Tuesday, March 01, 2005
let's call this... the broth of bliss...?!?
Hmm... Providence, surely, had me going through my files today and finding a bunch of devotional submissions, semi-fiction (the part that wasn't fictional being the excerpt from the Scriptures...!) that I had prepared for a certain comforting book - none of which got green lit as it turned out, my tone not being deemed to be... soothing enough? I doubt it is acerbic though... Well - you tell me, faithful (the few that art... lol) readers...! One sample follows... the rest -as per usual- in the comments section! Blessings! :)
Theme: your soul`s splendor first!
Title: from the inside out...
Scripture:
MATT. 23:26
Blind Pharisees! FIRST WASH THE INSIDE OF THE CUP, AND THEN THE OUTSIDE WILL BECOME CLEAN, TOO.
Principle:
In a materialistic society, most care only for the appearance of things as people - and not for what matters the most; the soul
Body:
I married my wife because she had a great combination of attributes, quite hard to find these days; something I would call INTEGRAL BEAUTY. Not only did she rival any beauty pageant queen`s external grace and elegance, but she actually nurtured her interior beauty even more. Already a heart of gold reeking of kindness for every living thing, she called upon the Good Lord for guidance constantly. She read God`s Word daily, prayed to Him for everyone`s salvation, begged for mercy for all. And as she lost her figure over the years, I cared not; for she is glowing inside!
Theme: your soul`s splendor first!
Title: from the inside out...
Scripture:
MATT. 23:26
Blind Pharisees! FIRST WASH THE INSIDE OF THE CUP, AND THEN THE OUTSIDE WILL BECOME CLEAN, TOO.
Principle:
In a materialistic society, most care only for the appearance of things as people - and not for what matters the most; the soul
Body:
I married my wife because she had a great combination of attributes, quite hard to find these days; something I would call INTEGRAL BEAUTY. Not only did she rival any beauty pageant queen`s external grace and elegance, but she actually nurtured her interior beauty even more. Already a heart of gold reeking of kindness for every living thing, she called upon the Good Lord for guidance constantly. She read God`s Word daily, prayed to Him for everyone`s salvation, begged for mercy for all. And as she lost her figure over the years, I cared not; for she is glowing inside!
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Theme: Openness of heart, not of mind
Title: Let the sun (i.e. the Holy Spirit) shine in!
Scripture:
ACTS 7;51
You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? But your ancestors did, and so do you!
Principle:
In our everyday lives, so taken are we by material concerns that we lose scope of what truly matters and miss out completely on the true meaning of life... All of this as we forget to call upon the Holy Spirit to descend and guide us in our lives...
Body:
A man once held three jobs all at once, for he figured that, that way, he`d pay up his mortgage and everything else he owed three times as fast. It was pure mathematical logic after all, was it not? However, the man had no time for anything else. It had been years since he had actually stopped to pray God, if only for a couple of minutes. He hadn`t attended mass for longer still, obviously. His awareness of his family`s ailments and problems summed itself up to the very apparent fact that they were still breathing...! He had no idea what bothered them in the least! Heck - the man had no time to eat or sleep! Then, one day, he had a car accident. He`d fallen asleep behind the wheel. He lost allthree jobs and had all the time in the world to reflect on what mattered the most. He reacquainted himself both with his family and God - called upon Him for guidance and became all the wiser for it...
Theme: SPEAK UP FOR THE LORD!
Title: MARCH ON CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS
Scripture:
MATT. 23:34
I WILL SEND YOU PROPHETS AND WISE MEN AND TEACHERS OF RELIGIOUS LAW. YOU WILL KILL SOME BY CRUCIFIXION AND WHIP OTHERS IN YOUR SYNAGOGUES, CHASING THEM FROM CITY TO CITY.
Principle:
No one is a prophet in his own land as they say. Yet the Lord invites us all to be His voice, His instrument, His symphony of hope - and this unafraid of whatever the consequences might be...
Body:
My Aunt Edy would call upon me to fetch all of her hens and chickens whenever I`d be over at her farmhouse for summer. She raised them to resell the eggs at the nearest marketplace. She would also get busy in other ways once there - proselytizing ways. "I am doing the work of the Lord!" she`d say. She`d go from the marketplace to townhall and preach the Gospel on the front steps instead of selling her eggs! She successfully clung onto her audience on a few rare occasions - and her egg mercantilism suffered for it too. Yet, today, I follow in her footsteps; whenever I run into a sad-eyed individual, I tell him or her about the Saviour, Jesus-Christ!
Theme: OPENNESS OF HEART, NOT ONLY OF MIND
Title: LET THE SUN - THE HOLY SPIRIT- SHINE IN!
Scripture:
ACTS 7:51
"You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? But your ancestors did, and so do you!"
Principle:
LET US NOT BE FOUND RESISTING THE HOLY SPIRIT`S BLESSINGS STILL - UNAWARE OF HIS TRUTH STILL - NOW OF ALL TIMES, ON THE THRESHOLD OF HIS RETURN!
Body:
My uncle Joe had this knack to make friends easily - and enemies twice as easily! He was the kind of man who thought that he knew better than others -he took after my grandfather in that- yet as easy going and liberal as they can be today! But it would occur to him one day that he knew not things any "better" - the day he had his first heart attack. He`d taken poor care of himself over the years, working two jobs, overexerting himself in petty argumentation with all sorts of people and, most alarmingly, taking no notice at all of the signs his faltering health had been giving him... During his recovery time he`d finally acknowledge all of his flaws and failings. He reacquainted himself with the Lord, quit resisting the Anointing of His Holy Spirit and at long last truly became wise...!
Theme: OUR ONLY EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW IS CHRIST
Title: FOLLOW THE TRUE LEADER!
Scripture:
MATT. 23:10
"AND DON`T LET ANYONE CALL YOU 'MASTER', FOR THERE IS ONLY ONE MASTER, THE MESSIAH."
Principle:
LET US HAVE NO OTHER SHEPHERD OTHER THAN OUR REDEEMER JESUS-CHRIST HIMSELF - PLEASE!
Body:
"He is so charismatic - and how truthful he sounds" my sister said on the very first occasion that she`d listened to the latest hotshot candidate on national television. He`d won her vote already, with the merest effort too, for she was right there and then willing to believe that he would deliver on every single one of his promises - should he ever get elected into office of course! Months later, as it became apparent that everyone had been had by this charismatic smooth-talker, Suzie started singing a different tune about him too - at long last. "All he wanted was to swoon our votes - the liar!" she fumed. And she would vow to never again fall for such obvious impostors... Those whose deeds do not match their beautiful words.
Theme: OUR TRUE FAMILY TREE`S CONFIGURATION...
Title: GOD AND DAD
Scripture:
MATT.23:9
And don`t address anyone here on earth as "father", for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.
Principle:
Fathers, sons; mothers, daughters - we are all children of God. AND
BROTHERS IN CHRIST!
Body:
My father growled his discontent as I showed up late for our weekend foray into the world of antiques hunting... "Now all the good deals will be gone by the time we get there!" I smiled in silence and drove off. By the time we got to our first scheduled stop, all the interesting items were still there waiting for us - and dad would decide not to buy any of them in the end! Dear dad - he doesn`t always know best, but then neither do I... A vital clue, as telling as any other that, though he is irrefutably above me, in our Heavenly Father`s eyes, we are both wavering children in distress with little difference between us! The resulting effect of realizing this is simply the reinforcement of our family ties - for we have the same Father!
Title: Let the sun (i.e. the Holy Spirit) shine in!
Scripture:
ACTS 7;51
You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? But your ancestors did, and so do you!
Principle:
In our everyday lives, so taken are we by material concerns that we lose scope of what truly matters and miss out completely on the true meaning of life... All of this as we forget to call upon the Holy Spirit to descend and guide us in our lives...
Body:
A man once held three jobs all at once, for he figured that, that way, he`d pay up his mortgage and everything else he owed three times as fast. It was pure mathematical logic after all, was it not? However, the man had no time for anything else. It had been years since he had actually stopped to pray God, if only for a couple of minutes. He hadn`t attended mass for longer still, obviously. His awareness of his family`s ailments and problems summed itself up to the very apparent fact that they were still breathing...! He had no idea what bothered them in the least! Heck - the man had no time to eat or sleep! Then, one day, he had a car accident. He`d fallen asleep behind the wheel. He lost allthree jobs and had all the time in the world to reflect on what mattered the most. He reacquainted himself both with his family and God - called upon Him for guidance and became all the wiser for it...
Theme: SPEAK UP FOR THE LORD!
Title: MARCH ON CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS
Scripture:
MATT. 23:34
I WILL SEND YOU PROPHETS AND WISE MEN AND TEACHERS OF RELIGIOUS LAW. YOU WILL KILL SOME BY CRUCIFIXION AND WHIP OTHERS IN YOUR SYNAGOGUES, CHASING THEM FROM CITY TO CITY.
Principle:
No one is a prophet in his own land as they say. Yet the Lord invites us all to be His voice, His instrument, His symphony of hope - and this unafraid of whatever the consequences might be...
Body:
My Aunt Edy would call upon me to fetch all of her hens and chickens whenever I`d be over at her farmhouse for summer. She raised them to resell the eggs at the nearest marketplace. She would also get busy in other ways once there - proselytizing ways. "I am doing the work of the Lord!" she`d say. She`d go from the marketplace to townhall and preach the Gospel on the front steps instead of selling her eggs! She successfully clung onto her audience on a few rare occasions - and her egg mercantilism suffered for it too. Yet, today, I follow in her footsteps; whenever I run into a sad-eyed individual, I tell him or her about the Saviour, Jesus-Christ!
Theme: OPENNESS OF HEART, NOT ONLY OF MIND
Title: LET THE SUN - THE HOLY SPIRIT- SHINE IN!
Scripture:
ACTS 7:51
"You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? But your ancestors did, and so do you!"
Principle:
LET US NOT BE FOUND RESISTING THE HOLY SPIRIT`S BLESSINGS STILL - UNAWARE OF HIS TRUTH STILL - NOW OF ALL TIMES, ON THE THRESHOLD OF HIS RETURN!
Body:
My uncle Joe had this knack to make friends easily - and enemies twice as easily! He was the kind of man who thought that he knew better than others -he took after my grandfather in that- yet as easy going and liberal as they can be today! But it would occur to him one day that he knew not things any "better" - the day he had his first heart attack. He`d taken poor care of himself over the years, working two jobs, overexerting himself in petty argumentation with all sorts of people and, most alarmingly, taking no notice at all of the signs his faltering health had been giving him... During his recovery time he`d finally acknowledge all of his flaws and failings. He reacquainted himself with the Lord, quit resisting the Anointing of His Holy Spirit and at long last truly became wise...!
Theme: OUR ONLY EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW IS CHRIST
Title: FOLLOW THE TRUE LEADER!
Scripture:
MATT. 23:10
"AND DON`T LET ANYONE CALL YOU 'MASTER', FOR THERE IS ONLY ONE MASTER, THE MESSIAH."
Principle:
LET US HAVE NO OTHER SHEPHERD OTHER THAN OUR REDEEMER JESUS-CHRIST HIMSELF - PLEASE!
Body:
"He is so charismatic - and how truthful he sounds" my sister said on the very first occasion that she`d listened to the latest hotshot candidate on national television. He`d won her vote already, with the merest effort too, for she was right there and then willing to believe that he would deliver on every single one of his promises - should he ever get elected into office of course! Months later, as it became apparent that everyone had been had by this charismatic smooth-talker, Suzie started singing a different tune about him too - at long last. "All he wanted was to swoon our votes - the liar!" she fumed. And she would vow to never again fall for such obvious impostors... Those whose deeds do not match their beautiful words.
Theme: OUR TRUE FAMILY TREE`S CONFIGURATION...
Title: GOD AND DAD
Scripture:
MATT.23:9
And don`t address anyone here on earth as "father", for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.
Principle:
Fathers, sons; mothers, daughters - we are all children of God. AND
BROTHERS IN CHRIST!
Body:
My father growled his discontent as I showed up late for our weekend foray into the world of antiques hunting... "Now all the good deals will be gone by the time we get there!" I smiled in silence and drove off. By the time we got to our first scheduled stop, all the interesting items were still there waiting for us - and dad would decide not to buy any of them in the end! Dear dad - he doesn`t always know best, but then neither do I... A vital clue, as telling as any other that, though he is irrefutably above me, in our Heavenly Father`s eyes, we are both wavering children in distress with little difference between us! The resulting effect of realizing this is simply the reinforcement of our family ties - for we have the same Father!
Theme: THE TRUTH IS PARAMOUNT
Title: NO MORE DEVIL`S ADVOCATE - BE GOD`S ATTORNEY!
Scripture:
LUKE 11:52
"HOW TERRIBLE IT WILL BE FOR YOU EXPERTS IN RELIGIOUS LAW! FOR YOU
HIDE THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE FROM THE PEOPLE. YOU DON`T ENTER THE KINGDOM
YOURSELVES, AND YOU PREVENT OTHERS FROM ENTERING."
Principle:
LISTEN TO THE DIVINE CALLING - INSTEAD OF LENDING YOUR EAR TO THE
PETTIFOGGERS` ARGUMENTS OR WILD SPINS!
Body:
My little brother studied law for years until he gave it all up to work
as a social worker instead. Though his idealism had led him to believe that
he would have made a difference as an attorney, he grew disillusioned with the judicial system. His faith was of course elsewhere - and he quickly
veered from his position as "legal eagle Eddie" to become "near-evangelist Eddie"! He did feel it was important, both for the people he would
assist as for his own case one day... up in the Lord`s court!
***********************************
One last one - and the secret formula... of sorts... *lol*
This was meant to be one devotional per day on the calendar - and the contributors like me were called upon to supply some good ones for the meaningless days...!!! The primo material - the holidays and other significant dates - were left for the editors to take a shot at - exclusively.
No wonder I wound up labeling all of my submissions like this...
Month: Any Month
DateHoliday: any day
*LOL*
Theme: it`s all about discernment...
Title: FOLLOW HIS WAY, NOT ANYONE ELSE`S WAY!
Scripture:
MATT. 23:24
Blind guides! YOU STRAIN YOUR WATER SO YOU WON`T ACCIDENTALLY SWALLOW A GNAT; THEN YOU SWALLOW A CAMEL!
Principle:
LORD, PRESERVE US FROM OVERLOOKING THE SIMPLICITY OF THE TRUTH...
ESPECIALLY WHEN TEMPTED TO ACCEPT THE COMPLEXITY OF A WORLDLY LIE!
Body:
My uncle Hal was a pious man; a good man. He`d go to church every sunday with his best suit on. He was, in many ways, an old-fashioned treasure of a man. Yet he would err, not by his own fault almost, but because he would pay too much attention to what others said, thought, did or believed. He would constantly buy into the latest "hot" natural health supplement fad or believe claims of one fruit`s superiority to all other fruits combined in terms of nutritional apport! Yet he struggled with the concept of Redemption and did not fully grasp the process through which Christ takes upon Himself all the sins of the world. Uncle Hal misunderstood also the good intentions of those surrounding him, was borderline suspicious even, yet he put all of his trust into swindlers` hands more than once over the course of life! If you are like my uncle Hal in any small way, do not doubt what you may not fully understand when it is from up above - and put all of your trust in the Promise of Eternal Life of our Lord Jesus-Christ!
Title: NO MORE DEVIL`S ADVOCATE - BE GOD`S ATTORNEY!
Scripture:
LUKE 11:52
"HOW TERRIBLE IT WILL BE FOR YOU EXPERTS IN RELIGIOUS LAW! FOR YOU
HIDE THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE FROM THE PEOPLE. YOU DON`T ENTER THE KINGDOM
YOURSELVES, AND YOU PREVENT OTHERS FROM ENTERING."
Principle:
LISTEN TO THE DIVINE CALLING - INSTEAD OF LENDING YOUR EAR TO THE
PETTIFOGGERS` ARGUMENTS OR WILD SPINS!
Body:
My little brother studied law for years until he gave it all up to work
as a social worker instead. Though his idealism had led him to believe that
he would have made a difference as an attorney, he grew disillusioned with the judicial system. His faith was of course elsewhere - and he quickly
veered from his position as "legal eagle Eddie" to become "near-evangelist Eddie"! He did feel it was important, both for the people he would
assist as for his own case one day... up in the Lord`s court!
***********************************
One last one - and the secret formula... of sorts... *lol*
This was meant to be one devotional per day on the calendar - and the contributors like me were called upon to supply some good ones for the meaningless days...!!! The primo material - the holidays and other significant dates - were left for the editors to take a shot at - exclusively.
No wonder I wound up labeling all of my submissions like this...
Month: Any Month
DateHoliday: any day
*LOL*
Theme: it`s all about discernment...
Title: FOLLOW HIS WAY, NOT ANYONE ELSE`S WAY!
Scripture:
MATT. 23:24
Blind guides! YOU STRAIN YOUR WATER SO YOU WON`T ACCIDENTALLY SWALLOW A GNAT; THEN YOU SWALLOW A CAMEL!
Principle:
LORD, PRESERVE US FROM OVERLOOKING THE SIMPLICITY OF THE TRUTH...
ESPECIALLY WHEN TEMPTED TO ACCEPT THE COMPLEXITY OF A WORLDLY LIE!
Body:
My uncle Hal was a pious man; a good man. He`d go to church every sunday with his best suit on. He was, in many ways, an old-fashioned treasure of a man. Yet he would err, not by his own fault almost, but because he would pay too much attention to what others said, thought, did or believed. He would constantly buy into the latest "hot" natural health supplement fad or believe claims of one fruit`s superiority to all other fruits combined in terms of nutritional apport! Yet he struggled with the concept of Redemption and did not fully grasp the process through which Christ takes upon Himself all the sins of the world. Uncle Hal misunderstood also the good intentions of those surrounding him, was borderline suspicious even, yet he put all of his trust into swindlers` hands more than once over the course of life! If you are like my uncle Hal in any small way, do not doubt what you may not fully understand when it is from up above - and put all of your trust in the Promise of Eternal Life of our Lord Jesus-Christ!
Hmm... admittedly, maybe that last one needs a rewrite indeed - for not all have the discernment that I have to see the message in there...! LOL
Basically it is - this: use discernment for all earthly affairs but have faith in the Lord to be FAR, FAR Worthier (than anyone from down here) of your trust...! You may use discernment in affairs of religion also, surely... for, unlike others, I do not prone that the proverbial leap of faith has to be taken blindly at all... Simply ask yourselves this - if there is no God... why the heck do YOU exist? *LOL*
Surely GOD is FAR, FAR Worthier of existing than ANY SINGLE ONE OF US... that unquestionably do exist!
Hey - I have no doubts about my existence - I blog, therefore I am! *LOL* Blessings, all!).
:)
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Basically it is - this: use discernment for all earthly affairs but have faith in the Lord to be FAR, FAR Worthier (than anyone from down here) of your trust...! You may use discernment in affairs of religion also, surely... for, unlike others, I do not prone that the proverbial leap of faith has to be taken blindly at all... Simply ask yourselves this - if there is no God... why the heck do YOU exist? *LOL*
Surely GOD is FAR, FAR Worthier of existing than ANY SINGLE ONE OF US... that unquestionably do exist!
Hey - I have no doubts about my existence - I blog, therefore I am! *LOL* Blessings, all!).
:)
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