Not a pretense of better living through higher thoughts or actions.. Not a contrived morality or confidence in my own imagined righteousness.. But an admission of being lost!.. Of being sought out, found and forgiven!.. Not an escape from pain or hardship, but an awareness that God loves and believes in me more than I could ever believe in Him. That He has the power to keep me and accomplish His will for me in this life and the next. www.jackandcarlayoutube & www.morethanmanagement.life
Is knowing and heeding God's word in the Bible, the essential ingredient of your Christian faith?
Is the scripture breathed out by God, truly your most profitable and essential training tool for living by giving you access to His grace, His peace, His knowledge and His power? Does it gently whisper to you as you teach, reprove and correct?
(from- 2 Timothy 3:16–17)
Are you finding the things that pertain to life and godliness through knowing Him and learning about Him through His word? Is His word truly your trainer in righteousness equipping you for every good work? Is it your, glory and your excellence? (from- 2 Peter 1:2–3)
Have you committed to His understanding and fellowship with Him? Or are you rejecting what He has revealed in His instruction book to embrace your culture and it's views?
(from- Proverbs 3:6-8)
Do you seek Him or exclude Him?
THE WORDS HE SPEAKS
ARE SPIRIT AND LIFE!
He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
I have three blog sites. This one which is a devotional, https://www.seekinghigherbeing.org/ A second which is in an anger/life management group recovery format, https://www.morethanmanagement.life/ And the third ponders social events and issues, https://www.thesubwaywalls.com/ Feel free to comment either on the blog itself, or on FB and even cut and paste the browser web addresses of any of the posts from these blogs to share with others on FB or other venues as you wish.
When attempting to relate to our fellows... the struggling image bearers in hiding or those experiencing defeat around us. It is easy to feel piously humble as we plan our charity or even proud of the seeming tolerance of our actions.
But Christ calls us to much more. Our salvation is not a mere nod or whisper to attain an assurance that we will avoid eternal fires. It is not merely a commitment to a self improvement program. He calls us to walk with Him.
He calls us to join Him in His walk of obedience, To accompany Him and take up our cross on a walk of fellowship with Him. A walk of dying to ourselves and becoming alive again in a new acceptance of self and those around us.
The love mentioned is, that of God loving through us;
a Redeeming Love.
Hear and See excellent summaries on the "Image of God" at:
See Corrie Ten Boom quotes by clicking the blue link at the bottom of the page.
Below is the Movie, "The Hiding Place," created by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
It portrays Corrie's fears and the persecution she endured after hiding Jewish refugees in her families home during Hitler's occupation of their homeland.
After it starts Click the bottom Right corner to see it full screen.
Drowning is not usually the violent, splashing or loud frantic calls for help that most people expect.
Most often it is a quiet progression as moments of subtle resignation seem to ease the exhaustion of increasingly unproductive effort. Moments of deceptively sweet rest like the first moments of relapse into a familiar sin or addiction. And then the Panic and the Terror when we realize our loss. Drowning is a moving back and forth between hopeless resignation to exhaustion and the terrifying experience of loss of control to asphyxiation. Christianity describes life on earth as a similar struggle for survival. A struggle against the focused efforts of a deadly and very deceptive foe. An enemy whose intent is to ensnare and enslave and even destroy our lives. His plan, is to hijack life's true purpose. To redirect it down paths of compulsive service to temptations or even addictions or patterns that abuse self or others in pursuit of relief or pleasures.
But as Christians we are instructed to lay aside these hindrances, weights, and encumbrances along with anything else that entangle us. We are to break free from what the Bible describes as the parasitic effect of sin in and on our lives. The article cited at the very bottom of this page examines the deadly events of drowning. It describes the seriousness of what is happening, and why so many unknowingly watch calmly as both children and adults drown in their presence, unaided.
Spiritually speaking, a progression toward loss, much like drowning is very common. Without assistance, all of us find ourselves quietly, or perhaps, not so quietly drowning in our sins.
But which sins? Are some sins weightier than others? Or is this quiet drifting away a universal human problem? Can you be drowning in your sin and not know it? And how is it to be remedied?
The message of Christmas presents a timely hope. The promise of a Savior sent to free His people from the bondage and fatal separation that this sin problem creates.
Matthew 1:21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, (which means Savior), for He will save His people from their sins.”
Although you may be a disciplined person, very religious, even from a devout religious tradition. You may still be drowning. Many have replaced saving faithwith personal ideas of goodness, or citizenship or even syncretized true Christian faith with something more in harmony with today's claims of, "enlightened," cultural goodness. Regardless of our attempts to achieve, "goodness," the problem of being separated from God's salvation because of our, "sinful nature," and drowning in our sins is a universal problem that we cannot solve on our own.
So what does this, "Saved," promise mean? Scripture teaches that because God arrived Incarnate in Christ, and then sacrificed himself for us... 1) We can be delivered from bearing the penalty for our sins as we follow Him in faith.
Romans 4:25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
2) We can be delivered from the power and control that sin holds over our lives as we surrender to Christ's leadership through the guidance of His Holy Spirit.
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 3) And we can eventually be delivered from all presence of sin in totality as we enter heaven to further commune with our Savior and Lord.
Revelation 1:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” So how do we to engage in this process in the here and now? The chapters below provide some of the answer to this question. Hebrews 12 King James Version (KJV) 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Hebrews 12 The Message (MSG) 1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! 4-11 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves.
Many find these verses foreign to their understanding. They may even conflict with the values they have been taught in our modern Humanist Culture. Some of our churches have adopted this culture and skip over them or omit them completely from their teachings.
If you are not familiar with Humanist teaching, and have questions about the revolutionary changes they are bringing to our culture, including many of our churches, consider the conversation below.
Exaulting, defending and imposing our own will... Our most intoxicating Spiritual Deception.
Will we follow in Christ's steps of (humble) obedience... or expect Him to follow us in our selfrighteousness and zeal?
Pause and Consider... (Who) expressed the highest religious aspiration?
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Isaih 14: 13b-14
(Answer) How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: Isaih 14:12-13a
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. Isaih 14:15
(Maintain courage, faith and confidence because everything you do matters. )
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16
In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
I Peter 3:15-16
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons that we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
A determined man of faith and wisdom Norman Borlaug...
fought and won against the global
crisis that faced my generation
See his Nobel Peace Prize Speech (green link) at the bottom of the page
To succeed he was required to navigate through a tide of opposition that continues to this day.
The man attributed with Saving Billions of Lives...
~ Norman Borlaug~ Occupation: Agricultural Scientist
and 1970 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient.
Born: March 25, 1914, Died at age 95 on September 12, 2009 Some of his quotes: "I now say that the world has the technology - either available or well advanced in the research pipeline - to feed on a sustainable basis a population of 10 billion people. The more pertinent question today is whether farmers and ranchers will be permitted to use this new technology? While the affluent nations can certainly afford to adopt ultra low-risk positions, and pay more for food produced by the so-called "organic" methods, the one billion chronically undernourished people of the low income, food-deficit nations cannot." By developing and applying the scientific and technological skills of the twentieth century for “the well-being of mankind throughout the world”, he may still see Isaiah’s prophesies come true: “… And the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose… And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water…” And may these words come true!
The following video describes Borlaug's story of overcoming the "Population Bomb"
The sanity of recovery is about maintaining perspective in a world of uncertainty. It is knowing that a sober relationship with our Maker is enough. It is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, “Don’t see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain’t it grand the wind stopped blowin’?” It is accepting the world as it is and still experiencing reasonable hope. Photo source: http://medio-ambiente.practicopedia.lainformacion.com/catastrofes-naturales/como-se-forma-un-tornado-13198
We may become troubled when friends, family or even leaders veer from the comfortable paths of our own prejudices. When their words or actions challenge our feelings, thoughts or opinions. We may become offended! We may accuse! We may discount them, seeing them of being wrong or offensive to us, or those we desire to impress... until we stop and consider the complexity of our existence.
At best, we gaze squintingly into the sun trying to examine its surface. We assume our mastery of reality through our crudely formed tools like String Theory Physics, assuring us that everything ties together nicely. But in reality, we are extremely venerable and dependent on unseen higher powers for our very existence.
Take care my friends! Remember to Celebrate each heartbeat! And find ways to appreciate the miracles of each moment.
Consider this blast from the past by song writer Randy Stonehill.
It's easy to become locked into a prison of self-critical discontentment or socially imposed fear when we are unable to find the security, status or comfort we expected. Too often we become paralyzed by these feelings of discouragement and loose our momentum in life or our recovery, but we must remember that even the least among us today often experience greater riches than even....
Louis XIV..."The Sun King"...
“The Sun King had dinner each night alone. He chose from forty dishes, served on gold and silver plate. It took a staggering 498 people to prepare each meal. He was rich because he consumed the work of other people, mainly in the form of their services."
"He was rich because other people did things for him.
At that time, the average French family would have prepared and consumed its own meals as well as paid tax to support the King's servants in the palace. So it is not hard to conclude that Louis XIV was rich because of the sacrifices of the poor."
But what about today?
"Consider that you are an average person, say a woman of 35, living in, for the sake of argument, Paris and earning the median wage, with a working husband and two children. You are far from poor, but in relative terms, you are immeasurably poorer than Louis was."
"Where he was the richest of the rich in the world’s richest city, you have no servants, no palace, no carriage, no kingdom. As you toil home from work on the crowded Metro, stopping at the shop on the way to buy a ready meal for four, you might be thinking that Louis XIV’s dining arrangements were way beyond your reach."
And yet consider this.
"The cornucopia that greets you as you enter the supermarket dwarfs anything that Louis XIV ever experienced (and it is probably less likely to contain salmonella). You can buy a fresh, frozen, tinned, smoked or pre-prepared meal made with beef, chicken, pork, lamb, fish, prawns, scallops, eggs, potatoes, beans, carrots, cabbage, aubergine, kumquats, celeriac, okra, seven kinds of lettuce, cooked in olive, walnut, sunflower or peanut oil and flavored with cilantro, turmeric, basil or rosemary."
"You may have no chefs, but you can decide on a whim to choose between scores of nearby bistros, or Italian, Chinese, Japanese or Indian restaurants, in each of which a team of skilled chefs is waiting to serve your family at less than an hour’s notice. Think of this: never before this generation has the average person been able to afford to have somebody else prepare his meals."
"You employ no tailor, but you can browse the internet and instantly order from an almost infinite range of excellent, affordable clothes of cotton, silk, linen, wool and nylon made up for you in factories all over Asia."
"You have no carriage, but you can buy a ticket which will summon the services of a skilled pilot of a budget airline to fly you to one of hundreds of destinations that Louis never dreamed of seeing. You have no woodcutters to bring you logs for the fire, but the operators of gas rigs in Russia are clamoring to bring you clean central heating."
"You have no wick-trimming footman, but your light switch gives you the instant and brilliant produce of hardworking people at a grid of distant nuclear power stations. You have no runner to send messages, but even now a repairman is climbing a mobile-phone mast somewhere in the world to make sure it is working properly just in case you need to call that cell."
"You have no private apothecary, but your local pharmacy supplies you with the handiwork of many thousands of chemists, engineers and logistics experts. You have no government ministers, but diligent reporters are even now standing ready to tell you about a film star’s divorce if you will only switch to their channel or log on to their blogs."
"My point is that you have far, far more than 498 servants at your immediate beck and call. Of course, unlike the Sun King’s servants, these people work for many other people too, but from your perspective what is the difference?"
This is truly a marvelous time to be alive, and your contribution will only make it better for those who follow you as you work step 12. But we must open the doors in our own mind and walk out of the prisons of resentment and blame that we may have created for ourselves. The following link is to a series of speakers as they share about achieving Recovery.
the beauty created by the artist and author of all!
The Creation around us is only a dim reflection
of His Beauty and each of us have been created
to express the glory of His Image.
-CLICK YOUTUBE link TO ENLARGE-
--- a celebration of ---
--Imago Die --
-- The Image of God -- =======================================
REAL CRISIS SANITY...
The sanity of recovery is about maintaining perspective in a world of uncertainty. It is knowing that a sober surrendered relationship with our Maker is enough.
It is finding the good, like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, “Don’t see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain’t it grand the wind stopped blowin’?”
It is accepting this world as it is, both good and bad and still experiencing reasonable joy and hope.
Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai were both honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. In doing so the Noble Commission in Norway honored: A Victim who would #NotBeSilenced and a #GlobalVictimsAdvocate . It has been estimated that 90% of any population group can be controlled by a 10% minority that is willing to organize and intimidate their neighbors. Simply said: The two honored prize winners chose not to be intimidated, but rather to work to organize the 90%. In America during the Civil Rights Movement the, "Freedom Riders," did a similar thing. They immersed themselves into the conflict. They became witnesses, and companions to the suffering. Their presence brought the struggle to the homes of everyday America, black and white. Their presence ensured social awareness and highlighted the injustice of segregation, exposing a system that could no longer be tolerated. Below is to and excellent PBS special, "The Freedom Riders."
Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai are Freedom Riders in the Greatest Sense... a Hindu, and a Muslim...an Indian and a Pakistani.. Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti also worked to change the 90%. Taseer a Muslim and Bhatti Christian stepped forward and worked together in Pakistan to expose injustice, but few in Pakistan were able to follow, and their culture could not respond. In 1989, 25 years earlier, the Students of Tiananmen Square in China stepped forward as well, but the people of China were not free to respond. One year earlier in 1988, The Singing Revolution occurred in the Baltic states. It was successful and the Tank Commanders joined the protesters in, "Freedom Rider," type activities, and together they broke free from the Communist System.
9:16 / 14:25
How Song and Poetry Inspired the Baltic Revolution | Gina Ochsner | TEDxSalem
So, why such dramatically different outcomes? I suggest that the, "Judeo-Christian Culture had a huge effect; that as the population of the Established Power Structure had a strong Cultural Identification with the values of, "Christianity," peaceful Protestantism was much more likely to be effective. Why?... because of the values? .....the challenging nature of, "Protestantism"?... or the fear of God? I think Lincoln would say the Fear of God. (see Lincoln's 2nd inaugural Address) Today our culture has redefined it's values along humanistic lines and all but abandoned ideas of, "Fearing God," but we continue to honor the, "Challenging Nature of, Protestantism" as displayed in modern time by the acts Mandela and Gandhi in British controlled South Africa, and India and Dr Martin Luther King Jr in America. Both with great success I might add. And yet, the protests of the Arab Spring failed to bring movement toward resolution, but rather the destruction of order and devolution into greater factitious fighting. Hopefully theses will also resolve toward a better future. Lord Knows, there was great turmoil at the time of Gandhi and King. Turmoil that took both or their lives. The playlist below suggests truths that transcend national, cultural and religious mandate. Some examine conflicts and responses both positive and negative. Click the link directly below for Playlist, then Play All.
But back to slavery.... and Kailash and Malala. The children of the world are needed to feed our appetites, and our appetites enslave the children of the world. #Cheaplabor, #CheapPornography and #Sexualenslavement are only a few of the appetites driving demand for the young as we in the west grow the demand for cheap merchandise and surrender to habits of personal corruption. But this is not a problem of the west alone. In the East these practices occur without shame. In many parts of the "Non-Christian" world young women are expected to work as prostitutes for a period of time to pay back their parents for the cost of raising them, often starting as young as age 8. Their culture sees it as their duty, and so escape is next to impossible. Sadly: This is a global and historical characteristic of humankind. Corrupting our future sells, and when it does, the younger generations pay a huge price. The Clips in Play List below are focused on education and exposing or escaping from various forms of slavery, and organizations committed to bringing restoration. The 3rd clip is an excellent speech given by #KailashSatyarthi several years ago on his work to free enslaved children and end the #cyclethatentraps their families. Click the link below or click Play all to view all.
