Separation from God

"Death is not the enemy, separation from God is the enemy."

~ author unknown

The Definition of the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D)

The Definition of the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D)

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

http://www.reformed.org/documents/chalcedon.html

How Enlightened Are You?

HOW ENLIGHTENED ARE YOU?

IF....

If you can live without caffeine,

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him or her,

If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender preference, or politics,

--Then you have almost reached the same level of spiritual development as your dog!

The Truth

THE TRUTH
Once Satan and his demon sidekick were walking down the street, closely watching a man 20 yards ahead who was on the verge of realizing the Supreme Truth. The demon grew worried, and began to nudge Satan, but Satan looked quite calm.

Sure enough, the man did, in fact, soon realize the deepest spiritual Truth. Yet Satan still did nothing about it.

With this, the demon nudged Satan harder and, getting no response, finally blurted out, “Satan! Don’t you see? That man has realized the Truth! And yet you are doing nothing to stop him!”

With that, Satan cunningly smiled and announced, “Yes, he has realized the Truth. And now I am going to help him organize the Truth!”

~ story heard years ago from Indian sage Jiddu Krishnamurti

On Learning from Elders - John Cassian

On Learning from Elders. John Cassian:
And therefore by no means let the ignorance or shallowness of one old man or of a few deter you and cut you off from that salutary path about which we have spoken and from the traditions of our forebears. The clever enemy misuses their gray hairs to deceive the young. But everything should be revealed to the elders without any obfuscating embarrassment, and from them one may confidently receive both healing for one’s wounds and examples for one’s way of life. Thanks to them we shall experience the same assistance and a like result if we strive to aim at nothing whatsoever by our own judgment and presumption.
Finally, it is evident that this understanding is greatly pleasing to God, for not without reason do we find this same instruction even in holy Scripture. Thus, the Lord did not desire of himself to teach the boy Samuel through divine speech, once he had been chosen by his own decision, but he was obliged to return twice to the old man. He willed that one whom he was calling to an intimate relationship with himself should even be instructed by a person who had offended God, because he was an old man. And he desired that one whom he judged most worthy to be selected by himself should be reared by an old man so that the humility of him who was called to a divine ministry might be tested and so that the pattern of this subjection might be offered as an example to young men.

~ Conference 2.13.12–2.14.3

In Evil Long I Took Delight - John Newton

In Evil Long I Took Delight

In evil long I took delight, unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight, and stopped my wild career.

I saw one hanging on a tree, in agony and blood,
Who fixed his languid eyes on me, as near his cross I stood.

Sure, never to my latest breath, can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with his death, though not a word he spoke.

My conscience felt and owned the guilt, and plunged me in despair,
I saw my sins his blood had spilt, and helped to nail him there.

Alas! I knew not what I did! But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid? For I the Lord have slain!

A second look he gave, which said, "I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid; I die that you may live."

Thus, while his death my sin displays in all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace, it seals my pardon too.

With pleasing grief, and mournful joy, my spirit now is filled,
That I should such a life destroy, yet live by him I killed!

~ John Newton (1725-1807) from OLNEY HYMNS (1779).

The Single Best Invention of Life

"Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent."

~ Steve Jobs

Don't ASSUME

“When you ASSUME to know
that which you know nothing of
you make an ASS out of U and ME."

~ tweeted by Ashton Kutcher, re Ashton Kutcher/Demi Moore breakup rumors

“When we are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself & study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger." — Epictetus

~ tweeted by Demi Moore the day before her anniversary

http://news-briefs.ew.com/2011/09/29/
ashton-kutcherdemi-moore-breakup-rumors/

The BRAT Diet

This is the get-right diet, called "BRAT"-- bananas, rice (white only), applesauce, and 'toast' which can really be any kind of bread, even with jam and smooth peanut butter, just not butter.

Three Irrational Beliefs

quoted from:
LeadershipJournal.net
Three Irrational Beliefs ...
that I constantly have to fight
David Slagle | posted 9/26/2011
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2011/summer/irrationalbeliefs.html

Dr. Albert Ellis (1913-2007) was a psychologist ... most widely known for his Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, so named because it is directed at irrationality. Ellis theorized that much of our inner turmoil is caused by our tendency to embrace irrational beliefs, which leads to stress, low self-worth, frustration, conflict, anger, avoidance, procrastination, diminished productivity, and difficulty in relating to others.

He identified three irrational core beliefs that cause the most trouble:

#1: "I absolutely MUST, at all times, perform outstandingly well and win the approval of significant others. If I fail in these important—and sacred—respects, that is awful and I am a bad, incompetent, unworthy person, who will probably always fail and deserves to suffer."

#2: "Other people with whom I relate absolutely MUST, under practically all conditions, treat me nicely, considerately, and fairly. Otherwise, it is terrible and they are rotten, bad, unworthy people who will always treat me badly and should be severely punished for acting so abominably to me."

#3: "The conditions under which I live absolutely MUST, at practically all times, be favorable, safe, hassle-free, and quickly and easily enjoyable. If they are not, it's awful and horrible and I can't ever enjoy myself at all. My life is hardly worth living."

Each of these statements is clearly irrational. In our best moments, we would reject them as ludicrous, wondering, "How could anyone think this way?" but then ...

Fortunately, there are better responses to each of the three irrational beliefs.

etc.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2011/summer/irrationalbeliefs.html

Books like Catfish

As someone once said: "Some books are like catfish: good eatin' but you have to spit out the bones."

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

A dad with lower testosterone

New York Times Sept. 13, 2011

- QUOTATION OF THE DAY -

"A dad with lower testosterone is maybe a little more sensitive to cues from his child, and maybe he's a little less sensitive to cues from a woman he meets at a restaurant."

PETER GRAY, an anthropologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on a study finding that fatherhood decreases testosterone levels.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/health/research/
13testosterone.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha3

Life in a War Zone

Christianity tells you how to live life in a war zone.

~ my friend Nancy D.

Ain't Misbehavin'

Ain't Misbehavin'
Preparing my five-year-old son, Keegan, for his first overnight sleepover, I explained, "Eat whatever is served, say thanks, and make sure you behave yourself."
"Oh, don't worry, Mom," Keegan replied. "I never sin at anyone else's house."

—Suzy Ryan, California. Today's Christian Woman "Small Talk."

Miracles of Healing

"Sometimes God takes the disease away from the person.
Sometimes God takes the person away from the disease.
Both are miracles of healing."

~ spoken by a hospice visitor, name unknown

Life Is a Journey

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, champagne in one hand ... strawberries in the other and screaming: 'Woo Hoo! What a ride!' "

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

This is What Redemption Means

"Again and again the Gospels note that Jeus withdrew 'to the mountain' to spend nights in prayer 'alone' with his Father. These short passages are fundamental for our understanding of Jesus; they lift the veil of mystery just a little; they give us a glimpse into Jesus' filial existence, into the source from which his action and teaching and suffering sprang. This 'praying' of Jesus is the Son conversing with the Father; Jesus' human consciousness and will, his human soul, is taken up into that exchange, and in this way human 'praying' is able to become a participation in this filial communion with the Father." . . .

"We have said that in Jesus' filial communion with the Father, his human soul is also taken up into the act of praying. He who sees Jesus sees the Father (cf. Jn 14:9) The disciple who walks with Jesus is thus caught up with him into communion with God. And that is what redemption means: this stepping beyond the limits of human nature, which had been there as a possibility and an expectation in man, God's image and likeness, since the moment of creation."

Jesus of Nazareth, by Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benefict XVI, Doubleday, New York, 2007, p. 7-8