Hearts of Flesh.

"I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."  Ezekiel 36:26b (NRSV)

What does this mean?

What is a heart of flesh?

A heart of stone is a heart that feels no love, a heart that has no compassion.  A heart so afraid that it cannot give.

And what is a heart of flesh?

A heart of flesh is a heart that is human-oriented, a heart that values people above laws and morals.

Jesus said to obey the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law.
And the spirit of the law is love.

What was the first commandment?

"'"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."'"  Matthew 22:37 (NRSV)
"'And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."'"  Matthew 22:39 (NRSV)

What was Jesus commandment?

"'This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.'"  John 15:12 (NRSV)

Even Paul says that we should make concessions according to understanding.

So do not pride yourselves on obedience to rigid laws and morals.

This will lead to a heart of stone.

But learn to love and forgive.

And you will have a heart of flesh.


[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]


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Evil.

When evil attacks

I call on God

and He delivers me.


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Judge No One.

"'You judges by human standards, I judge no one.'"  John 8:15 (NRSV)

Jesus made this statement to the Pharisees in the treasury of the temple.

"'I do nothing on my own but speak these things as the Father instructed me.'"  John 8:28b (NRSV)

Jesus was making a distinction between how human beings on earth see things and how the Father sees things.

"'The Father judges no one.'"  John 5:22a (NRSV)

People on earth believe in natural justice - rewards for good behavior and punishments for bad behavior.

But God punishes no one.

God gives everyone a second chance.
He does not judge us but helps us to grow and progress towards the light.

Even the most heinous criminals are His children and He will not reject them.

"The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish."  2 Peter 3:9 (NRSV)


[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]    


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Mercy.

It costs us

nothing

to show

mercy.


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Gentle Rain.

White clouds

populate

the heavens.

And the air

is washed with

gentle rain.


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Abnegation.

God is not a rule-maker.

God is not a moral accountant.
God is not a punisher.
God is not esoteric knowledge.

God is not right beliefs.

God is not a wowser.
God is not awful.
God is not a deal-maker.

God is not a spirit.

God is Love.
Universal Love.


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Dove.

Heaven's blessing

descends

as a pure white dove.


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Recycling.

God is a master of recycling.

Trees turn carbon dioxide into oxygen.
Humans turn oxygen into carbon dioxide.

Manure fertilizes plants.

Salt water is distilled by the sun into fresh rainwater for plants,animals, and humans.

Insects drink nectar and cross-pollinate plants.

Everything is interconnected in a masterpiece of recycling.

We are part of this ecology.

We must remember that.

And respect our place in it.


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The Wedding.

Beneath the canopy,

in our heart of hearts,

the wedding

takes place.


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Covenant.

The time is now!

A New Covenant

awaits

all humankind.

If only

we knew.


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The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.

The situation that we find ourselves in is not black and white, evil and good.

We find ourselves between the devil and the deep blue sea - i.e. between evil and blindness and prejudice.

This is the evil of Satanism in our popular culture which pulls strings from behind the scenes to turn us against God and His Churches and lead us into temptation.
And the deep blue sea of blindness and prejudice in God's Churches.

Because the process of life is one of learning or enlightenment the alternative to evil on earth is not good but ignorance and darkness.

This is double trouble.

Our job is to enlighten both.
To deconstruct evil by exposing its lies and errors.
And to enlighten the Churches by shedding light on hatred and prejudice and corruption.

There is no devil, no hell.

God is goodness and mercy and love for all.


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May.

May.

And my path

is strewn

with

camellia petals.


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Wild Animals.

When walking the streets I often come across people wearing t-shirts with pictures of wild animals - tigers, leopards, panthers, wolves etc.....

Not only this but we are continually subjected to television documentaries showing animals eating each other and copulating.

This gives a false impression of nature and life.

The people who are wearing the wild animal t-shirts are showing that they consider their environment to be threatening - a jungle - and therefore need to display threatening images to survive.

This is not necessarily due to the television documentaries but everything conspires to make us compete with each other.

Jesus was gentle - meek and mild.

He was depicted as a lamb.  


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Rain.

Clouds darken

the morning sky.

And the thirsty earth

is quenched

with rain.


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Reconciled.

Some would tell us:

the right are blessed,

the left are cursed.....

But God

would show us

every time:

the right are helped,

the left

reconciled.


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The Yoke.

"Look, you serve your own interests on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers."  Isaiah 58:3c (NRSV)

"Is not this the fast I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?"  Isaiah 58:6 (NRSV)

Could it be that Isaiah was a Marxist?

He could have been talking about our corporate masters today.

Does God really desire to break every yoke?

Will He deliver us if we cry out to Him?

The ways of the world are not the ways of God.

Let God perform a miracle and deliver you from your oppressors.


[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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A Doorway to the Heart.

Aquarius is an air sign - it governs our concepts.

Unconditional love is a concept.

It is a doorway to the heart.

So, rather than wallowing in the shallows of mere knowledge, we should enter through the doorway of unconditional love into the holy of holies - our heart of hearts.

And learn to love.


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