The last blog I wrote attracted people to my life which it does from time to time. Other than the people who thinks it's just fun, it attracts people who are afraid for my salvation and my contact with other gods. Well, I am a metaphysician.
The word metaphysical scares people. It simply means beyond the physical. To most people where I live, it means crystal wands, yoga gods, and the loss of salvation. Well, no. Not every metaphysician twirls crystals or energizes wands in the moonlight. It also doesn't bother me that have energized crystals, believe in healing herbs, and accept healing properties beyond the physical. I accept miracles and miraculous healing.
I was specifically asked about chakras. I accept the energy zones that science has recorded in these areas of the body are than in other areas. I also accept that certain cultures refer to them as chakras. I am okay with and without the terminology. What is scarier to me in these encounters and moments is that people think salvation is at stake? It exhibits how young a believer is to me.
Salvation is not earned. It is already there for acceptance. People cannot be good enough to earn eternity. It is impossible. All living things have energy. Even God is Spirit. Those who are afraid of energy work are afraid of healing. God is bigger than that. God wants us to be healed and is with us everyday. There is no need to be afraid. A healing fear of God is reverence not separation. To intentionally separate oneself from God is wrong. This happens in young believers who are earning salvation. There is no need to do so.
Rest assured. Whosoever believes... shall be saved.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Friday, September 9, 2016
My Request of All Evangelists
Today, I was approached by an evangelist. Poor soul. He wants so much to share his faith with others that he is confronting them with his belief and with his struggle. To me, he is young in faith. It is wonderful that he wants to share his belief and his faith. He is born-again as this culture promotes, yet does not seem to educate beyond " Jesus is Lord. I struggle with..." Interestingly, I just purchased my first Bible shirt that I have had in years. I used to only wear these mass marketed and produced items that are marketed for Evangelical Christianity. I love these things. I purchased it because 1) I am revolving my clothes, downsizing them, and replacing three with one, 2) I needed to choose one, and 3) I liked it. Of course, since it has a Biblical reference on it, the direct correlation that it has to be something more than a shirt.
To some, this is the equivalent of a Dallas Cowboys shirt for Christians. It's our team, so we need to wear it and advertise our faith with pride and marketing. To me, it isn't even a form of evangelism as it is something that I have always done. I started wearing them when I was young in faith not that I am completely wizened or old in it either. It saddens me to see people young in their faith doing the same things that I was told to do that brought sorrow into my life about my faith. This young evangelist was motivated to zealously share his struggle with marijuana, yet spoke in a soft tone that he believed in Jesus as Messiah, that he lived, and that be believed in both the New and Old Testaments. He needed to shout his sins, but only dare speak the name of his Messiah.
Evangelical Christianity does this. I don't understand it as, for a group of people determined to be in the Word of God, that they seem to skip going into their prayer closet in order to confess their sins and instead boast of their struggles to follow Christ. It seems arrogant to me to boast in my own sin instead of what Christ has done. At the same time, believing in Jesus doesn't change temporal imperfections. I am not healed because I believe in Jesus in the same manner as a dentist pulling an abscessed tooth. While I believe in miraculous healing, I found the dentist's chair to be more miraculous for my constant pain than most drawn out prayers attempting to heal personal imperfections, brokenness, and illnesses. I find scientific mistakes like penicillin to be of more use than warm fuzzy Jesus thoughts or shouting confessional sins to purge the body. I'd much rather boast in my dentist and his awesome staff along with my other doctors as being the hands and feet of God working to heal the world than in what I find to be a struggle. Although, I also don't mind addressing the struggle.
Dear Evangelists, struggle to praise God. Struggle and strive to praise and boast of the grace that God has found in his creation. Strive to boast of the healing energies in the world. Strive go forth to bless and serve the Lord. Seek Justice, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly with your God. Struggle with these three things first and those who carry the Good News will be unable to refrain from being the hands and feet of God in the world. Learn to love your selves as God loves you. Love, A Child of the Most High Merciful One
To some, this is the equivalent of a Dallas Cowboys shirt for Christians. It's our team, so we need to wear it and advertise our faith with pride and marketing. To me, it isn't even a form of evangelism as it is something that I have always done. I started wearing them when I was young in faith not that I am completely wizened or old in it either. It saddens me to see people young in their faith doing the same things that I was told to do that brought sorrow into my life about my faith. This young evangelist was motivated to zealously share his struggle with marijuana, yet spoke in a soft tone that he believed in Jesus as Messiah, that he lived, and that be believed in both the New and Old Testaments. He needed to shout his sins, but only dare speak the name of his Messiah.
Evangelical Christianity does this. I don't understand it as, for a group of people determined to be in the Word of God, that they seem to skip going into their prayer closet in order to confess their sins and instead boast of their struggles to follow Christ. It seems arrogant to me to boast in my own sin instead of what Christ has done. At the same time, believing in Jesus doesn't change temporal imperfections. I am not healed because I believe in Jesus in the same manner as a dentist pulling an abscessed tooth. While I believe in miraculous healing, I found the dentist's chair to be more miraculous for my constant pain than most drawn out prayers attempting to heal personal imperfections, brokenness, and illnesses. I find scientific mistakes like penicillin to be of more use than warm fuzzy Jesus thoughts or shouting confessional sins to purge the body. I'd much rather boast in my dentist and his awesome staff along with my other doctors as being the hands and feet of God working to heal the world than in what I find to be a struggle. Although, I also don't mind addressing the struggle.
Dear Evangelists, struggle to praise God. Struggle and strive to praise and boast of the grace that God has found in his creation. Strive to boast of the healing energies in the world. Strive go forth to bless and serve the Lord. Seek Justice, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly with your God. Struggle with these three things first and those who carry the Good News will be unable to refrain from being the hands and feet of God in the world. Learn to love your selves as God loves you. Love, A Child of the Most High Merciful One
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Forgiveness: Choosing to Step Forward
My understanding of forgiveness has been highly influenced by the several different people and sources. Instead of people in this entry, the sources seem to be more influential in my life. The two sources that have influenced my understanding of forgiveness and choice are Scripture and 12 Step programs.
First, my participation in 12 step programs was voluntary and because people convinced me that it was something that I was in need of at the times when I was a part of them. I fully participated, and several specialists who actually listened to me removed all of the question about whether or not I was addicted to anything that I may have been doing. Having stated that, I believe that in some way, everyone is an addict. It is in human nature to be addicts. Addictions that take over a person's life are very real, and lots of people with them need others to admit that they have the same problem even if they don't have the issue. To me, at this point, 12 step groups fall into two categories: cult groups cells or critical thinking small groups. They discuss spiritual and topics while claiming not to be religious. Unfortunately, they are religious as they have a means through which people break addictions, and ultimately, accept a High Power, God, or something out there greater than themselves.
The number one thing that I learned in the 12 step programs was the phrase "God of your own understanding." This concept caused me to begin searching for exactly that. The other things I learned from the meetings and programs is the phrase "As if." These two things were specifically important to me because I was 1) earning my original religion degree at the time and 2) deciding how I was going to live my life by my own values like everyone else in their early twenties. I DO NOT believe or accept the concept of "As if." If someone is doing something as if it matters, then it is an admission that the activity doesn't matter. I am more from the Yoda philosophy of "Do or do not. There is no try," as taught in my middle school band room. Well, every band room I have ever been in.
Having a Higher Power or God of my own understanding changed my entire life. One of the main things that I live from that experience is that I do not need to run around forgiving people for what they do to me, and I don't need to accept what other people want me to do because they want me to do it. The critical thinking involved in the 12 step programs comes from knowing AND using a person's knowledge and education. The role of a sponsor is one of a guide and not someone who sets the goals for another person. The importance of critical thinking is in knowing what you know and what you don't know.
Because I have a God of my own understanding and a relationship with that God, I know that I am NOT God. Scripture definitely informs the reader that I am NOT God. Even for God, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. Now, I am not worried that I or anyone else has committed this sin because if you are concerned that you have then you haven't. The point for me in Mark 3:29 is that there are sins that even God doesn't forgive. Since I am NOT God, then I don't expect that I will be able to forgive everything that people do to me, and I don't expect other people to do that for me either. I don't expect people to live in the same relationships for their entire lives.
Forgiving someone is a choice as is holding it against the person. I don't believe that it is my position, role, or personal expectation of myself to forgive other people, especially to convert them to my point of view. I just don't. I did for part of my life and decided that living that way was killing me. I lowered my expectation myself and relied more on scripture that people are only the vessels for God. We are the hands and feet of God in the world. We are not the means or have the power to forgive people or to convert them to believe anything. This is God's work and not man's work.
The only real choice for me is to create the boundaries that I need in my life. This doesn't mean that I love people less, am not living in community with others, or that I am not a forgiving person who cannot be trusted. This means that I spend time evaluating the situation and make an active choice based on my education and knowledge of what I know and don't know.
Since the majority of people I know in the 12 step programs do not use power effectively, which I have studied and gained degrees in over the past 20 years, I do not recommend them to people. If knowledge is the point, then read the literature and make your own decisions about addictions and other manifestations of the 12 step programs; however, the understanding of the literature has to be placed into a historical context. Powerlessness doesn't mean choicelessness.
God is a giver of choice. This choice is for each individual alone and cannot be genuinely coerced in any way. What is the choice? Freedom and not forgiveness.
Be free.
First, my participation in 12 step programs was voluntary and because people convinced me that it was something that I was in need of at the times when I was a part of them. I fully participated, and several specialists who actually listened to me removed all of the question about whether or not I was addicted to anything that I may have been doing. Having stated that, I believe that in some way, everyone is an addict. It is in human nature to be addicts. Addictions that take over a person's life are very real, and lots of people with them need others to admit that they have the same problem even if they don't have the issue. To me, at this point, 12 step groups fall into two categories: cult groups cells or critical thinking small groups. They discuss spiritual and topics while claiming not to be religious. Unfortunately, they are religious as they have a means through which people break addictions, and ultimately, accept a High Power, God, or something out there greater than themselves.
The number one thing that I learned in the 12 step programs was the phrase "God of your own understanding." This concept caused me to begin searching for exactly that. The other things I learned from the meetings and programs is the phrase "As if." These two things were specifically important to me because I was 1) earning my original religion degree at the time and 2) deciding how I was going to live my life by my own values like everyone else in their early twenties. I DO NOT believe or accept the concept of "As if." If someone is doing something as if it matters, then it is an admission that the activity doesn't matter. I am more from the Yoda philosophy of "Do or do not. There is no try," as taught in my middle school band room. Well, every band room I have ever been in.
Having a Higher Power or God of my own understanding changed my entire life. One of the main things that I live from that experience is that I do not need to run around forgiving people for what they do to me, and I don't need to accept what other people want me to do because they want me to do it. The critical thinking involved in the 12 step programs comes from knowing AND using a person's knowledge and education. The role of a sponsor is one of a guide and not someone who sets the goals for another person. The importance of critical thinking is in knowing what you know and what you don't know.
Because I have a God of my own understanding and a relationship with that God, I know that I am NOT God. Scripture definitely informs the reader that I am NOT God. Even for God, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. Now, I am not worried that I or anyone else has committed this sin because if you are concerned that you have then you haven't. The point for me in Mark 3:29 is that there are sins that even God doesn't forgive. Since I am NOT God, then I don't expect that I will be able to forgive everything that people do to me, and I don't expect other people to do that for me either. I don't expect people to live in the same relationships for their entire lives.
Forgiving someone is a choice as is holding it against the person. I don't believe that it is my position, role, or personal expectation of myself to forgive other people, especially to convert them to my point of view. I just don't. I did for part of my life and decided that living that way was killing me. I lowered my expectation myself and relied more on scripture that people are only the vessels for God. We are the hands and feet of God in the world. We are not the means or have the power to forgive people or to convert them to believe anything. This is God's work and not man's work.
The only real choice for me is to create the boundaries that I need in my life. This doesn't mean that I love people less, am not living in community with others, or that I am not a forgiving person who cannot be trusted. This means that I spend time evaluating the situation and make an active choice based on my education and knowledge of what I know and don't know.
Since the majority of people I know in the 12 step programs do not use power effectively, which I have studied and gained degrees in over the past 20 years, I do not recommend them to people. If knowledge is the point, then read the literature and make your own decisions about addictions and other manifestations of the 12 step programs; however, the understanding of the literature has to be placed into a historical context. Powerlessness doesn't mean choicelessness.
God is a giver of choice. This choice is for each individual alone and cannot be genuinely coerced in any way. What is the choice? Freedom and not forgiveness.
Be free.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)