tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67783835097331951642024-03-13T06:02:36.040-04:00The Morning Light LogThoughts and Illuminations on What's Really RealAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-90153708895374623262018-11-06T15:14:00.000-05:002018-11-06T16:10:42.718-05:00Why Every Christian (and Citizen) Should Vote<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Are you a Christ-follower and having doubts as to whether or not you should vote today? Well ... let the following words by <a href="https://www.prisonfellowship.org/about/chuckcolson/" target="_blank">Chuck Colson</a>, a man who was a committed follower of Christ and a passionate advocate for government involvement, help you:</div>
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<i>So, have you voted yet? If so, well done. If not, right now - or as soon as you’re off work - I want you to go and fulfill your Christian duty to be a good citizen and go vote.</i></blockquote>
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<i>And while you’re at it, call a few of your Christian friends. Find out if they’ve voted yet. If not, tell them that you’re going and you’ll be glad to stop by and pick them up. And let me say this: the next time you hear someone tell you that Christians ought to take a vacation from politics, tell them to go fly a kite!</i></blockquote>
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<i>Listen, it’s our duty, as citizens of the Kingdom of God to be the best citizens of the society we live in. If your pastor no longer has energy or courage to motivate his flock to speak out on public issues, maybe you can lovingly “buck him up.” Remind him or her that God’s people are to love their neighbors, to desire the best for them, to pursue the common good. And we can’t do that on the political sidelines.</i></blockquote>
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<i>When a rabid secularist tells you to stop forcing your religion down his throat - simply correct him. You might say, "Excuse me, but who is suing the government to remove crosses from cemeteries? Who has filed lawsuits to remove ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance? Who’s trying to tell doctors and nurses and pharmacists that they have to participate in medical procedures that violate their religious conscience? Who’s banning Bibles from schools?</i></blockquote>
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<i>In other words, who is forcing their point of view on whom?</i></blockquote>
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<i>We Christians are simply trying to PRESERVE and PROTECT the rights and liberties that we Americans have enjoyed from the founding of our Republic. We are the ones who take seriously our nation’s founding creed: that “all men are created equal and endowed by their CREATOR with certain inalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, meaning virtue.”</i></blockquote>
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<i>Our founders recognized that true rights come not from government, but from God Himself. Government must not take those rights away. And to protect those rights, we must vote.</i></blockquote>
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<i>Yes, the elections are upon us. Don’t be intimidated. Do not retreat to the sidelines. Go out and vote for the candidate of your choice. Vote as your conscience informs you. And yes, allow your faith to inform your conscience.</i></blockquote>
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So GO ... get out there and vote!! Your vote really does matter. For your sake, for our country's sake ... and for God's sake.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">NOTE: The words of Chuck Colson are from an 11/16/18 Breakpoint Daily blog post by John Stonestreet and David Carlson</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-15897602921341633642017-05-16T19:16:00.002-04:002017-05-17T07:48:05.093-04:00My Dayspring, My Morning Star<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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He is my Dayspring ... my bright Morning Star. Who am I referring to? The God-Man, Jesus of Nazareth ... Creator and Sustainer, Giver of real life, Transformer of mind, body and soul. He poured His love into my heart in the month of May 1982. And, over the course of the next year during a kind of "quarter-life crisis" as I was working my way through an MBA education and experiencing a great deal of angst wondering just where all this was going to lead, He worked to cement that love into the very core of my essence. In the midst of trying to make sense of it all, I came to a complete and utter realization of just what this amazing Savior did on my behalf, and what this incredible love really meant for me as I moved forward into the riggers of life. I was changed from the inside out, never to be the same again ... and never looking back. I was re-born.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvaf2JZR33I&t=2s" target="_blank">What's a Quarter-Life Crisis?</a><br />
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<a href="https://graywolfps-my.sharepoint.com/personal/hmars3_graywolfps_onmicrosoft_com/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?docid=07d4c2513d0774123b13da94b513e7eae&authkey=AZleZWvFPUmJadeoh-2H7Xw" target="_blank">My Story of Re-Birth</a></div>
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Though it has been Spring on the calendar for a number of weeks, here in the Northeastern United States the month of May is when Spring really starts to show. The up-and-down temperatures and unsettled weather systems start to moderate into a consistent pattern of warmth, brightness and beauty, and the spectacular blossoming renewal of Spring usually reaches its zenith of splendor.<br />
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I count May to be the month of both my natural birth (the 13th) and my spiritual re-birth (the 16th). I've thought often of how appropriate it was that the beginning of my spiritual renewal and inner healing began at this transformational time of year. Winter loosens its icy cold grip and fades away, nature springs back to life from its quiet stillness, bland grayness turns into spectacular hues of color, and everywhere stagnation is infused with regenerative power ... and so it was with the Creator giving the indwelling life of His Spirit to this broken and repentant man. I'll never forget the start of my wonderful journey of spiritual discovery ... an embracing of what author and psychologist Dr. Larry Crabb coins "The Immanuel Agenda": God with us. His infusion and cultivation of a people who will value Him above all else. God in me, and I in Him. It was a pivot point ... a changing of my life's center from me, myself and I to that of The Creator of the Universe who cared enough and came near enough to take restorative action on my behave ... and on behalf of all humanity, should we all care to recognize and embrace it. What a wild, exhilarating, and many times scary ride ... sometimes hanging on white-knuckled to the safety bar! But what change, growth and opportunity to come to know Him like I never thought possible.<br />
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I've embedded a song here that I think encapsulates so well what I felt on the day I found the God-man ... or should I say, He found me. I really felt as if I was seeing for the very first time, with fresh Spirit eyes. He made my heart His home.<br />
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I hope you enjoy the freshness and wonder of Spring ... and if you haven't experienced a day of re-birth yet, my prayer for you is that someday you will on just as fine a Spring day as I did. Shalom!<br />
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<i>"... and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."</i> </blockquote>
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- from the apostle Paul's love letter to the Romans, 5:5 (NASB)</blockquote>
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<i>"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing."</i></blockquote>
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<i>"I am praying not only for these disciples, but for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony. My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father - that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me."</i> </blockquote>
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- Jesus of Nazareth (from the Good News according to John, 15:4-5 MSG and 17:20-21 NLT)</blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-70977402745868474152017-04-14T13:28:00.001-04:002017-04-14T19:38:49.639-04:00The Last Adam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Every story in the Bible (the Judeo-Christian source documents) whispers the name of its central heroic character ... Jesus Christ. Like a scarlet thread unraveling and stretching from beginning to end, the story of redemption, restoration and transformation unfold in its pages. It traverses many peaks and valleys, but its apex and punctuation is radiantly reached in the life, death and resurrection of the one referred to as the "Last Adam." The Savior of the world is given so many wonderful names and titles in the source record, but this one is particularly striking. Why?<br>
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Because it hearkens us back to the beginning, and our connection to it, where the ugliness of the first Adam's defiance and rebellion against an infinite and pure Creator marred and distorted the very image of that Creator stamped within him. That real-life screenplay forever changed the landscape of humanity, changing the course of our destiny, and passing on an inheritance of defiance, rebellion, selfishness and ... separation and death. It was never meant to be that way.</div>
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Ahhh ... but the nature, the very essence, of that infinite and pure Creator is also one of goodness and lovingkindness that compels him to seek out and actively set right what had gone so terribly wrong. Which brings us to the work of the Last Adam, Son of the Living God. The Apostle Paul, a major contributor to the Judeo-Christian source documents, says it this way: 1/</div>
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<i>"You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in - first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn't sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it. </i></blockquote>
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<i>Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man's sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God's gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There's no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was a death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man's wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides? </i></blockquote>
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<i>Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said 'no' to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said 'yes' to God and put many in the right."</i></blockquote>
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The first Adam and the Last Adam ... similiar in comparison, but what a contrast in outcomes: 2/</div>
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<li>The first Adam yielded to temptation in a garden. The Last Adam beat temptation in a garden.</li>
<li>The first man, Adam, sought to become like God. The Last Adam was God who became a man.</li>
<li>The first Adam was naked and received clothes. The Last Adam had clothes but was stripped.</li>
<li>The first Adam tasted death from a tree. The Last Adam tasted death on a tree.</li>
<li>The first Adam hid from the face of God, while the Last Adam begged God not to hide His face.</li>
<li>The first Adam blamed his bride, while the Last Adam took the blame for His bride.</li>
<li>The first Adam earned thorns. The Last Adam wore thorns.</li>
<li>The first Adam gained a wife when God opened man’s side, but the Last Adam gained a wife (his "Church," all who choose to believe in Him) when man opened God’s side.</li>
<li>The first Adam brought a curse. The Last Adam became a curse.</li>
<li>While the first Adam fell by listening when the Serpent said “take and eat,” the Last Adam told His followers, “take and eat, this is my body.”</li>
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The Last Adam lived life as it was meant to be. And in His death he did what had to be done, the only way it could be done, to set things right again ... to restore us, to renew us ... to make us whole and connected again.<br>
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Don't hurriedly rush through this day referred to as "Good Friday." Take time to think through what took place on this day in history on a lonely hill and upon a rugged cross. THINK about what an infinite Creator, your Creator, did for you and I through the "Last Adam." And, oh by the way ... Friday is not the end ... Sunday's coming! Shalom.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Notes:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">1/ - From The Apostle Paul's love letter to the Romans (5:12-18, MSG).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">2/ - From a BreakPoint article entitled <i><a href="http://breakpoint.org/2017/04/breakpoint-jesus-last-adam/">Jesus, the Last Adam</a> </i>by John Stonestreet with Shane Morris.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-66318570897301465792016-09-01T19:20:00.000-04:002016-09-01T19:37:53.776-04:00What I'd Like To Hear From Colin Kaepernick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been a fan of Colin Kaepernick and his gifted athletic talents every since he burst onto the NFL stage a few years back. However, my level of respect and admiration for the man has been diminished with his recent stance and comments. Here's what I'd like to hear Colin say (perhaps in a prime-time news conference) so that I could take seriously his "passionate" reluctance to show respect for his country and one of its most important symbols, the U.S. flag, during the pre-game singing of our National Anthem:<br />
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"I am clearly under-performing and not representing the fans of San Francisco to the best of my abilities. Until I can perform up to the level that I am capable of as a skilled quarterback in the NFL and represent well the fans and organization who so graciously provide me with the opportunity to earn a living while playing this wonderful game, I will not be accepting the generous paychecks that I currently receive. I will voluntarily ask the front office to suspend such payments until such time that my play and leadership are representative and well worth the oppressive price that both the fans and the San Francisco 49ers' organization sacrifice to see me perform. In addition, if I cannot perform at the level that I am capable of, I'll either consent to re-structure my contract to be more reflective of my current level of performance, or gladly accept a trade to another team. Thank you."</blockquote>
My previous level of respect and admiration would then return, for both the man himself and his "passionate" stand on other matters outside of football, even while being disappointed in his failing to secure the starting QB job in San Francisco and returning to at least the level of play he showed during that marvelous Super Bowl run a few years ago. This wonderful, albeit imperfect, country provides for you, Mr. Kaepernick, the opportunity that you now enjoy and are compensated so handsomely for. In no other country would you be afforded that opportunity (perhaps excepting Canada) ... not Cuba, or any other truly "oppressive" regime (of which there are many) that don't hold a candle to the stature and level of freedom afforded and enjoyed by you, me and so many others here in the United States of America.<br />
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It's not likely, but here's hoping that Colin changes his tone and tenure before tonight's pre-season game with the San Diego Chargers, who by-the-way are holding their annual Military Night to salute the contributions to our country of so many wonderful military personnel. No doubt, it will include a show of respect and honor for the flag they all have helped to protect. Hear, hear!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-1327041401290036562016-01-02T11:16:00.001-05:002016-01-02T11:16:27.330-05:00Live A Life Free From Worry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TkR18bcUlvE/VofzlYIZy_I/AAAAAAAACiA/N0rrsNygpsI/s1600/Breaking%2BChains%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TkR18bcUlvE/VofzlYIZy_I/AAAAAAAACiA/N0rrsNygpsI/s320/Breaking%2BChains%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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For 2016, resolve to live your life focused on one day at a time, without anxiety for the next. What will give you the power to do that? You make the proactive decision to not live life self-propelled and self-focused, driven by the pressure of performance or burdened under the weight of the expectations of others. You decide for a life of God-worship ... of returning to the Creator who made you and provides you with the very essence of who you are. You resolve to commit, lean and have confidence in the One who gives you the breathe of life; that's called trust ... placing your life within the reality of something that's larger than yourself. That's my prayer for you and I. With that focus, life can be so much better ... and so much more freeing. What's it worth to you?<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;"><a href="https://www.hutchcraft.com/videos/the-bridge-to-god">The Bridge To God ... Finding What You Were Made For</a> </span></div>
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<i>"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds.</i></blockquote>
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<i>"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion - do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.</i></blockquote>
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<i>"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers - most of which are never even seen - don't you think He'll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way He works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how He works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.</i></blockquote>
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<i>"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."</i></blockquote>
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- Jesus of Nazareth (from the Good News according to Matthew, 6:25-34 MSG)</blockquote>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-28528800572033809392015-11-22T19:25:00.000-05:002015-11-22T19:25:15.351-05:00The "Plowed" Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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From a farmer's perspective, there are two kinds of ground: fallow ground and ground that has been broken up by the plow. Both yield very different things. The same thinking can be applied to the acquired "fields" of our lives (either fertile or infertile) ... yielding very different produce depending on how open and receptive we are to the One who plows, and the choice of our reactions to what we may encounter in our unfolding experience of it. Throw down the protecting fences.<br />
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<i>"The fallow field is smug, contented, protected from the shock of the plow and the agitation of the harrow. Such a field, as it lies year after year, becomes a familiar landmark to the crow and the blue jay ... safe and undisturbed, it sprawls lazily in the sunshine, the picture of sleepy contentment ... fruit it can never know because it is afraid of the plow and the harrow. </i></blockquote>
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<i>In direct opposite to this, the cultivated field has yielded itself to the adventure of living. The protecting fence has opened to admit the plow, and the plow has come as plows always come: practical, cruel, business-like, and in a hurry. Peace has been shattered by the shouting farmer and the rattle of machinery. The field . . . has been upset, turned over, bruised, and broken, but its rewards come hard upon its labors. The seed shoots up into the daylight, its miracle of life, curious, exploring the new world above it. Nature’s wonders follow the plow.</i></blockquote>
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<i>There are two kinds of lives also: the fallow and the plowed. The man of fallow life is contented with himself and the fruit he once bore. He does not want to be disturbed. He smiles in silent superiority at revivals, fastings, self-searchings, and all the travail of fruit bearing and the anguish of advance. The spirit of adventure is dead within him ... he has fenced himself in, and by the same act he has fenced out God and the miracle.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>The plowed life is the life that has thrown down the protecting fences and sent the plow of confession into the soul ... such a life has put away defense and has forsaken the safety of death for the peril of life. Discontent, yearning, contrition, courageous obedience to the will of God ... these have bruised and broken the soil till it is ready again for the seed. And as always fruit follows the plow." </i></blockquote>
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- A.W. Tozer, Paths to Power</blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-10911080699856782712015-09-27T12:00:00.000-04:002015-09-27T12:00:22.281-04:00Quests<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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" <i>'My first direct view of Titanic lasted less than two minutes, but the stark sight of her immense black hull towering above the ocean floor will remain forever ingrained in my memory. My lifelong dream was to find this great ship, and during the past thirteen years the quest for her had dominated my life. Now, finally, the quest was over.'</i><br />
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So wrote Robert Ballard after discovering the ghostly hulk of the R.M.S. Titanic in her lonely berth more than two miles deep in the North Atlantic. For nearly three-quarters of a century, since early April 1912, the great ship had been celebrated in legend, along with the 1,522 souls who had disappeared with her beneath the icy waters hundreds of miles off the coast of Newfoundland.<br />
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On several occasions, the explorer used the same word to describe his lifelong dream: 'quest.' It means a pursuit, a search, or, as Webster colorfully adds, 'a chivalrous enterprise in medieval romance usually involving an adventurous journey.'<br />
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What is your 'quest'? Do you have a 'lifelong dream'? Anything 'dominating your life' enough to hold your attention for thirteen or more years? Without a quest, life is quickly reduced to bleak black and wimpy white, a diet too bland to get anybody out of bed in the morning. A quest fuels our fire. It refuses to let us drift downstream, gathering debris. It keeps our mind in gear, makes us press on.<br />
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God is forever on a quest, too. Ever thought about that? In fact, His adventurous journey is woven throughout the fabric of the New Testament. One thread is in Romans 8:29, where he mentions that He is conforming us to His Son's image: <i>'God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him.'</i> [MSG] Another is in Philippians 1:6, where we're told that He began His <i>'good work'</i> in us and He isn't about to stop. Elsewhere He even calls us His <i>'workmanship'</i> (Ephesians 2:10). Peter's second letter goes so far as to list some of the things included in this quest: <i>'faith ... moral excellence ... knowledge ... self-control ... perseverance ... godliness ... brotherly kindness ... love'</i> (2 Peter 1:5-7, NASB).<br />
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Character qualities in His children - that's His quest. And He won't quit until He completes His checklist. When will that be? When we rest in peace ... and not one day sooner. Thanks, Lord."<br />
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"All of us are surrounded by and benefit from the results of someone's quest. Let me name a few:</div>
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Above my head is a bright electric light. Thanks, Tom.</div>
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On my nose are eyeglasses that enable me to focus. Thanks, Ben.</div>
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In my driveway is a car ready to take me wherever I choose to steer it. Thanks, Henry.</div>
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Across my shelves are books full of interesting and carefully researched pages. Thanks, authors.</div>
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Flashing through my mind are ideas, memories, and creative skills. Thanks, teachers.</div>
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Tucked away in the folds of my life are discipline and determination, a refusal to quit when the going gets rough, a love for our country's freedom, a respect for authority. Thanks, marines.</div>
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Coming into my ears is beautiful music - a wonderful mix of melody and rhythm and lyrics that linger. Thanks, composers.</div>
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Deep inside me are personality traits, strong convictions, a sense of right and wrong, a love for God, an ethical compass, a commitment to my wife and family. Thanks, parents.</div>
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At home is a peaceful surrounding of eye - pleasing design, colorful wallpaper, tasteful and comfortable furnishings, hugs of affirmation - a shelter in a time of storm. Thanks, Cynthia.</div>
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My list could go on and on. So could yours.</div>
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Because some cared enough to dream, to pursue, to follow through and complete their quest, our lives are more comfortable, more stable.</div>
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That's enough to spur me on. How about you?"</div>
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<i>The above is from "Day by Day with Charles Swindoll"</i></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-57773209158232187092015-03-09T19:43:00.001-04:002015-09-27T12:10:39.296-04:00Live In The Present<br />
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Love this excerpt of a conversation between Jesus and Mack, the main character in William P. Young's fine book, "The Shack." Live in the present ... not the past or the future.<br />
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<i>" 'Tell me what you are afraid of, Mack.' 'Well, let me see. What am I afraid of?', began Mack. 'Well, I am afraid of looking like an idiot. I am afraid that you are making fun of me and that I will sink like a rock. I imagine that -' "<br /><br />" 'Exactly,' Jesus interrupted. 'You imagine. Such a powerful ability, the imagination! That power alone makes you so like us. But without wisdom, imagination is a cruel taskmaster. If I may prove my case, do you think humans were designed to live in the present, or the past, or the future?' 'Well,' said Mack, hesitating, 'I think the most obvious answer is that we were designed to live in the present. Is that wrong?' Jesus chuckled. 'Relax, Mack. This is not a test, it's a conversation. You are exactly correct, by the way. But now tell me, where do you spend most of your time in your mind, in your imagination: in the present, in the past, or in the future?' Mack thought for a moment before answering. 'I suppose I would have to say that I spend very little time in the present. I spend a big piece in the past, but most of the rest of the time, I am trying to figure out the future.' "<br /><br />" 'Not unlike most people. When I dwell with you, I do so in the present - I live in the present. Not the past, although much can be remembered and learned by looking back, but only for a visit, not an extended stay. And for sure, I do not dwell in the future you visualize or imagine. Mack, do you realize that your imagination of the future, which is almost always dictated by fear of some kind, rarely, if ever, pictures me there with you?' Again, Mack stopped and thought. It was true. He spent a lot of time fretting and worrying about the future, and in his imagination it was usually pretty gloomy and depressing, if not outright horrible. And Jesus was also correct in saying that in Mack's thoughts of the future, God was always absent."<br /> <br /><br />" 'Why do I do that?' asked Mack. 'It is your desperate attempt to get some control over something you can't. It is impossible for you to take power over the future because it isn't even real, nor will it ever be real. You try to play God, imagining the evil that you fear becoming reality, and then you try to make plans and contingencies to avoid what you fear.' 'Yeah, that's basically what Sarayu [the Spirit of God] was saying,' responded Mack. 'So why do I have so much fear in my life?' "<br /><br />" 'Because you don't believe. You don't know that we love you. The person who lives by his fears will not find freedom in my love. I am not talking about rational fears regarding legitimate dangers, but imagined fears, and especially the projections of those into the future. To the degree that those fears have a place in your life, you neither believe I am good nor know deep in your heart that I love you. You sing about it, you talk about it, but you don't know it.' "</i></blockquote>
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<i>"Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."</i><br />
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- Jesus of Nazareth, from the Good News according to Matthew (6:33-34, MSG)</blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-78430402234534877022014-06-22T12:58:00.000-04:002015-01-10T12:28:20.569-05:00" I don't talk about politics or religion ...". Really?!?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Haven't you heard, at least once, someone say that? Or, maybe you've said it, or thought it. And, by extension, you never even think deeply about issues in either arena. Can't talk (or think) about these ... WHO SEZ?!?</div>
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It's time to move away from it ... many in our U.S. culture ( and other cultures, for that matter), have accepted a bill of fraudulent goods and the price is way to high. In my opinion, it's a thinking and attitude built on the foundation of a lie straight from the pit of hell. Why? Because, your beliefs ("religion") and public policy ("politics") are the two areas that impact your life the most ... both personally as an individual and collectively as a society. More implications flow from these two subjects than any other. Like it or not, they are the fundamental pillars of a free society. Our freedom to think, talk, openly discuss and hear others out, and disagree rationally and with civility on these topics in the marketplace of ideas are key to the continued strength of those pillars (and yes, you can discuss "religion" rationally). Our thinking here affects our behavior, growth, and success in every other area of daily life ... and has a critical impact on our destinies, both personally and as collective communities. Not one of us is immune from the touch of these subjects, for good or ill. The effects of our thinking in these arenas is not private, either ... they are very much a public matter - on display every day in how we make decisions, go about our everyday activities and interactions, and treat others.<br />
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And you refuse to engage in conversation with others or in thinking through issues on either topic?!? C'mon!!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-25718556660318571022014-06-15T20:29:00.000-04:002014-06-16T22:05:48.144-04:00One man's life-lessons caught from his Dad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you're a Dad, can I say something to you ... man-to-man, like? Your kids are watching you, no matter what the age. If your kiddos are adults now, they have watched you like a hawk in the past and will continue to do so in the present and into your future. For good or bad, however the relationship is now or no matter how things have turned out based on the past ... it's ok. Your Creator loves you just the way you are, as you are - no more, no less ... but, He desires so much more for you. If your example was for ill (I know ... I unfortunately lived and demonstrated many not-so-good things), look at today as a new start with your kids. They need you, they love you and they look up to you.<br />
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<a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/popups/media_player.aspx?MediaId={C194186A-778C-44F9-8A6B-C5CF9D11A1F7}">Parenting With Love, Tribute to a Dad - Part 2</a><br />
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Here's a radio broadcast that I sincerely hope you will take time to listen to. It's the second of a two-part broadcast from pastor, teacher and well-known leadership author John Maxwell as he gives tribute to his Dad by recounting five key lessons he's learned from watching his life. Here's the five:<br />
<ol>
<li>He taught me the importance of association ... who I ran around with was important.</li>
<li>He gave me an example to follow ... it's not what you "preach," but how you live that makes the most impact.</li>
<li>He taught me the importance of attitude ... it's a choice. You might not be the smartest person, or the one at the top of your class, but you can have an attitude that's an "A" every day.</li>
<li>He taught me to believe God for big things ... have faith in His ability to do exceedingly beyond what I could ever ask or think.</li>
<li>He taught me how to pray ... pray without ceasing; a spirit and attitude of prayer in everything.</li>
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My prayer is that you and I will have the same kind of impact on our kids, passing along the same kind of lessons. Blessings on ya' Dads ... leave a legacy and keep moving forward. It's never too late.<br />
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<i>"If there's righteousness in the heart, there'll be beauty in the character. If there's beauty in the character, there'll be harmony in the home. If there's harmony in the home, there'll be order in the nation. And if there's order in the nation, there'll be peace in the world. When Mother Theresa received her Noble Peace Prize, they asked her, 'what can we do to bring peace in the world?' She responded: 'Go home and love your family.' "</i><br />
- John Maxwell<br />
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Lastly, here's a song for you from one of my favorite groups ... go out and live a legacy for your family so that when it's finally time to say goodbye, you can say "I've got nothing to prove, nothing to lose, nothing to hide." Blessings on ya'!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-60868752846076202552013-05-22T19:31:00.001-04:002013-05-24T15:29:55.597-04:00Are You a "Cosmic Orphan?" - Part 2Our very nature as human beings, no matter who we are or where we call home, is oriented toward a spiritual awareness of something beyond ourselves (God) and a longing for something beyond this life (immortality). Yet, for many, our way of looking at the world resigns us to resistance and suppression of the realities that pulsate within us.<br />
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<i>"If there is no God or immortality, therefore, not only is man a Cosmic Orphan, thrown into existence without purpose; he is also the victim of a colossal and cruel joke. The thirst for the realities that he needs to give significance and value to his life is built into his very nature as man. God and immortality - the very realities toward which man is oriented - are precisely the realities which, according to his world view, do not exist. The predicament of modern man is not that he is simply an orphan, but that he is oriented by nature toward the very things he cannot have."</i> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span></blockquote>
And, life does not work so well for those of us who disconnect from the reality of our inner selves and stubbornly determine to manage the harshness of life without a recognition of our Creator.<br />
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<i>"Disconnection from God does not work well. It requires that we deny anything in our makeup that depends on connecting with God. We therefore deny the deepest longings in our souls, longings to love a God who loves us and to love others the way God loves us. We want that, but without God we can't have it. Committed to managing life without God and afraid to face our emptiness and guilt, we see what we can do ... alone. We're scared, mad, and demanding as we experience life. Our highest goal is that we 'make it,' that we experience some level of internal satisfaction ... we find ourselves separated from God, ourselves and others. We are foolishly independent, unaware of our destiny or purpose, committed to a justice that revolves around us, scared that we're inadequate, desperately insecure, angry when things don't go our way, consistently demanding that they do, incapable of loving anybody and not terribly bothered that we don't, finally alone with ourselves, either settling for lesser satisfactions and 'doing fine,' or troubled by any one of dozens of symptoms of our terrified, angry, selfish internal life."</i> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span></blockquote>
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What to do?!? Faced with the prospect of living a life devoid of spiritual reality, no basis for meaning, and ending in nothingness, there are really only four options up for consideration.<br />
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<li>Commit suicide ... I mean, just "check out." Why not? Given that we are nothing more than a genetic link in a purposeless and blind process of mutation and natural selection, with oblivion and nothingness on the horizon, it's the most logical next step ... why put up with a life that ultimately is absurd and harsh? That's exactly where many of our teenagers are today, with suicide now being the third leading cause of death (behind car accidents and homicides <span style="font-size: xx-small;">3</span>). And there are many, both young and old, who contemplate the thought every day. But, just as many will not act on their suicidal contemplation ... fear of the unknown, a loss of whatever small pleasures our culture affords us in life, or our medical/psychiatric professionals (and/or others) convincing us that pressing on is worthwhile, keep our urge at bay and whisper "it's not worth it." Which leads to the second option.</li>
<li>We could simply avoid asking the big questions, among them "what's the meaning of my life?" And, our culture (especially here in the highly industrialized and technologically savvy U.S.) affords us any number of escape mechanisms to "anesthetize" the mind away from such "complicated" thinking: alcohol, drugs, various hobbies, adventurous travel, pursuit of the body beautiful, sports play and fanaticism; the pursuit of sexual pleasure, money, power and fame; immersing oneself in the devotion to family, friends, acquaintances, pets, work, business and networking ... and on and on. Two problems stare us down with this option, however - first, none of these pursuits on their own bring true happiness, contentment or satisfaction. Many who have engaged in an all-out pursuit of any or all of these and "achieved" them have pulled up saying "Is that all there is?" (think sports stars, Hollywood legends, and business CEO's, among others). And, as alluded to in the above quote, this kind of pursuit leads to anything but a joyful existence. Second, the risks of ignoring the big questions are too great. What IF God does exist, life does have meaning, and your destiny is predicated on your response to that existent God? You run the risk of losing everything ... and death waits, beyond which there is no return to make it right. We can't wait until it's too late to find out that we're traveling down the wrong road.</li>
<li>How about, as holders of an atheistic or agnostic worldview, we "stick to our guns" ... gut it out, affirming life's absurdity yet living nobly. OK, sounds appealing. You're the captain of your ship, living fearlessly, boldly ... uninhibited and laughing in the face of death. You say to yourself, "I recognize life is punctuated by an inevitable bleak end, but I'll walk to the gallows 'unblindfolded', living bravely and dedicating myself to my own sense of service to my fellow man, and I don't need God in the process (as weaker-minded people do)." Two problems here as well - First, your life of nobility in the face of your recognition of only nature and yourself is totally inconsistent with your belief. If there's no God, nothing beyond ourselves, how is it that we have any value at all ... why serve a collection of mere protoplasm, the product of a purposeless and mindless process? And, what keeps you from just walking away from the unsavory, unlovely, ornery, or ungrateful types? And, how in the world do you build a humanistic morality on a functionally atheistic philosophy? Second, IF there is a God and life beyond the grave, then you're stubbornly holding to this option isn't brave or noble at all ... it's incredibly delusional and wrong-headed. Your worldview and philosophical foundation is sand, and your thinking and resultant actions arising from it is like a house of cards ... rootless and flimsy at best. Your inability to disprove the existence of God leaves you philosophically and intellectually bankrupt, and your belief in a material-only universe and macro-evolution is founded on bad science.</li>
<li>Finally, we could be open-minded and consider the possibility that a worldview where a material universe is all there is with no immortality is wrong ... you and I are not, and don't have to be, "Cosmic Orphans." We can embrace the spiritual leanings of our inner core and open up to the broad horizon of thinking that encompass God and immortality as factual realities, leading to the bright prospect that your life and mine has significance and value, with a future that is everlasting and beyond our wildest imagination.</li>
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This fourth option is the position of the authentic Christian worldview. A portion of its source document has this to say: <i>"For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."</i> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">4 </span> "Not perish but have eternal life" is immortality and the giver of it is a God who is deemed real and came in a tangible form as a man, with and for a purpose. Moreover, we are told elsewhere in that same source document that this God-man's giving of Himself was in the form of a horrific death, followed by a stunning resurrection. Not a resurrection of an immaterial/invisible soul only, not reincarnation into another creature, not resuscitation, not even translation prior to an actual death ... a resurrection reconstituting both soul and body into a new and transformed union.<br />
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In the recording of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth (the God-man) we have available, <i>in advance of our own death</i>, a series of events taking place in space-time history that provides us with evidence to bolster the veracity of both the existence of God and the reality of immortality. Particularly, if the historical evidence is sufficient to indicate beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead, then we have incredibly well-founded grounds for a validation of what our inner beings have told us all along: something exists that transcends us (God) and there is an existence beyond this life (immortality). We don't have to live like Cosmic Orphans. We can make sense of our world and our existence, we can find wholeness and fulfillment, and we can look forward to an incredibly bright and forever future. Without Him, there indeed is a nothing-like existence. With Him, there's everything. We need Him. We need the reality of the one and only true God.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Portions of the above are adapted from "Knowing the Truth about the Resurrection" by William Lane Craig (1988 Servant Books, Ann Arbor Michigan)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Notes:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">1/ William Lane Craig, "Knowing the Truth about the Resurrection"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">2/ Larry Crabb , "Connecting" (2005 Thomas Nelson, Nashville TN)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">3/ CDC NCH Data Brief, "Mortality Among Teenagers 12-19 "(No. 37, 2010) and "Basic Facts About Teen Crashes, Leading Causes of Death for 15-19 yr olds" (www.teendriversource.org)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">4/ the Good News according to John, 3:16</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-13893969542198686052013-05-13T20:05:00.001-04:002013-05-22T19:36:55.883-04:00Are You a "Cosmic Orphan"? - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you've been tracking with my Google+ posts for a time and you're not a very "religious" person, you may have said to yourself, "Okay, Harold, what is it with all this God and Jesus stuff? I mean, I'm with Pierre-Simon LaPlace when he said, '... I have no need of that hypothesis,' and Nietzsche when he declared, 'God is dead ...'." Well if you're thinking that, outside of appreciating your honesty and candor, I think that your viewpoint is unfortunate and misguided, because I happen to think that we need the reality of God in our lives. Indeed, if we are truthful with ourselves, our inner being longs for the truth of that reality. Here's why I think that way.<br />
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Here in the U.S. today, and in other parts of the "modernized" world, we're in a cultural environment that is wholeheartedly and uncritically embracing a metaphysical worldview of naturalism along with its prime philosophical "engine" of evolution ... that is, more and more of us are steeping ourselves in a belief (consciously or subconsciously) that nature is all there is and that we as human beings are the product of a purposeless, blind process of mutation and natural selection. In an increasingly independent-minded, technologically-oriented and affluent culture (at least here in the U.S.), we have accepted Nietzsche's declaration of deicide (proudly proclaiming that our prowess and capability have killed him), and reduced ourselves to nothing more than a highly-developed accident of nature. Nature is all there is and we reside in an indifferent and impersonal universe, linked to its vastness only through a genetic chain to other vertebrates, alive with no purpose or compass for living other than the drive of our genes and instincts (on the level of other animals), focused on survival and avoidance of pain at all costs, with the extent of our future being nothing more than personal extinction at the hands of an inevitable cruel event called death.<br />
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But, that poses a pretty huge intellectual and practical predicament for us ... why? Because this perspective flies in the face of the inductive evidence we all have within our inner beings. As we experience the reality of life, we human beings appear to be the ONLY earthly creatures to demonstrate what anthropologists call "an openness to our world" - an awareness of it that allows us to think and create new possibilities with the people and things we observe and interact with. And, as far as we know, we are the only creatures in the universe who introspect and ask questions like "Why?", "Who am I?", "What am I here for?" We are not driven or determined solely by our environment or our genetic makeup; we can think, ponder, construct, apprehend reality on a conceptual level, and make choices that can alter our reality and attitude toward what we face and desire to accomplish. In addition, we seem to be creatures who are naturally oriented toward "something" beyond ourselves, and compelled to conduct ourselves in a certain fashion akin to an "ought to," not just a "convenient to." We're also seemingly always desiring to strive toward a thing beyond the finiteness of who we are and what we experience ... always pushing toward an infinite goal; looking beyond time and desiring immortality. And even though we're acutely aware of death's inevitability, we strive to push it out of our mentality, take great pains to postpone it, or deny it completely. We long for an existence beyond death.<br />
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<i>"...He also has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds (a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy) ..." </i>- Ecclesiastes 3:11 (AMP)</blockquote>
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<i>"You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you." </i>- Augustine</blockquote>
As human beings, our inner nature cries out for both a recognition of a transcendent "something" beyond us and a yearning for immortality beyond time. Yet the worldview that our current culture intensely exposes us to, and that many of us choose to embrace, is one that completely contradicts and denies the existence of both. We go against the very nature of our internal makeup, denying the existence of anything outside of nature and believing in a purposeless and unguided existence ... even in the face of not being able to live consistently according to that belief. As American anthropologist and educator Loren Eiseley suggests, fighting against the tug of our inner beings and embracing a worldview that has no place for those longings, we become lost; without parents, as it were - we become "Cosmic Orphans." We're trapped ... resigned to a worldview where nature is all there is, we begin in nothingness and we end in nothingness, with nothing to lend meaning to the brevity of life in-between. And what's that life like? ... well, William Lane Craig puts it this way:<br />
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<i>"If there is no immortality, then the life that man does have becomes ultimately absurd. But to make the situation worse, human life is itself a mixed blessing. Four considerations come to mind. First, there is the evil in the heart of man which expresses itself in man's terrible inhumanity to man. Many who wonder how God could create a world with so much evil in it overlook the fact that most of the evil in the world is the result of man's own choices. War, torture, rape, and a thousand other sins confound the optimism about man ... Second, there is the problem of disease. Modern man lives in the constant fear of killers like cancer, heart disease, leukemia, and now AIDS ... with no hope of immortality, life is often painful and ugly because of such scourges. Third, unless we die first, we shall all confront the problem of old age. Growing old often brings feebleness of body and mind ... without immortality, that is all we have to anticipate ... Fourth, there is death itself, that great and cruel joker who cuts down all men, often unexpectedly in the prime of life. Confined to this life, modern man is thus set upon by the pressures of life and plagued by his own evil, disease, old age, and ultimately death."</i></blockquote>
Historian Stewart C. Easton adds the following:<br />
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<i>"Thus man is penned within his earthly world; his life began with a birth before which there was nothing and will end with a death after which there is nothing ... death marks the end of all the life he will ever know; and though there may not be much left to enjoy on earth, it is better than nothing. ... Thus modern man is hag-ridden by fear and worry, in spite of all the pleasures that his society through it ingenuity and industry provide him."</i></blockquote>
If you are one who believes that nature is all there is and all there will every be (aka, Carl Sagan), you're a "Cosmic Orphan" because you've lost your moorings ... cut loose from the reality of your intended metaphysical anchor. You've lost focus on that kind of absolute and universal system of coordinates you desperately want, and need, that would allow you to pull everything together (including an understanding of yourself) into a coherent and consistent whole. Instead, your world, your personality, an understanding of your very being and significance are broken up into separate, incoherent, disjointed and disconnected fragments that correspond to your belief in an indifferent nothingness. You've lost your "tether" to the reality of a transcendent Creator who has made you in His image and with purpose ... you're lost without God, living in a painful and ultimately meaningless existence (with mixed blessing at best), and death being your only sure future. And, differing from other creatures, you are acutely and bleakly aware of your demise and left to mire throughout your days in the increasingly bitter backwash of your movement toward inevitable oblivion. Again, William Lane Craig:<br />
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<i>"If there is no God or immortality, therefore, not only is man a Cosmic Orphan, thrown into existence without purpose; he is also the victim of a colossal and cruel joke. The thirst for the realities that he needs to give significance and value to his life is built into his very nature as man. God and immortality - the very realities toward which man is oriented - are precisely the realities which according to his world view, do not exist. The predicament of modern man is not that he is simply a orphan, but that he is oriented by nature toward the very things he cannot have."</i></blockquote>
Oh my; a sad conundrum indeed ... what to do! Stay tuned.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Portions of the above content are adapted, and quotes taken, from "Knowing the Truth about the Resurrection" by William Lane Craig (1988 Servant Books, Ann Arbor Michigan) and "Rumours of Another World" by Philip Yancey (2004 Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan).</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778383509733195164.post-69950786968430274662013-01-27T13:54:00.000-05:002013-01-27T14:29:20.912-05:00The Morning Light ... Hoping to Spread (and Shed) Some Light Here!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My first blog post ... wow! Looking forward to connecting with whomever through the wonderful medium of words. I hope to share my thoughts on a variety of topics over time ... thoughts, aspirations, dreams, current issues of the day ... but, most importantly sharing my spiritual journey in and through this life. I'll share my thoughts on the spiritual realities that I have come to know, how they're being woven through the fabric and varied patterns of my existence, and what impact it is having (and has had) on the roles and responsibilities of which I am engaged in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'm a Jesus follower. He's the center of my life, my forgiver and leader, the heartbeat of my passions and desires, the driving force of all I live for and all I do ... the essence of who I am. He changed my life ... transformed me, renewed me and put me on a path of healing and a recapture of wholeness. He's my Bright and Morning Star ... hence, this log is a sharing of a little of the Morning Light he chooses to shine through me. And, hopefully, through the posts of this page you'll feel a little "Son-shine" come into your life. Life certainly isn't a bed of roses and I'm definitely not always feeling (or acting) like a ray of sunshine, but therein lies the fun (and hopefully, the transparency) of sharing with you. I'm a work in progress, and I've had a new and powerful energy at work in my life for quite some time now. Empowering me, changing me, transforming me, helping me to see the really real and have fun along the way holding His hand and trusting in His goodness and ability to see me through anything.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm letting Him chart a path for me. Come and join me from time to time ... I'd love to have you as company!</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13084234041140640975noreply@blogger.com0Rochester, NY 14624, USA43.1206737 -77.73376280000002242.9352837 -78.056486300000017 43.306063699999996 -77.411039300000027