When Jesus was asked , Which is the greatest commandment in the law?” He answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
From the words Jesus spoke we see that we must first love God with our whole being, body soul and spirit. Then we are to love ourselves. We need to love ourselves for what we are: children of God, made in God’s image, with all the attractive and unattractive human qualities we possess. The degree to which we are able to love ourselves determines how much we can love our neighbor.
When we start looking for spiritual enlightenment our humanity seems to get in the way. This hinders our commitment not only to ourselves but also to God. What will people think if I am spiritual? What will God think if your are not?
However spiritual we are, and however dedicated we are to serving God most of us will still encounter trying, human situations. Many times we seek guidance in the places we feel are closest to God. That may be a church, for God surely is in church, or it may be on a mountaintop nothing could be closer to God than that. While both of these locations can serve as a vehicle to help us reach out to God there is still a better way to commune with God. If we will but open our hearts and minds and spirits to God and His will He will dwell with us. If we don’t love our neighbor as we love ourselves how then can we truly love God? Or maybe we do love our neighbor as we love ourselves. If we go to church on Sunday and sing Oh How I Love Jesus then use his name in vane on Monday who do we love?
The bible says, “ What so ever a man thinketh in his heart so is he.”
Man is a three part being. We are body soul and spirit. We choose to live in any one of these areas. The body is carnal and only wants material things; the soul and spirit want to be in Gods presence. Most of us only live in the carnal state. God wants us to live and abide with Him in all three states.
Learn to love yourself, love God then you can love your neighbor.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Watching The New Day
Setting on the edge of the world in predawn darkness I watch the vast black sky filled with small points of light. We call these stars. The absence of any man made illumination magnifies this wonder. As I watch each star striving to out shine its neighbor, trying to penetrate the inky darkness. I am filled with the vastness of creation and awe struck by the majesty of it all. Somehow each star knows it will soon be veiled by the light of day. This knowledge does not in any way diminish the brilliance of the light projected from each star. In the day light the star is still there just its light will not be visible. Man is much like that. Men are everywhere and some shine above the rest. Many though still there do not shine at all. Pondering this dilemma in the darkness just before dawn I am at a loss as to why this should be so. Knowing that each creation was given special talents and skills to make it shine. I again pose this question to the creator of the universe. The answer again came that in the book you will find the answer.
The earth’s star begins to rise over the eastern horizon and light invades and banishes the darkness. The starlight gives way to the rays of the sun. The cloak of darkness is pulled away and a new day begins.
Slowly the light of day marches over hill and valley. As a virtuoso would draw his bow across magic strings the day breaks bright and clear. The explosion of color is breath taking an experience like none other. No two days break the same. None have the same volume of color or hue. This is like many other things God makes that are similar yet different. Consider the snowflake millions of them will cover large sections of this country and no two are the same. Each snowflake is intricate in design and form. If man should undertake the task to design and build a snowflake his number would be minimal. God on the other hand makes billions upon billions with a blink of his eye and all are perfect and none the same. In the mountain forest many different species of trees each tree with an abundance of leaves again no two are exactly alike. Mankind is no different. God made all of us and none are the same. Each has a specific purpose and special talents to fulfill that purpose. Like all of nature God created a balance. Man for some strange reason has devised ways to defeat that balances for personal gain and by that his own destruction.
As I watch the earth comes alive. Gentle breezes stir the leaves awake. This awakens the songbird that welcomes this new day with its song. Here too is another analogy there is not a single song to awaken the day there are unnumbered notes raising into the morning air. Though different all are in perfect harmony tone and pitch. Nature stretches and yawns and all creation come to life.
This day is like none other, yes-familiar tasks are preformed and familiar paths are walked, but this day is unique. It holds adventures yet to be explored. Loves to find and loose, jobs to start and jobs to finish, decisions and choices to make. Like the light that pierces the night sky time and day march forward. This is the most valuable day ever as it cannot be replaced. Once it is gone it is gone forever. The time we spend in this day is all the time we have. The time of yesterday is gone and the time of tomorrow may never come.
We can spend this day wisely or as a fool and squander its value. A lesson from nature can be learned this day. Each of God’s creatures gathers food, builds shelters raise young and never strives to be something they are not.
Watching I see life begin and end. Leaves bud grow and fall. Birds feed their young and watch as the young grow strong and take to the air never to return. From high upon this mountaintop I see eagle deer elk bear and lion each going about their daily task living as they are made to live. Life is all around changing and giving, moving and growing. Nothing is still nothing is quite in this new day.
I set in awe of the wonder and splendor that is displayed before me. There is no flaw everything is perfect, everything in perfect harmony. Only God can create a day such as this that will only last till the sun sets. Then at night He creates a new day grander than the day before. That in itself is an awe inspiring concept that God would even consider to make us another day grander than the day we may have wasted, a day full of wonder and amazement more than any days past. Opportunities presented greater than any we may have seen in our lives to this point. Unfortunately man likes to walk with his head down and eyes closed not wanting to see the world God has placed around him. This is due in part to man’s shame that he alone is destroying all that God has made almost as fast as God creates it. I feel man is jealous of God because man cannot do the one thing he has longed for since the beginning of time, that being the ability to create. God alone has that ability and has given man charge of the creation not the ability to create anything on his own. Man cannot keep what he has been given charge of why should he be able to create anything? Ashamed man walks with head and eyes down not wanting to look God in the eye for fear of what he truly will see. When man does raise his eyes and opens his mind God lovingly shows man how and what he must do. Gently caring to give detailed instructions how to maintain God’s creation. While some truly listen most quickly drop their eyes and instantly close their minds and continue to walk into obscurity.
Watching transfixed by the wonder and grandeur of it all I can’t help but feel saddened that at dusks this day will be gone forever, only a memory will remain. At the same time I am overjoyed at the prospect on the morrow another new day will replace this one, a day the same yet different in every way a true paradox.
In awesome wonder I watch as day turns into night. The days end is filled with another color show that is never to be seen again. A light show that stories are written about and lovers set and marvel at its beauty. The sun dropping over the western horizon taking light and warmth closes this breathtaking splendor. The cloak of darkness is once again drawn over the landscape. Nature yawns a sleepy sigh and all is quite and at peace.
On my lofty perch I too close my eyes as the stars once again sparkle and pierce the darkness. Try as I might I can no longer keep a watchful vigil.
Though it was a dream or a vision I cannot say. From whence it came I can only
guess but this I know my eyes though closed did see many wonderful things and my ears heard the voices of nature.
The earth’s star begins to rise over the eastern horizon and light invades and banishes the darkness. The starlight gives way to the rays of the sun. The cloak of darkness is pulled away and a new day begins.
Slowly the light of day marches over hill and valley. As a virtuoso would draw his bow across magic strings the day breaks bright and clear. The explosion of color is breath taking an experience like none other. No two days break the same. None have the same volume of color or hue. This is like many other things God makes that are similar yet different. Consider the snowflake millions of them will cover large sections of this country and no two are the same. Each snowflake is intricate in design and form. If man should undertake the task to design and build a snowflake his number would be minimal. God on the other hand makes billions upon billions with a blink of his eye and all are perfect and none the same. In the mountain forest many different species of trees each tree with an abundance of leaves again no two are exactly alike. Mankind is no different. God made all of us and none are the same. Each has a specific purpose and special talents to fulfill that purpose. Like all of nature God created a balance. Man for some strange reason has devised ways to defeat that balances for personal gain and by that his own destruction.
As I watch the earth comes alive. Gentle breezes stir the leaves awake. This awakens the songbird that welcomes this new day with its song. Here too is another analogy there is not a single song to awaken the day there are unnumbered notes raising into the morning air. Though different all are in perfect harmony tone and pitch. Nature stretches and yawns and all creation come to life.
This day is like none other, yes-familiar tasks are preformed and familiar paths are walked, but this day is unique. It holds adventures yet to be explored. Loves to find and loose, jobs to start and jobs to finish, decisions and choices to make. Like the light that pierces the night sky time and day march forward. This is the most valuable day ever as it cannot be replaced. Once it is gone it is gone forever. The time we spend in this day is all the time we have. The time of yesterday is gone and the time of tomorrow may never come.
We can spend this day wisely or as a fool and squander its value. A lesson from nature can be learned this day. Each of God’s creatures gathers food, builds shelters raise young and never strives to be something they are not.
Watching I see life begin and end. Leaves bud grow and fall. Birds feed their young and watch as the young grow strong and take to the air never to return. From high upon this mountaintop I see eagle deer elk bear and lion each going about their daily task living as they are made to live. Life is all around changing and giving, moving and growing. Nothing is still nothing is quite in this new day.
I set in awe of the wonder and splendor that is displayed before me. There is no flaw everything is perfect, everything in perfect harmony. Only God can create a day such as this that will only last till the sun sets. Then at night He creates a new day grander than the day before. That in itself is an awe inspiring concept that God would even consider to make us another day grander than the day we may have wasted, a day full of wonder and amazement more than any days past. Opportunities presented greater than any we may have seen in our lives to this point. Unfortunately man likes to walk with his head down and eyes closed not wanting to see the world God has placed around him. This is due in part to man’s shame that he alone is destroying all that God has made almost as fast as God creates it. I feel man is jealous of God because man cannot do the one thing he has longed for since the beginning of time, that being the ability to create. God alone has that ability and has given man charge of the creation not the ability to create anything on his own. Man cannot keep what he has been given charge of why should he be able to create anything? Ashamed man walks with head and eyes down not wanting to look God in the eye for fear of what he truly will see. When man does raise his eyes and opens his mind God lovingly shows man how and what he must do. Gently caring to give detailed instructions how to maintain God’s creation. While some truly listen most quickly drop their eyes and instantly close their minds and continue to walk into obscurity.
Watching transfixed by the wonder and grandeur of it all I can’t help but feel saddened that at dusks this day will be gone forever, only a memory will remain. At the same time I am overjoyed at the prospect on the morrow another new day will replace this one, a day the same yet different in every way a true paradox.
In awesome wonder I watch as day turns into night. The days end is filled with another color show that is never to be seen again. A light show that stories are written about and lovers set and marvel at its beauty. The sun dropping over the western horizon taking light and warmth closes this breathtaking splendor. The cloak of darkness is once again drawn over the landscape. Nature yawns a sleepy sigh and all is quite and at peace.
On my lofty perch I too close my eyes as the stars once again sparkle and pierce the darkness. Try as I might I can no longer keep a watchful vigil.
Though it was a dream or a vision I cannot say. From whence it came I can only
guess but this I know my eyes though closed did see many wonderful things and my ears heard the voices of nature.
The Little Tongue
Man has learned to harness or control many things down through the ages. He discovered fire and learned to control it to keep him warm and cook his food. Rushing rivers are harnessed to water our crops and light our homes. The awesome force in the atom has been taught to be of benefit to man and we have tamed wild horses. The one thing man has not yet tamed is his tongue. James 3:5 says, “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison.”
I heard a story about a woman who had no good word to say about another in her neighborhood. As the story goes she was always complaining about the bad girl who lived down the block. How this girl drank and ran around and should be run out of the neighborhood. This bad girl was a real bad influence for the only child of the gossip. She was certain the bad girl knew not to speak to her or her child. One day the screaming of brakes from a speeding car, the sound that could only turn your blood cold was heard. As the sound of the impact of a body with metal we all looked as this only child of the gossip was seen running into the street. All the neighbors rushed to the scene to find the child was shaken but safe. But under the wheels of the car was a lifeless form. As the woman held her child she screamed who could have done such an unselfish thing. As the broken lifeless body was covered she was told it was the bad girl who lived down the block.
The tongue can accuse. It can spread bad news and sow the seed of destruction. Unless you have made no mistakes in your life be careful the stones you throw.
The most destructive evidence of a wagging tongue is in the church.
Do you know that your pastor is defenseless against gossip? He’s often the last person to hear a rumor, especially if it involves him.
For instance, someone gossips that the pastor does not visit enough in the community. That is one of the hardest rumors to disprove, because nobody’s sure how much pastoral visiting is “enough”. And usually the guy who says the pastor does not do enough is not doing any himself.
Even if the pastor makes all the visits his schedule will allow, it only takes one disgruntled mouth to start a rumor by whispering that, “the pastor is lazy and does not visit”. Then if the pastor takes his family on a picnic or to a ball game, some member sees him, assumes, and the gossip gets new life.
Another insidious bit of gossip implies that the pastor does not study like he should. While it is true that some pastors coast from sermon to sermon, that is not the case with most ministers. However, no matter how well a minister prepares, there is always somebody who thinks he did not.
Proverbs advises, “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from trouble”. (Prov 21:23)
The tongue can accuse. It can spread bad news and sow the seed of destruction. Unless you have made no mistakes in your life be careful the stones you throw.
I heard a story about a woman who had no good word to say about another in her neighborhood. As the story goes she was always complaining about the bad girl who lived down the block. How this girl drank and ran around and should be run out of the neighborhood. This bad girl was a real bad influence for the only child of the gossip. She was certain the bad girl knew not to speak to her or her child. One day the screaming of brakes from a speeding car, the sound that could only turn your blood cold was heard. As the sound of the impact of a body with metal we all looked as this only child of the gossip was seen running into the street. All the neighbors rushed to the scene to find the child was shaken but safe. But under the wheels of the car was a lifeless form. As the woman held her child she screamed who could have done such an unselfish thing. As the broken lifeless body was covered she was told it was the bad girl who lived down the block.
The tongue can accuse. It can spread bad news and sow the seed of destruction. Unless you have made no mistakes in your life be careful the stones you throw.
The most destructive evidence of a wagging tongue is in the church.
Do you know that your pastor is defenseless against gossip? He’s often the last person to hear a rumor, especially if it involves him.
For instance, someone gossips that the pastor does not visit enough in the community. That is one of the hardest rumors to disprove, because nobody’s sure how much pastoral visiting is “enough”. And usually the guy who says the pastor does not do enough is not doing any himself.
Even if the pastor makes all the visits his schedule will allow, it only takes one disgruntled mouth to start a rumor by whispering that, “the pastor is lazy and does not visit”. Then if the pastor takes his family on a picnic or to a ball game, some member sees him, assumes, and the gossip gets new life.
Another insidious bit of gossip implies that the pastor does not study like he should. While it is true that some pastors coast from sermon to sermon, that is not the case with most ministers. However, no matter how well a minister prepares, there is always somebody who thinks he did not.
Proverbs advises, “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from trouble”. (Prov 21:23)
The tongue can accuse. It can spread bad news and sow the seed of destruction. Unless you have made no mistakes in your life be careful the stones you throw.
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