Heaven on Earth

Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.  Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some EQUALITY.  Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be EQUAL.  As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over,  and those who gathered only a little had enough.”-2 Corinthians 8:12-15

What?  Was Paul a socialist?  No!  He was a GENUINE follower of Christ in that he both got and did what Dad in the Old Testament, big brother Jesus in the New and their Holy Spirit of his time told him to do which is love Dad by loving one another and Scripture such as Acts 4:32-35 and specifically verse 34 tells us what can happen if we do it as well. 

If we as modern day spiritual Israel would grasp this today the temple we are supposed to be building for Dad and one another on earth would look as He instructed us to and He would come and fully dwell amongst us as He did when physical Israel followed and completed it in the Old Testament.  Instead, we are building are shrine to self gratification and the pursuit of "happiness" in the form of things, things, and more things.  The Constitution our earthly founding fathers wrote may have guaranteed this but the Bible our real Dad wrote did not.  If we follow His instructions as such He guarantees us everything we need but not necessarily everything we want. 

Yes, Paul said those who don't work won't eat.  Unfortunately though, this is a sad reality about the fallen sinful nature of humanity as it is a reality of our world since many all over the world work hard everyday and still don't have everything they need and you can talk to people like my wife Liz, sister Jaime Glandon and myself sometime if you dare and continue to doubt this.

Truth is, hard work alone doesn't make our world better or fair but submitting to, listening to and then doing what Dad tells us to do does.  Our world doesn't need more things, work or education.  What it needs is Dad's children to start acting like it and carrying out what they profess to believe. 

In the end, particularly to those who profess to be children of Dad and brothers and sisters to Jesus, if you want Jesus to return and restore things as they should be, then its time to get off our self-satisfied duffs and make both the temples of self and earth worthy of His return by loving Dad and one another and not just in word but in deed.

Thanks and though this may have been a bit harsh to swallow, its motivated by love for Dad and one another so He can bless all of us even more richly:-)

Father, Son Time

Creation reflects Dad-Romans 1:20

I run the distance of a 5k about 4 days a week for exercise, am blessed to live in a place where I can run around a beautiful lake in the woods as my path and I do this for leisure as well as to keep my self in shape physically, mentally and spiritually.  The physical part is self explanatory.  Mentally, doing this, allows me to empty my mind of the busyness life throws at it everyday and capture my thoughts on things of Dad.

And then there is the spiritual side.....

While I run which takes me anywhere from 20-25 minutes to do, I am talking (aka praying;-) to Dad about people and things going on in my life on a regular basis.  When done running, I sit on this concrete bench available and meditate on the scene of the lake and woods for a bit and it is here that I "see" and have an awesome encounter with Dad's trinity personality through creation. 

As I take in the sky, Dad reminds me of how He is my shield of protection on a regular basis just like He was for my ancestors during their rescue from Egypt.  This also reminds me of how He conceived us and later on, big brother Jesus out of His love for us (John 3:16). 

Depending on the weather, it is usually either cloudy or sunny.  Either way, in this I encounter big brother Jesus and am reminded of how He is a reflection of Dad.  If it is sunny, it reminds me of how He is the light of the world and the reason we can know and, as a result, "see" Dad or as He put it, "whoever has seen me has seen the Father."  And even if it is cloudy, His light is so bright that I can still see everything around me which is evidence of both Dad's and His presence even though I can't see His face of which the sun is symbolic of.

And then there is His/their Holy Spirit.  It is the very air I breathe in and out and I can even see it on certain cold mornings.  I view it in the mornings either through a fog that floats across the lake on certain mornings or in the reflection off the water on other mornings.

 As I view the lake, I am reminded of all the both life and messy chaos that exists just below the surface of the water and yet the water remains calm.  It is in this that Dad reminds that His spirit floats around and in the chaos of the world we live in everyday.  He reminds though not to fear or become paralyzed by it, but to keep living within it and charging it head on for He has overcome the world, greater is He who is in me than in the world. 

If you are like me and can imagine the refueling that goes on during this time with Dad, then you understand why I do it.  Given that, I encourage you to do the same. 

You can do this through either running, walking, or some other form of Father/Child time with Dad.  Give yourself about 20-30 minutes a day with Dad, talk, and then be still and listen as He reminds you that He is Dad. 

You can also do this through napping during the day or sleeping at night.  Before you do either, ask Dad to help you rest, invite Him into your dreams to love and enjoy you, to protect you from the enemy as you do so and then to help you remember and interpret everything He wants you to.  If you do this with a sincere heart wanting to encounter Him, He will show up.

If this sharing of my time with Dad inspired you in some way and/or you try some or any of this and encounter Dad yourself, or if you have another way you encounter Him that might be useful to someone else, share it with us here.  With that, thanks, and may Dad continue to bless us all richly!

 

My "Theology"

You are my son whom I love and in you I am well pleased!  Love, Dad

God has been revealing to me over the last few years that He is my firm, but loving, Dad and everyone around me, including you;-) are my brothers and sisters.  This, in all its simplicity, is my "theology," the lens through which I view the world I live in and through which I will share through this blog.

As a result of this view, I am excited to see who all Dad continues to use me to reach through things such as this blog.  For those Dad may lead to read this who think they are okay without Him, He loves you too and could use this to reveal that to you.

I suspect though those who will really enjoy this blog the most are those who know their lives are broken and not as they should be or at least are suspicious of it;-).  Truth is, to one degree or another, all our lives are broken and Dad is the only one that can properly piece (or peace;-) it all back together the way it was intended to be. 

This blog is dedicated to those who know they are broken and are tired of the version of God religion has fed us for years and want to exchange it for a genuine, intimate and , as a result, often messy relationship with Dad and others.  My Dad, our Dad, is alive and well and my daily experiences with Him combined with the history book He provided me of my ancestors experiences with Him (The Bible) is proof of that.

It is through this theology or lens that this blog will be shared.  Yes, this is the "kool-aid" this stand is offering, the scandolously sweet drink I ingest nonstop everyday (John 4:13-14), and the kind this blog is inviting you to try as well.  Thanks and may Dad continue to bless you all richly!