Responds

How does God respond to us? What do we expect from God when we are connected in our spirit? Does God repsond to us? Is it what we think, what we expect?

anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

So are we seeking God? I like to think that we need to think like God thinks. In scripture we are told to "have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus." I know that if we are seeking God that we are attempting to think like God thinks. Imagine if you were able to think like God thinks, what would you be thinking? Would things be so personal all the time? Would we care about what people thought about us? Would be think about the things that get us worried? Would we become angry over problems in relationships? Would we get upset when things do not work out the way we wanted them to? Would we care anything about oursevles at all? The mind of God is constantly creating, giving, and loving. I think God can only be that and if God is that then there is no ego. This is a hard concept for us because we all live with an ego that likes to tell us how important we are and how things should be.

However, if I am seeking God I hope I am taking on more and more of the mind of Christ, the way of Christ, each and everyday. This hopefully means that I have less and less of an ego and more and more think like God thinks. I show compassion, love, forgiveness, patience, peace, joy, and God responds. God repsonds because I connect to God, my ego goes away and I can clearly see and know God. God responds to my faith with reward, with the satisfaction of a life that can be lived in confidence, peace, and joy. This is not a self centered confidence, but a confidence that brings peace because I can know that there is something more important than myself. A confidence that comes because I accept that I am not in control and I allow God to unfold my life as the Creator will. God responds with peace that passes all understanding and I get worked into the most excellent of harmonies with life.

God responds, but just not in the way that we think God should. God does not respond with the killing of enemies, but with the satisfaction of making friends. God does not respond with giving me my every desire, but with feeling happy in accepting what I have. God does not respond with changing my circumstances, but joy in knowing that God has got this. God does not respond with revenge on those that have hurt me, but with the peace that comes with forgiveness. God responds and I find comfort, peace, love and joy. Let God respond by seeking God. Seek God and take on the mind of Christ, practice the way of Christ in every moment today and see if God responds with riches that cannot be measured.

Namaste'

The Way

Want to be great, then give your life away. This is what Jesus taught and this is what Jesus lived. It is the way of Jesus.

"Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage."

Matthew 20:24

Jesus said that he was "the way, the truth, and the life." So do I live in this way? Do I give myself away so that the many who are held hostage, no longer have to be held hostage to a life of anger, resentment, hate, frustration, and worry? Do I not understand the way and I am living a life that is held hostage by the same things because I think that I get to be great by demanding my way? You see the way of Jesus is about living like Jesus. It is not about just betting "saved," then looking for God to prosper us in some way, and waiting for Jesus to come back. No, the way of Jesus is to make a difference in each moment that you can, in practical real ways, with people who are being held hostage to a life that is full of negative things. How can I show the way if I do not live the way. Giving my life away means that I "let go" of all the demands that life "should" be a certain way. I allow God to unfold my life any way that the Creator wishes. While doing this I let go of any need to be "right" and I give myself fully to others - listening, hearing, caring, and forgiving them as I can.

When I can do this I am fully rewarded with peace, joy, and life abundant. I no longer am filled with anger, frustration, or worry. God take the life that I have given and cares and tends to it just like the birds of the air, the flowers of the field, and the grass. This way requires a different way of thinking, a practice of silence, and a practice of checking our reactions and being humble. The way of Christ is not hard, it is hard to not live the way of Christ.

Namaste'

Old Friends

Do you have old friends? I am sure that you do. However, how do you treat the people that you meet on a daily basis? How do you treat people that be of a questionable reputation? Could these people be "old friends" too? We are all connected and need to see everyone we meet as an old friend. All too often we reject people, refuse to talk to people, and just avoid those who we think are not worthy in some way. However Jesus gave us a different way.

By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends." Their grumbling triggered this story.

Luke 15: 1-3

The stories that got triggered were about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. All stories that Jesus told after he knew that the "religious" were upset that he would be old friends with those who would see to be of doubtful reputation. Rejoice when you can be old friends with everyone you meet. You may be finding that lost coin, that lost sheep, or helping a son come home. What joy and peace can be found by being old friends with someone who may need it.

Today spend it with kindness to all you meet. Love all that you come in contact with and treat them like you would treat an old friend that you have not seen in many years. Gladfully great them, make them feel special, and make them feel like they are the only person in the world for you at that moment. Help someone find that love is real and does exist.

Namaste'

Spirit

You realize that the physical body, the material world, your ego means nothing in the kingdom of God. You have another part of yourself that is where you make your connections with God and his kingdom. Jesus put it this way:

"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

John 4:23

The material things that we can see and have, they were created from nothing, from God, from spirit. This is what matters. People who study the smallest particles on the earth are starting to find out that these particles are created from nothing, from energy. Take an atom down to its smallest part and you can only see the energy it creates, there is nothing physical actually there. Could it be the spirit of God? This is why your spirit is your true self. It has nothing to do with ego or what we can attain or get in this life. So today worship God by noticing and creating out of your spirit. Stop trying to impress others, let them know what you are up to, and trying to get there approval. Just be yourself and allow God to work out the details of life. Remember that you are doing nothing, you are being done. If I allow God to work at God's pace everything will turn out the way it was meant to, even if I do not understand it at the time.

Namaste'

So how do you live? Do you quietly walk around confident in God and allowing God to work in your life? Do you you walk around seeking your own advantage, operating out of what others think about you, and making sure that your decisions are ok with everyone else? To be simple and honest before God requires that you quietly live from spirit, connected to God who is spirit.

Unfolding

To unfold something is to reveal it gradually. We all would like to know what is happening in our life all the time. We all want to look ahead in life and know what is happening. We have a hard time letting life unfold, we want to see the future and know that we will be fine. We forget that God is always in control of our life and we need to live in the quietness of just living. We do not need to force anything or try to make anything happen because there is a time for everything. When we are up and happy, we need to be aware that there will be a time for sadness. When we are in the valley of life, we need to know that we will also be on the mountain soon. God will take us through it all unfolding life day by day. We have all been in God's hands since our creation. Did you, or anyone, have any control over your development in the womb? Yet you turned out just perfect. We had, our parents had, to allow us to be formed. They could not rush it, they could not make it happen on the day they wanted, and they could not control what you would look like when you came out of the womb. God was doing all of it. Yet somehow we think that once we are born we need to take over for the Creator. Today remember a few things:

So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

2 Corinthians 4:16

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Remember that you are not "doing" anything, you are being "done." God is unfolding everything in its time. Stop resisting the things that come into your life and start accepting them as it is just time for them. Let your life unfold as God unfolds it. Peace will wash over you.

Namaste'

Abandon

Abandon means to surrender one's claim to, right to, or interest in; give up entirely. Have we really abandoned our life to God? Have we totally given up the right and interest in our own life? I believe that if we did we would find something that would bring us total peace and comfort. We work so hard at trying to make sure things go our way. We spend our days attempting to convice people of things using our own words, our own skills, and our own ways. However God ask us to surrender to the total mystery of giving up our right to our own life and find that things work exactly as they should when we do this.

I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.

Psalm 40:1

We need to sing God's song, not ours. If we do we will find that we will be standing on solid rock and we will not falter. We need to stand quiet before God in our lives allowing God to do whatever God will. This can only happen by dying to ourselves, living in complete abandonment to God.

What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

Galatians 2:19-21

Realize that your life is not yours and abandon it to God. It is not yours. God is allowed to do anything if we live this way. We will see God work things out and wisdom come to us that never thought we had when we live with the attitude that this is not our life to live. This is not our life to convince anyone with. This is the life of God to serve and live. It is here that we can have enlightenment, persuasion, hope, and be moved to action that changes the world.

Namaste'

Reward

So what are the rewards in the kingdom of heaven? What actually is the kingdom of heaven? Are we talking about some future kingdom that will come later that Christ will rule and reign in? What if the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom that the rewards for us are right here and right now? Jesus said:

"And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

Luke 6:34-36

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Matthew 5:11-12

Are the rewards the Jesus is speaking of here about some future time when you get to heaven or in your life? I think that they are really about rewards in your life right now. How great my reward when I am able to forgive and give up my need to be right! I have the rewards of peace, love, kindness, joy, happiness, and contentment. Think about yourself and all the other people in the world who spend their days, their time, their emotions on being angry, resentful, pissed, hurt, scared, fearful, anxious, and worried when they have to make sure people do not say bad things about them, when they have to be right, and they have to receive payment for their forgiveness or kindness by getting it noticed right now and become angry when it is not noticed! We do not have any reward this way. We are full of emotions and actions that cause us pain in our relationships and our lives.

I could have billions of dollars and be full of anger, hate, resentment, fear, worry, hurt and not experience peace. I would truly be unrewarded and poor. I could also have "nothing" and forgive others, give up my need to be right and experience all the hope, love, peace, and joy in the world. I am the richest and most rewarded person on earth when this happens! These are the rewards that we all are looking for, but in all the wrong places. I truly believe this is why Jesus said things like:

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 10:39

The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Matthew 23:11

Our rewards are right now. Our rewards are peace and joy in this life and we are lifted up because we become like Christ, with the mind of God and humble ourselves giving up the need to be right! (Philippians 2) We find peace, joy, love, kindness, compassion, hope, and joy when we practice this truth. We are rewarded with riches that everyone is wanting and needing. Not rewards of money, or power, or fame, or things - but of a life of peace and joy. This is what it is like to be the richest person and most rewarded person in the kingdom of God!

Namaste'

I Can Only Imagine

I heard this song today. I began to think to myself is that really true? Can I only imagine what it will be like to be in the presence of God?

I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side...I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me! I can only imagine. I can only imagine.
Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still? Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?I can only imagine! I can only imagine!
I can only imagine, when that day comes, when I find myself standing in the Son! I can only imagine, when all I will do, is forever, forever worship You! I can only imagine! I can only imagine!

My question is "really, can we only imagine what it will be like, or can we know what it is like?" I think that we can know what it is like to see God's face, to know how our heart feels, to stand in awe of God, to fall to our knees and worship, to sing to God, and to have our heart still in silence before God. All this can happen for you and for me right here, right now on this earth! Jesus said many times that the kingdom of God is here:

"The kingdom of God doesn't come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, 'Look here!' or, 'There it is!' And why? Because God's kingdom is already among you."

Luke 17:20

My desire is that we will all stop looking for the kingdom to come and realize that the kingdom is here and live it! We do not have to imagine. We can be still and know God right now. We can dance in front of Jesus right now. We can feel the peace of God as we give our lives away to others. We can sing to God and fall to our knees because we realize the care God has for us today. We can feel the awe of God when we are taken care of moment after moment! If we truly live the way of Christ, have the mind of Christ, and take captive our thoughts to make them obedient to the way of Christ - the kingdome of God becomes real and is here now!

God's wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don't find it lying around on the surface. It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven't a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn't have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That's why we have this Scripture text: No one's ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it— What God has arranged for those who love him. But you've seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.

1 Corinthians 2:6-10

God's spirit lives in you. God has brought the kingdom to you. The kingdom of God is spiritual and real in your heart. The kingdom of God is available to all who can recognize it. You can live in the kingdom right now by living the way of Jesus. Peace can be here now, love can be here now, joy can be here now, awe can be here now, and salvation can be here now. You do not have to "only imagine." You can know! Begin today to live the way of Jesus in every moment, in every interaction, and in every thought and see if you do not experience everything that the song talks about that you can only imagine.

Namaste'

Inside World

So what is picture of your inside world. To continue on the theme of looking at how your brain, your heart, your mind operate we need to look at the words of Jesus:

"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world."

Matthew 5:8

We have been talking about how our biology effects our heart and our mind. We have been talking about how we think about the experiences we have in daily life, the meaning that we put to them, and the impact that has on how we see things, but also on how we feel, and how we act. Can you understand your heart? My answer is a hearty - yes! It takes work, patience, practice, and insight. It takes asking yourself "why am I reacting like this?" It takes time to "be still and know" God. We begin to be in control of our brain, our biology, our reactions, our view of life. We are the commander in the command center. The brain is the command center, but our spirit - our heart- our mind - is the commander in the commander center. This is why Jesus told us that it is from the heart that we "vomit" up anger and sin. We need to realize that we are in command! Do not give up command today and think that "there is nothing I can do." Do not give up command and think that "satan made me do it." Do not give up command and say that "I cannot control others."

Instead realize that you have command. Realize that your heart controls the reactions of your brain, develops the neuropathways that it will follow, and that it can be changed with practice and growing closer to thinking the way God thinks about things. Realize that when you give up your perception of life, you gain a new and more fullfilling perspective of life. Jesus told us that "when you lose your life your will find it." Jesus tells us hear again in the verse above that to see to find ultimate happiness - that is seeing God everywhere - we must get our inner heart and mind in the right place. As I always say - change the way you think about things and things change!

Namaste'

This Moment

We have been looking at the brain and how it functions. We have talked about how this is your heart or your mind. It can be wicked and it is hard to know your heart or mind. Out of our heart flow all the anger and sin that invade our life. As we have seen in the last several post that our brain operates on a flight or fight basis that can be changed with prayer and meditation. We can actually change the way our brain, our heart, processes information and thereby change our reactions. We can stop the fears, worries and anxiety that we face day to day by noticing our "knee-jerk" reactions and being curious about those reactions. We can then be intentional about our decisions and also see that our fears are not real. We can start living in the moments that we have and stop trying to make something happen, or stop something from happening, so that we can feel better. You can feel better right now!

"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought."

Matthew 5:5

When your "emotional brain" kicks into high gear and your begin to feel scared or worried or angry - question that reaction. Ask yourself "why am I feeling this way, what am I thinking about that caused me to want to flight or fight?" My guess is that you will find that you are wanting something to turn out the way you would like because it would make you feel "better." You believe that you have been wronged or hurt and you will not be able to feel contentment until you "right this wrong." I promise that you will never feel content in that moment because you are looking for something else to make you feel better. You are looking for something in the future, something outside of yourself to make you content. This is crazy thinking to me. Read the verse above again! You are perfect just as you are. You were created and supported by God! When you realize this and practice your faith by understanding your mind and heart - you begin to realize that you truly are a spiritual being having a human experience. You truly own everything, you just do not need it. You are not a human being having a spiritual experience and there is something you need to acquire to make you content. Practice your faith daily by noticing your reactions, and begin to respond to your life.

Namaste'

Perfect Peace

So we have looked at how your thoughts are shaped through your experiences and how your biology helps to cement these thoughts and make them reality, even though they may not be any part of reality, just our thoughts and feelings about an experience. So understanding this can lead us to a place of perfect peace. Children do not have these patterns of thinking and their minds are opened and untaouched by unpleasent thoughts or conditions that might ordinarily be considered painful. This is a mind that is naturally peaceful and at perfect peace. The child's mind does not analyize, judge, or evalute. The child's mind merely sees with the innocent perspective and accepts everything it sees. This can be called natural peace. So can we get back to that place? I think we need to and it is why Jesus said:

"Let the children alone, don't prevent them from coming to me. God's kingdom is made up of people like these."

Matthew 19:13-15

So we must practice developing new neuropathways that help us confront the fears, anxiety, and anger that we expereince each day. The importance of prayer and meditation becomes apparent when you look at how the mind works and why the scripture is full of passages like this one:

People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole (Message version)

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isaiah 26:3

When we practice keeping our minds focused on "right thinking" this will lead to "right action" and then this will lead to perfect peace. We no longer focus on the negative parts of life and we can have a mind, a brain, that is untouched again by thoughts or conditions that we have seen as painful. This does take some effort and practice. Your brain is pliabile, it is moldable, you are not a fixed person, but always able to change. This to me is the meaning of "working out your won salvation with fear and trembling." It is the meaning to me of having the mind of Christ. Your spirituality has a great impact on your physical and biological parts of yourself. You are a whole being. Remember that you are. Sit quietly today for just three minutes and attempt to foucs on your breath and just notice what thoughts come up. Do not try to change them, just notice them. Start to become aware of your automatic thoughts. Once aware you can begin to start a new pathway of thinking, but only once you notice what you are really thinking and what is not true about it and how these thoughts have been driving your behavior and fears. Change the way you think about the world and your world changes.

Namaste'

Shaped Thoughts

So what shapes your thoughts? I think it is very powerful for us to understand how our brain works. The brains can be seen in three parts - the brain stem, the cortex, and the limbic system. Each have there own specific function, but work together like an orchestra, to play the symphony of life. The brain stem houses our automatic functionings - our heartbeat, our breath, etc. It also interplays with the limbic system through the amygdala. This is the place in the brain that is always "on the look out for fear" and causes that flight or fight response in us. This process will trigger the release of neurotransmitters into the brain causes your neurons - or brain cells - to start "talking" to one another. They do this by passing these chemicals, like adrenaline, to each other and triggering an actual physical response. This is why people can feel like they are having a heart attack, but go to the hospital and be told that they are having a panic attack. Your body actually "feels" and gets ready to respond by running away or fighting. However, if there is really nothing to be scared of these chemcials are not used and our body is all worked up with nowhere to go and nothing to do.
This is what shapes our lives and our thoughts. If we had an experience when we were younger that was scary for us, this process happened. It is why we are scared of the water, or dogs, or certain places, or the dark, etc. Our brain actually remembers these events and a neuropathway is worn out in our brain. Our brain remembers this experience to keep us safe in the future. If we are scared of dogs, this pathway in our brain has been used so much that all we have to do is think about dogs and we begin to feel panic and fear. The brain begins it work of protecting yourself. Imagine the implications for relationships! When you fear that you will be hurt, abandoned, lost, unloved - maybe like before - your go into flight or fight response. It only take the slightest similiarity to that past experience to make this happen! Your body is triggered by the thought and the brain performs its process of preparing you to flight or fight, even if it is not real! It only has to be perceived or thought about and your body thinks it is real. A wonder process of our brain given to us by God to keep us safe, but it has been twisted because of our disconnection from God. Think about this verse in light of the above:

We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

2 Corinthians 10:5

Sometimes are thoughts are shaped by some warped philosophies that tear down the truth about who we are and what is really going on around us. So we need to take every thought and fit into the life that is shaped by Christ. We have the tools to change our neuropathways and think differently. We can shape our thoughts and thereby shape our feelings and our lives! More on this in the morning!

Namaste'

Heart

So where is your heart? I know that we all have a heart and it beats and pumps blood through our body, but where is the heart that is talked about in this verse:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

We know that it is not talking about our literal heart. I think it is talking about what we would tend to call our mind in this day and age. And what is the mind? It is not our brain either. This is again the physical part of ourselves. I am talking about the soul, the spiritual part of us that controls what happens in our brain. There is no thing or partical that is controlling our brain. There is nothing that science can point to, no matter how small they can divide and look at the part of a brain, that is the director of the activites. So where is the heart and the mind? I believe that it does reside in our body, but it is our soul and cannot be seen. It can be felt and it can be known, but it takes practice and an awareness of self and God to do so.

Studying the brain we find that there are three distinct parts of the brain. Each has a specific function to help our body function and our relationships work. However, most of us do nothing to understand ourselves and do nothing to understand how we, our souls - our spirits, control the functioning of our body. We are interconnected and we need to begin to realize it.

Over the next few days I will be writing post about how to unlock the secret and science to happiness. I hope you will join me on this journey. It should be exciting and challanging. It will change your life and your relationships if you can practice having the mind of Christ, taking your thoughts captive, and understanding your heart.

Namaste'

Between You and God

I wonder if we truly realize that it everything we do is just between us and God. It does not matter what people think of us, how they may decide to treat us, or if we are impressing anyone. Everything we do in this life is only between us and God. It does not matter if someone thinks you are selfish, or angry, or if you hurt their feelings because in the end the only that will matter is did you act and behave like your Creator.

None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It's God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

Romans 14:6

I love that last line - to "free us from the petty tyrannies of each other." We all go about life worried about what someone is going to think of us. We are ruled by this thought. This thought controls our actions and our feelings. Life though is not about these things. Life is about God and living like our Creator in love, compassion, forgiveness, and selfless service. This is why Christ died! Mother Teresa put it like this:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

Serve God today because it is only about our relationship to our Creator anyway!

Namaste'

Kingdom

I wonder if you have every realized that God's kingdom is already here? I know that is a huge statement, but I believe that it is and can be more real. We all grew up in a culture, in a tribe, that has taught us that we get "saved" and then we count the days until we get to be in God's kingdom from either death or Jesus returning. However, Jesus told us that he came to bring the kingdom right here and right now.

Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, "The kingdom of God doesn't come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, 'Look here!' or, 'There it is!' And why? Because God's kingdom is already among you."
John 17:20-21

What if we truly lived out the teaching of Jesus in every way that he taught? Would it not mean that the kingdom of God would be here among us? We would and can love like Christ, forgive each other, care for each other, and but into practice the truths that Christ taught. These truths are not truths that will happen one day when Jesus comes back, or when we die and get to be in heaven. These are promises and truths that can happen in this world. The Holy Spirit is with us. God is with us. We have a set of beliefs and actions that need to be applied in every situation that we are in. Every means every - being all possible. As Christians I think that we "give up" all too easily and say "well I can never be like Christ." So we do not even try. We just sit and wait for Jesus to return, to elect people who can make it better with legislation they can pass, or die after gaining enough stuff to have fun with. We do not apply the lessons, the teachings, the way of Jesus right here to bring the kingdom and make it real right now. Jesus told us that the kingdom was made real with him, not only his death, but his daily actions of forgiveness, love, and compassion.

Stop looking for some time in the future for the kingdom to get here. Stop counting the days until you die or that you can predict when Jesus will come. Start living the way of Jesus today. Stop wasting your time and talents that were given to you to use here and now! Bring the kingdom to all those around you!

Namaste'