Category Archives: Religious

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

Disciple of Christ + Christian 2015-37

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Disciple of Christ + Christian   2015-37

What are a Christian and a Disciple of Jesus Christ? If you have read the Bible it is stated many times about the followers of Jesus Christ who became disciples and journeyed with Him during His ministry before His dying on the cross.

Let me also state that this blog ends up being seen, at times, by many people of various faiths. That is great and if those of NO faith or a different faith read this, perhaps they will learn something or be aware of a different point of view. So be it….

I had a problem with the word disciple and what it meant, regarding me. I never had a problem in the past until a few years ago. Then it was thrust at me as to what the word actually was and I started to ponder it. The word was on my lips and in my mind and I struggled to think that I may be a disciple, but felt unworthy of calling myself one. It was a BIG word and to think that I could assume a word like that was unimaginable to me.

Affirmation of Baptism?

I fought doing so and in the struggle, I came to grips with it. It took time; a number of years actually. I can remember partaking in a church ritual called “Affirmation of Baptism”. My friend, Paul, was my sponsor to this event and I put off doing so for a year after it was suggested to me by my Pastor. This affirmation is done, even though the person is or was baptized early on or as an infant. It is not an everyday event or doing, but more of a reminder of the ongoing journey of faith, one is on.

Why did I feel like it was a struggle? I felt uncomfortable because it was a commitment on my part. I was almost ready, but not quite. History… I was baptized as a baby or at least the church where it happened had a record of the fact. When I transferred my membership from there, to one where I went 24 years later, they sent the records to the new church. This was after I was married and was going to church. Before that time, I was unchurched as a child and young adult.

At the service, I partook of my affirmation in the Narthex, with the water font situated by the door to the Sanctuary. The words were spoken and I had water from the font dabbed on my forehead. I requested that I have the time to make a statement. I did so and said, “I, with this affirmation, hereby submit myself to God and surrender myself to Jesus Christ!” I meant it! I was told later by a member that it was a most wonderful experience they had, hearing me and watching me have this happen.

So, I continued on my journey. I still had problems with the discipleship thing though. What right did I have thinking I was a disciple of Jesus Christ, I said. I was still me, and I did not feel any better than what I was before. I did feel that I was changing though.

My Spiritual Coach at the time suggested that I might have a calling to be an evangelist.  Wow, that seemed heavy.  I did not see myself standing on a soap box expounding about anything regarding God or Jesus Christ. I am NOT well versed on the Scriptures and have a terrible memory from an accident, so didn’t think that was a hot idea.

This was following what I call “The Happening” and I WILL tell you about that occurrence soon, maybe within a short time in the future. Suffice to say that I was on a journey and still am on one. It is a great and wonderful thing that occurred to me and it is probably a better read than this particular blog.

Disciple of Jesus?

Again, what is a disciple of Jesus Christ? This could be complicated, so I would like it to be less so. Simply put, being a disciple means more than just going to church. It really means you are a follower of God and Jesus and consider yourself a student or a learner who believes or adheres to the teachings of Jesus and make the teachings that Jesus taught a rule of life or how you conduct yourself.  This is not an easy task to be taken lightly, and should take some thought. I now consider myself a disciple, but still find it difficult at times to regularly commit myself to Him, but I try to do so regularly.

I can now say I am a disciple and have taken up the cross to follow Him, and to me, it means all the time, not just when I feel like it. Just saying I am a Christian involves my believing in Jesus and this would be in conjunction with an indwelling of the Holy Spirit that I feel resides in me. Wow..  And in the process I am trying to be an obedient disciple at the same time. The apostle Paul described the reality of taking up the cross and following the Lord: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Wearing a cross?

I might have mentioned this before as to why I wear a cross all the time. It is NOT to have others be aware of my beliefs, but instead, it is to constantly remind ME of how I feel towards Jesus. I show the sign of the cross when I take communion; not for others to see, but to remind me of the bread and wine and what it signifies. I do not care, if others do not wear the cross or show the sign; it again, is something I do for me and my dear Jesus. This is something I started doing after The Happening.

I will say that a Christian is what it sounds like; a follower of Jesus Christ and one that believes in what Jesus taught, in his time period, and who feel those teachings basically, still apply to today in this modern world. Some of those things are archaic, in a way,  and relate to His time and perhaps do not apply to today though. It was a different time and some of the happenings of then, are not prevalent now, I admit. I think I have to un-relate to how it is today in some cases, but do not have any exact examples to give you now. I think of slavery as an item that is not accepted in civilized society now.

I do not consider myself the perfect Christian or disciple of Jesus. I do try to do the things that Jesus would want me to do, but I fail often and truly admit doing so. I am not proud of that fact, but know that, with the Holy Spirit with me, around me and in me, I am forgiven for my inabilities of life.

Anyone can call themselves a Christian or a disciple of Jesus. I do, and I would (and hope others would also) refrain from judging myself as to how good I am one, or what I actually am. I believe Jesus knows how we stand as His follower and how good of a disciple to Him that we are actually.   Also, I feel I really know how I can relate to being a follower and I can judge myself. So can everyone!!!!!! Den Betts

Exclusion 2015-23

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Exclusion    2015-23

What the heck is exclusion and how does it pertain to everyday life? Asking Mr. Webster, he said that it is the act of barring, prohibiting, omitting, or rejecting and that sounds like drastic things to do to others. I wrote a post about being judgmental and said I would follow up with this post about exclusion and am therefore doing so now.

I then ask – if anyone has had this happen to them in their life, being excluded? I have, and it is NOT nice to feel that you are being ignored, or worse, in a negative way. In one instance in my life, I was, not made to, but did feel like I was being excluded from a group for reasons that were not fair to me, but that is another subject in the future. Let me say this: It is not right to exclude others and it sure in heck is not right to be excluded by others either!

I was reading a book on spirituality for a book study group, where we went over and somewhat dissected different portions of the book.  In it, a statement was made about exclusion. This was in regard to being excluded by a religious group towards those not in the community of the same faith.

Church groups?

This can be a touchy subject for some, or for certain groups. Do we look at OUR group or community as being the correct one, the better one, the one and only one?  That can happen, and I hope your group does not feel that way or present yourselves as such. How can we have an open door policy and say we welcome ALL if we exclude certain people?

How do you think a church community would welcome these following two types of people? The first type would be three convicted persons where one was a rapist, the other a pedophile, and the other a person convicted of homicide. All three were convicted and served the time that was made by the judge. Now, think of three different people in the same church that have done the same actions, but are unknown to have committed the same acts. Would people of the church exclude any of these?

This is somewhat of a no brainer. If we do not know that the second group committed the acts, how could this fit into the equation?  In the first group we might or may not know of the acts, but let us say we found out, somehow.  Some would have a hard time with the pedophile one, but some would give an honest response to the other two suggesting they did their time and paid back to society for their crimes.

I then ask, would we as a group, really include the three convicted ones into the fold? Some probably would not answer the question, basically, because we do not really know. We know how we feel but might not be able to speak for others in the group. That is an honest answer, I feel.

Those are somewhat more extreme examples, and there are better ones to contemplate that would be more of everyday occurrences.

Someone I know went to a church that was of another faith. It might have been a wedding. Anyhow, he took communion and when he went up to the altar to commune, someone in the back, pointed him out and loudly said, “He is taking communion and is not a ——— (meaning not someone of that faith). He felt embarrassed, because his religion believed that if you can take communion in your own church, you can take it anywhere.  He also felt excluded and ostracized.

I tried to explain that the church rules dictated that he was not allowed to take communion in that church because he was not a member of that faith. He did not understand why not, and it did have a meaningful thoughtfulness to him about that religion then and probably still does. Quoting someone, again, that I respect, “On the other hand, a commitment to rules to the detriment of a person’s relationship with Christ is also not helpful.”

Rules dictate!

We as society members have different ways of believing things and sometimes let the rules dictate just how we react with one another. Maybe, we should change the rules! I look at rules as guidelines that you can follow. I said, “can follow” not MUST follow. My church has statements and messages that give this guidance to those that follow the religion, but they are not classified as rules. A friend of mine told me that our church hierarchy has sort of a “washy- washy” attitude, regarding certain things, in what they put out in those statements, and I feel I agree, somewhat, at times.

The thing is, they (the hierarchy) made a stand but gave leeway to those that read their statements and to either follow or not follow what was written. If you follow them, great and if you do not, so be it. At least you will know what you do is either well thought of or not, by the higher ups. Will you be excluded if you do not follow the guidelines?  I doubt it very much and that is why I like the statements overall. They give us an idea of what the church I follow, believes in, even though the overall practice of following what is written is not a mandatory dictate or rule. I believe that many faiths and holy places of those faiths are not really following the dictates of God, but instead the dictates of human leaders that made the decrees.

Peace,

Den Betts

Judgmental 2015-20

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Judgmental     2015-20

What a word, Judgment! How many of us judge others on a regular basis? How many of us would admit doing so? Good questions!  Why do we judge, if we do?  I would think, there are reasons for this act.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” This is as written in the Bible in Matthew 7. This sounds pretty clear as a religious saying.  So, why, again, do we judge others?

I think that it is stating for us not to judge hypocritically, for it also goes more into detail. I believe it is saying —don’t be self-righteous in your judgments of others. If, in the religious context, I judge someone else for their sinning, I might be judged for sinning even worse; don’t know.

People that state they are Christians have the thought, sometimes, that they are imposing their views on others. It is more so, when it is done by Christians who speak out against behaviors and lifestyles which they look as “sinning” and is considered to be terrible towards God. Heaven forbid!! I believe it is only God that can judge, or will judge others and we could well do, by leaving the judgment to Him.

Our society lives by the rule that what we do is either good or bad and perhaps, it is up to the individual to decide what is right and wrong. I think the religious fanatics who are intolerant are looked at as being judgmental if they take their religion seriously and say something about what they believe. That is normal, but at times, taken to the extreme., such as the Westboro Baptist so called church. (Why did I add that last bit to the sentence?)  The problem with that thought is where those that are not religious then look at ALL the religious as being judgmental. Walt Whitman said, “Be curious, not judgmental.”

How can I judge someone for swearing, when I do so at times, unwittingly? What I may have verbally, or silently said, after smashing my thumb with a hammer is still swearing. So, there I am, standing with a dripping and bloody finger and later saying things about someone else for swearing, for whatever reason. Just isn’t fair, is it. Is swearing, basically, taking the Lord’s name in vain, and vulgarity is plain bad language? I had a talk with someone recently and that is what he believes, anyhow.

I just looked online and found that there has been much written about the subject. There are so many trains of thought about this, with many referring to religious verses and statements. That is ok with me, but I think of the normal, everyday, way of life of treating most everyone with respect and mentally trying to live in the shoes of others and experience what it feels like at times.

Stereotyping people is a way of judging and to do so rather than looking at the other as an individual person and not part of the whole that is being compared to, is more than just important. We can realize that the other faction can judge us as well, so, by trying not to judge is a step in the right direction.

Using any prejudice towards another is another no – no.  By being prejudiced towards someone based on skin color, religion, or any other reason, is opening yourself up to be judged. I know of one person, who is an avowed racist and when they speak towards another person of color, they themselves are opening up themselves to be judged for the actions or thoughts. It could be they just don’t care, but if enough people called them on it, they might change, because of their being singled out.

I was at a breakfast meeting the other day and the subject of “Exclusion” came up. I will react to those things said, at a later time, but will reference this one about judgment. An anonymous quote is “I am grateful that I am not judgmental as all those censorious, self-righteous people around me.” Is this not the way many of us think at times? Well, some of us, anyway…………..

Thank you for taking the time to read this; it is appreciated! You are welcome to give me your thoughts about this subject or any that I have made or make in the future.

Den Betts

Spiritual But Not Religious 2015-16

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Spiritual But Not Religious    2015-16

I found out that the title is sometimes abbreviated with SBNR, so will use it here. There has been so much written about this subject that I do not feel the need to expound on it too much. I have stated before that I believe I am both religious and spiritual, and maintain that thought.

To those that feel that they are just spiritual and not religious, they would have to explain what they mean as it pertains to them personally. I have heard some of those that are religious in nature; say the spiritual only crowd is just too lazy to go to church. I do NOT feel that way, due to the fact that they, the religious ones, do not KNOW how the spiritual only people really feel.  In many cases, that is one of the problems with some of the religion oriented ones and how they think.

I am reading a book by the Barna Group about the unchurched that I will mention in the future, because it may address the SBNR topic. It is FULL of percentages and numbers that will boggle the mind, and I will not do that, but instead, use some to make a point only. The first chapter is interesting and I am getting much out of it, in the reading.  Back to SBNR!

Churchless!

In the book “Churchless” by the authors from Barna, an interesting bit of info, is the fact that many of the unchurched adults have considerable past experience with Christianity and Christian churches. Many of them, in fact, the majority, were raised with significant periods of church attendance and were engaged with churches sometime during their adult lives.

Most of the Spiritual only group that is comprised of the unchurched adults, say they pray to God during a typical week, in a one way conversation, and most think that God does not speak to them, with only 1/6 thinking He does.

I am not unchurched and go to church on a regular basis. I do so for many reasons and am comfortable with going.  Our church is welcoming to all, or at least I think that is the case. I say that because I was asked if this was so and was questioned with, “Are we welcoming to ALL”, and the conversation went from there as to what ALL meant.  I do recall a “bag lady” coming to our church and there was talk about her and I thought “So what” if she came; she might have had a need that we or the church could fulfill.

Hypocritical

I would think, that thought would lead into the word “Judgment” to a degree and what it means to some. It can also be thought that one of the biggest objections about church going people by the Spiritual or unchurched ones, is the fact that they think the church going ones are so danged full of hypocrisy. Church people say one thing and do another it is said or things like that. I remember hearing from someone that stated that, and I told that person, there are many hypocrites out there in the world including unchurched ones. It IS a difficult subject and has many parts to it to contemplate.

So, in my mind that is not a good defense of not going to church, and stating they are spiritual in nature and don’t go to church for only that reason. Hypocrites are everywhere including church and prejudiced people are also everywhere that have different thoughts.

Nuff for now. I could go on, but think I will save some thoughts for later under a different subject. Your comments are welcome at any time.

Den Betts

Religion Issues 2015-13

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Many theories about spirituality and religion are stated, with those that feel that spirituality is different than religion, and is a much better way of having closeness with God. This is a separate issue that I will address in the future, but in the below discourse, I am staying with the word religion, and hit on a few items regarding this word.

Religion Issues     2015-13

“Most Americans – roughly four out of five – consider themselves to be Christians. For that majority, the past two decades have been a time of substantial religious change. Just as American society itself is in a state of substantial upheaval, so are those who declare themselves to be Christian redefining the core practices and beliefs of Christianity in America.” Barna Group (2011) See at end

I was told one time that “Religion is the problem with society today!” I did not argue with this person, because I somewhat felt that he was personally, one of the problems, because of his beliefs (or non-beliefs) and attitudes with others around him. I believe he is somewhat of a believer, but one that believes in a different way than others.

I do not feel that I am judgmental about him, but instead, just stating a fact that even he admits is true. He is what he is, and according to him is not going to change to make someone happy or have them look at him in a different way. So be it.

I think many people of various religions look at their religion as “the true religion” and exclude those of other religions as not being correct. I know of one individual who thinks this way and will not change his belief in this thought. I am an outsider to him, and as such, am not adhering to the religion he follows, therefore am not following the true thoughts that he adheres to daily. This man is a believer in Jesus Christ, but since I do not do what he thinks I should do, I am wrong and will probably go to Hell in the process; in his mind.

Instead of a meaningful relationship with each other, there is a bridge, a chasm, or divide between us that is unspoken, but there. We continue to exist with one another, but rather than discussing our differences of belief, we ignore the subject and continue as outsiders. I would love to have a talk with him and discuss things, but we cannot be part of a larger whole and remain apart. We are like tribal, clannish people that exist, but with distrust and without a feeling of true friendship.

When I think of the Christian beliefs and various denominations, I think of man-made rules, dogma and ways of following Jesus that make us Christians in name, but not true followers in a way that Jesus would want us to be. Think of any two Christian religions and you will find differences that make them unique from each other. A person is a Methodist because of the beliefs that religion follows, and a Catholic or Lutheran, or others, that have the same type of believers in their midst. I cannot say any is wrong, just stating that they believe in differences. Of course, I also believe that some people in the religion I follow do not believe all the rules and dictates of this religion, including me.  Quoting someone that I respect, “On the other hand, a commitment to rules to the detriment of a person’s relationship with Christ is also not helpful.”

The religion I follow has begun to have contact with other religions to form ecumenical agreements with them. This states that, even though we have differences, we can still get along and be true to the religion we follow. The Pastor/Priest can perform services at their church and vice-versus with the others.  Both Pastors/Priests can give communion at either church when we can all partake of the bread and wine of remembrance. We can look at ourselves as friends and not as enemies of the other religion, not that we would do so anyhow. The other church is an Episcopalian one and does have a Priest.

When did it happen that differences began to occur in religions? Over time, people began to see their religion the way they liked it and a trend began. The various sacred writings decreed some of the beliefs that go back in time to when they were written. God Himself was written as sanctifying slavery, warfare, and those that wanted an excuse or a reason, had what they needed for their religion, as they read in the written word. They did not have to change or make up anything, because it was written down and part of their belief. Men abused their women and children because it was told that they were their possessions, and therefore the men could do anything they wanted. Man could have slaves, because it said so in their holy book. They could kill others, because it was shown to them that God was on their side. The list goes on and on as to how God can be used as an excuse to do things that are against common decency. The holy scriptures of many religions are used as weapons for man’s desires.

What was written so very, very long ago does not mean that what was believed then, is now.

We, in a civilized society, do not condone having slaves today, but it was a normal process in the past. To use religion as an excuse for doing things that are looked at as barbaric today, is in itself barbaric. Even today, some religious leaders, evangelists, preachers, etc., use the writings in the Bible to give credence to their way of thinking, or at least, their way of sharing the message in scripture. Many use the Bible and recite passages from the Old Testament to expand on their thought processes. They don’t really stress the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus Christ and His way of expounding on the way that love is the answer.

  • The notion that the Bible is completely accurate in all of the principles it teaches is less popular among Protestants today (2011) . In 1991, 61% strongly believed that notion; today, 56% hold that belief. Barna Group (2011), see Sources at end

How many times have people of religious eminence or rank, stated that believing in God is a moral excellence or virtue of high importance? Of course it sounds great and coming from a person of importance it is considered, at times, just so. Having faith and believing that God works in mysterious ways and we should accept dire happenings as coming from God, does not sit too well with some. Crap happens and sometimes we have to just accept that which does, even though we do not like it. Saying that Aunt so in so, who died, is in a better place does not make sense when the common thought is she was doing well, where she was before she died. We should try not to deceive ourselves into believing that those religious leaders or any people, who state things like that, know what they are talking about. It would be very much better to pray to God and tell Him you do not understand why something happened, but still believe He is with us, and allow Him to comfort us in our despair.

Give till it hurts?

Another issue is where some religions want you to give $$$$ till it hurts. OK, not quite, but the feeling of some churches that we should give to the church and it will help the church maintain itself in all ITS glory. Then, try to find out where it goes! My church does not do this, but it is seen on TV with some churches and is perpetuated by their leaders. The church NEEDS money to exist, but the church does not need their parishioners to give, just to increase the coffers of the church or leaders of the church.

The church I attend had a fund rising to pay down the mortgage. It was very successful and we are in the middle of doing so. But, the main reason for doing this is to get out from under the payments to the mortgage holder and have money to spend on places and things that need it. One example is where we pay for a delivery of food each month to give to the needy and that is money worth spending. What is really exacting is the fact that the parishioners are continuing to pay their weekly amounts to support the church, per the budget forecast. Even though it would be terrific to see everyone, tithing 10%, I would think that is NOT going to happen. I would love to see the people give just a little more than they have been and that would be outstanding. We try to go out of our way to show just where their money ends up and I believe it is a positive way of showing generosity towards our fellow mankind.

Religions are man-made as well as those denominations that make up many of the religions today. As such, they have to survive and in the trying, come the failings at times. What was, in the past, is not how it is today. The founder of a religion had good intentions on how he wanted his way to be. Over time, things happen and his way is not THE way now. I would think that certain religions are prone to change, because of this fact. Who would have thought that a certain religion has morphed into what it is today and its beliefs are so different now. How a man thought way back when, is not how the church today thinks. Maybe, somewhat, but not exactly.

I have read, possibly from a Barna Report, an article about the Catholic religion regarding some members as becoming unchurched or as de-churched members. Many are leaving the religion for good, going to a Protestant one that does not have the rules and regulations, which upset those that leave. I am not picking on the Catholics, but do wonder how much their core ways will keep members. All religions must be aware of how they think and act, which will decide on their membership. The one problem is where members of any religion leave and do not go to another one, but instead just don’t worship at a church anymore. They become un-churched by default for the reasons they believe are correct for them to not involve themselves in any religion.

After all that I have said, I believe that there is NOT really a problem with religion itself, but instead, a problem with the people that follow the various religions that have their beliefs foremost and the religion they follow as a far distant second.

Source for some of the facts presented.

Barna Group –

About Barna Group Barna Group (which includes its research division, the Barna Research Group) is a private, non-partisan, for-profit organization under the umbrella of the Issachar Companies. It conducts primary research, produces media resources pertaining to spiritual development, and facilitates the healthy spiritual growth of leaders, children, families and Christian ministries. Data based on an August 4, 2011 report

Den Betts

Faith 2015-06

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Faith     2015-06

A simple word about a complex subject!!  I have used this word in the context of explaining things like Spirituality and the Holy Spirit.  BUT, what is it and how easy is it to explain?

Webster defines it in many ways, but the easy one is— where there is a belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion. This could be in reference to any religion of course, so I will go where he expounds on it further—- the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved. The second one is under the title of Christian Theology, which makes sense to state it that way.

I could stop right there and say it is that easy. I will stick with the doctrines or teachings pertaining to Christian religions for now. As a point of interest, not all religions use the concept of faith in their practices, but let me stay with Christianity for now.

Because the word itself includes Christ faith is based on His workings in His lifetime and His teachings. I would think that Christians are not distinguished by the word faith itself, but instead by what Christians look as the examples of His life as written in the scriptures. If someone does not have faith, I would think that person does not have the basic confidence as of what is written in the Bible.

That is not hard to understand. If that person of non-faith does not have the trust in believing in what is written, or thinks that the Bible is not reliable, then the faith may not be there. I wrote a history of the Bible a few years ago for Sunday school. To read the history and to know how it morphed into what is seen today is so very interesting.

I will not go into that now, but needless to say, it, the Bible, had its slow progression to what it is now. The King James Version is what most other versions take from and what was used before then was difficult to read and understand.

So, the Bible is where I said the trust begins.  I think that you would have to trust that what is written was inspired by God, even though it was not written by Him. I know some religions look at it as the absolute word of God, and they can do so, but I will use “inspired by God” instead for now.

It takes believers, scripture, traditions, personal experiences, a community foundation of belief to be assured about God and Jesus Christ. There is more written about the man names Jesus, than any other historical figure from the past. There are more manuscripts telling about His life than any other person from history, so that is part of it.

All well and good, but what is faith again? It still comes down to a feeling!!!  I wasn’t at the crucifixion, I did not see the miracles occur or hear Jesus pray and teach. So, I have to trust in the work or stimulation of the Holy Spirit where He endorses the Scripture writings, which comes about by the divine inspiration of Him. The finality of these dealings is what faith is all about.

I remember when someone I know had problems believing in God, and was basically a doubter and not really an unbeliever. I told him so, and he did not agree, saying he did not have doubts, just not enough hard facts to support his believing.  I understand that thought process. There are some things that are difficult to believe in, and without concrete, absolute, engineered, scientific evidences, it is not easy to come to terms with in life.

The Sun comes up from the East and sets in the West. The planet Earth is round, not square or flat. The word –faith comes up when the desire to substitute emotion for evidence is pronounced. If there are emotions by many people, faith cannot be rationally made into fact and friction can occur in the process.  So, faith is— believing without evidence. So, by my saying I have faith, I am saying to you, I think I know something or believe something that some may say I really do not know for sure. That is my faith, believing in the Father, the man God Jesus ,and the Holy Spirit of God, that has no physical proof laying around. Except, I know there is a God, and perhaps I will tell you why some day.

Peace,

Den Betts

Presence 2015-01

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The Presence     2015-01

I use the words, “The Presence” in my essays and poems at times, and when I do so, I am relating to the Presence of God. The Triune God of the Christian faith that is. The one God of the Universe who reigns over all people, that are on Earth.

He can be the Father Almighty, the Son, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit, but still each (or as one) is the one that comprises The Presence.  Many have a problem with this concept of One.  I would think that it would be easier to just plain accept it as fact that is unproven, but is.  That is hard to do, I realize, but in the process of trying to understand the concept, it is like the word Faith, it cannot be proven by anyone on earth; just is, or so I say now.  If you do not believe in the Presence, the Triune God or even in Faith, then it really doesn’t matter much then and I would suggest you just move on with  your life; no problem.

But, if you DO have Faith, then consider these words.  God can be all of one and being one, then is all. It is like the equation 1 x 1 x1 = 1.  Even I can understand that mathematical calculation. Let me move on with this thought.

Thinking of the presence again and the three in one concept, how are they related?  I would like to tie in the two with basically this statement.  When we talk about God, I relate to the One God and the essence of God being one.  In discussing the Presence, it is better to just think of it as God and not worry about the form or who exactly we are mentioning.  When I pray to God, I sometimes put names to Him, by saying “God in Heaven, maker of the Universe, or Lord Jesus, I ask you for ——, or Dear Holy Spirit, help me in what I am trying to do.” That is OK, in my mind, and I think with God, that it is also ok. He is God, and it doesn’t matter the exact title or term you use for Him.

I said the Presence, God, is with us always.  Not sometimes, or special times, but always; not when He feels like it. That can be daunting to think about. God is watching us when we eat, sleep, pee, do great things and not so great things. He knows all that we do and when we do it. That is not easy to comprehend for some.

Do we really want God to know when we do things that are not exactly those actions we want Him to know about and have Him realize just how we are at the time?  When we cuss out someone with words that are vile and especially use words that are using His name in vain, do we want Him to hear? Probably not, but sometimes we do. The great thing is, He does forgive us for swearing and doing those terrible or not so Christian/religious actions that we do. I would think asking or praying for forgiveness would be the thing to think about then.

His Presence, in the form of one of the Triune essences is with us when we have to contend with the horrors of life also. He is with us even though the act done is unimaginable to us. That is hard to fathom for some also. I remember someone telling me, “If He was there, why didn’t He do something to prevent what happened?” He was asking me? I can’t answer that question, but do believe He does NOT prevent all the things that happen in the world. Why doesn’t he stop a hurricane, a tornado, a flash flood or other natural calamity from happening? Maybe, I will ask Him when I die, if I have a chance. Why didn’t He prevent my mother, father or brother from dying? Hey, death is part of life, I heard one time, so it is also a natural occurrence that just happens.

I like to think His Presence is with me always. Not just when I need it, but all the time. I can pray to God at any time and know He hears me. That is the neat thing about having God with us always. We have Him to hear us all the time, both at good times and bad. He can laugh with us when we have a light moment in our lives and console us when the bad times arrive. The one cost of having His Presence with us might be our love for Him and it would be great to let Him know just how much we do love Him, because I believe He loves to hear us say it to Him.

Some could bring up weird things that can be thought of that would preclude having God present when we are doing something, but let me state that He is capable in the seeing, hearing and knowing what ALL we do, and nothing can surprise Him in our actions.

I like to think of God as the being that created us, died for us in the form of the man Jesus Christ, and is with me in my soul as the Holy Spirit and is near me, so close to me, always………..

Think about what I have said and like or comment if you wish.

Peace be with you,

Den Betts

Communication with the Holy Spirit 2014-48

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Communication with the Holy Spirit 2014-48

This is not an easy subject to speak about or ever give advice to others wishing to have a communication with the Holy Spirit (God). Why!?

The children of God are led by the Holy Spirit as stated in Romans 8:14. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. “  I guess that if I think we are led by the Holy Spirit then somehow we should be able to hear from God and how we are to be led by the Spirit. I don’t think we as people of faith were really taught about this subject for various reasons. It could be that there is the fear that we would be open to the Spiritual realm of life and we could possibly be open to contact with another spirit such as a demonic one that would try to look and hear like the Holy Spirit or even God Himself. Don’t know, just a thought. My Spiritual Director guided many of us through the book “Naked Spirituality, by Brian McLaren and this has some stuff about hearing from God, but this is not done on a regular basis for all to hear.

I believe in the Holy Spirit and also know we can hear from Him if we listen.  I also think that we must be aware to be careful about who is talking to us and try to discern when we are hearing from God and not something else coming from a demon or the evil one.  Not an easy thing to do, I admit, but still is something to consider. I do NOT think that we should ignore those areas of communication with God based on the fear of the evil one. God still would like to communicate with us in some way and loves to hear us pray to Him and ask for his blessing of discussion.

Look or read about God talking to those in the Old Testament. He did so, on a regular basis. If God is the same God of then (which I think He is), then he still wants to communicate to every one of us in the ways He did then and more so. If you could call it “supernaturally communicating” back then, go ahead and call it that today if you wish.

Now the thing to do is learn how to hear from the Holy Spirit (or God if you wish), which may take a while to learn the process by trial and error. We hopefully will learn the way of doing so and know that it is the Lord, when it is demons or the evil one, and when it is us making it up as an imagination of thought. I said it was not easy!

How do we think God can talk to us?  There are a number of ways God will use to communicate to us or more if you think of any that work for you.   Let me begin by mentioning what I have said before; using key Scripture verses about the Holy Spirit.

Some of the major key verses might help us to receive direct communication from Him at times. Perhaps we should learn these from the people that teach us at church, but regardless, make up your own mind if you wish to get into a discussion with the Lord if you want. God wants to talk to us and have us hear Him and what he has to say.  So, we can try to hear, try to have Him answer us or let us know something, but we do have to listen for Him.

I have previously mentioned that the Holy Spirit (God) is our personal guide and teacher in daily living. The verses in the Bible to refer to are John 14:26 and John 16:13 for reference. Also, to obtain a personal relationship with Him is found in Corinthians 13:14 and Philippians 2:1 to recap what I said before in another letter.

So, another thought: Do not resist, rebel, grieve or quench the Holy Spirit (another time to say— GOD). Let me go one more stepping stone forward. The following texts might be read for info sake.

Isaiah 63:10 “But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit: so He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them.” I don’t think I want to do that myself or have God turn away from me and you would have to read the text to put it in perspective.

Thessalonians 5:19-22 “Do NOT quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”  These are heavy words to think about, but again do the research of the text to find what it pertains to.

Acts 7:51  “You stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” Wow, sort of a statement to learn by, even though you may not feel like it means you or I.

Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”  This is another “Do Not” statement in the Bible saying to get with the program of learning.

I think the above tells us that God, the Father, is  somewhat yelling at us that once the Holy Spirit starts to move in on us and our lives that He will want us to work with Him in the process. If we rebel, quench resist or grieve the Holy  Spirit, we are somewhat doing the same with God Himself, and His son Jesus Christ and that is not where we want to be.

I think that these verses somewhat show that the Holy Spirit does have a specific ministry with all of us and can become part of our lives.  IF this is not so, then why does the Bible use the words that were used? If the Holy Spirit was not trying to become very active in our daily lives in the first place, there would be nothing to resist, grieve, or rebel against in the first place. If the Holy Spirit (God) is teaching us in daily life and is trying to communicate to us, our job in life is to learn how He is going to do so.  How do we do that? (I will use Holy Spirit from now on without the (God) following.)

We have to jump right in and try. We have to make a choice to hear and tread water to a degree into being with God and hearing Him. It may be scary because you may not hear Him right away. I find that He will give me insight to what He is thinking and what He wants to say, when He wants to and I cannot force the issue or plead to hear or demand to hear from Him.  Plus, many times it goes beyond the vocal word of God and becomes a part of the mystical way of hearing from Him.

I have listed below some ways to communicate with God the Father, the Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and though you might not have been taught to do so in the past, it is your decision as to whether or not you want this supernatural realm opened up for you by God the Father. These thoughts came from Mike Bradley of Bible Ministries, from an online source.

  1. The Inner Witness or Inner Knowing
  2. The Word of God
  3. Leadings
  4. Check in your Spirit
  5. Quickening’s
  6. Visions
  7. Dreams
  8. Prophecies
  9. One More – Praying

If after reading the above, you decide you would like God to open up with these ways of communicating with Him, then I suggest you go directly to God in prayer and ask Him to allow the Holy Spirit to become very active in any of these ways in which He uses to communicate with us. Tell Him or ask Him you WANT Him to open up this realm of communicating and it will be His perfect will to do so at your present level of spiritual development with Him. Praying is a start and it helps to keep doing it to hear from Him.

If you DO put that request before God, then He will take you seriously and He will very gradually lead you into this realm and from there, the Holy Spirit will start to move in some of these areas for you. The Holy Spirit will show you how to discern when it really is Him communicating to you, versus when it is your emotions or imagination talking to you. I was hesitant to start because I DID think it would be my imagination doing the talking and not God. I do NOT exactly know how to say HOW I KNOW when it is God talking, but suffice to say, it is obvious when it happens.

Inner knowing and inner witness  

  1. The Inner Witness or Inner Knowing- What exactly does this mean? Let me first list two versus from the Bible.
  1. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”( Romans 8:16)
  2. “I tell you the truth in Christ; I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 9:1)

OK, the first verse (A) is telling us that the Holy Spirit Himself bears witness in our human spirit that we are children of God.  If He can do that then He can also bear witness in our spirits with other things as well. Then the next verse (B) will prove that to us. The apostle Paul gives us additional revelation when he says that his conscience was also bearing witness in the Holy Spirit. Could then, this mean the Holy Spirit was bearing a good witness for Paul in his conscience, which is part of OUR human spirit.

The key word here in both versus, is of course, “witness” The Holy Spirit is bearing witness to something in our human spirits. Then what is a good “witness” when we do receive one of these from the Holy Spirit? I would think that the Holy Spirit is confirming in our spirits that we are saved and that we are now children of God.  We have read and heard this many times in church.

What then is “inner knowing” in relation to the Holy Spirit?

This is getting closer to the hearing from Him. The Holy Spirit will transmit the knowledge He wants you to have on something as strong— the inner knowing. If you think that a Pastor/Priest had a good witness via preaching you could say that the inner witness is a “knowing without any shadow of a doubt” You know, that  you know, that you know, without a shadow of a doubt. Some people could call this inner knowing an enlightenment or illumination or even supernatural on what a Scripture verse may mean that you heard. I could use the term “inner knowing” to best describe how the Holly Spirit supernaturally communicates to us in this life.

So, therefore, when the Holy Spirit communicates something directly to us through this “inner witness”, it will be a knowing moment without any shadow of a doubt. If it is received for the first time it will be taken as coming from the Holy Spirit due to the strength and conviction of it. And, once you start to receive these kinds of inner knowing’s from the Holy Spirit you will be able to discern when one is REALLY coming from Him, or when it is made up in your mind and imagination. Actually when it happened to me I was awed and somewhat scared and amazed that the Holy Spirit would communicate to me the way He did. It was NOT a thunderous voice blasting out toward me; it was a firm, collected voice that had compassion and love for me in what He was trying to say to me.

Again, it will not come out of your head or your imagination, or emotions at the moment, but if like I experienced it, it will be from around you with you as the centerpiece of the heard word. You will “just know” it is not your mind throwing words at you, but His words that have particular meaning to what is being said for you. Quite an experience! And it CAN happen to you! The words will be clear, concise and with a definite inner knowing on the message being transmitted to you.

What do you think the Holy Spirit will communicate to you and why?  There are so, so many things that will give the Holy Spirit reasons for doing so. Actually, an infinite number of things that will help you through life in one piece and give you the ability to cope with problems that may be thrown your way.

I related in the past that the Holy Spirit is a called a helper in the Bible and will repeat below what I wrote.

  • “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”  

 

  1. (John14:26)
  2. “However, when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth …” (John 16:13)

BUT, though this might be true He cannot help or do for you unless He can communicate with you directly and tell exactly what He wants you to hear and do. So, the inner witnesses and knowing from the Holy Spirit will come to you through trial and error in a process that may take time to learn and do. When it is truly from the Holy Spirit then you can totally depend of it and from there, take action that needs to be taken.

Another way for the Holy Spirit to communicate with us is by giving us a direct verse from Scripture.

This has helped me a few times and is sort of amazing to have it occur. I did not open the Bible and point to a verse and expect it to jump out at me with an answer to a problem. But the Bible is loaded with many ways to learn and is pertinent to many things that relate to us. The Bible contains the Word given to us from the writers of each Book and each Chapter and Verse.  I believe the Bible is a book that is inspired by God (Holy Spirit included) and as such it is full of words that have meaning to all of us.

I believe that it is up to us to take quality time so we can load our minds with morsels of teachings that are in it. Then, the Holy Spirit can take us back to remember certain Scripture verses when we might need them and He can do so, because we have already done our part by getting the Bible verses in us.

Now, I will admit that I have a terrible memory, at least a horrible one. So, I cannot do a total or partial recall of a Bible verse that I can bring up.  To be honest I have read the Bible, but it does not stick in my mind very well. I got a “How to remember verses in the Bible” book and I did not do well in learning the how, like I expected.

So, it may take a while or have us do something different.  The NIV Bible has a great section at the rear that has key words listed that tells you where to find the word in the Bible under the Book name and the verse number. I use this as a reference to look up something. I did so with one word and found the exact message I hoped to find that pertained to my problem at the time.  Really great! Try this as one way and see what it does. Did the Holy Spirit help me? Perhaps: but the Word gave me my answer and I appreciated it.

Leadings!

What does leadings mean to us. Well, the Holy Spirit can help us by telling or leading us to do or not to do something.  I listed below a verse that tells us that the Holy Spirit will lead us in our lives. Also, Jesus was also willing to be led by the Holy Spirit when He was here on Earth in the flesh.

  1. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)
  2. “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”

(Matthew 4:1)

If God is telling us that we are to be led by the Spirit, and we hear that Jesus was also led by the Holy Spirit, then I would think God wants us to learn how to be led by the Holy Spirit in this life also.

The Holy Spirit could be thought of as “leading” us or we could say He is communicating by prompting us at times.  It could be He is “nudging” us to do a certain thing. Maybe it will be like we are being pushed somehow or I can say there was a wind at my back to do a certain thing or go a certain direction. Or, maybe God did not want me to go somewhere or in a certain direction and hopefully we will fill no “leading” by the Holy Spirit to do so and it is a way of communicating to us in a different way.

This is something that we will learn through a process of again, trial and error. After we have had a bunch of them, we can get adept at being able to tell when one is coming from the Holy Spirit and not from our own desires and emotions. Takes time, like a lot of things.

Check in Your Spirit

I mentioned before that we can sometimes get the “feel” that we should NOT do something and that this may be coming from the Holy Spirit. When He does NOT want to move in a certain way or direction, many of the times what you will pick up from Him is a “check in your spirit”.

I have had this happen to me, where I did not feel right about doing something. It is like a barrier to your thinking and you just KNOW that you should not go forward.  This can be big or little things in life. The biggee would be where you are being told not to board a plane because of a “feeling” of not doing so. This is where the plane may crash. A little thing would be so many things where we know not to do something that we are about to do in life. The problem is where this always happens and we begin to think it is our own natural emotions and fear and is not really coming from the Holy Spirit.

If you get this feeling for a “little thing” and you start to realize the Holy Spirit is working with you, then perhaps you will start to trust where it is coming from for you. This is not an easy communications to learn from, but I throw it in to give you thought. I can’t remember a “biggee” where I was saved by the Holy Spirit, but have heard of things happening to people who listened to Him, instead of moving forward towards a dangerous situation.

This is hearing from the Holy Spirit, but in a different way. When we are uneasy or queasy about doing something, maybe we should heed what we feel and are in fact hearing from Him. Just a thought!

The apostles had this feeling and “they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia…. They tried to go into Bithynia (near the Black Sea), but the Spirit did not permit them.” (Acts 16:6-7)

Quickening’s

The act of the Holy Spirit will jump at you in a quickening.   A verse from the Scriptures hits you like a bang, where you can snatch it and see what the message is for you.  Maybe a Pastor/Priest  gave you words during a sermon that just makes sense to you in a way that is unusual but meaningful to you. You are reading a book and “BAM” you see information that the Holy Spirit brought to you that was “for you” and only you at the moment.  If that is the case, listen to Him speaking at that moment. If you are “quickened” by something like this, in most cases the message was something you needed to hear and the Holy Spirit may have been involved.

If this happens to you, move on with it and take the reading or the message under advisement. It may be for you alone, even though others heard the same thing at the same time. Do not yearn to hear these things, but discern when it is really the Holy Spirit doing this for you. Let them come naturally, but when they do happen, listen. Occasionally, these have happened to me and I try to accept them when they do so.  They are quite amazing when they happen, so accept them when they do.

Visions

OK, the next three ways the Holy Spirit will communicate to you are shown via a Scripture text from the book of Joel.

“And it will come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Holy Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; and also my menservants and my maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days” (Joel 2: 28-29)

I think the words “on all flesh” means everyone is capable of getting prophesies, the dreams and visions that the Holy Spirit will offer.  I know I have had a vision that I can contribute, somewhat, to the Holy Spirit, but it was unsolicited at the time, but was still an awesome experience.

I had an open vision whereas my eyes were wide open and I was part of the vision when God allowed me to be part of it. It was in 3-D and quite convincing, and a little scary to a degree.  I think we can also get closed visions that occur in our minds only or a picture in our mind’s eye, but I would believe they are not as dramatic as the open ones. The Holy Spirit could give us more information and He could communicate with us giving more info and knowledge this way.  Sort of like a snapshot in our mind, by Him.

If we get something “out of the blue” and not expected, perhaps the Holy Spirit is helping us in His way to show us what He wants us to know. If it is from Him, a good “inner witness” of knowing it IS from Him and not imaginary and formed in your mind by us, ourselves.  A trial and error process will let us know and we will have to discern what is happening. It is not cut and dried and easy and maybe a little confusing, I would think.

Dreams

I guess the thing about dreams is the fact that they might be called “visions of the night” or even daytime if that is the case. Regardless, I would imagine that they are not common, but still they are something to consider.  Like many dreams that sometimes fade away, the Holy Spirit ones will stay with us.  I would hope there is a personal message for us with the dream.  I think we should write the dream down on paper to remember it and interpret the dream to see if it is from Him and not in our sleep driven mind. It would be a shame if we ignored what is given to us and not consider where it might be coming from for us.

I believe I might have had 1 or 2 of these dreams that I feel came from the Holy Spirit, but maybe more that I got but did not attribute to Him.  I really believe that if we have an open mind about this area as well as the others that I mentioned, we might be able to communicate with God more often and regularly.  To feel that this is all hogwash and not possible is somewhat of a guarantee that we may not hear from God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is NOT a wispy, special entity of God, the Holy Spirit IS God in a different form for us to hear from on a constant basis. That is what I believe. Again, I really believe there is a Holy Spirit and that it communicates to us!

Prophecies

I can only state that the gift of prophecy is when we receive a direct word from the Lord and that every word we receive in the prophecy will be direct words from the Lord. Prophecy is where there is a foreknowledge of future events or a presentation of hidden things which cannot be known by the natural light of reason.  I cannot really explain this right now, so will hold off and keep this one to myself and if you want to hear more about it, ask me. The reason I include it here is because I do believe it is possible and comes from God, but it is unusual to have it happen. Usual skeptics think prophecies are no more than coincidences or are invented by a so called prophet, but I like to think of it as an intuitive knowing or type of perception by certain people with divine insight. In essence, I believe that prophecy is sometimes given to some as a Spiritual gift by the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.

Praying

More than anything you do, try praying to God, to hear from God.  I add this because He wants to hear from us and if we listen, we can hear from Him. Perhaps not right away, but in His time He will get back to you. Or, again, in His way and time He will talk to you and let you know what He is thinking, desiring, wants you to do, etc.  It again, is in His time and for His reasons, so I cannot say when it will happen or why or any other circumstance for it to occur. Not much help there, but that is the way it is.

Wrap up

I again, state that I believe the Holy Bible is inspired by God.  I feel that if Scripture is a way to hear from God and the Holy Spirit then we should believe what we read. The Holy Spirit is our personal guide and Teacher in life and he can only do so if we listen and by listening, we can hear from Him. I believe that we have to really want to hear. If we do not, then we will not hear and I don’t think He will go out of His way to push you in believing or hearing from Him, unless He has a reason. He did this in the OT and the NT and He is still the same God as then.

I would think that some think this discourse is wacky or unbelievable and they have the right to think that thought.   I think it takes belief, discernment, and a true desire to hear from Him and it takes time to do so. It is up to you to decide what you want to do, but if you decide to try and listen for Him, then, in time you will hear Him. That is what I believe.

Disclaimer:  I have researched various sources and have stated some facts and opinions from others.  I do not claim to be an expert   but have included personal experiences to allow others to know what has happened to me and to encourage others to strive to listen and to hear from the one and only true God of the Universe.   Some of the above is taken from an online site and the nine titled thoughts are mainly from Mike Bradley of Bible Ministries, who I believe, has passed and was entered online by his associates.

Thank you, and may the Peace of the Lord, be with you!

 

Den Betts

God and Devil’s Presence 2014-12

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God’s and the Devil’s Presence    2014-12

 

I never thought about God’s presence when I was younger than I am today. It only has been recently (last couple of years) that I gave it any thought. I had the same thoughts (or non-thoughts) about the Devil himself. It was sort of like, taking it for granted that there was a God and also a Devil out there somewhere.

Then something happened that I ended up calling “The Happening” (made sense for me to do so at the time).  That is an event that has its own story/description that I will not go into detail here, but is on record elsewhere. Suffice to say, that experience affected me to where I started a spiritual journey which changed my life forever. I am no longer the person I was before, but instead am what I am now, which I identify as a spiritualist, for the sake of using a word. This is where I do not fit the mold of typical spiritualists that claim they can communicate with the dead or that type of context. I am a Christian, church going person that has a relationship with God and as such, I also feel His Divine presence at all times and all places.

God’s Presence

This concept is not new of course, and much has been written about this presence of God. Some other religions make the same claim, but in almost all, they make the same theological terms. God’s presence is in nature, in all human beings and especially in each human being. It could be perceived as an outside, environmental or natural entity that could be in the mind but instead is an unseen being that influences human perception. You cannot see it perhaps, but it is there, it is felt and in the feeling it actually “is”.

Some would call this presence “an angel” (perhaps) that has somewhat of a human personality and can therefore interact with humans without actually revealing themselves. The Divine or Holy Spirit, or the archaic expression of Holy Ghost, is tied into the Triune God that interacts with humans in God’s name as God Himself. What we hear at Christmas as Immanuel, “God is with us” which is a Biblical concept of the Divine presence as a title for Jesus.

What you believe about the presence, is what you believe and that goes for my thoughts as well. It is the same as the word “Faith” that is said so much. Either you believe or you do not. The “Presence” (for short) is mentioned in religious context very much, but is it felt or experienced? Maybe it is and we do not know of its affecting us or being around us when it is. Jesus Christ is part of the Triune God and because of this fact, or opinion, if you think this way, His presence is with us always.

Allow me to quote from my favorite source, Wikipedia. “Considering the notion of Jesus’ presence within the Christological area of study, one can articulate an account of presence in nine themes and so throw light on Christ “in himself” (in se) and Christ “for us” (pro nobis), thus recalling the strikingly new modes of divine presence to humanity and the world that the missions of the Son of God and the Holy Spirit brought, according to the Christian faith. As Word/Wisdom/Son of God, Christ is eternally and personally related to the Father in the Spirit. To adapt a central statement from Nicaea I, “there never was a moment when God was not present to/in him” ( Col. 1:19; 2 Cor. 5:19)  This divine “presence to”, which constitutes the triune God’s life in communion, is mirrored in Christ’s earthly existence — from the Trinitarian face of his virginal conception and baptism right through to his “being exalted at the right hand” of God the Father and jointly “pouring out” the Holy Spirit on the world (Acts 2:33). The Trinitarian presence takes into account the ultimate reality of Christ’s eternal and temporal existence.”

Let me digress to discuss the Devil’s Presence.

Much has been also written about the Devil and his presence. This entity (the Devil) is considered to represent evil and many religions have a devil to talk about in their writings. Many Christian writings have things about the Devil that are fabricated, or taken out of context.

The devil is sometimes called Lucifer and is thought to be a “fallen angel”. This has been taught in some Sunday schools for a long time. The only occurrence of the name Lucifer in the (KJV) Bible is in Isaiah 14:12, in this verse: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations?” Seems pretty straightforward, but it turns out that it’s another case of misinterpretation and mistranslation. If you go back to the original Hebrew text, you find a story not about a fallen angel, but about an unknown or named Babylonian king who figuratively fell from his throne when he began persecuting the Israelites.

The same goes for the number 666 that has been tied in with the Devil. This is cited from the Book of Revelation, in which John associates the number with the Antichrist, but the details of the story aren’t entirely clear. I don’t know many or any that truly understand Revelations. Another number, 616 has been mentioned as the other more accurate number based on numerology and different translations of text.

Now, there are many mentions in the Bible about Satan (The Devil), so I am not going to say there is not a Devil, but would like to offer the fact, or opinion, that the Devil is an evil presence that represents “sin” and, as such, is a factor in our lives. The Devil tempted Jesus Christ and was renounced by Him for his efforts. I will not call the Devil any name such as Lucifer, but say he is “the evil one” that corrupts humans to go against God’s wishes.

How do we know that the Devil is at work? Many do not know or ever will because what they do is normal (to them) and not evil in their mind, but instead, a way of life. He is described as hating all humanity (or more accurately creation), opposing God, spreading lies and wreaking havoc on the souls of mankind. Other Christians consider the Devil in the Bible to refer figuratively to human sin and temptation and to any human system in opposition to God.

In the Bible, the Devil is depicted as the serpent, which convinced Eve to eat the forbidden apple, and therefore Satan is shown as the serpent. Many snakes have been killed just because they represent the Devil in the minds of those doing the killing.

Is the Devil’s presence around us and affecting us? Once you get past the name calling and the myths that have been made, and consider what evil is, then you might believe that there is an evil one out there, coercing us to do those things that go against God’s wishes or Commandments. Modern conceptions of the Devil include the concept that there is a Devil that symbolizes humans’ own lower nature or sinfulness brought upon by evil actions.

What is evil?

What is evil? The easy answer is the opposite of good or  the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, in which good should prevail and evil should be defeated. In the context of religion, evil is complex and well discussed in Scripture. I read that the word evil occurs over 613 times in the KJV or 481 times in the Old Testament and 132 in the New Testament. Evil is described as a biblical term as being opposed to God and His purposes as “sin”, and describes the human perspective as being harmful and nonproductive, as in suffering. The fact of evil creates, not only a problem for existence, it creates a problem for belief in an all-good and all-powerful God allowing evil to exist.   Almost all religions and denominations of the Christian faith have evil as a force to be reckoned with in one way or another.

I believe that evil exists and that learned people know when evil has entered their lives. As such, I can blame the Devil, called Satan in my mind, as the evil one that tempts me or entices me to do the things that are contrary to God’s will. That is a simple statement, but one which I will stick to. Others can bring up a load of facts and past opinions by academic scholars or text written by well educated people, but when it boils down to reality, “The Devil Made Me Do It” is real.

Is there a Presence of God or the Holy Spirit and is there a Devil called Satan that is hovering around us on a continual basis.  I think so.  I feel His Presence and at times when I have the feeling that the evil one is lurking near me, at those times I say, “Be gone, in the name of the Father, the Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit”, and I feel a calming effect come over me and I am at peace.    DDB

Consolation and Desolation 2014-14

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Consolation and Desolation        2014-14

How many of us, including me, have had some or any periods of consolation and also desolation in our lives? I remember my cousin’s husband saying, “I have never had a depressing moment in my life!”  Wow, what a lucky guy; but I did not believe him.  He ended up with problem kidneys and was on dialysis and finally said, “I quit” and died after stopping the treatment. Did he get depressed or get into a period of desolation; don’t know.

This past year or so, I have been studying, with  my Spiritual Director, St. Ignatius and the exercises (S.E.=Spiritual Exercises) Ignatius came up with during his life. Pastor Paul and I would key in on a “moment” that was part of the study, and some of them involved consolation and desolation. Allow me to quote some of his exercises, in the following.

Desolation, what is it?

Let me begin with the word desolation. Mr. Webster describes this as being lonely, with sorrow, grief or woe as a state of being.  If allowed to continue, a condition of clinical depression can occur and this is an extreme living disorder that can rule. I somewhat arrived at this situational state many years ago after being in an auto accident and finding myself unable to walk and talk correctly and experiencing a rehabilitation  stay in the hospital and rehab over 3-4 months.

The problem I had with desolation is the fact that it was ongoing and my mind could see no escape from the present.  This is a period where hope disappears and only dejection and sorrow remain. It is a horrible way to live and my thoughts were not positive at that time. Fortunately this changed and slowly I became aware of thoughts that were good and I became better, not great, but better. Also, a therapist named “Jim”  got me thinking that it was not “I”, but the accident that was causing me problems in life.

So, an event can create desolation, but what keeps it going?  Ignatius blames the evil one, which I have written about before as being the Devil. He stated that the evil spirit goes after weak points, when we are most vulnerable. We are unprepared for this period; we are fragile and susceptible to the weakness of life. He states our tactics should include firmness in our dealing with the evil spirit. My note at this junction show I said, “Just say no!” Well, that is easy to say, but sometimes hard to do; believe me.

When I do get somewhat depressed, I now turn to God, instead of a guy named Jim. If I show signs of depression or desolation, my wife, turns to me and asks me, “Have you taken your problems to God lately?”   I admit, I usually say “No!” and go into my man cave (actually my den, where my reclining chair is located), and start to pray to God. It helps almost always. If it does not, it is usually because I did not spend the time correctly or didn’t ask God about things he already knows about me at the time.

Consolation

Call it what you want if you are a believer, but I say, or Ignatius states, “We will find that the good spirit (God) tends to give support, encouragement, and oftentimes even a certain delight in all our endeavors, S.E. #329)”.  He further expounded on the fact that “the good spirit brings about ….. Consolation in order to strengthen and to speed the progress of our life in Christ”.

Conversely, the evil spirit “on the other hand arouses good feelings so that we might be drawn to focus our attention on wrong things, or to pursue a more selfish motivation, or to get our own way before all else. Quietly, and slowly, the change is brought about until the evil direction becomes set and clear.” (S.E. 329)

I think of the writer, C. S. Lewis and the book he wrote “ScrewTape Letters”, whereas the minions of the Devil are actively at work trying various ways to change their “clients” beliefs in a way that is contrary to God’s wishes. They do this and that, which is somewhat interesting to read, but in reality is somewhat true for the evil one to succeed in the quest of dominion of souls.

To realize that there are actions by factions, to change your mind and work against you is somewhat daunting. We want to be in control and accomplish things on our own, which is human nature to do so. But, when we are so overburdened with remorse, or sadness, the fact that we can reach out to God and ask for His help is so very reassuring to know.

What will he do? I really cannot answer that, because only God will be taking action and I cannot predict what will occur. I do know that He works in His timeline and in His own way.  What we ask for is not exactly what we might get, and that is somewhat normal.

I asked God to help me recently and asked Him to do something. The end result was not what I expected but, in effect, He answered me in His way, which was better and had benefits beyond what I imagined.  I could feel the “consolation”, could name it, and I experienced it.

You might ask, “How can God do the things He does, with so many people asking Him for help or answers?”  I wondered about this in the past (long time ago) and even recently within the past number of years.  It wasn’t until it came to me, just what was going on in my life and how my relationship with God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit was working.  It is amazing to know and I will share this opinion with you another time.

I leave you with these thoughts.  Consolation is grace by God and Desolation is evil by the Devil working against you.  I have to quote Ignatius again, “A time of consolation should provide the opportunity for a growth in true humility……. Acknowledge with gratitude the gifts we have received…. Take stock of how poorly we fare when such consolation is withdrawn…… If we are afflicted by desolation, we should take some consolation in knowing that God’s grace is always sufficient to follow the way of the Lord. (S.E. #324).