A merry heart does good like medicine.
Jesus has come to give us life, and life more abundantly to enjoy to the fullest!
When we discover Jesus' identity, we discover our true identity.
Seek to minister life and healing. That's our greatest reward. :)
Surely goodness and mercy and love shall chase us down all the days of our life and we will dwell in Christ forever. :)
At the cross, God made Jesus who knew no sin (spiritual amnesia) to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness (our true original identity of innocence and perfection) of God in Him.
The righteousness of faith makes us the heir of the world.
Right believing produces right living and right results.
Blessings are on the head of the righteous.
The seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
Righteousness delivers from death.
In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.
The blessings of the Lord maketh rich, and He adds no sorrow or painful toil to it.
It is vain to stay up late and rise up early, for so He gives His beloved sleep.
Jesus is one with His bride always. :)
We are forever in the Grace Zone, where no evil can touch us.
Abba wants to outdo Himself and Amaze us with His goodness.
Love covers all sins (ignorance, forgetfulness, etc), and God is love, and so love never fails.
Love is spelt time and attention.
God has blessed (barak) us and no one can reverse it.
What's life like as a minority, outcast, reject viewed by others with suspicion, disdain and self-righteous attitude? Beholding Jesus who is altogether lovely and be a friend like He is. Therefore, it is not about being right; it is about being kind and understanding. As He is, so are we in this world.
See ourselves the way God sees us: holy, blameless, righteous.
We are all beloved children of God. There are no more sinners or saints.
The Lord is pleased and delighted and thrilled to bless us. :)
We are blessed. Every moment, we are blessed.
Listen with grace. Jesus wants us to feel right as He can be touched with our feelings.
Jesus has not yet performed one miracle, and God affirmed Him as His beloved son (a picture of all of us).
God favours us because He loves us.
The mundane becomes meaningful and beautiful when we involve Jesus in our lives.
We are blessed because Jesus became a curse (representing the old Adamic identity) for us at the cross.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Nuggets of encouragement (October 2010 archive)
"Much more we who receive abundance of grace (free divine favour) and the gift of righteousness (our true identity as Love and Innocence) will reign in life through Jesus Christ."
"The Lord is our Shepherd, we shall not be in want. He wants us lie down in green pastures. He leads beside still, quiet waters. He restores our soul. He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Surely goodness and love shall chase us all the days of our life. And we will dwell in the house of the Lord (in our higher consciousness) forever."
"The way God corrects people is to give them revelations of Jesus (being their true identity), not condemning them but lifting them up."
"We are transformed when Jesus (the law) is read and we see His glory (grace and mercy reflected in us) unveiled in the Scriptures."
"You can pray for anything (to your highest Self), and if you can believe that you've received it, it will be yours. Mark 11:24 God has made us victorious."
"When we know and receive the riches of Christ (the truth of who we are), we will experience and manifest the fullness of God as a corporate body of Christ (the whole Universe)."
"Broaden your horizons. Set your sights higher."
"People who are not under law (performance-based system) live long because they are not sin-conscious (or lack-conscious). Stay under grace."
"The blessing of the Lord makes us rich and He adds no sorrow or painful toil to it."
"The glory of Jesus (the personification of Love, whom we all are) is to overlook a transgression (and seeing only our own perfection and beauty)."
"Arise, shine, for our light has come." :) (We are the Light!)
"I love my Master, my wife and my children. I will not go out free. I shall serve my Master (our true Self - our divine Oneness) forever."
"Life is precious. Use time and money to love people."
"Use our words to create a bright future."
"Truth spoken with grace makes people feel warm and accepted (because truth is always about unconditional love who believes the best of us)."
"Thank You Abba You have gone ahead of us to prepare each day, and it is a blessed day." :)
Thank You Lord Jesus (our true Self) You daily load us with benefits."
"When we are physically and mentally rested, the promptings of the Spirit become sharper."
"He (our old Adamic identity) was chastised for our peace. He (our true identity) established us in the new covenant of peace. When we believe this, we shall be led forth with peace." (Isaiah 53-55)
"People may not remember what we say, but they will remember how we make them feel welcomed and loved. Kind actions out of the overflow of Love speak volumes." (Luke 7 and John 12)
"Some things are universal, for example, meditation, sowing and reaping. But lasting peace and grace and agape love and rest for the conscience and completeness is found only in Jesus (Christ), our true identity."
Our heavenly Father gives us power to get wealth, that HE may establish His covenant of grace."
"The Lord is our Shepherd, we shall not be in want. He wants us lie down in green pastures. He leads beside still, quiet waters. He restores our soul. He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Surely goodness and love shall chase us all the days of our life. And we will dwell in the house of the Lord (in our higher consciousness) forever."
"The way God corrects people is to give them revelations of Jesus (being their true identity), not condemning them but lifting them up."
"We are transformed when Jesus (the law) is read and we see His glory (grace and mercy reflected in us) unveiled in the Scriptures."
"You can pray for anything (to your highest Self), and if you can believe that you've received it, it will be yours. Mark 11:24 God has made us victorious."
"When we know and receive the riches of Christ (the truth of who we are), we will experience and manifest the fullness of God as a corporate body of Christ (the whole Universe)."
"Broaden your horizons. Set your sights higher."
"People who are not under law (performance-based system) live long because they are not sin-conscious (or lack-conscious). Stay under grace."
"The blessing of the Lord makes us rich and He adds no sorrow or painful toil to it."
"The glory of Jesus (the personification of Love, whom we all are) is to overlook a transgression (and seeing only our own perfection and beauty)."
"Arise, shine, for our light has come." :) (We are the Light!)
"I love my Master, my wife and my children. I will not go out free. I shall serve my Master (our true Self - our divine Oneness) forever."
"Life is precious. Use time and money to love people."
"Use our words to create a bright future."
"Truth spoken with grace makes people feel warm and accepted (because truth is always about unconditional love who believes the best of us)."
"Thank You Abba You have gone ahead of us to prepare each day, and it is a blessed day." :)
Thank You Lord Jesus (our true Self) You daily load us with benefits."
"When we are physically and mentally rested, the promptings of the Spirit become sharper."
"He (our old Adamic identity) was chastised for our peace. He (our true identity) established us in the new covenant of peace. When we believe this, we shall be led forth with peace." (Isaiah 53-55)
"People may not remember what we say, but they will remember how we make them feel welcomed and loved. Kind actions out of the overflow of Love speak volumes." (Luke 7 and John 12)
"Some things are universal, for example, meditation, sowing and reaping. But lasting peace and grace and agape love and rest for the conscience and completeness is found only in Jesus (Christ), our true identity."
Our heavenly Father gives us power to get wealth, that HE may establish His covenant of grace."
Friday, March 2, 2012
If spirituality be your food of love, pray on
- Indian nasi briyani, anyone? :)
It is good to see people embarking on different spiritual journeys to discover God for ourselves in our own ways. I've come to see the various religions or belief systems as merely a stepping stone - a finger pointing to the moon - and then, we are off on our own in search for the truth within our heart.
I think a revelation of grace and an understanding of our oneness of God is essential so that in the process of exploring other belief systems, we continue to guard our heart against anything that might be legalistic or propagate a sense of separation from God. Life is a more colourful and exciting adventure when we revel in our freedom to discover our true Self in various paths - after all, we know God/Unconditional Love transcends boundaries, and no one belief system has a monopoly on God/Love.
Love is perhaps so vast and multifaceted, that it takes a multitude of belief systems and philosophies to express its infinite varieties of colours and music. Our search and experience in life and spirituality will be personal and meaningful, and our communion with others will be interesting as we learn from one another's insights and experiences. It's like eating from a huge buffet, and yet having our own customised diet best suited for our needs at the same time.
I borrowed the above analogy of food and spirituality/religion from Thich Nhat Hanh's book "Living Buddha, Living Christ" where he wrote "To me, religious life is life. I do not see any reason to spend one's whole life tasting just one kind of fruit. We human beings can be nourished by the best values of many traditions."
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Summary of the gospel of grace from preterist-universalist and mystical perspectives
Here is a summary of the preterist-universalist view of the gospel of
grace that I have been learning about the past couple of years, though
my mindset has continued to evolve from this view some time last year to
embrace a more metaphysical view, that includes gnostic or mystical
aspects (such as interpreting God as our highest self, rather than a
separate entity).
"Hell" can mean grave (Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek), which also has a metaphorical meaning of "hidden". So hell/hades can symbolise ignorance or amnesia (of our oneness with God, and of our true divine identity).
"Gehenna" - Jesus was referring to the garbage dump in Jerusalem (Ge - valley; henna - Hinnom; the Valley of Hinnom). Metaphorically, it symbolises the condemnation that the Jews experienced in their conscience during the tribulation, because they (mistakenly) thought their "god" was punishing them when the Roman army attacked their city.
The "Last Days", as I understand it, was referring to the end of the Old Covenant Age - the end of the Jewish religious system, the end of the law system. It also symbolises the end of the law mindset (doing in order to become), thereby the end of the separation mindset.
The ministry of reconciliation, as I understand it, is about God (our highest self) reconciling to ourselves through our true identity - Christ Jesus. To me, to be reconciled with God is to be reconciled with our true divine self, with the Universe - there is no more enmity or inner battles or condemnation in our own mind or consciousness - so we are completely at peace with ourselves.
There is no so-called future hell or lake of fire to be saved from. The lake of fire has already happened in AD70. The old identity in Adam (that was attached to external circumstances or performance) has already been done away, and it signified the end of condemnation. The only thing for people today is to awaken to their true identity (in Christ), or as spiritual beings on a human journey.
So that's my view in a nutshell in this stage of my journey. I think even the word "Christ" is not necessary for awakening - it is probably just specific to the Judeo-christian culture in the Middle East. Buddha or Krishna etc will do just fine as well - as long as it is about awakening to our true divine nature of Unconditional Love and Light in every one of us. :)
"Hell" can mean grave (Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek), which also has a metaphorical meaning of "hidden". So hell/hades can symbolise ignorance or amnesia (of our oneness with God, and of our true divine identity).
"Gehenna" - Jesus was referring to the garbage dump in Jerusalem (Ge - valley; henna - Hinnom; the Valley of Hinnom). Metaphorically, it symbolises the condemnation that the Jews experienced in their conscience during the tribulation, because they (mistakenly) thought their "god" was punishing them when the Roman army attacked their city.
The "Last Days", as I understand it, was referring to the end of the Old Covenant Age - the end of the Jewish religious system, the end of the law system. It also symbolises the end of the law mindset (doing in order to become), thereby the end of the separation mindset.
The ministry of reconciliation, as I understand it, is about God (our highest self) reconciling to ourselves through our true identity - Christ Jesus. To me, to be reconciled with God is to be reconciled with our true divine self, with the Universe - there is no more enmity or inner battles or condemnation in our own mind or consciousness - so we are completely at peace with ourselves.
There is no so-called future hell or lake of fire to be saved from. The lake of fire has already happened in AD70. The old identity in Adam (that was attached to external circumstances or performance) has already been done away, and it signified the end of condemnation. The only thing for people today is to awaken to their true identity (in Christ), or as spiritual beings on a human journey.
So that's my view in a nutshell in this stage of my journey. I think even the word "Christ" is not necessary for awakening - it is probably just specific to the Judeo-christian culture in the Middle East. Buddha or Krishna etc will do just fine as well - as long as it is about awakening to our true divine nature of Unconditional Love and Light in every one of us. :)
Monday, February 20, 2012
"10 Reasons to Smile" by The Social Butterfly
~ 10 Reasons to Smile ~
1. Smiling Makes Us Attractive
We are drawn to people who smile. There is an attraction factor. We want to know a smiling person and figure out what is so good. Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away -- but a smile draws them in.
2. Smiling Changes Our Mood
Next time you are feeling down, try putting on a smile. There's a good chance you mood will change for the better. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood.
3. Smiling Is Contagious
When someone is smiling they lighten up the room, change the moods of others, and make things happier. A smiling person brings happiness with them. Smile lots and you will draw people to you.
4. Smiling Relieves Stress
Stress can really show up in our faces. Smiling helps to prevent us from looking tired, worn down, and overwhelmed. When you are stressed, take time to put on a smile. The stress should be reduced and you'll be better able to take action.
5. Smiling Boosts Your Immune System
Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed. Prevent the flu and colds by smiling.
6. Smiling Lowers Your Blood Pressure
When you smile, there is a measurable reduction in your blood pressure. Give it a try if you have a blood pressure monitor at home. Sit for a few minutes, take a reading. Then smile for a minute and take another reading while still smiling. Do you notice a difference?
7. Smiling Releases Endorphins, Natural Pain Killers and Serotonin
Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers, and serotonin. Together these three make us feel good. Smiling is a natural drug.
8. Smiling Lifts the Face and Makes You Look Younger
The muscles we use to smile lift the face, making a person appear younger. Don't go for a face lift, just try smiling your way through the day -- you'll look younger and feel better.
9. Smiling Makes You Seem Successful
Smiling people appear more confident, are more likely to be promoted, and more likely to be approached. Put on a smile at meetings and appointments and people will react to you differently.
10. Smiling Helps You Stay Positive
Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It's hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that "Life is Good!" Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling.
Did you Smile? Click the SHARE button & make someone else SMILE too!
♥ღ♥ Peace & Butterfly Blessings Always ~ The Social Butterfly ♥ღ♥
1. Smiling Makes Us Attractive
We are drawn to people who smile. There is an attraction factor. We want to know a smiling person and figure out what is so good. Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away -- but a smile draws them in.
2. Smiling Changes Our Mood
Next time you are feeling down, try putting on a smile. There's a good chance you mood will change for the better. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood.
3. Smiling Is Contagious
When someone is smiling they lighten up the room, change the moods of others, and make things happier. A smiling person brings happiness with them. Smile lots and you will draw people to you.
4. Smiling Relieves Stress
Stress can really show up in our faces. Smiling helps to prevent us from looking tired, worn down, and overwhelmed. When you are stressed, take time to put on a smile. The stress should be reduced and you'll be better able to take action.
5. Smiling Boosts Your Immune System
Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed. Prevent the flu and colds by smiling.
6. Smiling Lowers Your Blood Pressure
When you smile, there is a measurable reduction in your blood pressure. Give it a try if you have a blood pressure monitor at home. Sit for a few minutes, take a reading. Then smile for a minute and take another reading while still smiling. Do you notice a difference?
7. Smiling Releases Endorphins, Natural Pain Killers and Serotonin
Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers, and serotonin. Together these three make us feel good. Smiling is a natural drug.
8. Smiling Lifts the Face and Makes You Look Younger
The muscles we use to smile lift the face, making a person appear younger. Don't go for a face lift, just try smiling your way through the day -- you'll look younger and feel better.
9. Smiling Makes You Seem Successful
Smiling people appear more confident, are more likely to be promoted, and more likely to be approached. Put on a smile at meetings and appointments and people will react to you differently.
10. Smiling Helps You Stay Positive
Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It's hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that "Life is Good!" Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling.
Did you Smile? Click the SHARE button & make someone else SMILE too!
♥ღ♥ Peace & Butterfly Blessings Always ~ The Social Butterfly ♥ღ♥
Be Someone - Ralph Marston
Be Someone
Be someone who listens, and you will be heard.
Be someone who cares, and you will be loved.
Be someone who gives, and you will be blessed.
... Be someone who comforts, and you will know peace.
Be someone who genuinely seeks to understand, and you will be wise.
Be someone kind, someone considerate, and you will be admired.
Be someone who values truth, and you will be respected.
Be someone who takes action, and you will move life forward.
Be someone who lifts others higher, and your life will be rich.
Be someone filled with gratitude, and there will be no end to the things for which
you'll be thankful.
Be someone who lives with joy, with purpose, as your own light brightly shines.
Be in every moment, the special someone you are truly meant to be.
-- Ralph Marston
Be someone who listens, and you will be heard.
Be someone who cares, and you will be loved.
Be someone who gives, and you will be blessed.
... Be someone who comforts, and you will know peace.
Be someone who genuinely seeks to understand, and you will be wise.
Be someone kind, someone considerate, and you will be admired.
Be someone who values truth, and you will be respected.
Be someone who takes action, and you will move life forward.
Be someone who lifts others higher, and your life will be rich.
Be someone filled with gratitude, and there will be no end to the things for which
you'll be thankful.
Be someone who lives with joy, with purpose, as your own light brightly shines.
Be in every moment, the special someone you are truly meant to be.
-- Ralph Marston
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Nuggets of encouragement (September 2010)
Jesus (our true identity) is the radiance of God's glory, the perfect expression of His grace, truth and love.
Marriage is about we, us and ourselves and Jesus (our true self and origin) in our midst. :)
It is the goodness and kindness of God (our highest self) that leads us to repentance (changing and renewing of mindset) - He (the divine) is ever blessing us. Keep expecting His goodness and grace!
Believe the best in people - don't focus on faults. Let God (the divine universal love) change us as we focus on loving and building up with grace.
Every step of the way, whatever we are doing, we praise the Lord (our true self), for He is GOOD and His love endures forever.
Preach the Word - Jesus and His finished work (ascension with all of us in higher consciousness of love and unity) - in season and out of season.
God (our highest self) has chosen the weak (as appeared in the natural) to confound the mighty (seeming illusion).
Keep appreciating what we do have because we have everything we need - we are complete and powerful. :)
Every step of the way, our heavenly Father (Unconditional Love) loves us and thinks good thoughts towards us.
Every breath we take, God's lovingkindness and tender mercies surround us and embrace us.
We are whole, complete, blessed!
Take time to meditate and feed on the love of Christ (our true identity and origin) who reconciles the universe (You-niverse) to our true self.
In Christ (Love), we live and move and have our being.
Keep expecting good things to happen because we are one with Christ and co-heirs with Him.
Our God (highest self, Unconditional Love, Universe) shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (our true identity).
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Rest in the consciousness of his closeness - FDT
Rest in the consciousness of his closeness! Separation is an illusion! Oneness was God's idea all along! He desires to express himself thru your touch, your voice, your presence; he is so happy to dwell in you! There is no place in the universe he would rather be!" - Francois Du Toit
Love is the most powerful force
"Love is the most powerful force.....It
can move mountains.....Bring a grown man to his knees....As it saves the
smallest baby.....Love conquers all......Bring your light into this
world; it's so important......You may not know how very important you are
how big a role you are to play in this world...But I am here to tell
you...You matter far more then you can imagine.....You light and love will
guide many...Through your kind heart you will light the way for
many.....Your smile will warm the coldest of days"
https://www.facebook.com/
https://www.facebook.com/
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Nuggets of encouragement (August 2010)
We are not just a face in the crowd. We are favoured children of God. We are a precious blessing wherever we go, bringing refreshing and peace and joy and acceptance.
Jesus is meek and lowly, noble and honourable, gracious and compassionate and full of mercy - and so are we in this world!
Prioritise rest as rest is our greatest responsibility.
Expect the favour of God to work in our life, health, relationships, finances, work today because God treats all of us as Jesus.
Speak blessings because our tongue is like the rudder of the ship, setting the course of our destiny. :)
Keep sowing, keep blessing, and God will bring a harvest in people's lives.
The more we talk about and meditate on the truth of "Christ in us, the hope of glory". the more it becomes a living tangible reality in our lives because what we are conscious of will ultimately manifest. :)
"Rest in the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will make your ways come to pass."
Appreciate what we have because God (our highest self) has blessed us with so much, with the best for us. Thank You, Abba!
When God (our highest self) makes it happen, it's beautiful and effortless. "Commit your ways to Him and He will bring it to pass."
Build our consciousness on Christ by spending time to behold His glory and grace. Children are naturally righteousness-conscious.
God (our highest self) is pleased with us all the time because He sees us in the perfection of His Son (our true identity).
Heaven (our highest consciousness) is where Jesus (our true self) is - His love makes a difference.
Jesus is our perfect representative, and since His thoughts are holiness to the Lord, we are accepted before God (our highest self).
The more we rest, the more we see God's grace in our lives. :)
Jesus is our perfect representative, and we are a reflection of His glory and goodness.
Knowing we are God's beloved gives us dominion in life (over death and condemnation and fear).
God favours us and has crowned and encircled us with glory and honour.
Small acts of kindness are powerful seeds of God's love to help others succeed in life.
"I stand, I stand in awe of You (our highest self). You are marvellous beyond description, too wonderful for words."
God has made us sufficient to be a minister of the new covenant, ministering grace and peace, life and righteousness and no condemnation to people.
Be ourselves, for God has made us unique and complete in Christ.
Jesus (our true identity) is lion and lamb, majesty and meekness, mighty to save yet lowly to serve.
Jesus (our true self) came not to be served but to serve (willingly, out of revelation of kingship and sonship), and give His life as a ransom for many (to redeem ourselves from the illusion of separation and fear).
Jesus is our joy; we don't have to do anything to become joyful.
Jesus is meek and lowly, noble and honourable, gracious and compassionate and full of mercy - and so are we in this world!
Prioritise rest as rest is our greatest responsibility.
Expect the favour of God to work in our life, health, relationships, finances, work today because God treats all of us as Jesus.
Speak blessings because our tongue is like the rudder of the ship, setting the course of our destiny. :)
Keep sowing, keep blessing, and God will bring a harvest in people's lives.
The more we talk about and meditate on the truth of "Christ in us, the hope of glory". the more it becomes a living tangible reality in our lives because what we are conscious of will ultimately manifest. :)
"Rest in the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will make your ways come to pass."
Appreciate what we have because God (our highest self) has blessed us with so much, with the best for us. Thank You, Abba!
When God (our highest self) makes it happen, it's beautiful and effortless. "Commit your ways to Him and He will bring it to pass."
Build our consciousness on Christ by spending time to behold His glory and grace. Children are naturally righteousness-conscious.
God (our highest self) is pleased with us all the time because He sees us in the perfection of His Son (our true identity).
Heaven (our highest consciousness) is where Jesus (our true self) is - His love makes a difference.
Jesus is our perfect representative, and since His thoughts are holiness to the Lord, we are accepted before God (our highest self).
The more we rest, the more we see God's grace in our lives. :)
Jesus is our perfect representative, and we are a reflection of His glory and goodness.
Knowing we are God's beloved gives us dominion in life (over death and condemnation and fear).
God favours us and has crowned and encircled us with glory and honour.
Small acts of kindness are powerful seeds of God's love to help others succeed in life.
"I stand, I stand in awe of You (our highest self). You are marvellous beyond description, too wonderful for words."
God has made us sufficient to be a minister of the new covenant, ministering grace and peace, life and righteousness and no condemnation to people.
Be ourselves, for God has made us unique and complete in Christ.
Jesus (our true identity) is lion and lamb, majesty and meekness, mighty to save yet lowly to serve.
Jesus (our true self) came not to be served but to serve (willingly, out of revelation of kingship and sonship), and give His life as a ransom for many (to redeem ourselves from the illusion of separation and fear).
Jesus is our joy; we don't have to do anything to become joyful.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The gospel and our consciousness (Video transcript)
The following is a transcript of my video "The gospel and our consciousness" which I posted online on 4 July 2011.
Hello, here am I again. I am going to talk about the gospel. The gospel is the power of God to save those who believe the good news, and what is the good news? It’s simply that we are righteous, or another word for “righteous” is “innocent”, that we are, before the beginning of time, we are already seen as innocent and righteous, holy, blameless before God, and that is the good news.God does not want us to be afraid of Him
There is no bad news in the good news, and that is why there is much concern, especially in the “Christian” world about the mixed gospel because there seems to be some bad news in the good news, the so-called “good news”. But we know that God does not give any kind of fear or condemnation because 2 Timothy says that “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”, and also we learn that Jesus always said “Do not be afraid.”He doesn’t want us to be afraid of Him at all, and He is the same as God, and there is a misquotation (or rather misinterpretation) about “Do not fear those who can kill the body and can do no further, but fear him who has the power to destroy both body and soul.” But that is actually not referring to God. That is actually referring to the enemy. The enemy is not God; He is always our Friend; He is our Father in heaven.The enemy is actually that part of our conscience, our human psychology, that caused us to feel condemned, and that is actually a symbolic representation that is simply called Satan or the devil or the accuser of the brethren in the Bible. Now, for every interpretation of the Bible, I think a safe guideline to go by is: Whenever it ministers peace to us, that is a safe bet to say that it is “scriptural” because we know God always wants us to be at peace with ourselves and with Him.If there is any interpretation of the Bible that seems to generate some fear or condemnation or guilt or shame, then it’s probably, most definitely actually, not from God. If you disagree, that is ok because I think we all have the freedom to discover for ourselves what the Bible says or what any other holy scripture that we deem to be “scriptural” to ourselves, because after all, we are made to have our own freedom to pursue the path that we think what God is like.One person’s understanding may differ from another person’s understanding of God, and I don’t claim… and I don’t think other people also would have the same… would have the full understanding of what God is really like, and I definitely don’t have all the answers, but I can only share what I have studied so far in my journey of faith because I believe that I am a spiritual being on a human journey, and vice versa. I am a human being on a spiritual journey as well.
How does the good news affect our consciousness?
So, what I am going to talk about, as I mentioned, is the gospel. I think the power of the gospel is when we believe the good news. The good news is simply that God is love and He sees us in His image, and it is because the first Adam partook from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he felt alienated from God, but God has never alienated Himself from us down through the centuries. So that is the reason Jesus came to show us that God is all the while with us. He is one with us, as He said in the prayer of John 17.How can we apply this practically because theoretically and theologically we can go into a lot of details to explain the gospel and the salvation story? But, practically I would say, in my life, when I believe God is good and only good – He is love – His love endures forever, somehow good things also happen to me in my life, practically, realistically.I think there is something to do with the – maybe you can call that – vibrations. New age and… ya, this might raise some alarm bells from some of the more conservative Christians, but actually new age thinkers and new paradigm thinkers, or we call that new thought philosophers, they are actually… they have something that is quite close to what we so-called know as the truth or the reality – whatever you call it – or quantum physics or quantum science.We actually live in a matrix kind of world, and I am sure some of you would actually be able to tell the parallel between "The Matrix" and the gospel story, that we actually live in a world that is something like a holographic universe. So, how we perceive the world to be actually will play out in real life. So, it is very important what we believe in our consciousness because the battlefield is in the mind.And I’m going to just talk about one passage from the Bible before I go long-winded and go into other rabbit trails. It’s 2 Chronicles chapter 20 where King Jehoshaphat and his army were facing a huge dilemma because they seemed to be outnumbered by the enemies from Moab, Ammon and some other countries.I would say there is a spiritual significance to this story because in our lives, there seem also to be some instances where in our mind or our consciousness, we may imagine that some things are overwhelming us. They are overwhelming to us especially when we go through some challenges, but even if there are no challenges, our mind sometimes can still sabotage us and think that “Hey, something’s bad going to happen.” Maybe we’ve done something wrong. Or even if we have done nothing wrong, somehow there is a voice that seems to tell us that “Hey, don’t expect too much. Sometimes bad things do happen.”Well, what happened in the story in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 is that King Jehoshaphat and his army, they actually learnt to sing “Praise the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever”, and I believe they sang this over and over again. They were actually building in their mindset or their consciousness how good God is, who is all the while with us, who is our heavenly Father, who loves to bless us, who is already blessing us actually all the while. So, the more we are aware of that, the more we actually become conscious of God’s goodness and love that endures not just for a moment but forever. We can also believe that at every moment, we can expect good things to happen to us.Yes, it has nothing to do with our performance because the moment we think it has something to do with our performance, we are actually going back to the law mindset, to the tree of knowledge of good and evil where Adam used to eat, and that’s how he felt alienated from God. But Jesus came to bridge the gap, not in terms of the actual separation but in our mind, to show us that God is all the while with us, to show us that He is our true identity – “as He is, so are we in this world” – accepted, beloved, favoured, prosperous, completely healed, whole, healthy, peaceful – that is shalom.Jesus is our Shalom. And I would say the battle is in our mind. The only way to overcome, to fight this battle is to actually be at rest. “Be still and know that I am God.” We are actually gods, according to Psalm 82, which Jesus actually quoted to say that we have the divine nature in us because we are all made in His image, which has never changed and will never change. So this is the battle that we continue to fight, not by struggling, but by resting.
Rest is the greatest work that we can do in order to stay victorious. This is spiritual warfare, and probably it’s not like what some of the traditional Christianity has taught. So, this is basically the gospel, the aspect of the gospel which I want to focus on in this message. And keep on fighting the good fight of faith, believing that we are righteous, we are innocent, we are holy, we are blameless.
Christ is our wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption. We are redeemed from the sense of alienation because by one man’s disobedience – Adam’s – he made all sinners. “Sin” is not a moral thing; “sin” is simply ignorance about our true identity, ignorance of the love of our God. But by one Man’s obedience – Jesus’ obedience – all were made righteous. The word “many” there means “multitudes”. So, it actually means “all” – the multitudes of everybody. We are ALL made righteous, in our mind, and God has all the while seen us righteous because we are all wrapped up in Him – the new Man, Jesus Christ, the second Adam or the last Adam.This is the gospel, as I believe it, and I’m still on a journey. If you are blessed, I am glad to know that because I am also blessed by knowing the gospel, and it is my privilege and pleasure to share this with you. God bless you. Know that we are loved by God always unconditionally, universally, individually, personally forevermore. Amen.
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