Spiritual Ponderings

Appeasement is a counterfeit of reconciliation. Appeasement denotes an abuser/victim relationship where the victim is expected to satisfy the selfish demands of the abuser by paying whatever is demanded in order to 'repair' the relationship. Reconciliation is the restoration of a relationship of mutual respect, honor and love, a relationship where both feel completely safe from any exploitation from the other. When Jesus said He sanctified Himself, it meant that He made Himself totally safe so that any human being could trust Him to be safe enough to approach God without fear of being exploited, censured, shamed or rejected. When Jesus said that to become His disciple we must deny ourself, take up our cross and follow Him, He was explaining that the way to achieve restoration of wholeness in relationship is to deny our own urges to exploit and choose rather to become vulnerable, following the example of Jesus in making ourself safe like God is safe, even to...

Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, "Has God really said, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'" The woman said to the serpent, "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat , but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ' You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" The serpent said to the woman, "You won't surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the tree was good for food , and that it was a delight to the eyes , and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise , she took of the fruit of it, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made t...

Why didn't God just dispense with Lucifer when he first started to sin so as to avoid all the pain and suffering caused by Lucifer since then? This is an extremely important question, yet it requires some appreciation of a much larger context in order to discover answers that make sense. One of the most important questions that must be addressed for the larger perspective is this: What is the nature of love itself? Here are additional questions that tie into grappling with this serious issue: Is love consistent no matter what happens? Or will agape love ever be willing to resort to using force if it comes under threat? Is agape love unconditional, or is it only for those who deserve it or can somehow earn it? Is it even possible for love to be earned? Here's some more relevant questions. If I do something good, like cooperating with God by blessing others with what He has given to me, do I somehow earn favor with Him? Is it possible to ingratiate myself ...

One of the functions of being a god is how we go about deciding what is true. When we insist that our experience and reason is the highest authority for determining what is truth, we make reason our god and effectively shut out objective truth that God offers us and that has real power to alter our experience and could reinterpret how we process what we believe are facts. For instance, if I learn things about my brain or my body that seems to convincingly explain why I have some malfunction, my tendency is to latch onto those explanations or 'facts' and become very resistant to questioning their validity. This can leave me trapped in a prison of my own making or of the enemy's design, and it also blocks the Spirit of God from bringing much needed hope and freedom to my soul. By clinging to a scientific explanation that seems to resonate with what I experience as the only valid way to describe my condition, say of depression or despair, I can effectively shut out God a...