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God’s “Perfecting” Gifts (Part 1)
By Philip Martin Feb 03, 2016
Today I had an interesting thought. As I was having my devotions, I read a portion of Streams in the Desert by an old saint of God, Maltbie Davenport Babcock, about this verse in James 1: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”1 What I read triggered something inside me telling me to look deeper.
The first thing that caught my attention as something worth deeper examination was when Babcock shared the idea that “every good gift of God is a ‘perfecting’ gift.” That word “perfecting” was intriguing. I read on, “…as well as a gift without defect, a gift which is complete in all respects, a gift which is sound and one which is flawless.”
“Every good gift and every perfecting gift is from above.” In the past when reading this verse I tended to think that every good gift and every perfect gift were the same, or through simple deduction that good equals perfect. Therefore I was inclined to think when things went “good” that it was from God and when things went “bad,” those things must not have been from God. I was failing to see these perfect gifts as perfecting gifts.
However, now I started to look at God’s perfecting gifts through the microscopic lenses of Romans 8:28: “All things work together for good.” And John 15:2: “Every branch that bears fruit, he purges.” And Hebrews 12:6: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” The light came on, and to paraphrase Paul, “Before, my natural man could not receive the things of the Spirit of God, because they seemed foolishness to me; nor could I understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”2 I felt I was starting to get “the mind of Christ” on the matter and see it as He does.
So what are these perfecting gifts from God supposed to do for us or to us? Paul said, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”3 What is this eternal weight of glory He wants in us?
Babcock explains:
“Character is worth all it costs, and since God is ceaselessly, changelessly bent upon building character, the denial or trial that helps to bring it to pass is as much a tool of His invariable purpose as the gift that makes you laugh with joy.
“Circumstances do not make character. The noblest character can emerge from the worst surroundings, and moral failures come out of the best. Just where you are, take the things of life as tools, and use them for God’s glory so you will help the kingdom come, and the Master will use the things of life in cutting and polishing you so that there shall someday be seen in you a soul conformed to His likeness.”
Through these “perfecting gifts” God is changing us, changing our character to be “conformed to the image of His Son,” and as Paul also said in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” God wants our characters to be reflections of His Son’s character. All the chiseling, sanding, rubbing, polishing, purifying, molding, breaking, making, and remaking is for one purpose and one purpose alone. It is so that when people look at us they will see in us a reflective image of His Son.
J. R. Miller put it this way:
“The word ‘character’ in its origin is suggestive. It is from a root which signifies to scratch, to engrave, to cut into furrows. Then it comes to mean that which is engraved or cut on anything. In life, therefore, it is that which experiences cut or furrow in the soul.
1 James 1:17 KJV.
2 1 Corinthians 2:14.
3 2 Corinthians 4:17.
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The truth about Muslims in America
The truth about Muslims in America is perhaps surprising -- but not in the way Trump and his supporters might think.
A look at polls and studies conducted in the last few years shows that Muslims have been crucial in helping law enforcement find terror suspects in the United States. Many have served in the military protecting the country against terrorists. And in many ways, they're a lot like other everyday Americans.
Here's the reality of Muslims in America -- and how it smashes stereotypes:
They are a minuscule portion of the U.S. population
It's difficult to come by hard numbers because the U.S. Census doesn't collect religious data. But the fear of Muslims taking over and imposing Sharia law is unfounded. By some estimates, Muslims make up less than 1% of the U.S. adult population. By 2050, their numbers will grow -- to 2.1%. Of all the Muslims in America, 63% are exactly the kind Trump wants banned -- immigrants.
They're better educated than most Americans
U.S. Muslims have the second-highest level of education among major religious groups in the country; Jews have the highest. And a greater proportion of them have college degrees than the general U.S. population.
They have more gender equality
While in many parts of the Muslim world, women are confined to second-class status, that's not the case among American Muslims. Virtually all of them, 90%, agree that women should be able to work outside the home. American Muslim women hold more college or postgraduate degrees than Muslim men. And they are more likely to work in professional fields than women from most other U.S. religious groups.
They've been here since the birth of the nation ...
Scholars estimate about a quarter to a third of the Africans brought to the United States as slaves were Muslims. Most were then forced to convert to Christianity.
... and they're not just clustered in big cities
American Muslims live in cities big and small all across the United States. The first mosque built in America was in, of all places, Ross, North Dakota, back in 1929.
They're as religious as Christians ...
The general perception of Muslims has one thing right: Most Muslims are very religious. About half say they attend the weekly Friday prayers. But that makes them similar to Christians: About 70% of Christians say religion is important in their lives, and about 45% go to a weekly service.
... but they're not as dogmatic as they are portrayed
Much has been made about fundamentalist Muslims and their strict interpretation of the Quran. But most American Muslims are different. A Pew religious landscape survey found that 57% of American Muslims say there is more than one way to interpret Islam's teachings. A similar number say many different religions can lead to eternal life.
There have been Muslims involved in terrorism ...
From September 11, 2001, until the end of 2014, 109 Muslim-Americans plotted against targets in the United States. And terrorism by Muslim-Americans killed 50 in the same time period. Contrast that with the deaths from other mass shootings just last year: 136 -- more than twice as many as all the deaths from 13 years of Muslim-American terrorism.
... but they've also spoken out against it
After every terrorist attack at home and abroad, the refrain rises, "Where is the Muslim condemnation?" American Muslims have spoken out -- and done much more. A Duke University study found more terrorism suspects and perpetrators were brought to the attention of law enforcement by members of the Muslim-American community than were discovered through U.S. government investigations. And a Pew survey found that roughly half of U.S. Muslims say their religious leaders aren't speaking out enough against Islamic extremism.
A look at polls and studies conducted in the last few years shows that Muslims have been crucial in helping law enforcement find terror suspects in the United States. Many have served in the military protecting the country against terrorists. And in many ways, they're a lot like other everyday Americans.
Here's the reality of Muslims in America -- and how it smashes stereotypes:
They are a minuscule portion of the U.S. population
It's difficult to come by hard numbers because the U.S. Census doesn't collect religious data. But the fear of Muslims taking over and imposing Sharia law is unfounded. By some estimates, Muslims make up less than 1% of the U.S. adult population. By 2050, their numbers will grow -- to 2.1%. Of all the Muslims in America, 63% are exactly the kind Trump wants banned -- immigrants.
They're better educated than most Americans
U.S. Muslims have the second-highest level of education among major religious groups in the country; Jews have the highest. And a greater proportion of them have college degrees than the general U.S. population.
They have more gender equality
While in many parts of the Muslim world, women are confined to second-class status, that's not the case among American Muslims. Virtually all of them, 90%, agree that women should be able to work outside the home. American Muslim women hold more college or postgraduate degrees than Muslim men. And they are more likely to work in professional fields than women from most other U.S. religious groups.
They've been here since the birth of the nation ...
Scholars estimate about a quarter to a third of the Africans brought to the United States as slaves were Muslims. Most were then forced to convert to Christianity.
... and they're not just clustered in big cities
American Muslims live in cities big and small all across the United States. The first mosque built in America was in, of all places, Ross, North Dakota, back in 1929.
They're as religious as Christians ...
The general perception of Muslims has one thing right: Most Muslims are very religious. About half say they attend the weekly Friday prayers. But that makes them similar to Christians: About 70% of Christians say religion is important in their lives, and about 45% go to a weekly service.
... but they're not as dogmatic as they are portrayed
Much has been made about fundamentalist Muslims and their strict interpretation of the Quran. But most American Muslims are different. A Pew religious landscape survey found that 57% of American Muslims say there is more than one way to interpret Islam's teachings. A similar number say many different religions can lead to eternal life.
There have been Muslims involved in terrorism ...
From September 11, 2001, until the end of 2014, 109 Muslim-Americans plotted against targets in the United States. And terrorism by Muslim-Americans killed 50 in the same time period. Contrast that with the deaths from other mass shootings just last year: 136 -- more than twice as many as all the deaths from 13 years of Muslim-American terrorism.
... but they've also spoken out against it
After every terrorist attack at home and abroad, the refrain rises, "Where is the Muslim condemnation?" American Muslims have spoken out -- and done much more. A Duke University study found more terrorism suspects and perpetrators were brought to the attention of law enforcement by members of the Muslim-American community than were discovered through U.S. government investigations. And a Pew survey found that roughly half of U.S. Muslims say their religious leaders aren't speaking out enough against Islamic extremism.
~~ TANTRA ~~1
Man is an animal, but not only an animal: he is more also. But that "more" cannot deny the animal, it has to absorb it. Man is more than an animal, but the animal cannot be denied. It has to be absorbed creatively. You cannot leave it aside, it is in your very roots; you have to use it creatively. So the first thing to remember is not to be negative about your animal heritage. Once you start thinking in negative terms you will become destructive to yourself, because you are ninety-nine percent animal.
If you create a division, you are fighting a losing battle; you cannot win. The result of your fight will be quite the opposite, because ninety-nine percent is animal. Only one percent of the mind is conscious, and this one percent cannot win against the ninety-nine percent. It is going to be defeated. That is why there is so much frustration, because everyone is defeated by his own animal.
You can never succeed. Of necessity you are going to be a failure, because that one percent cannot succeed against the ninety-nine percent. It cannot even be divided from the ninety-nine percent.
It is just like a flower: it cannot go against the roots, it cannot go against the whole tree. And while you are against your animal heritage, you are being fed by it. You are alive because of it. If your animal dies this moment, you will die immediately. Your mind exists as a flower; your animal heritage is the whole tree. Do not be negative - that is suicidal. And if you are divided against yourself, you can never attain anything which is blissful.
You are creating a hell, and the hell is nowhere else but in a divided personality. In the split personality is the hell. And hell is not something geographical, hell is psychological - and heaven also. The personality which is a whole, one unit, with no inner division and conflict, is heaven.
So the first thing I would like to say is, do not be negative. Do not divide yourself, do not go against yourself, do not become two. The animal that is there is not something bad. The animal in you is a great potential. That is your past and also your future, because much is hidden in it. Uncover it, develop it, allow it to grow and go beyond it, but do not fight with it. That is one of the basic teachings of tantra.
Other traditions are divisive. They divide you, they create a fight within you. Tantra is not divisive, it doesn't believe in fight. Tantra is absolutely positive; it doesn't believe in saying no. Tantra believes in saying yes - yes to the whole of life. And through 'yes' the transformation happens, and through 'no' there is only disturbance - no transformation is possible. Against whom are you fighting? Against yourself? How can you win? And the major part of you is from the animal, so the major part will win.
If you create a division, you are fighting a losing battle; you cannot win. The result of your fight will be quite the opposite, because ninety-nine percent is animal. Only one percent of the mind is conscious, and this one percent cannot win against the ninety-nine percent. It is going to be defeated. That is why there is so much frustration, because everyone is defeated by his own animal.
You can never succeed. Of necessity you are going to be a failure, because that one percent cannot succeed against the ninety-nine percent. It cannot even be divided from the ninety-nine percent.
It is just like a flower: it cannot go against the roots, it cannot go against the whole tree. And while you are against your animal heritage, you are being fed by it. You are alive because of it. If your animal dies this moment, you will die immediately. Your mind exists as a flower; your animal heritage is the whole tree. Do not be negative - that is suicidal. And if you are divided against yourself, you can never attain anything which is blissful.
You are creating a hell, and the hell is nowhere else but in a divided personality. In the split personality is the hell. And hell is not something geographical, hell is psychological - and heaven also. The personality which is a whole, one unit, with no inner division and conflict, is heaven.
So the first thing I would like to say is, do not be negative. Do not divide yourself, do not go against yourself, do not become two. The animal that is there is not something bad. The animal in you is a great potential. That is your past and also your future, because much is hidden in it. Uncover it, develop it, allow it to grow and go beyond it, but do not fight with it. That is one of the basic teachings of tantra.
Other traditions are divisive. They divide you, they create a fight within you. Tantra is not divisive, it doesn't believe in fight. Tantra is absolutely positive; it doesn't believe in saying no. Tantra believes in saying yes - yes to the whole of life. And through 'yes' the transformation happens, and through 'no' there is only disturbance - no transformation is possible. Against whom are you fighting? Against yourself? How can you win? And the major part of you is from the animal, so the major part will win.
Inner meditation
people always think god live in religoius shrine.they strongly believe in heaven and hell.Where god is living forests shrines sky universe or anyelse. But god always live in our heart and body.he too near us from our eyes.but we find him in outer world.however our body developed from five elements.our soul is main source of consciousness. Body is like its clothes and soul is a light or energy.it does not died or born only change its clothes in different births.though soul is son of god but due to illusion it totally neglect the creature. God is with us.meditation is only way to know about ourself.we donot require to find the god in any where. After a experience we find that we feel the energy of god .there are several other benefits of meditation. We should do meditation which helps us who we are exactly and we expirence a wonderful world which we never imagination. Our body also stay healthy and mind as well. God bless you.
Strawberry Fields Forever (Part 1)
By Curtis Peter van Gorder Jan 20, 2016
It is said that our life hinges on four main decisions that lead us to become what we are: what career we choose, who we marry, what friends we make, and what we believe in. I would say that what we believe in is the most important of the four, as that will largely determine what happens with the other three.
Each one of us likely has a story of some pivotal moment that helped shape our belief system. These experiences are part of what is known as our testimony. Our life story speaks volumes. It tells the listener that if it happened to us, then it just might work for them. You can read how Paul told his story in Acts chapter 22. Perhaps your story is still in the making. Here is mine:
I was nineteen when I decided to spend the summer on my family’s abandoned farm out in the middle of the Pennsylvania wilderness in America. It could hardly be called a farm anymore. Only the shells of a few buildings remained. Forty years earlier it had been a bustling farm for my father and his family of seven rowdy brothers and sisters, but a tractor that was strip mining in the area ran over a fuel line that ignited, reducing the house to ashes. No one bothered rebuilding the house, and the surrounding property reverted back to its natural wild state. Away from everything and everybody, it was the perfect distraction-free place to chart my path for my future. Nineteen is a pivotal age and a time many make important crossroads-type decisions—and so it was with me.
My dog and I lived for six weeks in complete simplicity. Taking long walks through the forest, swimming in the river, meditating, and writing poetry. I lived on wild strawberries, granola, and soybeans. I nicknamed this place my “Strawberry Fields Forever” after the popular Beatles’ song that romanticized an idyllic eternal world that I hoped to find in this natural simplicity.
My life previously had been anything but simple, and I longed for some peace of mind. My girlfriend had gotten pregnant. I had asked her to marry me, but it didn’t work out. The child was given up for adoption. (Just as a footnote, I have since met my son, and he told me that he is thankful for the gift of life. I am thankful that he has done well as a successful financial adviser and has a happy home life.) To know that I had brought a child into the world was truly sobering, to say the least.
At the time I sought to express myself by writing in the “stream of consciousness” style, and my photography was equally as confusing. Just to show you how confusing it was: some friends and I had put together an exhibition of our “art,” which we had dubbed “Weirdism” in the hopes of starting a new art movement. It was short-lived, though, as we found our exhibition in the trash the next morning. The janitor had mistaken it for garbage.
At this time in my life, I was taking LSD and marijuana occasionally and it was messing my head up badly, giving me a very distorted sense of reality. All of this was happening against the background of the turbulent ‘70s, with the Vietnam War, race riots, the civil rights struggle, and a nation of searching youth all thrown into the mix. I longed to find a simple life to reconnect with nature and try to find my spiritual roots.
I thought perhaps I could find it in Zen archery. I was in awe of the great masters that I had read about, who could shoot an arrow and hit the bull’s eye, then with the second arrow split the first arrow in half. I tried and tried to hit the bull’s eye, but I spent most of my time searching for the arrows. It would take me a few lifetimes to master this art, I figured. Now I knew why they had pictured the masters with long beards and bald heads—it took them that long to learn to shoot straight. But I was in a hurry to find enlightenment.
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Liberating Our Perspectives (Part 1)
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (KJV)
by Maria Fontaine August 22, 2015
Do you ever look at the tests, struggles, and impossible situations you find yourself in and wonder if it might be the result of something you did wrong? Perhaps you’re in the midst of sickness and feel that God is chastising you because you haven’t lived up to your spiritual commitments? Or perhaps you see the struggles you’re facing as a sign of weak faith?
Looking at what happens in your life from this perspective comes from the assumption that God is upset or angry over your mistakes, shortcomings, and sins.
I’m sure He wants us to learn to do better, but if you see God’s hand in your life as one of anger and judgment, please ask yourself if that is consistent with Jesus’ love and example. Think about all He has given you and done for you. He’s not in the business of making you pay for what He’s already paid for. He’s in the business of using everything that comes into your life to help bring out the good, the beauty, and the qualities He created you with.
Remember that Jesus loved you before you loved Him.1 If His goal was to punish you for your weaknesses, failings, and sins, that would seem to contradict all that He has done for you. Why then would He have come to earth to die for you and to take all your sins on Himself? He knows all the blunders and sins that every one of us is guilty of. He knew that you and I would make mistakes and even sometimes intentionally disregard His counsel.
Yet, He loves us enough to see us with all our flaws and still go to such lengths to rescue us. Why would His purpose be to make us suffer retribution for what He has already forgiven us for?
I believe that Jesus is interested in maximizing our strengths and blessings. He’s like our CEO in the kingdom of heaven. What kind of CEO would be more concerned with rendering consequences and judgment than maximizing potential? Any good CEO will be focused on empowering those in his company to do their best. I believe that’s what our Lord’s goal is as well. He’s providing you with every opportunity to do your best for His “Heavenly Kingdom.com.”
So if these things that happen are not His retribution on us for being less than perfect, there has to be another purpose in what we face, which lines up with who He is and all that He’s done for us.
This earthly existence will sometimes bring struggles, times of loneliness, discouragement, sorrow, suffering, frustration, and lack of vision. Sometimes we’ll face intense hopelessness, confusion, or weariness in well-doing. But we always have the freedom to choose to turn to Jesus or not. And when we do, even the most terrible circumstances can bring us into a deeper, richer, greater understanding and relationship with Him.
It doesn’t matter how problems come, Jesus can take these setbacks and troubles and use them for His good purposes. Those of us who love Him can trust that in His time He will bring a greater good of some kind into our lives from them.
He turns what would be hell without Him into the heavenly blessings of deeper faith, stronger determination, and an abiding love for Jesus that makes it possible to face the future and accomplish our calling. We can walk with Him through anything, because the path He’s leading us along leads to an eternity in His presence, in the light of His glory and love, and the truly great and unimaginably wonderful rewards He has promised. (See 1 Peter 4.) (Continued)
1 1 John 4:19.
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Atheists are the most generous
Atheists are the most generous—even without heavenly reward!
Who gives the most to charitable causes? Those who believe in gods or those who don’t?
“Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven…” (Mark 10:21)
“Any charity you give is for your own good. Any charity you give shall be for the sake of GOD. Any charity you give will be repaid to you…” (Koran 2:272)
Charitable behavior gets big perks in the afterlife, according to Christian and Islamic theology. Philanthropy, in these creeds, is a highly profitable long-term investment, a down payment on ecstatic immortality. Quite the bargain!
But atheists? No heaven awaits them. No pearly gates, eager virgins, harping angels, fluffy clouds, or succulent oasis. No reward whatsoever. Atheists have no faith, no expectation of benefit from a deity. So, atheists are probably selfish, right? Pitiless, parsimonious. Totally stingy misers, not passing a penny off to the poor…correct?
WRONG! Atheists, non-believers, secular humanists, skeptics—the whole gamut of the godless have emerged in recent years as inarguably the most generous benefactors on the globe. That’s right. Hordes of heretics are the world’s biggest damned philanthropists. Both individually and in groups, heathen infidels are topping the fundraising charts.
First, the facts.
The current most charitable individuals in the United States, based on “Estimated Lifetime Giving,” are:
1) Warren Buffett (atheist, donated $40.785 billion to “health, education, humanitarian causes”)
2) Bill & Melinda Gates (atheists, donated $27.602 billion to “global health and development, education”)
3) George Soros (atheist, donated $6.936 billion to “open and democratic societies”)
A century ago, one of the USA’s leading philanthropists was Andrew Carnegie, atheist.
Abridged from article:
(Posted: Nov 25, 2011)
Who gives the most to charitable causes? Those who believe in gods or those who don’t?
“Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven…” (Mark 10:21)
“Any charity you give is for your own good. Any charity you give shall be for the sake of GOD. Any charity you give will be repaid to you…” (Koran 2:272)
Charitable behavior gets big perks in the afterlife, according to Christian and Islamic theology. Philanthropy, in these creeds, is a highly profitable long-term investment, a down payment on ecstatic immortality. Quite the bargain!
But atheists? No heaven awaits them. No pearly gates, eager virgins, harping angels, fluffy clouds, or succulent oasis. No reward whatsoever. Atheists have no faith, no expectation of benefit from a deity. So, atheists are probably selfish, right? Pitiless, parsimonious. Totally stingy misers, not passing a penny off to the poor…correct?
WRONG! Atheists, non-believers, secular humanists, skeptics—the whole gamut of the godless have emerged in recent years as inarguably the most generous benefactors on the globe. That’s right. Hordes of heretics are the world’s biggest damned philanthropists. Both individually and in groups, heathen infidels are topping the fundraising charts.
First, the facts.
The current most charitable individuals in the United States, based on “Estimated Lifetime Giving,” are:
1) Warren Buffett (atheist, donated $40.785 billion to “health, education, humanitarian causes”)
2) Bill & Melinda Gates (atheists, donated $27.602 billion to “global health and development, education”)
3) George Soros (atheist, donated $6.936 billion to “open and democratic societies”)
A century ago, one of the USA’s leading philanthropists was Andrew Carnegie, atheist.
Abridged from article:
(Posted: Nov 25, 2011)
Faith Is the Starting Point (Part 1)
By Maria Fontaine Jul 27, 2015
“This is the victory that overcomes the world, even your faith.” “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”—1 John 5:4, Hebrews 11:1
Faith is the password, the foundation of power, anointing, and victory. Faith is the starting point in whatever we feel called to do for the Lord. We need faith to obey God’s Word, faith to step out and try new and different things, faith that the Lord can use us in new ways, faith that we can facilitate the gospel being “preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.”1
Faith is vital. It’s what will enable us to walk through open doors, take advantage of golden opportunities, and follow God wherever He leads. It’s what will help us to say yes to Jesus—yes to taking a risk, yes to trying a new method in our witness, yes to taking the time to minister to that person He puts in our path, yes to not giving up on some needy soul, yes to whatever His will may be for each of us.
To get results, we need faith! Faith is what will drive us, help us to do the impossible, and to put action behind our beliefs and visions, to persevere when things are tough. Faith will catapult us over obstacles.
Sometimes faith seems a little bit mysterious, but it’s actually not complicated.We don’t have to try so hard to dissect faith or understand it. We simply need to trust in that which we have good reason to believe is true, Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith—the one who honors our trusting Him and His guidance in our lives. Once we have come to that place of trust, then we can embark on that which the Lord leads us to do with complete confidence that He will honor our trust in Him and our acknowledging Him all along the way.
We live by faith and walk by faith and it’s our “title deed,” but faith is also manifested by action. It’s a “doing” word, because faith without works is dead.2 We don’t have to feel like we have faith, or think that we have great faith. If we just start doing the things the Lord leads us to do, we’ll realize that we possess this valuable treasure—and the more we use our faith and feed it, the stronger it will grow.
(Jesus:) Have you ever seen those sports interviews in which they’re interviewing an athlete after a victory or a game that they won, and they ask the victor what gave them the edge? What gave them the upper hand so that they were able to defeat their competitor? They often say that it was confidence, that they believed in themselves, they believed in their team, and they believed that they could win.
Faith is having confidence in Me. Faith is knowing that you can trust Me completely. Faith knows that no matter what comes your way, or what you face, I will bring you through it; I will work things together for your good, regardless of the circumstances.
Faith isn’t something you just “have” naturally. Faith grows, it’s built over time. The more your faith is tested and the more you turn to Me and My Word, the more your faith will grow.
I can strengthen your faith when you are in faith-inducing situations. Such challenges are trying at the time, but result in greater faith if you take a stand of faith and watch Me come through for you.
1 Matthew 24:14.
2 James 2:26.
**
“Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities; seize common occasions and make them great.”–Orison Swett Marden
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~~ WITHOUT BLINKING ...3
Thirty years is so long, the distance is so much, it is as if death is not going to occur.
If you want to contemplate death, know another fact about it: it can occur the next moment; it is possible the very next moment. You may not be able to hear my whole sentence, I may not be able to complete it. My mother's father used to tell me that when I was born he consulted one astrologer, one of the best known astrologers of those days. The astrologer was to make my KUNDALI - birth chart. But the astrologer studied it and he said, "If this child survives after seven years, only then will I make the chart. It seems impossible that he can survive for more than seven years, so it is useless. If the child is going to die in seven years it is useless to make the kundali; it will be of no use. And it has been my habit," the astrologer said, "that unless I am certain that the kundali will be useful I never make it." So he didn't make it.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I survived. Then my mother's father went to the astrologer, but he was dead, so he never could make my kundali. He was dead, and I have been constantly wondering about this. He was aware of the fact that this child may die, but he was not aware of the fact that he may die. He was not aware! It seems that he was absolutely unconcerned - and he was no ordinary man. But no one is concerned with his own death. Knowingly, cunningly, we are not concerned with it because it creates a fear. So I have always suspected that that astrologer might have never looked at his own kundali; otherwise he would have become aware.
Death is possible the very next moment, but the mind will not believe it. I say it and your mind will say, "No! How is it possible the next moment? It is far away." But that is a trick. If you postpone, you cannot contemplate. It must be so near that you can focus on it. And when I say that the next moment it is possible, I mean it. It can happen, and whenever it will happen it will be the next moment. Just before it, you could not have conceived that it was going to happen.
A person is dying: just a moment before he could never have thought that death is so near. It always happens in the next moment - remember. It has always happened that way, and this will be the way always. It always happens in the next moment. Bring it near so that you can focus on it, and that very focusing will help you to enter in, a new need will be created.
Secondly, you go on living. You go on creating artificial meanings and purposes for this very moment.
You never think of your life as a whole, whether it has any meaning or not. You go on creating new meanings, and you push yourself on with those meanings. That is why a poor man lives a more meaningful life than a rich man - because a poor man has many things to get, and that gives a meaning to his life. If you are really rich, it means you have everything that is possible and this world cannot offer anything to you. Then your life becomes meaningless. Now you cannot create any meaning for this moment, for this day, to help you live. That is why the richer a society, the more affluent a culture, the more meaninglessness is felt. Poorer societies never feel meaninglessness.
If you want to contemplate death, know another fact about it: it can occur the next moment; it is possible the very next moment. You may not be able to hear my whole sentence, I may not be able to complete it. My mother's father used to tell me that when I was born he consulted one astrologer, one of the best known astrologers of those days. The astrologer was to make my KUNDALI - birth chart. But the astrologer studied it and he said, "If this child survives after seven years, only then will I make the chart. It seems impossible that he can survive for more than seven years, so it is useless. If the child is going to die in seven years it is useless to make the kundali; it will be of no use. And it has been my habit," the astrologer said, "that unless I am certain that the kundali will be useful I never make it." So he didn't make it.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I survived. Then my mother's father went to the astrologer, but he was dead, so he never could make my kundali. He was dead, and I have been constantly wondering about this. He was aware of the fact that this child may die, but he was not aware of the fact that he may die. He was not aware! It seems that he was absolutely unconcerned - and he was no ordinary man. But no one is concerned with his own death. Knowingly, cunningly, we are not concerned with it because it creates a fear. So I have always suspected that that astrologer might have never looked at his own kundali; otherwise he would have become aware.
Death is possible the very next moment, but the mind will not believe it. I say it and your mind will say, "No! How is it possible the next moment? It is far away." But that is a trick. If you postpone, you cannot contemplate. It must be so near that you can focus on it. And when I say that the next moment it is possible, I mean it. It can happen, and whenever it will happen it will be the next moment. Just before it, you could not have conceived that it was going to happen.
A person is dying: just a moment before he could never have thought that death is so near. It always happens in the next moment - remember. It has always happened that way, and this will be the way always. It always happens in the next moment. Bring it near so that you can focus on it, and that very focusing will help you to enter in, a new need will be created.
Secondly, you go on living. You go on creating artificial meanings and purposes for this very moment.
You never think of your life as a whole, whether it has any meaning or not. You go on creating new meanings, and you push yourself on with those meanings. That is why a poor man lives a more meaningful life than a rich man - because a poor man has many things to get, and that gives a meaning to his life. If you are really rich, it means you have everything that is possible and this world cannot offer anything to you. Then your life becomes meaningless. Now you cannot create any meaning for this moment, for this day, to help you live. That is why the richer a society, the more affluent a culture, the more meaninglessness is felt. Poorer societies never feel meaninglessness.
online today!
Banning all muslims to come to the US
Perhaps you already heard about this overdriven discussion going on in my country about Trump's position to ban all muslims, coming to my country.
What do you think about that?
This is not an islamophobic blog, just an open opinion as to what is going on in my country.
I understand this is a global site, thanks to the owner of this site, but I am sure there are many out there that would be affected on this decision, if it is ever carried out.
Thank you all for your participation and comments (if any)
Note: safety is everyone's concern, you can't ever put a number on one's safety. What happened in San Bernardino is a lesson that directs us to go deeper on strengthening that zone, where we can be safe.
I am not personally in favor of this, but when it comes down to my safety? Anything that reassure the safety of the American people is of utmost importance.
Thank you.
What do you think about that?
This is not an islamophobic blog, just an open opinion as to what is going on in my country.
I understand this is a global site, thanks to the owner of this site, but I am sure there are many out there that would be affected on this decision, if it is ever carried out.
Thank you all for your participation and comments (if any)
Note: safety is everyone's concern, you can't ever put a number on one's safety. What happened in San Bernardino is a lesson that directs us to go deeper on strengthening that zone, where we can be safe.
I am not personally in favor of this, but when it comes down to my safety? Anything that reassure the safety of the American people is of utmost importance.
Thank you.
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