We need to learn how to love again. Too many people who claim to be followers of the Teachings of Christ forget about how Jesus just loved people – we need to just love people. People, in droves, ran to Jesus because they know he was a man of Love. Over my walk I have seen love migrate out of the church. We have replaced the teaching of love with the teaching of judging others. Proof of that simply statement can be... Read more
Many of my more Conservative Christian friends don’t like the idea or Karma; I’s not 100% sure why, but that’s what I’ve found. It could be because the idea central to Karma run contra to what they see as the central idea of Christianity. My personal view is that many push it aside because, as they see it, Karma has its origins in ancient faiths they see as “wrong,” Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Taoism. Whenever I try to speak... Read more
To paraphrase the great swordsman Inigo Montoya [Mandy Patinkin] from The Princes Bride, ‘You Keep Using That Phase, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means .” There are two points I desire to make in this post: First: To truly understand what it means to be born again let’s look at the words Jesus uses in John’s recording of the life and ministry of Jesus [3:3]. The words Jesus used are Gennao [born, Strong’s #1080] Anothen [again Strong’s #509]. The... Read more
Prayer is a wonderful thing, it truly is a wonderful thing. Prayer can change lives, and it can open our hearts to the expression of the Divine in the world. I was once told, ‘Pray can motivate the heart.” I agree, it can motivate the heart; but if the heart is motivated it should be motivated into an action. When we prayer for others we should be listening for the voice of the Divine and hear how we can be doing, helping, moving... Read more
Over the past several years I’ve seen memes on Facebook sharing pictures of soldiers shooting the enemy, standing around tents in the desert, riding on tanks, or snipping behind a wall, with the caption “This Is What a Real Hero Looks Like.” With each meme, some add their own little political twist, like: “Not Protesters in The Streets” or “Not a Guy in a Dress” – and I am certain you can name more. As we stand in the ethos of... Read more
It’s not a secret, I am pro-peace; you could even say I’m a Pacifist. Keep in mind, being pro-peace is more then simply being a Pacifist. Being pro-peace means I am unwilling to accept war, violence, revenge, or destruction at any level. The way I see it, war, violence, revenge, and destruction, in any form, is not part of our faith, or at least it shouldn’t be. Looking back, our faith accepted war, violence, revenge, and destruction soon after it became the official religion of the Roman State. When... Read more
Many churches today speak of Jesus in two ways: Womb or Tomb, were everything centers around the idea of the birth or death of Jesus. While some, have a deep desire to connect the two, while somehow leaving out the rest of the story. The story of Jesus is deeper than the womb and tomb many churches strive to share, much deeper, and that story should move us to a deeper walk – one where we are living the teachings,... Read more
If you only love your neighbor because they’re just like you, you’re not truly loving others. We’re told to “Love others as we love ourselves,” not “Love others because they’re just like ourselves.” I tend to think most of us have no idea what it means to love others. Sure, we use the word a great deal, and yes, we say we love things, but I think most are confused about what a Transcendent Love is all about. For most, love is pushed... Read more
Let’s face it, if we’re not challenged, we’re living inside our own thoughts. When new ideas, new expressions of faith, new concepts, are presented to us, we struggle. We collectively close our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts to other possibilities. To be honest, we don’t want to think. If we hear a new idea, we discount it, or find a way to belittle it, if it doesn’t fit into our preconceived notion of the world, or our personal narrative. We fear the reality that new ideas may... Read more
The Naked Jesus
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