Spiritual Ponderings

My growing awareness that the issues of exploitation and vulnerability are likely the basic criteria for entrance into the society of heaven weighs heavily on me. It is becoming so clear in my mind that I at times shudder as I sense how pervasive is this spirit of exploitation, not only in the world but in my own heart. The more I realize how infected I am and have been all my life by this spirit, the more appalled I become as I sense my own unreadiness to live in the presence of saints and angels. As I have pondered this over the past few days another insight has come to my attention. Like nearly everything in Satan's kingdom, exploitation is a counterfeit of something important that God created that is good, positive and life-giving. But at this point I have not been able to discover a specific word that seems to express a counterpart for exploitation. Maybe it is because we are so acclimated to counterfeits and so unfamiliar with God's original design tha...

Now the serpent was more astute than all the animals of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Has God indeed said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1 JB2000) The link between the vulnerable and the exploiter is something I explored a few months ago. Yet it is a truth that keeps coming back insistently to my mind as I see how it applies pervasively to nearly everything I think about. In fact, I am coming to believe that the temptation to exploit may involve the core issue of our fitness for heaven. This may come as a shock to some of the pious and religious, but I am starting to see this as possibly the central issue for living in the presence of God and holy angels. Can we be trusted to live around the delicate balance and beauty of creation found in the rest of the universe? This may be the real issue when Jesus said we will be judged by our works. We have too often assumed that by works He meant doing good deeds i...

...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame , and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) Much of my life I have puzzled over what this phrase really means. What does it mean to despise shame? Is that the same as living in denial when I feel shamed? Why would Jesus despise anything in the first place as it seems so out of character for Him? What is shame? That might be a good place to start, for if I don't even know what the word means I am likely to arrive at wrong conclusions about what this verse is trying to tell me. If I understand what Jesus despised it might be easier to arrive at an understanding of why He despised it. Some clues have recently surfaced that have brought my attention back to this verse and phrase, clues that have accumulated from diverse sources over the years that have helped make sense out of many other things...

They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8) Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous , you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2:28-29) We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us . God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us , so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear , because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. (1 John 4:16-19) What I am sta...

Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. (Luke 9:32) I had not noticed this before, but today I realized the implications of this verse. The disciples did not see the glory of Jesus until they were fully awake. This reminds me of another story that Jesus told about sleepiness. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep . But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. (Matthew 25:5-7) This parable of Jesus has long been a source of continuing conviction for me. It describes two groups of people who were so identical that it is nearly impossible to tell them apart. According to the story the only noticeable difference between the foolish and the wise virgins was the fact that the foolish ones didn't bother to plan...