BoldGrace

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

THANKFUL by Josh Groban

I believe God is Perfect.  I also believe he has created a Perfect enviornment for us to have a journey through.  But the question for today is "WHY DOES HE ALLOW DARKNESS IN THIS PERFECT ENVIRONMENT?" 

Now some will just deny the existence of darkness all together but whether you think it’s real or an illusion you still must endure it in the mind.  For me, I tend toward darkness being an illusion that started with Adam no longer believing that God could love him without effort on his part to make it happen, and when we don’t believe our own Creator loves us it will always lead to PAIN.  The illusion has continued throughout the history of man with the exception of JESUS CHRIST.  What made him different from Adam was that he never doubted the Father’s love.  Yes, he endured the pain inflicted on him because of the darkness of others, but one thing they could never take away was his absolute confidence in his Father.

Sadly, in Adam all die, but the goodnews is that in Christ ALL will live.  He has shattered the illusion even though there are many who still don’t see it.  But let’s get back to our original question, Why does he allow Darkness? 

You answer this any way that pleases you, but here is how I have answered it for me. 

Darkness is the lie we choose to believe that never represents reality.  Reality is very simple……….it is believing in this moment that I along with all my fellow travelers are loved by God unconditionally.   ANYTHING THAT MOVES US AWAY FROM THAT REALITY WILL TAKE US TO DARKNESS, and believe me I have been to the darkness.   This is exactly why Jesus us taught us ‘JUDGE NOT LEST YOU BE JUDGED.  We all have and will at times choose darkness and I believe that is without exception, but I also believe even the darkness will have its Perfect work because it is a part of his perfect environment for us.  I don’t like darkness, as a matter of fact I HATE IT, in myself and in others, but I am learning to trust that even the darkness is light to God.

Ps 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

The very second that Adam made the decision to partake of the knowledge Good & Evil he enterered into DARKNESS of the mind.  Jesus came to once again RENEW our minds with the REALITY that we are always loved by God and always will be.  Yes, he allows us to choose darkness but he also knows that no matter how dark it gets HIS light will find us and bring us back. 

All of our choices every single day are as simple as choosing Darkness or Light, one will bring great pain, and one will bring great joy, but both will bring us to the Father.  The sooner you know this simple truth the sooner you will walk this journey in peace.

If I’m wrong then we have every reason to live in constant fear, but if I’m right then the darkness loses all its power and actually becomes LIGHT.

I sent this note to a friend who was struggling with doubt and fear… and thought that someone here might benefit from it too.

If Jesus was the Messiah foretold by the Jewish prophets of old, then the world has been redeemed to the Father (according to those prophets), reconciled completely, and in all certainty.

The thing is, if we understand that we have been redeemed to the Father, our minds can become free from the doubts we hold about God’s nature, and free from the fear of death. This is the renewing of our minds… the salvation from our delusions about God.

If we don’t understand that we have been redeemed to the Father, it doesn’t change the fact that we are redeemed and will spend all eternity in the loving embrace of the Father… it only affects our entering into salvation  (the renewing of our minds from a state of fear, into a state of peace) during this lifetime on earth.

God went through great lengths to reveal His love for us, why can’t we see it? What is clouding our vision?

The fallacy of religion has held a burden over our heads for a long, long time. It tells us that WE must take part in our redemption (by receiving God’s grace). It tells us that WE are responsible for our righteousness (by our performance). It puts US at the center of salvation. But reality tells us that we are not capable of such responsibility. We can never trust our ability to decide properly, or correctly enough. We will continue in doubt, no matter how hard we try to mask over our inner thoughts.

Only by understanding that it’s not about us reaching out to God, but that He has already reached out to us, can our minds be freed from all that haunts us. Know that, and live in the understanding that your relationship with God cannot fail, because you have nothing to do with it! Only by removing ourselves from the picture can we experience true peace.

It doesn’t matter what I do, or don’t do… my relationship, my redemption, my righteousness… are all because of Jesus — ALONE! Not me and Jesus… just Jesus! Knowing that, has saved me from all my doubts and fears, and has brought me into an incredible freedom to love wildly and share the joy of salvation relentlessly. It’s easy to love God and love your neighbor as yourself… when you begin to know "who God is… and who He is NOT"!

I’m not sure I really consider myself a christian. I’m not even real sure what that means. But, I’m pretty sure that "real" christians wouldn’t consider me a christian.

But, I do find myself drawn to the Jew’s story of a Messiah who would come to redeem the world, once lost, to it’s creator. I see a message of extreme love, and I am drawn to the author of that love. I go where I am called, and I am inexplicably pulled into that revelation. If the story of the Cross of Christ is true, then it has made a difference in the life of every human being, especially if they understand what happened. If it is not true, then we are all doomed to deal with our own fears and doubts.

I don’t think traditional/modern christianity understands the cross at all, and instead trust their doctrines, structures, people, and rituals. They have lost sight of the cross completely (except for the lip-service they give it). They dance all around it, but never embrace it for what it is… a revelation of God’s complete, full, pure, and overwhelming Love!

Note: I decided to renew the post date on this one because of the number of discussions taking place.

Bruce

Until recently, this was the story of my life…

I sought love, but found rules.

I sought acceptance, but found requirement.

I sought compassion, but found demands.

I sought freedom, but found obligation.

I wanted to shed my doubts, but found them strengthened.

I wanted to shed my worries, but saw them increase.

I wanted to shed my fears, but had them nurtured.

I wanted to shed my bitterness, but saw it grow.

I hoped to find reality, but experienced illusion.

I hoped to find unity, but experienced division.

I hoped to find trust, but experienced religion.

I hoped to find peace, but experienced panic.

But the Gospel of Peace - the story of God’s incredible love - found me, and now I have…

Love

Acceptance

Compassion

Freedom

No doubts

No worries

No fears

No bitterness

Reality

Unity

Trust

and PEACE!

Thank God that He exists outside of the church!

Others may interpret your being true to yourself as being
against them. When you are truly for who you are you are not
against anyone.

You don’t have to explain it. If somebody doesn’t understand
what you are doing, it doesn’t mean you have to explain it
to them.

It is enough for you to be yourself. Your actions speak
louder than words.

Peace
Geo

HE DID IT ALL!

The following is a comment I made to a post on JP’s blog.

Adam said…."I’ll give my universalist friends one thing…Satan and damnation are hardly worth discussing. The devil is a pathetic little figure when juxtaposed to the glory of Jesus. He’d be laughable…"

Your comment made me think of this….

"How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! "But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit. "Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?’
(Isa 14:12-17 NASB)

Could it be that Satan is no more than a spirit who manifests through men? A spirit that, through confusion and divisive tactics has wracked havoc on a confused world?

Could his workings be through nothing more than men who are tricked into wishing to be exalted…to claim their superiority over the rest of us "stars".

BTW Adam, I would rather not be labeled as a universalist or any other "ist", "ian" or "ism". I am just a man but also a star in my Fathers eye, much as are you and JP. I suspect that if we were to clearly see the depth of His love for us all, we would realize that to Him we are all stars, apples of His gracious eyes, but often deceived by a lying spirit that wishes to make us less….that wishes to lock us up in accusation and guilt. I wish only to be seen as one with all my brothers and sisters, safely in Him.

I was once a prisoner of my own pride, on the one hand, and/or my guilt on the other, (satan could care less which as long as he keeps me one or the other) but I was permitted to "go home" when my Savior led captivity captive. It is good to be a star and a son in Fathers house….restored and sitting at the table of the feast prepared and served up by the Servant of all….and our King, like the prodigal son, welcome in Fathers arms.

I’ll miss not being with you all this weekend but know that I am with you in spirit.