Whatever you think people are withholding from you, be it praise, appreciation, love or whatever, give it to them. Jesus said "Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put in your lap."

The interesting part of this is it works for both good and bad things. What you give you will receive. Check yourself to see what you are giving to others, and if you don't want it coming to you, don't give it and find something else to give. If you are complaining, more complaining will come to you. If you are loving, more love will come to you. If you are taking from others but never giving, more will be taken from you. So check yourself.


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Wednesday, April 09, 2008

  • 2008/04/09 - Eternal Life

    A friend's post titled contemplating eternal life inspired me to write about some of the things that I've been pondering.

    For myself, understanding of eternal life began in the moment that I understood that the kingdom of Heaven is here. Jesus came to reveal and make known the heart of the King and the kingdom of Heaven. He trained up His disciples and sent them out to tell the people that the kingdom of Heaven is at hand and for them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons (all things that are done by faith and not by sight).

    Even from the moment that Adam and Eve found themselves outside of the garden, they could have chosen to live and walk by faith (with God) and not by sight (without God). One pivotal moment of understanding came for me because of the story of the official with a dying son (John 4:46-54). The official asked Jesus to come down and heal his son. It is Jesus' reply that clicked for me; "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." Jesus' words were implying that the official didn't need to seek Jesus in the physical, the official didn't need Jesus to go to the son in the physical, the official only needed to believe for his son and he would be well (it is a spiritual truth). As it was, since the official didn't believe that his son could be healed without Jesus' faith, Jesus stepped in and healed, but Jesus would have been praising and rejoicing had the official had the faith for his son directly.

    Jesus did not come to start the miracles of God; the miracles and power have always been readily available to man kind... it's always been based on having faith and not doubting. If a person is walking with Love (aka God), then that person is walking in the kingdom and eternal life with God has already begun.

    I often think of when Peter and John (Acts 3) were going to the temple and a man lame from birth begging for money caught Peter's attention. Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" Freely give what you have freely received comes to mind.

    Another thought that has bounced around in my head of late is Jesus' preparation of a new heaven and a new earth. Those choosing to live Love are in the first heaven and they experience as much of God in their lives as they are willing to have faith for. All of us are living on the first earth.

    To be with Love, or with the Creator, is to be in heaven and to be separated from Love, or separated from the Creator, is to be in hell (weeping and gnashing of teeth).

    Matthew 13:41 "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers..."

    Choose to be in the kingdom now... seek first Perfect Love, Truth and Life and all things will be added to you. Eternal life... living with God... live in heaven, begins the moment your heart accepts the rules of Love (dying to self and living for Perfect Love); live for God!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

  • 2008/03/30 When Life is Crappy

    When life seems to be pressing in on us and being cruel, we need to focus on Truth (whatever is positive) and use it as an exercise to work on our Faith (assurance in what we hope for).

    I encourage everyone to think about whatever is positive, just as Paul suggested. I also encourage everyone to take these opportunities to work on faith... Jesus never implied that a person needs to figure out how things will work out with getting a car, money or anything else that is needed or wanted, He only tells us to focus on the Ask, Believe, Receive pattern. Jesus said to ask anything and believe that it is already yours, do not doubt, and He will give it to you to glorify your Father in heaven and to make your joy complete.

    Christianity has turned the word prayer into a word representing "asking, pleading, hoping" and the word faith into a word representing a person's belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (and that line of thinking). When Jesus prayed, it was not at the level of simply "asking, pleading, hoping"; when Jesus prayed it was with certainty and assurance. Prayer is simply communication with the Father. This can happen all day long if a person realizes that their every thought is heard by God and that praying is not simply a pattern to follow.

    Also, His life is the perfect life to meditate on in order to understand the "faith" that Jesus tells us we should have. Jesus wondered why the men didn't have faith for calming the storm when He asked, "Where is your faith". When Peter was walking on water, he took His eyes off of his assurance in the hope he had to walk on water and began to "walk by sight" looking at the wind, became afraid (which means started to doubt) and began to sink. Jesus immediately took hold of him saying "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" The official, whose son was ill, went to Jesus and asked him to come and heal his son, for his son was dying; Jesus said, "Go; your son will live." The man believed and later found that his son was healed the very moment that Jesus said he will live. Notice our record of the first thing Jesus said to this man, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." This implies that Jesus knew this man could have had the faith for his son to be healed without physically coming to Jesus. This man could have believed for his son's healing before hearing it from Jesus...

    Jesus knew that we should walk by faith and not by sight. He knows that anything that we have assurance in our hope for, we will receive and do. This world and the pattern of this world are nothing; we have been created in the image of the Creator, we are creators.

    If there is something in front of you that needs corrected or fixed or something that you earnestly desire, Ask, Believe and Receive. Do not worry or wonder about the "how". Ask and then believe that it is yours. How do you feel when you know something is yours? How do you feel when you buy or win something that will be delivered or picked up later? You know it is yours, you don't wonder or worry about how it will get to you, you feel the feelings of already having it (excited, etc.) and you receive it.

    Some people say that this only works if you ask something in "the will of God". I agree, but I don't see that the will of our Father is as mysterious as people today make it out to be. Jesus could only do what He saw the Father doing and He could do nothing apart from our Father. He cursed that fig tree when it was doing as it was designed to do. The tree withered and part of Jesus' joy was made complete in that situation. It's obvious that we can believe for things other than the positive (as in cursing the tree), but I am focusing on believing for things that are positive. When I have a conflict with someone, I pray for both of us; I pray mainly that Perfect Love will be more evident in my life so that I can interact well with that other person.

    So when life seems to be pressing in, being cruel, or just plain ugly, we need to stop focusing on that ugliness and focus on the positive or on the Truth and we need to use our situation(s) as exercises in faith by asking, believing (this is the challenging stage) and receiving. We need to begin truly walking by faith and not by sight; walking not by the assurance in the things we see (the problems and our wrecked past), but by assurance in the hope that we have for our current and future.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

  • 2008/03/26 - Always Enough Time

    One thing that helped my experience with our Creator was the realization that I am with Him all day everyday whether or not I honor Him or ignore Him. It does not take an extra special quiet time in order to be with Him, share with Him, learn from Him, and hear His leading. Quiet times are very good and can be very strengthening, but the day in and day out... needs to be lived with Him.

    He desires more than just a little bit of our time. We have minds that are able to be thinking, pondering or meditating on something even though we are working or doing something completely different from our thoughts. My challenge to everyone would be to master taking every thought captive by thinking upon positive, good and loving things and events.

    The world around us is created by our loves and our fears. If we walk by Faith and not by sight, then our fears will diminish as our loves increase beyond imagination. Faith is assurance in the things for which we hope. If someone has assurance that they will begin to have abundant time with the Father and wonderful interaction with Him, then that will come into their lives. We are created in His image. We speak/think things into existence. Jesus said Ask, Believe and Receive. Ask anything, believe that you have already received it and it will be yours… all this to glorify the Father and make your joy complete.

    Our Father’s desire is to be loved and to love. He desires you to love Him with Perfect Love and He is always offering Perfect Love to you. Take your thoughts captive to whatever is positive, whatever is Love, and you will find your life and relationships transform before your eyes!

    Blessings!!

Friday, February 29, 2008

  • 2008-02-29 Baptism and Physical Traditions

    A friend wrote a post pertaining to the question of water baptism. After reading the post and reading through the comments, I found I had the following to share...

    I would not use the “Jesus did it” stance pertaining to water baptism. Jesus fulfilled the law; are you going to fulfill the law yourself because “Jesus did it”? Jesus walked through all of the Jewish traditions; are you going to walk through all of the Jewish traditions yourself because “Jesus did it”? The one thing that we are to do is to Love and that is still not because “Jesus did it”, but because Love is what the heart of the Father has always desired of His creation.

    Water baptism, a Jewish feast/meal/supper, robes, hats, etc… physical traditions are not where pleasing our Father God lies. Pleasing our Father God lies in Perfect Love, which is found by seeing less of us and more of Him in a life. When we get the flesh with those fleshly reactions out of the way, then the Spirit can move and guide us in reactions that show the fruit of the Spirit and that fruit is the fruit of Love as God IS Perfect Love.

    As humans, we can definitely partake in the physical traditions, but they should not become our “new law” and the physical traditions should only be representative of spiritual truths as Jesus lived them out and explained to those around Him. Physical traditions are of no consequence to the heart of the Father. These physical traditions may boost faith for people and, in so, they are beneficial to their hearts, but for the next person they may become a law and replace the Law of Freedom of which the Spirit of God is the minister here today… and that is not beneficial.

    In Truth, spirituality is not to be based on or dependent upon physical traditions. Salvation and living here on Earth all comes down to Perfect Love – the heart of the Father has always desired to see His Perfect Love in His creation.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

  • 2008-02-27 Assembling

    I found a post titled assembling together with which I completely agree... following are my thoughts from where I've been and where I am today.

    Oddly, when my family found ourselves moving away from the building (aka organized religion), I knew that I still loved the people and that I still wanted to be with them, but that I wanted to be with them in settings where we could interact, share, and encourage one another. We are still on their email list and, so, we contribute to and volunteer for the activities and gatherings where we'll be able to interact with them.

    From what I understood when we moved away from the building assembly, it was because of the lack of true interaction and frustration over that limitation. It was revealed to me recently that my family was not removed from the building assembly because we are somehow more mature, but that we were separated from the building assembly because we do not know how to love the people in that setting and as such that was becoming a stumbling block for our walks and faith. My hope is that we will get past the physical setting of the building assembly and if I have assurance in that hope (aka faith), then I know that we will be back with them and it will be a completely different setting and interaction with the people than it has in the past.

    That group is changing into a format where they have the seats set in a circle fashion and there is not "one" person that leads a lesson. I'm not sure if this is an every week occurrence yet or not, but that is definitely a move in the proper direction as compared to each one contributing. Now my hope, for them, is that each of the contributions are inspired by their interactions with the Father and, as such, Truth and Perfect Love (aka the Spirit of God) is reigning like never before in their midst.