BoldGrace

This post is a FIRST here at Bold Grace. We have never had someone who is not part of the Bold Grace Administration Team post before. But our friend and frequent commenter John T. has asked that we allow him to post some of his thoughts. After discussing it through emails with the team we have agreed to have John T. post the following. As always please remember we at Bold Grace may or may not agree with his writings but we do hope they will cause us all to explore life. With that disclaimer we give you JOHN T…………………………….

Thanks for considering my request. I will try to make this relatively short. I have many ideas to share but I will limit them to my "belief" in our creator and how that relates to my "view" of our existence. I will take a Christian Scriptural viewpoint, but by no means do I think the Bible is the only authority on how we connect and remain aware of the Spirit of God. So here goes

Firstly, I find it fascinating that we as Christians actually feel the need for a SAVIOUR. In fact, doesnt that automatically make us feel like there is something inherently wrong with us? I mean, like really, God created us in his image yet were so messed up that we need to be bailed out. I think when we come from this original viewpoint, there is only one way to go…….DOWN. So with that said I think the early writers of Scripture were trying there best to explain the existence of, as we see it, Good and Evil. How accurate are they? Well we’ll leave that one alone. Maybe another post lol. Personally, I feel that God is Love and that I’m actually OK in the grand scheme of things. Do I have doubts…you bet. Do I sometimes have fears…. you bet. But overall I  intuitively know that I’m OK in the universe."I will put my laws on their mind and write them on their hearts. I will be their god and they will be my people" Hebrews 8:10

So where do I go from here? I have been reading  about Christianity and scripture and there is much that I find not only enlightening but also soothing to my spirit. Many of its words feed my soul and calm me. Does it sometimes confuse the Heck out of me……..lol ain’t that the truth. But overall I see how people through the ages have and still try to connect to their essence. That in itself is wonderful. Many of the  tenets of the Bible help to form great communities. Also many of them can be a divider. I guess it depends on your perspective. Now I know in previous posts I have made mention of repenting and other aspects that the Church espouses. Does the Church really get what they mean, I’m not so sure that they do. My take on many of the practices of the Bible  is that they are actually for training our mind and our spirit to maintaining its connection to the Divine Energy. Repenting and Prayer are just some of those practices. Their purpose is not for creating Guilt and Fear but reverence to the Love energy that God is.(Oh and by the way, I do believe we are an intrinsic part of that energy). The challenge with this world is that of "duality" and some may not see it in quite as positive of a way, hence the idea of Evil.

From my viewpoint, I believe that in this period of my eternal happening, I am here to learn things. Why is that? Well your guess is as good as mine. I just sense that is the truth. Now with that said, it seems the Creator or God has set up a system that seems to have some truths or absolutes to it. Jump off a bridge and gravity takes over. Drink too much alcohol and get a hangover. Regardless of how good it feels before, there are consequences to our actions. Now maybe Sin is not so much the action but more the outcome of that action. I believe in the process of teaching ourselves and our fellow travelers on this ride called Life,  we need to understand better the outcomes of what we do. I believe God said go ahead do whatever you want, but remember the system will give you an outcome, some desirable, some not. The outcomes have nothing to do with the overall Love, but they definitely have something to do with how you experience your Life. Will that experience be Loving or something not so Loving.

As far as my brain understands this existence, it seems very temporary. Yet there is this sense that there is a continuation beyond what I see, touch, taste and experience presently. So with that said I believe that what and how I work this part of my existence will definitely have an effect on the rest of it. What I mean by that is, its important to at least attempt to work the system for outcomes of Love. If I don’t try, it wont sway Gods Love for me overall, but it will get me some outcomes that don’t necessarily make me feel Good or Loving.

I believe the purpose or intent of Jesus was one of showing us how to have community better. Remembering that we are all OK, but also remembering to strive to be more Loving.

So when Cliff made reference to doing things wrong or hurtful and being OK because he’s knows he’s Loved, in my mind, kind of misses the point. I believe the point is about community and understanding that what we do will affect others and Jesus was trying to show us how to limit or change(repent) our beliefs so we don’t continue those behaviors. He cuts us some slack(Grace), yet he still wants us to strive to do actions that have better outcomes.

Love and Best wishes

John Tattersall

PS…To enter the kingdom of the father you must become as a child…………………I got giddy being able to share my viewpoints with you guys…….Thanks again

I have been lurking the past few weeks and have not responded or posted any thoughts here on Bold Grace. But after reading the conversation and comments on Cliff’s post titled “ Blessed Are The Pure In Heart” I decided to make this a post of it’s own and not a comment on that post. So here goes………………

John T. writes:
 Kevin
What happens to your mind and spirit when you’ve drifted from God and how do you get it back? Do you repent? Which I believe means to change your mind

GEO Responds:

John T. there in reality is nothing to “get back” as you term it. But if you want to repent or “change your mind” then go ahead. The problem comes in when we try and make others do the same in order to “feel clean” before God.

John T. writes:
      I notice one thing about BOLD GRACE the site. I think you guys are terrific and you try your best to share the love of God amongst us. But very definitely there is still huge resentment towards the Church as you see it.

GEO Responds:

John T. statements such as this… 
“But very definitely there is still huge resentment towards the Church as you see it”.
Are your opinion and we respect it as such. The same way what we say here are our opinions and they are not to bind anyone to believe as we do. Nor are they meant to silence any thought or speech. As far as judgment of the church goes why should we not judge the church? The judgment talked about in the New Testament writings was, we are not to Judge another persons Redemption, Salvation or Acceptance before God. But we are encouraged in the New Testament writings to Judge when a wrong is done to another. And the Church has PLENTY to be judged for in that area. But while we at Bold Grace may Judge the actions & deeds of Institutions and People NEVER ONCE have we nor will we judge anyone’s Righteousness, Holiness, Redemption, Salvation or Acceptance by God! We believe those in the Church who are doing GREAT damage to others are Righteous, Holy and Redeemed! Do they believe the same of us? My experience has been NO! In fact most people still in that system, at least the majority of the ones that I have encountered since leaving it (organized religion) have said just the opposite and view us here at Bold Grace as unbelieving heretics who will burn in hell, while we believe they are Righteous, Holy, Acceptable and without spot before God! Do you really think they believe the same of us?

John T. writes:
After all that does seem to me to be quite self-centered, don’t ya think?

GEO Responds:

John T.,
Do you believe that we are in Christ and He is in us, which I do? If so then self-centeredness would be Christ centeredness would it not?

GEO Responds:

John T.,
When your wife said this:
 “If the people on this site were truly immersed in their understanding of the love of God, they wouldn’t waste their time judging the Church and how it creates Fear in everyone”.
She as you previously did was stating her opinion. And again the church is indeed in need of judging! (My opinion!) Again please never think that we here at Bold Grace are judging anyone’s Righteousness, Holiness, Redemption, Salvation or Acceptance by God. Again I say that in the NT writings it says we are to judge when another has been wronged. As a matter of fact Paul says we should be able to do just that! And the world is full of people who have been wronged by that system. And we here at Bold Grace will always speak against what we see as wrong in religious systems while NEVER once judging another’s Righteousness, Holiness, Redemption, Salvation or Acceptance by God.

GEO Responds:

John T.,
You wife was curious about this:
 Why are you are centered so much on Fear itself as a topic?

I cannot speak for others that are a part of Bold Grace but for me as I see it the topic of fear is the one most used by those so-called leaders in organized religion today. It is used to extort and extract money, time & labor from those under the so-called care of pastors, and leaders. That is why I speak of it and against it. Speaking against it sets the captives free.

John T. writes:
Anyways I like reading what you guys have to say and just enjoy bantering, it helps me grow in my faith.

GEO Responds:

If the bantering helps you grow in your faith John T. then our writings here at Bold Grace are a complete and utter failure for you! Because our whole focus here at Bold Grace is NOT to help you or anyone else grow in your faith! But to assist you and all who come to Bold Grace in coming to the complete and utter end of your personal faith & belief in God and Jesus Christ! Then and only then can you embrace the Faith of God that is IN Jesus the Christ. And when a person leaves behind the doctrines of Christ as Paul said and then embraces the Faith Of God that is in Jesus the world for that person takes on a new order and EVERYTHING changes!

But then again I very well could be full of crap! Hahaha!

John T., if I were a praying person (which I am not, because ALL of my prayers were fulfilled at The Cross) I would pray that you and others who visit here and indeed in the whole world for that matter would lose ALL of your and it’s personal Faith and Belief in God and Jesus! And that you would discover The Faith of God that is in Christ! A Faith that makes ALL People Righteous, Holy, Redeemed & Accepted by God regardless of their acceptance of Him or belief in Him!

Thanks Again John T. for adding a different viewpoint and helping us examine what we believe about God. But the most important belief is what God believes about us not what we believe about Him. And what He believes about us is that we are ALL Righteous, Holy and without spot or blemish regardless of our words actions or deeds. Because He sees Jesus His Son when He looks at His Creation! Now that is THE GOOD NEWS! News so Good even Christians for the most part do not believe it.

Matt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

From this statement made by Jesus it is clear that only the pure in heart will ever see God.  If you look at this from the traditional view point of the organized church you are doomed to a life of confessing, repenting, trying harder, then confessing again, and repenting some more and the cycle will go on and on.  In other words you are certain to NEVER see God.

Then there are those who would say, "The Blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin making our hearts pure and then we can see God."  But if that’s true then why do people keep confessing, repenting, confessing, repenting, on and on and on?  If they truly believe His blood cleansed us of all sin then why do so many christians have bad consciences?

Now I’m going to make a statement that can not be proven and yet I know it is true.  Here it is:

When I do or think things that are wrong or even terribly wrong my conscience is still clear and I am still at peace with God every second of every day.

You say, how is that possible?  It’s possible because when you truly believe the Gospel (good news) you know deep in your heart that your relationship with God is not based on anything you do or think period.  It is based solely on GOD.  Our relationship with Him has never been in jeopardy from our creation and never will be.  We all made this journey to earth from God and we will all return to Him when we are finished with what we needed to learn.

The very purpose of Jesus Christ was not to make us into something different, but rather to reveal to us what we really are and that is PURE IN HEART.  When we see what He came to reveal that’s when we see God.  We see God in every molecule of the creation and we see Him even in that which is unseen.

Does this mean those who believe this think they can just go into some kind of wild, crazy lifestyle without any consequences?  God forbid as Paul would say.  In fact, the very opposite is what I have found to be true.  I see myself with this pure heart that has always been mine and it feels so wonderful to know that the one who created it also lives in it.  For God to destroy me he would have to destroy himself.  Now that I see the real me I also see the real God.

If you tie your own performance to this pure heart you are destined for failure when it comes to seeing God.  The organized church will never preach the true Gospel because they know the money would dry up and their jobs would no longer be needed. 

Brennan Manning said the following of which I completely agree:

My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.

Why doesn’t the church preach the Gospel of Grace?  They preach the gospel of grace plus HELL if you fail and that’s not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is my hearts desire to see this Gospel of Grace preached and believed and I will spend the rest of my life preaching it even if the organized church won’t listen.  Thank God Jesus is not bound by the walls of religion!

Let me start by saying that I have added the word PURE to this series because that’s actually what we need to master.  All of us have a whole array of thoughts that we have gathered over the years and most of them are lies and illusions but our real peace is found when we are awakened to the reality that PURE THOUGHT has been with us from the beginning and will never leave us.  I become the master of my pure thoughts when I believe this and allow my pure thoughts to reign.

I also have come to believe that for any of us to be the master of our PURE THOUGHTS we must understand our unique relationship to this universe.

Is it possible that absolutely nothing we think has any merit whatsoever?  Is it possible that our thinking process is nothing more then our ego’s need to believe we really matter?   All of us want desperately to believe that our individual lives have meaning that has everything to do with us and yet could we be totally and completely wrong about this? 

Maybe the human race has far to great of an opinion about their place in this vast universe?  Maybe we are nothing more then a colony of ants working feverishly to build something of greatness that is destined to be destroyed by the next great storm.

And so, What shall we do?  I know for me the answer is certainly not to look to the world of religion for any answers.  Religion offers the great pie in the sky, a place in heaven where all our dreams come true and yet look what religion has brought to earth……….war, hatred, division, pain, suffering, judgments, condemnation, & a portrait of God that brings fear to the hearts of all that will believe.

For me the answer is to be found in believing that I was created from THOUGHT and within me is the same pure thought that holds all of this vast universe together.  I don’t own it, I didn’t create it, and this wonderful thing called pure thought that lies within me has nothing whatsoever to do with my ego.  When I think it does I find myself lost.  When i see myself separate and apart from who I am as an individual then I find life.

Luke 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

What part of my life do I need to lose?  For me it’s about losing my individual identity with the thought that I am suppose to do something great, or be something great, or think something great.  It’s about realizing that something great has already been inside me from the beginning and that same something great is inside every single part of all of God’s creation.  We are one because that’s what we ARE!

I don’t believe it’s WHAT WE THINK THAT MATTERS, but rather what we believe about our thoughts that matter.  I know that seems kind of a contradiction but allow me to try and explain. 

When I believe that PURE THOUGHT WAS, IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE the true ME it changes how I reflect on everything I do and believe.  When I see others with this PURE THOUGHT (even if they don’t) it changes how I see them.  When I realize that this perfect part of all us can never be threatened, harmed, or destroyed, it removes all fear.

This PURE THOUGHT I am talking about is not something you can learn about or even teach yourself.  All you can do is acknowledge it which will always bring PEACE.  Or you can go on living in the illusion of your own ego thinking that YOU can make a difference——YOU WILL FAIL.  Unfortunately the organized church always plays to your ego and that’s why you will always be left wondering in the dessert of unbelief.

Being a TRUE BELIEVER does not gain you PURE THOUGHT but it does gain you a PEACE that is beyond understanding.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

The "WORLD" Jesus was talking about in that verse was the religious world.  The PEACE he gives to us comes from trusting in THE PERFECT PLAN OF GOD. 

God is not "ticked off" with you. He never has been. He never will be. He is not judging your activities or your attitudes. He has already judged them 2000 years ago on Jesus. And Jesus took all of the Father’s judgment once and for all.

Attention K-Mart Shoppers (and everyone else) God has not only made available the all-time deal, redemption and salvation, but He has already paid for all of it for you and checked you out! You’ve been approved. Enjoy

This just in……Jesus doesn’t go to church. The church is not a building on the corner (or anywhere else). Jesus and you are the church. And Jesus is in you. And you’re in Jesus. So, guess what? You’re always in church. Have a nice day. Isn’t it good to know the Truth?

This just in…..Don’t worry. Be Happy. When you die, you’ll go to Heaven. Why? Because you’re cool with God. Why? Because Jesus paid the price and vouches for your coolness with the Father. Good news, huh?!

News SO GOOD even christians DO NOT believe it!

Peace

Geo

I have been asked to comment on Mathew chapter 25.  Let me say to start that I am not here to deal with every verse in this chapter because that could take volumes but I will sum up what I think is the bottom line.  Allow me to quote the last verse of that chapter:

Matt 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

If you read the entire chapter it is clear that Christ is speaking about the same coming of judgment that I believe happened in 70AD.  A clear spiritual division happened at the cross.  A new heaven and new earth appeared on the day of the Lord, but the old heaven and old earth continued along side for a short time.  The old heaven and old earth had its final reckoning when the temple came tumbling down.  Let’s go back to chapter 24 and see the connection to all of this:

Matt 24:29-34 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

In the mind of God (the Kingdom of pure thought) there is a clear division of what mankind’s situation is.  Within all of us are ten virgins.  Five are wise and five are foolish.  Within all of us there is the man who uses his talents well and the man who squanders his talent.  Within all of us there is the person who feeds the hungry, takes care of the sick, and visits those who are in prison, and then within all of us there is the person who really cares nothing at all about the plight of those less fortunate.  Within all of us there is that which needs shut out, destroyed, cast into the lake of fire along with the power of all delusion and lies that we have dreamed up (the devil). 

Paul gives us the perfect example of what I am talking about by bringing our redemption and salvation down to a personal level.  Listen:

1 Tim 1:12-17 I thank him who has given me strength for this, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful by appointing me to his service, though I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners;  but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Saul (who is now Paul) represented the old man of sin, the old heaven and old earth, the foolish virgins, the man who squandered his talent, the cold uncaring person, but Paul (who used to be Saul) represents the NEW MAN who has had the old man put out, cast into the lake of fire, and all his delusions of a self righteous life was completely and utterly destroyed. 

And the best part of what Paul (the New Man) says is that he is the example of Jesus Christ’s perfect patience.  Yes, God will never allow anything other then our perfection to enter the Kingdom of pure thought.  A Kingdom where Love, joy, peace, and patience are what rule our thoughts.

Paul never claimed that it was his belief that got him to this new heaven and new earth (the land of MERCY).  In fact, he said it was his unbelief….."but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus."

Every single human being that has ever lived has acted IGNORANTLY IN UNBELIEF.  Thank God we have a Father that loves us so much that he will sift out all the garbage that we have allowed into our lives.  Even if you go all the way back to Adam & Eve you will see the two sides of mankind.  After mankind was created God said:  "And it is good, very good."  But after mankind believed the lie (a lie is an illusion) he hid in the bush.  Now wasn’t he still good, very good?????   And yet there was now a foolish part added to who man THOUGHT he was.  Please read Mathew 25 again slowly and ask yourself the following questions:

• Don’t I see within myself the VERY GOOD that God has said all along is there?
• Don’t I hate the illusions I have gathered in my life that make me think so poorly of myself?
• Don’t I want God to separate the the sheep and the goats within my own existence?
• Don’t I want the unwise virgins in my life to be shut out?
• Don’t I want the lazy, greedy person in me to see he gains nothing by that way of life?
• Don’t I want God to end this horrible conflict within me and show me the beauty and power of my true inner man?

If we are honest with ourselves we will see the GREAT CONFLICT which wages war within, but the GOOD NEWS is that the BEST PART OF WHO WE REALLY ARE has never been in danger and will eventually be completely rescued by the bright light of REALITY.

If you accept the traditional view of Mathew chapter 25 then all I can say to you is BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID.  Or you can trust in a PERFECT GOD who will never let us down and who does not depend on us to accomplish his PERFECT WILL.  The God who has never lost sight of what He created and always knew that he would bring each and everyone of us back to the REALITY of who we really are. 

Yes, I believe in judgment.  I believe when Christ was lifted up that he took upon himself all the fearful judgments that had mankind still hiding in the bush self condemnation.  We can come out NOW.  We have a New Heaven and a New Earth.  A place where the Kingdom of Love, joy, and peace takes the place of fear, judgments, condemnation, and self righteousness.  You wonder why I am negative toward the organized church?  LOOK WHAT THEY TEACH and ask yourself "Is that how you really want to live?" 

You know what my answer is and I hope at the very least that this post will give those who live in fear by what their preachers are teaching them on this chapter to see that God truly is a God of PERFECT LOVE, and perfect love will CAST OUT ALL FEAR.

Hello friends! I haven’t written for a while, so I thought I’d let you know what’s on my mind. I was flipping through the channels this morning, relaxing a little bit before having to head out to a meeting. I landed on one of those televised church services, and heard a preacher say something like, "it is your responsibility to get your flesh in order so you will be found acceptable on that final day. And, glory to God… you’re in the right place to do that!"

Huh?

Now I’m sure this preacher is a highly trained religious scholar, and cares deeply for the people who support him in his ministry of reconciliation. But, what in the world is he talking about?

It seems to me that one of the main problems with modern Christianity is that they are hell-bent (excuse the pun) on perfecting themselves, and everyone around them… no matter what. The way I see it, God built this illusion called "the universe" and put us into it for some reason. All that is physical, is temporary. The only thing real in all this is the Spirit… our spirit, and God’s spirit (which is probably the same thing). The physical will be destroyed by the physical. There is no way to avoid it. We are all here for a time, and during that time, we will all learn the things we were put here to learn. There is no way to avoid it.

Some of the things we will learn will bring us great joy, and wonderful peace. Other things will cause us incredible grief and terrible pain. No matter what. Most of that pain will come from Christians — sorry, just kidding. But, the point is, we will experience all the things that our spirit needs to experience before this earth will bring our physical flesh to destruction. Don’t worry about it, it must happen. It cannot be avoided. But look forward to all those experiences, as they bring us closer to the place we need to be. The flesh will return to the dust it came from, and the spirit will soar into newness… maybe one step closer, or immediately to, the One who created us.

You can worry. You can panic. You can work hard to try to avoid all those experiences, both good and bad… but you will only be kidding yourself. You can”t avoid them. You just can’t. No amount of panic or worry will make any difference. Lessons will be learned. Life will be experienced.

To me, that’s what the story of Christ is all about…. that we must realize that we live in two different worlds. One is a illusion, and one is real. The problem is, we strive to perfect the illusion, forsaking the real. We want to make the physical "right", not seeming to understand that it never can be. It was designed that way. Jesus kept talking about the Kingdom of Heaven, and how it was "so close". And He talked about putting our trust in the "unseen" and opening our minds to the realization of the illusion of the flesh. If we can only understand how close heaven really is, we would find our spirits slipping into its peace, and placing less and less importance on the physical world.

It’s not to say that the decisions we make in the physical world won’t affect our physical lives… we will prosper from our correct decisions, and we will suffer for our incorrect decisions. But not everything that happens to us will be in our control. Sometimes (as Geo says), its just life on earth! This brings me back to the lessons we must learn. Even the worst decision… the decision that will bring an end to our physical world, can’t harm us. Leaving this world will be the best thing that ever happened to us. It will free us to finally experience life in the spirit, free from the illusion… free from the training ground of life-experiences we were here to have.

For those of you squirming in your chairs, no… I’m not about to kill myself. I don’t need to. Now that life is in proper perspective, I relish every moment. I do look forward to the end, and the great separation of spirit from flesh… I think it will be the most amazing part of my life. But, understanding how temporary, and how much of an illusion this earth-life truly is, I can look forward to all experiences - good and bad, great and insignificant. They all bring me a step closer to freedom. And truly, just knowing that… is freedom! 

Let the world bring on what it will! I am at peace, trusting in the Creator who will return me to himself… uniting me with the Source of my spirit… making me one with His Life! That is something to shout about, and it is something to quietly savor. It is the essence of the Gospel of Christ. And it is the message so overlooked by the church that claims to be His.

For all of you out there who are troubled during your journey, let me share something special that someone I admire gave to me during a rough moment in my life. It is a poem written by Tim Murtaugh.

Gentle Words of Encouragement

Spend every day preparing for the next.

As you reach forward with one hand, accept the advice of those who have gone before you, and in the same manner reach back with the other hand to those who follow you; for life is a fragile chain of experiences held together by love. Take pride in being a strong link in that chain. Discipline yourself, but do not be harsh. The pleasures of life are yours to be taken. Share them with others, but always remember that you, too, have earned the right to partake.

Know those who love you; love is the finest of all gifts and is received only to be given. Embrace those who truly love you; for they are few in a lifetime. Then return that love tenfold, radiating it from your heart to fill their lives as sunlight warms the darkest corners of the earth. Love is a journey, not a destination; travel its path daily. Do this and your troubles will be as fleeting as footprints in the sand. When loneliness is your companion and all about you seem to be gone, pause and listen, for the sound of loneliness is silence, and in silence we hear best. Listen well, and your moments of silence will always be broken by the gentle words of encouragement spoken by those of us who love you.

Thank you Mom

John T made the following comment about Jesus:

I wonder what Jesus was thinking about prior to being nailed to a cross and suffering unimaginable pain. Must not have been very positive. I don’t think life is as simple as just thinking the “right” thoughts.

Allow me to give my opinion as to what Jesus was thinking. 

First of all I believe that Jesus represents a perfect man with perfect love.  We know that perfect love casts out ALL fear so one thing we know he wasn’t thinking was thoughts of fear.

Could it be true that He was not very positive as he hung on the cross suffering?  It is my opinion that He couldn’t have been anything else but positive because it was His pure thoughts that got him through the pain.  Anything less would have caused him to scream out and beg to be let go. 

We also know that he had thoughts of forgiveness.  Didn’t he say in the midst of his suffering "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." 

The more I have thought about John’s question the more I believe it is about the RIGHT THOUGHTS.  Jesus had a clean cup without the baggage of organized religion.  His pure thoughts allowed him not only to hang on that cross and stay positive but it was the same thoughts that allowed him to heal people at every level, both spiritually and physically.

Matt 9:2-6  Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."  At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"  Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home."

Jesus asked the Very Religious People who entertained evil thoughts, what was easier to do:  to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Get up and walk".

Isn’t it strange how it’s always the very religious who "ENTERTAIN EVIL THOUGHTS"?  When you are around church folks there is always a sense that you are being judged at some level.  Granted not all christians are this way,  but I believe the greatest evil thoughts are found in the organized church.

In the mind of Jesus with his pure thoughts both actions were the same.  To heal physically or to heal spiritually were equal.   With Jesus there could only be right thoughts because all his thoughts were pure.  It has nothing to do with any circumstance we are going through.  Jesus is showing us a new way to see this life.  He’s not telling us we will avoid difficult circumstances, but rather it will be our "RIGHT" thoughts that get us through them.

When I visualize Jesus on the Cross I see the most beautiful vision of a man who was the MASTER OF THIS THOUGHTS.  He took one of the most terrible scenes imaginable and turned it into the most POSITIVE vision that the history of mankind could every have.  How’s that for positive thoughts?