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Getting somewhere requires effort, it takes
faith to push on, it's easy to screw up,
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Friday, January 6, 2012
This “Kingdom of God” issue, what is the “Kingdom of God”?
This “Kingdom of God”
issue, what is the “Kingdom of God”?
Most of us hardly put much thought into
even thinking about what the Kingdom of God is, never mind to clearly consider what it means to the world.
We would like the security of living in a safe haven, but this Kingdom is unknown and unachievable to many
of us!
This is actually very strange, since Jesus spoke so much about this Kingdom!
Didn’t he say “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon
you.”
Since the
Bible also says “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God
and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”
The Spirit of God
was with Jesus so it seems as if the Kingdom of God had come upon the Earth already!
Then in Jesus story about the tenants who
kill the owners son, Jesus concludes by saying “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of
God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” So it seems that the Kingdom of God can be taken away from those who have it and given to others.
Summary so far: We have it on Earth now, it seems some
have it and others don’t and it can be taken from some and given to others.The Jesus told this story about the Kingdom;
“This is what the kingdom
of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows,
though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel
in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
Somehow the kingdom is sown by people
and increases independent of what they themselves do.
Summary so far: We have it on Earth now, it seems some have it and others don’t and it can be taken from some
and given to others. It is sown by individuals, increasing thereafter without input from those who have sown it.
Jesus also told another
story;
“Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to
describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes
the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
So it appears that it increases exponentially
from it’s initial size.
Summary so far: We have it on Earth now, it seems some have it and others don’t and it can be taken from some and given to
others. It is sown by individuals, increasing thereafter without input from those who have sown it. It increases exponentially
from it’s initial size.
Then Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see
that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
So some people who are living will see the kingdom come with power and
some will not.
Summary so far: We have it on Earth now, some have it and others don’t. It can be taken from some and given to others. It
is sown by individuals, increasing afterwards without input from those who have sown it. It increases exponentially from it’s
initial size. Some people see the kingdom come with power and some will not.
Then Jesus said “ Truly I tell
you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
So the Kingdom
is accepted by as a matter of innocent faith.
Summary so far: We have it on Earth now, some have it and others don’t. It can be taken from some and given to
others. It is sown by individuals, increasing afterwards without input from those who have sown it. It increases exponentially
from it’s initial size. Some people see the kingdom come with power and some will not. The Kingdom
is accepted by as a matter of innocent faith.
Then there is the story of the rich man who asked Jesus “Good teacher,”
he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
And Jesus told him to sell everything and give to the poor. He doesn’t and
Jesus says “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
So the kingdom
is linked to eternal life and it is hard for rich people to get it!
Summary so far: We have it on Earth now, some have it and others don’t. It
can be taken from some and given to others. It is sown by individuals, increasing afterwards without input from those who
have sown it. It increases exponentially from it’s initial size. Some people see the kingdom come with power and some
will not. The Kingdom is accepted by as a matter of innocent faith. It is linked to eternal life and it is hard
for rich people to obtain it.
Perhaps the most important question Jesus answered is explained as follows:
One of the teachers of the
law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments,
which is the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this:
‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself. ’There
is no commandment greater than these.”
“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying
that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your
strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw that he had
answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on, no one dared ask
him any more questions.
Putting what we have
discovered together it seems the Summary so far is . . .
The kingdom of God is on Earth now, some have it and others don’t.
It can be taken from some and given to others. It is sown by individuals, increasing afterwards without input from those who
have sown it. It increases exponentially from it’s initial size. Some people see the kingdom come with power and some
will not. The Kingdom is accepted by as a matter of innocent faith. It is linked to eternal life and it is hard
for rich people to obtain it. To get it we need to acknowledge that that God is one and there is no other but him. We need
love him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves!
If we do this, we experience the Kingdom of God on Earth, but we also prepare ourselves for eternal life within the
eternal kingdom of God.
Jesus told us this but it seems we rarely understand the fullness of his message. Simple faith is not enough since Jesus asked
the rich man to do something as a result of the faith. We need to act on our beliefs for the kingdom to stay with us.
In today’s turbulent
world it is good to have a kingdom to which we can belong safely and securely and which no person can remove from us.
I want to continue living in
God’s kingdom, what about you?
Fri, January 6, 2012 | link
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Giving up stuff for God, when to do it and when not Many of us seem to think that to get God’s favour we have to give up something’
or perform some ritual.
Why?
God clearly
says Jesus does it all for us, the only thing we need to do is to believe in him and what has been done by Jesus as the son
of God!
Faith turns the life switch to the everlasting life path, and then following in God’s footsteps builds us, invigorates
us and enables us.
So why do we think it is in sacrificing some aspect of our life that we impress God ?
Isaiah (book in the
bible) says “The multitude of your sacrifices— what
are they to me?” says the LORD. Isaiah 1:11 NIV
The question is answered a short while later Stop
bringing meaningless offerings! and I cannot
bear your worthless assemblies. In Isaiah 1:11 &13.
God doesn’t want meaningless actions to appease him. He wants our love and
our compliance in love.
It’s very much like a wife doing things for a husband or vice versa, not because they are being forced to do it,
but because they want to.
Why?
Due to love for the other!
Actions without love are even worse than not doing them aren’t
they? They actually make the person for which they are done annoyed sometimes don’t they? (Unless the other person is
a self-focused sadistic person totally unlike our God)
So why do we so often do actions without love towards our God?
It is better to let the love of God overwhelm the sin in our life
than to become obsessed by trying to do it by ourselves.
Will power only goes so far, God’s power goes so much further doesn’t
it?
There
are some things we need to do however. For example God says to those same Israelites in Isaiahs time;
“Wash and make yourselves
clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take
up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1:16-17 NIV
Love of God automatically increases our love of others. Love of God automatically reduces evil deeds.
Love of God means we get upset when we see others underprivileged, being abused by our society, or lacking loving people around
them.
Then, due to
love, not obligation, we want to help!
This is my desire, is it yours?
Thu, January 5, 2012 | link
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The search for truth, Wycliff and Luther... I believe that in the end truth will conquer- John Wycliffe
I believe that unarmed truth
and unconditional love will have the final word in reality - Martin Luther King
Truth is evasive isn’t it? There is a FOX TV series called “lie to me” in which
the character Dr. Cal Lightman played by Tim Roth accepts assignments to investigate truth through the science of reading
micro-expressions and body language.
The series makes out it is impossible to lie without people being able to detect the lies. This was based on the work of a guy called
Paul Ekman. At one point, I read a paper that explained that using micro expressions and putting newly married couples alongside
each other talking on a subject for 5 minutes, reveals the probability of their marriage succeeding or failing in the next
20 years with accuracy of 90%.
Seems
like there is something in this approach doesn’t it?
Why does this even work?
Is it perhaps, because we innately know truth from lies as humans, and
know at a very subliminal level, when we are lying.
Beliefs
can be based on truth or lies, but in the initial stages, we know the truths and we know the lies. Perhaps we
submerge them under layers of social interaction and cultural impacts, but under it all, we know!
I was considering this in relation to the
way we setup our knowledge of truth.
We either base truth on a flexible platform of flowing human interactions and understandings, or we base it on God’s
truth which is absolute!
There are not really too many options! An atheist is a person who makes mankind and mankind’s
knowledge and thinking process, into a god. So perhaps we all worship different gods in one way or another.
Christians are supposed to worship the God
revealed in the Christian bible, but this has not always been the case.
After Jesus died and the world moved on, Christianity distorted itself into
a layer of people who decided they needed to be God’s voice and protector on Earth. This layer of humanity
soon fell into the pressures of life, building edifices and structures to house this movement. These required politics and
money, and then money distorted people.
Soon the truth Jesus propounded, was so distorted that people could not even get
to the truth contained in the bible.
Instead this book, God’s bible, was translated from Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, into Latin, so only
church officials had access to it.
To read it, you had two huge hurdles to overcome. Firstly you had to be able to read and secondly
you had to read Latin!
This was a convenient way of ensuring the masses were kept in church control and only fed what church leaders wanted
them to hear.
By
the 14th century, the word of God was not only distorted and highly political, but even people in the church leadership
were starting to resent this.
John Wycliff was perhaps one of the first to start to go back to truth as
it was revealed in the bible. He pointed out that bible texts had more value and truth, than church teachings, and that the bible needed to be made
available to common people.
To do this, he translated the bible into the first ever English translation, the language of the common
people around him.
Truth
took hold and people clung to the truth. The “poor” priests took this bible truth to the people, and God’s
spirit moved.
The
church reacted so violently against him, that even after his death, they exhumed and burned his bones to try and get rid of
every trace of him.
Truth
stood however!
Then
in the 15th century another man, Martin Luther repeated this translation of the
bible into the common language, this time German!
His refusal to allow the church to continue abusing it’s control to extract
money from people (getting them to pay to have sins forgiven which is and will always be nonsense, since only God has that
ability) was a major point of conflict with the church!
Truth was all Luther wanted to distribute. In so doing, he came to the conclusion that the common people
needed to come to God and admit they were unable to live pure lives, that they were guilty of selfish, ignorant and nasty
acts against others and God, and that Jesus was the only one who could forgive them and enable them to live in purity again.
They themselves based their belief and the truth of it on being forgiven directly by God himself, and God enables them to
become part of his Godly family. This was radical at the time!
This resulted in a break away from the formal church and a new movement of people who wanted to live by truth
establishing itself in the world.
It is sad to say that mankind’s failing still intervened and within months of this movement starting,
factions were arguing about which version of the truth was right. A mechanism that continues in the hundreds of flavours of
Christian church we have today!
Truth is so elusive! We aim for it, and then somehow we miss the mark because we all have distorted understandings.
Perhaps we need to
understand God is only one who has a pure understanding of truth and we all just try our best to gain a perspective of it, but never grasp it’s
fullness.
This said, truth is absolute! Even science agrees!
The scientific method is based on, and embedded in, finding truth and exposing falsehoods. Anyone who has
been a student of science knows how many falsehoods get exposed! Perhaps this occurs since the principles of science, were
established by people who were part of the church. The scientific mechanism is one that falls back on truths over and over
again.
I think our
churches could learn from this!
Perhaps we need to fall back on the exact truths that are now understood more clearly in our modern context as being
revealed by the bible and the context it was written in at that time.
We should strip the non valid cultural influences away. The only cultural influence
should be of the original cultural context of the writers of the bible, if we are to understand what they were actually saying.
We
need to admit that bible truth as WE read it, is interpreted through our own minds eye, and is distorted in the process!
We need to try to clean up the falsehoods.
Didn’t the bible point out that “Jesus spoke to the Jews who had believed him. ‘If you obey my teaching,’ he said,
‘you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth. And the truth will set you free.’
John 8:31 NIRV
This said, there are some common fallacies the church needs to address;
Is faith leading to salvation sufficient ?
– No, it is not!
Why does James the brother of Jesus say “James
2:14 onwards “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith
save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace;
keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself,
if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good!
Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”
He says it because true faith causes compassion for others and that causes us to do things to help them!
So the evidence of true faith is the works that follow! Our bible says “As the body without
the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
Another we should address. . .should we be building big buildings,
TV shows and gathering people into these crowded places of manipulation instead of using our funds to help others?
NO!
Jesus taught we must feed the poor and widows.
He, himself, didn’t have a place to call home once he started his ministry. He actually says, "Foxes
have holes. Birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." in Matthew 8:20 and
Luke 9:58.
Never did
Jesus teach us to hoard money or riches in any form! Instead, he taught us to use it to help others and the work of God in
the common people. Teaching occurred in people’s own homes most of the time, or in the existing establishments where
people gathered. The early church never built a building!
We need to go back to the starting point of many church movements and use the common
homes and halls of community to hold our meetings instead of building them.
We should be looking at making sure the majority of money coming in,
goes into helping meet needs in our community and communicating God’s messages. Perhaps them we will be falling back
on truth?
There is so much we can address
if we have courage!
Yet for anything true to occur requires courage!
Courage to go against the status quo in love and humility, speaking truth which comes from bible texts stripped
of our cultural interpretations and distortions.
So, let us pick up our bibles and start to implement the truths we find in it!
Let’s call out what we see as inaccurate
or poorly done in our societies.
Then, together, we will perhaps move ourselves and others back to the point where God will bless our actions
and push us into the next era of Christianity!
That’s
my thought for today! Now what will you be doing with it?
Wed, January 4, 2012 | link
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Life’s impossible challenges often aren’t! “Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze
you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.” - Bernice Johnson Reagon
Looking out over the vista of the extraordinary activities
and tasks we may need to complete over the next few hours, days or weeks, it is often easy to forget that to succeed, the
first step is starting!
In the business world, we talk of “analysis paralysis” and I have had so many
occasions to observe strong, capable people failing to do the right thing simply because of fear. Fear somehow invades the
thoughts and mind and stops rational thinking, twisting thoughts in on themselves and forcing the repeated review of the same
facts over and over again instead of doing something with them.
Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officers of companies with whom I work
are not immune to this problem.
Life is an environment in which we get to hone our ability to decide well and act correctly.
Challenges simply provide the raw material to develop
and nurture this skill .
Jesus
when he walked this earth said, “God's saving grace has appeared to all people. It teaches
us to say no to godless ways and sinful longings. We must control ourselves. We must do what is right. We must lead godly
lives in today's world.” Titus 2:11-12 NIRV
We need to resist fear and say “no” to it! Particularly when it is incapacitating us!
There was time when Jesus sent his disciples
out to do some work and they failed to achieve it (and it was spiritual work that was not an easily done or explainable type
of work either).
They
came back and asked why they had failed. (Read it up in Matthew 17 if you are interested)
He replied, "Because
your faith is much too small. What I'm about to tell you is true. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, it
is enough. You can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there.' And it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Matthew 17:20-21 NIRV
God has said Isaiah 41:10 So do not be afraid. I am with you. Do not be
terrified. I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. My powerful right hand will take good care of you. I always
do what is right.
Our strength is not our own, but that of the God of this universe. He is the one who creates and sustains it. He developed quantum
theory and he built the very atoms that enable existence. He has promised to be with us and help us if we believe and trust
in him (that’s the summary of the meaning of Faith).
As we look at that impossible time ahead, let’s remember it is only impossible
if we try to do it alone, instead of asking God to help us through. Talking to God about our concerns and asking for pragmatic advice and help will
guide us through to making decisions. Once we start, listening to God while on the move will help us correct the course and
perhaps revise some of those decisions. However failing to start due to fear is not what God wants of us. He wants us to think,
use the gifts he gave us, not be foolish, but also to move ahead through our decisions!
Today, as we are heading into the world of 2012 with its challenges,
let’s see them as opportunities to improve not only ourselves, but also improve our
relationship with God!
Tue, January 3, 2012 | link
Monday, January 2, 2012
Facing challenges in the New Year. . .
“Teach us to realize how short our lives are. Then our hearts will become wise.” Psalm 90:12
NIRV
Many of us think our problem is the amount of time we have to do things, but really we all
have the same amount. . .
One life!
The measure of success is not in
the amount of time lived, but the effectiveness of the time used while living.
Sometimes the value
is not even achieved while we are alive. Some people are only discovered as having lived exceptional lives after they die.
Take Galileo
Galilei who took the theory of Copernicus, that the Earth travelled around the sun, proved it and was accused of
heresy by the Pope of the time. Only after his death did his lifes work take root and change the world.
Another person. Gregor Johann Mendel,
a priest, discovered genetics and can be considered the father of modern genetics. He died in 1884 but his life’s work
became important only in the 20th century.
Then, in the art world it is Vincent van Gogh who’s work only became popular after
his death.
So recognition during life not always important to
using our life effectively, but rather the decisions and effort we put into life! When we look at what we have in life, it is the
decisions and effort we put into our vision of life's value that is important.
What is your life's vision and goal?
Has God revealed it to you?
Key
to getting this revelation is firstly understanding who God is!
It is interesting that Jesus has two
clear points of communication throughout his life. One was who God is, and secondly that the Kingdom
of God is coming now and we need to be ready and involved!
Jesus points to God the Father, himself and Holy Spirit as three aspects
of God who are one. Confusing, but the message he gave us ! He points out he, Jesus, is the one communicating the core
truths of God and to get to know God we need to go through Him.
So our first most important decision
in giving our lives value is knowing who God is and trusting Him to lead our lives.
The second
is simple, taking God at his word and living life to its fullest every day. Great lives were developed by
people who just plodded on trying to promote truth and clarity of thought, that unveiled new ways of seeing things and did
it daily.
Today as
we go about our activities, we don’t need to be doing amazing things but rather simply doing what God gives us to do
today to the best of our ability.
Our
life’s value is not ours to quantify and qualify!
It is for others to do so and
actually only God is able to fully quantify and qualify our lives!
If we approach this year, looking to simply make the best of each
moment, then New Year resolutions become irrelevant and our lives become
full, invigorating and exciting!
This is what I pray for us over this year. Life, lived to it’s fullest!
Lived in truth, sincerity and under Godly direction.
Be blessed! Know that living in truth it is not always easy for
us to do and we need to ask God to make it that way!
Moses knew how screwed up life can get but he also
knew that joy comes from being with God every moment of each day. Wisdom comes from that activity as well! We can learn from
his pleading with God
See how he did this on one occasion....
Psalm 90 in NIRV
says
Lord, from the very beginning
you have been like a home to us.
Before
you created the world and the mountains were made,
from the beginning to the end you are God.
You turn human
beings back to dust.
You say to them, "Return to dust."
To you a thousand years
are like a day
that has just gone by.
They are like a few hours of the night.
You sweep people away, and they die.
They
are like new grass that grows in the morning.
In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it's all dried
up.
Your anger destroys us.
Your burning anger terrifies us.
You have put our sins right in front of you.
You have placed our secret sins where you can see them clearly.
You have been angry with us all of our days.
We groan as we come to the end of our lives.
We live to be about 70.
Or we may live to be 80, if we stay
healthy.
But all that time is filled with trouble and sorrow.
The years quickly pass, and we are gone.
Who knows how powerful your anger is?
It's as great as the respect we should have for you.
Teach us to realize
how short our lives are.
Then our hearts will become wise.
Lord, please stop punishing us!
How long will
you keep it up?
Be kind to us.
Satisfy us with your faithful love every morning.
Then we can sing with joy
and be glad all of our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have made us suffer.
Give us joy for as many
years as we've had trouble.
Show us your mighty acts.
Let our children see your glorious power.
May the
Lord our God show us his favor.
Lord, make what we do succeed.
Please make what we do succeed.
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If you want to see a short blog describing a perspective on what I believe click here
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Rift in Evil
By Ken
X Briggs - Published: September, 2010
- Format: Perfect Bound Softcover(B/W)
- Pages: 208
Size:
6x9 - ISBN: 9781450250894
Available from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iUniverse. |
Credit cards are acceptable on sites having Ken's books: 
:)
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| Ken's book covers are displayed below. . . | |  This
suspense thriller centers on Kiara, a beautiful young woman pursued by a murderous group of people, who relentlessly and ruthlessly
hunt her and her sisters. Kiara has no idea why she is being targeted! When Kiara and her family turn to the law for help,
this fails. Her pursuers’ powers reach deeply into the political and law enforcement world. Family support for her dwindles
when they too have to flee her pursuers. Can Kiara escape the clutches of both the law and dishonest big business? With the
media broadcasting that Kiara and friends are dangerous and subversive, can Kiara clear her name and bring her pursuers to
justice?
| | | | | To purchase Kiara's Pursuer ebook
@ $1.99 kindle version click here, To contact the author contact Author@KenXBriggs.com | | | | | | | | The town of Zinaville is dropped into a spiral of evil causing a young man and a beautiful but abused woman
to launch into an investigation that unveils an evil conspiracy. A horrific mining accident results in Joshua
Robyn's father being killed. Joshua struggles both with himself and his townsfolk as he tries to make sense of an incomprehensible
situation. Is it an accident or a murder? Why is there a seeming link to evil? Why is his work environment suddenly threatening?
What is the conspiracy about and what are they trying to do? As action moves dramatically from exotic African grasslands to
the heart of North America's cities, the plot unfolds and the pace quickens. Will there be time? Why is a beautiful abused
young woman in the center of this plot? Evil tendrils tighten on their lives and the interplay between the visible
and invisible world shows opposing forces at work. Will there be a rift in evil? Will they be able to stop the
evil in time? | | - Published: September, 2010
- Format: Perfect
Bound Softcover(B/W)
- Pages: 208
Size: 6x9 - ISBN: 9781450250894
Available
from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iUniverse. Chapters | | | | |
| Frugal Eating Advice |
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| Good advice for students living on limited $'s. Click on the image! |
May you be blessed today!
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