Month: August 2021

The double-edged gaze

eejoseph, , , , , ,

The effect of staring at someone or something is not far from actually socially mixing with that person or thing.  Gazing is an iconic activity from the desert experience of the Hebrew people narrated in Numbers 21:4-8.  Gazing becomes deadly when the accompanying mental juices are covetousness,  jealousy and envy.

Gazing gone offscript

No one can ever become all that God is. The prospect would destroy divine unity and bring a profound cheapness to divine majesty.  We become Christlike to full and mature levels without ever becoming all that he is. Managing the excellent gift of a sinless record has no human contribution.  We have no blood to shed as payment for sin.

If willpower could achieve our wishes we know where we would be, what we would be doing, and who we would be with, but willpower is not designed to bring success in temporal or eternal matters.  Certainly in the fantasy world there is that deadly gaze: lots of people gazing at the stars of business and entertainment and changing their lives to mirror the stars’.

17) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Prolonged gazing at our peers is deadly and comes close to being similar to mingling with dogs and wondering where fleas came from. One look at the bronze serpent in the Numbers 21 episode saved lives; kept people from dying. One look at the Son of Man brings the dead to life.

Up in arms, smoke and mirrors

eejoseph, ,

God might have made a covenant with one stipulation if simplicity was his goal, but neither he nor human beings are simple in any way. With water everywhere, influenced by the moon, not Jupiter, humans are constantly phishing for holy grail, that one key that will unlock the mysteries of life and death, infertility and productivity. Much of what we have actually unleashed is armed conflict, ritual smoke, and a maze of deceptive mirrors.

Neither us nor them

It is rare to find ourselves in the company of people who have a moral standard that exceeds the popular and familiar. Pharisee righteousness, believed to be a strict adherence to the Mosaic legacy, is discredited beyond repair. Xenophobia and misogyny have no attraction to an enlightened mind because they represent the juvenile stage of discovering God’s global agenda. You are barking up the wrong tree if you thought that God’s revelation had to do with a small group of people in a small nation in the middle East. God has shown that he is no bigot. Neither Israel, Judah, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, or any of the world-ruling powers have gotten away with fudging the roadmap of civic society. For many of these entities the national treasures are utter abominations. The closest thing to a competitor is the field of worship was the Samaritan tradition, the study of which reveals that God has no preference for either a Samaritan or a Jewish mountain.

Mountain talk is cheap

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

John 4:21

Teach us to read, do not tell us what to believe

We know full well who cannot be trusted. All all of the prophets were persecuted and assaulted by the people who say they know God. The the people who say they are God’s people are worse than farm animals when it comes to recognizing who is the master and owner. We also know who it is that we need to trust. Trusting in human beings has never worked out, so let the pastor, the rabbi, the imam, the guru and the cardinal be very silent when we begin to talk about reliability and trustworthiness.

Did God ever say “Let the women do without”? How much progress can the human race make without women?

The use of force to silence and control others is an affront to the essential ability with which God has endowed humanity. If our children have no choice in what to believe there is no personal integrity in sight. If morality has to be inspired by laws and punishment then we must conclude that grace is the neglected jewel. Rituals and festivals are mere shadows of the real goods that are in place for the human race. Things that go up in smoke are obviously not the basis for a relationship with the Lord of the Ages.

Mirrors that show bogus images

Is it the food and drink that turns you on? Is it the confession of obedience that gives seekers of God confidence? Who is so self-absorbed as to conclude that his ancestral lifestyle meets with God’s approval? Hopefully fewer and fewer of the rulers of the present age. These are the people who are always learning and never passing a test, who always have a byway into some mysterious alley. The age of revelation has never arrived for them despite 30+ books and dozens of bona fide witnesses. Anything they say is sure to be tainted with bogus information and self-righteousness.

6) Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7) but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8) the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;

1 Corinthians 2:6-8

One quarter of believers are in no relationship with God or Christ. They are merely going through the motions of organized religion. Looking at one another for comfort and fulfillment they find nothing but deeper waterless pits. The mirrors they use are doctored to deny divine judgment and salvation.

More from the dark web

eejoseph
Death and its forgettable medium

Complete with basement grammar and threats

There will come a time when all who supported the New World Order of Globalist and Capitalist will have buyers remorse. Owners of Freedom now has to buy it back with a price; their life, their dignity and their respect.

I remember a saying “freedom comes with a price”, “there is a price to pay for freedom ” and “nothing in this world is for free”. Well the Capitalist and the Globalist are making sure humanity walk that talk.

Be careful what you keep repeating, you will end up living.

BREAKING: From September 13, New South Whales residents that are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be given new freedoms.

Residents of hotspots can leave home for an hour of recreation on top of their exercise hour, while people in other areas can meet five others outdoors.

People, especially semiliterate Christians, who have never stood up for any cause beside personal worldly benefit and who have done nothing but repeat stupid slogans and asinine soundbytes about a Judeo-Christian civilization should listen to themselves.

Intellectual Minds is a Trumpist evangelical social media group

Father, master, lord

eejoseph, ,

If in a court case you called an advocate a prosecutor you might well destroy the proceedings, yet this very thing is a prominent feature of not a few faith communities.  The essential shift in the nature of the relationship between God and humanity is that strangers and aliens become intimate and family.   In addressing God as anything other than “Father” one risks misdirecting ones affections, despises the costly provisions put in place by heaven’s commander.  The actual terms used may not precisely follow Yeshua’s guide to prayer, but when the framework of prayer is not God’s unique fatherhood we pour a whole lot of water on the fire.

Father-God is uniquely Christian

Just so there is no amount of speculation about God’s vested interest in being understood and treated as father even Christ in the Isaiah 9 prediction is called “The everlasting Father”.  The full extent of father-son unity is on display here.  The Father assigns all of his business –  creation, redemption, revelation,  and maintaining the universe –  to the Son.  Everlasting father is a role assumed to be exclusively source and progenitor.

The Tutor-Spirit keeps crying

As essential to the new relationship in which the convert finds himself or herself the Holy Spirit utters the term by which the new child of God needs to relate to the divine benefactor. How difficult can it be to hear the Spirit, who just happens to be always praying for us, crying “ABBA” and address God as Father? Even if one does not use the term father in prayer the attitude and mindset need to be domestic and ancestral.

Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Galatians 4:6

God is king but he relates to his children as distinctly as their identity and inheritance differ from those of servants (angels and ministering entities).

I suppose these pictures of the intimacy between God and his Son, God and his human children are a massive challenge to many. We have become so estranged from emulating the divine pattern of interpersonal relationships and communication that it seems strange for God to give his Son a name above all names and exalted him above the heavens. Who does that? I conclude that fatherhood in the spiritual DNA of converts to Christ. You, male or female, will have difficulty living in God’s family if you ignore the fatherly influence of the Spirit crying ABBA.

Jammed 45s and other fecal matter disturbances

eejoseph

When we look at what the leaders of our various faith communities are saying is important to us we sometimes wish they’d taken a look at what faith is supposed to accomplish. There are extremists, fundamentalists, and ultra orthodox operatives who make us think about our place in the community.  Rushing to leave a faith community is not a priority is some communities.  A wall of negative affect deters many.  In every case, however, leaders are guilty of overstating and understating what the original message was. Many do not even care what the patriarchs wrote or bequeathed.  In the Christian community we have apostles, who are quite literally the foundation of what we are and believe, who wrote the things we cannot afford to ignore or not know.  The lines of communication run straight from from Christ, to them, to us.  Miss that connection and you will end up dabbling in fecal matters and arm yourself with dull blades and malfunctioning weapons.

Jammed and useless weapons

Who would have thought that a religious leader would be proudly incapable of handling the clear, simple and lifegiving words  of the apostles?  Who would trust an imam who has no expertise in the original language of the Qur’an?

Who would have thought that a legislator, supposedly an expert in the law, would devote his energies to circumventing the law.  Isn’t that what “smart” politicians do?

Who would have thought that a head of state and commander in chief could be so cowardly as to sit sheepishly beside an avowed enemy of his and deny the facts of  foreign interference in American politics?

It is not surprising that many standing in places of leadership have no clue about the revolutionary nature of their functions.  We find them “holding the fort”, toeing the line, being radical fundamentalists, gimmick processors, isolationists, merchandisers , and preservers of ancient things. Serving people eludes too many.  They reduce God’s call and care to childish pep talks about what God can do.  The Christian faith is not a lottery of miracles,  because the benefit of faith in God’s son are not  outcomes of what is possible.  Christian faith rests on the fact of what God has done that changes everything. No whataboutism fecal  matter stands a chance.

This is war

Make no mistake.  The spiritual life is drenched in conflict and combat language.  David reported his hands as trained for war (Psalms 144:1-2) saying “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle; My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.

We are certain his bloodletting is neither lovingkindness nor fortress.  We must remember that this dude was gracious to enemies, bold to love and respect his neighbours. When the solutions are always miracles there is little gratitude for God’s design of work and rest. The world is seeing a rash of aborted projects, amid calls for revolutionary solutions, snd we know that God has confounded the wise and the powerful because they have paid little attention to the poor and needy.

Worry’s wear and tear

eejoseph, , , , ,

Alive or dead, believers are assured God’s presence. Members of the divine royal family expect to have the common experiences of the monarch. Follow me means exactly what it sounds like: get in line behind me. There are a lot of people who are bent on dodging the turns, climbs, pauses, and adversities appointed by God for our good. Worry (or concern!) about life’s situations is what moves people, but that it kills relationships, hope and people is clear from Yeshua’s admonition “Do not even start with worrying about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34)

Politics and religion are incapable of creating the world most people want. The world we inherited is a tool of uncaring and greedy people. We see them scrambling for the success of their family and their tribe. They do whatever it takes to create the appearance of their dominance.

Worry displeases God and ruins faith

That worry is simple and deadly is clear from Yeshua’s stop sign about food and drink and clothing (Matthew 6:25) and his prohibitions in verses 31 and 34. What we fear most also is entirely, like growing a centimetre, out of our control. We become fools by building ever larger warehouses while neglecting the necessary pathmaking.

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15. and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

Hebrews 2:14-15

If you thought that you could plot a worry-free path to tomorrow for yourself or children you have still the worry about today’s food, drink and clothing. It is not only the risk of hunger, thirst, and nakedness that concerns us, but the evaluation of our food, drink, and clothing by our neighbours. One “boo” from a believer and death’s terrors flees back into the shadows.

Growth’s groaning

eejoseph, , ,

This saying is popular and highly recommended.  No question lingers about its value, but we can help define the growth rates and expected outcomes.  “Together” may well mean different things to different folks, and growing is not likely to happen without some groaning with accompanying pains.

Grow

We have some “say” in our physical growth.  Mother’s milk sets that in motion and  we take that nutrition over with some level of wisdom. There are pandemic fatalities in the area of human physical development.  Growth is not without fatalities.  Some things we cherish will perish.

Growing

We are responsible for advancing our stature as imaginative workers and fun lovers. No growth in these aspects are signs of certain catastrophe. If you are a gardner, planting the same solitary fruit in exactly the same manner every season may feel like a comfortable mission, but doing so is blind to the wide world of fruit diversity, not to mention missing the potential of harvests feeding more people.

Growth

As much as we can and do increase the scope and rate of personal development we face the demands of decreasing the space between us and family  advancing our stature as imaginative workers and fun lovers.

People settle for the comfort  and placidity of togetherness. People think that personal goals and strides towards excellence should take a back seat to their spousal responsibilities. Since family is intended to reflect the creative, procreative and sovereign elements of divinity we can do ourselves a huge favour.  A spouse who decides all growing is over is a threat to togetherness and growth.

The whole creation groans

In many regards the expectations of a couple have a tough road to navigate, even with reasonable and regular discussions. People grow at different rates and healthy couple growth may need more than common faith. The passion and crucifixion of Christ contains the essential roadmap even though all they tell us when we get married is “for better or worse” and “until death parts us”. I like to think that none of us really gives up ourselves in order to have a married life. We, with difficulty, break with our parents, but a husband-to-be giving himself for his wife-to-be is rare if not unlikely. Like the heavenly Father who saw the potential in human beings before he created us, we can recognize that there is a whole lot of birthpang groaning involved in the arrival at love’s togetherness, whether that unity is the planet’s final destiny or a couple’s bliss.

Staircase

eejoseph
Please do not forget

It’s not hard to believe, it  happened right here
Many graves are telling us how little we’ve cared
Happy and innocent lives crushed by colonial fear
Happening in plain sight right beside houses of prayer

The children’s voices are loud and clear
Peace for the survivors and a readiness to hear
The children’s stories some did not believe
Stories that are the truth we must now receive

Sure you took the staircase down
Robbed us of home and school
Canada you  played the clown
Now let’s take the staircase up
From border to border to border let’s pursue
Until justice be the rule

Happier national days cone after the political game
Stops treating First Nations like objects of shame
When inhumanity and police brutality
disappear like women and children with no accountability

Comes a time to move on, is that today?
Apologize and not correct what we do or say
Let every human heart feel our neighbour’s pain
Genocide’s on our record let it never happen again