Love is the Fulfilling of the Law*.

Most people in the Church believe that religion is all about obeying the rules.

And while the rules are important if you are obeying them out of fear then you will not experience God's blessing in all its fullness.

But when you see that the Law is a reflection of God's Love then your motivation becomes love and you will experience the ultimate.

Love God and love your neighbor.

Then you will be free!

(*Romans 13:10)

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The White Rider.

In the Book of Revelation the White Rider who defeats the Beast does not brandish a sword in his hand.

"From his mouth comes a sharp sword." Revelation 19;15 (NRSV)

"and his name is called The Word of God." Revelation 19:13 (NRSV)

So it is not by violence that the Beast is defeated but by the Word of God.

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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Angels.

I have noticed that recently images of angels have begun appearing on my Facebook page.

These images, however, are of both good and evil angels.

And the good angels are exclusive,y musclebound males brandishing swords and fire with which to fight against the evil angels and the devil.

While this is not an uncommon idea of what God's angels do I believe that it is not correct nor is it borne out by the facts. 

If this scenario was true evil would have been defeated centuries ago*.

But there is no evidence that God and His angels act in this way at all.

God is non-violent.

And His angels reflect the Divine Nature.

They are agents of love and blessing.

They are not violent agents of God's wrath.

(* I remember it was supposed to happen at the Millennium.)

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Abundance.

In church this week we had the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-10) that ends with: "'I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.'" (NRSV)

To me this means not that we have many possession, or great wealth, but that we have rich and loving relationships.

For life comes from love.

And love comes from the soul.

Our soul is our true self and it resides in the heart.

But it is imprisoned by fears.

So in order to experience life in all its fullness we must overcome our fears and give the love that dwells abundantly in our hearts.

Then we will have life abundantly.

[Scripture quotation (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are use by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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The Yoke.

"If you remove the yoke from among you,

the pointing of the finger,

the speaking of evil,

if you offer your food to the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,

then your light shall rise in the darkness

and your gloom be like the noonday."

Isaiah 58: 9,10 (NRSV)

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.,and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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The Reality.

In the Reality there is no Satan, no dark powers.

There is only God.

Evil in our world is the result of human fears or the deliberate negation of God's goodness brought about by error.

And so in the end evil must fail.

And God's goodness will prevail.

For the Light that comes from God will reveal their error and evil will disappear like the mist.

But we must wait until the time is ripe.

And they are ready to accept God's Love.

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Hidden Evil.

There is an evil in our world which is leading us all astray.

This is the influence of Satanism which permeates our popular culture.

Rock music, sports, entertainment, literature, and advertising all conceal the works of Satanists.

And they use their influence to corrupt and tempt everyone.

You will see the sign of the horns, tongues poking out, references to the beast, the devil, and hell.....

But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

90% of the influence of Satanism is subconscious.

It will incite hedonism, violence, selfishness, lies, vice, hate, and sin.....

None of these things brings happiness.

They lead to a desert of suffering and bitterness.

And it is suicidal.

Those who inspire these things claim a reward from the devil for your soul.

Or so they believe.

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Yoga.

One of the first steps of Yoga is the Yamas and Niyamas -  the restraints and observances:

"Vows of restraint comprise abstinence from violence, falsehood, theft, sexual excess, and acquisitiveness."*

"Purity, contentment, austerity, self-study, and self-surrender constitute observances."*

At first we wonder why?

But theses steps help to prepare us for the presence of God.

For God is transcendent, sublime, and wholly good.

It is consistent with the Biblical witness:

"Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined."  Daniel 12:10 (NRSV)

(*Yoga Sutras - Patanjali.)

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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The Beast and the Human.

The Beast is violent, cruel, dominating, boastful, and blasphemous.

He rules by fear and he punishes any dissent.

But his time is limited and his dominion will be taken away.

It will be given to the man - the one who is like a human being*.

This means he is humane, gentle, honest, truthful, generous, and loving.

He rules in peace and conciliation.

This is God's Son.

He is non-violent, wise, faithful, pure, and just.

He does not raise a hand or use weapons**.

He relies on the words of his mouth.

And he defeats the Beast.

(*Daniel 7:11-13)

(** 2 Esdras 13:9)

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Heart to Heart.

When we begin to live from the heart we can discern what others' hearts are experiencing.

Mostly we will find that their hearts are burred deep within a fortress of fears.

But if we relate to them through our hearts we find that they respond, not in kind, but that they relax and open up a little. 

And they will mostly react in a positive way.

So let down your defenses and relate heart to heart.

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Killing in the Name of God.

Despite the fact that "Thou shall not kill" is one of the 10 Commandments God's prophets had a record of killing in God's name.

Both Moses and Elijah killed mauy people who were unfaithful to Yahweh,

Moses killed 3000 Israelites who worshiped the Golden Calf.

And Elijah killed the priests of Baal.

Christians and Muslims are not exempt from this.

The Crusades and the Inquisition killed thousands.

And the Koran has been interpreted as instructing Muslims to kill the Infidel.

So killing in the Name of God is nothing new.

But we thought humanity had grown past that.

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Betrayed!

The Hippies and Baby-Boomers were betrayed by their rock stars into lives of drug addiction and decadence.

And so peace and love became sex and drugs and rock and roll.

This was done quite deliberately by rock stars who had sold their souls to the devil for fame and fortune.

But peace and love are at the heart of Jesus' teachings. 

And so a return to youthful idealism without the corrupting influence of rock music will cleanse us in body, mind, and spirit.

For love purifies and peace is found in God.

Then the search is over.

Photo Credit: (Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here) 

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Reconstructed.

Generation X and the corporate plutocrats, with the help of conservative Christians, won the battle of ideas by force, violence (psychic and spiritual), and evil*.

And the Hippies and Baby-Boomers were reconstructed.

And so peace and love became money and possessions, pragmatism and consumerism.

This was done by claiming to be right about everything and then forcing everyone to submit.

But "If I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."  1 Corinthians 13:2 (NRSV)

And so they fall at the last hurdle.

For God is Love.

And without love we are nothing.

(*This is the Black Beast.)

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Life After Death.

So what happens when we die?

I believe that God knows what caused us to make the decisions we made in life.

And some of those decisions were bad.

And so when we die God takes us back to the moment we made those decisions and absolves us.

Because those decisions were made according to the information that was available at the time and many were the consequence of erroneous teachings or pracices.

They may have been the result of abuse or hypocrisy or exploitation or prejudice.

But ultimately they were  decisions made in fear.

So they are always forgivable.

And so our sins, and I know that they are many, are forgiven.

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Bad Girls.

When a good parent has a child who is bad they don't abandon them but try to help them.

This does not mean that they condone their bad behavior but that they try to rehabilitate them.

And so God, as the ultimate parent, will not abandon or destroy bad people but will wait and try to save them when the time is ripe.

For God is Love.

And no one will perish.

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