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marisoft-paint-adventures · 2 years ago

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Pgs. 271 - 308

There are some dark forces you just don't want to mess around with. You understand this better than most.

I think it’s kinda funny how people will be all over the meta parts of Homestuck but act like it didn’t start until like halfway through the comic when you have the Exiles who literally make use of the medium of the comic’s command system in-universe.

I gotta bring up this GameFAQ section, I haven’t been talking about it much because it’s mostly just Rose in her prosey words describing what’s been going on, but here we have uh

a choice of words???

Removing the lid signals the moment your life becomes a great whirling batshit pandemonium, somewhat resembling the chaos of an especially ethnic wedding. Somewhere, a soused uncle deliberately shatters china on the floor. Muddy livestock is decorated, and then lost track of. The question "Who's mule is this?" at times can be heard over the din. This is now your reality.

I just... what???? huh???? excuse me????? Rose???? Hussie???? what did you mean by this???? what the fuck are you talking about??? bro????

things are looking FUCKED.

Homestuck except John’s sprite is the side-side-side-villain of the entire story.

Homestuck except John’s sprite is a racist.

also what is he doing.

EB: no, i have to go! bye! TG: wait wait TG: armageddon's gettin waged on us TG: but im-a gettin armed and dangerous TG: sending men in space for savin us TG: see which playa's more couragerous TG: ben or bruce? dudes reach a truce TG: put their blowchutes to use and up-suck it TG: afflecks saclifice, i mean -crifice, would have to sufflice. aw fluck it TG: bro be a stained-glass saint, up on a cross gettin hella christ-plagiarous TG: bruce's like offa that cruciflix, nuff a this fuckin savior-fuss TG: restrained his ass per mclane-redux while buscemi remained derangerous TG: when a plan gone astray pays off a wasted craterous TG: ash tray caterin to layers of matt maconnaheys vague remainder-dust TG: wait TG: uh TG: macconahey wasnt even in any of those meteor movies was he TG: ill have to make a rap about TG: i dont know TG: morgan freeman or something TG: being the president TG: itll be called TG: "obama made it so that no one gives a shit about black presidents in movies anymore" TG: see youve got to fill me in on whats going on TG: so i have something to rap about besides all your dumbshit movies

I very much like the visual of Dave being completely alone without anyone to talk to and simply resorting to making up a shitty rap called "obama made it so that no one gives a shit about black presidents in movies anymore" which is such a CinemaSins-style film critic thing to say might I add.

I have to give partial credit to Homestuck for the inevitable modern day memeification of Barack Obama, it was ahead of its time.

SHOCK.

look at John smile as he talks to Jade, how adorable.

and then Dave is still fucking going.

TG: when the film crew zooms where the presidents at TG: im like if that dudes black ill eat my hat TG: turns out he is, so we're all "damn, director's got gumption" TG: like we'll all flip our shit he aint shining shoes or somethin TG: its called freemancipation. if its not pres-election its god-ascension TG: in bruce almighty. whoops, different bruce from the one i just mentioned EB: aaaaaarrrgh! TG: cant explain to me why this aint condescension to think ill shit a brick TG: not even he can convey the intention with his quickspun wit TG: rather defray all this tension, sit on his lap while he whittles a splint TG: and some guy eyes what he does and patronizes: i guess negrocity's the mother of invention

There are some dark forces you just don't want to mess around with. You understand this better than most.

haha yeah Rose imagine falling into the dark arts, ha.

her ass is READING‼

I’m a big fan of the fake Lovecraft lore going on here.

god these intro pages for the kids are so cool.

but this one is not the coolest, there is a cooler one.

and then we continue onward and OH MY GOD IS THAT DAAAVE STRIIIDERRRR FROM HOOOMMEESTUUUUUCK?????

#homestuck liveblog #hs liveblog #hs reread #liveblog #reread #live read #liveread #homestuck #hs1 #hs #home22tuck #Act 2 #Flash #dave strider #Beta Kids #Exiles #wayward vagabond #wv

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profgandalf · 2 years ago

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What Makes a Truly Satisfying Christmas Story?

I despise the tripe that passes as most Christmas stories. If it's a romantic narrative then a couple will have some sort of difficulty during the holidays and will overcome it by the end through the intervention of either an unexpected plot twist of goodness, a supernatural elf, or even a visitation by Santa himself. Something must pull the protagonists’ bacon out of the fire at the last minute. Economic or domestic difficulties are all solved. Meanwhile, how many times has the holiday itself been saved by one character or another? Ernest saves Christmas, Frosty saves Christmas, the Martians save Christmas (actually Santa saves Christmas from the Martians) and so it goes. One almost gets the sense that the celebration of Christ’s birth is a porcelain figure rather than our rugged religious holiday.

Part I

Only Charles Dickens, with "The Christmas Carol in Prose,” ever managed to write a non-overtly religious narrative that successfully embraces the central power of the holiday. Furthermore, his success seems to have eluded him in most other tries. After 1843 Dickens composed Christmas stories multiple times which were financially so successful that his Christmas presentation became a staple in Victorian England. However, most modern critics admit that "A Cricket on the Hearth," "The Chimes," “The Haunted House” “The Struggle for Life,” and the “Haunted Man” do not rise to the power of Scrooge’s transformation. In fact, most readers have never heard of them. Only “The Cricket” ever made it as a Rankin and Bass special. Furthermore this failure should not be connected with any sense of the growing cynicism within the author. Not even the Christmas chapters from "The Pickwick Papers" (which predates “The Carol”) entitled "The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton" hit the nose on the head in the same way that Scrooge’s story does. “The Carol’s strength comes from Dickens’ channeling the holiday’s spiritual center. Using that as a base, I would like to suggest that the spiritual center necessary for an effective Christmas story must include the following: (1) it must be a narrative of wonder; (2) it must involve something precious, (3) that precious something must face real jeopardy, and finally (4) the solution to that challenge, the salvation depicted in the story’s conclusion, must be potentially inclusive.

Part II

To begin, the successful story of Christmas must be one of wonder. As Dickens famously said In the opening of his “Carol” “There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate.“ Christmas is, at its center, not an everyday event. “It is the most wonderful time of the year.” It comes, shaking up the norm. And that is part of its spiritual center. Both Hebrew and Christian understanding of the Almighty’s workings includes wonder: “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11 KJV). “Remember his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth” (1 Chronicles 16:12 KJV). So Christmas stories, at their best, always include wonder. In some ways, this is the easiest of elements to incorporate. Just set the story in a land of wonders such as Toyland in "March of the Wooden Soldiers," Christmas Town in “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer” or Whoville in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The fantastic element of the place itself will instill wonder. Furthermore many might note that because of the fantastic setting, an overt reference to Christ is not always needed. And many Christmas stories avoid the overt religious quality by doing so. However, overtly avoiding the Christmas story is perilous since it is the springboard of the Yule soul. Think of Fred Halloway's observation from "the Christmas Carol":

“I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”

Again, note the element of breaking into what is normal. Still, it interesting to note that C.S. Lewis and Tolkien disagreed about lands of wonder and Christmas. Tolkien, who created a whole series of Father Christmas letters and stories for his children, told Lewis it was impossible to have Christmas in Narnia since there was no Christ. Apparently, Lewis just shrugged and had Father Christmas appear anyway. (Ironically, Tolkien felt that Lewis’ fairytale was to obviously Christian, preferring his more subtle approach found in Middle Earth.) Still I think Lewis' instincts also had merit. What a powerful opening Lewis gives which is centered on Christmas: “It is winter in Narnia,” said Mr. Tumnus, “and has been forever so long. . . always winter, but never Christmas.” The bleakness of Narnia is tangible to both young and old readers even if it is a world of wonder and when Christmas comes it signals the end of the White Witch’s power. One might wonder where is the wonder is such a hard-boiled Christmas narrative as “A Christmas Story,” in which the narrator is desperately trying to maneuver his mom and dad into buying him a Red Ryder BB Gun© (with this thing in the stock that tells time). However, the wonder is everywhere in this story. As Ralphi recalls "First nighters, packed earmuff to earmuff, jostled in wonderment before a golden tinkling display of mechanized, electronic joy!" Randy is still so young that he dances about at the Christmas Parade at seeing Mickey and the characters from “the Wizard of Oz.” But even Ralphie is enough of a believer in wonder that he includes Santa in his machinations. Wonder is vital for a Christmas story. And the acceptance of wonder is required: “Man of the Worldly mind” says Marley’s ghost, “Do you believe in me or not?! "Seeing is believing," says the conductor in “The Polar Express.” "but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see." Christmas stories demand the embracing of wonder. Meanwhile, the depth of Wonder in a Christmas story is directly related to its next quality, the jeopardy in which something precious is placed.

Part III

The second and third qualities found in the best of Christmas Stories are intimately joined together: Such stories must involve something precious, and that precious quality must face jeopardy. And here is where many Yule narratives go off the rails. Too often Christmas itself is held up as the precious thing supposedly in peril. Relatives might not make it, the dinner could be ruined or maybe Santa can’t make his flight and all the goodies will not be delivered. But as Dr. Seuss reminds us, Christmas is not so fragile. “’Maybe Christmas,‘ he thought...doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps...means a little bit more’”. Stories that make the Christmas celebration the center point falter. Also, romantic love, while precious, is not neatly so important as to support a Christmas story. Now here, I might expect some pushback. There is hardly anything so enshrined in our culture than the ultimate value of romantic love. After all, in Dickens' "Carol" Scrooge's nature is revealed by his dismissal of Fred's choice to marry because of love.

“Why did you get married?” said Scrooge. “Because I fell in love.” “Because you fell in love!” growled Scrooge, as if that were the only one thing in the world more ridiculous than a merry Christmas. “Good afternoon!”

For many, the saddest moment in "The Carol" is Scrooge's choice to not follow his heart and marry a woman who would bring so little wealth to his situation when the norm of Dickens's age was to look for a woman who could aid oneself economically. In fact, some scholars think that Dickens worked himself into an early grave partly because he was trying to set up dowries for his two surviving daughters. It's notable that Dickens actually received some contemporary criticism in "the Carol" for encouraging young people to marry willy-nilly for love without thinking of the full consequences. Personally, I can recall thinking that the joyful ending of "The Carol" is marred because Scrooge does not find romantic love at the end. But that is a misunderstanding. Romantic love while wonderful is precious only in its hope of becoming marital and familial love--the building blocks of our culture. Anyone who has seen more than twenty-five birthdays knows that romantic love by itself is as fleeting as a morning mist. Romantic love is precious only in that it leads to marital and familial love. Such love may play a role in a strong Christmas story but if such fleeting affection is the centerpiece of a Yule narrative, the Christmas story flounders--a lot of sound and fury with little consequences. The bounds of marriage and children are deeply precious and the forces which put marriage and a family in jeopardy are worthy elements within a strong Christmas story. Thus, as George Bailey, in "It's a Wonderful Life," moves towards despair, it affects his marriage and family--his daughter Zuzu especially. The true tragedy that the Ghost of Christmas Past presents to Scrooge is the marriage and family he might have had.

And now Scrooge looked on more attentively than ever, when the master of the house, having his daughter leaning fondly on him, sat down with her and her mother at his own fireside; and when he thought that such another creature, quite as graceful and as full of promise, might have called him father, and been a spring-time in the haggard winter of his life, his sight grew very dim indeed.

This last image is so wretched it causes Scrooge to physically attack the spirit to repress it. And when, transformed, he sets forth, Scrooge finds his great joy met first at church and then among his family. The best Christmas stories are those that center on humanity's loss and reclamation. Christmas at its center is the story of helpless humankind being hopelessly lost. The race teeters on despair and destruction. Although the wonder of Christmas can be assisted in fantastic settings, the central quality of Yule wonder is that in the midst of helplessness, help arrived. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:2). This is emphasized in multiple Christmas stories. Death and sterility being "The Carol." Marley is dead, to begin with, and so is Scrooge. The narration makes it clear that they are tied together: “Scrooge never painted out Old Marley's name. There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. The firm was known as Scrooge and Marley. Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, but he answered to both names: It was all the same to him.” Scrooge at the beginning of the story is as dead as a coffin nail.

“Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!.”

The fact is that the old miser needs help, even if Scrooge himself doesn't know it:

Scrooge. . .made bold to inquire what business brought him there. “Your welfare!” said the Ghost. Scrooge expressed himself much obliged, but could not help thinking that a night of unbroken rest would have been more conducive to that end. The Spirit must have heard him thinking, for it said immediately: “Your reclamation, then. Take heed!”

Again, in so many of the best Christmas stories, the state of the individual is in deep peril. In Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey is near self-destruction. The top angel, Franklin, says this “man will be thinking seriously of throwing away God's greatest gift”. Clarence knows exactly what he means. “Oh, dear, dear! His life!.” More than that, in the eyes of the very Catholic Frank Capra the contemplation of suicide places George Bailey's eternal soul in jeopardy. And the film "Joyeux Noël" depicts the events surrounding the Christmas Truce of 1914 in the midst of tragic jeopardy. Such potential terrible loss is the kind of foundation upon which the best Christmas stories are built.

Part IV

The fourth and final quality of the best Yule narratives is that like the original good news, a Christmas Story should be inclusive. “Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people'” (Luke 2:10 KJV). Christmas is for all people, no matter one's race, gender, or age. The best Christmas stories portray the inclusion of those who, for one reason or another, were outcasts.

This is important to the narrative because it is organic to the Christmas message. Contrary to the claims of many contemporary experts, Christianity has always been inclusive. As St. Paul writes “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28 KJV). That, from a man brought up in the Pharisaical tradition, is an amazing claim. St. John writes in the last book, “Whosoever will, may come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Rev. 22:17b KJV). As a child, I can recall gustily belting out the chorus to P. P. Bliss’ ”Whosoever Will May Come:”

“Whosoever will, whosoever will! Send the proclamation over vale and hill; 'Tis a loving Father calls the wanderer home. "Whosoever will may come."

(Just a side note: the American hymn writer, P. P. Bliss, from Ohio lived from 1838 to 1870 and was therefore a contemporary of Charles Dickens who lived from 1812 to 1870)

The inclusion of the outcast, the inclusion of the enemy, is an especially vital part of Christmas stories. “God Bless Us, Everyone!” is first Tiny Tim’s and then the narrator’s wish in the Carol. Christmas should never involve the gleeful dancing by the hero over the fallen figure of his or her opponent. In "Joyeux Noël" that becomes literally true as soldiers from Germany, England and France face one another at Christmas during World War I. In Adrea Bocelli's Christmas song "God Bless Us Everyone" (featured in Disney's version of “The Christmas Carol”), he provides this proms:

To the voices no one hears,

We have come to find you.

With your laughter and your tears,

Goodness, hope, and virtue.

The central nature of inclusiveness is emphasized in Rankin and Bass’ “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” when the red nosed Rudolf and Hermey, the Elf who wants to be a dentist, find places within their community (as does the terrible Abdominal--whose job becomes the one who places stars on the tops of trees ). And who can forget the joyful ending when Santa arrives to gather up and find homes to all of the inhabitants of The Island of Misfit Toys. The ending which featured this rescue was a late added scene for the second year’s broadcast because there was so much uncertainty over the fate of the toys from the show’s premier. That is how important inclusiveness is to Christmas. Those who think “Happy Holidays” is a more inclusive term miss the point entirely.

But there is a caveat. While all are welcome in the spirit of Christmas, not everyone will come because not everyone will lay down what is killing them spiritually. Henry F. Potter from "It's a Wonderful Life" is not there in the final scene singing with the rest of his community, and it's NOT because George Bailey, his family, or his friends would have excluded him. It's because Henry F. Potter excluded himself.

The isolating sin of idolatry is alive in our age. Whatever is placed above the light of Christmas is, in fact, a deadly hindrance--what Dickens wisely portrayed as chains on Marley. Bell, Scrooge's former fiancé, identifies his economic passion as idolatry:

"Another idol has displaced me; and if it can cheer and comfort you in time to come, as I would have tried to do, I have no just cause to grieve.'' "What Idol has displaced you?'' he [Scrooge] rejoined. "A golden one.''

Dickens' audience would have immediately recognized the Biblical echo of the golden calf from the Exodus story. If he had not accepted the truth given by the Spirit of Christmas Past (a metaphor for memory) Scrooge would not have found himself at his nephew's Christmas dinner. Meanwhile, if the Grinch had not seen that there is more to Christmas than packages and bags, then he would have found himself out in the snow not enjoying his roast-beast.

Thus, whatever we hold so dear in ourselves that we will not let it go and would sacrifice all else for it, be it political affiliation, gender identification, sexual gratification, competitive economics, or national patriotism when we hold it higher than the light which Christ claimed to bring, we bare ourselves from Christmas.

Thankfully the truth of Christmas in the best of stories is revealed to be far more penetrating, far more enduring, and far more powerful than the world thinks it is. "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (John 1:5 KJV). The best of Christmas stories helps us comprehend it just a little bit more than we might have.

So with all that being said, I sit here with my fingers hovering over the keyboard trying to compose in my head a Christmas yarn worthy of the title. Glad there is no deadline on me as poor Charles was facing in 1843. Merry Christmas Everyone! Dec. 2022

#Christmas #Writing #literature #Dickens #Capre

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ongolecharles · 4 months ago

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DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS (DSR) 📚 Group, Thu July 11th, 2024 ... Thursday of The Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B/Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot ... KNOW YOUR CATHOLICISM

LOVE YOUR PRIESTS

According to recent studies… a great number of priests quit each year. They don’t quit because they have a lack of faith in God. They don’t quit because they don’t believe in the calling God has placed on their life. Most don’t even quit because of financial reasons.

Priests quit because they are overwhelmed with mental exhaustion.

Until you’re a priest you’ll never fully understand what it’s like to carry spiritual burdens for people. Getting up in the middle of night, praying for your family of faith. Awakened in the middle of night with someone on your heart. Overwhelmed with concern by a persons absence or distance.

Your mind continually occupied with the presentation of the upcoming Sunday message - how to preach it, what to teach on, how do we apply it? Getting critiqued on a continual basis.

Being told you need to do better or that some areas of the church simply need to be better.

Priests invest their whole life into people and yet people will turn their backs on their pastor at the first sign of a storm, usually without a conversation. Priests stand in the middle of disputes.

Priests stand in the middle of gossip.

Priests council broken marriages.

Priests comfort those who have suffered loss.

Priests navigate the waters of imperfect people with a desire to see each one thrive in their faith.

They long for spiritual breakthroughs. Your priest craves the very best for you. All of this, while trying to battle their own flesh and grow in their own relationship with God.

Priests see the posts.

Priests hear the whispers.

Priests endure the negativity.

Priests are continually caring for the sheep while fending off the wolves.

Priest pour out and pour out - rarely being poured into.

What keeps a priest going? YOU!

You - the person who is genuinely hungry.

You - the person who worships with passion and freedom.

You - the teenager who is striving to be a follower of Jesus.

You - the single mom who understands the beauty of the hope found in Christ.

You - the one who walks through the door for the first time because you’re in search of peace, hope, and community.

Pray for your priest. Serve with your priest.

Talk with your priest. Encourage your priest.

They are human. They need You more than you think!

"Behind each Priest, there is a demon fighting for his fall. If we have the language to criticize them. We must have twice as much to pray for them."

DAILY PRAYER FOR PRIESTS

O Almighty Eternal God, look upon the face of Thy Christ, and for the love of Him who is the Eternal High Priest, have pity on Thy priests. Remember, O most compassionate God, that they are but weak and frail human beings. Stir up in them the grace of their vocation which is in them by the imposition of the bishop’s hands. Keep them close to Thee, lest the Enemy prevail against them, so that they may never do anything in the slightest degree unworthy of their sublime vocation.

O Jesus, I pray Thee for Thy faithful and fervent priests; for Thy unfaithful and tepid priests; for Thy priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields; for Thy tempted priests; for Thy lonely and desolate priests; for Thy young priests; for Thy aged priests; for Thy sick priests, for Thy dying priests; for the souls of Thy priests in Purgatory.

But above all I commend to Thee the priests dearest to me; the priest who baptized me; the priests who absolved me from my sins; the priests at whose Masses I assisted, and who gave me Thy Body and Blood in Holy Communion; the priests who taught and instructed me, or helped and encouraged me; all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way, particularly ...

(Name a priest in your life here ... )

O Jesus, keep them all close to Thy Heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.

***

【Build your Faith in Christ Jesus on #dailyscripturereadingsgroup 📚: +256 751 540 524 .. Whatsapp】

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ahopkins1965 · 10 months ago

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The Angry Heart

By: BCC Staff

March 1, 2014

A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless. A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated. Proverbs 14:16-17 (NIV)

An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins. Proverbs 29:22 (NIV)

The root of sinful anger grows in a heart that is self-centered and idolatrous. Because we live in a society that screams constantly about “rights,” when our perceived rights are violated, we become angry.

Women champion their “right to choose,” homosexuals fight for the rights of marriage, children claim a right to privacy, and husbands claim a right to sexual relations. How many of these are biblical rights?

Examine some common perceived rights listed below against your own belief system. I would encourage you to support your beliefs with Scripture.

Right to have and express personal opinions

Right to respect

Right to be understood

Right to have good health

Right to be appreciated

Right to be treated fairly

Right to belong, to be loved, to be accepted

Right to make your own decisions

Right to determine your own future

Right to be considered worthwhile and important

Right to be protected and cared for

Right to have fun

Right to security and safety

Right to have others obey you

Right to have your own way

Right to be free from difficulties and problems1

Much of the problem of depression is wrapped up in wanting to control God—and anger at being unable to do so. God’s will violates your perceived rights. When He makes decisions you don’t like, you become angry. You internalize that anger, becoming full of self-pity because God is not doing things your way. Angry people do not understand the sovereignty of God, or if they do understand it, they refuse to accept it.

Such thoughts reveal a prideful, idolatrous heart. Believing you can override the sovereignty of God is untrue and leads to anger, bitterness, and eventually feelings of depression. In fact, depression is anger turned inward. When a person becomes angry and does not repent of it or address it biblically, depression is the result.

The typical angry response comes from something you wanted and didn’t get, or you are angry about something you got and didn’t want, but in both cases, you have never dealt with the anger biblically.

Feelings of anger are generally (wrongly) handled in one of two ways: blowing up (screaming, ranting raving, hollering, hitting, breaking things, driving too fast or recklessly) or clamming up (quietly internalizing the emotions, seething). Those who clam up are more prone to depression.

In either case, this anger is usually self-centered and idolatrous and comes from your wanting to control God but being unable to do so. God makes decisions that you don’t like; if you’re a blow-upper, you explode and make everyone’s life miserable, and if you’re a clam-upper, you internalize the anger and become full of self-pity because God is not doing things your way.

The Bible has this to say to those who become angry at the will of a sovereign God:

But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?” Romans 9:20 (NIV)

Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Job 38:2 (NLT)

Then the LORD said to Job, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” Job 40:1-2 (NLT)

The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. Psalm 24:1 (NLT)

I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. Jeremiah 17:10 (NLT)

Understand that the Bible does not prohibit becoming angry. Not all anger is sinful. The Lord Jesus Christ experienced and demonstrated anger, but in no way did He ever sin in His anger. When Jesus saw the moneychangers in the temple of God, he was filled with anger because they were violating the holiness of the temple. Their wickedness filled Jesus with a righteous indignation and drove Him to action.

He looked around at them angrily, because he was deeply disturbed by their hard hearts. Mark 3:5 (NLT)

Like Jesus, you are able to express righteous anger. Righteous anger is justified when we see social or personal evils, or when we see God’s holy standards being violated. This kind of anger does not have its root in “self” because the one being sinned against is God and His standards and principles, not you and me. That, however, is rarely the kind of anger we demonstrate.

Curing the Angry Heart

Don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.Ephesians 4:26 (NLT)

God has not asked us to do something He has not equipped us to do. Since God’s Word says “Be angry but don’t sin,” it must be possible to do just that. The encouraging truth is that you do not have to sin when you’re angry. The heart change begins when you acknowledge before God that you struggle with sinful anger; simply confessing it to God. You might pray a prayer similar to this:

Dear gracious Father, I confess to You that I struggle with sinful anger, and Lord, that I sin deeply in my anger. Help me to see this sin the way You see it. I confess to you that I have hurt others by my angry words and actions. I ask You to give me the courage to confess my sin to those I have hurt and to seek their forgiveness. By Your grace, dear Lord, I commit to changing my ways. Help me to overcome this sinful pattern in my life. I choose to put off my sinful anger and to learn and practice new behaviors by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank You for the forgiveness that is mine through the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Now you must begin to renew your mind by studying what Scripture says regarding anger. Consider the biblical commands we are given regarding anger:

But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Colossians 3:8 (NIV)

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Ephesians 4:31 (NIV)

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. James 1:19-20 (NIV)

Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the LORD to handle the matter. Proverbs 20:22 (NLT)

These are not mere suggestions; these are commands from a holy God! Anger is a sin that leads to other sins, including wrath, envy, jealousy, and murder. Put these things away from you!

Initially you may wrestle with your thoughts and emotions because you have learned a habit, or pattern of response. It will take some time for you to master new responses, but take heart. You can see change beginning today!

If you are accustomed to blowing up when you’re angry, you must learn to enact new responses that will direct the energy of anger toward fixing the problem instead of using your anger to hurt people and objects.

If you typically clam up or bury your anger, you must begin to appropriately verbalize what has caused you to become angry and then take steps to correct the problem. At first you may find it difficult to respond appropriately to anger, but it will become easier as you grow in your understanding of the righteous responses to anger and as you continue to practice the right responses. There may be many failures at first, but don’t be discouraged my friend! God is a patient and loving Father, and He will bring you many opportunities to succeed.

I would also encourage you to grow in your understanding of the sovereignty of God. God is completely trustworthy and is completely aware of the circumstances that caused you to become angry. As you gain even a rudimentary understanding of the sovereignty of God, it will totally revolutionize your thinking. You will begin to understand that true wisdom comes from looking at life from God’s perspective. When you do this you take yourself out of the center of your universe.

Here’s a challenge: look again at the list on “rights” and write down to what you believe you have a “right”. Then see how many of the rights on the list you can righteously back up with Scripture. This exercise is often the key to assisting my counselees in understanding sinful thinking.

You too can experience heart change in your response to anger. If you choose not to deal with your sinful anger, it will not simply go away. Anger becomes more deeply entrenched and leads us to the next sinful heart attitude: bitterness.

1Mack, Wayne. A Homework Manual for Biblical The Angry Counselors, Vol 1I (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co.).

Ganschow, Julie. Seeing Depression through the Eyes of Grace (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2006).

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voidandradiance · 2 years ago

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Admitinly I wasn’t on tumblr post 2014 at the time and the whole dear fern and bts crew on tumblr thing is something I hear told in passing as a sort of cautionary tale so I am very curious as to the context of it’s that bad

christ almighty. the dear "fern" mess was this anon that i got sent after making a post criticizing the dumbass writing choices in isles. my friends and i all lost our fucking minds. the maintag was in shambles for like three days bc we were clowning on it so hard, especially because we were 99.9% certain it was From A Certain Writer.

for context, though, you have to understand that the slightest criticisms of isles from any fans had been met with melodrama from the writers about how we were "tumblr haters" who "just like being mean". THEY MADE US SIT THROUGH CONNECT FOUR, IN MINECRAFT, AGAINST A LITERAL CHICKEN NPC, FOR TWO HOURS. THEY ADDED ANOTHER GOD FOR NO REASON. SOME CRITICISM WAS WARRANTED.

anyway. my tumblr posts got vagued by bts crew more than once, both on tumblr itself and in the official isles discord. so did everyone else's. ive been followed, unfollowed, blocked, unblocked, and reblocked by various bts crew members on here. im so glad that i can be a cautionary tale to never maintag shit ever or else your childhood hero might embarrass themself in your tumblr notes.

#late 2020 mianite tumblr was insane bro idk what to tell you

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apenitentialprayer · 3 years ago

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O almighty and eternal God, who throughout all the world made in blessed Pope John a living, radiant example of Christ the Good Shepherd, grant us, we ask, through his intercession, we may be enabled to pour out an abundance of Christian charity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

The Church is the Most Loving Mother of All (An Address In Solemn Inauguration of the Second Vatican Council)

Today, Venerable Brethren, is a day of joy for Mother Church: through God's most kindly providence the longed-for day has dawned for the solemn opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, here at St. Peter's shrine. And Mary, God's Virgin Mother, on this feast day of her noble motherhood, gives it her gracious protection. Certain it is that the critical issues, the thorny problems that wait upon man's solution, have remained the same for almost twenty centuries. And why? Because the whole of history and of life hinges on the person of Jesus Christ. Either men anchor themselves on Him and His Church, and thus enjoy the blessings of light and joy, right order and peace; or they live their lives apart from Him; many positively oppose Him, and deliberately exclude themselves from the Church. The result can only be confusion in their lives, bitterness in their relations with one another, and the savage threat of war. In these days, which mark the beginning of this Second Vatican Council, it is more obvious than ever before that the Lord's truth is indeed eternal. Human ideologies change. Successive generations give rise to varying errors, and these often vanish as quickly as they came, like mist before the sun. The Church has always opposed these errors, and often condemned them with the utmost severity. Today, however, Christ's Bride prefers the balm of mercy to the arm of severity. She believes that, present needs are best served by explaining more fully the purport of her doctrines, rather than by publishing condemnations. Not that the need to repudiate and guard against erroneous teaching and dangerous ideologies is less today than formerly. But all such error is so manifestly contrary to rightness and goodness, and produces such fatal results, that our contemporaries show every inclination to condemn it of their own accord—especially that way of life which repudiates God and His law, and which places excessive confidence in technical progress and an exclusively material prosperity. It is more and more widely understood that personal dignity and true self-realization are of vital importance and worth every effort to achieve. More important still, experience has at long last taught men that physical violence, armed might, and political domination are no help at all in providing a happy solution to the serious problems which affect them. The great desire, therefore, of the Catholic Church in raising aloft at this Council the torch of truth, is to show herself to the world as the loving mother of all mankind; gentle, patient, and full of tenderness and sympathy for her separated children. To the human race oppressed by so many difficulties, she says what Peter once said to the poor man who begged an alms: "Silver and gold I have none; but what I have, that I give thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk." (Acts 3:6) In other words it is not corruptible wealth, nor the promise of earthly happiness, that the Church offers the world today, but the gifts of divine grace which, since they raise men up to the dignity of being sons of God, are powerful assistance and support for the living of a more fully human life. She unseals the fountains of her life-giving doctrine, so that men, illumined by the light of Christ, will understand their true nature and dignity and purpose. Everywhere, through her children, she extends the frontiers of Christian love, the most powerful means of eradicating the seeds of discord, the most effective means of promoting concord, peace with justice, and universal brotherhood.

(emphases added)

#Catholicism #Christianity #Vatican II #Pope John XXIII #prayers #collects #Ecclesia

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guiltywisdom · 3 years ago

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Idk how you do that, any little crictism sends me into an anxious mess.. thank you, that helps, but with that i gotta ask,, Messy area. But thats one thing ive been struggling with actually is, not Trinity, but Christ's dual nature, i dont understand the big words the fathers use or even modren theologians or how that "logically" makes sense and i know alot hinges on it so it stresses me out.. Trinity? i think i get it. Two natures in one body unconfused? How,, book reccs are cool too - c

Honestly theologians have been struggling with the duel natures of Christ since the beginning; it has caused many a heresy over the years. In fact I suggest looking into said heresies because understanding why they are heretical might aid you; by knowing what Christ Jesus is not, one might know what Christ is actually.

The word we use to describe Christ’s nature is “hypostatic union” and the most basic explanation of it is that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. He is both perfectly divine and perfectly human, having two complete and distinct natures at once. This is often called “the ultimate paradox”, how can a being that is fully divine also be fully human?

The Athanasian Creed states that "He is God from the essence of the Father, begotten before time; and he is human from the essence of his mother, born in time; completely God, completely human, with a human soul and human flesh; equal to the Father as regards to divinity, less than the Father as regards to humanity. Although he is God and human, Christ is not two, but one. He is one, however, not by his divinity being turned into flesh, but by God's taking humanity to himself. He is one, certainly not by the blending of his essence, but by the unity of his person. For just as one human is both human soul and flesh, so too the one Christ is both God and human."

The Athanasian Creed is on shaky ground in some parts due to it’s disputed authorship but let us look at it in detail anyway.

He is one, certainly not by the blending of his essence, but by the unity of his person.

They share the same qualities, attributes, characteristics and “essence” so all three Persons are simultaneously and equally, but mysteriously, the one true God. Jesus is the man which the Son and Word of God has become.

Does that make sense? It’s all very...mysterious I guess.

As for criticism, first of all I have a sense of humor; secondly, atheists are great learning opportunities. Speaking generally a lot of Christians cannot laugh at themselves, that’s a major flaw I think. As my father says “God has a sense of humor.” and that is one of many things we should strive for. When an atheist mentions something you cannot answer, take the opportunity to look into the question.

A recurring one I see so often repeated by atheists and poorly answered by Protestants is the issue of Pharaoh and his “hardened heart.” since it purportedly breaks the idea of “free will” and thus brings us back again to the Problem of Evil. They struggle to reply to the atheist and the atheist declares “checkmate”. Meanwhile Orthodoxy has already answered the question.

Saint Maximus the Confessor responds “The Lord Almighty is the sun of justice. His goodness pours out as rays of light on everybody without distinction...Those who love the Lord and make it known to Him have souls like wax. Their hearts are gentle and tender...Others love material goods....They love matter, which is basically clay or mud. And it has its effect on their hearts. Just as the softhearted develop souls that are like wax, ever softening as they age, so the ones who by nature worship the earth and material things, their minds set far from God, their hearts are hardened like mud...God the Creator can continue the process of creating His likeness, molding and shaping the soul that responds to light and warmth with a welcoming pliability.”

To summarize, God is like the sun and he shines on everyone’s hearts without distinction. Those who are good have hearts of wax and can be molded by God. Those who have sin in their hearts have hearts of clay. When God’s love shines down on those hearts of clay, they harden. It is not God’s intention to harden hearts, merely a consequence of his love and their sinful ways.

If an atheist had never mentioned this issue I may not have known to search for an answer. A Christian may not have thought to bring this issue up or may have brushed it away with thought-stopping techniques. Instead I got to learn something fascinating about God and it let’s me know Him in a whole new way. Be inquisitive, it pays off.

For more on the Incarnation by the OCA

For more on the pharaoh defense by the OCA

For a simpler version of the pharaoh defense with colorful language

#replies #asks

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graciousheaven · 3 years ago

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WHAT DOES FEAR DO TO US

Fear is a feeling we all experience in life. It usually streams from the uncertainty that gnaws our minds whenever we face a difficult situation or when there is a threat to our wellbeing and safety. Fear can also be induced by worry about the potential consequences our choices or decisions may have on our future - this is the fear of the unknown, triggered by the fact that we do not see the future, and no one knows what tomorrow has in store. Although human beings can make projections and plans, one can never affirm with certitude that everything will turn out exactly as planned. For the Lord alone rules over all He made - as the Scripture says, "You may make plans, but God directs your actions." (Proverbs 16:9). We never know what tomorrow will look like. But the one thing we do know is that every day brings its load of troubles.

Although suffering and hardship are part of our life, just the thought of these often fills people with fear and anxiety. But many people are unaware of the dangerous consequences fear can have on their lives. Knowing the damage that fear can cause to us, our Lord commands us not to let fear be part of our lives but to instead trust in Him. The Lord says in Isaiah 41:10, “Do not be afraid – I am with you! I am your God – let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you.”

Depending on their situations, people may experience different types of fear: fear of failing, fear of being criticized, fear of reprisal, fear of getting hurt, fear of rejection or persecution, fear of losing someone or something etc. Every type of fear can have a dangerous effect on our spiritual life. Sometimes people do things that violate the will of God by fear of others. It is usually the case when there is certain dominance and oppression going on: the oppressed does not have the freedom to do what is right because at any time they may get hurt either emotionally or physically by their oppressors. They fear for their lives and so choose to satisfy the will of these instead of obeying God's commands.

The Lord says in Matthew 10:28, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell."

We can also experience fear when exposed to a new environment. This is where uncertainty kicks in and fills our brain with fear – fear of the unknown - because we are concerned about the view other people may have of our person. The thought that our actions can be misunderstood by them or that they may not like us makes us tremble with fear. Do everything for God's glory and trust Him in all you do. Never be afraid of losing your face when you seek God's glory in what you are called to do. Psalms 25:12 tells us: “Those who have reverence for the Lord will learn from Him the path they should follow.” "Reverence for the Lord gives confidence and security to a man and his family. [...] Reverence for the Lord is a fountain of life." (Proverbs 14:26-27)

There are also circumstances where, although the environment is not new to us, we may not be sure how others are going to interpret our actions; we have no clue how they are going to react towards us and fear surrounds us. This type of fear can sometimes lead us into wrongdoing. It is very important for us to always seek to do the will of the Lord and to trust ourselves to Him in order to avoid being caught in sinful actions. The Scripture says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way.” (Proverbs 3:5-6). “With faithfulness and love He leads all who keep his covenant and obey his commands.” (Psalms 25:10)

One can experience fear - fear of death- when diagnosed with an incurable or deadly disease. Oftentimes, people give up fighting. No matter what you are suffering from, never give up the fight. The Scripture tells us: "Your will to live can sustain you when you are sick, but if you lose it, your last hope is gone." (Proverbs 18:14). People also experience fear when their beliefs or opinions are seen by others differently. Some people do not have the courage, for example, to affirm their faith in Christ because of fear of being rejected, insulted or persecuted. But as Christians, you should not let fear win you hearts. "For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God's children, and by the Spirit's power we cry out to God, 'Father! my Father!' God's spirit joins Himself to our spirits to declare that we are God's children. Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings He keeps for his people, and we will also posses with Christ what God has kept for Him; for if we share Christ's suffering, we will also share his glory." (Romans 8:15-17). We should always look up to Christ our Lord - in Him we find peace and assurance, in Him we find joy and safety. Christ is the Hope of all glory. He tells us in John 14:27, "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid."

We are not to fear the world or its threats and violence against us. Otherwise we may find ourselves seeking to please it and trying to conform ourselves to its standards. We must submit ourselves to the will of God and do what pleases Him even if that costs us our lives. Our goal is not to please the world but to live as God's commands us to; we are to seek his glory. So do not let fear steal your peace and drive you away from the right path. Be hopeful in the Lord at all times and trust yourself to Him and do not be discouraged by the way people treat you. The Lord our Saviour says through his Apostle Peter: “Even if you should suffer for doing what is right, how happy you are! Do not be afraid of anyone, and do not worry. But have reverence for Christ in your hearts, and honour Him as Lord. Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect. Keep your conscience clear, so that when you are insulted, those who speak evil of your good conduct as followers of Christ will be ashamed of what they say. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if this should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:13-17). Our Lord also says in Matthew 10:38-39, "Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it."

There are also circumstances where people experience the fear of being abused or disgraced and accept to do things that defile God's commands. People who struggle to counter the waves of emotional abuse that they constantly face for example experience fear in their lives; they are filled with anxiety. People also experience fear when facing a situation where there is a risk that things could escalate and potentially expose them to harm. This happens for example when there is instability where we live. We all experience fear many times in life, although our Lord told us not to worry. People often worry about their belongings or their lives. Our belongings cannot save us - we are not to depend on them or to envy anything that belongs to the world. Our Lord commands us in Philippians 4:8, "Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable." For "the world and everything in it that people see and want is passing away. but those who do the will of God live for ever." (1 John 2:17). And there is nothing one can do to change the number of days allotted to them by the Lord. No one can oppose God's plans, whether these bring them suffering or rejoicement. Our destiny was set by the Lord our God long time before time even began. Fear can never make a change to it; it instead adds to our load of troubles. Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians: "Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

It is always dangerous to let fear fill our heart: when people are afraid to stand for their rights for example, they let others stand in their way and sometimes accept to do things that contradict God's will. Take for instance someone in an abusive relationship - in this situation the choices of the abused are narrowed down and restricted to the sole expectations laid upon them by their abuser. In order to satisfy this, the abused may do things that violate God's commands. If you are a victim of bully, persecution or any form of abuse, remember what the Lord says. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

The Lord Almighty is the one to be feared. But the one thing many people fail to understand is what it means to fear the Lord.

When we talk about fear of the Lord, we need to understand that it is a healthy fear, not in the same sense that we fear a danger. It is about having reverence for the Lord, to honour Him by making sure that all we do, our thoughts and lifestyle are acceptable to God. It means to stand in awe of the Lord, to obey his teachings, to worship only Him, to honour his Holy name, to live for his glory because the Lord alone is God; He is holy and He created us for this purpose - to bring glory to his holy name.

Fear of the Lord keeps us in obedience to God's commands - as the Scripture says, "Whoever fears the Lord walks upright, but those who despise Him are devious in their ways." (Proverbs 14:2). A God-fearing person strives to please the Lord in all they do; they put their trust in the Lord and remain faithful to Him. They do not think up evil; instead, they align their actions, their deeds and thoughts with what the Lord requires of them. They avoid to do things that can stir up the Lord’s anger. They are confident and hopeful in the Lord; fear does not subdue their hearts.

The Lord knows what we are made of and what impact fear can have on our lives. He told us not to let anything terrify us and not to fear human beings like us. In John 14:27 the Lord says: “Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.”

Unfortunately, we often let fear overwhelm our hearts. There are times where we do not make good decisions because of fear. Fear influences our judgement and often leads us into wrongdoing. This happens for example when people worry about what others might say or think about them being in a specific situation: they do not want others to see their failure or their inability to afford something; they do not want to be judged or despised. As a result, they succumb to the temptation while trying to make things look attractive in the sight of others. The Scripture tells us: "It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the Lord, you are safe." (Proverbs 29:25)

Fear can also divert people from the path of life. We see people for example who are more concerned about their career or business that they have no time for Christ. People chase their dreams and spend zero time with God because they worry about tomorrow.

The Lord says in Matthew 12:34, "Do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings." Trust in the Lord at all times; seek his guidance and wisdom.

Fear can restrain us or push us too early into action: there are moments where we act too early because of fear and mess things up and the impact is irreversible. Because of fear king Saul acted foolishly and sinned against God when the Philistines assembled to fight the Israelites at Michmash. Samuel had instructed Saul: "You will go ahead of me to Gilgal, where I will meet you and offer burnt sacrifices and fellowship sacrifices. Wait there until I come and tell you what to do." (1 Samuel 10:8)

"Saul was still at Gilgal, and the people with him were trembling with fear. He waited seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him to do, but Samuel still had not come to Gilgal. The people began to desert Saul, so he said to them, 'Bring me the burnt sacrifices and the fellowship sacrifices.' He offered a burnt sacrifice, and just as he was finishing, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and welcome him, but Samuel said, 'What have you done?' Saul answered, 'The people were deserting me, and you had not come when you said you would; besides that the Philistines are gathering at Michmash. So I thought, 'The Philistines are going to attack me here at Gilgal, and I have not tried to win the Lord's favour.' So I felt I had to offer a sacrifice.' 'That was a foolish thing to do,' Samuel answered. 'You have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. If you had obeyed, He would have let you and your descendants rule over Israel for ever. But now your rule will not continue. Because you have disobeyed Him, the Lord will find the kind of man He wants and make him ruler of his people." (1 Samuel 13:7-14)

Many people experience a similar fate in their lives; not that of a dethroned king, but that of someone who rushes to find a rapid solution when troubles rush in. They do not have the patience to wait for the Lord to fight for them because they are afraid to lose. And by doing so they sin against the Lord and ruin all what God has in store for them. It is important for us to always draw a clear line between our fear and our judgment. What we see or think may not necessarily concord with the reality. We need to rely on the Lord for help whenever we face trouble; we should not let fear lead us to sin. One thing we must know is that the Devil likes to fill our minds with lies that strike our hearts with such feelings as fear, doubt and worry in order to make us lose faith in Christ.

The Lord says in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to Me, and I will answer you; I will tell you wonderful and marvellous things that you know nothing about.” What a promise!

There are also moments where we take action to deal with a situation, but we do not choose the right time to act all because of fear. We steer the wheel to turn right or left way before we reach the turning point, which simply means the fear causes us to act too early, but later on when real troubles emerge we are unable to counter them.

Fear can also lead to passiveness in the face of a danger, which often has a painful outcome. We ought to know that even if our life is as stake we should never violate God's commands by remaining passive. When we abstain from doing the right thing because we want to remain alive, we sin against God. As the Scripture says, "Those who do not do the good they know they should do are guilty of sin." (James 4:17) And our Lord also tells us in Matthew 16:25, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

There is passiveness when people abstain from taking action, although they are aware it would be the right thing to do. Passiveness in certain circumstances can be reinforced by the fear that any attempt to conform ourselves to the will of God may encourage our enemy to harm us. It is the case for example in any relationship where someone is in emotional distress because of the abuse they face, but are unwilling to take action because they may risk their life or that of their loved ones. They are afraid to do what is right in God's sight because they have been threatened or blackmailed by their abuser.

This situation also applies to any given circumstances where a person is forced to do unlawful tasks for someone else's benefit. The threats they receive increase the fear they experience. The abuser, knowing the vulnerability of their victim expose them to more harm and force them to do things that violate God's commands.

Whatever situation you face in life, always obey God's commands, keep your hopes in the Lord and trust in Him. Do not let fear lead you into damnation. As the Bible tells us, "Obey the Lord, and you will live longer. The wicked die before their time. The hopes of good people lead to joy, but wicked people can look forward to nothing." (Proverbs 10:27-28) "Happy is the person who honours the Lord, who takes pleasure in obeying his commands." (Psalms 112:1)

Fear can do us more harm than we think. We should never let the Devil strike our minds with his lies. Such lies fill our hearts with fear. We always need to remember what the Lord our God told us. There is no other remedy for fear but Christ - nothing in this life, no human being can dissipate our fear. Only in Christ can one find safety and comfort. Turn to Him for safety. The Lord our God says: “Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

The Lord rules supreme over all creation. The wicked may grow strong but the Lord destroys them all; no one is above his power. The Lord is constantly there to help us when we call to Him. When we put our trust in God, our fears dash away; they do not have a hold on us because our Lord surrounds us with his own peace. The Lord says: "Call to Me in times of troubles; I will save you, and you will praise Me." (Psalms 50:15) The Lord is our refuge. We need not fear any danger. Every day of our life brings its own challenges and it is only by trusting our Lord that we can overcome fear. Christ alone is our strength – when we are weak the Lord is strong; He fights our battles. He never lets us down – from his throne in Heaven, the Lord constantly watches over us. He knows our worries and all what we go through. When we humble ourselves and let his mighty hands guide us in life, the Lord Almighty drowns our fears and walks us through oceans waves; He fills us with confidence, hope, strength and happiness and surrounds us with peace.

Whether you are in a situation of uncertainty or there is a change required to reshape your life but you are filled with fear and anxiety; whether you are going through episodes of emotional distress, coupled with threats to your life and that of your loved ones; whatever trial you face in life, do not be afraid! Trust yourself to the Lord and He will always be with you – "The Lord is with you as long as you are with Him. If you look for Him, He will let you find Him, but if you turn away, He will abandon you." (2 Chronicles 15:2)

The Lord promised to always be with us if we honour Him and obey his commands. What a treasure!

As the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “If God is with us, who can be against us? Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below – there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31, 35, 38-39)

Never let people use you against your will to do dirty things because you are scared to lose your life. Have reverence for the Lord. Do not let fear imprison you and bring damnation upon your soul because you want to please men. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot afterwards do anything worse." Says the Lord in Luke 12:4

Trust yourself to the Lord, honour Him and be faithful to Him. Seek Him, cry out to Him.

"Whoever goes to the Lord for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty, can say to Him, 'You are my defender and protector. You are my God; in You I trust.' He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases. He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you. You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight. A thousand may fall dead beside you, ten thousand all round you, but you will not be harmed. You will look and see how the wicked are punished." (Psalms91:1-8)

“Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that He will lift you up in his own time. Leave all your worries with Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)

#danger of fear #do not be afraid #effect of fear #dangerous fear #fear of the Lord #fear the Lord #live without fear #how to fight fear #sermon on fear #sermon on tumblr #graciousheaven #what does the bible say about fear #what is fear

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dennisgilmour · 4 years ago

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Looking for comments/debate about www.theoriginofgod.com

I wish to start debate/discussion around new unique ideas I have to credibly combine the only two explanations for how we all got here: evolution versus creation. However, theistic evolution just doesn't combine well with Genesis, as the 6 days of creation thing is pretty clear from many angles, and also Bible is clear death came by Adam's sin, not some wonderful life-creation force over billions of years. I am sure many credible arguments on here have been discussed on both extreme sides, or some type of theistic evolution compromise. But for many reasons, neither of these three views works for me. Neither pure evolution, or pure creation or pure theistic evolution provides enough satisfactory answers for me. I've come up with a concept, I call, as per my title, the theory of Christoevolution. I have come up with a complex story, which I admit is just a story, but I also sincerely think the Holy Spirit of God inspired me with this story/understanding. The basic gist is in another reality humans are not aware of, a reality/universe of untold trillions of years, with slightly different laws than our universe, a form of pure evolution created Jesus and His angels, and Satan and his angels, with competing philosophies about God. The spiritual war there between the two sides led to issues that are being worked out in this universe. Jesus crossed the "God-barrier" first and birthed the Almighty Jehovah Father God, or perhaps Father has always existed even for this other reality and simply revealed Himself to Christ at that point. Father and Son now work together, sharing the same Spirit, working out issues from that reality in this universe and saving everybody. Obviously, it is complicated and I can not prove this story, but I see pure evolution and pure creation is also creative storytelling in many ways. Jesus mainly told stories, parables, to explain things and I am sincere I think I am on to something, and Holy Spirit inspired, but obviously can't prove it to everybody's satisfaction at this time. So in summary, in another reality, pure evolution created warring factions, but Jesus crossed the God-barrier and "won" and became God, sort of, but the loving God now has a problem to save even the devil and demons, who God loves as well. This universe was created by pure creation, with some evidence for either side, to challenge humans to work through the spiritual issues and become God's elect. So both pure evolution and pure creation are combined in more credible fashion, IMHO, by pushing pure evolution off to another reality, where we can create a nice story to explain everything, and use our creative imaginations to say what happened. Of course, I admit I can prove none of it, but neither can any Christian or religious person totally prove his or her beliefs either, and pure evolutionary arguments for this universe have many holes and ways to knock the theory. I admit, I am a creative storyteller like Jesus, but also sincerely try to connect with Holy Spirit to come up with a comprehensive story to explain. What's the point debating fictional stories? Good question. I like good questions. Well, since we’re fictional characters in God’s fictional story of humanity, why not debate that truth and many other associated things? I think it high time the world start asking better questions instead of continuing to pretend religion and science are mutually exclusive. Both sides tell stories to fill in the gaps, but don't like to admit it. I am not naive and see that clearly. I am just better at creative storytelling, by God's sovereign design. God makes us all what we are. I desire other human author(s) to contribute ideas to my basic story, who we are all also characters in this cyber-novel, creating our own origins story, combing evolution ideas with alternate realities, Bible themes, creative imagination to continue to refine my basic story at www.theoriginofgod.com. I start the basic gist of the story here, and welcome criticism and if the criticism seems constructive, sincere, and makes good points, I will refine and change some of the story at the website and continue to do so based on good feedback with the world. It gives us something to do to both educate and inform ourselves, while we wait until open contact where the alien-gods (demons), IMHO, will say much I already reveal at the website.

"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:16, NIV) Father is like an author like Stephen King, as this verse says we are like characters in a spiritual novel, all our days written in Father's novel (book) before birth. Many of Stephen King's novels were turned into movies, so we could also be said to be like characters in a movie, thinking we have free will, but really just playing the part a sovereign Father God causes us to do. The characters in the movie, just like the characters in the novel, simply think they have free will, but really do as the author writes they will do. Just because we have dark days on earth sometimes, does not mean our author Father God is dark and twisted, as the "fictional" story of humanity might lead us to believe. Stephen King just writes dark supernatural books, but is really decent and normal fellow, if you get my spiritual drift. The world really needs to start thinking about what I am saying, as the plot of the story of humanity is about to get more interesting when the alien-gods (demons) do open contact and pretend to be our “God”.

Pentagon released fighter jet video evidence of jets chasing UFOs doing physics defying feats and admitting there is something going on, is evidence we are being prepared for open contact. If I am right, these beings will tell the very story I have come up with, because God has revealed much to me ahead of time, and everybody will have to make a choice: are these beings really our ancient alien-gods, as many believe this idea in today's world? Or are they the devil and demons out to deceive and destroy us? The implications of this choice are huge, as I hope one can imagine, and a very critical question all elect must eventually answer. Who is God? Why should I trust Him? Why should I believe Him? Why should I commit myself to crazy levels of obedience, like Christ crucified, and Peter crucified upside down, and many burned at stake in history, etc.... Is God worthy of this kind of devotion? Can we prove it? Can God prove He is God? What acceptable proof can God supply to convince all and save all? I hope to start a new debate around deeper issues than normally considered around this creation/evolution debate. Please read my link www.theoriginofgod.com for comprehensive presentation of my arguments, and start of the cyber-story about origins and what God and Satan are really up to. This pertains to every human on the planet, and so through my internet website and social media, which reaches the whole world, I invite everybody to contribute to the story as you see fit. You can post comments on this blog, and I will read and consider, and if Holy Spirit convicts me to make changes to www.theoriginofgod.com based on what you say, I will do so and give credit on the site to yourself, as the person God used to give me more insight to make the story better. Hopefully, by the time the alien-gods (demons) openly reveal themselves in public open contact, there will at least be greater awareness amongst the world about what is going on. That is my hope and desire anyway, and my motivations for trying to get this information out there. I charge nothing for my services as moderator and lead author to start this thing, which I hope becomes an avalanche of creative ideas and healthy skepticism against the powers that be, who seem to want us just to believe them and stop thinking and asking good questions. I WILL NEVER DO THAT SO LONG AS I AM HUMAN! I am the least Borg drone, it seems, because I simply CANNOT go along with the Borg-like human collective consciousness that makes shit up about origins, God, Bible, science, etc...and I am supposed to just believe it and go along? I hope to liberate the Borg collective captives, and give you FREEDOM! Freedom to know the truth, and be set free with the truth! I will die screaming FREEDOM, as Mel Gibson’s character, William Wallace, did in the movie Braveheart, before I blindly accept horse-shit in the name of Jesus or science or any other control mechanism created beings try to put on me, that has not been thoroughly tested and tried in the fires of love (God) and truth (Jesus).

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roman-catholic-mass-readings · 4 years ago

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10th November >> Mass Readings (USA)

Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

Pope Saint Leo the Great, Doctor.

Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the feria (Tuesday))

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Tuesday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

Titus 2:1-8, 11-14

We live devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of our savior Jesus Christ.

Beloved: You must say what is consistent with sound doctrine, namely, that older men should be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance. Similarly, older women should be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to drink, teaching what is good, so that they may train younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, chaste, good homemakers, under the control of their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited.

Urge the younger men, similarly, to control themselves, showing yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect, with integrity in your teaching, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be criticized, so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us.

For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 37:3-4, 18 and 23, 27 and 29

R/ The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

Trust in the Lord and do good,

that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.

Take delight in the Lord,

and he will grant you your heart’s requests.

R/ The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

The Lord watches over the lives of the wholehearted;

their inheritance lasts forever.

By the Lord are the steps of a man made firm,

and he approves his way.

R/ The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

Turn from evil and do good,

that you may abide forever;

The just shall possess the land

and dwell in it forever.

R/ The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

John 14:23

Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever loves me will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we will come to him.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Luke 17:7-10

We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.

Jesus said to the Apostles: “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

————————————

Pope Saint Leo the Great, Doctor

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Tuesday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

Sirach 39:6-11

He who studies the law of the Most High will be filled with the spirit of understanding.

If it pleases the Lord Almighty,

he who studies the law of the Most High

will be filled with the spirit of understanding;

He will pour forth his words of wisdom

and in prayer give thanks to the Lord,

Who will direct his knowledge and his counsel,

as he meditates upon his mysteries.

He will show the wisdom of what he has learned

and glory in the law of the Lord’s covenant.

Many will praise his understanding;

his fame can never be effaced;

Unfading will be his memory,

through all generations his name will live;

Peoples will speak of his wisdom,

and in assembly sing his praises.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 37:3-4, 5-6, 30-31

R/ The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.

Trust in the Lord and do good

that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.

Take delight in the Lord,

and he will grant you your heart’s requests.

R/ The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.

Commit to the Lord your way;

trust in him, and he will act.

He will make justice dawn for you like the light;

bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.

R/ The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.

The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom

and his tongue utters what is right.

The law of his God is in his heart,

and his steps do not falter.

R/ The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.

Gospel Acclamation

Mark 1:17

Alleluia, alleluia.

Come after me, says the Lord,

and I will make you fishers of men.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Matthew 16:13-19

You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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hobbitsetal · 5 years ago

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a theology of suffering

The idea for this post occurred to me a while ago when my dad taught on suffering as part of his Sunday school class, in which we’ve been going through the questions for the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors’ exam. And given life lately (and also the fact I’m at home!), this seems like an excellent time to write out what I’ve been taught.

Let me begin by saying that it is critical for Christians to have a theology of suffering--an understanding of what pain and misfortune can mean to Christians and an answer to the age-old question “why do bad things happen to good people?”

This is critical for several reasons: 1. it enables us to glorify God properly when bad things happen--the “trials and tribulations” Scripture refers to. 2. it enables us to witness to nonbelievers more effectively. If my God isn’t big enough to handle pain, then He’s no God worth following. 3. it gives us a framework for strengthening and deepening our faith. 4. when bad things happen, we’re better prepared emotionally, mentally, and spiritually to place ourselves in the Lord’s loving care.

This will get long, so I’ll put the rest under a cut, because I personally don’t care to scroll past huge blocks of text.

As with every good endeavor in Christianity, we must start with God. If we don’t understand God’s perfect love, kindness, and sovereignty, then we will never understand how suffering can be turned to our good and His glory. Each of these attributes could be a blog post in themselves (and indeed, multiple excellent theology books have been written about the attributes of God, both singly and collectively), but I’ll pull out only a few Scripture verses to illustrate them.

The Psalms contain paeans to many of God’s attributes; I think the 23rd Psalm encapsulates His care for us most famously. He gives us peace of soul, He provides for our physical needs, He offers protection. Just skimming the Psalms means reading the most gorgeous descriptions of the Almighty: “The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” (sovereignty over creation)

“Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!” (okay, i’m belaboring the point a little to say “His mercy and love”)

“I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,and will execute justice for the needy.” (This illustrates not merely His justice, but also David’s confidence in the Lord’s ability to bring justice--i.e., His power and arguably His sovereignty. He does not promise something He may not be able to give.)

1st John 4 speaks exquisitely to the love of God: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

I could very much pull out verses all day, or even better, spend weeks going through a book to give each verse its proper context, but that is not the purpose of this post. This post is to talk about suffering.

James 1 begins by telling us to “count it all joy” when we meet “trials of various kinds.” I’ll be explicit to the point of inanity in this post because I don’t want anybody to discount what they’re going through or assume God must be talking about “real” problems.

Trials may be trouble finding a good job; chronic illness; brief illness; injury; mean coworkers; false friends, mental illness (anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, dysmorphia--you name it); anguish of body, soul, or mind; painful relationships, particularly family. If something is marred by sin, if something brings us pain instead of joy, I would argue that it can be placed under the umbrella of atrial.

What’s the purpose of trials? I spoke briefly of God’s sovereignty. I mean that He is in total control of everything happens to us in our lives. No bad thing happens to us without the Lord allowing it. So why would He allow it?

Romans 8:28-29 is perhaps the most famous go-to verse for this: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

All things. The bad things we deal with (like corona virus and the loss of our jobs) are used by God to conform us to the image of His Son--to make us like Christ.

And what is Christ like? Ephesians speaks of Him as bringing peace, John rhapsodizes about His love, 1 Peter declares Him holy, Philippians says He was obedient to God even to the point of death.

1 Peter speaks of Christ’s suffering and His subsequent glories, but Peter also spoke of our suffering: “for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Suffering to test our faith--not to demonstrate to God whether we have it or not, for He knows all things and He knows the deepest corners of our hearts better than we do--but to refine and improve and prove to us that God is able to care for everything we bring to Him.

And suffering also, sometimes, to correct us and bring us back to the Lord, according to Proverbs and to Hebrews and to other passages I’m not chasing down today: “My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights,” and also

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Not all suffering is punishment, but all suffering is purposeful. And the Lord’s purposes, according to Romans 8, are always for our good, to make us more like Christ. If God truly is the Perfect Being, if He truly is wise, good, gentle, loving, merciful, just, and holy, then the best possible thing that could ever happen to us is to become like Him.

So then, the purposes of suffering:

1. to make us more like Christ, Who suffered on our behalf. 2. to deepen our faith and bring us closer to God, since in our humanity we tend to rely on ourselves and on earthly things. 3. to demonstrate to outsiders the Lord’s provision and grace in facing the same sorts of pain that all humans deal with. 4. to correct sin and to train us in righteousness.

which of these is God’s purpose in each situation? I have no idea. But He has a purpose and He chooses those purposes out of love. And these purposes are individual: I may face the same problem someone else does, but God is using that problem to sanctify me uniquely.

#theology #Christianity #esv

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makersmakings21-blog · 4 years ago

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Self-Realization - How it Can Be Achieved Within One's Life Time

Before we dwell on the subject of Self Realization we need to understand the real meaning of gaining self realization. Nowadays so many self realization centres all over the world like self realization fellowship in Seattle, self-realization Boston, Atlanta self-realization and Mt. Washington Self Realization claim to offer self realization. Before one starts on the journey of self realization... the concept of self realization must become absolutely clear.

Self realization is the process by which any human being can realize his real self. And what does this real self mean? It means that our soul (atman) within our body which is the real self within every being (and for that matter every living being) reaches the fag end of its cosmic life. Check This Out Atman

No further manifestations... this soul (atman) liberates forever from the chain of manifestations. The dross having been completely removed... our soul (atman within us) becomes free forever. It shall not be required to manifest a body again.

Does this mean that the cosmic life cycle which every soul (atman) was required to pass through after manifesting a maximum of 8.4 million manifestations and an earthly journey of 96.4 million years has come to an end? Yes, it is so! And we can safely say that one has realized his real self.

Here we need to understand the relationship between our real self, the soul (atman) and the body taken by it. Unless this relationship is absolutely clear we shall never be able to understand the true meaning of self realization. The claim by many that they have realized self is arbitrary as in the last 150 years only two persons have reached the level of self realization.

Both Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana reached the stage of self realization in their lifetime. They reached the cosmic goal of their life... gained self realization before they left their mortal frame.

Self realization is not easy to achieve! Why would God the Almighty make the cosmic journey a long one and that too consisting of 8.4 million manifestations? It is not a simple joke. The process of self realization has to be understood in totality before one proceeds on the path of self realization within his lifetime and reaches the end.

The relationship between the soul (atman within us) and the body taken by it can be explained as follows-

Let us take a block of gold ore weighing about hundred kilograms. Let us presume it contains 1 kg of pure gold. Now this 1 kg of pure gold is the soul (atman within us) which is sandwiched between the dross (impurities) contained within the ore.

This 1 kg of pure gold cannot on its own separate out from the gold ore. It requires the requisite Machinery and the processing to separate out 1 kg of pure gold from the 99 kg of impurities contained within the ore.

Likewise every soul (atman within the body) requires a body to work out its karma and remove the dross within. As the manifestations continue... the journey of the soul which starts with taking the body of an amoeba (single cell formation) gradually evolves into higher manifestations... the multi-cell formations.

As the soul (atman) proceeds on the journey of life for it to gain self realization in the end... this multi-cell formation further evolves into insect life. With passage of time and passing of millions of years... this insect life further evolutes into plant life.

This plant life in the last leg of its manifestation evolves into animal life and finally takes the form of a human being. Already 7.3 million manifestations have passed before reaching the stage of a human being.

After having passed through such a long journey on the path of evolution... In the present life if a human being indulges in fulfilling wanton desires... it shall be made clear that such indulgences shall never lead to self realization.

Indulgences and fulfilling of wanton desires is absolutely contrary to proceeding on the path of self realization. It is only after reaching the stage of human being can a soul liberate itself forever from the cycle of birth and death... and finally reach the stage of self realization... Never before!

How lucky a human being is! It is only as human beings can one reach the stage of self realization. All the intermittent stages of heaven (Swarga) and hell (Naraka) never lead to self realization.

As clearly mentioned in the Hinduism Scriptures... even in the stage of a human being there are about 11 million types of manifestations. It is a long journey before one rarely reaches the stage of self realization.

We must really understand that self realization is not a goal of life... it is the end of the journey itself. After having reached the stage of self realization... every self realized soul has but to leave for the abode of God (Baikuntha as we call it in Hinduism).

All man gods like Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed gained self realization in their lifetime... they cleared all the hurdles and reached the pinnacle of their cosmic life. The life for them had come full circle. Beyond self realization there is nothing left to be achieved in the whole of Cosmos.

Call it self realization or enlightenment... the moment one reaches this stage... there is nothing more which can be achieved further. It is after self realization when one leaves the mortal frame for ever... the process is known as having achieved salvation (moksha in Hinduism).

In short simple steps I shall define how self realization can be achieved by any human being...

Before we reach the stage of self realization we need to gain absolute control over the senses and the mind. The control of the senses and the mind can be established by practicing yoga in the Shavasana pose and also Neti as practiced and advocated by Maharishi Ramana.

The Shavasana pose in yoga and the process of Neti is a sure shot path to gaining self realization within ones lifetime. Slowly and steadily one reaches the stage of Nirvikalpa samadhi! This is the stage when one comes face to face with God the Almighty.

Having reached the stage of Nirvikalpa samadhi... gaining self realization is not far! We also need to practice absolute celibacy for a continuous period of 12 years minimum... this is an absolute must!

Those who dare not practiced celibacy... must leave the desire for ever gaining self realization within ones lifetime. It is just not possible. Practice of celibacy and that too absolute... Is a must! It has to be practiced at all costs.

Sexual indulgences have no place in the field of self realization. We have to preserve our cosmic energies... the monthly quota given to us by God failing which the awakening of the kundalini can never occur. Sexuality and self realization are absolutely contradictory.

Whatever was practiced by Acharya Rajneesh (nee Osho) was in total contradiction to the established practice of gaining self realization. Practicing sex and yoga is a taboo... if we ever need to reach the stage of self realization in this life... we have to stop our indulgence in sexual practices altogether.

The awakening of the kundalini carries with it the absolute guarantee of one having reached the stage of self realization. It is only after the kundalini is fully awakened does one reach the stage of self realization. The full-bloom has to occur... there is no escape whatsoever!

For the awakening of the kundalini... preserving and transmuting the cosmic energies to creative uses is a must. This monthly quota of cosmic energy available to every man and woman is the grace of God available to every human being. Why criticize God?

I again repeat that practice of absolute celibacy on the path of self realization is the most difficult part one shall encounter. And unless the kundalini energy is fully awakened... one can never hope to reach the stage of self realization ever.

I started in search of God when I was 11 years of age... proceeding on the uncharted territory of spirituality was sometimes very scary. None to guide... it took me almost 25 years before I gained self realization at the age of 37.

It was the most glorious moment of my life as the life itself had come full circle... everything contained in the Cosmos... every scripture belonging to every religion was now like ABCD to me. Reaching the stage of self realization just cannot be expressed in words. Self realization has to be experienced.

Having reached the stage of self realization... God has forbid me to earn money other than fulfilling my basic needs. I have maintained my body until the time I am able to disseminate those pearls of wisdom which I have gained with the grace of God on the path of self realization!

God has been graceful to me all throughout... imparting the sacred wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita to the world community through the medium of Internet is the present aim of my life.

The doctrine of the Bhagavad Gita imparted by Lord Sri Krishna to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra contains those pearls of wisdom knowing which every human being becomes entitled to gaining self realization within ones lifetime!

#Atman #Brahman #Shakti #Yoga #Hindu #Buddha

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