paravanes:meditations

Image: Crosswalk.com    " He said to me: “It is done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega,  the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost  from the spring of the water of life.   Those who are victorious  will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.     But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars —they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  This is the second death.” - Revelation 21:6-8 Do these words of Jesus comfort you, or offend you? Cowardice is the first among the "vices" listed in this Bible passage. When I re-read these verses recently, I noted for the first time cowardice is listed in the same range of offenses as unbelief and murder. How can this be? Why would cowardice condemn someone to eternal torment, or separation from God? Isn't it...

Did you miss Epiphany ? Do you know what Epiphany is, and what the day represents? Is this day only for Roman Catholics , and those who worship in liturgical traditions ? This day, celebrated as part of the church calendar, represents the acknowledgement or revealing of Jesus Christ as the incarnate (in the body) God: one who understands us because he has lived as one of us, one who willingly chose to have the total human experience. This choice allows us to have confidence in Jesus' close and personal knowledge of what it means to be human.   He understands our lives, so we can trust his guidance. His knowledge is not based on living the highest and most privileged human experience. His knowledge is based upon him having lived a life of hard physical labor (carpenter), a life of conflict with the powers-that-were, a difficult death, followed by a supernatural resurrection. For many of us, this is the total outline of our lives. Why does this matter? Epiphany reminds us t...

From Spiritual Progress, by Fenelon and Guyon "Jesus Christ was born in a stable; he was obliged to fly (flee) into Egypt; thirty years of his life were spent in a workshop; he suffered hunger, thirst, and weariness ; he was poor, despised and miserable; he taught the doctrines of Heaven, and no one would listen. The great and the wise persecuted and took him, subjected him to frightful torments, treated him as a slave and put him to death between two malefactors, having preferred to give liberty to a robber, rather than to suffer him (Jesus) to escape. Such was the life which our Lord chose..." And we follow Him because He knows and has lived the most difficult of human experiences. He understands us. He chose to experience human pain, joy, disappointment, death, and life. He knows how we feel when we pour our hearts open to Him. He was high in heavenly splendor. He came low and among us to experience the hardest of things. He ascended back to heaven, where He watches ...

Love God more. Kill self-doubt. Breathe. Kill worry and self-sabotage. Sleep deeply and easily. Breathe. Dream. Plan a happy future. Trust life - trust God. What's stopping you? Who's stopping you? Love God more.

Popular wisdom invites us to choose our companions carefully because we usually become more like those with whom we spend time. Spiritual wisdom teaches us we become more like those we love. Loving God more than we love ourselves guides us to our highest levels of life, goodness, strength, sharing, compassion, and creativity. We cannot become God, but we can become more like God. It is enough. Imagine all of the goodness of God: patience, courtesy, caring, shared joy, strength under control, intelligence, creativity, mercy, righteousness. When we love God more than we love ourselves, we are able to renounce and reject (on a daily basis) every inclination that calls us from our loved one. There is no possibility of loss, useless pain, or soul damage when we love God more. Even our pains will be converted into personal strength for us  and spiritual salve for others. Love calls to love, and the answer is always more love.

Fenelon and Madame Guyon have introduced the idea of loving God more than we love ourselves in their book titled Spiritual Progress (available as a free Kindle download). Let's take a closer look at what it would mean to live in this way. God is love, which means nothing happens apart from the loving care of God. How often have we misunderstood the idea of "God loves you" as meaning God will do what we want, give us whatever we ask for, and act within a timeframe we select? We think this way because our understanding of love comes from our human experiences with those who have said "I love you." "God is love" means something very different . It is impossible for God to act in a way that does not express love. How can we reconcile this truth with the angst anger, despair, and the harm of innocent persons? God does many things in the face of injustice and suffering . He delivers his followers from the places of pain (through the aid of othe...

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God {Who is the Source} of every comfort (consolation and encouragement), Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God." --The Holy Bible (Amplified Bible), 2 Corinthians 1:3 and 4 If you are having a "Blue Christmas ", regardless of the reason or reasons, please do not hide or suppress your feelings. Honestly, there are many reasons to look around and feel grief, anger, and despair about the state of the world. It's tempting to hide your feelings with busyness, drugs, parties, alcohol, sex, entertainment, or shopping. These things can't be used to remove sadness permanently. When yo...