Good Master

We have a good master. I forget this from time to time. I get caught up in the things that do not matter in this life. I get so attached to the outcome of life. I have to make it move faster, better, and make it happen a certian way. It is difficult to keep a detached attitude about life. God does not want us to be concerned about things that do not matter, yet we get so attached to them. We lose our connection to God, we begin to think that God has abandoned us, that God should not do it like this, and deep down we really think that God is not good to us. "If God was good to me this would not be happening." We don't think we think it, but deep down this is what we believe when worry and fear come over us. I just read that St. Ambrose was asked whether is was afraid to face God at the judgement. He replied by saying "we have a good master." We need to remind ourselves of this. I need to remind myself of this today.

So, my very dear friends, don't get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.

James 1:16-18

We would never say it and we probably do not realize that we even think it, but sometimes when things do not go our way we do think that God is two faced and fickle. We think that God is just out to get us somehow and prove something to us. Really though God is a good God. Everything comes from God and is good. We tend to focus on only the negatives around us, but forget that all the while there are positive things that double or triple anything negative. I heard a sermon yesterday and the person told of an old hebrew story about two men walking across on the bottom of the red sea after God had parted the water. They complained about the mud in their shoes and how they were going to get the mud off. All the while a huge wall of water was being held back around them. The miracle, the postive, was missed due to the focus on the negative.

Today live a life that is detached from concerns about this life and things that do not matter. What I mean is that your attitude should be detached about this life - you should not be worrying about what is happening and attmepting to control the outcome. You should be focused on sacrificing your life to God, the good God, and keep it completely abandoned to God. Let the good master do what the good master does - care. Allow someone else, the good master who always gives good gifts, to be the one attached to your life and tending to and caring for it. We are God's to show off, I am sure God will care for what is that important.

Cheerful

Cheerful is to have a happy disposition. It is to be "expecting the best in this best of all possible worlds." How cheerful you are is a great measure of your spiritual connection to God. Why is this you may ask, for me it is simple. When we are connected to God, we are confident that we are taken care of. We know that all things are working for good. We see the beautiful gifts that we have been given each and everyday and do not focus on anything negative. We expect the best in best of all possibilities for we know that the Creator would never leave us or forsake us. This should give us a happy disposition.

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

How do you apply this practically? If you have children and you take them to school every morning or get them ready to catch the bus live in a different way. Instead of being angry that they are not getting ready on time, yelling at them to hurry up, or being frustrated that you are late do something different. Be thankful for the beautiful gift of children, that they are able to go to school, that you have the means to buy them clothes and feed them breakfast, that they have the freedom to go to school, and that God has so blessed you. Riding in traffic to work you can be angry that you are late, that the person in front of you does not know how to drive, and that you had to get up early. You can also be thankful that you have a car (only 8% of the world does), that you have a job to go to, that you have the means to work, that you have the freedom to choose your career, and that you have more than most.

Now imagine continuing in your anger if you think about these things. You actually have to make that choice, you have to make a choice to be angry, to be disconnected from God and all that has been given. Really you cannot help but be cheerful when you think about all the gifts each and every moment of the day. So today you have a choice - focus on what you think is wrong or focus on all the things that are gifts to you. Cheerfulness comes when we are connected to our God, our Creator.

Namaste'

Love Yourself

So what happens if we do not love ourselves? What happens if we do not have a relationship with ourselves, connected to how we think, aware of how life has shaped us, and knowing how our own thoughts and feelings effect how we act? If this relationship is broken, relationships with God and other people are also impossible.

The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Galatians 5:14-15

If we cannot love ourselves and understand what drives us to do what we do, we are left to make judgments about people and situations that are not true. We must take the time, space, and silence to love ourselves, understanding our inner world, and making our inner world more and more like Jesus. If I do not have the "mind of Christ" how can I love others? How could I ever have empathy and compassion for them? If I do not have the mind of Christ then my reactions to people become a series of projections of what I think they should be, rather than how they really are. My reality becomes what I hope and what I want it to look like rather than what it really is. Without the living connection to ourselves that our soul makes possible, we are like a ship without a rudder, or an uprooted tree. We become ill, angry, depressed, and seek a substitution for love. For a person to have relationships that work they must love themselves. They must let go of the ego and the need to "feel good" all the time, and be willing to face and love what is within so that it can be changed.

There is a saying that I tell my clients all the time - what we resist persist. If my relationships are not working maybe I am not loving myself. Maybe I am not looking deeply at my reactions, my thoughts, my feelings, and my own behaviors. If I am not, there is no way I am loving myself. If I am not able to love myself - I cannot give away what I do not have - I cannot love others. This is the beginning of how we devour and anger each other. With no inner peace for ourselves, there can be no peace outside of ourselves. So today look at your own reactions and thoughts. Look at yourself and accept and love yourself for who you are. Stop trying to avoid it, change it, or dismiss it. This is not love for yourself and you will act the same towards others as you do yourself. Love today, but let it begin with loving yourself.

Namaste'

Like

I have heard this phrase many times in the last few days. Actually, I have heard this phrase most all of my life growing up in church and attending a Christian university. What is that phrase? "We must live for God." I started thinking about if this was really the case. I starting thinking that what if instead "we must live like God." I looked at the definitions for the words for and like. For means and is used to indicate the object, aim, or purpose of an action or activity. It is also used to describe something done in honor of. Like means possessing the characteristics of; resembling closely; similar to. Which one of these would have more of an impact on the world and those around us. I would propose that living like God has much more of an impact than living for God.

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
"Don't suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures— either God's Law or the Prophets. I'm not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God's Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God's Law will be alive and working.
"Trivialize even the smallest item in God's Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won't know the first thing about entering the kingdom.

Matthew 5:13-20

We are here to live like God. We are not here to live for God. We are here to be the salt and light. We are not here to just "represent" salt and light, but to actually be salt and light. Think of the impact if the followers of the way of Jesus if we live like God instead of just living for God. I think that living for God to most people means that we must tell everyone else how to live, what to do, and what it means and what people must do if they love God. Living for God leads to a life of "self righteousness" and thinking that we are doing something great "for" God. However, living like God means that you never have to tell anyone anything, you just do. If you just do people will be attracted to this way of living and know. If we live like God we salt and light the earth with love. People begin to care and love each other. People begin to be attracted to a way of living that benefits them in ways that cannot be measured. People begin to be more peaceful, live more compassionately, and God is revealed in all the God colors. Living like God is an incredibly humbling experience that leaves no room for ego.

Today and everyday begin to live like God. Show kindness as you have been shown by God. Show compassion as you have been shown by God. Forgive as your have been forgiven by God. Serve as you have been served by God. Love as you are loved by God. Befriend others as you have been befriended by God. We must live like God.

Namaste'

Shine

Shine! Yes I said shine! What I mean by that is that as followers of the way of Christ we need to be immediately apparent to everyone around us. We need to let others know that there is something different about us. When something shines in our eyes, it is immediately apparent and it gets our attention.
I am thinking about this because of an experience I had yesterday. I was in line at Stone Mountain waiting on the sky tram to go to the top of the mountain. The person counting and letting the people in asked everyone to move up and make room for more people. Now this person did not say it in the nicest way, but it was not rude either, they were just doing their job. However, was standing by another person who just started to "go off" about the poor customer service that she had received while in the park all day. They talked about how they were going to write a letter and they just could not believe it. Then, as I stood there, they continued to talk about all the horrible experiences they had had at different eating establishments. They talked about how they tried to complain on line to one place, but they did not have an online complaint area, so they had to write a letter. I stood there thinking, "I wonder why they do not get good customer service." To me it was painfully obvious - they do not expect it, they complain about most everything in their life, and they get back what they are giving to the world. I thought of this verse as I was standing there waiting.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

Philippians 2:14-15

I am not judging this person, I know that I complain about things at times. It is a great example of how we as Christ followers can either "shine" and make it apparent that there is something different about us, or we can complain and be just like everyone else. If you do not think you are getting good customer service do not complain. Rather, turn that situation around and be kind to the person or persons you think are being rude. If I am getting served by a waiter or waitress that "has an attitude" am I going to turn that around by being rude to them and expecting they serve me better or by serving them and asking about what might be wrong, telling them a joke, and making them feel better? You tell me which person will get the better "service." More importantly to me, which one shines like a star in the universe to all those around?

Shine today and everyday. Look for opportunities to be kind and shine. Stop look for the opportunities to be offended, you can always find them. Wouldn't you rather shine?

Namaste'

Stoop

I love words that allow you to see a picture. Words that allow you to feel them. Words that allow you to hear the meaning and know exactly what it means. Word that allow you to actually have the experience of them. Stoop has meanings that offer these things:



To bend forward and down from the waist or the middle of the back

To lower or debase oneself.
To descend from a superior position

To yield; submit



To stoop is to live creatively. How many of us actually stoop each day? How many of us actually lower ourselves, descend from that superiour position, submit ourselves to someone else? This would be a very unique place to live from, a creative place to live from each day. It is what we are asked to do by our Master to fulfill his commands.

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.

Galatians 6:1-3

We are so often deceived to think that we are too good to stoop. We think that "we are better than that", "we would never do that", and "there is no way that we could fall into that." I know for a fact that I will need forgiveness before the day is out. My son needs to forgive me for my anger this morning and not stooping down and serving him while he is getting ready for school. Instead of stooping, I am angry, in a hurry, and thinking about everything but this moment. I need to be critical of myself.

When we stoop down with people who are oppressed we begin to see into their eyes and their heart. We find out that we are just like them. We found out they hurt like we hurt, feel what we feel, and have been dissappointed just like us. We find out that we would want someone to help us if we found ourselves where they are. We truly find out what it is like to share burdens with someone. We do share them - everyday. We begin to see what the law of Christ is and how to fulfill it -

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.'
"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

Matthew 25:34-40

Stoop some today. Yes actually bend over and get down on the level of someone else who is oppressed, feels oppressed, and needs there burden to be shared. Do not ignore. Remember that we are all one. We all have experience this life with the same emotions, thoughts, and problems. We may not be hungry right now, but we know what it is like to be alone. We may have a roof over our heads, but we know what it is like to be hurt. We may have clothes on our back, but we know what it is like to be abandoned. We are all God's children, it does not matter if you say that your are a Christ follower, God still created you. We are all Jesus in distressing disguises waiting for someone to share our burden with us. That is why I always end with

Namaste'

Flux

Life is always in flux. Life is always in constant or frequent change, in fluctuation. We do not like life to be like that. We would prefer life be consistant, never changing, and always predictable. We tell ourselves how great that would be, to get up everyday and know exactly what is going to happen, to know that everything is going to work out just like we thought, and that we will go to bed completely satisfied at night. We think this is the only way - to make life predictable. Life however is not anywhere close to predictable. As a matter of fact it is in a constant state of change at all times. We see change at trails, temptations, test, and challenges - something that is not natural and should not be happening. What if we could think different.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

James 1:2-4

It is the natural flow of life to have a life that if full of change. We will never be the same day to day. We will be good at things some days and horrible at them another day. Things will work our great one day and the next it will be "horrible." We try so hard to stop things that we see as trails and challenges from coming into our life. We need to become patience and allow them to work in us and on us. We get in such a hurry to make sure things happen a certain way, all to avoid the flux of life. We need to be silent as much as we can and be in no hurry to judge situations. We need to stop once we become aware that we are in a hurry and take our time, not trying to get out of things "prematurely." Allow life to be in flux. It is natural. It does work in us. It grows us to be mature. It develops our faith in God. We begin to see that there is no hope but in God.

So today slow down. Notice when you are in a hurry and just take your time. Become aware of the experience you are in and let it do its work to make your faith and self mature. Become aware that you are weak and allow the strength of faith in God to take over. This is the purpose of a life that is in constant flux. Stop trying to change it and experience it for all it is worth so that life becomes whole.

Namaste'

Service

Service is the highest calling for us. Stepping down to be of service to others is exactly what Jesus did. We think that we are given strength in our life for ourselves. We think that we are given things so that we can serve ourselves, be prosperous, and get all of our needs fulfilled. However, we are given those things so that we can be of service.

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?"
That's exactly what Jesus did. He didn't make it easy for himself by avoiding people's troubles, but waded right in and helped out. "I took on the troubles of the troubled," is the way Scripture puts it. Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it's written for us.

Romans 15:1-6

Jesus showed us with his ultimate example of service - the cross. Not only is the cross our salvation, but it also is the example of selfish service. Jesus used all his strength, everything that he was given to be able to serve humanity. We are not placed here on this earth to do what is convenient for us, we are placed here to be a service to others. We are not to worry about our status, our ego. We are to be concerned about what is good for the people around us. We need to be asking ourselves at all times -"How can I help?"

Wade in and help people. Place yourself at the service of others. Place your ego to the side and take on the troubles of the troubled. Do not stand on the side of the pool of life and watch someone struggle, dive in and help. Jesus came to help. He dove all in with all that he had. Use what you have been given for others not for your ego and your status. Remember that Philippians 2 says: had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all.

Namaste'

Step Down

Do you want your life to count? Do you want the things that you do to matter? Then there is only one way to make this happen - step down. This is so counter to the intution we have and the way we have been taught. I have to remember this so many times in my life. I need to just serve others, step down and let God be God.

Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.

Matthew 23:11-12

Remember that you have been given all you need by just being yourself. There is nothing else you need in order to make your life count for plenty. There is nothing that you are lacking, there is no need to worry, there is no need to make something happen faster. I have to remember that just being a servant and simply being who I am, the way that God created my to be is enough for my life to count. My life will stand out, not by being famous or being known, but by loving and serving those in need.

Today, simply be yourself. Step down from the worry and concern about not being noticed or needed. Become the servant to the people that you encounter and allow them to be served by God through you. I need to remember this today, we need to remember this today. God has all we need and God will work our life out with no help from us. We need to simply be ourself and step down from any illusion that we are "doing" anything in our lives to make it count. Enjoy today, enjoy your life by serving others and being yourself.

Namaste'

Inclusive

Inclusive means "taking a great deal or everything within its scope - comprehensive." Salvation is comprehensive, inclusive it leaves out nothing. Salvation includes everything, it is comprehensive.

They don't seem to realize that this comprehensive setting-things-right that is salvation is God's business, and a most flourishing business it is.

Romans 10:2

God's business is to bring everyone and everything to salvation. I love this scripture because it says that God's business is a flourishing business! At time we do not act like it is this kind of business. We spend most of our time acting like people are excited about God, but do not understand that God is comprehensive and inclusive. We tell ourselves and others that God is not a part of, God does not love, and God could never.... because it does not fit the picture we have built of God. We leave out so many things and people that God is completely in love with, created, and wants to have a relationship with, and has a relationship with! We do not act like the Jesus that walked this earth and included everyone in his message that he could, that would listen, that would allow themselves to be challenged by his message.

Remember to not exclude anyone from the grace of God, from the connection to God, and dismiss them because they do not fit the idea that we think God would accept. Rather be inclusive and be filled with the wonder and compassion of God that would accept and love someone that we would reject. See Jesus Christ in all his distressing disguises.

Namaste'

Spacious

I love this word! Just thinking and saying it gives an idea of freedom and relaxation. The specific definition is generous or large in area or extent; roomy and vast in range or scope. This is what our life should be like. Sadly, for many of us and for much of the time in our life, we do not feel like life is vast and open. We feel more like it is closed, boxed in, with very few choices. How can that be?

Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing.

Romans 8:5-7

This seems to be a pretty clear explanation. We all let our ego get in the way. We let it get in the way in our marriages. We think about ourselves too much and what our partner "should" or "should not" be doing. We think about how our life would be more spacious if "they" would do things the way we need them. We let our ego get in the way at work. We tell ourselves the same things there. We let our ego get in the way with our friends, our church, our families, and every day to day activity that we have. We think about how people should or should not be doing something they are doing, or we think about what we need in order to feel satisfied and free. This is the opposite of focusing on God. This is the opposite of spacious. I know when I focus on myself I do forget and ignore that I have the living breathing God within me.

Focus on God today, give God all your attention. See if God is not there within you, everywhere. Watch, feel, and listen to how spacious life becomes for you when ego is let go of. Watch, feel, and listen to how life begins to slow down when it does not have to operate your way. Feel the relaxtion come over you as you let go of what is important to you and let God become the sole focus of your attention. Spacious, the way life is lived in God.

Namaste'

Spirit of Fear

When was the last time there was so much hate that it led to the death of a upright man? When did people get worked into such a frenzy that people finally ended up following the crowd and killing a man who did not deserve it? When did the leaders of a political movement incite the masses and crowds to do something at their bidding, making the masses think that they were actually making the decision? I can think of a few, but there is one that is the most important to me.

Then Pilate called in the high priests, rulers, and the others and said, "You brought this man to me as a disturber of the peace. I examined him in front of all of you and found there was nothing to your charge. And neither did Herod, for he has sent him back here with a clean bill of health. It's clear that he's done nothing wrong, let alone anything deserving death. I'm going to warn him to watch his step and let him go."
At that, the crowd went wild: "Kill him! Give us Barabbas!" (Barabbas had been thrown in prison for starting a riot in the city and for murder.) Pilate still wanted to let Jesus go, and so spoke out again. But they kept shouting back, "Crucify! Crucify him!"
He tried a third time. "But for what crime? I've found nothing in him deserving death. I'm going to warn him to watch his step and let him go."
But they kept at it, a shouting mob, demanding that he be crucified. And finally they shouted him down. Pilate caved in and gave them what they wanted. He released the man thrown in prison for rioting and murder, and gave them Jesus to do whatever they wanted.

Luke 23:16-25

So I hear "kill him" today, yesterday and last week. I hear no one standing up and saying "no" there is no need for that. I heard it today, the date of this post (10/20/08), that America will end, the world will end, they are full of fear if someone gets elected. I hear and see no one standing up and saying that this "Christian Nation" does not treat people like this and we should not be spouting hate, but love. This "Christian" nation is creating an atmosphere of anger, hate, and misunderstanding. People who are carrying the banner of the conservative, liberal, religious, spiritual, fundamental, evangelical christian are silent about the uncompassionate, unloving, joining of the world to make sure their agenda is met. They have become the new pharisee's of America. This is not just about this election, but elections past - 2000, 2004. It is also coming from both sides - right and left - democrat and republican. We use fear to replace faith and love. We use fear to replace the knowledge that God is still alive and always been in control. We continue to use differences to scare and create fear, rather that find common ground and say that "even though we have differnces we can still care for one another. A new wave of fear is being used to scare people who call themselves followers of Christ - Christian. I have heard "kill him" before. I remember reading it and it being used to say that Jesus was going to threaten the way that we do business. Jesus is going to end our reign. Jesus threatens our power. Kill him.

I just want to know if they think that this is WWJD? I just want to know do they really believe that somone needs to be killed today because of we are fearful and lack faith in God? I just want to know how long do you stand back and let this kind of fear and anger go on without speaking up and talking about what our Master has said about this anger:

"Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

Matthew 5:38-40

Let us see God in everyone and everywhere. Do not let God's love disappear.

Namaste'

Living the Way

I get weary at times. I sometimes think that the power that is really offered in Christ is being ignored and neglected by those who say they "know" Jesus. Sometimes I think that it is just not worth all the time and energy put into making sure that people get "saved." Does it really change anyone? Does anyone actually walk in the way of Jesus day to day? I watch people who claim that they are followers of the way of Christ each day talk about what they hate, what they are against, and how much fear they have. I rarely hear many Christians talk about what they love, have compassion for those around them, and be confident that God will take care of them. I watch us all worry about life not going like we think it should, question why God would do something to us, spout anger and hatred when someone thinks differently or acts differently than us. I get tired watching it all. I think are the things we are striving to change in the world really possible? If people really do not "know" Jesus how can things really change? How do you know if you "know" Jesus and are living the way that he taught?

The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don't go together.
This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.
My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

I John 3: 15-20

Live the way! Live the way! Do not let God's love disappear!

Namaste'

Radical

Are you living a life that is radical? Are you living a life that is departing markedly from the usual or customary? Is your life effecting fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions, or institutions? If not I am challanging you to live the way of Jesus that calls us to a radical way of living.

Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions:
"Don't think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple.
"And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave.
"If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way."
Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.

Mark 6:7-13

Jesus did not come to just save your soul, make sure you where comfortable, so you can just die and go to heaven. No, Jesus came with a radical and bold message that said:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

Matthew 16:24-25 (NIV)

"Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

Matthew 16:24-26 (Message)

So are you really ready to be radical? Are you ready to embrace what happends in your life as God's way? Are you really ready to allow God to work and let go of anything you are attached too? Are you willing to understand that suffering will happen, but it can be transformative in your and others life? Are you willing to practice self sacrifice and find your true self? This is a radical way of living and requires people to give themselves fully to God without any worry, without any concern, without any attachment to what the outcome will be. It requires us to live in complete and total abandon to God. When we live this kind of life - the world is impacted. The same way that a butterfly's wings can impact the flow of the wind on the other side of the world, living a life that is radically different by following the way of Jesus can impact everyone in the world. The way Jesus is radical by definition. The way of Jesus should be impacting and effecting the current systems of our world - even the church. Let's not fall asleep and live the dangers of a half lived life!

Namaste'

More

Coming to say that you are a follower of Christ means more than just reciting a prayer and waiting for him to return. This is a waste of time if that is what we are doing. We are wasting the very things that God has given us. We are not using the very gifts that have been given to us, we are not good stewards. The life and the way of Jesus is much more than making a one time decision to follow God. It requires a daily decision to follow, to place our ego aside, and live in a place that we are moment by moment following the way of our Master. You see when we make a decision to become a follower of Jesus - a Christian - we are saying more than "I want to go to heaven." We are saying that we are committed to living life daily as Christ lived life. We are saying that we are going to follow the way that Jesus taught us. We are saying more than we are going to change the world through moral behavior and the preaching and shaming of sinful behavior. We are saying that we will live a life of love, forgiveness, and compassion - just like the one we have said is now our master. This is a daily way. This is a moment by moment way to conduct ourselves in relationships. This takes more than just saying that we are "Christian." This takes a daily working out of many things.

So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

2 Peter 1:5-9

We can be rewarded daily with the discipline of following the way of Jesus. Spending everyday in wonder, being kind, loving, being alert with how we are thinking and acting, having patience in out thoughts and in our circumstances, and cultivating spiritual understanding. Without these things we are doomed to live a half lived life that forgets that all of our sin is gone and we are loved. Our life is to be more than that.

Namaste'

Realize

Realize that God is at work all the time. Do we really realize this? Can we realize this? These are two different questions. One asks us if we comprehend completely that God is constantly around us working in us and through us. One ask us if we are going to bring into reality, are we going to make it real.
We need to do both. We need to understand that know that God is constantly at work in us, though us, and around us. Until we can fully understand and comprehend this we think we are alone. We think that God is only out to punish us for our sin. We think that we could never connect to God until we have it "all together." If we believe these things, there is no way that we are going to bring to reality, or realize, the kingdom of God. How can we pass on love, joy, and peace if we do not realize that God is in the mist of us providing those things? You see, God is in the mist of us providing those things. Since God is providing those things to us, we can bring to reality the kingdom of God, the kingdom of love, joy, peace right here and right now. The kingdom of God is here. Do we realize it?

They all realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them. They were quietly worshipful—and then noisily grateful, calling out among themselves, "God is back, looking to the needs of his people!" The news of Jesus spread all through the country.

Luke 7:16-17

God never leaves. God is here. Do you realize it? Does it change your life when you do realize this? Do you want to show others love and forgiveness? When we forget that God is here it makes it seem like God has left. God does not leave, we lose sight of God. We begin to create a world that if full of anger, hate, unforgiveness, and create an energy that is ripe for terror, hate, murder, terrible relationships, and hopelessness. This is not what Christ came to create in this world or in the kingdom. Christ came to create a place of life. A place full of hope, love, forgiveness, healing, and care.

Today realize the kingdom of God. Realize first that it is here, God is here. Realize second that we are responsible for creating the kingdom, to bring it to pass. Imagine a world where people who actually follow the way of Jesus - who actually act in everyday situations and relationships as Jesus - there would be the biggest shift of energy in the world! Not because there was some revival and people began "behaving better," but because people begin to treat others the same "way" as Christ treated us and people he encountered. Imagine if people actually practiced forgiveness, actually practiced compassion, actually practiced love instead of joining people in their anger. What could be realized?

Namaste'

Settle

Allow God to settle you. This is what I am saying to myself today - just allow God to settle you. What does that mean? Well settle means:
1) To put into order; arrange or fix definitely as desired.
2) To restore calmness or comfort to.
3) To come to rest
4) To discontinue moving and come to rest in one place.
I realize that I cannot settle myself, I have to allow God to settle me. God must put things in order, restore my calmness, and comfort me. When I place myself in the world of the spiritual and let go and let God manage the details of my life I can come to a rest. I can stop moving - in my thoughts and my actions - and I can rest in one place. When I live in the world of the ego, or the physical world, and I must put things into order resting is impossible. There is no way for me to be calm or to feel comforted because I am always having to "fix" something before I can be settled.

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Philippians 4:6-7

To sit and be still with my God causes such settling to come over me. When I worry and fret I stop and become still. I think about how God is my friend. I think about how I have always been taken care of. I think about how God is full of abundance. I think about how much I have. I think about how wonderful things are right now. I forget the things that "might" happen and I focus on what is happening. I begin to feel whole again. I begin to feel my spirit advancing and becoming stronger. I begin to feel the light of God's love. I begin to know that everything is just as it should be. I begin to know that God is settling things. I let it happen rather than fight against it. It is wonderful to be whole and have a sense of God's wholeness. To not be seperated from God by my ego or my physical concerns.

Today, just allow God to settle things. Stop and be quiet. Stop and think about all the ways you have been taken care of. Stop and think about all the things God has given you. Stop and realize that you are really a spiritual being that will live forever. Stop and just feel the love of God showering you. Stop and feel your spirit taking over, advancing, and killing the ego. Allow Christ to settle you and know what wonderful is.

Namaste'

Stagnant

How hard and stressful it is to live in the world when we have one foot in the physical and one foot in the spiritual! This makes life stagnant, a life that is not moving or flowing; motionless. This is what it is like to live with any part of ourselves in the physical telling ourselves that we are what we have, what others think about us, and what we do. This does not make our lives move forward. It only serves to make them feel and be motionless. Oh, but if we could totally give ourselves to the spiritual - how rich, how forward, and how rich our lives could be.

"I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold, you're not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, 'I'm rich, I've got it made, I need nothing from anyone,' oblivious that in fact you're a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

Revelation 3:15-17

Jesus speaking to us telling us that we have to pick a way to live. We can have all the things that seem to make life move forward, but really they do not propel us anywhere. This is because reality and real life is really in the spiritual. This is what will last. This is what makes life move forward. We do not change the world, morally or otherwise, by gaining things for ourselves. We do not have a chance to change one thing by worrying about what we have, what others think of us, or what we do.

We can only change the world by changing ourselves. When we change ourselves, living completely in the spiritual world, we find a life of peace that is really changed! We no longer worry about being taken care of, pleasing people, or making sure we are in the right career. We become comsumed with loving others, forgiving others, and allowing others to be on the path that God has placed them on. People are then attracted to that change. They want to know how to get there themselves. What you did to get there and how God shows up.

Be stagnant no longer and place both feet inside the world of the spiritual. Jump off the cliff and allow God to catch you and move you to where God will. Be the peace you want. Be the love you want. Be the forgiveness you need. Be the faith you need. Watch how your life moves forward when both feet find the place they need to be and a decision is made to go one way. It is impossible to go two ways - how stressfully hard and stagnant this half lived life is.

Namaste'

Freely

How free are you? I would like for you to think about how free you are to really allow God to work in your life. How freely the knowledge of God and understanding of God can come to you. How open are you to really understanding what God is offering to you on a daily basis? How ready and free is your heart to recieve from God? The more readily, free, and willing we are to understand the more we understand. Jesus told his disciples this about being open and free:

The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?"
He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it. I don't want Isaiah's forecast repeated all over again:

Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing.

Your eyes are awake but you don't see a thing.

The people are blockheads!

They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't have to listen;

They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look,

so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them.

Matthew 13:10-12

Do the understandings of God flow freely for you? How ready are you to recieve what comes from God? Be ready today - God is always telling stories for us to learn from. God is always there showing us so that we may have insight. There is a saying that goes, "When the student is ready the teacher will show up." You see the teacher does not come to you first and demand that you learn. No, you must be willing to learn and then, as if out of no where, the teacher shows up and everything becomes a learning experience. It is then that the teacher can actually speak into your life and understanding can happen. Otherwise you are like people who are awaker with their eyes open, but they do not see. They look and appear like they are listening, but the ears are really deaf. We have all had this experience - someone appearing as though they heard and understood, but walked away and did not understand a thing that was said or taught. It is not that the teacher, or you, did not do their best - it is that the student was not ready.

Today be ready. Freely receive the teaching of God. Open your heart and your mind. Allow everything this day to teach you something about who you are and who God is. Be a student who want to know, whats to hear, and want to learn. Do not dismiss anything today. Look for God and the teaching of God in each story you encounter today. God is there, be a student that is ready.

Namaste'

Your Best Friend

Who is your best friend? I am sure you can think of someone. I am sure we all have people who we rely on and count on. We all have people that we turn to when things are tough and when we want to share our joys. Where does God fit into this equation? Who do you turn to when people, friends, let you down? Who would be your best friend then? We were built for spiritual communication with God. God is our only source of true and eternal friendship. We are spiritual beings having a human experience, so would it not make sense that our best friend needs to be with the one who created us? This is not to say anything bad about friendships or the people we call friends. It is just that we all know friends will let us down. We all know that we become jealous and angry with others. We all have been dissappointed with people we still and once called friends.

You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."

James 4:4-6

The first place to begin to find a friend is with God. God gives far more and far better thananyone else we could call a friend. We end up enemies of God by wanting our own way and attempting to make things work for what we think is our good in every situation. God does not become our enemy, but we become God's. We work against God, fighting the unfolding God is doing in our lives. We push back every chance we get by complaining about how things are not working out, people have hurt us, and how "God could not love us because things have turned out this way." We do not befriend God, but push him aside like a the "geeks and nerds" we once did this to in the halls of school. The very person we should be best friends with we fight against and choose others who could never love us like God. Befriend your God today. God has so much to offer and is giving it to you whether you recognize it or not. Far better to allow it and be thankful for it rather than becoming anxious, angry, and scared that you will be alone and unlnoved. The reality of your life is that you are loved and taken care of but will you let your expectations match reality?

Namaste'

Let Things Flow

How often our struggles come from our attempt to make things go the way that we would like them to be. There is a saying that goes "let the water flow beneath the bridge." How often we attempt to stop the flow of water and make it flow somewhere else or flow a different way. This is a struggle to stop the flow of water. How often do we attempt to change others to meet our demands. How often do we attempt to make the circumstances of life meet our expectations, rather than just accepting this is the way the water is flowing. People will always follow there own inclinations and habits, you cannot change that. Since we cannot change a person and their personality, our best course of action is to accept people just as they are. Accept circumstance just as they are. The Bible gives us this wisdom:

Here's a piece of bad luck I've seen happen: A man hoards far more wealth than is good for him And then loses it all in a bad business deal. He fathered a child but hasn't a cent left to give him. He arrived naked from the womb of his mother; He'll leave in the same condition—with nothing. This is bad luck, for sure—naked he came, naked he went. So what was the point of working for a salary of smoke? All for a miserable life spent in the dark?
After looking at the way things are on this earth, here's what I've decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that's about it. That's the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what's given and delighting in the work. It's God's gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It's useless to brood over how long we might live.

Ecclesiastes 5:13-20

Notice the last two sentences: God deals out joy in the present - in the now! Since that is when God responds to us it is useless to worry and brood over the future of things and how to get things to flow and turn out as we would like. Allow things to happen as they need to today. Display patience in the traffic - you will get there when you need to. Display love towards others who may get on your nerves - they will give up there anger more quickly and you will never expereince your own anger. Display excitement and wonder over what is going to unfold this day - you will not be dissapointed and angered - only surprised and live in excited curiousity.

Namaste'

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'