Fear of the Cross

"You can't be afraid to do something just because there is a cross involved."

~ Truthful Grace

Existence without God

If it were somehow possible that God could be removed from the universe and I were left alone in it, I don't think my cells would be able to function.  All the energy in my body comes from God.  I would be like a cell phone with a dead battery.

~ Truthful Grace

Stick to what you know

(in reference to changing to a particular new group)
I think you should stick to what you know. I know the weak points of my group. I know where the land mines are. I know what their faults are, and how to work around them.

~ Truthful Grace

The God of the Old Testment and the New Testament

response to a friend who found it hard to relate to the "harsh" God of the Old Testament as opposed to the more loving God of the New Testament:

If you remember raising your own children, you treated them differently at each stage of life. You disciplined them differently at 2 than at 15. Now that they are grown and are parents themselves, you relate to them in a new way, on a more equal basis.

I think it is the same with God. In the Old Testament the people did a lot of immature and destructive things, and God had to bail them out over and over and over again when they ended up in destitution, slavery, and poverty. As the people matured in their faith, God was able to relate to them on a higher level.

By the time of Jesus, the Jewish people had formed strong faith traditions and had overcome their tendency to worship pagan idols. At this time God appeared to them through Jesus Christ and told them to go to all nations and teach people about God and to bring the Kingdom of God on earth to every nation in the world, one soul at a time. Those who accepted this responsibility have been working for 2,000 years to bring the Kingdom of God to all nations and all souls, and today 2.1 billion people identify as Christians, 33% of the world's population.
source: http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

Unfortunately true Christianity has not completely changed the world yet. As Einstein said,

“If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus Christ taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity. It is the duty of every man of good will to strive steadfastly in his own little world to make this teaching of pure humanity a living force, so far as he can.”
(Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions, New York, Bonanza Books, 1954, 184-185).
source: www.adherents.com/people/100_Nobel.html as of 8/2011

I believe all the social ills of humanity represent unfinished work that Christians are called to do -- to help and heal. It is a big responsibility but God wants us to help people as we have been helped.

God loves you like a good father. You are God's beloved son, created in the image of God and destined to be a blessing to the world.

~ Truthful Grace

Decreasing Worry and Psychological Stress

A recent study also says that those who trust in a benevolent, loving God report "significant decreases in worry and psychological stress."

Interesting idea: If a person has been cruelly taught that God hates them and wants to punish them, choosing to believe that God doesn't exist might decrease their worry and psychological stress. However, it would not give them the help and comfort and peace that knowledge of a benevolent God would give.

~ Truthful Grace

Rude People

When people are rude to you and you are rude back, they never remember that they were rude to you first. They only remember that you were rude back.

~ Truthful Grace

Friendship

I asked Mom today what was the most important thing. She said "Friendship.". Her supreme compliment is "You are a good friend."
I bought her roses and she asked me to give one to Peggy, who was pleased. Mom showed more pleasure in giving that one rose to Peggy than in receiving a dozen roses herself.

~ Truthful Grace

She knows how to be loved

Kate Middleton knows how to be loved.

~ Truthful Grace

Fear of the Cross

"You can't be afraid to do something just because there is a cross involved."

~ Truthful Grace

Happy, Normal People

"Happy, normal people have boring lives. They don't make good movies."

~ Truthful Grace

(to explain why the people in movies create conflict in their lives when a better decision would avoid the conflict)

George Washington's Prayer for the Nation

"And now, Almighty Father, if it is Thy holy will
that we shall obtain a place and name among the nations of the earth,
grant that we may be enabled to show our gratitude for Thy goodness
by our endeavors to fear and obey Thee.
Bless us with thy wisdom in our counsels, success in battle,
and let our victories be tempered with humanity.
Endow, also, our enemies with enlightened minds,
that they become sensible of their injustice,
and willing to restore our liberty and peace.
Grant the petition of Thy servant,
for the sake of whom Thou hast called Thy beloved Son;
nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done."

Truthful Grace:
"Hate can stifle evil, but God's Love has the power to transform evil."

The God Zone

"Olympic athletes try to stay in the Olympic zone to win a gold medal.
I try to stay in the God zone to win a gold crown in the kingdom of heaven."

~ Truthful Grace

Sacrifice

I can sacrifice what I am now for what I can be.

~ Truthful Grace

Empathy

You are only able to help people who you can empathize with.

~ Truthful Grace

Sheepdog Blessings

Some people like to criticize and tell you that you are going the wrong way. They are like the sheepdogs the shepherd sends out to bring back straying sheep. The sheepdog nips at a sheep's heels to drive it back to the shepherd. Although the sheepdog does the right thing, it is not able to care for the flock as a shepherd does.

Only the shepherd is fully aware of all the needs of the flock. Only the shepherd is able to protect the flock, care for the flock, and love each individual sheep. A shepherd gives shepherd blessings, as described in Psalm 23. A shepherd is able to restore the soul.

God is our good shepherd. Some follow God as assistant shepherds, loving the flock with God's love. Some follow God as sheep dogs, nipping at the heels of the flock to drive them back toward God. Others are wolves, destroying the flock for their own benefit.

Sheepdogs are not shepherds, and they are not wolves. Sheepdogs give sheepdog blessings.

~ Truthful Grace

A Safe Anchorage for the Spirit

"In this busy age, in these days of intense scientific activity as we approach the conquest of space, it is not surprising that we find ourselves restless, unfulfilled, unsatisfied. Amidst all this kaleidoscopic movement, the inner soul of man must find an eternal harbor, some home port that will stay put, his own internal haven of peace.

When he fails to find such an anchorage his mind refuses the challenge of change. Mental illness becomes an epidemic of the times, and youth, cast afloat on uncharted seas, lacks assurance. The cry of pain and insecurity rises from the hearts of the untrained—‘Where am I?”—‘Where am I going?’—‘Who and where is the authority?’ And the world is too busy to answer.

Yet the answer is there. The answer is in the majestic order of the Universe and its obedience to unchanging law. This timeless, changeless order is an assurance of unchallenged authority, a sign of safe anchorage for the troubled spirit of man. Like the growth of a child from infant to adult, man is ‘discovering’ worlds new to him, but old to God.

When this is fully realized man can stand straight and tall, assured in the face of apparent uncertainty, secure in the knowledge of the way home, at peace with himself because he is at peace with God.”

~ John B. Medaris
American Major General John B. Medaris planned and executed the Ordinance phase of the Invasion of Normandy.

quote from pages 53-54, Mackay, John A.. The Presbyterian Way of Life. Englewoood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1960.

note:
For me, this safe anchorage for the spirit is Jesus Christ. "All things are of the Father; all things are through the Son; all things are by the Spirit."
(Mackay, 63)

~ Truthful Grace

Snarky Shock

Before you can work effectively in the church, you have to overcome Snarky Shock. The people in church are just as stupid and snarky as everybody else, including you.

~ Truthful Grace

A Safe Environment to Grow

People need a safe environment to grow. When you try to hide your flaws, you also hide your gifts.

~ Truthful Grace

Changing Your World

Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.
~ C.S. Lewis, Christian English Author and Professor

You will suddenly realize that the reason you never changed before was because you didn't want to.
~ Robert H. Schuller

If you don't change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news?
~ Dr. Robert Anthony

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
~ Franklin Roosevelt

Disgust and resolve are two of the great emotions that lead to change.
~ Jim Rohn

Live out of your imagination, not your history.
~ Stephen Covey

Change your thoughts and you change your world.
~ Norman Vincent Peale

Be the change you want to see in the world.
~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

Genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple.
~ C. W. Ceram

Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true security found.
~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Sometimes if you want to see a change for the better, you have to take things into your own hands.
~ Clint Eastwood

You don't have to change that much for it to make a great deal of difference. A few simple disciplines can have a major impact on how your life works out in the next 90 days, let alone in the next 12 months or the next 3 years.
~ Jim Rohn

The truth of the matter is that there's nothing you can't accomplish if:
(1) You clearly decide what it is that you're absolutely committed to achieving,
(2) You're willing to take massive action,
(3) You notice what's working or not, and
(4) You continue to change your approach until you achieve what you want, using whatever life gives you along the way.
~ Anthony Robbins

To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.
~ Helen Keller

Don't just adapt to change; get out in front of it and drag it along behind you.
~ Truthful Grace

Don't just adapt to change

Don't just adapt to change; get out in front of it and drag it along behind you.

~ Truthful Grace