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Archives for September 2018

Disney World, Giraffes, and Random Chance

September 15, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

My friend’s daughter loves Disney World, from the age of eight to the present day. A few years ago, her entire extended family joined her to spend a week in Disney World, spending a day in each theme park.

The theme park “Animal Kingdom” is a large Nature Preserve of wild animals in their natural habitat. A long, wide wooden pier extends hundreds of yards into the preserve, which protects the viewers, while not disturbing the animals. (There are no noisy motorized vehicles or mechanical devices in the preserve.)

After lunch in the “Animal Kingdom’s” restaurant, the family members ventured into the middle of the preserve, at the end of the long pier. The granddaughters, ages 6 and 9, were particularly fascinated by the giraffes. They were mesmerized, watching the giraffes nibble at the tree-top-leaves, and then bend their long necks down to drink from the pond below. Three giraffes leisurely repeated that process to the delight of the children.

My friend then asked them, “Why didn’t the giraffe’s head explode when it bent down to take a drink?” His granddaughters looked puzzled. The younger one asked, “Why would their head explode?” The Professional Park Attendant began to inch closer to the group.

My friend explained, “The giraffe has a very large heart, which it needs to pump the blood all the way up to its head when its nibbling the tree-top leaves. Its heart is like a massive, powerful pump. And its heart keeps pumping, continuously.” The Park Attendant nodded her head in agreement.

“So, when the giraffe bends down to drink, its powerful heart keeps pumping blood, which should flood its head, causing it to explode.” The children’s confused looks indicated that they understood the problem. The younger one asked, “So, why doesn’t its head explode?”

My friend explained, “It doesn’t, because its neck has a very complex, series of strong valves that begin to close as the giraffe’s neck begins to bend downward. That system of closing valves is so precise, that the amount of blood in the giraffe’s brain is exactly the same amount when its nibbling tree-top leaves, as when it’s taking a drink from the pond below.” The older granddaughter shouted, “That’s amazing.” The younger one screamed, “Wow.” The Park Attendant said, “Your Grandpa is correct.”

“Equally amazing and wonderful is the complexity of the bird’s wing. All animals with feathers need them to keep warm. Except the feathers of a bird’s wing. A bird’s wing is a very complex structure of hooks and other things that allows birds to fly”, explained my friend to his grandchildren.

He continued, “More amazing, are your eyes and ears, which are a complex combination of nerves and sensors that are coordinated with your brain so that you can see and hear. And most amazing, is your DNA molecule with a precise combination of amino acids in a long chain of  hundreds other atoms that makes you the unique person you are. There are seven billion people on earth, all different from each other, because each DNA molecule is different from each other. Isn’t that amazing?”

Their mother, who is a doctor, nodded in agreement.

That day in Disney World, my friend’s granddaughters learned about the irreducible complexity found in living things is not the result of random chance through time.  It’s the result of profoundly intelligent design.

They learned what atheist/evolutionist, Gould, admitted, “The irreducible complexity found in organic things cannot be explained by random chance through time.” Gould created the term, “Punctuated Equilibrium”: “Some complex things just appear fully functional, with no scientific explanation or basis.” “Punctuated Equilibrium” is as nonsensical as “Abracadabra.”

Disney World is a wonderful, magical place, the product of incredible imagination.

More incredible, is our world of inexplicable complex wonder, the product of the incomprehensible Wisdom of God, beyond all human understanding.

That’s a lesson some adults refuse to learn. It takes humility, gratitude, obedience, and trust.

The “Our Father”, with Poetic and Biblical References

September 3, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

My friend’s reflection on the “Our Father”,  including the following Biblical & Poetic References, along with Jackie Evancho’s singing, was a contemplative, transformational experience:

The Above YouTube Music Video with Jackie Evancho Expresses the beauty of the Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.

Our Father, the Majestic Creator of all things, who made us in His Image and Likeness.” (Genesis)

“And so loved the world that He sent His only Son, so all who believe in Him, shall have eternal Life.”

“And sent an Advocate” – the Holy Spirit, to share with us the undeserved gift of God’s Grace. (John)

 Thy kingdom come,

“Your Kingdom is not of this world” (John)

This world’s pleasures and treasures are merely, “Vanity. All is vanity” (Solomon).

In Thy Kingdom, “God makes all things new – No more death, nor pain, nor tears.” (Revelation)

Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Thy will is to “Love God, and each other, as Christ loves us.” (John)

 “To know that one life breathed easier because you have lived.” – (Emerson)

“I delight to do Your Will, O Lord. Your Laws are written upon my heart.” (Psalm 40)

Give us this day our daily bread.

 “Give us neither poverty nor riches. Lest we be full, and deny our God.

Lest we be desperate, and by stealing, defile the name of our Lord.” (Psalms)

God’s Providence trumps our control of outcomes – “The Lord is our Shepherd, we shall not want.” (Psalms)

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

As Christ’s Redemptive Cross forgives us, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the boot that crushed it.” (Twain)

No sin can exceed the forgiveness of the welcoming embrace, of the outstretched arms, of the Cross.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

“When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I want to avoid evil, I do it anyway.” (Romans 7)

“The Devil’s boots don’t creak”, so my soul suffers a thousand cuts of compromise and rationalization.

I ignore the Toxins of sin, because I enjoy its Perfume. (99% of Rat Poison is attractive to the rat)

For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, now and forever.

The Kingdom of experiencing the awesome awareness of the presence of God. Forever.

The Power of the Majestic Creator, the mercy of the Loving Redeemer, and the peace of Holy Spirit. Forever.

The Glory of a New Heaven and New Earth – peace, comfort, and joy. Forever.

Amen.

  •  My friend’s reflection of a known prayer is to help him contemplate the rich fullness of the prayer’s meaning.
  • It is not disrespectful of the “Lord’s Prayer’. The opposite is true.
  • It honors the original prayer by elevating it beyond the rote recitation of words.
  • The contemplation of the meaning of the words is transformational.

About Forgiveness

September 3, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

About “Forgiveness”

For a long time, my friend struggled with the “Our Father’s” conditional forgiveness: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” His struggle is deeply rooted in his brother’s abusive, vindictive hatred towards his parents, himself, family, and friends. For example, his brother threatened to destroy his father’s business when his father was old and sick. His brother attempted to deny his mother’s rightful inheritance when his dad died. The scars from this hatred demanded justice for healing.

The Above YouTube Music Video’s Lyrics Express this Blog Post’s Message about Forgiveness

His brother’s hatred began with abusive childhood name-calling, and escalated to vindictiveness when he was faced with a severe business problem. His brother called my friend and threatened to kill him (“I will come to your home and shoot you in front of your wife & kids.”) if my friend didn’t lend him $90,000. My friend lent his brother the money. His brother never repaid him. He didn’t attempt legal collection out of fear for his family. Their sister, who witnessed her brother’s irrational vindictive hatred her entire life,  said, “He’s always responded with rage to the slightest offense, real or imagined.”

So, my friend struggled with the “Our Father’s” conditional forgiveness. His brother’s hatred towards him syphoned forgiveness from my friend’s heart. Bitterness, anger, and revenge filled that vacuum, and layers of indifference calcified his heart. His hardened heart was impervious to Christ’s command, “To love one another as I (Christ) have loved you.” Nothing would quench his hurt. Justice was impossible. Forgiveness, unthinkable.

Over time, my friend learned that the only thing that matters is his relationship with God. As Paul wrote, “I consider everything else so much rubbish”. Christ clearly stated, “It is the Spirit that gives life. The flesh profits nothing.” The tension – between the spirit’s mercy and the human desire for justice – makes forgiveness hard.

To help us, the Holy Spirit whispers that, “God made us in His image and likeness”, and “God loved us so much, that He sent His Son to die for our sins.” From the cross, Christ said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” My friend saw himself at the foot of the cross with the Romans and Jews, and cried – “My Friend’s hatred was no different from theirs, or my brother’s”. Then, the rock fell from his fingers.

He experienced Christ’s forgiveness, and the presence of God within him – the peace, comfort, and joy of the companionship of God. Nothing else matters, because God is sovereign over all things -accepting that reality changes everything. He now lives and prays as the Psalmist, “As the deer pants for the flowing stream, so my soul thirsts for the Living God.” That relationship requires repentance.

Repentance requires: 

  • Humility (of creature to Creator).
  • Gratitude (of sinner to Savior).
  • Surrender (of selfishness to God’s will).
  • Trust (in God’s grace – for God is sovereign of all things.)

Forgiveness flows from repentance:

  • “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the boot that crushed it.” (Twain)
  • Forgiveness is not the logical output of the mind.
  • Forgiveness is a spiritual gift of the heart.

Grace replaced my friend’s anger with empathy.

His “need to be right” with understanding.

And quenched his hurt, with peace.

Only the tenderness of grace can break hearts of stone.

The Buddhist Tonglen Prayer, with Christian Values

September 3, 2018 by admin 1 Comment

The Buddhist Tonglen Prayer – with Cristian Values

The Above YouTube Video Enhances Blog Post Message Below

My friend provided a letter in response to a recently divorced woman’s request at a seminar concerning “Alternative Spiritual Support for Seniors”, at a local Senior Center. Her skills at being a professional Counselor to Seniors was no help to her.

The attractive, 30-something woman shared the pain & bitterness of her recent divorce with my friend during a “seminar exercise”. The Buddhist Tonglen Prayer exercise required one attendee to “breathe-in the pain” of the other, and then respond by “breathing- out” joy to the other.

My friend was completely unprepared for this exercise. It wasn’t on the agenda. He came for the free coffee & bagels. Fortunately, he recalled several verses from a recent Bible Study, and began saying:

“I breathe in the sorrow of your heart, and breathe out that you are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image and likeness of God.

I breathe in the sorrow of your heart, and breathe out that the Son of God became man and died for your sins with unconditional love.

I breathe in the sorrow of your heart, and breathe out your advocate, the Holy Spirit of peace and joy.

I breathe in the sorrow of your heart, and breathe out the awareness of the presence of God within you.

I breathe in the sorrow of your heart, and breathe out God’s Will to love Him and others, as Christ loves you.

I breathe in the sorrow of your heart, and breathe out the awareness that life is not about you, that the world with one exception (you) is made up of others.

I breathe in the sorrow of your heart, and breathe out the rich, fullness of the companionship of God.

I breathe in the sorrow of your heart, and breathe out the assurance that companionship of family and friends will comfort  you, as an expression of God’s grace, shared by members of “His Mystical Body”, one to another.

I breathe in the sorrow of your heart, and breathe out the assurance that no one and nothing can hurt you, because God is sovereign over all things.

I breathe in the new peace & joy of your heart, and breathe out a “Blessing”: When painful memories trouble your heart, “May God hold you in the Palm of His hand.”

Post Script:

The divorced woman requested that my friend write a letter containing what he told her.  He assured her that he would. She thanked him, gave him her card, and left, with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Several months later, the divorcee’ wrote to my friend that her family & friends noticed a change in her. She was happy. No more pain, nor tears. There was perceptible joy in her heart. There was fun in her life. She shared my friend’s letter with others who had experienced separation. Their responses were similar.

The Lyrics of the Above YouTube Music Video Express the Essence of this Blog Post Message

Perhaps, you can share this letter with someone who experienced the pain of relationship separation?

 

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