Category Archives: Religious

Most anything dealing with the religious nature of life. This could be interesting, or not, or enlighting, or perhaps, inbetween

Jesus and His Dying

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Jesus and His Dying                                        

   History:                             Sin goes back to the story of Adam and Eve, which represented original sin and its ramifications.   How does this related to Jesus dying for our sins?

Our sins keep us away from God, whereas sin corrupts us.  We, as a people and as children of God want to do what we want to do, be what we want to be, etc. in all respects.

We want power, we want wealth, we want so many things for ourselves, are examples and we do NOT take care of what God gives us as gifts, in general.  What we DO have are all the things that God does give us.

God wants/desires that we are reunited with God, and it was His son Jesus Christ, who came to Earth to make that reunification possible.

At the time of Jesus, sacrifices were made of perfect animals without blemishes as gifts to God to atone for different sins done by his children.

By coming to Earth as a human being and as a man-God, Jesus reunited us through the ultimate sacrifice with His own life.

In John 3:17, it is stated that “God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world be saved through Him.”  To me, that is the reason for the Jesus of that time and of our time today.

He, Jesus, sacrificed Himself and took the punishment for ALL of our sins at once.

The ultimate sacrifice, which satisfied, once and for all, the demands of God’s required justice. In Jesus’s resurrection, we see, good triumph over death, which promises eternal life for all of us.

Through Jesus, we have received the most wonderful gift God could ever give us.

Did Jesus have to die?             YES

Did His death by the powers of state and religion have to be done with the excuses given?    YES

Do I believe Jesus died for my sins?      YES

Do I believe that there is life after earthly/worldly death?     YES

It happened again!!!!

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It Happened Again!

I gave an individual (male) one of the crosses I make, after he commented on the one, I was wearing. He told me he did not know if he could wear it ever, though he said he was a Christian. I told him the things about my doing so, wearing the cross. So I related again what I thought.

First, I explained to him that being a Christian automatically makes a person a disciple of the Savior Jesus, in my opinion. It does entail many duties and a follower of Jesus that includes the declaration they are one and encouraging others to be “fishers of men” and that is discipleship.

I also told him that I wear a cross, not to just show others that I am a disciple of Christ, but something else in the process.

In the Bible in Ephesians 6:16 it states, “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”  I interpret this (for me) as “wear a cross”

It is difficult for me to be a hypocrite and do or say things that contradict the teachings of Jesus Christ, and I wear the cross to fend off those acts. It is there for me to see and feel and I try to be a disciple of Jesus.

Do I always succeed?! NO, I do not, BUT the cross I wear also reminds me I am forgiven through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.

This guy looked at me, did accept the cross I had for him, put it in his pocket and said, “I will consider it.”

Thanks be to God whom I have submitted myself to and to Jesus who I have surrendered my life to his glory.

So be it!!!!!!!!!!

The Light

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We are ALL on a ride to a destination! The journey is a short one in comparison to the existence of time itself for how long we exist, here on Earth.

The trip is loaded with experiences, both good and bad. How we handle the bad gives credence to how good things are appreciated and enjoyed to a degree.

In essence, we allow all the various episodes we have in life to somewhat control our actions and feelings, and that is probably normal.

We also allow our lives to go on, move forward to the next levels of life that occur to have feelings of positive consolation and desolation, which is a negative event.

Since we are creators of our very daily lives, we could demand of ourselves the ability to dispose of the bad and resolve to make the good things prosper. That is sometimes a hard task to follow.

The light of the light can help us overcome the darkness that tries to bring us down. This darkness could be a black pit of despair that overcomes us. 

As John said in Chapter 1:5 in Scripture, “The light shines, in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” And sometimes, neither do we when the darkness invades our minds. I could also quote from John 8:12, when Jesus stated “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

I do not believe he meant that we will always be free of the anguish of bad things happening, or bad negative experiences in general, which could be looked at as periods of darkness. I do believe if we follow Jesus, we will have a positive light that will persevere and the outcome of our journey, although a short one on Earth, will be a very long one in eternity.

Jesus is the spiritual illumination and light of the world then in His time, now in our time and will forever be the hope for humanity and all creation.

So be it!!!!

Light of Life

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Light of Life

When does a person see the light?  No, not the light of day, but instead, the Light of Life!

The Light of Eternal Life to come and not the light of the new tomorrow.

To have life through Him will give this eternal life and is a life He brought from God and a dying world.

A chance to climb out of the black pit of darkness and to see The Light and walk in this brightness is to live in a lifestyle or way of Life’s walk.

As He was the Light, is the Light and will be the Light, He did and will influence people for good and prepare us to receive the Holy Spirit into our lives; IF we allow Him to do so.

The Spiritual Disciplines are a step in a way to hear God’s word and to ascertain what plans He has for us.

It is our choice to do nothing or something in life and either walk in the darkness or be a Light of Life, which can mean happiness, prosperity or a perfect being of self.

Our decision, our outcome and our mortal and immortal existence is and will be decided by self.

The light is there!!!! We have to look for Him, acknowledge Him, accept Him!!!!!!!

John 8:12             “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,

but have the Light of Life.”

So Be It

Heavenly Thoughts

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                                                                       Heavenly Thoughts                                                        

For this discourse, let us agree/submit that there IS a life in the hereafter and let us call it Heaven (H).

When souls arrive in (H) do they leave the Earthly beliefs and their bad actions behind?

All the politics, hatreds, prejudices, thievery, abuses, religious differences, and all so many more,  Earthly human tendencies and other things that prey on our dispositions.

If so, how can this be so?

Will the Earthly person, all of a sudden, have a (H) soul that sees the light of all understanding? Or, does the final trip just erase those Earthly and human traits in the process of acceptance in (H)?

But, or, so again, how can a racist person full of prejudice, an abuser of any sorts, a thief of renown, or any person full of hatred of their fellow man, become, all of a sudden, a righteous person in (H)? How can this person mingle with those they hate in an environment of love, knowing that those around them are the people they despised and acted against on Earth?

I don’t know how this could be so, but still wonder what the ground rules are in (H) for existing there. I know someone who thinks everyone goes to (H), but I doubt if they know the rules either and how it works there.

The great mysteries of life are still there to be found eventually and it will be exciting to find out someday, but I am not in a hurry to learn them right now.

Escape of Reality 2019-40

Posted in Contemplation, Religious by

Escape of Reality 2019-40
To close my eyes and escape reality and enter into a fantasy world of wonder is truly amazing.

My mind tears itself away from the turmoil of the world happenings today and allows itself to bask in splendor of created thoughts. Wow!

I am here, I am there and everywhere, but where I am; and no longer a prisoner of today and its doings.

No longer confined to newsworthy tidbits of ugliness, snapshots of horror, and wanton acts of despair.

I can release myself of the constant need to comment on the actions of others, opinions of some and lies of anyone. I am alone with myself, my constant companion.

Instead, bliss reigns, comfort envelopes me, and I am at peace.

I can turn to God, look at the heavens above, contemplate my “other” existence, commune with my Savior, Jesus Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to reside beside, and within me. No other submission and surrender can surmount this and produce this feeling of completeness.

God is Good, God is Great, thanks be to God.

So be it…………….

Aware of God and His Presence 2019-31

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Aware of God and His Presence 2019-31

Some feel that they do NOT have the presence of God in their lives. HMMMMmm!!!
If they have the normal senses most people have, they could use them to enjoy and cherish the presence of God that surrounds them.
How many have seen the Glory of God in the simplest of ways on a daily basis? An aside to this is asking what the Glory of God is. I saw a description of “The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of God’s manifold perfections. Sounds good to me. I also liked “The glory of God is the manifest beauty of his holiness. It is the going-public of his holiness.” A wrap up would perhaps state, “God is in a class by himself. He has infinite perfections, infinite greatness, and infinite worth.”
A majestic eagle flying above and soaring here to there, (Alaska has tons of them there). All around us are examples of His presence giving us insight as to His being with us.
The wind blowing through the trees, touching a windchime, kissing our cheek; all to be recognized as the touch of God, letting us know He is there.
His hand in the help of making the ingredients of a special pastry, enjoyed by all at a reunion of His children at an event. The taste that reminds us He was involved.
The smell of a field of flowers wafting to our nose, as the colors dazzle us with vibrant areas of splendor as hummingbirds swoop in to enjoy the nectar of the flowers God has blessed.
NO, I disagree with t hose that are missing the Presence of the Glory of God. They are not appreciating what is there and who was involved – God Himself!!!!!!!!
Peace,
Den Betts thebettsden.com

My Pensive Nature 2019-29

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My Pensive Nature  2019-29

My pensive nature (or so I have been told) puts me, at times, into a musing state of mind.  Dreamy deep thoughts make me think in careful and thorough ways, requiring abstract ideas and ways of performance of self, or so I think.

I question the reasoning of these thought patterns, but not in much detail. The word “WHY” is a constant refrain, in my infernal mind, without answers, recourse or finalization of my being.

The unanswered, at times, becomes a stumbling block of inaction on my part, a festered boil of unnatural thinking.

I still ask “WHY”, but do not expect any answer to the question of why, and realize the why has no answer, perhaps, and will always be a question without knowledge of the why.

BUT, if we do not ask why, we will never know will we?  We will be forever be in a dense state of mind —- wondering….

I cannot, will not, disparage my self and allow the “Why” of life affect me and instead use the word “BECAUSE” for that can only be the word to use, in my mind.

For instance, “WHY did Jesus the Christ, have to die on the cross and the answer is BECAUSE, and I will allow the theologians to fill in the words to answer this question.

“BECAUSE” is such a great word to use regarding “WHY”, for it gives an answer without an actual answer.

My pensive mind allows me to now muse and let this time to be a stimulus to lull myself to sleep, oblivious to any Why’s of the world. 

Dennis Betts

Loving Our Neighbor 2019-28

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Loving Our Neighbor        2019-28

What does “Loving Our Neighbor as yourself” mean, that Jesus stated as being one of the greatest commandments?  In Mark 12:31 He stated this, along with “loving God with ALL your heart in 12:30.

He said this when asked by His disciples, what the most important commandment was and this loving your neighbor is an essential component of “love of God.”

This is all and good, but when I ask,” Who is your neighbor?” It is NOT just the little old lady next door or the guy up the street! This does not exclude anyone and is all inclusive; period!!!!

It includes poor people, rich people, the good, the bad and the in between, and probably those you want to not even like, let alone love in any way…. It includes others of other faiths, creeds and ethnicity.

If you do NOT love God or not even believe in Him, then you would not even consider this commandment by Jesus.  I understand that feeling by you, BUT, if you are an advocate of Jesus and do not believe this, then it is not you that has a problem with this commandment, it is Jesus that has a problem with YOU.

Jesus and God the Father are very loving of their children of Earth. People on Earth have opinions on what God thinks and what He will do and what He will decide in each of our fates in life. I would think also, that God has the final decision about each of us and if we cannot do deeds of things to get into the Kingdom of God and are accepted by God through Grace. But, are their rules or things that God demands from us that do prevent our being accepted into the Kingdom? If not, and then, therefore, does God love us unconditionally, regardless of what we do or not do?  Convoluted thoughts, I realize……

I do not know and  only God knows, and He will let us know when the time comes for us to know.

 

Peace,

Den Betts

Is God Good? 2019-27

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Is God Good?   2019-27

God is ALWAYS good in my mindful thoughts!

If the god of the Hebrew Bible appears to be NOT good to those reading passages in the Old Testament, it might also appear to be so for the time period it was written and before. To equate the then God to the now God is not a correct thing to do.

Things change!!!

With the advent of the Son of God arriving, this episode in life makes things different to many. Jesus Christ became a part of the Triune God and brought forth another thought of God’s Presence known as love to all.

Blaming God for an event in life that affects us and saying He is NOT good in the process, shows our vulnerability in life itself. We as children of God cannot, just cannot, demand a better outcome in life, where we feel God could have, should have or is required to do a good thing in our lives for us, so we can say God is good, God is great… Many or some people turn away from belief in God due to the feeling of God not doing what they wanted and would have been good to do so for them, at the time.

We cannot dictate to God what we want; God is NOT our servant; we are His servants. God is a loving God and loves us to death and beyond. God is a caring God and cares for us and those we love. The fact that He does not do what WE want, is another matter.

God will be with us always, by our side, even to the death and will comfort us even then and those we love ourselves.
What humans do as God’s children to others, is on us and God will be with us through the trails and tribulations of life that man does to man, for whatever reasons, and where man does the things we think are horrible it is not just to state God is not good due to those actions of those others, but it is somewhat normal to do so, regardless. He knows that too.

God is good, God is Great, thanks be to God………

Peace,
Den Betts