never be challenged and our rightful inheritance is never enjoyed.

One cannot compensate for lost truth with mere facts, especially questionable facts. For those not inclined to faith there will always be reasons aplenty to support faithlessness. To those who cultivate faith or who possess a strong faith there can still be problems. Humans who place their faith in humans and human institutions are courting disappointment. There is no shortage of man-made disillusionment: from assassinations to inquisitions; from the first examples of genocide to the twentieth century holocaust; from the problem of pedophile priests and bad faith bishops to Daesh.

There is no reason to expect that the most basic human institutions are immune to such maladies. And this is evidenced by the erosion of civilized standards. Certain devotees of Lucifer and his debauched system of values have been highly successful at redefining, dumbing down virtue. Churchianity continues to sell indulgences in a variety of ways. Divorcing parents indulge their anger at the expense of their children. Powerful simpletons in government interpret freedom of religion as meaning freedom from religion. Some choose blindness to cosmic relationships and reject mercy with increasing contempt and disdain.

Until such time as those rejecting mercy have made the full choice of their own moral bankruptcy and spiritual extinction, things will get worse, not better, for the people of our Earth. Enduring justice will always be predicated on the laws that God himself has established. God is only limited by his own volition as expressed through His laws, and as they pertain to the physical universe, life, and interpersonal relationships. Lucifer did not have to violate the laws of the cosmos to understand the outcome of his folly any more than an Earth scientist must continually retest for the presence of gravity. The results were and are clearly foreseeable.

We must deliberately choose the witness over the masquerade. We must insure that the light we shine is one of quality, spectral purity, the whole light of Truth. In the prose of Jesus: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and be led to glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

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The Book of Wisdom is one of the seven wisdom books comprising the Septuagint. The others are Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon), Job, and Sirach. The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon is included in the canon of Deuterocanonical books by the Roman Catholic Church while most Protestants consider it part of the Apocrypha.

It includes an exhortation to justice, a speech contrasting the wicked versus the just, and an exhortation to wisdom. Solomon’s speech addresses wisdom, wealth, power and prayer. The historical narrative includes references to false worship, past and future plagues, and a concluding doxology.

While there is general agreement by scholars that the book was most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt, there is some controversy as to the authorship and the intended audience. Some attribute it to Hebrew authorship, intended for the rulers of the earth, urging them to love righteousness and seek wisdom. Others hold that the book was written by an Egyptian scribe named Amenemope as a book of instruction for his son.

Athanasius, the 20th bishop of Alexandria, wrote that the Book of Wisdom along with three other deuterocanonical books, while not being part of the Canon, “were appointed by the Fathers to be read” Whatever the book’s origins, the supreme value of wisdom is underscored throughout. Consider the following quote from the Book of Wisdom: “For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen.” Now also consider the way C.S. Lewis addressed the value of “analogy” as he wrote about the limitations of a circumscribed language of the realm. I quote Lewis:

“If the richer system is to be represented in the poorer at all, this can only be by giving each element in the poorer system more than one meaning. The transposition of the richer into the poorer must, so to speak, be algebraical, not arithmetical. If you are to translate from a language which has a large vocabulary, into a language that has a small vocabulary, then you must be allowed to use several words in more than one sense. If you are to write a language with twenty two vowel sounds in an alphabet with only five vowel characters then you must be allowed to give each of those five characters more than one value. If you are making a piano version of a piece originally scored for an orchestra, then the same piano notes which represent flutes in one passage must also represent violins in another.

“As the examples show we are all quite familiar with this kind of transposition or adaptation from a richer to a poorer medium. The most familiar example of all is the art of drawing. The problem here is to represent a three-dimensional world on a flat sheet of paper. The solution is perspective, and perspective means that we must give more than one value to a two-dimensional shape. Thus in a drawing of a cube we use an acute angle to represent what is a right angle in the real world. But elsewhere an acute angle on the paper may represent what was already an acute angle in the real world: for example, the point of a spear on the gable of a house. The very same shape which you must draw to give the illusion of a straight road receding from the spectator is also the shape you draw for a dunces’ cap. As with the lines, so with the shading. Your brightest light in the picture is, in literal fact, only plain white paper: and this must do for the sun, or a lake in evening light, or snow, or human flesh.

“It is clear that in each case what is happening in the lower medium can be understood only if we know the higher medium. The instance where this knowledge is most commonly lacking is the musical one. The piano version means one thing to the musician who knows the original orchestral score and another thing to the man who hears it simply as a piano piece. But the second man would be at an even greater disadvantage if he had never heard any instrument but a piano and even doubted the existence of other instruments. Even more, we understand pictures only because we know and inhabit the three-dimensional world.

“If we can imagine a creature who perceived only two dimensions and yet could somehow be aware of the lines as he crawled over them on the paper, we shall easily see how impossible it would be for him to understand. At first he might be prepared to accept on authority our assurance that there was a world in three dimensions. But when we pointed to the lines on the paper and tried to explain, say, that “This is a road,” would he not say that the shape which we were asking him to accept as a revelation of our mysterious other world was the very same shape which, on our own showing, elsewhere meant nothing but a triangle. And soon, I think, he would say, “You keep on telling me of this other world and its unimaginable shapes which you call solid. But isn’t it very suspicious that all the shapes which you offer me as images or reflections of the solid ones turn out on inspection to be simply the old two-dimensional shapes of my own world as I have always known it? Is it not obvious that your vaunted other world, so far from being the archetype, is a dream which borrows all its elements from this one?”

Now, in light of the C.S. Lewis treatment on analogy, prayerfully consider the Jesusonian Parables and just how the direct teachings of Jesus, and his wisdom, have gracefully transcended time, space, and the paucity of human language. When, rather than promising more holy books or additional layers of ecclesiastical authority, he promised a Spirit Helper, the Spirit of Truth that would guide us into all truth, he knew what he was doing.

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When the Son of God descended to experience the human condition as the Son of Man; in weakness made powerful by faith-submission to the will of Our Father, he directly confronted the Arch Deceiver. Our entire universe of principalities and powers, clearly and forever recognized the justice of doing, in the role of mortal flesh, those things which mercy admonished him not to do by the power of arbitrary authority. Even those fomenting spiritual wickedness in high places and the rulers of the darkness in this world saw the fairness, and were thus challenged in ways they did not anticipate.

The decision Jesus made, to live a life wholeheartedly motivated to do the will of Our Father, thus to reveal God, is our inspiration. Jesus is quoted as saying: “Why do you call me good? There is none good but God.” Contrast this humility to the brash demeanor of excessively prominent personalities. Self-confidence, self-reliance and self-sufficiency may be the bread of this world, but the faith-son does not vest ultimate faith in anyone but God.

The apostasy of the apostle who denied Jesus may have been less severe than that of the apostle who betrayed Jesus, but each of these single points of failure was a potential known to, and foretold by, Our Sovereign. The command “Go tell the apostles and Peter” inspired the forgiven apostle to become instrumental in delivering over two thousand souls to the service of the Kingdom during his highly enthusiastic Pentecost sermon.

The gospel that Jesus taught redeemed us from the superstition that we are children of the devil. Jesus gave us dignity as faith sons and daughters of God. As the Spirit of Truth came to dwell in our hearts, we became liberated from all dependence on ecclesiastical authority and pharisitic tradition. As we walk by the direct tutelage of the Spirit we too may get periodic humility lessons similar to Peter’s “Get behind me Satan” moment. For ultimately, there is none true but God, there is none beautiful but God and there is none good but God.

The supreme sovereignty of Christ Jesus comes from God, and that is why we call him Lord. As he dwelt among us, in the role of a teacher, he gave immediate attention to the liberation and inspiration of our spiritual nature. He illuminated the darkened human intellect, healed the souls of humankind, and emancipated our minds from age-old fears. He ministered to us addressing both our physical well-being and our material comfort. He lived the ideal religious life for the inspiration and edification of all within his universe.

The Supreme Values of Truth, Beauty and Goodness, belong exclusively to God. We are as fishers of men stationed along a highly intricate network designed and maintained by Our Heavenly Father. As we become authenticated; as the potentials of intellectual theology give way to actual faith; and as we come into alignment with the things, meanings and values that are the design criteria for His Universe, we will discover the keys to knowing His will in every situation.

So the next time you log into what has become known as the Internet, think about the world that Lucifer fell to. The next time you’re clearing the spam out of your mailbox, think about the deceitful practices we’ve come to accept as routine politics. The next time your electronic system freezes, think about how the tail of the dragon swept down a third of the stars from Heaven before he was bound and loosed again. And, the next time you endure a denial of service attack, get your browser hijacked or respond to an email that may or may not be from the person or institution listed as the sender, think about the value of a trusted source.

While the avowed atheist will seek some form of subjective gratification by confiding in postulates or getting in touch with his inner cookie, we can enjoy true objective satisfaction knowing the Kingdom of Heaven, our living, loving Heavenly Father is within us. We strike step with Eternity by looking to the One through Worship.

Jesus did not command us to fall into and out of some ethereal love when we feel like it. He instead commanded us to love one another as he loves us. It is our faith that informs our response to Divine leading as well as our grasp of universal values. When these become truly meaningful to us, we too can produce seed bearing fruit. The love, devotion, loyalty, fairness, honesty, hope, trust, mercy, goodness, forgiveness, tolerance and peace loving ways of the truly faithful combine in a spiritual fragrance that will unfailingly attract kindred souls. When we can thus enjoy spiritual unity without insisting upon theological uniformity, the fears and the defensiveness quickly dissolve. These are among the qualities we must develop, as individuals, if we are to advance along Eternity Road.

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As his executioners were nailing his hands to the crossbeam, Jesus said: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

For those with questions about forgiveness and mercy in the absence of repentance, the big answers are, of course, found in prayer. And yet part of the answer is to be found in the definition and nurture components of mercy, for it is more than the forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s sphere of influence. It goes beyond the discretionary power of a civil magistrate to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment. Mercy can also be a simple act of compassion, or something that gives evidence of divine favor; merited or unmerited. It is truly a blessing and entirely consistent with Our Lord’s Gospel of loving-kindness.

As Jesus demonstrated on the cross, there is a higher quality of righteousness than justice. Jesus told us to minister to the sick, the fainthearted, and those bound by fear. As we share the Gospel, we help free those enslaved by evil. And we can do all of this unencumbered by any analysis paralysis or concern over judgment for excessive kindness because of the grace factor. Grace is, by definition, unmerited favor. Consider the words of Jesus: “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.”

Consider also, the example Jesus gave about the man who steals your coat. By the Master’s admonition, in our time we would likely give the thief a set of matching gloves and perhaps even a scarf for a dash of color. Now would we do this simply to keep from getting shot or is there a larger principle involved? I believe our act of kindness in the face of such evil is the Peacemaker’s equivalent of shock and awe. It would serve to challenge the righteousness of the self-centered thief. And even though it may not spur in him an instant conversion to altruistic hero, it also won’t support his notion that everyone’s in it for themselves. He has, at least, one unsettling example of a fellow human being acting unselfishly. Until he grows to understand your motivation, the unusual experience will be hard to reconcile in his mind.

Jesus said: “Freely you have received, freely give.” There appears to be no record of any requirement that we play Mother May I to go about doing good. And yet we have all seen the cartoon of a boy scout trying to help an elderly woman across the street only to have her beat him with her umbrella. We’ve experienced disappointment in situations where our charitable acts have failed to produce lasting improvement in the lives of those we’ve sought to help. But we are not called to micromanage the attitudes or the lives of others, for we know that a world without the possibility of unwise judgment would be a world without free intelligence.

If someone we are trying to help seems impelled, by the accumulation of emotional conflicts, to seek relief in unhealthy forms of self-expression; or if they persist in the unwise pursuit of destructive pleasures, it would be inconsistent with our loving service mandate to be a pit-stop along such a suicidal course. We are not required to cater to every indulgence or to support professional alms takers. When Jesus told us to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves, He was teaching us the value of discretion in the context of patience, tolerance, and forgiveness.

While we are not called to sit in judgment on the heart and soul of others, we can certainly respond to their outward expression. Jesus said: “By their fruits you shall know them.” The Gospel is about the value we each add to the living, growing family within the Kingdom of Heaven.

The ministry of mercy is, in essence, the choreography of the Spirit. Jesus described the role of the Spirit as one of helper, leader and comforter. Implicit to the Spirit’s ability to lead us into all truth are the powers of discernment and discretion required by anyone actively engaged in mercy ministry. When God calls us to a ministry, He makes provision which means He insures that we are appropriately equipped.

Jesus said: “This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you.” His is a wise parental love. And He demonstrates, even today, that the key to such wisdom is prayerful submission to the Father’s will. Through prayer we enjoy a clarification of viewpoint, an enrichment of thought, a technique for the adjustment of difficulties, and the opportunity to express our gratitude. When prayer moves us beyond a recital of personal concerns to become a declaration of faith and a sincere expression of spiritual attitude; when it transcends the petitioner’s repetitions and embarks on the discovery of higher inclinations, it transforms the soul for a mighty mobilization.

Our part in mercy ministry is to go where great things are waiting to be done; to set the stage for healing, to bring about opportunities for salvation. We are as notes in merciful chords of divine compassion. We know that God will not suffer a single person who calls on His name in true faith, and with a pure heart, to fail. And our merciful ministrations help to reveal the Father’s heart of love and compassion. The spirit techniques of mercy ministry may well be beyond our comprehension, but we can understand, even today, that mercy is essential to growth.

Full Transcript:

While attention to detail is a good thing, every nurseryman will tell you, rot is often the result of over-feeding or over-watering. Now it may be useful to dwell on this particular axiom for a moment because it lends itself well to the case for and against micro-managing. At the risk of pursuing analogies that break down or the folly of subjecting parables to allegorical interpretation; I would point out that Jesus demonstrated a particular fondness for growth parables.

In the modern day nursery, young plants are routinely fed, watered on a precise schedule, and even enjoy supplemental lighting on cloudy days. The nursery temperature is carefully monitored and adjusted. Predatory insects are kept away. If the plant is mainly ornamental and destined for the indoors, it may live out its entire life without serious challenges to its own splendiferous array and luxurious growth. It is, in effect, bred to expect just the right amount of light, food, water and heat at precisely the right time.

If, on the other hand, the seedling is being raised for field service, for erosion control, reforestation or holding fast against the winds, it must successfully transition from the nursery to, what is in essence, boot camp in the form of a cold frame. Here the new recruit will itself have to dig in for nourishment, to establish and maintain its stance while reaching high for the nourishing rays of the sun. It must do all of this while subjected to randomized cycles of hot and cold plus less predictable lighting. It must elbow its way to the canopy top and overcome increasingly crowded conditions.

Now if we truly care about our charges, how can we consign them to such brutal conditions? If we are raising a family of hothouse orchids or other fragile flowers to occupy a fine tuned environment, little correction is ever warranted. We may run for the watering can at the first sign of a wilted leaf or panic at the first sign of an aphid attack. We may indulge the impulse to intervene at the first hint of adversity. But generally things will run smoothly and we can take great pride in our floral displays.

If however, we are raising our young charges to make their mark in the outside world well then, a hardening off must ensue. The nurturing infrastructure necessarily becomes increasingly competitive. As with the wheat and the tares, seedlings may be permitted to grow together so that the more desirable plants can develop superior disease resistance and the quality of endurance. As our fledglings become less perishable we worry less about how they will stand up against the onslaughts of time.

Likewise God is raising ruggedized human beings for service in the mission field, an arena of competing ideas. He has given us the chance to experience the thrill of victory in the face of temptations to default. And yet, this does not lessen our responsibility for exercising special care and attention during a child’s tender years. We must, of course, guard against any narcissistic tendencies and encourage the ascent of true character.

No courage is required of those immature souls that have aligned themselves with the popular, the rich, and the powerful. In contrast, mature adults can reasonably be expected to stand steadfast against the lure of superficiality, the ravages of licentious authorities and seduction by discredited principalities. It takes great amounts of moral fiber to avoid the pitfalls and speak truth to power. But we are seemingly submersed in a counter-culture that is designed to break down and digest that fiber. The decomposition enzymes in this case are the incessant yearnings of a glandular elite that wields great influence and offers very little in the way of common sense.

When such a culture becomes an indispensable part of a child’s nurturing environment, we have introduced a pathogenic predator into the nursery. Whether by the adolescent mentality of those indiscriminately parading, and thus cheapening, their libido; or by the purposeful designs of those who would undermine all that is true, beautiful and good; parents have a unique obligation to safeguard their children against all such corruptive influences.

Sowing seeds of self denial for some undisclosed but higher reality is the mark of maturity. Personal discipline is a key component to any reality based success. And it is the undying hope of all true parents that their children shall enjoy such a success. Good and bad habits take hold during the formative stages of growth. And no child should be burdened with having to overcome bad habits that were ingrained as part of a failed parenting strategy.

In the story of Job we encountered the unwise counsel of a self-indulgent Elihu who said: “I will speak, that I may be refreshed.” While free speech is a fundamental right, it can also be an unwise form of self-gratification. Fully engaged parents recognize the difference. Aloofness does not. Parental guidance informs a child’s values. Laxness does not. The practice of self mastery is a mark of superior parenting. Unbridled pleasure seeking is most certainly not. And, by their fruits you shall know them.

Full Transcript:

One of the things those called to ministry do is an exercise called The River of Life. In it we are asked: “If you were able to compare your life with a river, what would the river look like?” The exploration became even more meaningful to me, and intensely personal, as the following four additional questions were presented.

• When and where are the smooth, flowing waters – those times when events and relationships seem generally positive or there is a sense of ease about life? 

• When does the river take a sudden turn (and what caused the turn), or change from smooth waters to rough, tumbling rapids, or to an excited rush of water?

• Are there rocks or boulders falling into your river – unexpectedly landing there, changing its direction forever?

• Are there points at which it flows powerfully and purposefully or seems to slow to a trickle?

At one retreat we were asked to present drawings of our rivers. I was surprised as the youngest among us held up sketches that seemed very short whereas mine had two pages of tributaries. Then again, I’m sure our angels were amused by the fact that, on the scale of Eternity, I somehow thought my life was long.

The tributaries for my river featured the occasional puddle that I associated with being house broken. There were also refreshing springs that I remember as sweet tasting. But, by far, the thing I remember most is people, from all walks of life, talking to me. These were the babbling brooks. And I wasn’t listening. Well, every once in awhile a message might seep in.

I distinctly remember the phrase “You’re not listening!” as spoken by my parents, my teachers, and many others in authority over me. As I reflect upon these earliest impressions, I realize I wasn’t really goal oriented but, in light of how God has ordered my steps, I’m hesitant to characterize my life as one of aimless wandering.

When I decided I really wanted something, I was willing to work hard to get it. When I found a radio station that I really liked, I developed the strategy, mapped the tactics, and secured the licensing necessary to have them give me a job. In between high school and my all too brief college career, I literally rocked around the clock with afternoon shows. an all night show and another one on Saturday mornings. I was high on sleep deprivation and little white pills. Then it all came crashing down as my high school sweetheart dumped me. My immediate response was to go into the station’s record library and pull every love song I had ever heard. Friends and other listeners described the six-hour show as a rock opera. For me, one song in particular stood out. It was by Simon and Garfunkel and included the chorus “I’ve just been fakin’ it, not really makin’ it.” I was finally listening.

What ensued was a two year program of soil conditioning wherein God prepared my heart for the seed that would finally take hold in 1972. The surreal would soon give way to an enthusiastic embrace of total reality. God used it in my life, and I can clearly see just how the river of that young life took a sudden turn. One night, as the Who song Baba O’Riley was playing and the chorus “teenage wasteland” was ringing in my ears. I thought “how fitting” as the music stopped abruptly and the singer screamed “They’re all wasted!”

I remember thinking; “I don’t wanna be wasted.” This was the actual tipping point or, as I often think of it, my Deuteronomy moment wherein God said: “I set before you life and death, therefore choose life.” There was another song. It was not a chart topper, but even so, it would often seem to be playing in the places I would frequent. The chorus of this particular Moody Blues composition included the line: “When all the stars are falling down, into the sea and on the ground, and angry voices carry on the wind; a beam of light will fill your head, and you’ll remember what’s been said, by all the good men this world’s ever known.” 

Somehow, whenever I heard “the good men,” I would think of Jesus. I didn’t know anything about Him and I developed an insatiable appetite for reading about Him, listening to songs about Him, and having Him orchestrate my thoughts. My re-birth in 1972 was brought about through a long labor. I knew from the get-go that my life would forever be about sharing the Gospel of Jesus! I was grateful for my lowly origin as well as my capacity for experience. I became a counselor, of sorts, to those who were struggling with the modern pleasure mania. I shared my experience, describing how Jesus encouraged me to make healthier substitutions. Instead of reaching for a cigarette, I reached for the guitar. I gravitated towards music that was meaningful to those, “with ears to hear,” including the new me.

I traded a life with no discernible goal orientation to one with a career that was informed, and inspired by, the concept of service throughout Eternity. I envisioned a career that is lived under the continuing influence of the same person that rescued me from the depths of despair. Under the direct tutelage of the Spirit of Truth, we will each learn to master the essentials of the eternal career. For there is no higher reality than that which is lived in the presence of God.