Category Archives: Religious

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

The Message  2017-10

Posted in Religious by

            It is far to easy for  people to push religion onto others. Many do and the message is lost to those that can or need the inspiration that the Gospel can give.  Some look at others and do judge and feel they MUST proclaim something to those people, whereas giving information like the Gospels and the story of Jesus is much better done in a loving and caring manner.   

 

                                                            The Message  2017-10

What is objectionable, is not the sharing of the Gospel, but instead the mode or spirit in which it is shared. Do NOT condemn the sinner or judge the unbeliever- Jesus did not do that.

Proclaim the message in a loving manner, to people who need both kindness and truth. It is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance, and it is the truth that sets them free.        

Den Betts

Self 2017-09

Posted in Religious by

                                                                                Self  2017-09

To experience a life of living for Christ, involves letting go of being self-centering and our own self-will. Pray to be forgiven for being centered on our own spectacles of life, with our made up calamities. This is NOT easy to do for many today, as life gets in the way, at times. It is easy to criticize, but much harder to accept. BUT, if we can accept, we are closer to understanding our Self. With the then understanding, we can reach out and beyond where we are when we started our journey of awareness.  The Self is not going anywhere and we CAN change to become one with God, the living Christ that is with us always………………

Den Betts    

2010 “The Happening” Revisited 2017-08

Posted in Religious by

 2010 “The Happening” Revisited    2017-08

 

7 Years ago on March 3, 2010— The day I was touched by Jesus Christ, found/saw the Glory of the Father and eventually heard the Holy Spirit.  This was the third week of Lent that year.

Someone I know said I was transformed then and became a child of God and disciple of Jesus Christ. Wow, what a moment and what a time period then and even now. The facts of “The Happening” are described in blog # 2015-69 and are in the archives of March of 2015 at my blog site, TheBettsDen.com

Before this date, I was a so- so Christian, going through the motions of being a believer of God and of Jesus Christ.  I was a drifter type religious person, not really committed or even believing wholeheartedly in a Divine being or a man-God who died so that I may have a chance of eternal life.

As I was in sort of a spiritual darkness previously, and as I began to see the light and life of Jesus, I was changed. I am NOT the man I was before then, and have since, become a student or disciple of Jesus in the process.

I struggled for understanding of what occurred. I tried to accept counseling of WHY and perhaps WHAT to do, or become and it was interesting for me.  But, in reality, time is a way of fleshing out the why’s and what’s of life and I believe I now know some of the answers.

My tenure as the lay leader President of the church I belong to, helped me to a degree. It gave me an insight as to the workings of the church and that was important to me at that time.  I learned and tried to lead as best as I could and in the process also found out some things; private things about myself.

Now I am basically on my own, learning more about the Scriptures, about Jesus and accepting the fact that it is about ME and my relationship with the Triune God. It is not about my possibly being an evangelist or anything like that. It is about my learning more about myself and my God and Savior Jesus Christ and I am finding it is a long process.

I had a Reaffirmation of Baptism a few years ago. That simple action meant much to me. That anniversary is coming up too and I look at that date as a milestone also. It was on the day before Easter which is called Paschal Vigil or Vigil Easter. My friend Paul, was my sponsor then and he continues to give me inspiration in my life.

As I have said before, I KNOW there is a God!    He is alive, He is active, He is aware by having His presence with us always. Praise be to God…………………………………………………………………………

Den Betts

Baptism of Jesus Experienced 2017-07

Posted in Religious, Religious type by

Baptism of Jesus Experienced  2017-07

I attended a retreat last night that was sponsored by the Jesuit House of Parma, OH. This retreat will be an ongoing weekly thing during Lent at Celebration Church where I attend The overall title of the retreat is Living Prayer: My Life In God.

The theme last night was about “Gospel Contemplation”. This is where a Scripture passage is used to seek an openness to the Holy Spirit for guidance in life. A passage from the Bible was read, relating to the baptism of Jesus. We were asked to allow our imaginations to read into the passage and see what transpired.

This passage was where John baptized Jesus and is described in Mark 1 Verse 9-11.  In this it reads: “At the time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descended on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven. “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

We were then allowed time to think about this passage and project ourselves into contemplating this passage from the Gospel. The following is what I experienced:

“I was aware of myself. I was in the water in the Jordon River. Many people were being baptized by John. The people were speaking, but I could not understand them; I presume it was Aramaic, which I could not follow.

The water was warm, it was flowing around me and came up to my stomach. I was “the watcher”, in case people were swept downstream from where John was standing in waist high water.

One person came into the water and John led him to the spot he was using to immerse people for baptism.  This person was Jesus, as it fit the scenario, in my mind.

John took him by the hand, and then wrapped his arm around Jesus holding his back. He was talking to Him and then lowered Jesus backward into the water. John held him under the water for a short period and then lifted him upward with his arm.

Jesus was radiant and smiling as he came up to the surface.  Then, an extremely bright light filled the sky. The clouds were blown away and the sky was a vibrant blue, with the sun shining, bathing all that the rays hit around us.  A quivering halo effect enveloped both men as Jesus was highlighted by the intense rays shining down. A voice boomed from above and shook the earth and made the water of the Jordon dance.

“You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” The people on shore were scared. They backed away from the water looking upward. John stood with open mouth as he held onto Jesus. He looked awe inspired with open eyes, first looking at Jesus then upwards, then back to Jesus.

At that moment Jesus looked at me. I stood in the water, sort of dazed.  He stared at me, cocked his head to the side then nodded up and down.  I looked at Him and said, “I know who you are and what you are.” He chuckled a bit and said “Peace be with you for I know who you are too.”

About that time a gong rang and the time for contemplation was over.  I sat and thought about what I experienced and recalled when I had another time with Jesus, which I will relate later this month.

Peace,

Den Betts

Bah Hum Bug 2016-70

Posted in Religious by

Bah Hum Bug 2016-70

Bah Hum Bug

The season of Christmas is here.

To practicing Christians, this is a time of significance where the birth of the world’s savior is celebrated. For many, this is a time of (hopefully), good feelings, good times and a period of giving and receiving.

Overall, I feel both groups with their thoughts of why to observe Christmas have merit and it is good in my mind. There are so many traditions, acts of joy, ceremonies, and parties, other get together times and good will occasions it makes for a wondrous time of year.

Some thoughts of this Christmas period:

I will say “Merry Christmas” to anyone and not “Happy Holidays”. If they celebrate a different holiday time and respond with their holiday wishes, I will wish them well.

I feel Christmas has become very much commercialized with gifts to one another the main focus and NOT the real reason of WHY we are celebrating. .

When I was a child in the forties and fifties, I had NO idea why we were exchanging gifts or what Christmas was all about, so in some ways, nothing has changed for some of us. It would be great if something was discussed about the reason we celebrate Christmas, at least on Christmas day.

I know of someone who does NOT celebrate Christmas because he states, correctly, that  Jesus Christ was NOT born on December 25th, but what he ignores is the fact that Dec 25th,is the day we celebrate his birthday anyhow. He also wants me to know that this date originated from a Roman festival of the god’s Mithra and Saturn which was adapted to the birth of Jesus.  HE adheres to a cultish type religion that has many strange beliefs, but claims to be a Christian.

One thing about the Christmas season is where I see all the good feelings of Christmas fall off the cliff and disappear on December 26t;; it is then, back to the normal way of existence. That is sad,  in a way.

I used to have (actually still do in a box somewhere) a mirror with a picture superimposed on it of Scrooge and the words “Bah, Hum Bug” on it. This was brought out each Christmas and was mine to look at and express my feelings of Christmas. I don’t do that anymore, but instead, try to live my part as a Christian and remembering why Jesus Christ died for my sins.  I then think about the next religious holiday Easter and what that means to me too.   Maybe we all should do that.

Den Betts

What Has Happened? 2016-54

Posted in Contemplation, Religious by

What Has Happened? 2016-54

What will it take to have people look at others without feelings of prejudice, hatred, of despisement, fear, scorn, loathing, contempt, distaste, contempt, distain, abhorrence, and all the other words that almost mean the same thing?

What happened to the feeling of love, respect, reverence, admiration, affection, togetherness, understanding, devotion, trust, and even the belief in God?

Or is my mind in a cloud of non-understanding and one of unreality?

Who makes the first move of changing? Who are the ones that ferment the bad vibes of the world, and why? Another thing, why do people use religion as reasons for hateful actions or thoughts? I think of the places like the Westboro Baptist Church in some cases

Is God wondering if it is time for a change and does He believe His plan, if any, is not going well? Of course, if you do not believe in God this does not matter. And if you say you believe and do nothing to show your belief, it does not matter either.

I am not judging, but feel that saying you are a Christian or devout Jew or practicing Muslim and not do your part in getting closer to your God, you are not fooling God, but yourself. I believe too many people, including myself, say we believe, and do not do the things to prove it. We can do the proverbial talk the talk and not do the walk the walk type of thing….

As a self-proclaimed Christian, I feel it is about time I start to be committed to being a Christian. It is too easy to make a claim of being one, but to actually do the things that Jesus Christ would want me to do is another matter. I must read the Bible more, to see what He would expect from me. It is all there; just have to read up on it.

Anyone can do what they want to do or not do and that is up to them. We all have to look in the mirror and try to see the other Self we all have inside us. The one that lurks within us and does not come to the surface and hides the real us.

I say it is time for me to be a Christian and do Christian things; starting with the simple thing of loving my fellow Earthlings. All of them, not just the ones I feel good about. All of them that include those of other races, religions, creeds, ethnics, countries, neighbors, communities, and the list goes on and on.

That is not an easy task, but to be a Christ following Christian and surrendering myself to Jesus Christ means I have to learn new skills and do the things that MUST be done.

I welcome anyone I know to follow Jesus Christ with me. Get back to me personally and share your thoughts of doing so; it can help me in my quest of getting closer to the Lord…………………………………..

Den Betts

Prayer/Psalm 2016-48

Posted in Religious, Spiritual by

I think I wrote this as a simile to a written Psalm in the Old Testament, but cannot be sure. I tried to find the actual (if so) psalm but could not. So, I will claim it as mine and instead call it a prayer. It still sounds like a psalm…….

 

Prayer/Psalm 2016-48

 

He shall be my light and salvation

To hide me, shelter me from my worst fears

Allow me to sing, to dance and be merry,

With joy and happiness of a knowing protection

Be gracious to me, when lonely and afflicted

Forgive me, when I have gone astray

Create in me a clean, pure heart,

Protect me from my own transgressions

Become my strength, a shield against adversity,

Gird me with gladness of living and life

Comfort me in my worse times of grieving and despair

Deliver me from the evils of the world

Cleanse my mind of wrongful thoughts, words and deeds

Save me from those that would do me wrong

Praise be to God, for He is the one, the only one

To have the power to be, to do, for life everlasting

 

Den Betts

Concept of Unity with God 2016-46

Posted in Religious, Spiritual by

Concept of Unity with God 2016-46

What is unity with God? Is it a way of being “one with God?” I feel a unity with God and believe I have become closer to Jesus Christ (the man God) who is the Son of God, who is Himself part of the Trinity of the one God of the Universe. Whew, a lot of words

OK, bear with me. It does NOT disturb me what YOU think, it is OK what you think about God or do not think about Him. I believe in God and, in my mind, was and am blessed with His presence and in that presence was assured that there is a God. So, I believe in God the Father, the son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, which makes up the Trinity of ONE God…..

Now, I have stated before, when I pray to the one God of the Universe, I pray to Him and state, usually, “I submit myself to God, surrender myself to Jesus Christ, then I then stopped. But I now continue and say, “and I welcome the Holy Spirit to be around and within me.”

What does that last part mean? Well, again, in my mind, it means I am in unity with God with having the essence of God be with me in the form of the Holy Spirit.

Not only is God there, and Jesus Christ also somewhere, but He, God, is nearby, around me and also within me, in my soul, in the form of the Holy Spirit. It means that God is ALWAYs nearby, listening, watching, knowing what I do and think.

That can be scary and downright intrusive to some, but that is the way it is whether or not we like it or not. He is with us always like I said. To me that is comforting and makes me feel good instead of scared.

Now, some will or do have a problem with the thought that He is with us always. I can’t help what others think and they will have to find the unity on their own and it IS a job doing so. That is another blog on how to do so.

I also want to address the thought some have told me whereas they state, “How can one God or Being, be with each of us individually, there are SO MANY of us.

Well, an easy answer would be, “Because He is God!!” That is really NOT the answer though that I want to express.

Let me make this comparison, which is an easy one to perhaps think about God. There are about 7 Billion people on Earth at present. There is ONE God, again, in the form of the Father, The Son, and Spirit. Now, think of God as capable of being in the Holy Spirit form like an amoeba, which can number in the hundreds of billions.  Then think of Him as being with us always in that form, around us, below, top, aside and especially inside us in OUR essence of our souls.

He is NOT an amoeba, just using the concept of numbers; get it?

He God, wherever He is, can then be in contact with us continually. Our prayers, our desires, our fears, our thoughts, our everything, are known to him through the Holy Spirit that is as close to us as the breath of air we breathe.

Someone also said, “I don’t know if I WANT Him to know all the things I do or think or say.” Guess what guy, He DOES know and will ALWAYs know, regardless. And, the things you do or say or whatever, he realizes and if it is something that YOU do not like, he may not like it ether, BUT he STILL loves you, regardless. The love is UNCONDITIONAL on His part.

Though the love is there, He may not LIKE the actions you do or think, in your mind. Remember the Ten Commandments? They are a written set of Godly instructions for us to go by and we really could use them as a way of life to follow.

I do NOT know how God really thinks of us when we do something He considers not good. Does he pass judgement on us; don’t know; but He does know. We will find out some day.

I feel the Unity with God can be an exhilarating thing and I feel blessed to have a feeling of unity with Him. I encourage anyone to try to get closer to God himself and Jesus Christ, become one with Him and enjoy the joy of knowing His presence as the Holy Spirit. It is GREAT.

Den Betts

Evil Personified 2016-44 PART 2

Posted in Current Events, Religious by

Evil Personified 2016-44 PART 2

I attended a discourse over a number of weeks that was published by the Lutheran social Service of Minnesota,  entitled “My Neighbor is Muslim”. I did not object to the content of the presentation, because it was factual and explained much about the Islam faith that was very correct. I do NOT have a problem with followers of Islam or the Islam faith. The only thing I did NOT comment on were my thoughts about radical extremist Muslims.

Part of my objections would have been about the radical Muslims that do terrible things in the world. The following is about them and some of the leaders of Islam that, I believe ARE part of the problem  worldwide. There ARE people, other than Muslims that are terrorists, but radical Muslims are in the news as being the main culprits of horror against people of the world including other Muslims.

I blame some of the leaders of the Islam faith in teaching the masses that Allah (God) wants them to do these dastardly acts in His name. I think of those religious leaders, and some that are not really religious, as the final end cause of terrorism. They are the ones that ferment dissent and discord that is the foundation of these acts by those they have misguided by their statements.

People like, for instance, the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran who died in 1989, but continued by the current Ayatollah Khamenei, in control now. This man calls the U.S.A. and Israel, the Great Satanists. Another religious leader of Iran, such as Ayatollah Ahman Jannati (aged 89) recently said, “We are an anti-American regime. America is our enemy, and we are the enemies of America.” He and his group will be selecting the next Supreme Leader to replace Khamenei.

On 19 July 2015, while speaking at a mosque in Tehran, Khamenei said to his supporters that the policies of the United States in the region were “180 degrees” opposed to Iran’s political and religious movement. The speech was punctuated by chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”. Khamenei said in regards to the 2015 nuclear deal that “Even after this deal our policy towards the arrogant U.S. will not change.”[ John Kerry said that if the comments reflected policy, it was “very disturbing”, and “very troubling”. DUH! KERRY!!!!!!

Khamenei has frequently stated that Israel should be destroyed. He warned in September 2015 that Israel will not exist as a country in 25 years. “I’m saying [to Israel] that they won’t live to see the end of these 25 years,” he said. “With Allah’s help, there will be no such thing as a Zionist regime in 25 years. Again, using the word God (Allah) in his verbiage of hate. Bull crap!!!!! Where does this religious leader think he has the right to say what God will do and why does he think God will help him?????

I don’t look at it as disturbing; I see it as downright scary and horrible. This leader is at the top of leadership of the Islamist faith in Iran. He now has a clear field to make nuclear weapons in a time table that is long range, but is on a definite track for Iran to become a nuclear power. Scary is not the word!

AND, we as the United States made a treaty with Iran, releasing held monies, giving foreign countries the OK to deal with this despot regime, and allowing this time table for them to still research and make a nuclear device. What was the President thinking???? Can the poor excuses in the U.S. Congress retract this treaty? Should I vote for Da TRUMP who said he would tear the treaty up?

The treaty by President Obama and Sec. of State Kerry was NOT ratified by Congress, but agreed to by both countries regardless. Time will tell if we will be sorry that this action was undertaken. To make it the Obama legacy, might be a horrible legacy to look at in the past, sometime in the future.

Evil personified by religious people, led by horrible leaders, are a sad, sad, sad state of affairs for the world and a blemish on the Islam faith………………  There are reformist Muslims that would be able to make changes of the mindset of how extremist radical Muslims think or at least how others perceive the Islam faith. They are in the minority and their voices are muted by those that do not want any changes made…….

 

Den Betts

Evil Personified 2016-44 PART 1

Posted in Current Events, Religious by

Evil Personified 2016-44     PART 1

 

The other day (about 5-18 or 19th) another plane somehow dropped out of the sky, this time an Egyptian plan that came down in the Mediterranean Sea. It MAY have exploded, they say, but time will tell as to the why it came down.

Let’s say it was an act of terrorism as it has happened before.   I again, ask WHY!

Why does this occur if it is so? What purpose, other than just plain terror, do those that do these acts have for killing so many innocent people? What reason can they intelligently (?) give for doing such a horrendous terrible, ungodly act?

Most terrorism today, is done by extremist people of the Islam faith or so it seems. Not all, but most acts of horror appear to be people using religious type reasoning, or so it seems.

I would rather say that is bull crap. I have read about the words being yelled or stated, “Allahu Akbar”, the Islamic phrase in Arabic meaning “God is the greatest”. Now, I understand that Allahu is the nominative of Allah, meaning “God” and in Islam it is the proper name of God in Arabic. It is usually a battle cry in Islamist extremism or terrorism. It is NEVER mentioned in the Islamic Quran, but it is also used in times of joy, at births, deaths, and in prayers. So, it is known in many usages by Muslim people for various reasons.

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the FBI released a letter reportedly handwritten by the cowardly hijackers and found in three separate locations on the day of the attacks—at Dulles International Airport, at the Pennsylvania crash site, and in hijacker Mohamed Atta‘s suitcase. It included a checklist of final reminders for the 9/11 hijackers. An excerpt reads: “When the confrontation begins, strike like champions who do not want to go back to this world. Shout, ‘Allahu Akbar,’ because this strikes fear in the hearts of the non-believers.” , To me it strikes disgust and revulsion. Also, in the cockpit voice recorders found at the crash site of Flight 93, the hijackers are heard reciting the Takbīr, or Arabic phrase Allahu Akbar, repeatedly as the plane plummets toward the ground and the passengers attempt to retake control of the plane. I just visited the Flight 93 Memorial in May of 2016 and looked at the planes normal occupants as PURE HEROES….

This battle cry by Jihadist cowards is a corruption of using the name of God (Allah) in the actions of evil. It has NO business, in my mind, in conjunction with perpetrating an unholy act of killing innocent people or any people at all. It is a common saying, but it MEANS NOTHING in relationship to God in this context; PERIOD!!!!!!

God, or whatever word is used to call Him, is the ONLY God of the Universe. He, God, does NOT want His name used as it is done so by Islamist terrorists. Where the common Islamic Arabic expression, used in various contexts by Muslims; in formal prayer, in the call for prayer as an informal expression of faith, in times of distress, or to express resolute determination became so common for use by terrorists is unknown. I say unknown, but it WAS reported to have been used by Muhammad  after a funeral, so it does go back to the founder of Islam.

I have read that the terrorists do use Islam and Allah (or God) as reasoning for their actions. This is another bull crap saying by those that are cowards. They may need justification for their actions and using God as reasoning is their way of rationalization.

Den Betts

END OF PART 1                   Part 2 to be published next day