Grace to Love

Dear Son, I am writing you this in hopes that you will gain courage and strength in your walk through this life. I was thinking today about a 12 year old boy that went on a journey with his family. On their return home, because the family was so large, the parents noticed that the boy was missing. They returned and looked for him 3 days. When they finally found him, he was in God’s house. The parents were so anxious   (“in mental distress”) and probably frightened. They asked him, “Why have you done this to us?”    The boy replied, “Why did you have to go looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in the house of My Father?” His parents didn’t understand what he said but they would eventually. You may be familiar with this story told in Luke 2 about Jesus. Two things stuck me, his age and where his heart led him. His family was accustom to following the Mosaic law (the old covenant) and customs but there was something about Jesus that would lead him clos...

Woke up from a nap. Turned the channel to a show and watched it. It was about the death of a woman’s daughter who had died 10 years earlier. How she could or hadn’t changed her room in all those years. She was told she was living the victim role in her life. Her daughter had brought her so much joy, that in loosing her she continued to live in the past. She hadn’t moved on emotionally in many ways. It was like a slap in my face as I recognized who Lunara had been to me. She came into my life at the perfect time. She was a healing for me in many ways. I was able to give her the love I had bottled up inside of me for the years I was morning for the life I had lost, for the love I had lost, for the time I had lost. She was a new spirit, a clean slate, a fresh start in the world. Her greatest need was to be loved and I had plenty to give her. It almost came in an instant the timing was perfect. I had been suffering for years over the loss of my religion, which was not...

Critical times...today comes the worst storm in 100 years, political deception before a presidential election, and the many voices of rebellion heard around the world that promise destruction, these things disturb me as reality in the world.  But in a room, on the phone.... I heard a small, weak voice cry “I love all my children even if they know it or not. I wish they knew. I know I won’t be here much longer, but I will hang on for a while.” In his shaky voice he told me of a young nurse that had been kind to him, how she cared tenderly for him, gave him a little hug and a gentle kiss on his cheek. Then he said in a strong voice, “if you were here I’d give you the tightest squeeze”.  As frail as he has become over the years, there is a strength and a need to be touched and loved. I am thankful for the young nurse who gave such kindness to the old man that lay in that hospital bed. She was giving something from her heart, compassion towards a man sh...

My Dear Friend, This continues to come to my mind after reading your post and the article, “His Will Isn’t the Point”. http://www.stevenfurtick.com/personal-development/his-will-isnt-the-point/   It reminds me of the popular book that starts out, “It’s not about you”. Both of these I’m afraid are so misleading and disingenuous. Though they may want to lead you to God, they in fact do the opposite.  We cannot separate ourselves from God to find truth. We cannot separate God’s perfection and love into boxes or ideas of understanding and say, “This is what God look’s like”. This is carnal (natural) thinking. As if any of us can separate God out of His desire (will) put that part over here, His love over there, His divine character in another place. If we believe he is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, “All in all”, then we must understand that he is Wholly God. We cannot dissect Him from His Word, and in the Word to get a complete picture. You can’t separate God from His will. That is...

What do we know of men is visible, but how does God (Yahovah) see us?  We are Spirit (Ruwach;Pneuma) - Soul (Nephesh;Psuche) - Body (Soma) - the vessel which house our Soul & Spirit). Until we come to know we are also Spirit, we continue in life in the Flesh (sarx) other wise known as a Carnal man. When we become aware that we are also Spirit, we then realize that we have the Spirit/Breath of God in us. We then understand the Spiritual man.

Who’s Listening to Reason? Have you noticed that those who criticize are usually guilty of the same thing they are critical of? It’s almost like pointing a finger in another direction hoping others will not see who they are. Living in a divided country and a world of the “all knowing opinions on everything”, I expect it from the politically engaged. But as for “Christians” who claim belief in Jesus and the bible, one would expect a different kind of engagement. Does what we say and how we say it really matter? Should those claiming to be “Christians”, take heed to the words that Jesus spoke? I am reminded of words Jesus spoke, “out of the hearts abundance the mouth speaks”. What we say reveals who we are, our character, who we are at heart. I am always concerned when Christians speak hurtful things. I am speaking about the spiritual matters. In October 2011, two “Christian” men wrote an article titled,” The Evangelical Rejection of Reason” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/opi...

I t’s been a very strange week. The world is in great turmoil. Yet people are the same. When we are untouched by what goes on around us, we become harden in our hearts. This week, the death of a beloved son and brother, a country devastated by nature struggling for life, a birthday, a proud father, a man honored for his service, a loss of a friend now calling me names, these are brought to my attention as the week ends. I rejoice for the good things in life and I am saddened by the bad. Some of these things touch me personally and others are far beyond my reach. This week a friend of 15 years has made me her enemy. I thought of the word friend and what it means. According to the Dictionary: Friend: A person whom one knows, likes and trusts. A person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. One with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause. Root: pri-to love, beloved, belonging to the loved one not in bondage but freely. I think this well describes who friends...