RECONNECTION :An Inclusive, Ministry of Christ

Who is God? What is Faith?

2012-01-23T08:48:00.000-05:00

Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God, then it goes on to say that Faith is believing that God is...(which for many is the easy part, I just went for a bike ride on the shore of Lake Okeechobee this morning, and watched the sun rise....I cannot deny God exists.) However the next part of the verse explains a vital part of what faith is...."and that God is a REWARDER, of those who sincerely seek Him." This latter part of Faith's definition has more to do with WHO we believe God is. For many God is a punish-er, or a distant divinity, or an object of their own failed parents projection. How many times have you heard fiery sermons on God's desire to reward you. Maybe only if you first send the preacher an offering.

I am reminded when Christ was Baptized and God the father's voice was heard from Heaven saying. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.Now surely this was not news to Christ. I don't believe he needed to hear this affirmation in order to fulfill His role in our Salvation. However Christ came to reveal to us the heart of God. This day God revealed, his love for his children and his desire to show himself as a loving parent who delights in his children. Christ many times compared God to us as parents and he said over and over, "if you do this for your children, How much more will God the father......" My prayer is that you would allow the Voice of the Father to speak to your heart this morning, " You are my beloved child I am pleased with you."

Now you are probably like me and would think, well I know there are things in my life that surely do not please God. However as a Dad myself of two wonderful teens, that I love and delight in very much, I still recognize that are not fully who they will grow up to be. But that does not stop my love and delight for who they are now. God desires to walk with us as we grow into the men and women he has created us to be. We haven't arrived, but the journey is much better when we can delight in the love and delight of our Heavenly Father who is committed to giving us everything we need for life.

GOD IS FOR US NOT AGAINST US!

Peace!

Fresh starts

2012-01-16T07:13:00.001-05:00

This morning I am sitting on the back porch with a cup of coffee watching the sun come up over the water.....what a great way to start the day......loving the new place!

Watching the day come alive reminds me that living in the Now is living in the rebirth and freshness of all that God is! Each moments comes full of hope and opportunity for the fulfillment of all that is good and God. Embrace this moment, welcome the presence of God in the now to bring about the fullness of the miracles of life!

- Posted by a fellow sojourner from his mobile office

2011-11-02T09:37:00.005-04:00

Today I was reading an email newsletter, What is "Being" a Christian?
Part 2 WHAT'S IN A NAME? by D.E.PAULK and it got me thinking. My spirit really resonated with the phrase, " Let this mind be in you" which pastor Paulk quotes from Philippians 2: 5.

This is what made Jesus the "Christ", we worship. This is what set him apart. It was because he let the Mind of Christ or God be and live through Him. As Christians, we are supposed to follow his example.

Like most, my mind can get carried away and go to all kinds of places. Whether it is places of worry and stress due to finances, or fear of being alone and not finding that life long partner to share my life with or whether it is that my daughter has just turned 16 and is starting to drive and date. It also can get carried about by the bigger questions, of mortality, faith and what is the meaning of life. Thankfully Apple has now created SIRI and she has answered the last question for me.

Scripture teaches that there is a "secret place". This a place of stillness, a place of peace. It is found in the present moment, when one gets quiet from all the endless mind noise that makes up much of our lives and gets still and becomes aware of the presence of God within.

In these moments we become aware that we are much more than our minds, bodies or even this life. We are eternal like our creator. We are loved and we are love. We can rise above the Ego of our false lives and allow the mind and heart of God transform us. This is what Christ meant when he said to deny ourselves. He meant don't live your life from the brokenness of this life. The labels, baggage and burdens this life has put on you. But allow God to reveal to you your true nature and essence, and lift you up and set you in a better place.

Our Deepest Fear

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson

What's Next..Giants, Storms and Traffic Lights (Part 2 of the Human Condition)

2011-06-17T10:12:00.005-04:00

In the last post we looked at the Human Condition as it relates to our lack of connected-ness to God and our true selves. This disconnect leads to a life of discontentment, disillusionment and a life devoid of meaning. We seek out things, relationships and distractions just to get us through. This is not life but simply going through the motions of life. When in fact, we are created to enjoy life and live with purpose and creativity.

In today's post, I want to look at what is spirituality? This question could get a different answer for each person you ask, however, My purpose today is not to get an all inclusive answer to this question but rather, boil it down to a simple practical answer that can easily be applied to someone's life. I leave the deep questions,to others who are more qualified than I, to dive into the "Big Questions".

For me spirituality is simply being connected to spirit. This would be connected to God and also being connected to the true person or essence of our own spirit. This connection in turn lends itself to touching and impacting every area of our life and the lives around us. I am not promoting some kind of mega, super spiritual life that makes one "so heavenly minded they are not earthly good".

True spirituality is useful in life, even in the small moments that may seem to be mundane, Today, I read a quote that makes this point, “Life’s what happens while you’re waiting for the light to change.”

There are times when we need to reevaluate our belief systems. This is necessary when our life is not helped but hindered by the personal truths we hold or have had passed down to us. In my life, I found myself facing a "crisis of faith or spirituality" when what I believed, (my personal truth) was not able to meet the challenges and struggles of my life. Namely, my 36 year struggle with my sexuality. Although this was the scariest time in my life and spiritual journey, it was also when my journey of discovery really began. I have ministered over the years with many people who are held captive by their beliefs, and who live miserable lives trying to reconcile what they believe with what is their life experience. My religion failed me miserable, however the crime of it was that I equated my beliefs with God. What I discovered is God is much bigger than beliefs, religion, sacred books, or creeds and doctrines. It wasn't God who failed me but my religion. This is a truth that surely set me free and began my journey of self and God discovery.

I am not anti- church or religion. Both of these can serve a valuable service to a seeker. However if what you believe does not meet the challenges of life and does not serve to help you draw closer to God and a healthy spiritual life, then it is time for to reevaluate what you believe. Our Faith should be relevant to life and the challenges of today. The church and it's followers must be willing to grow and evolve in light of the reality around us. After all the world was never flat, it was only our understanding that needed to change.

Spirituality is about all of life, not just the great moments. Spiritual life can have great events of excitement and Ecstasy. Like in the life of Christ with at transfiguration, or when the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. However even Christ had to face the challenges of everyday life. Here is when my traffic light example may not work, but I am sure we got held up at an intersection waiting on a caravan of camels or a herd of sheep. God not only wants to be a part of our life in the big challenges but God will even fill our lives with God's presence at the smaller "traffic light moments.

Make it a practice to invite God's presence (Spirit) into all moments of your life, especially moments of depression, doubt, despair and difficulty. These are times when we are tempted to disconnect, and turn to distractions, but it is when we need to purposely connect with Spirit. Also take times, to focus on spirit throughout the day, it is a great way to start and end the day, but I take spirit breaks throughout my day as well.

I hope this article has given you some practical thoughts that ideas that will be helpful.

TheOOZE beta | evolving spirituality. » Concrete Thinking (by David Edgren)

2011-06-17T10:11:00.000-04:00

TheOOZE beta | evolving spirituality. » Concrete Thinking (by David Edgren)

Steve McSwain: How to Know God Beyond Organized Religion

2011-06-16T18:09:00.000-04:00

Steve McSwain: How to Know God Beyond Organized Religion

The Human Condition

2011-06-16T13:11:00.004-04:00

We are in a unique condition as Human Beings. When we understand this twofold description of "Being Human" it helps put perspective and direction in our lives. Our Being-ness is something that we may not fully understand unless we grasp what our humanness means.

First let us look at what our Humanness means. In the Christian description, we are sinful, lost and in a fallen state. To fully understand this, we must set aside any religious definitions we may have learned about these terms. When many hear the word sin they think of individual acts of disobedience, or a state of disobedience and unrighteousness with God.

However, these terms (sinful, lost or Fallen) describe a state of disconnect from the source of Life, and Love. This source is God. When we live a disconnected life we are lost, we live so far below our potential and God's original design and purpose.We miss out on the fullness and enjoyment that God meant life to be. The word sin contains the word picture of missing the mark, or falling short of God's glory. In short we miss out on the fullness of Life.

Several other religions speak to this human condition as well. Buddhism speaks of life being full of suffering and discontentment. Hinduism speaks of this condition as insanity or madness. These definitions add to a full definition of this disconnected life.

When living this disconnected life we begin to define ourselves as separate and based on what our life experiences teach us. We form an idea of who we are, maybe defined by ourselves or others in our lives. This false self is called the ego. We then accept what the ego feels, thinks or believes as truth. This is the human condition that produces despair, discontentment. These are sure signs we are living disconnected lives.

However we are more than Human! We also have being-ness. We are spiritual beings created to be connected with the source of Life. Many live their lives ignoring this aspect of themselves and when we do this, we manifest the insanity, discontentment that living from this false self produces.

However Christ spoke to this condition and its cure. In John 10:10 and John 8:32 Jesus says that the Truth will set you free when you come to know it and that Christ had come to give you Life (Zoe- Divine Life) and Life more Full!

This is Good News! God will meet you were you are and lead you out of discontentment, fear and disconnectedness. God will awaken that spiritual part of you and teach you how to live a life of fullness and connection to the Source. Simply ask God for help and you will be given small steps to take that will begin this journey and adventure of Faith.

It is important that like any journey we can be on course today, but get lost tomorrow. When I find myself depressed or feeling disconnected, I know that I need to reconnect to God who is my source of life. I do not beat myself up, I simply refocus on God. I may read scripture, inspiring books, pray, meditate, listen to inspirational music, I may sing. I simply listen to that inner voice of the Holy Spirit and follow the Spirits leading, which usually comes as a desire toward one or more of the things I just listed.

When we live connected to God, we rise above the human condition and we begin to live the lives we were designed to live.We have a Peace and contentment that only has its source in God. We also become a vessel for others to connect with the Source of their lives as well. This is our lives only purpose, to live and enjoy a full life connected to God and help others find the same.

Part 2 of this article will be called: What's next? (look for it soon)

If you would like to receive an email notification when a new article is posted, email me and request it at reconnection2christ@gmail.com

Peace-MD

I love it!

2011-05-07T15:09:00.001-04:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Connection

2011-05-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today I was watching the documentary "Human Experience". It is an amazing story of how this group of young men take a trip around the world to live the human experience. They spend some time with the homeless in New York City, they work with orphan children in Peru, they go to Africa and spend time with people living with HIV/AIDS and they visit a leaper colony.

The love, joy, pain, tears that are shared are amazing. This is what life is, This is what true religion is....connecting with people, our neighbors. I read a quote the other day that with technology we communicate and are connected via internet with more people than any other generation and yet in real life we are less connected than any generation. We may follow each other on Twitter, Facebook, or talk across the world on Skype, but do we connect heart to heart, spirit to spirit. Do you share each other's pain, joy. Do we dance and celebrate each other's life. Do we share a meal, listen or offer real presence to each other. This is our real purpose, this is the real way to connect with God and live an abundant life.

We don't have to travel across the globe, because we can start with our neighbors.....

I RECOMMEND THIS DOCUMENTARY.....

Peace to you in Christ!

Be not conformed.....but be transformed by the renewing of your mind....

2011-05-05T07:00:00.001-04:00

"We get so distracted by the way things seem that we lose sight of what really is".

The pressures of life can press us into a mold and form that we don't want. It can create a life that we are not happy with. These same pressures when surrendered and submitted to God can bring about God's perspective which when applied will renew our mind and enable us to break out of the ego's pattern and the world's status quo of conformity to live a transformed life of God's design. A life far greater than what we could have thought up or imagined on our own.

Knowing God (part 2 )

2011-05-04T07:00:00.002-04:00

In the post part One of " Knowing God" I set about the idea that knowing God was possible, and even easy.

However, there is more to be said of this that needs to be clarified. When I say knowing , I mean that we can connect with God in a real way and get to know God as one gets to know anybody in a relationship. We learn to relate with God, and learn of who God is. We will never know the fullness of God. In fact we never really know all there is about any person we are in relationship with. I love the idea of a "divine romance" to define this relationship with God.

Here are a few thoughts to support what I am saying:

*God is bigger than any idea of who God is....whether that be a religion, creed, sacred book, or theology.

*God cannot be defined, many of the ideas we have of God are only a starting place, and sometimes we outgrow these concepts or they become obsolete. (however, let's never judge those who still hold to them, as less than us. For we are all one and share in this journey.

*God does not change but Our understandings do, so a person's faith or religion that is not flexible is fallible.

- Posted by a fellow sojourner from his mobile office

The Death of Osama and/or Evil

2011-05-03T05:32:00.004-04:00

I wanted to clarify a few thoughts I shared yesterday. I want to be clear that I know that the crimes against humanity committed by Bin Laden were horrific. I also am thankful for the Men and women who risked their lives to bring him to justice. This kind of evil either personified in a person or group, should not be tolerated in any way. However, I think that any kind of situation that forces men and women to have to risk their lives and or forces them to have to take the life of another, no matter how justified or noble is a sad and I look forward to a day when humankind will evolve to the place where we will not commit such horrific crimes against each-other like Bin Laden is guilty of.

With that said, I do not celebrate death but rather I rejoice when a life is saved. I do rejoice for the lives he can no longer destroy. I hope those who have been victims of his evil have some closure, and a sense of justice.

What I think would be a more appropriate response is a sense of justice tempered with a prayer for peace and unity for all of humankind. A recognition that anyone's cause or ideals can cross the line and begin to serve evil. We are all able to justify and believe we are on the side of right. When our actions may prove to be a lot less noble to those we hurt and victimize. No religion, nation or race is exempt. Only God is pure Love, and we must recognize that we are a "little lower" than God because we are human and Spirit. May we allow our Spirit/heart which is united in the divine to direct us, instead of our humanness which is easily mislead by our ego or baser nature.

Great Evil, like Bin Laden, Hitler and the like are a result of those lives that are surrendered completely over to the ego. They gave themselves fully over to such deluded beliefs that resulted in the collimation of great evil. But many times great evil begins with simple benign thoughts, which seem justified in certain circumstances. If these thoughts are not surrendered to God and corrected by truth they become malignant.

If such evil is possible from lives surrendered to pure ego, how much greater can Love impact this world when a life is regularly surrendered to Spirit.

Peace to you in Christ

thoughts for today

2011-05-02T06:24:00.002-04:00

Last night when the news was released about Osama's death, I had mixed emotions. I understand that he was a enemy of the US. Someone that we have been after since 9/11 and a major focus of both the military and the Intelligence Community. He was a terrorist, murderer and mastermind or at least a leader of an extremely violent group.

However, when I saw the celebrations on the street, my heart was grieved. Grieved just like when I saw terrorist celebrate the deaths of people they killed. Grieved that we acted just like the evil we condemn. We have given those who hate America, the propaganda they need to promote more of the same.

I know that Osama's death brings closure to 9/11 for many. A day where our nation was attacked and innocence was lost. I would have rather seen a prayer vigil last night for peace in the world. A time of reflection, we either are part of the problem or solution.

Jesus said to pray for our enemies, do good to them that hate you....I know not very popular, but true none the less....

Dear Loving God,
I pray for this world
may we find your peace
may we understand our brotherhood, our commonness, our sameness
may we give up an us versus them mentality
and truly understand we are on the same journey of life
that we want the same things in life
may we respect each-other's differences
may we reach out in Love and compassion
may we put on money in helping each-other instead of killing each0other.
I know this is a big prayer
But you are a big God
Amen

Knowing God...Knowing vs. Believing (Part 1)

2011-05-01T07:00:00.001-04:00

Many Christians confuse "knowing things about God" in place of "knowing God". We know creeds, theology, facts, scripture and a lot of other details about God. We follow teachings but we are called to follow Christ. We are called to walk with God and know God.

This is one of the hardest and easiest things to do. How is that for a confusing statement. The reason it is the hardest thing to do, is because we make it so. Religion has placed all kinds of burdens on us which in turn places guilt, and sets us up to fail. What if God had already made the way simple? What if there was nothing we had to do? What if God had already done the hard work? Wait God did, through Jesus and has offered us this Grace which is our salvation not based on our works least we should boast.

Jesus simply says, "Come to me Lay all your burdens down, find rest and comfort in me." (paraphrased). Simply get into the "Secret Place" ( the place of stillness, of spirit...see last two post) there you will not only find God but you will get to know God as well.

Nothing wrong with beliefs, but they are of the mind....God dwells and reveals God's self in the heart. A person who submits mind and heart to God is able to live abundant life of Joy Unspeakable and full of glory!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I wanted to share.....

2011-04-30T09:31:00.001-04:00

The Avowal

As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.

Denise Levertov

- Posted by a fellow sojourner from his mobile office

Stillness and prayer

2011-04-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

Prayer is powerful when it is a time of stillness.This is why for many prayer is difficult.

I remember a man who was known for his loud and distracting prayers. He either was putting on a show or lacked faith in God's hearing ability. Many think our prayers are about how well we word them, or the scripture references we use. However ask Peter, one of his most urgent and powerful prayers was simply, "Lord save me!" There have been moments where my most heartfelt prayer has been, "Oh God!".

Prayer really is about changing us, not God and most times is a perception or mind change in us. It is more about listening, not so much for a voice as a perspective. This takes quieting the mind, getting still and connecting with the Holy Spirit which is a religious title for God which is simply means "God on in the inside of us".

We are not necessarily able to stop all the mind noise and thinking but we can step back and observe our thoughts. This stepping back is our spirit (the real us)observing our mind. This creates space and stillness where we can hear from God. We don't need to so much pray through ( see last post for definition-"Wheres Waldo") but we simply need to step back from the noise and activity of the busyness of our mind. This is in a nutshell what meditation is. It is a practice that would benefit us on a regular basis.

Many people live their total lives in the constant noise of their own mind and have not experienced the stillness and the Peace of God that passes all understanding.

They live under the delusion that they are their thoughts, when in fact this is the ego. (the false self that is the story that your life experience has created. All the labels and identities you have given yourself or accepted from others. Some examples of this is; a victim, someone who is always sickly, poor, failure..etc) Many people believe these roles and labels about themselves when in fact they are really a spirit created in the image of God with limitless potential.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New twitter account...

2011-04-29T11:39:00.003-04:00

I just started a new twitter account for Reconnection Ministries......@reconnectionMin

Check it out......my old twitter account will be more personal

Where is Waldo?

2011-04-28T11:16:00.004-04:00

I remember these books with the huge color pictures of hundreds of cartoon people in a scene and you were supposed to find the one guy who wore a red and white stripped shirt named Waldo. These were a great distraction, when I was at the Mall, while family shopped in stores, I had no interest in.
Sometimes, finding God can feel like this. Where is the Kingdom? How do I connect with God in a real and meaningful way.

Prayer has always come easy for me. Maybe because I have always believed that the spiritual realm, is here but only invisible. I was once praying with a friend before he and I was to minister in a church. After the service on our drive home he asked me a question. He said, "Mike, how is it when you pray you seem to go right to God and it takes me a while to get passed myself and pray through?"
(pray through- a term used in Pentecostal circles which meant praying until you finally felt like you had reached God.)

I answered him by saying,"I had never really given it much thought, but I believe that God is present everywhere and when I close my eyes, I am in God's presence."

Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is within us. Which simply means God Abides in us, we are God's temple, God's house. To talk with God, we simply must give him our attention.

This may sound too simple, and that is the reason my friend had to pray through. He wasn't praying through to reach far into the Heavens and maybe he would get God's ear. No, he had to pray out of his own doubt, guilt, unworthiness. Which was his perception, not God's.

We are our own hinderance. God is desiring a relationship with each and every one. Our own false image and ego keep us from what God has prepared and made available.

Many believe this will all become theirs after they die and go to Heaven. Heaven is real, but it is not a place the way we often think of it. We think of it in terms of space and time. Heaven is eternal and available now. It is not limited by space, distance or time. We are spirit, we have a mind and we live in our body. We live in this life on earth because we have a body, but our spiritual life is because of our spirit. We touch Heaven by our spirit. Heaven is real, God is real, our spirits are real.....we find them inside...we carry the presence of God inside us. Christ in us...our hope of glory (God's presence.)

I am not saying that Heaven is not a place we go to when we die. We do, that is when we leave the limitations of our body and enjoy the fullness and limitlessness of eternity and Heaven, which is total access and connection to God. However life is not meant to be a journey to God, but a journey with God.(paraphrased from The Enoch Factor by Steve McSwain). Eternity is timeless is is now. God's presence is timeless and eternal and so is Heaven.

I don't know if Waldo is still around or where to find him, but I do know where I can find God....even without the red and white stripped shirt.

- Posted using BlogPress from my Mobile Office

STORMS

2011-04-28T10:49:00.001-04:00

There has been a lot of rough weather lately. The death toll is astonishing, and the news is full of videos capturing clips of the power of these storms.
My prayers are for all of those who have suffered as a result of these storms.

Today, I want to talk about a different kind of storm that looms on the horizon.

With the earthquakes, tornados and all of the political and economic unrest in the world today, it gives the "gloom and doomers" much material to use.

You don't have to subscribe to their kind of thinking to sense a change in the air however. There is a shift happening in the earth. Many times what we see in the natural world is a reflection of what is happening in the spirit. Business as usual, is no longer working, whether you are speaking of the stock markets and banks or the church and its business. Greed, self interests, pride and power seeking at the expense of the weak is what has brought us to the place we are.

There is a change in the air. Change is happening. Birth pangs are not pleasant but they do bring such a blessing and joy in the end.

Let us continue to pray for the necessary change needed....."Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven".....

I am not promoting a religious Agenda like the Christian Right, but a Agenda of Love, Compassion, equality and justice! I pray that our nation and world changes its ways from greed to equality...that we once again care about the poor, the widow and the stranger. May our wealth be found in our hearts and our faith placed in Love and compassion....this will bring lasting change and make us a great people!

- Posted by a fellow sojourner from his mobile office

Reconnections

2011-04-28T10:25:00.001-04:00

When I began this blog, I felt it was geared to GLBT Christians who like myself had gone through a wilderness and desired to reconnect with God and reconcile their faith with their sexuality. This is still true, however as is true with God most of the time, there was a greater mission and purpose and I had began with just a limited view of this.

I never have been comfortable with the idea of a ministry exclusively to GLBT Christians. For those with that calling, I am thankful for you. Metropolitan Community Churches for instance was such a Godsend to me, and I would not be where I am now if not for this church family who took me in a nursed me through a very difficult time. I did contemplate taking a ministry route with MCC, but have always felt that God wanted me to go in a different direction. I also want to say MCC is inclusive and all are welcome, but it functions primarily as a ministry for the GLBT community.

It is one of the reasons, the Progressive Christian Alliance has also been such a God send to me. However I will admit, God brought them into my life when, it was a stretch for me to take such a leap. The wineskin on this former Evangelical, pentecostal southern pastor has been stretched a lot on this journey. God has had more confidence in my elasticity than I did, but as happens many times in our journey of faith, we find God knew what God was doing and has perfect timing.

Back to Reconnections..... I now find that this God given ministry name, describes many people. There are many who are tired of organized religion and are leaving churches and paths they have been on for some time. It isn't that they aren't spiritual people or people of faith but they have lost faith in institutions or religion. Some have been hurt by churches or ministries. Some have become frustrated with the state of the church or the hype of the "celebrity Hollywood" type of consumerism that masks itself using the name of God. There are also those who have followed what the church has taught and who have been faithful but find that their faith doesn't meet the challenges of life and falls short of a real authentic way of life. They find themselves "going through the motions" or "spinning their wheels" and yet not feeling the real connections to God. I know I was here.

When I resigned my last pastorate, it was just for those reasons. I felt like I was going through the motions, but yet I knew there had to be more. My faith failed to meet the challenges of my struggles and yet seemed to condemn my condition. It offered no real answers, but yet pointed out a lot of problems. I felt disconnected.

Today, I am thankful to report that God is much bigger than what I had been taught. I am connected to God in a very real way, and my faith is very authentic. I live without the guilt and shame that religion had once burdened me with and God's Love and Grace are very real to me. I enjoy the presence of God daily in my life and I truly believe in the Good News of the Gospel. My life still has challenges, however I have a faith that meets them.

All I needed was a reconnection with God in relationship based on Love, truth and a paradigm shift and how I see and relate to God. Which seems to be more like what Jesus lived and religion distracts from.

don't get me wrong,I am not against church or religion, I am just for relationship.

Peace to you in Christ!

- Posted by a fellow sojourner from his mobile office

Love Liberates

2011-02-12T08:51:00.000-05:00

Recently, I watched an interview of Maya Angelou, and she made the statement, that Love always liberates. This statement resonated in a way that I have learned to recognize as something that is inspired or is from Spirit.

I began to think on how many times relationships are not founded on this kind of love. Many times relationships are more about controlling, owning, or conforming another to our designs or purpose and agendas. We do not always accept that each person has their own unique divine journey to discover their own gifts, and purpose.

Our part is to encourage, support and assist them to realize their full purpose and potential as we journey to discover and live ours as well. Relationships are actually partnerships for this purpose. To help each other grow and reach our fullest potential. It is then we are not threatened, nor jealous o r envious of another's success or growth. Because your success is also mine. Although our journeys and purposes may be unique we are in this life and journey together.

This kind of love, liberates not only those we love to discover who they really are, but also liberates us to love truly, and discover our true identity as well.

Love liberates, fear seeks to control and keep ......life is in it's simplest definition, "growth and change" if it isn't growing and changing it is dead or dying. A living, loving relationship is one where two are growing and transforming, a relationship that is not so defined is a dying relationship and is not founded on Love but rather fear......

My two cents.........

Some people

2010-12-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

A post I found online.....author unknown-
Some People

Some people come into our lives
and leave footprints on our hearts
and we are never, ever the same.

Some people come into our lives
and quickly go, some stay for awhile
and embrace our silent dreams.

They help us become aware
of the delicate winds of hope...
and we discover within every human spirit
there are wings yearning to fly.

They help our hearts to see
that the only stairway to the stars
is woven with dreams...
and we find ourselves
unafraid to reach high.

They celebrate the true essence
of who we are...
and have faith in all
that we may become.

Some people awaken us to new and deeper realizations
for we gain insight
from the passing whisper of their wisdom.

Throughout our lives we are sent
precious souls...
meant to share our journey
however brief or lasting their stay
they remind us why we are here.

To learn... to teach... to nurture... to love.

Some people come into our lives
to cast a steady light
upon our path and guide our every step
their shining belief in us
helps us to believe in ourselves.

Let us reach out to others
and feel the bliss of giving
for love is far richer in action
then it ever is in words.

Some people come into our lives
and they move our souls to sing,
and make our spirits dance.

They help us see that everything on earth
is part of the incredibility of life-
and that it is always there
for us to take of its joy.

Some people come into our lives
and leave footprints on our hearts
and we are never, ever the same.

- Posted by a fellow sojourner from his mobile office

One True Source

2010-12-08T05:19:00.001-05:00

All that I am and need comes from God. God is my source. My comfort, healing, peace, joy, strength, love and well being. Saying that God is my Source is a truth that if understood and part of my daily practice in worship, prayer and devotion my life remains centered, empowered and in sync. It is when I do not live my life out of this truth, chaos, frustration and failure seem to abound. During these times of being out of sync, I tend to look for those things I can only truly find in God in other things. This is idolatry. Idolatry is not about bowing to a statue, or offending God's ego by worshiping another. It is about living the false illusion that something or someone else can give us what only can be found truly in the One True Source....God. Real Love begins in God. Real Peace is rooted in God. And so on......

For many of us in the GLBT community, we have had difficult experience with religion or church and many time project this unto our idea of God. This is because we have bought into the false idea of God that religion sometimes peddles. The judgmental, angry, jealous and unaccepting god that is seeking ways to reveal to you the errors of your ways and who out frustration will one day, be done with all of us with one fiery solution. However this is more of a solution that religion has adopted to deal with a group of people who do not fit into their neat, cookie cutter idea of God and life.

I invite everyone to allow God to reveal God's love and essence to you. This Relationship based on a Love that comes from God, is where faith begins. Knowing this love produces faith. Knowing that God is love and loves all is where faith begins. This Love is the Good News of Christ and is salvation for all. This Love is the essence of God and is the base and foundation of true faith and religion. Anything less is simply a human attempt to form a false god to get what it cannot produce or supply.

God has not separated "god-self" from you but instead wants to be reunited with all of us, so that we can experience this Love and tap into the source of life, peace and live from our true nature and spirituality. This is what salvation is. Not a "get out of jail free card" or an escape from Hell in the nick of time, but a reconnection with all that is true and a setting things right.

The truth and availability of this is now, the living this out is a daily practice. There are times when I am quite successful at living out of this truth and it affects every area of my life and every relationship. However there are times when I fall into old patterns and try to find love in other things and people and I soon feel anxiety, restless or lack of peace. This is the hunger of my true essence and spirit crying out to reconnect with my One true Source of Life....God.

In the next article, I will talk about a few false sources we sometime look to....

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Greater One on the inside

2010-12-07T21:08:00.001-05:00

The Greatness of God dwells within us by the Holy Spirit. The greatness of God's Love, Peace, and wisdom all dwells within us as a great resource. God is our source of life, strength and ability to rise above our old limited life born of the definition given us by this life or world. however God seeks to define our life by God's ability within us. This is the abundant eternal life that Christ came that we might have. The problem is many of us have more faith in our old definition, instead of allowing God to renew our mind by God's definition.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Limitations

2010-11-29T23:53:00.001-05:00

So much of the time we place limitations on God, others and ourselves. We limit the present because of the past. However, God is a God of miracles, a God of Endless Possibilities. We need to also remind ourselves that we are made in God's image and not God in ours. Therefore our attitude should reflects God's attitude......Endless possibilities and miracles. Don't allow life and this egotistical world limit and conform you, but instead put on the mind of Christ and transform this world and yourself!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Reminder......

2010-11-29T06:35:00.001-05:00

I am Spirit, I am more than body, I am more than mind, I Am Spirit, Life and Love. I come from God, my life is His Life He is my Source.

This life is only temporary but we are not, we are Spirit and eternal....We have a body to be God's body while on this earth..let's represent God well and be Love!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

thanksgiving......

2010-11-24T20:25:00.001-05:00

Gratitude is about recognizing God as our source for all Good and Love. It is about a Living Hope ( earnest expectation ) for God's goodness. It's about appreciating the love we have been shown in the past, enjoying the love we are experiencing now and hope for Love to be present and demonstrated in the future.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Be not conformed...closed minded

2010-11-06T12:29:00.000-04:00

"We can get so distracted by the way things appear that we lose sight of what really is."

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Secret of the Christian Life

2010-09-21T06:12:00.001-04:00

"The secret of a Christian is that the supernatural is made natural in him by the grace of God, and the experience of this works out in the practical details of life, not in times of communion with God. When we come in contact with things that create a buzz, we find to our amazement that we have power to keep wonderfully poised in the centre of it all." My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers

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Anti-Christ behavior of the church ( part 2)

2010-09-08T06:42:00.001-04:00

This anti Muslim behavior is not the only example of this kind of behavior. We see it with the church that protest the funerals of fallen U.S. soldiers. However one may argue that this is just a small group of extremist who don't represent the whole. I would agree in most part, but when you come to issues of homosexuality, abortion and several other divisive issues, a lot of people who wear Christ's name become extremist.

Politically we all have the right to take different sides on any issue, but as Christians we should always be on the side of Christ. No matter how heartfelt our position we should always walk in Love and be peace makers. How can we pray for peace and use violence. Whether in word or deed.

We in the American church has so blurred the line of faith and politics that we almost paint Christ as American or worse of a particular political party. The fact is God is not American. God loves all and commands us to do the same. Whether they are Christian or Muslim, American or another nationality.

On another issue it has amazed me how many Christians have anti-Christian positions on immigration. Our Lord said, Come. We say build a wall and deport. Jesus commands us to speak Love, we say you must speak English or you are less than and deserve less.

I don't usually get too political in this blog. But I had to stand up for Love, tolerance and peace. May we allow the Spirit of Christ to fill all our lives even our political life.

May our demonstrations be demonstrations of Love and not burning someone's scripture or shouting hate filled words.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Anti-Christ behavior of the church

2010-09-07T21:26:00.001-04:00

Today I was reading of the church here in Florida who is planning on hosting an event where they will burn the Quran. The pastor stated it was his Constitutional right of freedom of speech. Well he is right, about it being his right, but this kind of attitude, intolerance and hatred is the opposite of the Spirit of Christ. In fact hatred, judgementalism and intolerance is anti-Christ!

This church is as they claim making a stand, but for who and what is the question. This pastor says he still plans on having the protest but will pray on it. I hope he invokes the Spirit of Christ and listens....or maybe simply takes direction from our Holy Scripture.

Our military leaders have requested the church to not take such action, because this will put our troops in harms way. I agree and also add in addition it will further erode and misrepresent our Lord. The church is fast becoming it's own worse enemy and is fueling any oppositions reasonings for discounting it's relevance.

Let's get back to the power and foundation of the church.....Love! Let's build bridges, and "not repay evil with evil" but instead with Love. This would be a return back to the true Spirit and attitude of Christ. Otherwise we become the anti- Christ. Lord let it not be so!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Perspective

2010-09-06T11:54:00.001-04:00

Sometimes we can so get caught up in the little pictures of life that we miss the big picture. I have so many people in my life who are going through so much of late that it has helped me to put life into perspective. What we sometimes think is important can in an instant become so unimportant.

Holy Spirit,
Help me to see with eyes that are open and a heart that is sensitive to truth and perspective.

Amen

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Rest in me.........

2010-09-05T12:23:00.001-04:00

There has been several times where during prayer the Holy Spirit has spoken this phrase into my heart, "rest in me". It sounds so simple and yet it has been so difficult to obey. It has only been when I laid down all of my religious definitions of God, myself and took a fresh look of faith, and began to meet God in a new, real and authentic way, was I able to start to do just that. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for all that I have learned in life and a lot of my tradition is a gift from God, but we humans tend to lean on ideas and teachings instead of allowing God to meet us in a fresh way. I am thankful for the saints and great people of God before me, but I need to meet God at my own Bethel, and wrestle some things out with God myself.

Because if my faith is not real to me, if it doesn't work in my life then it is useless. No matter who else believes, teaches or proclaims it. This is where I found myself almost 6 years ago. My religion failed me. At the time I thought God did. But I was soon to discover, that it wasn't God who failed me but the church. The church has failed a lot of people. I do not say that as a judgement, or with bitterness, just a fact.

If I haven't offended you by now, then let me push it a little further. This failure of religion and the church was the greatest gift God could have given me. It was in this failure, this crisis of faith that I discovered a pure faith, a real authentic faith and Grace. Not based on any human institution that can't help but be flawed, but on a Real, Faithful and Loving God.

Today, I stand before this God, with all my flaws and nakedness, but unlike Adam, my faith is in the Love of God, and I am not ashamed. I am thankful that in spite of my brokenness and baggage that this life has packed me with, I have found a safe place of healing and rest. Change is not necessary to be loved, it is not required, but it is available. Simply by relationship with God and knowing his love and acceptance, I am transformed not because I have to, I just get to.

I have ceased from my labor and work for God. I now rest and work with God. What is the work God has given, simply this; to Love!

May we be found faithful to know this love and share it with all.....religion will always fail us, but God and God's love will not!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A gift

2010-08-28T09:12:00.001-04:00

There have been times where I have over identified with the labels of life. It is tempting to try to find security, belonging, peace and safety in a label or person.

If I belong to a group or person then I will be ok. I will be happy. I will be at rest.

However, this rest, joy is already mine. It has been a challenge to embrace both my sexuality and spirituality. Some of this is due to the teachings that I was taught from an early age, some of this struggle comes from the inner voice from inside that does not want to be...(enter label here....).

But the Truth is that I am not a label, I am not my body, I am not an ego. I am spirit born and breathed from God. I am connected to God who is Love, source, peace.....

I have found that when I rest in this truth and purposely connect with it, my life transcends rises above these struggles and I find my true identity.

I also find that I am then able to express my sexuality as the gift that it is. My friendships and relationships are then free to be what they should be, without the pressure of my need for them to provide for me what they never could.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Just a Reminder!

2010-06-09T07:20:00.002-04:00

We have a source and supply
that lies deep with in
we never have to look outside ourselves
or be moved by whats going on around

No matter who you are
or where you are at
this source of strength, wisdom and supply
is readily available

This source is Love
This source is God
This source is here now

This is just a reminder
sometimes we easily forget
but if you listen to your heart of hearts
This truth it knows!

Have a great Day,
Peace

I Am Connected ....

2010-06-08T21:35:00.002-04:00

At times life seems hard and impossible
full of lack, frustration and challenge

At times I feel under attack by those I love and hold dear
At times I feel alone, worried and overcome by fear.

But I know a truth that sets me free
All of these are just perspectives that appear to be what I see

The Truth is, within me lives one who is faithful and true
A secret place where my life and youth is renewed.
A source of Love and strength that flows generously and free
Clear vision with wisdom to truly see!

I Am is Christ within, He dwells and fills me with All in All
In Him I am complete and whole, connected to the source which answers life as so:

I am Love
I am Healing
I am forgiveness
I am Joy
I am Peace
I am Restoration
I am Unity
I am Goodness
I am Wisdom
I am Truth

So with this knowledge that I once had forgotten... I face life with this truth I am His begotten...in me resides all I could ever need, for I am connected to I Am.....and I need never plead

May I live out of this truth and share it freely:
I am Loving
I am Healing
I am forgiving
I am joy,
I am peaceful and a peacemaker
I am restoration and unity
I am Goodness and wisdom
I am Truth, I belong to the source of all
In Him I stand strong and will never fall

Because I am connected within to the creator and source
In me is a secret place and a Spring a Well and a Force!
A power to fill the earth and heaven above until this universe and creation knows God's great Love!

This is the foundation of my hope and my faith
it all is anchored on this unfailing Love!

Just as I am

2010-06-05T07:28:00.002-04:00

I still remember that night like it was yesterday. I was very unhappy and dealing with all of the frustrations of an awkward teen. I was so confused, so unhappy and there was nothing on TV. Finally I stopped on a channel that was playing a Billy Graham crusade. I do not remember what he preached but I do remember the alter call. The song, "Just as I am" played and I felt the tug of what I now know was the Holy Spirit. Could the song be true, could God want me just as I am? To borrow a line from a respected fellow traveler John McNeill, I took a chance on God.

I had no idea where this journey would led me. I think I thought I did. I mean didn't it mean I would live a good life, be happy and one day go to heaven. Thankfully, now I know it means so much more than that.....

In God we find acceptance and it is in the form of unconditional love.
In God we find acceptance and love for ourselves which in turn enables us to accept and love others the same.
In God we find the courage, strength to live our lives in fullness and abundance that can only come from a heart that has an unlimited supply of peace, love, joy and healing.

God accepts us as we are, but God empowers us to become or fully realize who we really are. It isn't so much that God desires to change us from who we are but God desires us to discover the fullness of who we really are. To some life is survival, or a pattern that cannot be any different. But Christ said I have come that you might have Life and life to its FULL! (John 10:10). Humankind accepted life separate from God as the norm, and therefore has settled for life so far below what we were intended for. Our minds have created an idea or false identity of who we are. Many live from this identity as their truth. Some of this has been formed from ourselves, some from others, and maybe even terrible experiences or abuse. Some from maybe nothing so terrible, but at best we all had imperfect families, teachers, friends who helped reinforce this false idea of who we are. God desires to lift us out of this false ego-centric self to discover who we really are. This is salvation!

For many salvation is a religious term, if i do these rituals and ascribe to these creeds, I will gain salvation and one day will get to enjoy it. The truth is that Salvation is simply being reconnected with the source of all life and Love- God. From this connection (relationship) we gain a new perspective on life and discover the truth of who God is and who we are in God.

Religion isn't necessarily bad, for many it helps make this connection. But do not settle for a prepackaged, instant version of faith that is based solely on other's experiences and interpretations. Teachers are very helpful, but always be open to the Holy Spirit (God's teaching voice in our lives)and understand that faith should include experience, and God has gifted us with a mind for a purpose. Always be open to growing in your understanding, we are always learning in the school of life and what we think we have figured out, might prove to be different than what we think.

Once when being challenged by someone who believed different than me. I refused to argue the point and I simply replied, When we get to heaven we will all see how far from the truth we all are.

I am thankful that God accepts me as I am, and I love and accept myself as I am, but I also acknowledge that I haven't fully realized all that I am but I continue to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to me and I daily take steps toward that goal. I will be the first to admit I am not perfect in my behavior, but In Christ I have wholeness, just not fully realized.

In Sync

2010-05-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

When I plug my ipod into my pc, it begins to sync. To Sync- to adjust, align to match in substance and matter. When we plug into God,(connect through prayer, meditation, focus ) we allow the Holy Spirit to sync us with God. God's Will is synonymous with our best interest. When we sync or get re-focused and re-centered on God, our Best Interests become the Item of the day.

Some think that God has his own agenda and desires for our lives, when in fact God is love and his purposes and plans for our lives line up perfectly with our best interest. And God's Will and our best interests also line up with our talents and our desires, Both of which God designed for our lives.

If you want to be happy and enjoy life, all you need do is get synced!

However just like my ipod, it isnt a one time event...it needs to happen regularly.

Can I get some Attention?

2010-05-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

We have all seen the child who is "hell bent" on getting attention from their parents or the other shoppers and witnessed in a grocery store. But the truth is many of these "spoiled" children lack the right kind of attention and so are opting for some kind of attention.

We all want attention. Whether it is the stare of an attractive single peer across a room or the eye and heart contact of a spouse as we explain our day. Everybody likes to matter.

When you get down to it, Love is attention. Attention is connection. When two lovers make love if they really connect emotionally it is because they are attentive to the needs and desires of their Other. When two friends connect emotionally or in conversation, it is because the two of them are really listening and attentive to each others words and feelings. When God is attentive to our heart cries and prayers, it is then we feel and experience his love.

Do you need some attention. Then ask for it. Be clear with God and others. Can I get some attention. Sometimes people are distracted and may not realize that they are absent or inattentive.

God is always present and attentive, all one needs to do to recieve attention from God is to set their attention on him.

Contention

2010-05-19T09:19:00.000-04:00

"Us/Them, Black/White, Wrong/Right, Left/right, Republican/Democrat,Catholic/Protestant, Christian/Muslim, Beautiful/Ugly,......etc.

We live is a two-sided world or so it seems. We must choose sides, or so it seems. But what if we don't. What if we simply accept what is at face value and love what is. I don't have to choose to be you enemy, instead I choose to be your friend. I choose to love you as you are for who you are, just like God does. I will not let you be a "Them" instead I will love you and get to know you as an "us".

The other day I had so much fun with someone who if you looked at our different political stances you would think this would not have been possible. However we both even teased each other about those differences. The difference was we both accepted each other and respected each other for who we are. We did not devalue each other because of any differences. We recognized we had more in common than not in common. We enjoyed the company of each other. This is rare.

Most people who differ from me or I from them want to make an issue out of these differences. They want to point out the error of my ways. They want to change me or kill me in the process and sometimes before it is over, the latter is their preferred choice. This is only a small exaggeration. Wars, feuds and battles are all fought over such differences.

This is why Jesus, COMMANDED (emphasis on purpose) us NOT to judge. Because he understood that a people who judge cannot Love! Judgment focuses on differences, Love focuses on unity.

Human nature likes to label, compare, judge. We say someone is beautiful because we have an idea of what ugly is. However God sees the good in all. Because God sees his own image, his own beauty in each one. We need to look for the same. Yes we each are unique and differ in various ways. But we also have the same creator's imprint and divine spark within each of us. Let's celebrate the diversity and the divinity in each of us. This is pleasing to God and will promote unity and peace in all of our lives.

Why Reconnection?

2010-05-18T09:02:00.000-04:00

Many have become disconnected from their faith and/or relationship with God. However in Truth it is never really possible to be disconnected from God, we in fact only live disconnected. Some have been hurt or abused by the church or religion. Some have come to the conclusion that their life experiences or questions about life are not adequately answered by religion. Some are rejected or excluded my mainstream religion because of who they are. Many just do not like what they see identified as "organized religion".

However, what passes for religion, or church or even faith is not a reflection or true representation of God. God is much more than what can be defined by religion, captured in a book or explained by humankind. God can not be defined by mere words, or doctrines.

God is Love! This is more than a platitude. It is the best starting place for understanding God. What is Love? Is it a feeling? Is it an action? Love is a force, power and source. Love is a human need, hunger and desire. Love is found in God. Love is a gift from God. Love is the way of God. Love is the way of those who follow and know God. What is not Love or of Love is not of God. Seems simple, and yet people have such a hard time living this truth.

No matter who you are, where you have been, what you think of God, religion or church. We all need, desire and are looking for Love. God wants to connect with you in a real way. God wants to Love you. God wants you to find this love and live loved. This is relationship with God. Daily living in, experiencing and resting in this Love.

This connection to God and Love for many is a reconnection. That is why God gave this ministry such a name. God has called me to share the Good News of God's love so that all can reconnect with the source of Love and Life. This is Salvation....this is New Life!

What does it mean to be Christian?

2010-05-17T22:02:00.002-04:00

Does it mean to live a perfect life? Like the old saying," We don't Drink, Swear or chew, and we don't go around with those who do." ok maybe that was too old of a saying, but any how you get the point. Some days I am more spiritual than others. Some days Christ in me shows up more than others.

I read this the other day from the Progressive Christian Alliance,"What makes one married? The wedding or the actively faithful relationship? What then makes one
a Christian? Consider the implications."

I am committed to growing in my relationship with God and with others. I won't judge you, instead I will do everything in my power to help you grow in your relationships and support you in any way I can....and if we would do this for each other..then we would definitely bring a smile to God's face.

Distracted

2010-05-17T20:06:00.002-04:00

In the hustle and bustle of daily life it is so easy to lose focus and become distracted from what is really important. This can be relationships, responsibilities, and even callings.

Several years ago, I began a journey of authenticity. This may sound strange to some. But step into my shoes for a moment. Imagine that you are a pastor (for 15 years) and you discover something about yourself that you have unconsciously been trying to keep suppressed. Because if those who knew you, including your friends and family discovered it as well, they would reject you. This is also something is that you have been taught would even cause God to reject you. This was the start of a interesting journey I began.

I am not alone in this journey or in this predicament. Many find themselves judged, rejected, even abused because of who they are. I have lost a lot of friends and have been "excommunicated" by some family members. However, I have not been rejected by God, in fact God has revealed himself to me in ways like I have never imagined. My understanding of God is no longer in a box. I longer subscribe to the prepackaged, instant version that most popular religion has marketed. I have also resumed my calling, of proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel of Christ....although it is a more full and inclusive gospel than the afore mentioned prepackaged version.

Which brings me back to my original thought. I have allowed the opinions of others and the lack of direction or knowledge of just where to start get me distracted from this calling. In fact this blog began as an outlet for ministry to start "somewhere". I have resumed my ministry and journey beginning now and I am starting here.......why......because it is where I am now!

I am announcing to any who is reading this, that if you are tired of a pre-packaged, judgmental, water downded, exclusive religion or faith and would like to fellowship with others who feel the same, Reconnection Church is for you. Right now we are simply a fellowship, few in numbers, who meet to support and encourage each other, but we know we are not alone. If you would like to join us....shoot me an email. mikedavis824@gmail.com

Good Friday and the Gift of Easter

2010-04-02T08:58:00.002-04:00

As we reflect on Good Friday and remember it as the day Christ died we should understand that it was the day he gave his life. Not just as an example of sacrifice or as a martyr. But as a gift. Throughout history there have been people who gave their life for a cause they believed in. But in Christ, he gave his life and took it up again. He has shown us life is more than breath in a body. Life is the essence of who we are. It comes from God. Christ gave us his life. His life and Presence lives inside us. We can live from this wonderful gift and resource. His life, and Spirit inspires us, teaches us, directs us, transforms us, propels us and enables us to live in Love as God does. This presence of Christ himself that lives within us is that part that helps us rise above the human nature and enables us to be what we were originally created to be....Sons and Daughters of God.

It does not matter who you are or where you have been. This is Christ's gift to you. It is a finished work. Our faith is based on what Christ has done! Our experience of this gift depends on what we do. Will we accept and live from an awareness of Christ in us our Hope of Glory? Our quality of life depends on it!

Palm Sunday- Lord Give us Change!

2010-03-28T14:29:00.003-04:00

Today during our Palm Sunday service I was thinking on what a deacon had said about how the same people who shouted "Hosanna" and praises to God would later either be silent or were shouting "crucify him".

What would bring about such change in attitude? Well you must consider a few facts. The term "Hosanna" actually is translated "Save or Deliver us". This crowd who was acting like a charismatic group of Pentecostals, was actually look to Jesus to deliver them by becoming King or pulling down the oppressive rule of the Roman Empire.When Jesus accepted their praise but did not deliver their desired outcome, some turned on him, others were just disillusioned.

How many times has God not answered prayer or delivered us in the self-prescribed way we desired? DO we still praise him?

The fact is Christ did bring in the promised deliverance by introducing us to a new way of living, a new Kingdom. This Kingdom does bring about radical change in policy, government and communities but it begins in the inside of the hearts of those who enter relationship with Christ. Christ begins by changing hearts, which in turn transforms individual lives which then touches lives of those we relate with.
This new kingdom has outlasted the Roman Empire and is bigger and more relevant than any man made government or institution. It will result in the overthrow of all injustice and evil.

The power of this Kingdom is Love. It's promise is Hope. It's message is Good News!

We like those on that Jerusalem road that day still need deliverance, we still live under oppressive regimes that are driven by lust for power and greed. However,the Deliverance we need, first comes to our hearts and then to the hearts of others. Lets lift our voices this Palm Sunday for the Savior to "deliver us". However lets not misunderstand how God will bring this about. It is still through the Good News of the Love of God that changes lives.

My faith is not in politicians or government bail out plans. I am calling out for men and women of God in government to implement God's plans of social justice. I am calling out for a people filled with God's Spirit of Love to rise up and lift our voices for justice and for change. I am calling out for the church to stop being part of the problem and to start being the conduit for change. Lets lift our voices to God, Hosanna, Hosanna, Lord we need you

Let's allow the change in us first and then lets be the change we want to see!

God's Beloved

2010-03-10T22:38:00.002-05:00

Matthew 3:16- 4:11

It is interesting to notice in the preceding text that Christ is called God's Beloved and then immediately is tempted by the devil, who questions and tries to insert doubts of Christ's identity as God's Son.

It is also important to note that we as God's beloved are also tempted to see ourselves as less than beloved and/or not even as sons or daughters of God. We are also tempted to view and judge others as mere men and women and to ignore the divine image that is found in each one of us.

We must not allow ourselves to be distracted from the truth or to doubt that we and all humankind are God's beloved and God's children. Our faith is founded on God's love and care as our Heavenly parent who is committed to expressing His generous love and care through restoration, redemption and relationship.

Dear God,

Thank you for the expression of your love and for identifying us as your beloved. Help us by your Holy Spirit to see ourselves and others in this light and Truth.

Amen

What Defines Me? Richard Rohr

2010-03-07T20:26:00.003-05:00

This really spoke to me, so I wanted to share....for all of us who struggle with Loneliness...

A CHANGE OF HEART

Question of the Day:
What defines me?

Do you know what the answer for deep loneliness is? Solitude! No one would have ever imagined it, but I promise you it is true.

In solitude, we are able to let Reality/God define us from the inside out. We stop looking outside of ourselves for diversions, entertainment, or real satisfaction. It is the birth of the soul. When we keep looking outside of ourselves, we always and forever need another and then another diversion.

In solitude we slowly learn to live face to face with a Presence that asks nothing of us but presence in return (see I Corinthians 13:12 (JB)). It is too good to be true. This is the birth of the soul.

If we’ve never lived in the realm of pure presence without any need for achieving and performing, we don’t know how to breathe there at first. It is like living on a different planet. But eventually, we allow ourselves to be defined by relationship itself instead of by the good or bad—or even the holy—things we’ve done. And now it is relationship with everything, the rocks at our feet, the air that we breathe consciously, the little animals and birds, the God who is now obvious and praiseworthy in all things. Solitude, ironically and surprisingly, can connect us to everything else. Who would have thought?

~ Richard Rohr
February 2010
(Written in hermitage)

Love Disconnect by D.E. Paulk

2010-02-26T13:34:00.002-05:00

I receive a email newsletter from D E Paulk and wanted to share this one with you. This is the kind of message that is what this blog and ministry is all about.

The Love Disconnect by D.E. Paulk
At times we may feel disconnected from God through our sin, disobedience or by ignoring the spirit of God within us. Violating the greater laws of the universe can have a blinding and deadening effect on the senses, the conscience. We can easily slip into unconsciousness or the illusion of separation by our refusal to agree with the way of God. All of us have found ourselves estranged from the path of love and the way of God at one time or another.

However, no matter how disconnected we may feel, it doesn't change God's eternal essence as being love and loving us. Our illusion of being cut off from God's love cannot overpower God's pervading and prevailing love. The sun is always shining and emitting energy. Yet, the earth's rotation, clouds or even an eclipse may create for those of us on the earth the illusion that the sun is not there - not being.

The sun is always the sun and is always there. It is our illusion that tells us otherwise. It is also only and illusion that we are out of the reach of God's love. Illusions can only limit our awareness of God's omnipresent love. Illusions cannot provoke God to un-love us or force God to be anything other than God.

"Unity in Diversity" by Ian Lawton

2010-02-25T12:26:00.002-05:00

Ian Lawton had such a great post on his blog that I wanted to share it here. It is called "Unity In Diversity"

http://ianwlawton.blogspot.com/2010/02/unity-in-diversity.html

No Respecter of Persons (Part II)

2010-02-23T07:08:00.002-05:00

After meditating on the last post some I had a few more thoughts.

One way to keep us from becoming the same as what we have suffered from is the understanding that we are all a part of each other. When we see the good or divine in another we see the good or divine in ourselves. When we see the evil or sin in another we see a reflection of the evil or sin of ourselves. We can never escape that as human beings we are part of each other. What one does affects the many.

This helps us to look and live from compassion. When I see the weakness whether it be behavior, ignorance or even prejudice I recognize that it could have been me. Judgment or seeing them as the "other" or "those people" is a cop out. Love understands we are all in this life together and our prayer is for forgiveness and restoration. We should pray for others to have a paradigm shift which is what repentance is a change in the way we think and see the world. But this first must begin with us. We cannot live in an us vs them way of life and walk in Love at the same time.

They may not act like our brother, they might not see us as their brother or sister but in truth they are and we should love them like they are.

Love is taking the high road and it does lead to a better way which is the Will of God done here on earth just as it is in Heaven.

No respecter of persons.......(warning: this post may cause heart burn....

2010-02-22T20:47:00.004-05:00

Alternate Title: Do as I do and not as they Do!

Tonight I was thinking about how I am thankful that God's love and grace is all- inclusive. This is the Good News of the Gospel, the message of Christ. But what about those who have preached a message of exclusiveness or those who by their own beliefs have condemned some of us to Hell. What about the extreme right and fundamentalist. Those who cause anger to rise within me because of their message and ignorance.

The hard to swallow truth is that they are also loved by God and are his children as well. I remember reading a favorite author of mine in the early days of my ministry who said,"It is true the Truth will set you free but first, it will make you miserable." Although they may not recognize me as a child of God, I must recognize them as one. Ouch!

Thankfully for all of us, God meets us where we are. He overlooks our ignorance, weakness and sometimes plain stupidity. Now God is committed to our growth and that is why God will not even leave us alone in our prejudice of those who are not inclusive or progressive. Now I am not called to convince them or convert them but I am called to love them. This is the stuff of spiritual growth and maturity, being able to love beyond our own ideas and group and to see God in those who we have a hard time dealing with.

Now for myself as a reformed recovering former pentecostal Charismatic it is easier for me to love those who hold such staunch fundamentalist ideals. It is because of the Love, Grace and PATIENCE of God I came to see and repent (change my way of seeing and thinking). It also helped when I discovered that I was now the type of person who many of my peers considered an abomination and outcast. The truth is in many ways I was the same person, just now more fabulous (sorry, but humor me for that).

I will confess, I still have a hard time with the hatred, prejudice and ignorance of many of my brothers and sisters. But I still recognize that we have a lot in common as well. We are still a work in progress. God has a plan for all of us. God desires to change all of our hearts and minds to cause us to think and love like he does. This is a tall order but we serve a big God, and I will step up first if necessary to have more faith in God's ability to work in both their lives and mine and hopefully we will all become more like Christ.....

It's all Good!

2010-02-21T13:25:00.001-05:00

There are times where I seem to pull away from the mundane things in life and focus on the more spiritual things. I know this is a good spiritual practice and it does help put things namely life into perspective. It also serves to remove attachments to unhealthy or in the least unnecessary things. It also helps me take a fresh look at the relationships in my life.

I think this must have been what Jesus did when he pulled away. This time for me includes prayer, meditation, reading and a lot of soul searching. I think if Christ needed this in the ancient world how much more do we need it in today's rat race of business.

The last two weeks has been just that for me. This time for me does bring a better focus and a peace but it also brings an uneasiness. When you get still and quiet and it is just you and God, a lot of things begin to rise to the surface. Many fear this quiet time, but in the presence of God there is pure love and acceptance. Nothing to fear. God will only point out things that need to change for our betterment. There is no condemnation or guilt, just honesty, transparency and strength for growth.

I am not suggesting it is all comfortable. But it the words of today's youth, It is ALL GOOD!

Check it out!!

2010-02-18T23:01:00.004-05:00

I invite you to go to Brian McLaren's blog link on the lower right hand side of my page or go directly to his link to read this:

Fr. Richard Rohr gets it right ... on God's perfection
Those of you who have read Chapters 4 and 5 of my new book will understand why I was struck by these words from Richard Rohr in his daily email meditation today: PATH OF DESCENT Question of the Day: How does one incorporate imperfection...
By:Brian D. McLaren

It so blessed me....what a powerful truth!

http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/fr-richard-rohr-gets-it-right-on-2.html

Christ In Us

2010-02-18T22:14:00.002-05:00

So much of what the church calls faith is more about what we think about Christ. It is more about what we intellectually believe. However it is not the Christ that we say we believe in that makes any difference, but it is the Christ that we allow to work in and through us. This is what real Christianity is about.

It is not the creeds, statements of faith or doctrines that we agree with that change the world, but it is the Christ we give space to in our lives that will bring life, freedom and transformation to this world starting in us and then through us.

What does this kind of living look like? Is this kind of living a demonstration of thunder, lightening and Glory clouds? Is it full of booming voices from heaven? Although I come from a pentecostal/ Charismatic background and we would love the thought of this kind of manifestations, I find that God is more desirous to take the life of an ordinary person doing ordinary things and enable them to make an extraordinary difference.

We see this in the life of Christ, he would preform a miracle and then tell the recipient to tell no one. Because he was not trying to prove anything. God simply is Love and where God is there is freedom, transformation, and redemption. Jesus simply was the personification of the Character of God.

Now God calls the church the " Body of Christ". Which tells me that God desires us to be the vessel of this same Love and presence of God in this world. We are the temple or dwelling place of God. Now if we truly believe this then it is more than a mental concept but a calling to surrender and give place to God to work in and through us. This is not really a sacrifice but an awesome opportunity to see the goodness and generosity of God touch and transform lives.

When I look at all the suffering, troubles, disaster and needs in the world today it would be easy to accept the attitude of many and simply resign to a religion that says it will all be better in the by and by. However, God desires to work through us in love to make a difference in this present world and it is full of opportunities. I believe in change. Not just as a catchy political slogan but I believe that God is able to do a glorious work in the world today through the church. It is Christ in us that is the hope of this glory!

From Peter Rollins.........I love this

2010-02-18T18:47:00.001-05:00

Truth or Consequences

2010-02-18T02:57:00.003-05:00

What do you do when you find that your beliefs and your life put you outside of God's grace and love? This is what religion does for many people. I found myself in just such a place where I spent 36 years trying to be what my religion said I was supposed to be. My religion said people like me was choosing this conflict when in fact, I was fighting it with everything in me. Was this just simply my "cross" or my " thorn in the flesh". These were several ways I tried to justify my battle. However when the depression and anxiety began to take a toll on me, I finally came to a place where I had to finally face the truth, and accept who I was and take a real look at what I thought was truth.

This is where the miracle happened. God did not reject me or cast me out. In fact I felt more of God's presence and acceptance than I ever had. I discovered that God values authenticity and in fact this is what true spirituality is. I also discovered that True Faith is not shakened by real life and is not so "black and white" because Life isn't so "cut and dry".

God did not fail me, but my belief system had. This began a complete reevaluation of my faith and beliefs. I mean if I could have been so wrong about God in this one major issue what else could I be wrong about. This turned out to be one of the greatest blessings of my life.

I found that a lot of my beliefs were not founded on Truth like I thought. I found that a lot of what I believed was religion's way of trying to control and conform people into a neat little cookie cutter version that did not challenge religion's own definition of how life was supposed to look. The only problem was it did not work and if it did not change it was set on destroying the very life and person I was.

Many people find themselves in this predicament. These same people must either reject this anti-life religion or they must rediscover the Truth of who God is.

My life and ministry is dedicated to sharing the good news of who God is and that no one is outside of God's love. A healthy faith does not put you at odds with God but instead is able to face the real life challenges that Life brings and should be founded on love, acceptance and well being.

If your beliefs do not do this someone has sold you a cheap knock-off of real Faith. I know because after 36 years of trying to fit into mine, I discovered it was just such a counterfeit.

I have discovered not to fear the questions in my life.I heard Brian McLaren state, "that faith based on questions produces a quest or journey". When I began asking the tough questions in my life my true quest and journey of Faith began. It is truly an adventure. My faith and beliefs are no longer someone else's prepackaged sterile version of dogmas and creeds but is an evolving, transcending. and living revelation revealed by God on a moment by moment basis,while living Life to the fullest.

Where do you find truth? Is it found in dusty creeds or dogmas? Is it found in someone's commentary and interpretation of ancient text? The answer to this question is simple it is only found in the person of Jesus Christ, He is the Truth, the Life and the Way.John 14:6

If your truth does not have the character, love and grace found in Him, you have a counterfeit. To find Truth outside of Christ has its consequences and no I am not talking about Hell or judgment. Although it can make one's life hell, I know of what I speak because I have lived the hell of self rejection and hatred that religion can cause. The price for blindly accepting this kind of "truth" is way too high and costly.

The church needs to question and evaluate it's departure from the true message of the gospel of Christ. This is why I am thankful to have found progressive Christianity. My faith no longer needs to have all my questions answered. It is content to rest in the amazing Love of God. Faith is about living now! Living faith brings the hope and unseen into the now. If we live life with this kind of faith we will face the challenges of life with God's grace and Love.

How do you see God?

2010-02-16T21:13:00.004-05:00

Tonight I was in a conversation that disturbed me a bit. The discussion was around how God would judge some people who discovered that their life was "wrong". Now in all fairness these Christians were more merciful and gracious than most I know. However I couldn't help but not recognize the God they described. There was a time when I saw God as they did but not anymore.

How do you see God? Do you see God as a judge who although loves the world is committed to justice and will send all to Hell who do not conform to the written Word of God?

Maybe part of the problem is the way we define judgment. Judgment and justice in it's truest sense is a setting things right. It is about restoring, reconciling, and redeeming not about punishment. Punishment does not set things right, if it did the prisons of America would be turning out an abundance of Righteous people who would cause our nation to be swept up in a whirlwind of redemption and revival of justice.

Faith or religion that is built on fear and punishment is not a faith at all. Is faith a system of beliefs or the way we live our lives? If it is a system of beliefs then anyone who lives contrary to what we believe must be wrong or must be the devil, because if we believe anything less we would have to consider maybe we are wrong.

But if faith is about how we live our lives then it is also about growth and change. Brian Mclaren said, " statements produce only states, but questions produce Quests."

Our faith should be a journey not about some state of being or about some "some day".So much of religion puts living off until the afterlife. So our view of God, our faith and the way we live is all about the future. But Hebrews 11:1 say, " NOW Faith is.........".

God is a God of Love. God desires to liberate, create, and reconcile right now in the lives of all. The Bible is a book of stories that give witness to God moving in the lives of people for these ends.

Now you might ask, what about the times in scripture where God is Violent, full of Wrath. The Bible was written by men who were limited by what their perspective of God was. It is literature (inspired though it is) through their eyes.

Nowhere are we told to gain our perspective of God from this one source. In fact only Christ is said to be the total revelation of who God is.Hebrews 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15

How has the church come from a group of people who followed Christ to now a group who worship the Bible in the place of Christ. Don't get me wrong, I love the Bible and I believe it is a gift from God to inspire, teach and reveal things about God to us. However, my faith is in Christ, and it is He that I follow. The Holy Spirit guides me into all truth. The Bible is just one tool he may use to speak to me.

If you view the Bible as a literal law book or as Brian Mclaren puts it a "Constitution" than I am afraid you will be disappointed and find many inconsistencies in your faith.Your faith will be about legalities, judgments,and will always leave someone on the wrong side of God and Heaven.It will always be a cut and dry one way or another proposition. it will never speak to the gray, messier harder parts of life. The Bible was never meant to govern every aspect of life, if it could then God would have simply given Moses the Bible and there would have been no need of a Savior.

However if you understand the Bible as a inspired set of books that tell a story and give witness of God's redemptive, restorative love and reconciliation, then your faith will be inspired and invigorated by this same love and you will know that God is a God of Love and who will go very very far to restore, redeem and rescue the life of even one who has gone astray.

Which one of these perspectives of God match's the example of Christ? That is the one that should be your perspective of who God is.

This post is inspired by my reading Brian McLaren's book "A New Kind of Christianity". I highly recommend this book if you want your faith transformed. However if you are happy with the regular packaged faith and religion this book is probably not for you. It is not about who is right or who is wrong. It is about what works here and now. I believe faith is about how we live our lives now and if we get that right, the afterlife will simply be a reward for a life well lived. Jesus said, " I have come that you may have Life and that life lived to the full". Eternal Life begins now not in Heaven, or maybe I should say the Kingdom of God is at hand now, not later....this is the gospel and the message Jesus preached.

A New Kind of Christianity...

2010-02-12T11:08:00.002-05:00

I am reading Brian McLaren's newest book "A New Kind of Christianity".I get why he chose that title but it is only new to most of us because we have been so brainwashed to accept the "Old" version that has so departed the original intent of Christ. Christianity is not a religion but a way of life and a relationship with God, ourselves and others. It is the Way of Life that God intends for all. My prayer is that the Church rediscover the power of Love in Christ and we get about the business of the "Good News". I have included a Video from YouTube that Brian posted on his page. Let it's message sink in......

More than.....

2010-02-07T13:10:00.000-05:00

I have been reading a book by Frank Schaeffer called "Patience with God". I have found it to be very well written although very academic for the lay reader. But very worth the time.

Religion as well as science attempt to define life and/or the mysteries of life. Although this serves a useful purpose neither can contain the awe or fullness of Life and it's mysteries. If you subscribe to either exclusivly you are limited in your understanding.

For myself life and it's mysteries proceed from God. Now for the athiest or agnostic this could create a challenge, however there are things most would say they believe in that I call God.
Love, beauty, goodness, justice are a few examples.

However although I am a person of faith my definition of God goes far beyond that of the simply religious. For instance God is more than any religious text although I enjoy reading scripture I understand that no book can define God or the mysteries of life. No creed, dogma or tenants of religion can capsulized God.

Recently I have been talking to a dear friend of mine who defines himself as agnostic. We have really challenged each other and enjoyed our chats. I do not seek to change him or convert him to religion. God knows the world has enough religious people. I only desire to help him recongnize the seeker in all of us as we respond to the majesty of life and to embrace true spirituality that is found in Love and forgiveness.

I know for myself God has been revealed to me in places that religion would not think to look. I am not ready to throw out religion because it does provide a good service and starting place for many the same as I enjoy science because it does the same I just invite all people no matter which label you subscribe to open your hearts and minds to realize there is so much more to life and it's mysteries.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Good News for a change!

2010-01-13T11:34:00.003-05:00

Good News is what we need more of. I was visiting family this past week and they had the local news on. I do not watch much news anymore. I keep up with current events but only the facts. I have changed my diet from the normal sensational negative fear based agenda driven media news to just the facts in small doses. This has been a very positive change in my life. I worry less, and have a lot more hope and optimism. So I wanted to share the powerful Good News today......

1.) God is Love and God Loves and has a plan for everyone's life. This plan is for their good and it transform their life into something they could not even imagine. All we need to do is changed the way we think about God, ourselves and others.

A.) God loves and accepts you as you are. God has already forgiven you every mistake and failure you will ever commit. God is about love and forgiveness not judgment. Fear, shame,judgment and guilt is not of God. Religion has used these to manipulate and control people for thousands of years. However God destroyed there power on the cross.

B.) Sin is not a list of don't s that keep us out of heaven. Sin is living a life separated from God and Love. Sin is believing a lie. The lie that God is against you or desires your harm. Sin is allowing fear or guilt to keep you from knowing and loving God. In fact the definition of hell is being separated from God. God is love, joy, peace. These come form God and outside of God they cannot be found. To live a life without love, peace or joy is truly living in Hell. What makes Heaven heaven is not streets of God, pearl gates or even eternal life, but the fact that it is a place or state of eternal relationship and connection with God.

C.) God is not shocked, disappointed, or even concerned that you are not perfect. However God has made provision for our weakness. God has given us the Holy Spirit to help lead us in life. Where is the Holy Spirit leading us you may ask......The Holy Spirit always leads us to God and Love. following God will always lead us to a better place.....greener pastures and calm refreshing waters...Psalms 23.

D.) God loves even those we have a hard time tolerating. God also loves those we can't stand being around. God has a plan for that person you love and for that person who always makes your life difficult. God loves that stranger you do not know, and God loves that person who does not seem to deserve it. God loves the most loving person and the most hate filled person. God has a plan for both. A plan that will redeem and changed both of their life.

E.) God is concerned about the huge crisis in your life as well as the small proverbial "hang-nails" in life. In fact I have discovered that God works on a grand scale and not only will work for you good in the hard things but will use these times to transform our relationships, perspectives and lives in ways that will surprise us. God also delights is using people and situations we never would.

Yes God delights in us and in our lives. God is looking for opportunities to reveal his Love to us and through us. Not because God has a need to be needed but simply because God is Love and cannot be anything else. God cannot help himself! If you make room for God your life will be transformed by the Love and generosity of God. All we need do is choose to connect with him. Even we we don't God still takes every opportunity to love us, but many of these expressions go without our notice.

This Good news is not new, in fact it is the message of Christ....the Church however has lost touch with the Good News and has instead replaced it with a counterfeit that is called religion. Religion is man's feeble attempt to package God, the Gospel on the other hand is God's own message of Love and acceptance for all of mankind.The Gospel is a message of hope, freedom and transformation. Religion can only bring fear, guilt, shame and failure.

Religion is the human-made system and attempt to find favor and approval with God. If you do these things (Church attendance, pay tithes, pray or read your Bible enough, fast, Commit no sins etc...) God will allow you to possibly be forgiven and go to heaven.

The Ironic fact is humankind is already favored and loved by God. God 's desire is for all to live in His Love and acceptance and be released from all guilt, shame and fear. This is the true meaning of salvation. Humankind was created by God to be the object of his love. Heaven is simply the realization of God's ultimate desire. How can we "the Church" gotten so far from this message of Good News. True spirituality and Faith is accepting the message of God's Love and living in its reality.

Note: God is not male nor female but I am aware that I use the male pronoun when referring to God. I hope you will forgive me this small familiar habit.My intention is not to offend or violate inclusiveness but simply to refer to God in a way that is familiar to me in my writing. God is much bigger than my understanding and I am limited in so many ways to express in mere human words the thoughts and inspiration of who God is..this is one such example and I promise to work on it.

Seeing God

2009-11-15T13:56:00.002-05:00

Continuing with yesterday's thought about how we see, I want to focus on what the Holy Spirit has been speaking into my heart.

Let me ask you a question, Do you see God? That may seem like a strange question. However some may say, yes I see God in the sunset or I see God in the eyes of a new born baby. I agree with these example but if we really want to see God we need to simply look around us. What would happen if we saw God everywhere and in everyone.

As I was meditating on this idea, God brought someone to my mind who well lets just say they can challenge the most Christ like. But as I thought about them, I heard the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit, say, I am in them.They are my child and the object of my love the same as you.

In God there is no us or them.In God all people are loved and are included in His plan.

This does not mean that everyone is living as if they are in God or even know this and this is what can make it difficult. However, if we recognize God in them, than there is a greater chance that they will too.

Forgiveness is about not only letting go of a deed done but also letting go of a label we may have put on someone. To allow God to redefine our relationship with all. It is our ego that wants to protect ourselves and create a need to separate from others who we define as undeserving or "bad".

Recently, I listened as a friend described a woman she knew as a "B@#$@". I knew the back story and why my friend felt this way and perhaps on some level she was more than justified about her judgment. However as she ranted about this lady state of B$%#@ness, the thought occurred to me. Is this lady destined to have this label for the rest of her life? What could she do to change this life sentence. Well the only one who has any control of this is the person who has labeled them. Through Forgiveness both parties are freed and enabled to fulfill God's ultimate plan for their lives.

God is ever present. God is everywhere, which in more practical terms, means that the potential for love, miracles and forgiveness is everywhere all the time.

How do we see

2009-11-14T10:33:00.000-05:00

Only the self-accused condemn. Those who have forgiven themselves are free to love and forgive, they see only goodness in others. God is love and forgiveness only those who hold guilt in their heart see God differently. When we judge or hate we only reveal the error of our own belief.

For far too long

2009-09-06T15:42:00.002-04:00

For so long I relied on myself to be a better person. I always fought hard but with minimal results. But the truth is, I cannot make myself anything. God already formed me and placed with in each one of us a plan, a spiritual DNA if you will that has the potential to blossom into a wonderful gift. We all are master pieces of God. I have found in Christ the faith and the Love to completely trust and surrender to the wonderful plan of God. Just simply abide in the vine and the sap of the Holy Spirit will produce the fruit. It is the most natural or should I say supernatural process. It has never been about my effort but simply my trust and faith in the goodness of God.

In my 42 years I have tested and have come to know the goodness of God. Those who want to paint God as angry, mean, judgmental have come to late because I already know God. God is Love.....God is not loving but God is Love itself.

I have not always understood or been right by what I have believed but God has always been faithful, met me where I was and led me into greater truth. I have not arrived, in fact I know less now then I ever thought I did....but isnt that what faith is.....not having it all figured out but still trusting a good generous God.

It has taken me a long time to get here....and I relied on myself and others for far too long, but now I am on an amazing journey with more faith and trust in God then ever....look out world because God is transforming this ole boy!

Greater is He that is in me.....John 4:4

2009-09-05T21:10:00.003-04:00

Living a connected life is the theme of this blog and the ministry that God has led me into. I have lived too many of my years disconnected. What do I mean by disconnected?

We can be so distracted in life that we live unaware of the miraculous of the simple things in life. We miss the beauty of the world around us, we take relationships for granted. So many gifts that God has blessed us with can go unappreciated.

However when we live connected to God, when we become aware of the love, presence and reality of the relationship we already have with God through Christ, it transforms our lives. When we become aware that Christ lives in us and is what brings us hope, strengths and empowers us to manifest God's glory to this world, we no longer can live disconnected lives. We then become aware that we are connected and it transforms our relationships and how we see the world.

How do we become connected? Do we need to pray more, read more, attend more church? Although these things are good, they are not necessary to connect. Jesus taught that all we have to do is simply abide. Simply Be....you see " he is the vine, we are the branches....John 15:1

When we live disconnected we rely simply upon our human strength and wisdom and we disregard the wealth of resources of heaven that is in Christ in us. we live so far below our potential. It does not take effort is only takes surrender. It is not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6)
I am not trying to be what God wants me to be, I already am, and I can live this out by the Spirit of Christ within me. We are more than flesh, we are more that our humanity, we are spiritual as well. When we live only from our humanity we fall short, God forgives us but there is so much more potential. When we allow Christ to work through us then we see the Glory of God. The Spirit fills our life with Peace, Joy, Strength, Love, Hope, Courage, Faith......

So the question I must ask myself is am I going to live simply from my humanity, from the man I am on the outside, or am I going to allow the Greater one on the inside to transcend and empower my humanity to empower me to live as a son of God.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name John 1:12

Be the Change

2009-08-15T09:33:00.003-04:00

This morning I was reading a sermon by Ian Lawton on SBNR,org called "Fix It Thinking" and it got me thinking. So many times we look outward for others to fix what we think needs to be fixed. The government, doctors, or if only "they" would make a pill for that. Who are "they"?

They are the scapegoats of our own inactivity. They are the ones we blame when things don't go like we want or how we think they should. In religious circles they can even be God or the devil. This kind of thinking is always outer directed. This kind of thinking changes nothing.

This makes me think of what Gandhi said, "be the change you want to see".

We can't just point fingers of blame or dodge our responsibility. The very word "responsibility" denotes that we have the "ability to respond" and I believe we (you and I) were born and placed here for just such a time as this.

Our journey of life has been a school to prepare us to live our lives in the full awareness of our ability.This ability is to respond with the generous resources of God and the universe to meet and minister to our world in which we live.We live this life on a moment by moment basis.

My Grace is sufficient for you is how God responded to Paul's Fix it it plea. (2Cor. 12:9) God wasn't telling Paul you are on you own bud, but rather you already have been given all that is necessary to face every challenge life can throw at you.

Scripture teaches that God supplies our needs according to God riches or resources. God has invested in us all the gifts and talents necessary to impact our world. It is not accidental that you were born you or when and where you are.

So lets rise up in this generation and allow Christ to live through us and be the change this world needs.

thought I would share!!!

2009-07-13T12:56:00.000-04:00

A Magna Carta

for Restoring the Supremacy of

Jesus Christ

a.k.a.

A Jesus Manifesto

for the 21st Century Church

by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

Christians have made the gospel about so many things … things other than Christ.

Jesus Christ is the gravitational pull that brings everything together and gives them significance, reality, and meaning. Without him, all things lose their value. Without him, all things are but detached pieces floating around in space.

It is possible to emphasize a spiritual truth, value, virtue, or gift, yet miss Christ . . . who is the embodiment and incarnation of all spiritual truth, values, virtues, and gifts.

Seek a truth, a value, a virtue, or a spiritual gift, and you have obtained something dead.

Seek Christ, embrace Christ, know Christ, and you have touched him who is Life. And in him resides all Truth, Values, Virtues and Gifts in living color. Beauty has its meaning in the beauty of Christ, in whom is found all that makes us lovely and loveable.

What is Christianity? It is Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Christianity is not an ideology. Christianity is not a philosophy. Christianity is the “good news” that Beauty, Truth and Goodness are found in a person. Biblical community is founded and found on the connection to that person. Conversion is more than a change in direction; it’s a change in connection. Jesus’ use of the ancient Hebrew word shubh, or its Aramaic equivalent, to call for “repentance” implies not viewing God from a distance, but entering into a relationship where God is command central of the human connection.

In that regard, we feel a massive disconnection in the church today. Thus this manifesto.

We believe that the major disease of the church today is JDD: Jesus Deficit Disorder. The person of Jesus is increasingly politically incorrect, and is being replaced by the language of “justice,” “the kingdom of God,” “values,” and “leadership principles.”

In this hour, the testimony that we feel God has called us to bear centers on the primacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Specifically . . .

1. The center and circumference of the Christian life is none other than the person of Christ. All other things, including things related to him and about him, are eclipsed by the sight of his peerless worth. Knowing Christ is Eternal Life. And knowing him profoundly, deeply, and in reality, as well as experiencing his unsearchable riches, is the chief pursuit of our lives, as it was for the first Christians. God is not so much about fixing things that have gone wrong in our lives as finding us in our brokenness and giving us Christ.

2. Jesus Christ cannot be separated from his teachings. Aristotle says to his disciples, “Follow my teachings.” Socrates says to his disciples, “Follow my teachings.” Buddha says to his disciples, “Follow my meditations.” Confucius says to his disciples, “Follow my sayings.” Muhammad says to his disciples, “Follow my noble pillars.” Jesus says to his disciples, “Follow me.” In all other religions, a follower can follow the teachings of its founder without having a relationship with that founder. Not so with Jesus Christ. The teachings of Jesus cannot be separated from Jesus himself. Jesus Christ is still alive and he embodies his teachings. It is a profound mistake, therefore, to treat Christ as simply the founder of a set of moral, ethical, or social teaching. The Lord Jesus and his teaching are one. The Medium and the Message are One. Christ is the incarnation of the Kingdom of God and the Sermon on the Mount.

3. God’s grand mission and eternal purpose in the earth and in heaven centers in Christ . . . both the individual Christ (the Head) and the corporate Christ (the Body). This universe is moving towards one final goal – the fullness of Christ where He shall fill all things with himself. To be truly missional, then, means constructing one’s life and ministry on Christ. He is both the heart and bloodstream of God’s plan. To miss this is to miss the plot; indeed, it is to miss everything.

4. Being a follower of Jesus does not involve imitation so much as it does implantation and impartation. Incarnation–the notion that God connects to us in baby form and human touch—is the most shocking doctrine of the Christian religion. The incarnation is both once-and-for-all and ongoing, as the One “who was and is to come” now is and lives his resurrection life in and through us. Incarnation doesn’t just apply to Jesus; it applies to every one of us. Of course, not in the same sacramental way. But close. We have been given God’s “Spirit” which makes Christ “real” in our lives. We have been made, as Peter puts it, “partakers of the divine nature.” How, then, in the face of so great a truth can we ask for toys and trinkets? How can we lust after lesser gifts and itch for religious and spiritual thingys? We’ve been touched from on high by the fires of the Almighty and given divine life. A life that has passed through death – the very resurrection life of the Son of God himself. How can we not be fired up?

To put it in a question: What was the engine, or the accelerator, of the Lord’s amazing life? What was the taproot or the headwaters of his outward behavior? It was this: Jesus lived by an indwelling Father. After his resurrection, the passage has now moved. What God the Father was to Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is to you and to me. He’s our indwelling Presence, and we share in the life of Jesus’ own relationship with the Father. There is a vast ocean of difference between trying to compel Christians to imitate Jesus and learning how to impart an implanted Christ. The former only ends up in failure and frustration. The latter is the gateway to life and joy in our daying and our dying. We stand with Paul: “Christ lives in me.” Our life is Christ. In him do we live, breathe, and have our being. “What would Jesus do?” is not Christianity. Christianity asks: “What is Christ doing through me … through us? And how is Jesus doing it?” Following Jesus means “trust and obey” (respond), and living by his indwelling life through the power of the Spirit.

5. The “Jesus of history” cannot be disconnected from the “Christ of faith.” The Jesus who walked the shores of Galilee is the same person who indwells the church today. There is no disconnect between the Jesus of Mark’s Gospel and the incredible, all-inclusive, cosmic Christ of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. The Christ who lived in the first century has a pre-existence before time. He also has a post-existence after time. He is Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, A and Z, all at the same time. He stands in the future and at the end of time at the same moment that He indwells every child of God. Failure to embrace these paradoxical truths has created monumental problems and has diminished the greatness of Christ in the eyes of God’s people.

6. It’s possible to confuse “the cause” of Christ with the person of Christ. When the early church said “Jesus is Lord,” they did not mean “Jesus is my core value.” Jesus isn’t a cause; he is a real and living person who can be known, loved, experienced, enthroned and embodied. Focusing on his cause or mission doesn’t equate focusing on or following him. It’s all too possible to serve “the god” of serving Jesus as opposed to serving him out of an enraptured heart that’s been captivated by his irresistible beauty and unfathomable love. Jesus led us to think of God differently, as relationship, as the God of all relationship.

7. Jesus Christ was not a social activist nor a moral philosopher. To pitch him that way is to drain his glory and dilute his excellence. Justice apart from Christ is a dead thing. The only battering ram that can storm the gates of hell is not the cry of Justice, but the name of Jesus. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of Justice, Peace, Holiness, Righteousness. He is the sum of all spiritual things, the “strange attractor” of the cosmos. When Jesus becomes an abstraction, faith loses its reproductive power. Jesus did not come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live.

8. It is possible to confuse an academic knowledge or theology about Jesus with a personal knowledge of the living Christ himself. These two stand as far apart as do the hundred thousand million galaxies. The fullness of Christ can never be accessed through the frontal lobe alone. Christian faith claims to be rational, but also to reach out to touch ultimate mysteries. The cure for a big head is a big heart.

Jesus does not leave his disciples with CliffsNotes for a systematic theology. He leaves his disciples with breath and body.

Jesus does not leave his disciples with a coherent and clear belief system by which to love God and others. Jesus gives his disciples wounds to touch and hands to heal.

Jesus does not leave his disciples with intellectual belief or a “Christian worldview.” He leaves his disciples with a relational faith.

Christians don’t follow a book. Christians follow a person, and this library of divinely inspired books we call “The Holy Bible” best help us follow that person. The Written Word is a map that leads us to The Living Word. Or as Jesus himself put it, “All Scripture testifies of me.” The Bible is not the destination; it’s a compass that points to Christ, heaven’s North Star.

The Bible does not offer a plan or a blueprint for living. The “good news” was not a new set of laws, or a new set of ethical injunctions, or a new and better PLAN. The “good news” was the story of a person’s life, as reflected in The Apostle’s Creed. The Mystery of Faith proclaims this narrative: “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.” The meaning of Christianity does not come from allegiance to complex theological doctrines, but a passionate love for a way of living in the world that revolves around following Jesus, who taught that love is what makes life a success . . . not wealth or health or anything else: but love. And God is love.

9. Only Jesus can transfix and then transfigure the void at the heart of the church. Jesus Christ cannot be separated from his church. While Jesus is distinct from his Bride, he is not separate from her. She is in fact his very own Body in the earth. God has chosen to vest all of power, authority, and life in the living Christ. And God in Christ is only known fully in and through his church. (As Paul said, “The manifold wisdom of God – which is Christ – is known through the ekklesia.”)

The Christian life, therefore, is not an individual pursuit. It’s a corporate journey. Knowing Christ and making him known is not an individual prospect. Those who insist on flying life solo will be brought to earth, with a crash. Thus Christ and his church are intimately joined and connected. What God has joined together, let no person put asunder. We were made for life with God; our only happiness is found in life with God. And God’s own pleasure and delight is found therein as well.

10. In a world which sings, “Oh, who is this Jesus?” and a church which sings, “Oh, let’s all be like Jesus,” who will sing with lungs of leather, “Oh, how we love Jesus!”

If Jesus could rise from the dead, we can at least rise from our bed, get off our couches and pews, and respond to the Lord’s resurrection life within us, joining Jesus in what he’s up to in the world. We call on others to join us—not in removing ourselves from planet Earth, but to plant our feet more firmly on the Earth while our spirits soar in the heavens of God’s pleasure and purpose. We are not of this world, but we live in this world for the Lord’s rights and interests. We, collectively, as the ekklesia of God, are Christ in and to this world.

May God have a people on this earth who are a people of Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. A people of the cross. A people who are consumed with God’s eternal passion, which is to make his Son preeminent, supreme, and the head over all things visible and invisible. A people who have discovered the touch of the Almighty in the face of his glorious Son. A people who wish to know only Christ and him crucified, and to let everything else fall by the wayside. A people who are laying hold of his depths, discovering his riches, touching his life, and receiving his love, and making HIM in all of his unfathomable glory known to others.

The two of us may disagree about many things—be they ecclesiology, eschatology, soteriology, not to mention economics, globalism and politics.

But in our two most recent books—From Eternity to Here and So Beautiful—we have sounded forth a united trumpet. These books are the Manifests to this Manifesto. They each present the vision that has captured our hearts and that we wish to impart to the Body of Christ— “This ONE THING I know” (Jn.9:25) that is the ONE THING that unites us all:

Jesus the Christ.

Christians don’t follow Christianity; Christians follow Christ.

Christians don’t preach themselves; Christians proclaim Christ.

Christians don’t point people to core values; Christians point people to the cross.

Christians don’t preach about Christ: Christians preach Christ.

Over 300 years ago a German pastor wrote a hymn that built around the Name above all names:

Ask ye what great thing I know,

that delights and stirs me so?
What the high reward I win?

Whose the name I glory in?
Jesus Christ, the crucified.

This is that great thing I know;

this delights and stirs me so:
faith in him who died to save,

His who triumphed o’er the grave:
Jesus Christ, the crucified.

—

Jesus Christ – the crucified, resurrected, enthroned, triumphant, living Lord.

He is our Pursuit, our Passion, and our Life.

Amen.

The Time is Now

2009-06-30T17:39:00.003-04:00

All that any of us have is now. Faith is the substance (material or resource)that brings our hopes and dreams into the present. It is the assurance of things to come. Hebrews 11:1

We are able to trust God's love and generosity in all times, because God is faithful to all. Not because we deserve it but because God is who God is...Good.

God causes it to rain on all and the sun to shine on all...God does not show partiality to people but loves all generously!

In God and In Faith We are One and God sees us as so!

Religion tries to separate, gives special rights and privileges to a few, Christ came to the whole world and reaches out to ALL!

New Beginnings

2009-04-10T09:17:00.003-04:00

In order for there to be new beginnings there has to be something ending. For there to be a resurrection there has to be a death. On this Good Friday we mark the death of Jesus, but that was only the beginning, the closing of his human life...in three days he would rise again in all of His Glory as the Christ.

Many of us want new beginnings but this means change and letting go of things. It involves risks and faith. The rewards can be amazing, nothing short of new life but it isn't always easy.

This is where our faith in the Goodness and Generosity of God is a must. God has a plan and the plan is to bring about your good. You have a purpose and you are a gift to this world. You have the image and God's goodness inside of you. Allow it to manifest, allow God to express himself through you. This does not change who you are or your identity but this allows you to find it fully and find true purpose.

awesome speech

2009-03-27T21:47:00.001-04:00

Integration

2009-03-26T13:16:00.003-04:00

True spirituality is about wholeness and growth in every area of your life. That is what makes God God. God is wHoly, Complete and fully perfect. Now I don't know any person who I can describe with these adjectives, however we re made in God's image. We definitely have the potential to grow and transcend from the point of where we are.

True spirituality is about just this. Growth and integration of every part of our person hood. Spiritually, physical, emotional, intellectual and even sexuality. True health is about balance.

I know many people(including the one typing this blog) who are healthy and doing well in some areas of their lives, but true wholeness and spirituality touches each of these areas. Spirituality is the part of us that ties all of our other parts (emotional, physical, intellectual etc.) together. Our life emanates from our center or spirit. That is why true spirituality is the source of healthy growth in every area of our life. Any practice that causes us to grow and expand into more whole and healthy people is a spiritual practice.

Sometimes religion has been a source of devaluing a part of us or labeling some part as nonspiritual when in fact this is not possible. For instance religion has many times labeled the physical body or sexuality as less than the other parts of who a are. When the truth is we cannot separate, but instead need to integrate all of who we are so that we can be whole and truly healthy.

A person's faith, beliefs and practices should encourage and promote growth. This is why we should regularly evaluate and ask questions of what we believe. Even doubt can be a spiritual practice if it leads to growth.

In the past my faith or beliefs caused shame, fear and even guilt. This did not lead to growth but instead caused me to be stunted in growth and even unhealthy. The greatest blessing in my life came when I realized that my beliefs did not stand up to the challenges in my life and this was not a failure on God's part but a failure on my beliefs and understanding of God.

Today I have more wholeness and peace in my life than ever. I still have a long way to grow, but I am growing into that man that I see in Christ.

My heart aches

2009-03-18T21:42:00.003-04:00

Recently I have found myself ministering to hurting people who are so trapped by the lies of society and some religious institutions. People who are living trapped by the expectations of others or who are denying themselves their happiness because of confusion that the world has taught them.

Many LGBT people commit suicide or live far below the quality of life that God would have for them. Many think God is against them or is punishing them for their evil lives.

What is evil? Let me give you two scenarios and you choose.

1.) A group of people feel that the way others live is wrong, so they say awful things about them. Make jokes that humiliate. Preach that God hates these people and refuse to allow them to be a part of their churches, families, companies. They demand these people live lives without the same human rights as others. They shouldn't be with those they love, should not commit to them permanently, should not be able to have protections of the law or provisions for there care. And announce that any bad thing that happens to them (earthquake, hurricane, disease, ect) is the will of God and His punishment that they deserve. They offer no grace, love or acceptance to these people unless they give up who they are and pretend to live a lie and act like the others.

2.) this group of people discover that they are unique and accept and love themselves as God's creation. They follow their heart and form loving committed relationships. They rise above many challenges of hate, confusion to live productive lives and fulfill the callings of God that He has placed in thier hearts. They are not perfect but are real, and genuine. They are very accepting of those who are different and seem to attract those who are outcasts and there they provide a community and a place of belonging, because they remember what it was like to be an outcast.

Now which group is evil or a problem for God?

Is it me or is it very simple?

God's Expression

2009-03-17T20:37:00.003-04:00

We see people argue of what form of love is correct or who can express commitment of the same love in marriage. However I submit, that Love is both divine and human. We are made in the image of God, which means we are designed to love, and express love with others through relationship. God desires to love people through people. We are the hands, arms and expressions of God's love for our fellow human beings. For some people we are friends, for some family, for some lovers and spouses. God desires to express acceptance, appreciation and support through His children to His children. For the one I am friend to, I become an expression of God's friendship. For the one I partner with for life I am become God's expression of a spouse for them.

How much better this world would be if we saw God's love in others and allowed God to love through us. Look for the divine fingerprints of God's own image in those God has put in your life. Allow God's own heart to express through all you are.

In our daily dealings and life with people we should ask ourselves,How does God see them? What does God want for them? How can I be a part of God's plan to bring them into this abundant life God has prepared for us all.

God's Love, generosity and Goodness is limitless and is empowered to transform anyone's life who will receive it unto their fullest potential.

Jesus said, " I have come that you may have life (Zoe, God's full life) and Life more abundantly. ( To the Fullest Potential) John 10:10

The Truth and Message of Christ

2009-03-15T17:35:00.001-04:00

Today in church I felt as if God was speaking to me about Truth.

What is the Truth?

What is the Message of Christ?

Many turn to the church, religion or family for the answer to these questions.

For some it would be wrong to question what they have been taught. One of the greatest blessings in my life was to discover that my sexuality was that of a gay man. This self discovery threw me into a faith crisis which left me one of only two choices.

The first would be to deny my faith completely and to live my life as if my spirituality was non-existent. I soon discovered this was as impossible as denying my sexuality...which I had given a good try for more than 36 years.

The second and really only real option was to question what I believed. I found myself split by what my heart knew and believed and what my mind told me based on what religion and men had taught me.

My heart knew that God was real, good and loving.

My mind voiced shame, fear and self-hatred. What was I to do? The process was long but the answer was simple. To put my faith in the Love and Goodness of God.

Many never think about what they believe, but blindly accept what others have told or taught them.Sometimes their beliefs only serve to be an extension to the shame, guilt and fear of significant people in their lives. This kind of faith is in direct oppostion to the Truth and message of Christ. Christ came to set us free from all oppression and slavery. True freedom in Christ brings about such a joy and ability to reach our full potential in our lives.

A healthy faith is one that can stand up to questions. It is a faith that brings hope and confidence in the face of crisis and challenge. Does your faith bring freedom and joy or does it make you feel ashamed and unworthy?

Jesus said, "He had come to show us the truth and to set us free". Faith in Christ does just this. John 8:32

I am not perfect and I have many flaws, but my faith causes me to grow into wholeness and enables me to rise above the challenges of my life. My faith is not in rules, dogmas or doctrines but it is in the Love, Mercy and Grace of my God who is commited to my and the whole worlds well-being and salvation.

God reveals and fills my heart with His love and all that he asks in return is for me to accept it and freely share his message of Love with others so they too may recieve this love in its fulness.

If your faith has not helped you rise above fear, shame, or guilt then I invite you to questions its source and relevance. Faith is the substance of things hoped for.....for many their faith is not about their hopes but more about their fear. Hebrews 11:1

May God's peace and Love Fill your heart this day!

Mike

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Searching....for real faith not prepackaged

2009-03-07T17:02:00.005-05:00

Today I was in a popular bookstore chain looking for a title that I am doing a study and book discussion soon with. I had forgotten to write down the name of the author so I was having to take the time to go through every title in the Christian section. I was bothered by the many titles, who offered a clear cut and defined prepackaged faith. All the work has been done for you all you need to do is read this book and you could live a supernatural, victorious, wealthy, no problem life and with all of what you "should believe defined and spelled out for you....just add water or was that included as well?

I do not mean to sound so negative but where are the questions, the honesty, the challenge of real faith and life in this. I mean if most of these titles where true then why is the church in such a shape? Why haven't we changed the world? Why is there so much suffering and poverty?

I use to buy into this prepackaged version of Christianity myself but it failed to meet the challenges of my "real life" and it was then I had to discover a real faith. This real faith involves a real doubt reaching out to a real God who extends real love back and reveals to me not only the truth of who God is and God's love but also shows me the errors of my faulty faith. God also teaches me that questions are good because they cause one to search and look beyond their own or other's experiences and enabled me to unpack and throw out much of what had been my prepackaged beliefs.

Faith is a journey and you never arrive, but there is always more to learn, discover and grow into. It is exciting. This adventure is yours to live, don't look for it in somebody Else's story or book. Find it in God and in yourself.....

I am not against books, actually I love them, and have plenty of them. If books were money I would be a wealthy man. However faith is something we live, not just read about.

The Power of Surrender

2009-02-22T18:15:00.003-05:00

Recently I have discovered the power of surrender. What do I mean by this? Well faith is trusting in God, believing that God has our best at heart. Trusting in the generosity and goodness of God. This does not mean that we will experience only what we want but rather that no matter "what is in our life now" we accept it as it is and trust that God will work it out for our good. Romans 8:28

I found myself in a situation recently that was very difficult and I saw no solution. However there was someone who could help, but I had promised myself never to ask them for anything due to a strained relationship over the years.God worked in a way where this person found out about my situation and to my surprise offered to help.Part of me wanted to rise up in my pride and stand my ground but by the help of the Holy Spirit I saw God's plan. God had allowed this situation in order for there to be healing and forgiveness in a relationship that I had resigned to never get any better. This person was my Dad.

God took a difficult circumstance in my life and used it to bring about a miracle that means more to me than anything Gos could have given me. God used the one person I never thought he could. This was a valuable lesson in surrender, forgiveness and the generous heart of God. Although many are going through hard financial times and I do believe in God's faithfulness for his children to see them through. I also believe that God will work in a way that brings far more good than just meeting a need.

Today I took my kids to visit my Dad. We had a nice visit and I am so thankful for the gifts of God. I know that I will not have my Dad in my life for too many more years but I am thankful that whatever time we have left will no longer be strained or wasted. Faith is trusting in the goodness and generosity of God. But God's priorities and economics are not our own. Trust and surrender you will not be disappointed but you will grow.

Who do men say I am....does it matter?

2009-02-20T08:29:00.002-05:00

What has happened to the Church? I use the term church to refer to the religious movement as a whole. I know there are those who still remain faithful to the teachings and Spirit of Christ, however when you look at the message, positions and messages of the "church" at large you have to question how did we get here. My purpose is not to slam anybody. My purpose is to ensure that I am where I should be and that the authentic faith I have found in Christ....the faith that simply says Love God, Love People, be and see Christ in all and demonstrate love....doesn't become ship wrecked or hijacked by any agenda.

My faith has been an evolution. Faith is a journey of growth and transcendence. We should be able to look back and rejoice that we are not where we once were. I am not perfect, nor do I have a monopoly on authentic faith. However the more authentic my faith becomes the more simplistic is becomes as well. Some might label me naive, deceived or too liberal. All I can say is that I have never been so free, so in Love with my God and his/her people.

I live in a small town and regularly run into people who view my faith and life as if my authenticity was a crime of anti-christ proportions. I have seen the looks, heard the whispers and outright hateful things that are said. I have never felt so close to my Lord, who suffered many of the same things for differing with the religious of his day and loving those who were considered outcast. Although I mourn for the condition of the church today, I also find a peace that I am not in step with it. I find comfort in being an outsider...give me identifying with Christ any day rather than any other.

The Spirit of Love, The Spirit of Christ

2009-01-22T03:00:00.002-05:00

The Christian Faith is not a religion. It is a way of life. It is a practice of the presence and spirit of God. It is the allowing of the spirit of Christ to express himself through our lives. The Bible teaches that we are Temples or containers of God. We do not bring the law, condemnation or judgment but we bring the spirit of Christ. We bring Love, Peace and Joy. We bring acceptance, inclusion and hope.

This is our gift to the world....a God given, Love and hope that has within itself the power to transform individuals, relationships, families, communities and nations simply because it connects and bonds us to God and each other.

Once embraced, this spirit of Love heals the embracing one by shattering the false image of being separate and unloved and reveals our true identity of being the beloved. However the spirit of Christ does not stop there but also reveals to us that all people are God's beloved.

This love empowers and propels us to demonstrate and reveal this message of love to all. This is the "Good News". The is the mission!

Getting still is a practice

2009-01-21T20:57:00.002-05:00

He leads me beside still waters.....Ps 23

Life has a way of being noisy and hectic. Stress is the friction of living a fiction. When we get overwhelmed, or stressed out it is time to reconnect with stillness and truth. I have of late gotten so busy that I unconsciously allowed myself to become disconnected from self and God. This brought about stress or friction in my own life.For me I then begin looking for ways to find comfort and peace. Food, distractions or other unhealthy practices promise comfort but never deliver.

However the Spirit whispers to me to return to the stillness and peace that passes understanding.

"Quiet the mind, pull aside from the race and find rest for the weary soul".

Thank you God for your faithfulness, thank you for leading me into paths that nourish and supply life.

Amen....Let it Be!

When?

2009-01-06T10:26:00.002-05:00

Many times even in matters of faith, happiness is a future prize. I lived many years with that kind of mentality. Recently there has been many deaths of friends and people I know. This has made me ponder and think about life. One of my favorite movies " A Peaceful Warrior" talks about how most people sleep walk through life. Happiness is always in the future. This morning I read an email I received from "Zen Habits" that I thought I would share with you......bottom line don't wait to live....

My Life of Waiting

When I was young, I couldn’t wait to become an adult. Oh, the freedom! Becoming an adult would bring me happiness. I couldn’t wait.

When I became an adult, I couldn’t wait to get a good job. That would surely bring happiness. I couldn’t wait. When I got a good job, I couldn’t wait to get a raise. When I got a raise, I couldn’t wait to get married. When I got married, I couldn’t wait to buy a nicer car. Got the car, then I couldn’t wait to buy a house.

When I bought the house, I couldn’t wait to … get out of debt.

I could go on for quite awhile, but you get the point. None of my desires ever produced happiness, because I was stuck in the mindset of wanting more. When I got what I wanted, I wanted something else. My happiness was always on hold, because I was waiting to reach a goal.

Waiting for happiness.

What do I know?

2009-01-05T10:16:00.003-05:00

I had a friend ask me a question recently because he felt I knew more about God than he did, because of my pastoral experience. While it is true nothing has taught me more about God and people than pastoring, the one lesson I have discovered more life changing than any other is the acknowledgment of what I do not know. When you realize that God and the universe cannot be explained or understood completely with our minds you leave the land of religion and move into real faith. I take great comfort in the fact that God is bigger than my understanding or religion's attempt at definition.

I am sharing an article by a pastor that I hope you enjoy:

TRUTH IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION
D.E. PAULK

We never arrive. In all of our acquiring knowledge we must remember to get understanding. And what is understanding? True understanding is accepting that truth is a journey, not a destination.

Just because Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would guide us into ALL TRUTH doesn't necessarily mean that the truth will come all at once or from one culture, cult, religion or religious figure. Truth is a proceeding word or a continual flow that emits to and through all of creation. Because we are both flesh and spirit we are temporarily, yet not permanently, unable to see all of God's Spirit and Truth at once or even clearly.

I Corinthians 13:12 says, Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror... Claiming to know something that we can never completely know keeps us from a deeper knowing. We see. However, we do not yet see clearly. Questions are like Windex for the mirror of our soul. As we ask questions, we wipe away a little more of the debris that blurs our vision, and we remove the obstacles that keep us from seeing into the mirror correctly.

Once we lose our perceptions of knowing, the mirror shows us something most unexpected... it shows us God! As we humble ourselves and ask, we experience the exaltation of knowing.
Quote of the Week

"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself."
-Lloyd Alexander

A New Year Prayer!

2008-12-31T08:10:00.003-05:00

I know I have been absent lately....I was on vacation and had limited internet service but I am back now.......

"May the Hope of Christ fill you this New Year with expectancy and a fresh vision for you and yours 2009. May we see justice, love and joy flourish."

"Amen"

THE STRUGGLE TO SURRENDER By D.E. PAULK

2008-12-16T00:28:00.003-05:00

THE STRUGGLE TO SURRENDER
D.E. PAULK
There is a secret, sacred place where man enters into communion with the Ultimate Mystery. This secret place is discovered only by those who are willing to surrender their personal possession of power to the Greater Power. However, to surrender does not mean to quit or to stop; to cease or to discontinue. To surrender is to deliver up the I Know in order to find the Way of Knowing.

Many religious souls suffer in exile, isolated from the Spirit of Truth because they have great possessions in the form of preconceived ideas that they are not willing to give up. Like the Rich Young Ruler in the Bible story, they have confidence in their own judgment and in these ideas with which they have become familiar and accustomed. Sadly, they, like he will miss the opportunity to follow Christ fully because they will not part with the riches of what they already know.

We can all access this secret, sacred place, but we must first surrender our possession of the known to the unknown of God. Yet surrender is not our nature. The human in us surrendering to the spiritual is always a struggle. But as Frederick Douglass wisely stated so many years ago, where there is no struggle, there is no progress.

Finding happiness and true inner peace is the result of a process of searching for our spiritual selves, our higher nature, by struggling and asking. Happiness and inner peace is also found in accepting that this process will continue for a lifetime.

Waiting with awareness

2008-12-11T21:18:00.000-05:00

repost from explorefaith.org

Waiting with Awareness Written By Renée Miller

Have you not heard his silent steps? Advent: Waiting with Awareness
He comes, comes, ever comes.
Every moment and every age,
every day and every night
he comes, comes, ever comes.
Many a song have I sung in many a mood of mind,
but all their notes have always proclaimed,
"He comes, comes, ever comes."
In the fragrant days of sunny April
through the forest path
he comes, comes, ever comes.
In the rainy gloom of July nights
on the thundering chariot of clouds
he comes, comes, ever comes.
In sorrow after sorrow
it is his steps that press upon my heart,
and it is the golden touch of his feet
that makes my joy to shine.
—from Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore

When I was a child, one of the most difficult aspects of the holiday season was waiting for Christmas to arrive. I was an adept sleuth. I was able to open all my presents and return them to their wrapped condition before Christmas morning without my parents being any the wiser. It may have been my own devilish nature that motivated me, but I think my religious tradition also had something to do with it.

Being an Episcopalian meant that we kept the season of Advent. It was actually taken very seriously. Christmas carols could not be sung during Advent. Christmas decorations were not displayed. The Christmas tree could not be trimmed and lit until Christmas Eve. The decorations for the Advent season were sparse. It was the season of purple, marked only with an Advent wreath for decoration.

Reflections and prayers accompanied the lighting of a candle on the wreath each week of Advent as we prepared and waited for Christ's coming. But I wanted the glitz of ornaments and lights! I wanted "Jingle Bells!" I wanted the party without the preparation! I didn't want to wait!

In our world today waiting and watching are seen as unproductive. Our culture is result-driven because results feed the economy. Hence, Christmas decorations appear in stores long before Thanksgiving, and Christmas carols are played and sung as soon as Thanksgiving is over. Even in our holidays and sacred traditions we are urged to speed along ever and ever faster, and yet our souls cry out for silence and stillness.

We are caught in the trap of wanting everything 'now' yet feeling that we never really have the opportunity to experience anything fully. In so many arenas of our lives we are hardly aware of finishing one thing before moving on to the next. And because we are hardly aware, we miss—"he comes, comes, ever comes."

What would it be like if we were to change our attitude for a year and experiment with a tradition of waiting and preparation? It might be that we would find the party at the end much more glorious. We might also find that waiting for God's coming helped make it possible for us to wait more gracefully for other things in our lives—the order we placed on-line, the traffic that threatens to make us late for an appointment, standing in line at the grocery store behind someone with a full cart, the encounter with a friend that has been delayed. In other words, we might find that practicing waiting in Advent might help us be more patient the rest of the year.

But, even more surprising, we might find that the practice of waiting helped us become more aware, more attentive to the presence of God that is always coming into our lives, that—"He comes, comes, ever comes."

Perhaps Advent seems outmoded, even ancient and irrelevant for the 21st century. Yet, what is not outmoded, ancient, or irrelevant is that God comes, comes, ever comes. When we take the time to wait, we become aware of that presence. Stress, tension, conflict, inner disparities find a centering point in that presence, and life becomes fuller and deeper.

Christmas is a bejeweled and brilliant feast. The jewels and brilliance are like the secrets that were held within those presents that I insisted on opening before Christmas. My inability to wait spoiled the wonder and surprise of those secrets wrapped in shiny paper and moire ribbon. But when I chose to embrace the practice of waiting, my eyes were dazzled on Christmas morn. So these days, I'm hurrying up to wait.

Below are a few ideas to help you develop your own path of Advent waiting

Take an evening and make an Advent wreath. Gather together some candles, incense, flowers, greens, fabric of purple and some kind of a base for the wreath. Place the base on a table and creatively place the greens and fabric on it. Secure the candles and/or incense and each day take a few moments to quiet yourself, light a candle, and ask for the eyes to see and the ears to hear the coming of God into your life.

Listen to some Advent hymns in the quiet of the morning or before you enter the night's slumber. Notice that the tones and rhythm of the music for this season are soothing and centering, inviting you inward to a deep and sacred place within yourself. (Christmas carols with their joyfulness and excitement are more likely to invite you outward.) As you listen to the Advent music, be aware of being aware.

Give yourself permission to prepare yourself for God's coming in your life by engaging in a quiet meditation of self-examination at the end of each day. Scan your day and note the times that you were aware of God's grace, aware that you were loved, aware that grace was occurring. Re-imagine those moments and thank God for showering you with these surprise gifts. Refuse to be driven by the culture. Let yourself be still and quiet, rather than frenzied and frenetic. Out of your stillness consider how you might bring God into the lives of othe

New Website

2008-12-11T21:07:00.003-05:00

I have been working on a new ministry website for Reconnection Ministries. This blog will still remain a very active part of this ministry and is linked to this new website as well.

http://sites.advancedministry.com/index.cfm?i=7638

World AIDS Day

2008-12-01T10:57:00.003-05:00

Today is World AIDS Day. A day that we remember those who have died or who live with this condition. A day we commit to no longer allow those who suffer with this condition to do so alone. We have come a long way in how we treat AIDS, however we have a lot more to do.

Sometimes we here in America, are too egotistical. We assume that how we live is how all live. We suppose that treatment here is available everywhere, or we simply forget or put out of our mind the reality of the rest of the world.I heard it described this way recently, "what I might consider minor surgery for you, becomes major surgery when I need it."

The purpose of World AIDS day is to remember, remind and recommit......there are many in this world who do not have the resources or the voice needed to meet the challenges of this disease. Lets not forget or abandon them.

How would Jesus vote on California's Prop 8?

2008-11-21T07:19:00.002-05:00

Keeping with my gay marriage theme I am reposting this post from Christ Community Church:

California Does the Do-Se-Do on Sexual Equality
by Ian Lawton

America has taken one step back and one step forward on the issue of sexuality and equality. California’s Proposition 8, a ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, passed. One step back for equality. A week later, more than 100 retired generals and admirals called for repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy so that LGBT people can serve openly in the military. One step forward for equality.

The state of California took one step forward before taking the huge step back. While the sun shone bright in the month of June, 18,000 same sex couples in California said “I do” thanks to a state Supreme Court ruling. Proposition 8, that passed on a cooling November day, now says "Sorry, you can't!"

The driving force behind Proposition 8 was evangelical Christianity. The argument is that God, as clearly revealed in the Bible, ordained marriage as being between one man and one woman. This is curious, particularly when Californian Mormons argue the case. Many Mormons believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman, oh and another woman, and maybe several other women. They believe in polygamy as Palestinian Jews of New Testament times believed in polygamy. To be consistent, we should reintroduce concubinage as well. Oh, and women should marry at 13 years of age, just as they commonly did in the first century without challenge from the Bible writers.

If we look to the Roman world of New Testament times for marriage principles, then we also need to be consistent and include some other revisions to social standards. Married women should not be allowed to vote in public elections, sit on a jury, give testimony in court or take any public office. As in first century Rome, women are free to enjoy a happy life. They can visit friends, go to the baths and the theatre and accompany their husband to dinner parties, but they must remain the legal property of either their fathers or their husbands.

This is absurd. The Bible doesn’t prescribe how marriage should or should not be defined. The Bible writers took for granted Jewish and Roman views on marriage. They operated out of economic necessity, more than from any sense of morality. The more wives a man had, the more children he could have, therefore the more laborers he had to work his land.

We now know more about gender equality and legal rights. We don’t depend on children for cheap labor. We actually legislate against it. We don't encourage women to get married at 13. We actually legislate against it. We don’t see women as merely procreation machines. We legislate for women to play equal and autonomous roles outside of the home. Society has changed, as it should change. Now its time to take a giant step forward in our understanding of the Christian tradition.

Maybe we could begin by looking to the radical example of Jesus, who showed mercy for the woman caught in adultery, realizing the injustice of persecuting the woman while her male partner avoided responsibility. At a time when men did not even speak to women publicly, Jesus offered spiritual guidance to the woman at the well, a member of an outcast race. He taught women, healed women, and accepted women, even those considered "unclean." Jesus made no moral comment on marriage, but he did model liberation and equality.

Maybe then we could acknowledge that the early Christian church was far more accepting of diversity than the current church. Early Christian writers celebrated the loving, same sex relationship of two Roman soldiers who were also Christian martyrs, Sergius and Bacchus. Documents from the 10th and 11th centuries reveal that the Christian church devised same sex marriage rituals alongside heterosexual marriage liturgies. Homophobia is a recent aberration in the Christian church. Could we step forward, by regaining the Christian celebration of diversity?

Maybe then we could stop scapegoating the LGBT community, and address the dysfunction in marriage itself. The current financial crisis will do more to tear marriages apart than same sex relationships have ever done. Then we could turn our attention to wider social dysfunction. Wars will do more damage to the sanctity of marriage than legalizing same sex marriage. Some reports suggest there were over 10,000 divorces in the US army in 2007 alone.

Let’s take a huge leap forward by channeling our energy towards ending poverty and war, with the sort of courage and empathy that Jesus fought inequality. Let’s stride forward with a massive celebration of diversity and love that shatters fear, bigotry and superficial boundaries of difference.

Fight poverty, wage peace, and let same sex couples say “I do”. The Christian tradition requires nothing less than the full equality of all people, a full hearted celebration of all loving relationships. The Christian tradition supports it. Your own conscience demands it.

A Marriage Manifesto... Of Sorts By Tom Ackerman

2008-11-19T00:44:00.000-05:00

Another repost that I enjoyed very much:
A Marriage Manifesto... Of Sorts
By Tom Ackerman

A gay man experiments with language, love and law.

I no longer recognize marriage. It’s a new thing I’m trying.

Turns out it’s fun.

Yesterday I called a woman’s spouse her boyfriend.

She says, correcting me, “He’s my husband,”
“Oh,” I say, “I no longer recognize marriage.”

The impact is obvious. I tried it on a man who has been in a relationship for years,

“How’s your longtime companion, Jill?”
“She’s my wife!”
“Yeah, well, my beliefs don’t recognize marriage.”

Fun. And instant, eyebrow-raising recognition. Suddenly the majority gets to feel what the minority feels. In a moment they feel what it’s like to have their relationship downgraded, and to have a much taken-for-granted right called into question because of another’s beliefs.

Just replace the words husband, wife, spouse, or fiancé with boyfriend, girlfriend, special friend, or longtime companion. There is a reason we needed stronger words for more serious relationships. We know it; now they can see it.

A marriage is a lot of things. Culturally, it’s a declaration to the community that two people are now a unit, and that unity should be respected. Legally, it’s a set of rights and responsibilities. And spiritually, it’s whatever your beliefs think it is.

That’s what’s so great about America. As a constitutionally secular nation, or at least in reality a vaguely pluralistic nation, we can all have our own spiritual take on what marriage is. What’s troublesome is when one group’s spiritual beliefs deny the cultural and legal rights of another.

But, back to the point. They say their beliefs don’t recognize my marriage, I say my beliefs don’t recognize theirs. Simple. It may seem petty, and obviously the legal part of the cultural/legal/spiritual trilogy is flip-floppy, but it may be the cultural part that really matters.

People get married to be recognized as a permanent couple. To be acknowledged by friends, family, and strangers as being off the market, in a relationship, totally hooked up, yikes… it’s impossible to say without saying ‘married.’ We wear rings to declare this!

So, we can take this away. We can refuse to recognize marriage in the cultural sense. It is totally within our rights, as Americans, to follow our beliefs and recognize or not recognize what we like.

I guess this is a call out to all Americans with beliefs similar to mine.

If you believe that all people should have equal rights, and if you believe that marriage is one of the greatest destinations of a relationship, then perhaps you believe that nobody should have marriage, until everybody does.

That’s what I believe.

Gay Marriage: Can We Get a Little Respect?

2008-11-18T12:40:00.001-05:00

Reposted for your benefit:

Gay Marriage: Can We Get a Little Respect?
By Candace Chellew-Hodge

Is it really about morality? And if so, should only "moral" people be allowed to wed? Think harder, people.

It was an impressive display—more than two hundred people standing in front of the State House on a blustery November afternoon, demonstrating in favor of marriage equality for gay and lesbian people. What made it most impressive is that the rally was in Columbia, South Carolina, a place not known as a bastion of gay rights activity.

As a veteran of the movement in South Carolina, I can truly say I expected the dozen usual suspects who show up at these protests. We're usually small but mighty, but on Saturday we were both large (by our state's standards) and mighty. College-age kids made up most of the crowd, but there were plenty of us older folks, along with gay and lesbian families who brought their children who held signs demanding equality for their parents. It truly was a sight to see.

The rally in Columbia was part of a larger movement to hold rallies across the United States to protest the passage of Prop 8 in California. For those who support marriage equality it is clearly a matter of civil rights. For those who oppose it, as CNN reports, not so much. In the video one anti-marriage equality protestor yells:

"It is not a civil rights issue. It is an issue with morality."

Really? Marriage is an issue of morality? Let's follow that line of logic for just a moment. What kind of morality are we discussing here? Should marriage only be reserved for the moral? Does being heterosexual automatically make one more moral than a gay or lesbian person? What is the definition of this morality? If morality is the issue around marriage then shouldn't people who have sex before marriage be denied marriage? Perhaps those who want to wed after the baby is born should be denied that right. Haven't they failed in "morality" and thus should be denied the right to marry if marriage is an issue of "morality"? Who decides this morality and who will police it at the marriage license office? Will there be a morality test before the license is issued?

So many questions, and so few answers, from those who would deny that marriage is a civil right in order to deny it to people they don't like.

But, the outrage isn't over. The news report shows Prop 8 supporter Frank Schubert complaining that their voices have been "disrespected" by protestors.

Frank, welcome to our world. The voices and the very lives of gay and lesbian people have been disrespected for decades. We've been told to shut up and be happy about whatever scraps of rights get tossed our way from the table of the majority. Frank, you have no idea what it's like to truly be disrespected.

But, perhaps Evan Wolfson, head of Freedom to Marry, has the best advice—for us all to take a deep breath and instead of continuing to fight and protest one another start "having the conversation that moves people forward. There are fair people to be found everywhere."

And perhaps, as we converse, we can all stop disrespecting and judging each other long enough to find respect and equal rights for all.

Candace Chellew-Hodge is the founder/editor of Whosoever: An Online Magazine for GLBT Christians and currently serves as associate pastor at Garden of Grace United Church of Christ in Columbia, S.C. Her new book is Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians (Jossey-Bass, 2008).

What is Peace?

2008-11-18T12:35:00.000-05:00

I saw this quote and thought I would pass it on:

Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous,
tranquil contribution of all
to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism.
Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.

- Archbishop Oscar Romero

What is Ego? Who are we not!

2008-11-11T18:13:00.001-05:00

I was listening to Wayne Dyer and he was defining Ego and I had to again share this with everybody.....

Ego is E-G-O (Edging God Out)

Ego is an idea or thought that says,

"I am what I have, I am what I do, I am what other people think of me,I am separate from everybody else,I am separate from what is missing in my life, I am separate from God."

We are not any of these things and we are so much more than what our minds or others say we are.....It is my prayer that we all come to the place where we recoonect with the Divine, Eternal God and discover who we are........

The Difference between Spirituality and Religion

2008-11-10T13:44:00.009-05:00

Today I was listening to Rev. Ed Bacon on Oprah's Soul series and he said a few things that made me go ....WOW! I thought I would share.

Spirituality simply defined is connecting with God and Love.

religion is man's attempt to regulate and control spirituality through dogma, rules and creeds. It becomes a God substitute.

"Spirituality is what I live for and would die for, Doctrine and Dogma is what I would kill for.

Spirituality requires faith, uncertainty, connection and living and walking it out in the present.It brings freedom. Religion is cut and dry, is about certainty and it's followers do not want freedom or trade it for certainty.

To listen to this awesome broadcast:

http://www.oprah.com/article/spirit/inspiration/20080915_oaf_oss_ebacon

Rising Above where we are....

2008-11-05T01:06:00.000-05:00

"No people can rise higher than the God they believe in and worship"

We can only unleash our God given potential as we let God out of the box and stop limiting him by our ideals we hold about him.

Our Greatness is anchored to God's greatness!

I recently heard a minister ask the question:

"Would we believe in God if we didn't have a Bible?"

He was not trying to get rid of the Bible but was attempting to show us that God is much bigger than the Bible or our beliefs about Him. Now before you take this the wrong way let me be clear....I LOVE THE BIBLE!!! but I do not worship the Bible. I worship God. I understand that God is much bigger than what I know about him.

Most of the Saints and Heroes of the Faith did their great exploits without the written scripture. They simply lived out a faith in Almighty God. When we have greater faith in our religion, our creeds, our beliefs we make God in our image instead of allowing Him to reveal himself.

In the last few years I have allowed my faith to take me outside of the Box. I have found that God hasn't changed and in fact many times He has shown me things in scripture that I would never had seen in my old limited type of faith.

I have discovered it is a healthy faith that has questions and that allows growth. Someone might warn...ok careful that is dangerous.....but I would ask this question......if I am seeking Truth with my Faith in God then isn't God trustworthy to lead me into truth. 1 John 2:27

As we allow God to reveal himself to us...we too will rise above where we were...

The Lie of Separateness

2008-11-04T01:00:00.000-05:00

The Lie of Separateness:

The fact that this blog and Ministry is name Reconnection would seem to denote the idea that we can be separate. The fact is that the problem (Sin) of humankind is living separateness when in fact or in Truth we are connected.

We are so good at creating way to divide and separate from the this truth through religion, politics, race, culture and in so many other ways.

But the truth is that we are connected, and interrelated. I may not like it but my sin and yours affect us both. Why should we envy or be jealous because your success in mine and mine is yours. If you do good, i benefit. If I do evil you pay the consequences.

We are in this life together. We area part of creation and we share or pay together.

My blog image is a puzzle with a piece missing. What is the missing piece....it is you it is me.....living connected. Jesus defined Life as Loving God and our neighbor. Who is our neighbor?....it is everybody we are all connected!

The Ordinary Radicals

2008-11-03T01:05:00.000-05:00

Being Human Beings Part 2 (What Are they?)

2008-11-03T00:00:00.001-05:00

Many of the problems of humanity is that we think we know more than we do. When it comes to religion, many groups believe they have cornered the market on "Truth". But can anybody have all the answers? Some would say, " Well we do not have all the answers, but we "KNOW" the one who does". But to say you know anybody is in fact an overstatement.

Whether we mean God, or each other. We only know in part. You cannot not truly know all about anybody. That is what makes both God and his created Human Beings so mysterious and Awesome. God is always revealing himself (the masculine label itself is proof we do not understand God fully)to us and we are always growing in our understanding in Him.

People are in a constant state of personal and spiritual growth as well. If you accept either a label or definition of others to identify with you are limiting your potential. God created us to manifest His Glory in and through. What an awe inspiring thought. We are always transcending what we were yesterday.This is why it is such a sin to judge a person simply by their skin color, sexual orientation, culture or social status.

None of us are perfect but we are not fixed in place either. I am changing and growing. If you knew me yesterday you only knew me yesterday....I am not the same nor do I plan are staying put where I am today.....

Lord,

Help us to see ourselves, and each other not as we were but as You see us. Help us to see you in a new way everyday. May our faith grow and become the adventure you meant life to be....a journey were we are not alone but one that has some exciting things in store ahead.

May we not judge you or each other with limited ideas and labels. But may we see you in your generosity and each other as an expression of your image and divinity.

Amen

Being Human Beings Part 1 (Are They Good?)

2008-11-02T08:09:00.003-05:00

I have included a few you Tube vids that I found inspiring but will continue to postas well. The Videos are extra...:-)

Today's post has to do with the "goodness" found in people. First let's look at a few truths:

*Humankind was created in God's image. Genesis 1:26

*God is Good and so is His creation. Genesis 1:31

SO it would be a reasonable statement to make that all people have in them goodness. ( the ability to be good).

Then why is there so much evil and mistreatment in this world caused by man. Well this is a subject that could take some time to explain much less how long to understand. However it the simplest terms to understand, humankind became disconnected from God and their true identity. They no longer lived from their divine image that is only understood in connection with God Himself through experience and a living relationship with him. When humankind lives only from their mind(ego) they become far less than what they were created to be. They live far below their potential. They also become "separate minded". "What about me?" "I am alone". "Who do they think they are?" these kind of things become our thinking. We become run by fear and we think we must protect ourselves. We allow our past pain to define who we are instead of living from our heart (spirits)the place of our true identity.

In truth we are all part of a great community. Race,sexual orientation, religion, cultures are only outward characteristics of our neighbors. We are all neighbors and when we get to know each other we discover we have a lot more in common than different, We discover we all have goodness in us and human beings are actually good.

Those actions and characteristics of evil are actually symptoms of the brokenness and sickness of disconnect. Whether you call it sin, being lost or mental illness it is simply disconnect from the divine and our true selves. When we live from our ego and mind only we are living in disconnect. When we live connected lives to God and each other from the heart and in Love we live lives that reveal our true identity...goodness.

When we look at strangers whether they are the homeless, or the guy driving a BMW we should look for the divine in them the image of God. When we see this it makes ti easy to love them. Both need the same thing to be connected. Religion cannot change a person but connecting can!

The Ordinary Radicals

2008-11-02T01:25:00.000-04:00

The Ordinary Radicals

2008-11-01T01:23:00.000-04:00

The Great Awakening....Jim Wallis

2008-10-31T12:41:00.000-04:00

Reconnection

2008-10-30T22:34:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago God began dealing with me about renaming this new work "reconnection".

I identified with the name immediately but as God directs me in my times of prayer and meditation I am coming to understand the fullness of what God had in mind.

Life's troubles come mainly from being disconnected. When we are in a state of disconnect with God, ourselves, and others it affects the quality of our life.

To be disconnected from God is the true definition of Sin and/or Hell.
Sin is being separated from God. Whether you believe in a literal Hell or not if you do not know the true peace and joy of the presence of God and being connected to Him, you are living a very empty and hellish life.

We were created to dwell in this kind of place, to be aware on a deep level of the presence and essence of God. This is the Secret place and the eternal that scripture speaks. This is Heaven. It is available now....it a limited sense but available never the less. Not limited in it's availability but limited by our inability to appreciate and avail ourselves of it.

I am often quoted as saying that Life is relationships. Because the quality of our lives is dependent on the quality of our relationships. We were created to be relational. The primary relationship is with God. I have already discussed that in the former paragraphs of this post. However this is why spirituality and faith is important. You cannot deny this part of your humanness without consequences. Not consequences from God, but a self-inflicted Hell(there is that world again). I keep using the term Hell because I think it is important to understand that hell is not flames and pitchforks, but rather a state of separation and disconnect.

Secondary relationship is with self. We don't think of this as a relationship, but it is. You can only love others as much as you love yourself. If you relationship with yourself is not strong neither will your relationships be with others. I spent many years denying who I was. I didn't not want to admit that I was a gay man so I lived a life of being what others wanted me to be. I did not do this as a conscious choice but never the less the results were the same. When I came to the place of connecting with myself, I had no idea who I was. I spent a couple of years getting to know myself. This was both exciting and scary. Many times we take on roles and labels and we lose connection of who we are. In order to live a healthy connected life we must live an authentic life....this means living from our heart and our truth. God accepts you, it is time that you do too.

Thirdly, relationships with others. Jesus speaks about how we can measure our connection with others. It is this, how we treat the least. How we treat our enemies. Of course you will love those who love you. But what about how you react to those who have mistreated you or to those who offer you nothing in exchange. This is challenging. But to be connected and healthy in life, we must live out a Love Walk and walk out forgiveness.

Forgiveness can be hard. recently I had to forgive somebody who had done a terrible thing to me. Something I thought I could not forgive. If I shared with you their crime you would probably tell me I was justified in what I felt toward them. However I knew in my heart, my feelings towards them was doing spiritual damage to my heart and soul. I came to understand that God commanding forgiveness had more to do with me than the one I was forgiving. By forgiving I was trusting God with them, and allowing myself to move forward and no longer remaining stuck or allowing unforgiveness to continue to eat at my spirit like some kind of cancer.

I first forgave during prayer, i simply told God I was forgiving this person but I needed His help. It wasn't easy and sometimes I would have those negative feelings rise up and I would have to say to myself....no I have released that and I have moved on. To forgive doesn't mean you are justifying or excusing someone's behavior. You are simply releasing it and allowing God to deal with them in His mercy and Grace. Only God can change a person.

I eventually ran into this person. Normally I made sure I wasn't where they were. I said to God, what do I do? God said you simply walk out what you have already done in spirit. So I acted on my forgiveness. It wasn't easy but God's grace was there,and today I can honestly say I have moved on.

I will not let somebody else's sin become a hindrance to my life and peace. It is too high a price to pay.

The quality of your life is measured by the quality of your relationships.....with God, yourself and others.....are any of these relationships disconnected.....well it is time to reconnect....it is too costly to live disconnected.