BoldGrace

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

….and many more.

We will be having a celebration of Life ceremony Saturday, April 25th, 2009 (4:00p.m.-??) It will be held at the American Legion located at 109 North 6th Street, Richmond, Indiana 47374. We will laugh, sing, cry and tell amazing stories about Cliff! We will have pictures and videos so we can share some of his incredible moments with all of you.

Clifford L. Hazelbaker II, 57, of Richmond was born January 13, 1952 and was reborn on April 16, 2009. Cliff was the son of Clifford and Barbara (Goodwin) Hazelbaker. Cliff graduated from Centerville High School in 1970. He was married to Nancy McBride Hazelbaker on March 6, 1970. They recently celebrated their 39th Wedding Anniversary. Cliff enjoyed spending time with his incredible family. Their family motto is “Love Never Fails!” He also enjoyed sharing his love of God on www.boldgrace.com. Here is an excerpt from that site… “Clouds don’t seem to care where they’re going. They are content to follow the directions of the spirit of the air, enjoying the journey as they make their way to their purpose. Though they are unaware of their designation or their purpose as they travel along, they find themselves eventually called upon to join forces and deliver liquid life to the earth. Often exhausted, they whither and die, having given all of themselves in doing their work. But, as those clouds die, others are reborn from their seed to carry on the purpose.” Cliff is survived by his wife Nancy ; Mother, Barbara; Children: Tammy (Bob) Thompson of Centerville, Clifford (Bridget) Hazelbaker III of Richmond, Mindy (Charlie) Hill of New Carlisle, Ohio, Amy (Todd) Witter of Bath, Indiana; He is also survived by 9 grandchildren: Josh, Jacob, Paige, Samantha, Clifford IV, Abby, Emma, Lilly and Phoebe. Brothers: Andy (Teresa) and Doug (Cindy) Hazelbaker.

Dad was reborn at 6:40 this morning with all of his family around him singing you raise me up. It was the most beautiful thing we have all ever witnessed. We will see you again Daddy.

We are all together right now in Dad’s final hours. We have been playing all of Dad’s favorite songs and we have been singing to him. Lots of tears. Lots of pain. I can’t quite explain all of this, but I can feel God in the room. He is with Dad and all of us helping him to move forward. This is beautiful and painful all in each breath he makes. We keep telling him that he has prepared us well for this and that we are ready to give him back to God. I don’t know when Dad will be reborn, but I know we are close. Pray that God takes him soon.

I don’t want to try and explain each verse below except to say I would like you to think about verse 10 and ask yourself if you have ceased from your own works?

Heb 4:1-11 4 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

There is much to glean from these verses including a rest that is not of this world and I would like to hear what some of you think.

Much Love,

Cliff

The following I wrote up last night in response to a person that had contacted me through email. The contact came because the person wanted information about house church meetings which I used to be a part of long ago. I told him that I no longer "do" house church or any church but that our belief has still remained only in a different form. It just so happens I am having coffee this afternoon with him and will share these points with him about where I see the church going wrong today. (These are just a few of the points) By the way this person is a pastor of a local church. So it should be interesting. Here are my points

1.    Identity Theft – Adam was told he would be like God if he ate of the Tree. When the TRUTH was he already was like God and made in the very image of God. The serpent stole Adams identity. In the same way the serpent sought to steal Jesus’ identity by saying, “IF you are the Son of God then do this or that to prove it.” Satan’s biggest trap is to try and get people to prove something by their actions and beliefs. (Even well meaning Christians and Christian leaders do the same when they tell others that a “good” Christian does this or doesn’t do that) Jesus knew who He was and did not fall to the temptation of proving who He was by His actions and deeds. And why is that? Because of his knowing His Identity before the Father. The Father had already told him at His Baptism that “THIS IS MY SON IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED” He was pleased with Jesus before Jesus did ANYTHING! In the same way we must let people know that they are pleasing to the Father before or if they NEVER do anything. And why is He pleased? Because when He looks at us He sees His Son and His Righteousness and not our own. It is the message that is and will set people free. 

And because of Identity Theft the following takes place:

2.    Sin Consciousness is preached instead of Righteousness Consciousness – The New Covenant Good News Message should cleanse the mind of the Old Covenant Sin Consciousness and instead instill a Consciousness of Righteousness. But the church continues to preach sin and sin consciousness instead of righteousness and righteousness consciousness. When sin consciousness (Moses) is preached a veil is let down over a person’s mind and the completeness of Christ and His sacrifice CANNOT BE SEEN!

And the preaching of Sin Consciousness leads to this:

3.    People attempting to fulfill the biggest desire of the flesh, which is to be justified by what they think, say or do. More than any other thing the flesh or human ego or self if you will desires to be justified by what it thinks, says or does. And in doing so will either approve of themselves and others or disapprove of themselves and others. People who attempt to please God through their actions, words and deeds are some of the most judgmental and hate filled people on planet earth. Sin consciousness NEVER leads to peace. It always leads to guilt and condemnation of self and mostly of others. Why of others? Because a person who is trying to please God through their actions, words and deeds will always compare themselves to those who seem to be not doing as they are.

What is the answer to this? The following:

4.    Quit believing and trusting in your own personal faith and belief and embrace the faith and belief  “of” Christ. Accept that you are righteous perfect and holy in the beloved. Accept God’s view and opinion of yourself and not the world’s view or the church’s view and opinion of yourself.  What is the difference? The church mostly teaches that you are pleasing or unpleasing to God through your actions, words and deeds. God says you are righteous, perfect and holy because of what Jesus did regardless of your actions, words or deeds. And God also says there is NOTHING you can do or not do to change that view. So in the end will you believe in your belief in your self or God’s belief about you?  It is only when we are freed from our own belief about ourselves and others that we see Jesus.

5.    Embracing the faith “of” Christ – It is at the end of our belief about God that we meet Him and His belief about ourselves and others. What we believe about God does not matter. It is what He believes about us that will set the captives free to be free. What an individual believes about God can NEVER set that person or anyone else free. But when that person hears about God’s view and opinion about themselves through the Cross and Blood of Christ regardless of words, action or deeds. The soul comes to rest and know that He alone is God.

6.    Remember Sin NO MORE – I have seen it over and over the past 4 years that when a person keeps the thought that they are righteous and holy EVEN WHEN THEY FALL OR FAIL that person will have and experience vices and desires fall off them like dead leaves from a tree in autumn. Things that they tried for years to rid their life of cease because of a Righteousness Consciousness. It makes no sense to the religious mindset because the religious mindset is trying to please God through the flesh. Something that was done by Jesus for us, the religious mindset tries to do for itself. And if you tell this to the religious they will rise up to kill you just as they did to Jesus. It may not be a physical death but they will attempt to destroy your ministry or you as a person.

Peace

Geo

Over the last week or so, I’ve been keeping track of some things I’ve said in conversation with others. These are by no means original thought. They are sayings that have rattled around in my brain through the last few years, some coming from my friends, some from various books, and some from my heart. But, sometimes I write something, and find the resulting verbiage remarkable! Sometimes, I’m not really sure where it came from, but it was the perfect thing to say at that time. So, I jot them down so I can remember. And now, I share them with you. Use them freely in your own conversations, and please add you own through the comment section! Thanks!

• Freedom is only for the free.

• If your salvation is determined by "what you believe", doesn’t that make you responsible for your own salvation? And if only God can save someone… doesn’t that make you God?

• You can only know if your love for God is genuine if you understand that he loves you completely and deeply, and without expectation or requirement.

• Love is a response, not an action.

• If you think God doubts you, then you will doubt God.

• If you know that God loves you, then nothing else will matter. If you don’t know that, nothing else will make any difference.

• Is God’s love so fickle that he only loves those who love him first?

• God in me loves God in you.

• Only love can birth love.

• Christ was the greatest teacher of the Law. He expanded on the depths of its purpose to the point that everyone had to admit that complying with it was far outside their grasp. He pushed and pushed and let them fester in their fears. Why? Because he needed to set the stage for a redeeming event! He used their religion against them to show them their self-righteousness and cause them to cry out for a savior!

• The definition of "self-righteousness" is when we think we can influence God’s thoughts for us, or against us.

• The concept of Universal Reconciliation doesn’t imply that God forces everyone to choose him. It simply states that God chose us! Why? Because he created us in perfection, and loves what he created.

• God says that we should love others, even when they fail us. It is possible that he holds himself to the same standard?

• If you think God will hate you because you don’t believe the correct things, you will give yourself license to hate others because of their incorrect beliefs.

• True belief can only exist when the requirement to believe is removed.

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.

God Said:

Whither goest thou when you stay with Me? Where do you go but to the Center of Creation? There is no other place for you to be. You think you are here or there. Certainly, your body exists in one spot at a time on Earth, and your attention as well, yet you are the Heart of the Matter. You exist nowhere but in My heart, and My heart is the Center of Creation. I am from where all knowledge comes. I am the Source of your knowledge, and I am also the Goal that you seek. You seek that which you have. You seek that which you are. It is your own Presence you seek. Only for a moment in your thinking have you been absent from it, this illustrious Being which is your Self.

You have been in a quandary, beloveds, only because you believe you exist somewhere far flung in the world when, in Reality, there is no place to be but within My heart, the Heart of Hearts, the same one that beats in your chest.

This Oneness is not complicated. Oneness has to be simple. Only you think Oneness is complex. You would analyze the unanalyzable. You would create mystery where there is simplicity. It is too easy to absorb and overlook the Oneness that you are. It is right here, and you look out there, way out there, where you think the Vastness of Oneness ought to be. You overlook the Oneness that is already yours. You look far afield when you only have to stop a moment and let the Presence of Oneness, MySelf, arise within you. I am beyond your reckoning but not beyond your recognition. You can see but not describe. You can see, and yet I am not a Vision. You can feel Me, hear Me, touch Me, and yet you feel I am beyond your reach, when, beloveds, I am entirely the reach of you. You are the Seeker of Me. You are the Beholder of Me. And you are that Infinite which you seek.

You run around in circles chasing that which you already are. You seek the Adventure that lies within you. This is the heart of all your seeking, all you wanting, and all your wondering. And yet you are afraid to discover. You are afraid you do not merit. You fear you will go up in smoke if you touch even the tip of My hem. You fear the discovery which you seek. You might rather seek than discover. You like to cross the bounding main and not have to reach the shore of your Self.

Let’s face it. You enjoy being in the middle of the Ocean without your bearings. You would rather search for your bearings than to know them. You don’t remember that there is more and more.

You think more and more belongs only to the world of shopping or some such when, all the while, there is discovery after discovery in the realms of God, and, therefore, within the realms of you.

Don’t think you have to understand what I am saying to you. What We are talking about is not in the realm of understanding. It is in the realm of recognizing.

Deep within the cells of your Being lies the wealth of My words. You do not have to understand My words, for now you possess them. You do not have to remember My words, for now they stir within you. You don’t have to anything because now you have all the seeds planted within you. They will grow with or without your attention. Your awareness will blossom, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. You are going along for the ride, and there is nothing you can do about it. You can’t even hang on, beloveds. You have to let go.

From Our Friends @

http://www.heavenletters.org/

Peace

Geo