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go here to buy my stock photography Alan Creech
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O praise the Lord, all you nations,This was the last Psalm from today's Morning Prayer in the Office. Short and sweet. That last part there should echo in our hearts without ceasing. Strong is His love for us. Faithful - for ever. That is the core of his being, His essence of Love going forth, and nothing can stop it. It has no horizon. It does not set. It never goes dark. It may seem dark to us sometimes. We may perceive it to have set on us, but this would only be our imperfect and broken perception. We may even be perceiving His Love and Presence and not know this is what we are perceiving. Our interpretation of what we are "feeling" could be quite off - to the analogous point of hot = cold, hard = soft, etc. This is not about simply having the knowledge of right vs. wrong. Education is fine, but simply having knowledge of doctrine or moral standards cannot effect the kind of deep change which is our salvation. OK, if your religion is really all about keeping or not breaking rules in order to get an eternal pat on the head someday, then go for it. This is not what I'm talking about. I believe it's unfortunate that anyone would believe this is what God is talking about. Conditional and fearfully unstable is his love for us. I couldn't even bring myself to capitalize "his" in that sentence. This, though, is what I believe many of us carry around in our hearts in reference to God. We try to cram God into how we understand ourselves. We assume clarity while looking through a cloud. Now, are we able to ever see God clearly? I think we are, but only after having spiritual eye surgery performed by the Great Physician. That's deep, metaphysical, ontological transformation. Only HE can do that. Certainly, we have to allow ourselves to be put on the table, as it were, but we cannot operate on ourselves. Walking around with a sketchy view of God's Love for you is nowhere near the Doctor's office. Morality is only a framework that helps us get into the position to hear Him, to listen to Him and be where He can fix us. Same with knowledge, of doctrine or of characteristics about God. Knowledge can help us by giving us some structure to hang our spirituality on, if it's good knowledge. Neither morality nor knowledge, in themselves, have power to transform. They only act as external supports that help with the real, deep work that needs to go on inside us. Prayer is much more integral to our transformation. Sacramental Grace is much more vital to our spiritual development. Any of a number of more mystical, unquantifiable, experiential connections we have with God are more effective in facilitating our being changed into the Image of Jesus. Let's not get confused. Well, it may be too late for a statement like that. How about, let's get unconfused and refocused. God's Grace be with us. technorati tags > god's love, love, christianity, morality, knowledge Labels: spiritual formation, theology :::
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three quotes |:: "Then, if we cannot as yet think alike in all things, at least we may love alike. Herein we cannot possibly do amiss." "Keep your eyes on the crucifix, for Jesus without the cross
is a man without a mission, and the cross without Jesus
is a burden without a reliever." "...I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be
completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self."
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