THIS BOOKLET IS AN INTRODUCTION PRIMER TO THE PARACLETE, THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD. WE WILL LOOK AT THE TALENTS=ATRIBUTES,THE TOOLS=CHARISMA, THE TRIBUTE= THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
The power of Christianity’s impact on the world is marginalized because the Holy Spirit is not at the spiritual center of the rank and file Christian‘s life.
In the last fifty or so years there has come an awakening in the role of the third person of the Trinitarian God. However, there seems to be a tendency to emphasize the four steps for salvation without on-going teachings and mentoring for the new “born again” believer regarding living the new life under the power of the Holy Spirit
The proper place to start is to identify who is the Holy Spirit and what are His characteristic traits. Throughout the history of Judaism the Holy Spirit of God has come to minister to prophets, kings, judges and specially chosen persons to lead the Hebrews in their pilgrimage from Abraham to John the Baptist.
When Jesus entered the history of mankind, He fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. a spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Strength, Knowledge, and Piety." These are the attributes that define the character of the Holy Spirit, this is is who and what He is. I refer to these traits as Talents
The Holy Spirit, who is the very personification that emanates from God, IS Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Strength, Knowledge, and Piety.
This is the spirit to whom John the Baptist referred when he spoke of Jesus, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Jesus promised the Holy Spirit will come to mankind once he,Jesus, is resurrected and goes up to the Father in heaven.Jesus called Him the Advocate from the Greek word Paraclete i.e. he who is called in, a lawyer, a comforter, a counselor, a teacher.
THE TALENTS /ATRIBUTES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
What are the Holy Spirit’s talents that He brings when we invite Him to minister to us?
Isaiah lists them as WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING, COUNSEL, STRENGTH, KNOWLEDGE, and PIETY. Each of these attributes has the adjective “INFINITE” describing it, for these are the infinite attributes of God’s Spirit.
His WISDOM is different from our “finite” wisdom because it is unfailing. His WISDOM is based on a perfect Knowledge of all the circumstances that led to this moment, all those that are in play now and, all that could come into play. In addition He has the perfect direction that the Father/God and Jesus the Logos, or mind of God, has shown Him.
When we ask help from the HOLY SPIRIT, He brings this WISDOM to influence our spirit to make the correct judgment or decision. We are free to follow His advice as perfectly as we can as humans or to live with the consequences of our own flawed wisdom.
The Holy Spirit’s UNDERSTANDING is based on His perfect access to all information and data concerning the problem to be solved. In cases that deal with human feelings, emotions relations etc. Jesus, who has experienced every human emotion and feeling, instructs Him with the perfect UNDERSTANDING needed at the time.
We all know how inadequate our understanding is when we are faced with ministering to a friend or family member who is in pain or suffering that we have never experienced. That is the moment we need to “call in“ the Advocate who always comes when invited.
When we need advice, He COUNSELS us with an Infinite array of talents that all come into play for us to receive the ministering we have asked for. This is not human advice that suggests, “maybe you should do this or that,” or “If it were me I would"¼ etc.
This is perfect advice that will always be God’s best direction for us. If we choose to not follow it, why do we waste the effort to call Him in?
When we call the Advocate for help and refuse to follow His advice , we are in truth disobeying God’s instructions. That is called Sin. The way we choose will either reap all the abundant life Jesus promised us or experience the consequences attached to disobedience.
THE HOLY SPIRIT INFINITE STRENGTH
The STRENGTH of the Holy Spirit is the power of a God that could create the universe from the largest planet to the smallest blind beetle that lives in the total darkness of the deepest caves. It is the endurance of Jesus. Though He knew full well the outcome, He volunteered to bear all our sins heaving His last breath while nailed to a cross. Most often this attribute is associated with the courage to continue following Jesus during the worse situations we face. I’m convinced that His STRENGTH is also the strength we experience in times of dangerous circumstances.
In the last week of March 1993, my wife Nicole and I had a first hand experience of the strength of the Holy Spirit when we implored God for help. This was our first day as full time campers. Believing we were following God’s prompting, we had sold our home and left to live as itinerant Christians. We had agreed to go wherever we felt God was calling and, we looked forward to seeing how He would use us.
We had parked our fifth-wheel trailer in the dark and left to have supper. As we always did, we had the two 80 pound Briard dogs in the truck. When we returned to the campsite the dogs jumped out of the cab while I unlocked the trailer.
Suddenly my wife, Nicole, screamed for me to come quickly. Unknowingly, I had backed the trailer, in the dark, within 10 feet of a small river. The river was about 40 feet wide at this point. The first 15 feet from the shore to near mid stream was ice. The dogs had run out onto the ice and slid into the water. In Massachusetts the temperature of the water could not have been more than 40 degrees.
I looked around for something I could use to have the dogs bite on while I would pull to get them out. Nicole had already raced to the campground office to call the fire department for assistance.I found nothing. I feared the lost of Nicole’s favorite dogs would be a severe blow to our trust in God’s protection.
I prayed what I could at the moment, “God you have to help us save the dogs.”
The thought came to me to go get the dogs. Very slowly I walked onto the ice trying to feel if the ice were breaking up. When I reached the edge of the ice, I bent down and grabbed the female by the nape of her neck. I yanked her out of the water and threw her sliding on the ice toward the shore. Then I bent down and did the same with the male dog. I turned around and commanded them to go while I gingerly walked back to shore.
At that moment Nicole ran up and said the firemen would take 20 minutes to get here. Then, as she saw the dogs, I yelled, “Call off the firemen. We don’t need them.”
Only then did I realize the risky and unwise thing I had done. The edge of the ice should have broken under the combined weight of my 140 pounds and the 80 plus weight of the soaked, longhaired dogs.
I should have slipped off the edge as I jerked the dogs out. Most of all I cannot lift 80 pounds with two hands much less toss it around with one hand.
He who is called in is faithful to deliver us from all harm. Thank you Holy Spirit, I never forget the impossible rescue of our dogs. Even our livestock is safe in God’s hands. The Spirit induced me to act without fear of death. I was concerned but I had no fear. This is the STRENGTH of the Advocate.
THE HOLY SPIRIT INFINITE KNOWLEDGE
It is impossible for we human creatures to grasp the Infinite KNOWLEDGE that the Holy Spirit of God has. The Knowledge of how the universe was and continues to be created. The knowledge of the thoughts of every human being ever created or to be created. Scientists delve into how things work and the physicists have developed what seems to be a valid concept of the atomic structure of matter yet, to my knowledge, no one knows where the energy that is at the center of the atom comes from or how it works. Since everything that has been created has an atomic structure, only the creator knows how it works and how He created it.
In addition to the Physical KNOWLEDGE the Holy Spirit has the Infinite KNOWLEDGE of the Spiritual world. The world in which we will eventually participate. To be Sovereign over all is the power of God’s Knowledge. I believe His life giving energy is at the center of every atom and this can be counted as the Omnipresence and the Omniscience of God.
An example of the Holy Spirit’s Knowledge gracing me with a thought, at a time when I had no insight into the matter, occurred at the end of a prayer meeting.
A lady from out of town asked the group to pray she might find her purse that contained her airline tickets for the flight home. The group Prayed silently for a minute and then we broke up to go home.
As I walked by her I said, ”Look behind the sewing machine I think it might be there.” To this day I don’t know why I blurted that out since I had never been in that house. She said, “I already looked there.” I suggested she look again.
The next week she came to the meeting and shared that when she got to the house she went immediately to the sewing machine and found the purse, intact, lodged behind it.
The Holy Spirit of Infinite Knowledge cares for all our needs
and responds to our petitions in the big and the small.
THE HOLY SPIRIT INFINITE PIETY
The attribute of PIETY, sometimes translated as Fear of the Lord, more often than not, is ascribed to persons who have a deep reverence and awe of God. At first sight it doesn’t seem to fit with the other characteristics of the Holy Spirit. However it is very important. The Advocate, when we call to Him, brings to our spirit a new grace of Piety. When He touches us, we are graced with an awe and reverence for Jesus and the Father that is out of our normal attitude.
There comes a sense of fear that we are not measuring up to that which the Divine Creator has in mind for us. Asking forgiveness and repenting from our sinful attitude follow more readily. Truly a special Talent that ministers to us at all levels.
The paraclete's reverance toward the Father and Jesus is the same as the reverance shared by the Father and the Son for the other two. It is this piety or reverance with which the Holy Spirit graces our spirit mind and soul.
THESE ARE THE TALENTS, THE ATTRIBUTES. THE VERY PERSON INFINITELY WISE, UNDERSTANDING, COUNSELOR, STRONG, KNOWLEDGABLE, PIOUS HOLY SPIRIT GOD..
This is the Holy Spirit who comes to us at Baptism. He resides with us, and in us, waiting for us to call on Him. He is the one who, without our realizing, puts suggestions in our spirit, hunches, and ideas, gut feelings. When we call Him in we have at our disposal His Infinite WISDOM, His total Infinite UNDERSTANDING of every emotion, relationship, virtue, sinful desire, temptation, physical strength and weakness.
We can trust in His perfect advice with His Infinite COUNSELING. We are STRENGTHENED beyond human capability. He KNOWS everything about everything, from how the piece of dandruff falls on my shoulder to how the stars stay in place for billions of years. He inspires us to more fervent PIETY, the worship of Jesus and the Father. He touches our spirit with a fervor to worship a God we can’t experience with our human senses. And, He graces us with an awe and reverence of the Almighty, creator of the universe.
We must understand that The Holy Spirit is our direct link to God the Father and to Jesus. He is THE SPIRIT of God. He teaches what God wants us to know.
Jesus says, “And when He comes, the Spirit of truth, He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you. Every thing that the Father has is Mine, for this reason I told you that He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you.” John 16;13
The Holy Spirit has a direct line to the Logos of God, Jesus,and to the Father God.
He IS the Spirit of Jesus and the Father God.
THE CHARISM / TOOLS THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES TO THE BELIEVERS
In the early centuries of the church, as described in the Acts of the Apostles, it was by the power manifested when the CHARISMS /the gifts, (translated charisms from the Greek word Karisma), were practiced, that the faith of early Christians was built up. The witnessing to Jesus’ resurrection accompanied by healings and miracles drew more and more new believers in Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
It was through the power of these Charisms that the church flourished. It was through the signs and wonders resulting from the operation of these Charisms in the lives of the Christians that attracted newcomers to Christianity.
The church grew in numbers and spread into many towns and villages. Soon the original disciples were gone and new leadership led the small individual congregations. Communications amongst these communities was infrequent and possibly non-existent. In a few centuries Christianity was accepted as the official church of Constantine’s empire. All citizens were free to be Christians.
The church took on political ties resulting, at times, in positions of authority being given as political favors. Rules of protocol and liturgical proprieties were set up. In that evolvement the uneducated received minimal instructions, which left them trying to live as Christians but with not much knowledge of what Jesus taught and did outside of His crucifixion and resurrection. The expectation of healings and miracles diminished.
In the long process the church developed the theory of Sacraments. The Holy Spirit came at baptism and at Confirmation. As time passed with less and less emphasis on the charisms, no Charisms, no power to heal, no power to discern between evil and good spirits, no power no miracles.
In the following blogs we will look at these charisms and how they work through any Christian who has been Infilled with the "Holy Spirit and Fire" predicted by John the Baptist.
The church gradually slipped into a dispensational attitude that taught that the charisms were for the early church but were no longer needed. Subtly, Christianity became a pick and choose religion.
This attitude weakened the power and devotion to the Holy Spirit whom the Father designated as our direct link to the Divine, to Jesus and Father/God.
More and more the signs and wonders, that were the driving force behind the rapid growth of Christianity, were relegated to fewer and fewer special holy men and women. This promoted the practice, of seeking answered prayer through the intercession of these saintly persons. As time went on this practice evolved to the concept that the Saints in heaven were the best way to persuade Jesus or Father/God to grant us our petitions.
I believe that God has gifted certain Saints with a charism in particular areas while they lived and that these charisms are still operative through their intercessory prayers, but the exclusive reliance on these intercessors has crippled the faith of laymen and women for centuries. It has literally blotted out the work of the Holy Spirit in the average layperson’s spiritual life resulting in the false belief that Jesus cannot be approached except through a special saint.
Thanks to God’s graces, in the past century, there has been a renewal in the teachings of the church, which has opened the door, for many Christians, to a new relationship with the Holy Spirit.
This new fervor for the Holy Spirit comes when the Christian makes a mature commitment to turn away from those elements in his/her life, which are against Jesus’ teachings. Then the Christian must pledge allegiance to Jesus the King in his/her life, that He is the only redeemer and forgiver of all our sins. The Christian must ask Jesus to baptize him/her in the Holy Spirit. Often, this occurs when a person who has previously received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, lays hands on the petitioner and prays the Lord to impart the Spirit and charisms to the one asking.
Next we will examine each of the Charisms as to their action on the individual who has received and those who are ministered to.
The term Baptize is synonymous with immerse, infill, renew, purify, initiate. This is NOT the sacrament of Baptism of Initiation. It is an individual’s commitment and pledge of allegiance to Christ and a sincere desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes and brings special Tools called Charisms, taught by St Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians.
The charisms are gifts from the Holy Spirit to assist and instruct the Christian how to minister to others as is necessary. These tools are frequently manifested in the context of a prayer meeting or worship service. However, they are to be used at any time that God will lead a believer to minister to another.Let us look at these tools.
Paul‘s 1st letter to the Corinthians chapter 12;7-11,
“To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit an expression of WISDOM; To another the expression of KNOWLEDGE according to the same Spirit; To another FAITH by the same Spirit; To another gifts of HEALING by the one Spirit; To another mighty deeds (MIRACLES); To another PROPHECY; To another DISCERNMENT of SPIRITS; To another varieties of TONGUES; To another INTERPRETATIONS of TONGUES. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as He wishes.”
It is of great importance to understand that in each case the gift is to benefit others and not the person exercising the gift. It is also very important to know that some gifts may have the same name as those listed in the attributes of the Holy Spirit, but they are not the same.
There are many books on the market that explain the charisms in depth. I will simply define them as I have seen or experienced them, and use short examples when helpful. I invite, you dear reader, to read some of these books so that, when you minister to someone, your consciousness of the proper charism will come to the surface and the person will be graced by it.
The following will be brief intoductions to each charism and how they are manifested. Deeper study would not be practical as blogs. If you have an interest in more expanded discussion use COMMENTS.
I'll respond accordingly.
THE CHARISM OF WISDOM:
The charism of WISDOM is circumstantially based. When confronted with a situation, the Holy Spirit will influence us to sense the proper direction we or the person involved should follow. This Tool is most important for the person in position of leadership or authority.
It is operative any time we call in the Advocate. It is particularly present in the context of Charismatic prayer communities and/or when one is involved in Spiritual Direction work either as the director or the one receiving direction.
Again, it is inspired by the Holy Spirit but limited by the response of the human. The inspiration is essentially Divine Omniscient Wisdom tempered by our finite response and the limits of the circumstance at hand.
NICOLE'S PRAYER
JESUS,
WHEN I FEEL THE OBSCURITY OF THE STORM,
LET ME SEE YOUR LIGHT OF LOVE.
THE CHARISM OF KNOWLEDGE
The tool of the expression of Knowledge is most often for the other person. Divine Omniscient Knowledge inspires it. It comes usually as a single word or short phrase. The person who receives the word of knowledge seldom understands the significance. The one, for whom the word is intended, usually has an “AHA” moment; a sense of exactly what the words mean to him or her. By introspection and recall one can experience some healing related to the word.
A woman was in conference with her spiritual Director. After a prayer time she asked the director if he had received a word of knowledge for her. The director was taken aback for all he had was a repeated thought of a milk bottle.
The woman proceeded to tell of a situation in her life concerning a broken milk bottle that had seriously impacted her self-esteem and her relationship with others. Prayer for a healing of memories freed this woman and later allowed a healing of relationships to take place.
God wanted to use that incidence to heal the woman. The director could not have scripted the scenario in a lifetime. He had no need to know the meaning of the two words. His was the responsibility to step out in faith and speak them to the woman.
The charism of the Word of Knowledge is frequently the talent present in healing services where the one praying for others to be healed may have a mental image of someone being healed of a specific thing, which had not been voiced as a request.
The most dramatic experience I witnessed occurred at a healing conference. I and two members of our prayer group were invited to act as a prayer team should some of the attendees desire to be prayed with. A man in his mid thirties asked for rejuvenated strength since he had to drive 100 miles to get back home.
As we prayed the thought came to me that we should pray for his eyes. He wore glasses. I always want to pray for people’s eyes since I’m so near sighted but I always wait for them to ask for this healing. As usual I waited but the thought was persistent so I asked if we could pray for his eyes. He said, “Sure,” He took off his glasses and we layed hands on his eyes.
After a few minutes of prayer we said Amen. He put his hand over one eye and said, “That’s amazing. It’s amazing.”
As it turned out he had been totally blinded in one eye in an industrial accident. The prognosis was that no medical science could restore the damage. He had been blind in that eye for 5 years.
We thanked God for the healing and left him. Later as we drove away he was standing on the curbstone of the circular drive in front of the building and a woman, standing on the opposite curbstone, was holding up a cardboard with some writing on it. He was covering one eye and we heard him saying loudly, “I can read that. I can read it.”
This is the power the Holy Spirit invests in us if we will but call him in, use the tools He supplies, and, believe in the promises of Jesus.
THE CHARISM OF FAITH
This leads us to the third charism,/tool, for us, the gift of Faith. This Faith is the realization, the assurance, of what is hoped for and the evidence, the inner conviction, of things not seen. It comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes from the word of Christ.
At the heart of faith is the truth that it is always dependent on choice. It is grace from God that we can make the choice to believe or not to believe. Faith is all about choice.
Had I chosen to not believe that God would help me retrieve the dogs from the river,(reference blog TALENTS dated12-16-10), they most likely would have perished.
Faith is the bedrock of all the other charisms. If we don’t believe, then we will continue to doubt and ignore the Holy Spirit’s promptings. The power of the Holy Spirit in the church is restricted by our failing to believe the promises of Jesus and ignoring the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
I know of a man who turned away from a prompting to pray that his friend be healed of cancer, and the man died a few weeks later. Would the sick friend have been healed? We’ll never know will we?
I know of a man who ignored the thought that he should punch his brother-in-law in the chest as he watched his nephew give his father mouth to mouth CPR to no avail. Would the heart have started to beat again? We’ll never know will we?
I know of a man who refused to give a talk to psychology students about Jesus being the source of Christian maturity. The students’ professor had left the priesthood a few years earlier and was living as a layman. Tragically this ex-priest committed suicide a month later. Could the speaker’s words have helped the professor through his problem? We’ll never know Will we?
The unbeliever can always say they would have died anyway, but these men never gave it a try. No stepping out in faith, no victories.
NICOLE’S PRAYER
JESUS,
WHEN I’M INVADED BY DOUBT AND INCERTITUDE
LET ME FEEL THE FULLNESS OF YOUR LOVE.
THE CHARISM OF HEALING
The charism of healing is the one most desired by persons who have found a way to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. The possibility that our prayer may be THE one that was effective and answered by God is very alluring. Most Christians associate this Charism to the scripture passage, “They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”
However, it’s been my experience that before the Renewal in the Holy Spirit movement came into the church in the sixties and seventies, healings were relegated to pilgrimages to spiritual shrines and to the last rites prayed by ministers, pastors and priests.
There were individuals such as Brother Andre of Montreal, Canada in the thirties and Oral Roberts of Tulsa, Oklahoma in the fifties, who had powerful ministries of healing.
From the sixties until now there has been a resurgence of the Holy Spirit’s activity in the lives of everyday Christians. A large percentage of the population has been exposed to the efficacy of healing prayer.
Jesus clearly stated the mission of praying for healing.
“As you go, make this proclamation; “The kingdom of heaven is at hand. ’Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
In faith we must choose to Believe that God answers our prayers. Believe that God will overcome evil and the lame shall walk and the blind see. Believe that God will use us to bless His people.
When you have thoughts that you should pray with the person who is ill, obey the Holy Spirits promptings. DARE to step out in Faith. DARE to lay your hands on your families, or friends, or neighbors and pray for them. Free them from their illnesses of every kind.
God is waiting for us, and so are all the sick around us, to step out in faith and heal in the name of Jesus. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
NICOLE’S PRAYER
JESUS,
WHEN I’M STOPPED, IMMOBILE, MUTE,
LET ME BE FILLED WITH YOUR HOLY SPIRIT
TH
THE CHARISM OF MIRACLES
This tool is very often cited as the result of prayer, however the occurrence of Miracles is rare. My pulling the dogs safely out of the river was not a Miracle, it was God intervening in our lives to, not only give me the strength and fearlessness to walk to the edge of the ice and get the dogs, but to show us that He will always be with us when we need Him.
Often we use the word Miracle for healings that could have come from natural means and/or modern medicines. Incurable diseases, such as AIDS, LOU GEHRIG’S DISEASE, ALZHEIMER’S are not healed miraculously but rather by the intervention by God releasing the natural healing properties He created that reside in our bodies.
They are seen as incurable today but in the future, by the grace of God, science will find the root cause and develop a cure for these as we have seen with Polio, and the Plague.
A Miracle is an intervention by God to create what does not exist at the present. The appearance of a hand where there was none; the ability to see, though there are no eyes; the ability to walk without pain, and mechanical or human assistance when parts of the skeletal bones are missing such as with Spinal Bifida these are Miracles.
Are we expected to pray for such marvels and believe that the miracle can occur? I say yes. Why do I dare say yes?
Because Jesus said,
”Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,and will do greater ones than these because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.”
The result is always in the hands of God but we have a role to play. We are to lay our hands on the person and pray for a miracle under the prompting of the Holy spirit.
SAY TO THE LORD,
“MY REFUGE AND MY FORTRESS,
MY GOD IN WHOM I TRUST.”
PSALM 91; 2
THE CHARISM OF PROPHECY
The modern day Christian is not conversant with what is the role of the prophet. I dare say that if we ask ten Christians what they think a prophet does, they will say, ”He predicts the future.” In actuality, a true Prophet predicts a specific event less than five percent of his utterances.
The basic call of the Prophet is to speak, what he/she hears from the Holy Spirit. What the Holy Spirit says, is what God wants His people to know. Ordinarily, this should be in an assembly of Christians so that the believers can test the utterance.
Personal direction from a self-professed prophet is very dangerous.Scripture tells us to test all things. We are to keep what is good and discard what is false.
Paul’s instructions regarding prophecy are quite clear,
“Two or three prophets should speak, and the others discern. But if a revelation is given to another person sitting there, the first one should be silent. For you can all prophecy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. Indeed, the spirits of the prophets are under the prophets’ control, since He is not the God of disorder but of peace.” This charism is also active when someone reads from the word of God in the function of lector. I believe that anytime a person speaks to a group or congregation in an authorized role the charism may very well be active.
THE CHARISM OF DISCERNING IN GOOD AND EVIL SPIRITS
This Charism , the grace of Discerning the presence or activity of good or evil spirits, should be in the toolbox of every Christian. For centuries only persons in high authority such as certain Priests or Bishops could be expected to have this tool. With the renewal in the church by the Holy Spirit it has become very fashionable. We hear many lay Christians speak as if they have this gift.
Once again Jesus bestows this Tool on His followers. In His last instructions to the eleven Apostles He said, “These signs will accompany those who believe: In My Name they will drive out demons.”
The gift of Discerning between good and evil spirits is the tool which enables a Christian to know when an evil spirit is at work or if the Holy Spirit is teaching us.
If we discern that the there is an evil force at work we must bind it in the name of Jesus and command it to leave the scene and go to Jesus. It is our responsibility to free those whom Jesus sends to us.
Be very cautious, this is not exorcism where the person is physically possessed by a demon. Rather, these are cases were the person may be oppressed by a force they can’t resist; it may be the person is being driven to obsession by an evil force about something or someone; it may be a deep depression which cannot be accounted for by today’s science.
If you are led to embark on this ministry, be prepared to need more prayer time, more fasting, more reading about the subject. It is a travail, which is available to all Christians, but not all are called to it.
The worst scenario is for someone not imbued with the spirit or of an unstable personality to attempt to use this Charism. Much harm can come to the recipient of false instructions or deliverance prayer when no evil spirit is present.
On the positive side there are many instances when we know that a person is being led in a wrong direction or is in a sinful relationship. In such situations we must wait for the Holy Spirit to verify our discernment and, to show us how we are to proceed in advising the other.
In all cases let LOVE be the reason for acting and the manner in which we act.
FIND YOUR DELIGHT IN THE LORD
WHO WILL GIVE YOU YOUR
HEART’S DESIRE.
PSALM 37; 4
THE CHARISM OF TONGUES
The Charism of tongues is the gift most talked about even though St. Paul calls it the least of all gifts. The majority of people do not believe in it, or don’t want it, or may even be fearful that it is demonic. Many churches discourage it or ban it in their congregations. In many Christian circles it is seen as a dispensational gift no longer needed or useful in our assemblies.
It seems arrogant of we finite humans to accept the gifts of Healing, Prophecy, Miracles and even Discernment of spirits but we are unwilling to humble ourselves to this least of the gifts. Why is this so?
I believe the problem is not arrogance, but one of concern as to what others will think of us. What will my family say if they hear me babbling in gobbly-gook or baby sounds? Is it from God or the devil? My pastor doesn’t have that gift. The excuses are as many as there are persons who do not want to believe that it’s for today and for them.
I base my belief on what Jesus said, “These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.” St. Paul devotes chapters 12, 13, and 14 in his first letter to Corinthians explaining the Charism given by the Holy Spirit. He ends the 14th chapter with this instruction,
“So, brothers, strive eagerly to Prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues, but everything must be done properly and in order.”
This is after having boasted, “I give thanks to God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.” This is in reference to our private prayer time. When we run dry in our words the gift of Prayer Tongues is a blessing and draws us closer to God.
In the assembly of believers St. Paul teaches about Prophetic Tongues, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let it be two or three at the most, and each in turn, and one should interpret. But if there is no interpreter, the person should keep silent in the church and speak to himself and to God.”
DO NOT BE AFRAID ANY LONGER LITTLE FLOCK,
FOR YOUR FATHER IS PLEASED
TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM.
LUKE 12; 32
:
THE CHARISM OF THE INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES
In the above quotation,from blog 01-13-11, we see that Prophetic utterances in Tongues, which occur in a worship assembly, must be interpreted. The assembly should cease any activity and wait until an interpretation is given.
Implicit, in this instruction, is the need to be sensitive to what type of service we are attending. It would be out of order to speak a prophecy in the context of Eucharistic services or Mass. St Paul asserts, “Indeed, the spirits of prophets are under the prophet’s control, since He is not the God of disorder but of peace. Very rarely is the interpretation a literal translation by someone who recognizes and knows the language spoken. The Holy Spirit gives the interpreter words, in the vernacular, that convey what the prophetic words mean.
There are many books that cover in detail the Charisms of Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues. It is imperative for someone, who believes in the presence of the Holy Spirit in their life, to exert the effort to learn fully about these gifts.
All nine Tools/CHARISMS are available to believers to exercise them as directed by the Holy Spirit, for the benefit of others. As we grow in the use of these gifts we will see changes in others but more importantly we will change. We will be, “Transformed by the renewal of our minds, that we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives will manifest this transformation.
THE TRIBUTE / THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit I call Tribute because I see it, as a work in us that has made us more like Jesus was when He was on earth. In his letter to the Galatians Paul lists the many facets that make up the Fruit. It is accepted that Paul did not err, nor is it a typographical error, that the Fruit is singular.
An apple, for instance, has various qualities, red, firm, juicy, tart, round, heavy, a Fruit.
It is interesting that he first lists fifteen works of the flesh or facets of sin, “immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outburst of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies and the like.”
James in his letter makes the case that if we break any one of God’s laws we break them all. This clarifies the singularity of sin and of Fruit. Here is what he writes.
“For whoever keeps the whole law, but falls short in one particular has become guilty in respect to all of it. For He who said, ’You shall not commit adultery,’ also said, ’You shall not kill.‘ Even if you do not commit adultery but kill, you have become a transgressor of the law.”
This makes the perfect case that we are all sinners. In Paul’s list he does not give levels of least sin to worst sin. In his eyes they are all breaking the law. These are very severe words of admonishment.
In the same way Paul lists the different qualities of the Fruit as all equal. “In contrast, the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control. Against such there is no law.” These are NOT gifts from the Holy Spirit they are virtues we begin to exhibit in our every day life as we progress in obedience to the Spirit’s promptings.
I believe that as we “call in” the Holy Spirit in all our activities and exercise the Charism Tools proffered to us, we are indeed in the process of being transformed by the renewal of our mind. The transformation becomes apparent as these virtues become evident in our behavior, radiating all facets of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.
We are becoming Tribute to the work of the Holy Spirit.
.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
IN OUR IMAGE AND LIKENESS
TRIUNE GOD TRIUNE MAN part 1 of a 6 part series
On the twenty-second day of August I entered the earthly stage of ETERNITY created to exist forever. When my father’s sperm fertilized my mother’s embryo I became Soul Mind and Spirit. I heard, I felt and I grew physically until the moment I was delivered from the confines of the womb into mankind.
From the instant we were created in our mother’s womb we were created to exist eternally. Implicit in this fact is that we are living in eternity at this very moment. We have been confused thinking that this earthly life will pass away at death and only then do we go into eternity. With this way of thinking came the teachings that we needed to earn our way into a better eternal life.
The truth is that the physical body dies and deteriorates but every human being, Soul, Mind and Spirit, good or bad, lives eternally from the moment of conception created in Triune God’s image and likeness. He has always been and will always be. We were created at a finite moment in eternity but eternal beings we will always be.
Our awareness of being eternal illuminates every moment with greater importance. Our every word, action, thought is embedded in eternity forever. This realization can move us to unwarranted egotism, or fear, maybe hopelessness or self-absorption.
I believe that when first created, man’s body was created to live forever. This is consistent with God’s commandment to Adam “You are free to eat from any of the trees in the garden except the “tree of knowledge of good and bad“. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.” (Genesis 2; 16" This implies if you do not eat from this tree you will live forever.
Lest we curse Adam for tasting this fruit and causing us to die, we should realize that sooner or later someone would have tasted it and doomed us to death. It might have been me, or you.
What we need to grasp is the fact that we have already begun our lifetime in eternity. Every new day is one more finite part of God’s eternity in which we have the privilege of existing. Each new day is newly created and never existed before since the first day that the universe was created. There are similarities to other days we have lived but that new day has happenings and experiences we never lived before nor may never again. For example, running into an old friend from years gone by that we never see again for the rest of our life.
If we realize that all the previous days we have lived are merely tiny steps of our eternity, then each new day takes on enormous significance. It is sacred, virgin life and we get to step into God’s grand eternal plan. Every moment is new and can be felt with new purpose, and hope, and direction. We are on the magical road of achieving impossible dreams, of conquering insurmountable obstacles, of visions that fill us with energy, excitement and hope.
It’s a new day. It’s a new life. You and I are in God’s perfect plan for eternity. Jesus has paid the price for our ticket to eternal life in the presence of IFINITE LOVE. Eternal Triune God has eternal triune man and woman in the palm of His hands. Alleluia!
CREATING MAN part 2 of six part series
To start with I wish to list 5 premises on which I will base this treatise.
First John’s gospel states “ GOD IS LOVE”
Second “ JESUS IS THE LOGOS OF GOD”
Third " THE HOLY SPIRIT ONLY SPEAKS AND DOES WHAT
JESUS AND THE FATHER TELLS HIM TO DO”
Fourth " JESUS AND THE FATHER ARE ONE.”
Fifth " THE LOGOS SON IS THE WORD THAT HAS CREATED
ALL THINGS AND NOTHING EXISTS THAT HE DID NOT CREATE."
God is the infinite presence and essence of LOVE. We are told most often that He loves us and indeed He does because His very presence immerses us in His LOVE. That God takes great pleasure in creating is obvious. We need but a moment to look at the immensity of the universe with Galaxies we have yet to discover.
The Greek word LOGOS has a few meanings that essentially can be lumped into the word MIND. Love put His MIND/LOGOS/JESUS to creating the earth. Perhaps as we do when we make up our mind or put our mind to some plan or action. Creating the earth and all the rest of the universe may have taken centuries in our time frame. Then he put His MIND/JESUS to creating the presence of light , the sun and moon. In the same way He, LOVE , put His MIND/JESUS to creating sea and sky, vegetation and plants, earth and sea creatures. Love saw how good was His creation.
Then God said "Let’s create man in our IMAGE and LIKENESS and, give him dominion over the earth and all the creatures of land and sea. He created man Soul, Mind and Spirit, the IMAGE and LIKENESS of te LOVE/ "Father, Mind/Logos/Jesus, and Holy Spirit." This is the way we are in the IMAGE of God.
Love chose to embody us in animal form so we could fully enjoy the awesome material and animal creation He had prepared for us. At the same time He communicates with us as the Holy Spirit ministers to our Spirit. This places us uniquely above any angel or demon spirit since they can never know animal life. They don’t die nor resurrect from the dead. In the same way that Father/God and the Son/Jesus communicate with the Holy Spirit, our Soul and Mind communicate with our Spirit. This is our LIKENESS to God.
Man and Woman, we are Trinitarian beings like no other creatures.
FUNCTION OF SOUL, MIND AND SPIRIT part 3 of 6 part series
With the premise that God who is Love, has a Mind, namely his Logos Jesus, and His Holy Spirit, He chose to create us one person, a Soul, with a mind and a spirit in their image and likeness. I have come to believe the way that we function is the way that the Triune God functions. WE ARE NOT, REPEAT WE ARE NOT GODS.
I believe the Holy Spirit will infill us with virtuous desires and thoughts, steeped in His wisdom, if we but invite Him to be our guide and counselor. To grasp the possibility that God would send His Spirit to abide in us, we need to realize the awesome creatures He created as men and women. At the moment of conception when the fertile egg is inseminated we are there Soul, Mind, and Spirit.
Our mind is not our brain. We hear and remember in our spiritual mind even before our physical brain is formed. We are fully created as an eternal being before the physical creative process takes place. It is this Spirit being who will face Jesus when our physical body dies.
With the advances in medical science we have seen and read that the unborn child can hear and feel and remember events. I read in a book on healing our family tree, of the case of a woman in her mid-twenties who was afflicted with depression and suicidal tendency. Psychiatrists were unsuccessful until a study of her pre-birth and infant life brought out the fact that when the mother told the father that she was pregnant He angrily said, “If it’s a girl I’ll strangle her.” The woman revealed that she had heard the father and always knew that she was unwanted and should not be alive. The father spoke those words before the baby girl's brain had not been formed.With a prayer for the healing of this memory she was freed of the depression and had a normal desire to live.
The scientific community has published and taught these phenomena. The unborn who hears his mother sing lovingly is calmed. The child who hears hate and violence is very restless and agitated. The unborn who is touched physically with a sharp needle or scalpel cringes away from the instrument.
Our mind, our Logos, is the image of Jesus the Logos of the Holy Trinity. It is our logos that participates in the process of physical growth. Learning the use of tiny arms and legs, tiny fingers and how to make a fist. and how to squirm and move to be more comfortable in the womb.
God the Father puts to Words His plan for creation. The Word issues forth the energy of the Holy Spirit and the Universe is created. In much the same way, I, as a person, move my mind to think in a particular way and my spirit adopts this thought process.
For example, I awake and see out of my window that the sky is overcast. Stimulated by this scene, I think, “Another dreary day. When is the sun going to shine again?” As I dress for the day’s activity, my wife says, ”You don’t seem too happy today.” Somehow my demeanor has radiated my disappointment in the weather so much, that she felt my mood. My spirit radiated my gloom. This points to a triune operation in the one man.
What we have imparted to our spirit, with our thoughts, molds our spirit to respond that way until we take steps to change the original impression. The simple example, of the dreary cloudy day that left me in a funky mood, shows how my spirit radiated the false truth that I should not be happy on such days. Programmed in this way my spirit will always remind my mind that I should be in a funky mood when it’s cloudy and rainy.
In much the same way, the Holy Spirit will always, unerringly, profess what Jesus and the Father have agreed upon. The Holy Spirit never needs to be corrected or reprogrammed. He is the inerrant God. We, however, need to be assiduous at correcting any wrong attitudes or decisions we have imparted to our spirit.
How do we know what needs to be corrected and how do we do it?
As I understand it, the imperfections in our spirit are generated by ERRONEOUS CORE BELIEFS which the Self or Soul has adopted through any one of countless circumstances. These events stimulated a judgment, a resentment , a vow, that was not valid, yet very real to the Self, based on its assessment of the situation. The ERRONEOUS JUDGMENT gave rise to thoughts that instructed our spirit to respond in a particular way.
ERRONEOUS CORE BELIEFS part 4 0f 6 part series
A simple example would be; a child hears a parent say to someone that the neighborhood has really deteriorated since the Europeans moved in. The child makes the wrong judgment that all Europeans do not take care of their property; therefore they are not good persons. Based on this erroneous judgment, he decides that he will never befriend any of the new kids that just moved in next door. His spirit accepts the judgment and always reminds him to avoid those new kids. If this is never corrected he will always be untrusting of Europeans. This is a simple example of forming ERRONEOUS CORE BELIEFS.
As we uncover an erroneous judgment we have made, which has an obvious negative effect on our behavior, we need to redress the impression and change the way our spirit reminds us to act. This is a method I have found that works.
First I ask God’s forgiveness for any improper behavior since I began to act under the impulse of the erroneous core belief. Then I ask the Holy Spirit to show me the truth regarding the situation that I had misjudged. As I begin to see the truth, I can formulate what my behavior and attitude should be.
Now I speak to my spirit vocally aloud and apologize for misleading it. I ask my spirit to forgive me. Then I instruct my spirit aloud, in a very firm positive way, to never follow the old instructions. I instruct my spirit in very specific steps how we will respond to this situation from now on. I ask my spirit to always remind my logos/mind that, as of now, we will behave in this new manner. Frequently, in this process it is not possible to change without enlisting the aide of a trusted Christian friend to pray with us through the process. The friend must be open to this method of correction and be trustworthy to not reveal your past failing. In turn, the friend may have an insight that we may be conceiling consciously or unconsciously.
At times you may have asked your self why the way a person talks or dresses or seems cold to you causes you to dislike or envy or snub this particular man or woman. If you seek the answer I assure you that God will be faithful in revealing to you “Bitter-Root Seed Judgments,“ Oaths and deep seated Resentments you have voiced or willed in various circumstances. These have resulted in an unloving, sinful attitude and behavior towards persons who did not deserve to pay for your selfish judgments.
I share with you one of the ways God healed me from an erroneous core belief that for 50 or more years of my life touched every relationship with everyone with whom I came in contact. It is a demonstration of God’s patience and love for even the least of His creatures.
It took the death of my first wife for me to learn the difference between "loneliness" and "aloneness." In my grief I experienced loneliness; missing the most important person in my life. I was lonely; I was blue. At some point I realized that sometimes I was alone, but I was not aware that I was lonely. It dawned on me that I had always felt alone, not really a part of what was going on around me. I spent a long time trying to figure out why this phenomenon, why I lived with a sense of aloneness.
I had nine brothers and sisters and a Mom and Dad that loved me and guided me. I had many friends at different stages of life. I had a loving wife and five great children. Yet, I never felt as if I belonged; always felt alone in the crowd even when I was the center of the activity. Finally I matured enough in my Christian walk to seek an answer from the Holy Spirit.
JUDGED INSIGNIFICANT part 5 of 6 part series
While in prayer one morning I had a mental image of a three-year-old toddler sitting on the floor of my parents’ kitchen. Around him I saw legs of girls walking in various directions sometimes stepping over the boy. I recognized that it was after supper and the girls were clearing the table and putting dishes away. No one seemed to pay any attention to the boy. He had no significance in the hustle and bustle of the after dinner chores.
I asked the Lord to explain the imagery. Then, I had the thought that my aloneness was a result of my believing that I was really insignificant in the grand scope of things. That little boy somehow had judged that he did not count in that family and formed the “erroneous core belief” that he was insignificant. If I understood the imagery correctly, how could I change my core belief and heal my wounded spirit?
Over the next week or two the Lord kept putting in my mind memories of incidences where I had a significant impact on others’ lives. He showed me the successful career I had; the friends who trusted my opinion; the man blind in one eye whom Jesus healed while I and two friends prayed with him.
I believe that when we make a judgment in our mind, our spirit absorbs that judgment as fact and from then on we unconsciously respond that way when something happens to trigger the feeling.
I realized that for my spirit to be healed of my being insignificant my mind MUST change its way of thinking and be renewed. I prayed the following prayer.
“ MY SPIRIT I’VE BEEN WRONG IN PERPETUATING THIS MISTAKEN JUDGMENT THAT WE ARE INSIGNIFICANT.
MY SPIRIT, WE, YOU AND I, AND MY MIND, WILL NO LONGER OPERATE UNDER THIS FALSE NOTION. NEVER AGAIN WILL WE THINK OURSELVES INSIGNIFICANT. IF THE THOUGHT SHOULD COME WE MUST REMIND OURSELVES OF ALL THAT THE LORD HAD SHOWN US AS SIGNIFICANT MOMENTS WE HAVE LIVED. NEVER AGAIN WILL WE LET THIS LIE ENTER OUR BEING."
A few days later while in prayer I had an imagery of the toddler dancing on the table and the family all around him clapping and laughing. The boy was the center of attention, significant in the eyes of all those around him. I knew I was not insignificant. Rather, I am a child of God.
BITTER-ROOT SEED JUDGEMENTS part 6 of 6 part series
More on healing Erroneous Core Beliefs.
Dealing with Bitter-root seed judgments that have long term negative effects on our lives.
When we are blessed to have God reveal some flaw in our beliefs that have wounded our spirit, it is extremely important that we pray this type of prayer. Asking our spirit to forgive us for damaging it unites the depth of our being with the aura of our spirit and our mind.
Trinitarian man begins to heal of erroneous core beliefs when he acknowledges his wrong judgments, promises or oaths. Until we come against these, our spirit will play back to us the faulty choice and will resist and be down right defiant against change.
It is extremely important to understand that what was true at the moment of hurt or trauma that led us to make these poor judgments is not real at the moment we are reflecting on its negativity.
As an adult the truth of my significance is based on the reality of the moment not on a childish memory. Jesus said the truth will set us free. The reality shows us the truth that frees us.
I will share one such judgment in my life to better demonstrate the love and patience God has in waiting for us to accept His healing as well as to show the long-term effects of a BITTER-ROOT SEED JUDGMENT.
As a pre-teenager. I began to resent the body God had given me. I felt He was unfair by not giving me, at least, an average size body. I saw nothing attractive about my face nor could I remember what I looked like without a mirror to look at. Resentfully I made the judgment that God did not like me and He did not care about my hurt. The resentment grew bitter roots and became a dominant attitude that my spirit radiated.
I tried to behave the way my parents showed me. I excelled in school and made full use of any athletic ability I had, all this in the hope that maybe God would relent and make me "tall dark and handsome" or the football star. It never happened and I resented the wasted effort to be good or trying to please Him. The resentment grew to bitterness and manifested itself in an anger that roiled inside of me ready to jump out at unexpected times. I tried to go along with those making decisions that affected me but one day the cork finally popped off the bubble-of-anger in my gut. I caused a verbally violent scene. The recipients of my raging tirade were hurt badly and caused a rift that has not been fully reconciled.
Later, in a dream, I saw myself regurgitating a baseball size sphere of putrid vile phlegm and excrement. The ball was tied by a cord to the center of my heart. I was repulsed by what I saw. I knew that I must sever this cord. Somehow I knew that cutting the cord with scissors would only grow a new evil ball. I must get rid of the ball and the whole cable including the root part in my heart. I dreaded the pain of pulling the cable out of my heart. I was sure that if I did I would rip my heart and die. Still, I could no longer live with this evil thing in me. I asked God to spare me and I physically went through the motion of ripping this imaged cable from my heart.
AT THAT MOMENT, I knew that the ball was the resentment I harbored against God all my life. Like a ball of twine made up of piece after piece of yarn tied together, all my repeated sins of anger ant rage fed, by my resentment, had finally gotten so evil that God had to intervene to save me. When God shows you your sin, and its effects, you literally cry until the groans and sighs leave you spent.
On waking I prayed that the Holy Spirit would help me pray with my spirit to never again allow resentment to contaminate our life . Rather we will try to live by the motto
We must come to see that we are indeed Trinitarian creatures in a real and wonderful image and likeness of the most Holy Trinity Godhead. He wants to heal us if we will let Him renew our mind and spirit.
We are indeed !!! “Self, mind/logos, and spirit,”
Created in the image and likeness of the great
“I Am, Jesus/Logos, Holy Spirit.”
On the twenty-second day of August I entered the earthly stage of ETERNITY created to exist forever. When my father’s sperm fertilized my mother’s embryo I became Soul Mind and Spirit. I heard, I felt and I grew physically until the moment I was delivered from the confines of the womb into mankind.
From the instant we were created in our mother’s womb we were created to exist eternally. Implicit in this fact is that we are living in eternity at this very moment. We have been confused thinking that this earthly life will pass away at death and only then do we go into eternity. With this way of thinking came the teachings that we needed to earn our way into a better eternal life.
The truth is that the physical body dies and deteriorates but every human being, Soul, Mind and Spirit, good or bad, lives eternally from the moment of conception created in Triune God’s image and likeness. He has always been and will always be. We were created at a finite moment in eternity but eternal beings we will always be.
Our awareness of being eternal illuminates every moment with greater importance. Our every word, action, thought is embedded in eternity forever. This realization can move us to unwarranted egotism, or fear, maybe hopelessness or self-absorption.
I believe that when first created, man’s body was created to live forever. This is consistent with God’s commandment to Adam “You are free to eat from any of the trees in the garden except the “tree of knowledge of good and bad“. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.” (Genesis 2; 16" This implies if you do not eat from this tree you will live forever.
Lest we curse Adam for tasting this fruit and causing us to die, we should realize that sooner or later someone would have tasted it and doomed us to death. It might have been me, or you.
What we need to grasp is the fact that we have already begun our lifetime in eternity. Every new day is one more finite part of God’s eternity in which we have the privilege of existing. Each new day is newly created and never existed before since the first day that the universe was created. There are similarities to other days we have lived but that new day has happenings and experiences we never lived before nor may never again. For example, running into an old friend from years gone by that we never see again for the rest of our life.
If we realize that all the previous days we have lived are merely tiny steps of our eternity, then each new day takes on enormous significance. It is sacred, virgin life and we get to step into God’s grand eternal plan. Every moment is new and can be felt with new purpose, and hope, and direction. We are on the magical road of achieving impossible dreams, of conquering insurmountable obstacles, of visions that fill us with energy, excitement and hope.
It’s a new day. It’s a new life. You and I are in God’s perfect plan for eternity. Jesus has paid the price for our ticket to eternal life in the presence of IFINITE LOVE. Eternal Triune God has eternal triune man and woman in the palm of His hands. Alleluia!
CREATING MAN part 2 of six part series
To start with I wish to list 5 premises on which I will base this treatise.
First John’s gospel states “ GOD IS LOVE”
Second “ JESUS IS THE LOGOS OF GOD”
Third " THE HOLY SPIRIT ONLY SPEAKS AND DOES WHAT
JESUS AND THE FATHER TELLS HIM TO DO”
Fourth " JESUS AND THE FATHER ARE ONE.”
Fifth " THE LOGOS SON IS THE WORD THAT HAS CREATED
ALL THINGS AND NOTHING EXISTS THAT HE DID NOT CREATE."
God is the infinite presence and essence of LOVE. We are told most often that He loves us and indeed He does because His very presence immerses us in His LOVE. That God takes great pleasure in creating is obvious. We need but a moment to look at the immensity of the universe with Galaxies we have yet to discover.
The Greek word LOGOS has a few meanings that essentially can be lumped into the word MIND. Love put His MIND/LOGOS/JESUS to creating the earth. Perhaps as we do when we make up our mind or put our mind to some plan or action. Creating the earth and all the rest of the universe may have taken centuries in our time frame. Then he put His MIND/JESUS to creating the presence of light , the sun and moon. In the same way He, LOVE , put His MIND/JESUS to creating sea and sky, vegetation and plants, earth and sea creatures. Love saw how good was His creation.
Then God said "Let’s create man in our IMAGE and LIKENESS and, give him dominion over the earth and all the creatures of land and sea. He created man Soul, Mind and Spirit, the IMAGE and LIKENESS of te LOVE/ "Father, Mind/Logos/Jesus, and Holy Spirit." This is the way we are in the IMAGE of God.
Love chose to embody us in animal form so we could fully enjoy the awesome material and animal creation He had prepared for us. At the same time He communicates with us as the Holy Spirit ministers to our Spirit. This places us uniquely above any angel or demon spirit since they can never know animal life. They don’t die nor resurrect from the dead. In the same way that Father/God and the Son/Jesus communicate with the Holy Spirit, our Soul and Mind communicate with our Spirit. This is our LIKENESS to God.
Man and Woman, we are Trinitarian beings like no other creatures.
FUNCTION OF SOUL, MIND AND SPIRIT part 3 of 6 part series
With the premise that God who is Love, has a Mind, namely his Logos Jesus, and His Holy Spirit, He chose to create us one person, a Soul, with a mind and a spirit in their image and likeness. I have come to believe the way that we function is the way that the Triune God functions. WE ARE NOT, REPEAT WE ARE NOT GODS.
I believe the Holy Spirit will infill us with virtuous desires and thoughts, steeped in His wisdom, if we but invite Him to be our guide and counselor. To grasp the possibility that God would send His Spirit to abide in us, we need to realize the awesome creatures He created as men and women. At the moment of conception when the fertile egg is inseminated we are there Soul, Mind, and Spirit.
Our mind is not our brain. We hear and remember in our spiritual mind even before our physical brain is formed. We are fully created as an eternal being before the physical creative process takes place. It is this Spirit being who will face Jesus when our physical body dies.
With the advances in medical science we have seen and read that the unborn child can hear and feel and remember events. I read in a book on healing our family tree, of the case of a woman in her mid-twenties who was afflicted with depression and suicidal tendency. Psychiatrists were unsuccessful until a study of her pre-birth and infant life brought out the fact that when the mother told the father that she was pregnant He angrily said, “If it’s a girl I’ll strangle her.” The woman revealed that she had heard the father and always knew that she was unwanted and should not be alive. The father spoke those words before the baby girl's brain had not been formed.With a prayer for the healing of this memory she was freed of the depression and had a normal desire to live.
The scientific community has published and taught these phenomena. The unborn who hears his mother sing lovingly is calmed. The child who hears hate and violence is very restless and agitated. The unborn who is touched physically with a sharp needle or scalpel cringes away from the instrument.
Our mind, our Logos, is the image of Jesus the Logos of the Holy Trinity. It is our logos that participates in the process of physical growth. Learning the use of tiny arms and legs, tiny fingers and how to make a fist. and how to squirm and move to be more comfortable in the womb.
God the Father puts to Words His plan for creation. The Word issues forth the energy of the Holy Spirit and the Universe is created. In much the same way, I, as a person, move my mind to think in a particular way and my spirit adopts this thought process.
For example, I awake and see out of my window that the sky is overcast. Stimulated by this scene, I think, “Another dreary day. When is the sun going to shine again?” As I dress for the day’s activity, my wife says, ”You don’t seem too happy today.” Somehow my demeanor has radiated my disappointment in the weather so much, that she felt my mood. My spirit radiated my gloom. This points to a triune operation in the one man.
What we have imparted to our spirit, with our thoughts, molds our spirit to respond that way until we take steps to change the original impression. The simple example, of the dreary cloudy day that left me in a funky mood, shows how my spirit radiated the false truth that I should not be happy on such days. Programmed in this way my spirit will always remind my mind that I should be in a funky mood when it’s cloudy and rainy.
In much the same way, the Holy Spirit will always, unerringly, profess what Jesus and the Father have agreed upon. The Holy Spirit never needs to be corrected or reprogrammed. He is the inerrant God. We, however, need to be assiduous at correcting any wrong attitudes or decisions we have imparted to our spirit.
How do we know what needs to be corrected and how do we do it?
As I understand it, the imperfections in our spirit are generated by ERRONEOUS CORE BELIEFS which the Self or Soul has adopted through any one of countless circumstances. These events stimulated a judgment, a resentment , a vow, that was not valid, yet very real to the Self, based on its assessment of the situation. The ERRONEOUS JUDGMENT gave rise to thoughts that instructed our spirit to respond in a particular way.
ERRONEOUS CORE BELIEFS part 4 0f 6 part series
A simple example would be; a child hears a parent say to someone that the neighborhood has really deteriorated since the Europeans moved in. The child makes the wrong judgment that all Europeans do not take care of their property; therefore they are not good persons. Based on this erroneous judgment, he decides that he will never befriend any of the new kids that just moved in next door. His spirit accepts the judgment and always reminds him to avoid those new kids. If this is never corrected he will always be untrusting of Europeans. This is a simple example of forming ERRONEOUS CORE BELIEFS.
As we uncover an erroneous judgment we have made, which has an obvious negative effect on our behavior, we need to redress the impression and change the way our spirit reminds us to act. This is a method I have found that works.
First I ask God’s forgiveness for any improper behavior since I began to act under the impulse of the erroneous core belief. Then I ask the Holy Spirit to show me the truth regarding the situation that I had misjudged. As I begin to see the truth, I can formulate what my behavior and attitude should be.
Now I speak to my spirit vocally aloud and apologize for misleading it. I ask my spirit to forgive me. Then I instruct my spirit aloud, in a very firm positive way, to never follow the old instructions. I instruct my spirit in very specific steps how we will respond to this situation from now on. I ask my spirit to always remind my logos/mind that, as of now, we will behave in this new manner. Frequently, in this process it is not possible to change without enlisting the aide of a trusted Christian friend to pray with us through the process. The friend must be open to this method of correction and be trustworthy to not reveal your past failing. In turn, the friend may have an insight that we may be conceiling consciously or unconsciously.
At times you may have asked your self why the way a person talks or dresses or seems cold to you causes you to dislike or envy or snub this particular man or woman. If you seek the answer I assure you that God will be faithful in revealing to you “Bitter-Root Seed Judgments,“ Oaths and deep seated Resentments you have voiced or willed in various circumstances. These have resulted in an unloving, sinful attitude and behavior towards persons who did not deserve to pay for your selfish judgments.
I share with you one of the ways God healed me from an erroneous core belief that for 50 or more years of my life touched every relationship with everyone with whom I came in contact. It is a demonstration of God’s patience and love for even the least of His creatures.
It took the death of my first wife for me to learn the difference between "loneliness" and "aloneness." In my grief I experienced loneliness; missing the most important person in my life. I was lonely; I was blue. At some point I realized that sometimes I was alone, but I was not aware that I was lonely. It dawned on me that I had always felt alone, not really a part of what was going on around me. I spent a long time trying to figure out why this phenomenon, why I lived with a sense of aloneness.
I had nine brothers and sisters and a Mom and Dad that loved me and guided me. I had many friends at different stages of life. I had a loving wife and five great children. Yet, I never felt as if I belonged; always felt alone in the crowd even when I was the center of the activity. Finally I matured enough in my Christian walk to seek an answer from the Holy Spirit.
JUDGED INSIGNIFICANT part 5 of 6 part series
While in prayer one morning I had a mental image of a three-year-old toddler sitting on the floor of my parents’ kitchen. Around him I saw legs of girls walking in various directions sometimes stepping over the boy. I recognized that it was after supper and the girls were clearing the table and putting dishes away. No one seemed to pay any attention to the boy. He had no significance in the hustle and bustle of the after dinner chores.
I asked the Lord to explain the imagery. Then, I had the thought that my aloneness was a result of my believing that I was really insignificant in the grand scope of things. That little boy somehow had judged that he did not count in that family and formed the “erroneous core belief” that he was insignificant. If I understood the imagery correctly, how could I change my core belief and heal my wounded spirit?
Over the next week or two the Lord kept putting in my mind memories of incidences where I had a significant impact on others’ lives. He showed me the successful career I had; the friends who trusted my opinion; the man blind in one eye whom Jesus healed while I and two friends prayed with him.
I believe that when we make a judgment in our mind, our spirit absorbs that judgment as fact and from then on we unconsciously respond that way when something happens to trigger the feeling.
I realized that for my spirit to be healed of my being insignificant my mind MUST change its way of thinking and be renewed. I prayed the following prayer.
“ MY SPIRIT I’VE BEEN WRONG IN PERPETUATING THIS MISTAKEN JUDGMENT THAT WE ARE INSIGNIFICANT.
MY SPIRIT, WE, YOU AND I, AND MY MIND, WILL NO LONGER OPERATE UNDER THIS FALSE NOTION. NEVER AGAIN WILL WE THINK OURSELVES INSIGNIFICANT. IF THE THOUGHT SHOULD COME WE MUST REMIND OURSELVES OF ALL THAT THE LORD HAD SHOWN US AS SIGNIFICANT MOMENTS WE HAVE LIVED. NEVER AGAIN WILL WE LET THIS LIE ENTER OUR BEING."
A few days later while in prayer I had an imagery of the toddler dancing on the table and the family all around him clapping and laughing. The boy was the center of attention, significant in the eyes of all those around him. I knew I was not insignificant. Rather, I am a child of God.
BITTER-ROOT SEED JUDGEMENTS part 6 of 6 part series
More on healing Erroneous Core Beliefs.
Dealing with Bitter-root seed judgments that have long term negative effects on our lives.
When we are blessed to have God reveal some flaw in our beliefs that have wounded our spirit, it is extremely important that we pray this type of prayer. Asking our spirit to forgive us for damaging it unites the depth of our being with the aura of our spirit and our mind.
Trinitarian man begins to heal of erroneous core beliefs when he acknowledges his wrong judgments, promises or oaths. Until we come against these, our spirit will play back to us the faulty choice and will resist and be down right defiant against change.
It is extremely important to understand that what was true at the moment of hurt or trauma that led us to make these poor judgments is not real at the moment we are reflecting on its negativity.
As an adult the truth of my significance is based on the reality of the moment not on a childish memory. Jesus said the truth will set us free. The reality shows us the truth that frees us.
I will share one such judgment in my life to better demonstrate the love and patience God has in waiting for us to accept His healing as well as to show the long-term effects of a BITTER-ROOT SEED JUDGMENT.
As a pre-teenager. I began to resent the body God had given me. I felt He was unfair by not giving me, at least, an average size body. I saw nothing attractive about my face nor could I remember what I looked like without a mirror to look at. Resentfully I made the judgment that God did not like me and He did not care about my hurt. The resentment grew bitter roots and became a dominant attitude that my spirit radiated.
I tried to behave the way my parents showed me. I excelled in school and made full use of any athletic ability I had, all this in the hope that maybe God would relent and make me "tall dark and handsome" or the football star. It never happened and I resented the wasted effort to be good or trying to please Him. The resentment grew to bitterness and manifested itself in an anger that roiled inside of me ready to jump out at unexpected times. I tried to go along with those making decisions that affected me but one day the cork finally popped off the bubble-of-anger in my gut. I caused a verbally violent scene. The recipients of my raging tirade were hurt badly and caused a rift that has not been fully reconciled.
Later, in a dream, I saw myself regurgitating a baseball size sphere of putrid vile phlegm and excrement. The ball was tied by a cord to the center of my heart. I was repulsed by what I saw. I knew that I must sever this cord. Somehow I knew that cutting the cord with scissors would only grow a new evil ball. I must get rid of the ball and the whole cable including the root part in my heart. I dreaded the pain of pulling the cable out of my heart. I was sure that if I did I would rip my heart and die. Still, I could no longer live with this evil thing in me. I asked God to spare me and I physically went through the motion of ripping this imaged cable from my heart.
AT THAT MOMENT, I knew that the ball was the resentment I harbored against God all my life. Like a ball of twine made up of piece after piece of yarn tied together, all my repeated sins of anger ant rage fed, by my resentment, had finally gotten so evil that God had to intervene to save me. When God shows you your sin, and its effects, you literally cry until the groans and sighs leave you spent.
On waking I prayed that the Holy Spirit would help me pray with my spirit to never again allow resentment to contaminate our life . Rather we will try to live by the motto
"NEVER LET ANYTHING OTHERS DO TO YOU
ALTER YOUR TREATMENT OF THEM.
CHOOSE TO FORGIVE.
CHOOSE TO LOVE.
In the morning, I sensed that I must go to a priest for confession. When the Priest said, "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy spirit I absolve you of all the sins you have ever committed" I felt an onerous weight fall from my back. I could have jumped for joy at the sense of freedom I experienced; freed from this terrible evil I had carried every day of my life. Now when resentment comes to me I try to catch it immediately and speak a word of prayer against it.ALTER YOUR TREATMENT OF THEM.
CHOOSE TO FORGIVE.
CHOOSE TO LOVE.
We must come to see that we are indeed Trinitarian creatures in a real and wonderful image and likeness of the most Holy Trinity Godhead. He wants to heal us if we will let Him renew our mind and spirit.
We are indeed !!! “Self, mind/logos, and spirit,”
Created in the image and likeness of the great
“I Am, Jesus/Logos, Holy Spirit.”
Saturday, February 5, 2011
NO FORGIVENESS NO LOVE: This is a 4 Part Blog
PART 1: FORGIVE THEM, THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO
As well intentioned good individuals , what can we bring to a society imprisoned by anger, prejudice, and violence? Throughout history the peacemakers, the bridge builders, have succeeded using love of neighbor as the basis of their work. I submit, however, that the foundation for love of neighbor is forgiveness. No significant relationship can last without it.
We cannot love as long as we harbor grudges against others who have hurt us and demeaned our self-esteem. Instead of forgiving we resent their actions, and, as we nurture this resentment it grows into bitterness. If we allow this bitterness to take root in us it will soon grow into full-fledged hatred.
This hatred is frequently the root source of fits of anger, which explode on the scenes of our lives with seemingly no obvious reason to trigger such anger.
Resentment is usually the first seed of a sinful attitude towards the person or thing that we feel has hurt us. It is one of the many self-centered tendrils that grow out of our egocentric pride. Every sin known to man has its root in this egocentric pride. Marriages fail because of un-forgiveness. Friendships are destroyed by rancor. Young gang members are murdered when revenge reigns. Ethnic and religious wars are waged where pride precludes forgiveness.
Pride is always the barrier to forgiving. Egocentric pride, inherent in all humans, can only be fully overcome by the grace of God. Our human pride blocks our willingness to forgive. At times the best we can do is ask God to grant us the grace, “To want, to want,” to forgive. Sooner or later WE MUST allow the grace of forgiveness to seep into our soul or we will carry the emotional and psychological burden of our guilt to our grave.
Our salvation and redemption are totally dependant on the Infinite mercy of God. The death of Jesus, which paid the price for our sins, is certainly the ultimate gift of mercy we can receive.
As human beings it is possible that we can be compassionate and forgiving of the imperfections of another. These are not acts of mercy on our part. At best they are our attempt at exhibiting God-like love toward the other while stroking our feeling good about ourselves.
PART 2: FORGIVENESS CORE OF LOVE
Only a person who has power over the other person can give mercy. Mercy carries with it the relinquishing of vengeance and power over the other. An example could be our response to an illegal alien who approaches us asking for some water and something to eat. Legally we are supposed to report them to the border patrol. We have the power to do this. If we are moved by compassion to give the illegal some water and some bread. This is a charitable act with an inherent component of mercy. We may not see ourselves at that moment as being merciful but we are exercising that virtue without analyzing our behavior.
The component of power in the death of Jesus is what makes it so Infinite. Jesus told Pilate that if His Kingdom were of this world His followers would be defending Him. Implied is the relinquishing of His Infinite power over any and all who were seeking to kill Him. This mercy was not for any reason other then to pay the price of our forgiveness and redemption.
For man to have the arrogance to disobey an Infinite God who has the power to end our very existence can never be redeemed by any finite act on our part. Only a God could pay that price and His name is Jesus. We all sin against our God in the very fact that we cannot satisfy the First of the Ten Commandments. Pray for His mercy and forgiveness. WE MUST come to the ultimate lover, Jesus Christ crucified, and bask in His forgiveness in order to grasp the need to forgive others. When we accept His pardon we come to know the freedom it brings; we touch the sacredness of forgiveness; we begin to see the need to share this great gift with others.
Conversely our grudges and rancor keep others and us in bondage. Jesus says, "Amen, I say to you whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." By not forgiving we bind others with chains of our bitterness unaware that these fetters form the yoke that ties us to those whom we will not forgive. The rancor consumes our energy and robs us of peace.
Jesus was very clear on this subject when he taught the parable of the unforgiving servant. The man would not absolve the debt owed him after he himself had been released from a much larger amount. Christ ends by saying, "Then in anger the master handed him over to the torturers until he paid back all that he owed. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you FORGIVES HIS BROTHER FROM HIS HEART." Jesus says, "Stop judging and you will not be judged.Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. FORGIVE AND YOU WILL BE FORGIVEN. When you stand to pray, FORGIVE ANYONE AGAINST WHOM YOU HAVE A GRIEVANCE so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.
We cannot love as long as we harbor grudges against others who have hurt us and demeaned our self-esteem. Instead of forgiving we resent their actions, and, as we nurture this resentment it grows into bitterness. If we allow this bitterness to take root in us it will soon grow into full-fledged hatred.
This hatred is frequently the root source of fits of anger, which explode on the scenes of our lives with seemingly no obvious reason to trigger such anger.
Resentment is usually the first seed of a sinful attitude towards the person or thing that we feel has hurt us. It is one of the many self-centered tendrils that grow out of our egocentric pride. Every sin known to man has its root in this egocentric pride. Marriages fail because of un-forgiveness. Friendships are destroyed by rancor. Young gang members are murdered when revenge reigns. Ethnic and religious wars are waged where pride precludes forgiveness.
Pride is always the barrier to forgiving. Egocentric pride, inherent in all humans, can only be fully overcome by the grace of God. Our human pride blocks our willingness to forgive. At times the best we can do is ask God to grant us the grace, “To want, to want,” to forgive. Sooner or later WE MUST allow the grace of forgiveness to seep into our soul or we will carry the emotional and psychological burden of our guilt to our grave.
Our salvation and redemption are totally dependant on the Infinite mercy of God. The death of Jesus, which paid the price for our sins, is certainly the ultimate gift of mercy we can receive.
As human beings it is possible that we can be compassionate and forgiving of the imperfections of another. These are not acts of mercy on our part. At best they are our attempt at exhibiting God-like love toward the other while stroking our feeling good about ourselves.
PART 2: FORGIVENESS CORE OF LOVE
Only a person who has power over the other person can give mercy. Mercy carries with it the relinquishing of vengeance and power over the other. An example could be our response to an illegal alien who approaches us asking for some water and something to eat. Legally we are supposed to report them to the border patrol. We have the power to do this. If we are moved by compassion to give the illegal some water and some bread. This is a charitable act with an inherent component of mercy. We may not see ourselves at that moment as being merciful but we are exercising that virtue without analyzing our behavior.
The component of power in the death of Jesus is what makes it so Infinite. Jesus told Pilate that if His Kingdom were of this world His followers would be defending Him. Implied is the relinquishing of His Infinite power over any and all who were seeking to kill Him. This mercy was not for any reason other then to pay the price of our forgiveness and redemption.
For man to have the arrogance to disobey an Infinite God who has the power to end our very existence can never be redeemed by any finite act on our part. Only a God could pay that price and His name is Jesus. We all sin against our God in the very fact that we cannot satisfy the First of the Ten Commandments. Pray for His mercy and forgiveness. WE MUST come to the ultimate lover, Jesus Christ crucified, and bask in His forgiveness in order to grasp the need to forgive others. When we accept His pardon we come to know the freedom it brings; we touch the sacredness of forgiveness; we begin to see the need to share this great gift with others.
Conversely our grudges and rancor keep others and us in bondage. Jesus says, "Amen, I say to you whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." By not forgiving we bind others with chains of our bitterness unaware that these fetters form the yoke that ties us to those whom we will not forgive. The rancor consumes our energy and robs us of peace.
Jesus was very clear on this subject when he taught the parable of the unforgiving servant. The man would not absolve the debt owed him after he himself had been released from a much larger amount. Christ ends by saying, "Then in anger the master handed him over to the torturers until he paid back all that he owed. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you FORGIVES HIS BROTHER FROM HIS HEART." Jesus says, "Stop judging and you will not be judged.Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. FORGIVE AND YOU WILL BE FORGIVEN. When you stand to pray, FORGIVE ANYONE AGAINST WHOM YOU HAVE A GRIEVANCE so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.
There is no waffling here,His commission to mankind is clear!
PART 3: FORGIVENESS CORE OF LOVE
Long before Jesus came, Jeremiah prophesied, “I will cleanse them of all the guilt they incurred by sinning against me; all their offenses by which they sinned and rebelled against me, I WILL FORGIVE."
Isaiah reveals God's love "It is I, I, who wipes out for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more." God is a loving, forgiving God who waits for us to open the door to Him.
When we recite the Our Father we say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US. This phrase takes on two connotations. On the one hand we attest that we forgive our neighbor. However the words "As we forgive,” adds the dimension that the level to which we are forgiven is directly related to the level that we forgive others.
If we ask for forgiveness and still feel guilty, it may be that we have not forgiven others from our heart. That is, we still harbor resentment about the issue. Frequently we cannot forgive ourselves. Our pride is wrapped in the shame of our action and we don’t believe the other or God can forgive such a thing. We must learn to forgive ourselves to be totally free of guilt and at peace.
Inherent in the process of being forgiven is the requirement that we will not repeat this sinful behavior. Scripture always ties forgiveness with repentance. The Greek word translated as repentance is metanoya. It means a turning around. When we teach our children to say they are sorry for something they’ve done wrong, we have them say they will not do it again. We are God’s children and He expects us to do the same. OUR BEHAVIOR MUST TESTIFY TO OUR SINCERITY IN ASKING TO BE FORGIVEN.
The degree to which our good news of Jesus’ saving forgiveness is received by others depends on how they see us as forgiving persons. If we are resentful or hold grudges then our actions belie our words. We are not walking the talk. However, if they see something special in the way we forgive, quickly, fully, with no strings attached, then the grace of God can penetrate their pride and/or sense of unworthiness to set them free.
Isaiah reveals God's love "It is I, I, who wipes out for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more." God is a loving, forgiving God who waits for us to open the door to Him.
When we recite the Our Father we say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US. This phrase takes on two connotations. On the one hand we attest that we forgive our neighbor. However the words "As we forgive,” adds the dimension that the level to which we are forgiven is directly related to the level that we forgive others.
If we ask for forgiveness and still feel guilty, it may be that we have not forgiven others from our heart. That is, we still harbor resentment about the issue. Frequently we cannot forgive ourselves. Our pride is wrapped in the shame of our action and we don’t believe the other or God can forgive such a thing. We must learn to forgive ourselves to be totally free of guilt and at peace.
Inherent in the process of being forgiven is the requirement that we will not repeat this sinful behavior. Scripture always ties forgiveness with repentance. The Greek word translated as repentance is metanoya. It means a turning around. When we teach our children to say they are sorry for something they’ve done wrong, we have them say they will not do it again. We are God’s children and He expects us to do the same. OUR BEHAVIOR MUST TESTIFY TO OUR SINCERITY IN ASKING TO BE FORGIVEN.
The degree to which our good news of Jesus’ saving forgiveness is received by others depends on how they see us as forgiving persons. If we are resentful or hold grudges then our actions belie our words. We are not walking the talk. However, if they see something special in the way we forgive, quickly, fully, with no strings attached, then the grace of God can penetrate their pride and/or sense of unworthiness to set them free.
PART 4: FORGIVENESS CORE OF LOVE
There is an infinite chasm between we finite creatures and the eternal creator of a universe so vast that man has yet to measure it. This creative force, this energy, this spirit-being we have named God. He has established immutable laws, which have resultant consequences. We must eat food and drink liquids or we die. If we jump from a plane, we come under the law of gravity.
In the same way there are immutable spiritual laws with consequences. For example, someone who always curses the good fortune of others, reaps the curse of never being satisfied with what he or she has. A thief lives with the constant fear of discovery and the core belief that no one can be trusted.
The spiritual laws of God are written in the depths of our being. What is called our conscience reminds us when we are not treating others, as we want others to treat us. When we persist in not forgiving, we come to believe we cannot be pardoned by humans or by God.
As finite creatures we cannot atone for breaking the laws of the creator because of the infinite difference between creator and created. The wooden puppet built by the puppeteer, can never act without its creator directing it. We humans are not puppets. We have been given a free will. Yet, we willy-nilly, disobey our Creator's laws and face the consequences. Any human effort to atone for the wrong we commit is infinitely inadequate. Only the creator can bridge the gap and pardon our transgressions. That is the good news.
No one needs to live in guilt and remorse for bad acts and choices. We can be washed clean as falling snow by coming to the foot of the cross and allowing His precious blood to flow over us, purifying us in the eyes of the Infinite Creator.
What can we bring to the 21st century?
HEALING, HARMONY, PEACE!
Let this begin with you and me as we dare to
FORGIVE FROM THE HEART AS WE WANT OTHERS TO FORGIVE US;
to be free to love one another unconditionally.
Hebrews 12;15
Matthew 10;18
Mathew 18;35
Luke 6;37
Mark 11;25
Jeremiah 33;8
Isaiah 43;25
Romans 2;12-16
In the same way there are immutable spiritual laws with consequences. For example, someone who always curses the good fortune of others, reaps the curse of never being satisfied with what he or she has. A thief lives with the constant fear of discovery and the core belief that no one can be trusted.
The spiritual laws of God are written in the depths of our being. What is called our conscience reminds us when we are not treating others, as we want others to treat us. When we persist in not forgiving, we come to believe we cannot be pardoned by humans or by God.
As finite creatures we cannot atone for breaking the laws of the creator because of the infinite difference between creator and created. The wooden puppet built by the puppeteer, can never act without its creator directing it. We humans are not puppets. We have been given a free will. Yet, we willy-nilly, disobey our Creator's laws and face the consequences. Any human effort to atone for the wrong we commit is infinitely inadequate. Only the creator can bridge the gap and pardon our transgressions. That is the good news.
No one needs to live in guilt and remorse for bad acts and choices. We can be washed clean as falling snow by coming to the foot of the cross and allowing His precious blood to flow over us, purifying us in the eyes of the Infinite Creator.
What can we bring to the 21st century?
HEALING, HARMONY, PEACE!
Let this begin with you and me as we dare to
FORGIVE FROM THE HEART AS WE WANT OTHERS TO FORGIVE US;
to be free to love one another unconditionally.
Hebrews 12;15
Matthew 10;18
Mathew 18;35
Luke 6;37
Mark 11;25
Jeremiah 33;8
Isaiah 43;25
Romans 2;12-16
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)