Jealousy Bug

This morning, I was bitten by the jealousy bug. I swung by Twitter, where I saw several group responses (including my username), and worked my way down to the initial tweet. It was a blogpost, for which my name was included in a previous request.

Someone has gotten others around the world to pray for America for a two-week session. Each day he posts something of prayer. Friday, he tweets to this group: "if God leads 2 a Prayer focus for this, Let me know and I will add it to the 14 Day prayer blog and you will get the mention. I need Prayer Focus/Bible verse too"

There is a lot of hatred and animosity over several differences of opinion in the US; it jumps to a new intensity within election season. Last time, someone was shot - literally - over it. So, as we are praying for America, its leaders, voters and people in general, my focus has been on establishing more Peace, forgiveness and compassion for each other. I want to erase all the hatred and dividing lines, helping others to see each other as sisters and brothers.

So, I gathered several bible passages that seemed to embody this sentiment of my soul. I sent a DM (Twitter direct message) to him and members of the group: Prayer focus 4 me:Mark 11:25~Luke 6:42~1 Cor 13:13~Numbers 14:19-20~Isaiah 43:25~Matt 6: 9-15~Luke 11:1-4~Hebrews 10:15-18 (sorry no rhyme)

While intention seemed clear to me at the time, I must admit in hindsight that it's a bit vague and may even appear accusatory. There was no direct correlation with the request above, just a string of bible passages.

Mark 11:25 - But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.

Luke 6:42 -  How can you think of saying, 'Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye.

1 Corinthians 13:13 - Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love.

Numbers 14:19-20 - "In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.” The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked."

Isaiah 43:25 - I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Matt 6: 9-15 - "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today your daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Luke 11:1-4 - One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'"

Hebrews 10:15-18 - The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

So, reading the blog post this morning, I discovered a good introduction how there are people as far as South Africa praying for America these two weeks. There are several quoted prayers, but my ego had - by then - taken the reigns. I scrolled rapidly down the page, looking for my username. When I discovered it wasn't there, I became outraged, jealous that other names were there and that my own input had been seemingly ignored completely.

WHO DO I THINK I AM???

First, anything and EVERYTHING I do and say, especially under the username @JesusSister, should be for God's glory ALONE! Second, I was the one clearly in error for I never elaborated on the prayer intent, just callously rattled off bible verses and assumed the recipient would read my mind. Third, I never read the rest of that blogpost, or their prayers and intentions, but was focused solely on seeing if the spotlight fell onto my own name. I had become so wrapped up in myself. Me, me, ME!

How our proper priorities change and our world crumbles when we let the ego out to play. 
 

I am ashamed...

Danger Zone

Lately I've run into a lot of gay-bashing online and on the news. Given the political clime, it's not surprising. It's just sad. This blog post is not to point any fingers (you already know who you are), it's meant as a warning - to all.

When, in your mind / heart you bind another to a set of laws, rules or restrictions, you yourself are bound to the same set of laws, rules and restrictions. Most prefer the "pick and choose" method, whereby they pick one rule (such as homosexual sex) and forget that God will now hold them strictly and personally accountable for the rest of the package - not the person to whom they point their fingers.

Christ warned us of this time after time. There's the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have done unto you) and the Lord's Prayer and other teachings where He clearly states we must forgive the mistakes of all others or our own will not be forgiven.

I can rant far and wide on this subject, but I only have limited time this morning. So I will say it bluntly. When you hold another person to ONE law in the Old Testament, you bind yourself - not the other - to ALL the laws of the Old Testament. Now ask yourself, do you:

• Eat shrimp, lobster, clams, or any other shellfish? (Leviticus 11:10)
• Round out your hair, trim your beard or - perish the thought! - shave? (Leviticus 19:27)
• Play football or touch something made with pigskin leather? (Leviticus 11:8)
• Eat bacon, sausage, ham, or pork? (Leviticus 11:8)
• Eat or touch any on the long list of animals? (Leviticus 11)
• Eat anything that is not Kosher or prepared in a Kosher manner? (same)
• Touch a dead body (even a beloved pet, family member or friend who departed)? Numbers 19:11
• Wear polyester or any other cloth that is made of more than one type of fiber (any percent)? Double check your shoes. (Leviticus 19:19)
• Have a tattoo or body piercings (including ear lobes)? (Leviticus 19:28)
• Read the horoscope or open a fortune cookie? (Leviticus 19:31)

Do we continue to point fingers?

Do we see "sin" in others but not ourselves?

Or do we remove the plank that blinds us even today?

~ESA

Not-so-Holy Words

In my studies, I've learned God is well beyond human understanding. While I will never know what thoughts and plans crosses God's mind from well beyond space and time, I still ponder things...

I am sure I am not the only one who reads through the bible and wonders how the God of the Hebrews, YHWH, be the same loving, forgiving Father of whom Christs speaks so devotedly. If God loves everyone, why did hundreds of thousands die in wars because God of the Israelites wanted it so? How could such a loving Father kill every first born child of the Egyptians? To make a point?

My English literature degree helps me see that EVERYTHING is written by an author's perspective. None of the holy books are a word-by-word quote from God. In fact, the only item possibly written directly by God (see Exodus) are the two tablets upon which the 10 commandments are written. Everything else was written by the hands of mankind, and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Have you ever read the "history" of the American Revolution from both the British and American sides? They are two different stories, even if the facts are the same. If you look close enough, you will see those American colonists were - quite literally - TERRORISTS! Yet, in the American history books, they were heroes... 

In the Old Testament, we only see the events from the Jewish perspective. The testimony is skewed to favor them. What would a different perspective reveal?

Take for example the major events leading to the Passover exodus. To the Jews, they wanted to see God punish their oppressors in Egypt, thus the events were recorded from this perspective. What if we stand the event on its head and take a look from a new perspective. The river waters had run red (contaminated), frogs escaping the river died on the land, locus and flies followed... In the natural order of things, disaster-followed-disaster. Ancient people did not understand health, bacteria and viruses to the degree we understand today. We do know of fast moving illnesses that take only a section of our population (ie, young, elderly, or - in the case of the 1918 flu - only people in their prime). What if the prior disasters led to an outbreak of illness or contamination in the water supply? 

What if if the true miracle was that God protected the Jews from that which, in natural course of events, attacked the others residing in Egypt? That, at least, would show Love and Mercy of which Christ speaks.

Perhaps the illness the hit Egypt that night was food-borne. The Israelites were instructed to slaughter lambs, sprinkle the blood and eat the meat (not any other). Through this, God could have led them away from the disaster that hit the region.

Again, I don't know anything for certain, but it leads me to wonder what else I may see though a different perspective. One thing I've found for certain, story after story... No matter how many times the Isrealites have turned from God, God has been ever-faithful to His side of the covenant made with Abraham. And God does forgive past transgressions...

Christ presented a new Covenant in His teachings. Two rules - not several books of them, both Old Testament and religious dogma of today. Love God; Love each other. In the covenent, we are called to forgive each other's mistakes ("sins") and own own transgressions will be forgiven. Simple and pure. If God is ever-faithful to promises in the Old Testament, I have no doubt Christ is too.

Stop-Look-Listen

Yesterday, I stumbled across a Christian forum that had a debate over which version of the bible was "the right" one. While there was clearly a preference to one version, I found it sad how vehemently they tore apart the other versions. The reasons they found fault with the other versions are the same issues that exists in their own interpretations.

My own studies have led me to this conclusion: NO particular version has it all correct. The bible is NOT a direct transcript from God word-for-word. Neither is the Qur'an, based on how God speaks to humanity. (Please see Conversations with Yeshua for a fair description).

The bible versions today have been written, re-written, translated, transcribed and edited. All versions. The majority of readers around the world today cannot read the original Hebrew, Greek or Coptic. In addition, there is much we loose in context, as we are of a different time and culture. An equivalent would be Yeshua (Jesus) telling someone to "google" for the answer. We would understand it, but someone from that time period wouldn't.

In order to glean meaning from the texts, here is what I do. I read ALL versions, such as John 3:16. Furthermore, in order to place the passage in context, I read what is around it. In the case of the previous example, I would read John 3:1-20. Then I would track down all the footnotes, read the cross-references and ask the Spirit that is within us all to help me best understand in terms I personally would know.

Let's not forget the Gnostic Gospels (that were originally removed from the collection to make the New Testament we know today) as well as several Hebrew texts that were omitted from what we know as the Old Testament. Many who fight over which version is the "right one" often forget there was a great deal of editing done far before the King James Version, or even the original Roman Catholic version in Latin.

I believe monotheistic believers haven't strayed very far from our Hebrew roots. We pick passages out and argue about their meaning at great length. Often we overlook the most important aspect when it comes to reading the good book or any other words through which God tries to share a message - be it book, bible, song, tweet or just a chat with a friend.

What we should always do when we try to understand a message from the divine is admit that our understanding is not perfect, that our words are imprecise, that our perspective is unique, and thus different than the writer / speaker - even one in our own land and time.

We need to understand there is a universal message that God wants to share. The only way to understand that message in terms we can comprehend from our own personal perspective is through prayer.

Taking time to talk with God, and - more importantly - taking time to meditate and listen are key. It really doesn't matter which version one reads. What matters is that the reader asks God, "What do you mean by this?" and then pauses to listen.

Stop

Look

Listen

~ ESA

The Children's Bible in a Nutshell

This is another one that was sent to me via email; enjoy the smiles and chuckles:

___________________________________________________________________________________

Through the eyes of a child:The Children's Bible in a Nutshell

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one,' but I think He must be a lot older than that.

Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. Then God made the world.

He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.

Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.

God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.

One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans.

Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.

Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount.

But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again.

He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

___________________________________________________________________________
 - ESA

Virtual Prayer Groups

The radio station I listen to via the internet (WGTS) has this prayer group that meets once per week and prays for the petitions that people send in. Since I live and work a 7-hour drive from the station (one-way!), I contacted the radio station and asked if I could join them "virtually."

The response was, "That is so interesting, to have a virtual prayer team as well with those who join us!! We have just started this ministry and would love to do this in the future. Please check back with us in a few months and this is something we'll be working towards in the future. Thank you so much for your willingness to help!"

While I wait, planning to follow up later, I thought to post something here and maybe encourage others as well.

It may seem that virtual prayer groups are something new, but there were many times in this world’s history where families, friends or even whole communities would pray together when they were apart. For example, in a time before cell phones or even landline phones, when people crossed the ocean on ships instead of planes, they would still unite in virtual prayer. They would pick a certain time of day when the people who stayed home would pray or read from the bible, and those traveling would do so at the same time. In this way the family / friends / community would still pray together, even though they were physically apart.

During Lent, my husband requested that we read the New Testament together every night. However, when I travel on business, I'm not home every night. Some nights we read together using my cell phone. But on two separate occasions, the only time I had available to read was while I was flying; cell phones aren't permitted. So we chose a time and both read during that designated half hour – together, even though we were physically apart.

When Christ told us that when two or more get together in His name, there He would be in our midst, He did not specify that we needed to be in the same room or even the same building, town, state or country. That stipulation was only added by our interpretation / understanding of what "together" means. As God is Omnipresent, when people gather together virtually, there is no question that He can still be in our midst when we are together, even though we are physically apart.

So if you believe that you can not join a prayer group – any type of prayer group – because you cannot be there physically, think again. You do not need to be physically present, connected by phone or internet (though that's getting easier with technology), but only need to be there in Spirit and intent. Our only limitation is what we place on our belief and faith. We can truly be together in heart, even though we are physically apart.

Believe.

- ESA