Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Being Inspired by Others
Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands. You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Being in the Kingdom of God
"The Kingdom of God is a result of a Godly act."
--Rob Ellis
My brother, Rob, spoke these words a few Sundays ago and they have resonated very deeply. Being results-focused and action-oriented, I have not been able to get them out of my head.
A lot is spoken about the Kingdom of God. But it is simply God's way of doing things. The Kingdom of God is action that produces results. We are in the Kingdom of God by our actions.
Christ prayed, "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We are the beings through which the Kingdom of God is forever established on the earth.
Considering our homes, work environments, schools, places of worship, neighborhoods, etc., it is our actions that establish the Kingdom of God, God's way of doing things, in our various surroundings.
The Kingdom of God has come and is forever established through our daily actions unassociated with guilt but embraced by love and settled by His word in heaven.
--Rob Ellis
My brother, Rob, spoke these words a few Sundays ago and they have resonated very deeply. Being results-focused and action-oriented, I have not been able to get them out of my head.
A lot is spoken about the Kingdom of God. But it is simply God's way of doing things. The Kingdom of God is action that produces results. We are in the Kingdom of God by our actions.
Christ prayed, "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We are the beings through which the Kingdom of God is forever established on the earth.
Considering our homes, work environments, schools, places of worship, neighborhoods, etc., it is our actions that establish the Kingdom of God, God's way of doing things, in our various surroundings.
The Kingdom of God has come and is forever established through our daily actions unassociated with guilt but embraced by love and settled by His word in heaven.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Being a Lover of the World
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
--John 3:16
On this Good Friday, this scripture had a new meaning for me. In the New Testament the world is defined as the system of things that are contrary to the Kingdom of God, God's way of doing things.
Considering the global crisis and what caused it i.e., greed, disrespect, selfishness, disregard, arrogance, etc., I had to admit that "God so loved the world that he gave" Christ as a sacrifice. We too should love the world and sacrifice.
While there remain many reasons to rail against any unjust system and to demand change, there is also something to be said for letting go of our personal pitchforks that poke both ways; there is no sustaining life there.
Blood flows. But not the sacrificial kind.
We want to fight in a manner that does not attack people, but the system upon which many are allowed to prosper in their ways. This is not meant to say that there should not be consequences for actions. There should be.
But at the heart of all injustice is faulty thinking driven by negative forces.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
--Ephesians 6:12
These "principalities," "powers" and "rulers of darkness" in "high places" are often elevated within our own minds, creating unproductive imaginings and thoughts, that exalt themselves above love. This gives way to "darkness" and "spiritual wickedness."
God is love. His way is light.
If God so loved the world that he gave, we should give love while we insist upon change, beginning first within our own minds.
Love is often not without pain and struggle; it often means sacrificing for a just cause. Do this in love.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
--Philippians 4:7
Be a lover of the world and give. "For God so loved the world that He gave."
--John 3:16
On this Good Friday, this scripture had a new meaning for me. In the New Testament the world is defined as the system of things that are contrary to the Kingdom of God, God's way of doing things.
Considering the global crisis and what caused it i.e., greed, disrespect, selfishness, disregard, arrogance, etc., I had to admit that "God so loved the world that he gave" Christ as a sacrifice. We too should love the world and sacrifice.
While there remain many reasons to rail against any unjust system and to demand change, there is also something to be said for letting go of our personal pitchforks that poke both ways; there is no sustaining life there.
Blood flows. But not the sacrificial kind.
We want to fight in a manner that does not attack people, but the system upon which many are allowed to prosper in their ways. This is not meant to say that there should not be consequences for actions. There should be.
But at the heart of all injustice is faulty thinking driven by negative forces.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
--Ephesians 6:12
These "principalities," "powers" and "rulers of darkness" in "high places" are often elevated within our own minds, creating unproductive imaginings and thoughts, that exalt themselves above love. This gives way to "darkness" and "spiritual wickedness."
God is love. His way is light.
If God so loved the world that he gave, we should give love while we insist upon change, beginning first within our own minds.
Love is often not without pain and struggle; it often means sacrificing for a just cause. Do this in love.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
--Philippians 4:7
Be a lover of the world and give. "For God so loved the world that He gave."
Monday, April 6, 2009
Being a Judeo-Christian Nation
The United States of America is not a Judeo-Christian nation. Yet, President Obama is getting some heat for this statement he made in Turkey today:
"We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."
President Obama's statement is aligned with the First Amendment of the Constitution:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
While many Americans are Christians we are most certainly not a Judeo-Christian nation. In a letter to the Dansbury Baptists, Thomas Jefferson wrote these words in reference to the First Amendment:
"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.'"
In the Christian faith belief in God is a choice. How can a nation be such?
"We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."
President Obama's statement is aligned with the First Amendment of the Constitution:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
While many Americans are Christians we are most certainly not a Judeo-Christian nation. In a letter to the Dansbury Baptists, Thomas Jefferson wrote these words in reference to the First Amendment:
"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.'"
In the Christian faith belief in God is a choice. How can a nation be such?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Being Called by God to Serve
Norman Coleman (R) is still in a fierce battle with Al Franken (D) for the U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota after losing the recount. He is now challenging the recount in court.
Last Friday Mr. Coleman said, "God wants me to serve." Is that news to Mr. Coleman? Having come to this realization, will someone please direct him to the nearest homeless shelter?
Last Friday Mr. Coleman said, "God wants me to serve." Is that news to Mr. Coleman? Having come to this realization, will someone please direct him to the nearest homeless shelter?
Monday, February 2, 2009
Being is Essence
The description of this blog begins "being is the essence out of which all things evolve." The idea emerged from my years of studying ontology (the study of being), transcendental phenomenology (the study of phenomena appearing in the acts of consciousness), and existentialism (the study of the human being's existence and isolation in the world. Being became human.) I concentrated on the works of Georg Hegel, Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Frederich Nietzsche, and Jean Paul Sartre.
Later I came to study the works of the physicist Max Plank which takes us beyond mere mathematics to quantum theories, and Jacques Derrida who expands the meaning of being to grammar. Grammar becomes being; it becomes essence. With this essence, the evolution of being expands to the inanimate. But it is, nevertheless, an extension of the animate. Words become being. Being becomes material as in the beginning. This is the creative process.
"In the beginning was the Word...and the Word became flesh."
"You are gods."
Later I came to study the works of the physicist Max Plank which takes us beyond mere mathematics to quantum theories, and Jacques Derrida who expands the meaning of being to grammar. Grammar becomes being; it becomes essence. With this essence, the evolution of being expands to the inanimate. But it is, nevertheless, an extension of the animate. Words become being. Being becomes material as in the beginning. This is the creative process.
"In the beginning was the Word...and the Word became flesh."
"You are gods."
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Being Concerned About Others
In his sermon this morning, Rob, said something that struck me deeply. His message today was on loss, from losing a loved one to losing your job to losing a pet to anything others might consider trivial.
To these he simply said:
"God is concerned about whatever we're concerned about."
As God is concerned about what concerns us, wouldn't our world be so much better if we were concerned about each other?
To these he simply said:
"God is concerned about whatever we're concerned about."
As God is concerned about what concerns us, wouldn't our world be so much better if we were concerned about each other?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Being Inspired by Others
"Then let us all do what is right, strive with all our might toward the unattainable, develop as fully as we can the gifts God has given us, and never stop learning."
--Ludwig van Beethoven
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Being Fearless in Love
What is the best way to handle fear of success, fear of failure, fear of loneliness or fear of separation? What is the best way to deal with fear in general?
Love is the way. There is a saying that says, "perfect love casts out all fear."
Fear dissipates with love. Focus on the love of another or the love of a task, make it lovely, even when it appears not to be. Find the love. Love the process.
God is love.
Love is the way. There is a saying that says, "perfect love casts out all fear."
Fear dissipates with love. Focus on the love of another or the love of a task, make it lovely, even when it appears not to be. Find the love. Love the process.
God is love.
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