Friday, July 10, 2009

20 comments:

Son of Zadok said...

A Course In Miracles (2 of 3)

Sin is defined as "lack of love" Since love is all there is, sin in the sight of the Holy Spirit is a mistake to be corrected, rather than an evil to be punished. Our sense of inadequacy, weakness and incompletion comes from the strong investment in the "scarcity principle" that governs the whole world of illusions. From that point of view, we seek in others what we feel is wanting in ourselves. We "love" another in order to get something ourselves. That, in fact, is what passes for love in the dream world. There can be no greater mistake than that, for love is incapable of asking for anything.
Only minds can really join, and whom God has joined no man can put asunder. It is, however, only at the level of Christ Mind that true union is possible, and has, in fact, never been lost. The "little I" seeks to enhance itself by external approval, external possessions and external "love." The Self That God created needs nothing. It is forever complete, safe, loved and loving. It seeks to share rather than to get; to extend rather than project. It has no needs and wants to join with others out of their mutual awareness of abundance.
The special relationships of the world are destructive, selfish and childishly egocentric. Yet, if given to the Holy Spirit, these relationships can become the holiest things on earth -- the miracles that point the way to the return to Heaven. The world uses its special relationships as a final weapon of exclusion and a demonstration of separateness. The Holy Spirit transforms them into perfect lessons in forgiveness and in awakening from the dream. Each one is an opportunity to let perceptions be healed and errors corrected. Each one is another chance to forgive oneself by forgiving the other. And each one becomes still another invitation to the Holy Spirit and to the remembrance of God.
Perception is a function of the body, and therefore represents a limit on awareness. Perception sees through the body's eyes and hears through the body's ears. It evokes the limited responses which the body makes. The body appears to be largely self-motivated and independent, yet it actually responds only to the intentions of the mind. If the mind wants to use it for attack in any form, it becomes prey to sickness, age and decay. If the mind accepts the Holy Spirit's purpose for it instead, it becomes a useful way of communicating with others, invulnerable as long as it is needed, and to be gently laid by when its use is over. Of itself it is neutral, as is everything in the world of perception. Whether it is used for the goals of the ego or the Holy Spirit depends entirely on what the mind wants.

Izumi/JOY said...

I don't know much about hip hop. But, once, while gardening, a maple leaf got stuck in my flip flops. I mistook it for a palmetto bug.

Never took a lesson.

Northern Light said...

Izumi/JOY,

Your post started my day with a "laugh out loud". Thank YOU !

Peace,
Northern Light

Izumi/JOY said...

You're welcome, NL. (Bish, blame it on the oakmeal.)

River said...

It's all up to you.
I just finished talking about that on my blog site theriverpoetry.blogspot.com
I talked about the 5 senses God gave us. and how it is up to us to use them.
It just how we see or don't see life.
Life is what you make it so make it good.

Northern Light said...

River,
I have a plaque above a doorway in my house that says, " LIFE IS WHAT WE MAKE IT....Always Has Been***Always Will Be "

Reminded me of what you last said.

Peace,
NL

Erik said...

Hello Everyone,

I do enjoy the quote for today. I will get to that, first I need to roll back to Wed service.

That is excellent. The earthiness of Bishop unveiling his own discomforting discoveries, is heavenly, which is a great display of Heaven in Earth. Relating to Paul speaking about there is meat, but in that particular point, he cold only share the milk – the meat has been and is currently present on the buffet, and the meat is what Bishop shares. Meat is what comes from within, the personal experience blended with the revelation and spiritual unveiling. Yum !

The maturity we find studying the mirror, seeing God in ourselves, everyone else, and in everything else, we are at peace with ourselves, everyone and everything. We see in fullness, the fullness of ourselves and everyone and everything we experience. It is the breadth, depth, and width of our experience in peace, harmony through our viewpoint. A viewpoint that has broken the stronghold of the knowledge of good and evil, tearing the veil to see clearly, God, with the viewpoint of Life, with the clearest vision through Love.

Maturity key characteristic is Love, the greatest of all. Seeing as God sees. Immature pieces of doubt, fear, judgment are put aside when we see clearly, enjoying the milk, meat, vegetables, breads, water and blood, many arms and many eyes, together.

I must say I support El Shaddai always, duh! Especially in church, how much better can it get ? Spirit and nature together, real abundance. Beautifully artful, love the artists.

Yes, we are right when we say we can or cannot. I know from my own personal experience, no matter the challenge, when I believe I can, somehow it does work out, so I can.

We all are blessed with the ability to say what we can or cannot do. I say we can always, since in the end, even if it is in hand, we can change our minds. You know, ask for forgiveness can be better than asking for permission. Should I go here?? …. – Yes We Can !


ver word - wayes -- Wa(y) yes !!!

Son of Zadok said...

Testing...testing..

Is this thing on?

karl cobos said...

Hi Bishop, the first thing I thought of about knowing in part was "fractions", 3/4, 1/2.

Anyway, my birthday will be in 2 hours at approx. 5:32am, not sure at this point if I'll be up but praying I'll have good dreams!

Oh yeah, btw, it's #44.

I've been doing my best to keep up with my two blogs.
I just wrote about the yeast(teachings) of Jesus that RISE within us until the whole dough is permeated.
www.kingdomquest1.blogspot.com

I guess you could say that the yeast is a fraction until it reaches the whole.

Son of Zadok said...

Bishop, saw your tweet about the intensity level being to high, so apolgizes, but I’ve gotta share the manna I get when I get it.

Erik, that was awesome. It's like things you were saying a year ago, I heard them, but they didn't make sense, actually I just didn't agree with them. But now they are making so much sense, it's scary.

Scary is a weird word.

Fear is never good. But scary. I think scary almost conveys the same idea of the "awe" we used to describe our understanding of the "Fear of the Lord."

After Wednesday, I feel such a heavy intensity in the air. It's kind of "scary". It sort of feels like God's glory is creeping into your peripheral vision, or inching up over your shoulder. And it's more than love. Love is there, but it's powerful and violent. Ready to attack, moving into strike, itching to shake things up, arranging to pick a fight with your paradigm and your flesh.

The ver: word is ERRER. I think if the blinders came off our lives all at once, and we saw the ERROR of many of our ways, we might just fall over dead. I don't mean feel a crushing sadness; I'm talking an Ananias and Saphira. And to we, we who are so wise in love, who don't judge men’s fate.

The message Wednesday, on how we judge the world, which we only know in part, as we know ourselves in part, has got me rocked so hard inside, I feel like I'm going to burst. Do I feel like I want to tear open into a tyrannical, "Woe to you, and woe to you..", that opens up every container of crap, that poses as Christianity.

Yes.

But that's not the scary part. No, I'm really fine with all that (o.k that's a lie, but anyway), it's not my problem. The scary part is all the excrement that's still inside of me.

I've got this feeling.

Call me crazy if you want to.

But I've got a hint, that if we would just step down from our BS religious high horses and take all of our petty, preconceived, cultural, traditional waste from off our eyes. We'd see something so contrary to our bogus preconceived ideas of how God's just got to "clean the world up" and "get you cleaned up", when all along it's our pious religious holy club that need's exorcised.

I didn't say the church down the street. I said us. Our ideas, our boxes, our "it's been said before to you's."

I want to make up a flyer for a church that says,

COME TO US YOU WEARY AND BROKENHEARTED, COME AND BE LOVED.
GOD LOVES YOU TO DAMN MUCH TO WAIT!

It might offend your holy sensibilities. But, it also might spark an internal, anointed, shock to the masses; that draw the harvest to the dwelling, and power, and presence of the Glorious One. The only One that's truly set apart.

But we’re Christians, we don’t use strong language, or smoke, or drink, or give a proud look, so we could never say something like that. Besides that's not God.

The world is not looking for us to solve their problems, in fact they hate us for trying; they are just looking for us to love them as they are, and tell them who they truly already are, without having to show them all their problems that they need solved, and teach them how they can be like "us"!

Why we believe that's all real. We think that’s what’s really going on. We substitute that for community and kingdom.

God, help us. Help me. Help us see what is really means to be like Jesus. Help us to really care to know You and to love and accept the world like you do. We know you love us always, but we also know you love us to much to leave us like we are. We are what you say we are, nothing less, nothing more.

Son of Zadok said...

This found me out of the blue today, from a book I haven’t read, on the first page I opened in the middle of a book. It feels very timely.

Psalms of My Life
by Joseph Byly
From the book: How to Get Along With Almost Anyone
by H. Norman Wright

Lord of Reality
make me real
not plastic
synthetic
pretend phony
and actor playing out his part
hypocrite.
I don’t want
to keep a prayer list
but to pray
nor agonize to find Your Will
but to obey
what I already know
to argue
theories of inspiration
but to submit to Your Word.
I don’t want
to explain the difference between eros and philos
and agape
but to love.
I don’t want
to tell it like it is
but to be it
like you want it.
I don’t want to think another needs me
but I need him
else I’m not complete.
I don’t want
to tell others how to do it
but to do it
to have to be always right
but admit it when I’m wrong.
I don’t want to be a census taker
but an obstetrician
nor an involved person, a professional
but a friend.
I don’t want to be insensitive
but to hurt where other people hurt
nor to say I know how you feel
but to say God knows
and I’ll try
if you’ll be patient with me
and meanwhile I’ll be quiet.
I don’t want to scorn the clichés of others
but to mean everything I say
including this.

Son of Zadok said...

Big Beautiful Happy Birthday to you Karl! God is going to lead people you your and His word's and they will be blessed. You produce much fruit.

Son of Zadok said...

Stephen: Fine speech. Now what do we do?
William Wallace: Just be yourselves.
Hamish: Where are you going?
William Wallace: I'm going to pick a fight.
Hamish: Well, we didn't get dressed up for nothing.

Izumi/JOY said...

SOZ @ 4:04, I get that. And, I appreciate your sharing Mr. Blyly's sentiments.

Awhile back, someone posted about sparing the platitudes - give him/her the real deal.

Don't misunderstand - kind words can go a long way. But, oh Lord, empty ones can, too. (have been on both sides of that fence)

Years ago, when my youngest left home, the void was so painful, I slept on the couch with her hair brush. It was the closest I felt to her.

On Sunday mornings & Wednesday nights, you'd never know it. I'd offer bulletins and attempt something light and unintrusive. Because, hey - everybody's got stuff.

While I received encouragement from the few I told, Scriptural and sage, it all felt hollow to me.

Maybe this will sound stupid. Ah, well... but, it wasn't until one morning in autumn, when I noticed something darting in front of my living room window.

That's when God spoke to me. Silently.

A hummingbird with iridescent wings hovered there, long enough for me to notice. I had to look up from the couch to see it. Then, it was gone.

I couldn't comprehend how God could keep such a beautiful creature like that warm. It was cold out that day. Did anyone remember to set out nectar for it? (what if that had frozen over?)

That was my koan moment. My "sign" to get up. Toss the hair brush. If He dressed that little bird in it's fine coat, and fed it, He would do that for my family, too.

Hell, I won't pretend to know everything about His Kingdom. I'm just looking for the joy in it.

And, for inner Pharisee, how's this: On 911, I was on the phone, praying with another CITN'er. Sounds admirable, huh?

During that time, I had 3 other calls. Two from my daughters; one from my sister. All were shaken, and wanted to connect.

I couldn't. I was on the other line. Praying.

My oldest daughter was crying so hard, I couldn't understand what she was saying.

"Calm down!" Yes. I said that.

And, Jesus. I didn't even recognize my middle daughter's voice. Her tone was that different.

"I'll call you back." I remember her long pause. Her wounded, somber response: "OK."

By the time I returned my sister's call, she'd already found somebody who was instant in season.

Look, I've repeated right up till sleep, the, "There is therefore, now no condemnation," mantra over my own soul. And, sure, we've shared dinners, vacations, celebrations and marathon calls since.

But, I missed it, God.

So, if - no, when - I offend, I think, Get in line. (after me, I mean)

How can I say I love God, Who I don't see...

How do you love me now, beloved Universe?

Izumi/JOY said...

Happy birthday, Karl! (by the way, I was amongst those who applauded during your baptism!)

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

SOZ, I wasn't at all referring to your posts when I used the word "intensity", I was talking about my week (of funerals, family situations, deployments, and a host of other things I haven't said anything about...)

Happy Birthday, Karl...

Anonymous said...

word ver... dewing

Unknown said...

SOZ, I get the impact of your comments on scary...
Related to Bishops quote: no matter what, I'm always right. Yikes, that's roller coaster "scary"!

Forty-four blessings, Karl!

lhollow27 said...

So not a whole lot of time tonight but todays service was such a great word. Without endulging in elaboration the 20's population is talking nothing but 2012 nonsense. I dont think you could have been more on time. As always, in the flow and I love you. I wish I could bottle verbatim and deliver that message like you did.
Les

Speaking Spirit said...

I have been thinking a lot lately about value, esteem, and loving yourself. If you think you can, you can. If you think you are then you are, because of the spirit that the Holy Spirit blew into us.

Lately, I have been disappointed because I feel as though the people around me, including church folks could care less whether I come or go, whether I am present or not. So because I am in a stage of being born again again, I decided what they think really doesn't matter in the big picture.

People are busy and sometimes it makes them careless (without care) as in slowing down who and what is around them.

I have decided to be awake and feel what I feel even if it doesn't always feel good. At least I feel, I care.

I know I am of great importance to the kingdom of God, to the world as I light and salt and because I am connected, as in being connected in the body of Christ, my life matters. Therefore I am.

Often we always want others to affirm us and validate our presence or our words but really, we are speaking spirits who have a tremendous amount of power if we truly come into oneness with the ONE who created us. We just have to know it.

Lately, I have learned how to give myself a huge hug in the morning when exercising and to prepare great healthy meals because after all I am as a god in the earth. Have you hugged yourself lately, it is very affirming and freeing.

So being valuable is just being...not really doing anything but just needing to know that we can and we are AND God has the final say.

God is love and He created creators and therefore we are love and love is infinite...

So, yes, we can, yes we are...so a man thinketh in his heart so is he.

Speaking Spirit