David: Man after Gods own heart

Acts 13:22  - New International Version (NIV)

'After removing Saul, he made David their king.God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;he will do everything I want him to do.’

God seems well pleased with David!

But we know David sinned - and quite gravely at that.  And indeed we know the punishment David received as a consequence of his sin. Still, here, God testifies on David's behalf saying that David is a man after His own heart. He qualifies this claim with the words - 'He will do everything I want Him to do.' God does not commend David for his sinlessness or holiness but God emphasizes His confidence that David would do everything He wanted him to do. 

Here more than the heart of David, it is the heart of God that is being revealed.The very heart of our awesome God responds to the love and passion within the heart of a mere man - sinner or no sinner. The heart of God 'sees' the heart of man and feels his spirit -- the spirit that hungers and thirsts after God. The heart which God finds suppliant. The heart that yearns to do the will of God by being a mere extension of that will. A heart that is humble enough to forego its own personal desires and agendas in order to become a mellifluous instrument of Gods love and will.
To do the will of God requires a deep love and passion for God. It requires the deepest yearning to be after God's heart. 

Sinlessness, purity, holiness - will all follow. The heart of God measures the love and selflessness within our hearts, more than anything else!

The Lord awaits the transfiguration of His appointed ones.

I have been recently reading from the In Christs Image Training materials and it has enriched my spiritual life immensely. This is mainly because I hear in them the same voice of the Spirit of God that has been teaching me for the past several years. The emphasis is the same, focus is the same and the words even better. Francis sometimes puts beautifully into words the concepts that Our Lord had seeded into my soul. I can feel the Oneness of the Eternal God at work here. I can also feel that our Lord is in setting up mode.
He is indeed setting up and placing his chosen vanguard in the various geographical locations he needs them to be. He is pruning them and teaching them to be the beacon of light that they are supposed to be in the upcoming times of darkness.

Do you want to be part of the vanguard the Lord is setting up?

Then its time to begin work within yourself NOW.
Let me borrow this beautiful sentence by Francis Frangipane- God is not looking at His watch; He’s looking at His crop.

Yes,we are His crop. The Lord is instructing and teaching with passion those souls that are seeking and desiring Him in openness and humility. For this particular mission He reaches out to the spiritually responsive and carves out a desire for His image and likeness in their soul. Once the soul starts desiring this spiritual transfiguration the Lord begins to feed, nourish and prune it. He is the diligent farmer tending the crop.

Now let us delve a little deeper into this transfiguration. The fulfillment of mans created purpose is man in the image of God. This simply means the when The Father looks at us He sees the image of Christ His son in us. This does not mean that we become God or that we take the place of Christ. It simply means that we have humbled, pruned and loved such that Christ is visible through us and indeed if it can be said so--that Christ has taken our place.
For this to happen we should become like the flute in the hands of the flutist that renders the most mellifluous music - where flute and flutist become one - working together, delivering a taste of heaven. Like the flute and the flutist the Will of God should be able to course through our veins and find the most beautiful expression through every pore of our being. The Will and Glory of god should be manifest in us His beloved crop.

When the crop is mature in fullness and number, then the reaper will come to gather in the harvest.
Let us read Paul to the Ephesians to illustrate this point.
Ephesians 4:11-13                                                                                               11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

Here Paul talks of the gifts of the various ministries that God has given to build up the body of Christ which is the church. He goes on to reveal the end point of this building up! The unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the FULL STATURE OF CHRIST. Christ is indeed the only measure for us the sons and daughters of the most High God!

Remember, Mathew tells us in 13:39 that the harvest is the end of the age. What you believe or don't believe about the end of age/tribulation/rapture etc is insignificant compared to whom your Father in heaven wants you to be. 

I urge you dear friends to fall on your knees and pray. Pray for a deeper understanding and love. Pray for a cleansing and purification. Pray for mercy. And last but not the least pray for the Divine Will of God to be manifest passionately in your life. Pray that your transfiguration is so complete that the inner you has disappeared. Pray, pray and persevere - knowing that Christlikeness is the raison d'etre of your existence. the Lord will pour into you every grace for the attainment of your desire for transformation. He will mould you, love you and transfigure you--all He needs is a loving, humble and desiring heart.

Preparation = Holiness and Love

A Christians call is a call to holiness and perfection. I know. When we read the word 'perfection', most of us inwardly cringe - not because we don't like it, but because we feel we can never measure up to such an absolute.
But let us look at it in a different perspective through the eyes of the word. 

2 Peter 1 :3-7

The Christian’s Call and Election

3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature. 5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. 

When we read these words of Peter, we understand that the way to pursue perfection and avoid corruption in this world is through the great promises of Jesus -- divine power. We no longer need rely on our own power, but on his sanctifying grace! Drawing upon this sanctifying grace through Christ Jesus we are asked to build our faith with goodness, and support goodness with knowledge of God and all things God wants us to know. We need to support knowledge with self-control and self-control with endurance or maybe patience. Then finally we embellish all this with godliness, mutual affection and love. 

All of this begins with a decision. A decision to transform ourselves into the rightful heirs of the Kingdom of God - as sons and daughters of the most high God and as siblings to Jesus as confirmed in Romans 8:28-30 

28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

We are not called to be conformed to the image of this world and its desires. We are called to be conformed to the image of JESUS! How awesome is that! This is a very real call. Our destiny in fact. If you have been called according to His purpose, this is your destiny! That is why Paul says in Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

What does Paul mean by the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.? 

Is that true? Shall we not see God through faith or through works as many argue both ways about it? 

For this we need to understand the nature of God. God is the embodiment of all the forces of nature and beyond. His presence is fearsome and glorious. Unless refined as silver and tested as gold we cannot come into His presence. For man to see God, God must be able to see His Son in us. 

THAT is why the only begotten Son, in whose image and likeness we were created took human form.

THAT is why he shared the Good News by announcing to the world that we are the sons and daughters of His Father.

And That is why He died a gruesome death for our sins so that we will all be eligible to gain entry into heaven. 

His death made us all, all of mankind, eligible for a free entry into heaven. But that doesn't mean that heaven can become the abode of the wile and dirty scum of the earth. We need to leave the earth behind. We need to leave the foulness of this earthly life behind. We need to believe in Jesus Christ and draw from Him the graces to be Holy as He was holy.

John 1:12-13 says 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

 Let us use this power to be the child of God which is possible only through Christ. And this power leads to holiness, godliness and love.

In holiness and love - the Kingdom of God will be among us.
In holiness and love - we will be rich toward God.
In holiness and love alone - can we be joyous and jubilant when the Son of Man comes. Otherwise we may become the corpses that the vultures will feed on.

I pray Jesus, that you shower your sanctifying and purifying grace upon me and each and every person reading this. Grant us the power to shed our worldliness and live in holiness and love. Grant us righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. Amen

The day the Son of Man comes again.

The Lord teaches and leads according to the times we are moving in and according to the needs of knowledge. Let us explore the bible to see what Jesus talks about this. Today I am very happy, for Our Lord spoke to me through a dream and answered a query I have had since the past several weeks. I knew that the verse He showed me was important, but could never figure out what it meant. I searched high and low for a satisfactory answer, but received none.
His will is to learn when He teaches -- at the right time.

In Luke 17:37 Jesus says "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather". Though I read and meditated and searched many times over, I couldn't understand what those words meant. From reading the context it was clear that Jesus was answering the question 'where?' Here is the context from Luke 17:22-23;31-37
22 Then he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will say to you, “Look there!” or “Look here!” Do not go, do not set off in pursuit.  
31 On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.’ 37 Then they asked him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’  
Where are they being teleported to is the question the disciples asked.

In Luke 12:32-34 Jesus says 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Let us now read the three italicised sentences of Jesus one after the other.
"Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it."
"Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Remember that Jesus says  these sentences in the context of the Kingdom of God and subsequently the coming of the Son of Man.
What we need to understand is that at the time of the coming of the Son of Man or immediately before it people may  disappear from amongst us. This has been variously interpreted over time and some saying that this is the rapture. These words are a warning to us.
Our heart, or the state of our soul will determine where we go. According to the predominant desire of our heart will be our destination. We may believe in God, pray even; but if our predominant emotion is to invest, make money and save for our future then that is what rules our heart. If our predominant thought or passion is the car we drive or the car we would like to drive, then that will determine the destination to which we are taken. It all depends on what our heart is set on at the time when Our Lord, the Son of Man comes!
If our heart is set on making our lives secure we will lose it says the Lord.
Then He says  "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather" The corpse belongs to the vultures. If our heart and soul has been pawned to the king of this world, his army of vultures will take us away and feed on us. BUT if our heart and soul bears the word of God and if we are 'rich toward God' (read Luke 12:13-21), then it is our Fathers good pleasure to give us the kingdom. We will be the living kingdom of God. The vultures does not prey on the living - only on the dead.

How must we be then, when the Son of Man comes? Jesus explains in Luke 12: 35-48.

Watchful Slaves

35 ‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39 ‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave

41 Peter said, ‘Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?’ 42 And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says to himself, “My master is delayed in coming”, and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. 47 That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. 48 But one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

Note that when Jesus says 'You also must be ready, for the Son of man is coming at an unexpected hour' Peter quickly asks Him ‘Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?’ 

This Jesus answers in the verses that followed. And finally Jesus sums it up thus 'From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.'

Let us take care to examine our lives - look within and search honestly and truthfully. If I am taken at this very moment will I be taken to the lord of real estates, the king of automobiles or the prince of minecraft? Will I be a corpse for the vultures or will I be alive and rich toward God? There is no either or answer - guard your thoughts, then guard your eyes and then guard your heart -- so that it doesn't get taken over by the real estate mafia who promises untold riches and get rich quick schemes or by the automobile industry tempting you with flashy cars at great discounts or whatever games they are that rules your waking moments. Shun the pleasures of the flesh and the eye candy of the world and set your heart soul and mind on the precepts of the Lord. The Psalmist sings in Ps.119:11 'I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.'

P.S This message has reached so many. But could you help to spread this message all over the world so that all those whom the Lord chooses can see and hear the truth of the coming of the Son of Man. If you would like to help, please forward this blog onto your friends and family as well. 
Feel free to comment below if something is disturbing you or if you need any more clarification.

PPS. Preparation for the Son of Man next

What is the 'Kingdom of God' ?

Our Lord has been trying to teach me about His Kingdom. Maybe because I have been saying for a while that I want to help Jesus build His and our fathers Kingdom here in Sydney. So I guess Jesus decided that if I want to build the Kingdom of God, then He better teach me what it actually is and correct any misconceptions I may have. 
Jesus tutorial began with Luke 17:20-37 given below here

The Coming of the Kingdom

20 Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; 21 nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’

22 Then he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will say to you, “Look there!” or “Look here!” Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all of them 30 —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.’ 37 Then they asked him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’

The parts that struck me most I have given in italics. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is among us. Though some translations mistranslate it as 'within you', the correct meaning of what Jesus says is 'among you'. We also see the overt manifestation of the Kingdom of God in the works that Jesus and his disciples did. They preached the Good news, healed the sick, drove out demons and raised the dead.
The second part in italics about the corpses and vultures--I have not yet fully been granted the wisdom to understand.

After this teaching came Pentecost Sunday which was yesterday and Fr. Francis Onwunalli and his talk about the Holy spirit.  Romans 14:17 is what he had to say 'For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.'

Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit are experienced by people and not buildings, structures or organisations. So when we enjoy these 3 in the Holy Spirit we become the kingdom of God among those around us. Or do we? 

Then comes todays tuition which began with holiness (very important learning curve which I shall share soon but not now) and led onto the kingdom. It came from Mathew 13:33. 'He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

Now what is it that Our Lord wants us to understand about the kingdom of God.
This is it in a nutshell.
One. The kingdom of God has become manifest from the time of Jesus and his disciples--therefore he says that the kingdom was among them. 
Two. The kingdom comprises of those who, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, enjoy and practice righteousness, peace and joy. These are the inner manifestations of the Holy spirit in our lives.
Three. The kingdom of God grows when we, filled with the Holy spirit, exhibiting the signs of this infilling, become the leaven in our communities, raising them up along with us. It is for this mission that we His chosen people have been mixed with the flour around us - to be the yeast that raises all of the flour with which it is mixed.
Another parable that our Lord narrated was to answer the question 'What is the kingdom of God like?' To this He said "It is like the mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden;it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches."

P.S. Meaning of Corpses and Vultures Revealed next.

The Love Exchange Programme !

Thiz is a unique programme to xchange the current currency that we use for love. The love we use now is a possessive love. The love we use now cries revenge when its thwarted. The love we use now burns our soul when we are hurt. The love we use now measures people according to their role and purpose in our life. The love we use now is the love of humans. As long as we are in possession of this corrupted artifice of love we can never truly BE a Christian. We need to seek the creator of Love and ask for an exchange. We need to seek and to ask for a complete exchange of this corrupt currency for the unique divine currency of love for which there is only one source. Only from this source can you avail an infilling of the incorruptible, genuine currency of love. Only then can you even begin to model yourself on Christ. All your rituals and prayers and sacrifices will not get you any closer to the heart of God if you do not seek and pursue this essential change.

"How can we who died to sin go on living in it?" asks St.Paul

Catholics have got one thing right. They realized that until man is as pure as God, he cannot see the face of the Father. So they invented purgatory - the post death purification chamber of the saved.
But what about our Protestant brothers? They dont believe in the existence of purgatory.
This is the Problem of the Partial Gospel.
The truth as revealed by the Spirit of truth is this - the presence of God can only be inhabited by souls so pure that God can see His reflection in. This is the undeniable truth.
And the only place we've got to attain that purity is here on earth (and purgatory for Catholics). But even for Catholics, purgatory is not a piece of cake. Souls in there are yearning incessantly for heavens quenching salve.
What then is the solution?

The Gospel/Good News needs to be preached in its entirety. The Spirit of Truth goes forth to increase understanding in the hearts of the Children of God.
Let those who have eyes see and those who have ears hear.

Romans 6:19 "I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification."

We need to be born from above and become true Sons of God. Our Christian journey does not stop at the cross, but merely begins there. From believing and receiving Jesus we start our rightful journey into the heart of the Father. Through our baptism in Christ we are made eligible to attain this divine sonship. But to partake in His divinity we need to present ourselves as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. This is the call of the Christian. It is only by becoming another Christ that we can share the Gospel--for the Gospel is the living word of God. God has invited us to be the living word of God. It is this sanctification that completes the Gospel.

This is the truth as revealed by the Spirit of Truth. This is the Fullness of the Gospel.
Let those who have eyes see and those who have ears hear.

Post Note: When I say Catholics invented purgatory its being said tongue in cheek and only to drive home a point. I totally understand Purgatory and its role but realise many of us Catholics look to it as a cop out. Either way, I'd rather be in heaven than in purgatory and wish the same for you - hence this blog.

Contd from Go set my people free Part 3 - A fuller understanding of Why Jesus came.

As the Lord gives greater insights and deepens His instruction I am compelled to share that with you.
My blog here largely reflects my spiritual journey and I share what God has been teaching my soul over time. Up until recently this instruction has been mostly of the personal revelation kind corroborated with scripture.
Last Tuesday My father in heaven felt fit that I find corroboration and solace from a different source. Corroboration - for the world needs to know that this is not the ramblings of an individuals' mind, solace - because I've been feeling very alone in my understanding, and that not many are getting what I say.
Last Tuesday I attended our Catholic small groups at Uni with Fr. Mannes - we were discussing the Incarnation of Christ and why Jesus came. After I suggested that Jesus came so that we can become like Him, Father actually alluded to the fact that Thomas Aquinas has quoted St Athanasius to say that we may become like God. I was surprised at first and then excited. But it was only today that I had the time to look into it, and when I did, I realised that it is true --there is indeed a well documented Catholic belief, recorded in none less than the Catechism of the Catholic Church about the ultimate 'end' of  the transformation that I have been banging on about in my previous blog articles. In actual fact the CCC does not expound on the process to get there but notes the 4 reasons for the incarnation as follows
1.  The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God
2. The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God's love:
3. The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness:
4. The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature"

Point 4 goes on to read "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God." "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."

I am sure that the first two points are those that the vast majority of Christians are familiar with and sometimes maybe even the third. But how often do we hear the fourth point even mentioned? 

I also came to realise that not only the CCC, but much earlier than that, several of the early church fathers like Irenaeus, St. Clement of Alexandria, Justin the martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, Hippolyticus and Athanasius of Alexandria held quite similar views.

St Athanasius clearly states  "Therefore He was not man, and then became God, but he was God, and then became man, and that to deify us" "For he was made man that we might be made God"
In Eastern Orthodox Theology, deification or Theosis is the goal of every Christian - it is possible for man to become God by grace. They also describe this transformation as having three stages - katharsis or purification, theoria or illumination, and theosis or deification (to becomes Gods by grace / reconciliation, union with God).

So yes indeed my dear friends - our goal in life is to attain this deification or God likeness. This is the condensed essence of the entire Gospel - to become as He is and was, to emulate His love for the creator Father, to be merciful as He is, be Holy as our Father in heaven is Holy. And none of this is possible without walking the path of relationship.

The word of the Lord came to me

Ezekiel 34 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. 4 You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.

7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.

The Shoulder wound of Christ

Dear friends and readers,
Before I wrote my last blog here a few days ago, I was shown the strong muscular shoulder of Jesus. Thus the mention of it in the second sentence of that blog. But today I feel that the Lord is trying to tell me or teach me something more. It has happened like this in the past. One thing that leads to another and slowly the entire picture of what God wants to teach or reveal becomes clear.
This is what happened today. I opened facebook as I usually do and immediately came across a post shared by a friend that can be found here. I went on to click the link and read it. What caught my attention most was not that Padre Pio revealed this particular stigmata to Karol Wojtyla, but, more importantly that he had had a shoulder wound at all! We have all heard of stigmata appearing on the hands, feet and even side - but never of the shoulder!
This led me to think that if Padre Pio had been given the wound on his shoulder then surely Christ too must have had it but in my entire lifetime of reading I have never ever heard even a mention of it. What puzzled me more was it was just a few of days ago that the Lord gave me a vision of his shoulder, which I thought was unusual in itself. It was a view from the back - of a strong muscular left shoulder. Now I don't know if anybody would carry a cross on the left shoulder or even if Christ did we would not know.

So, this is what I did a few minutes ago--I typed 'shoulder wound of Christ' into Google and learnt something new.  Apparently St. Bernard, a twelfth century monk of the Cistercian order, related  a conversation he’d had with Our Lord.  He had prayed, asking Jesus which was His greatest unrecorded suffering and the Lord answered him saying:

“I had on My Shoulder while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound which was more painful than the others, and which is not recorded by men.  Honor this Wound with thy devotion, and I will grant thee whatsoever thou dost ask through its virtue and merit.  And in regard to all those who shall venerate this Wound, I will remit to them all their venial sins, and will no longer remember their mortal sins.”

Why is it that my Lord is drawing my attention to His shoulder I wonder? Time will tell. Meanwhile I request that you will all keep praying for me.

In love of Christ
Jacqueline 

Go set my people free Part 3

An incomplete understanding of faith is turning out to be more detrimental to society than no faith.

Jesus Christ, is called both Son of God and Son of Man, and He is. His shoulders were strong and muscular -not from going to the gym, but from the hard graft of daily work. We often think of the physical pain he endured on His way to Calvary and crucifixion. His soul searing anguish was greater. We often spout platitudes such as God is love - but Jesus was the wellspring of that love. Like the vine branches that groweth when attached to the vine, like the electrical appliances that work when plugged into the mains, so too are we attached to the greatest wellspring of love in Christ.

What did Christ say of the vine branches that does not bear fruit?
We dogooder Christians know what the word says. But what is the good fruit He expects of us? Just like the electrical appliances plugged into the mains, if we are plugged in properly to this eternal wellspring of love we will be transformed into little wellsprings of our own---wellsprings of love, wellsprings of unselfish love.
As Christ says what use is it if we do good to those who does good to us ? We are all good Christians, working hard for the betterment of our particular denomination or church, engaged in all social and religious activities, living 'holy' lives largely engrossed in selfishness. I know that saying this will not make me popular or get me many readers. But I beg you dear brothers and sisters, to take one moment to step back and think. Is there anything that we do that is not out of selfishness? We study, work, build, create, and give for our family--sometimes even sacrificing our lives and wellbeing in that process. Ourselves, our husbands/wives, children, parents, siblings etc are our dearest and raison d'être - the reason for our existence. Next comes our church, sect/denomination, cultural identity, and so on. We often believe that by serving all these other interests in our life that we are serving God? Is it so? Does God need such service from us? Then there are the better among us who even give charity and do  charitable social work.

There IS good in all of these --no doubt. A lot of good and love like this has helped oil the mechanics of life to this day and age.

BUT it is good to also think if any of this will hold good either in this life or on the day of reckoning.
Jesus did not come to make a nation of do-gooders, he did not come to increase our material wealth and help us save for our retirement --He said that His Father in heaven knows to provide for His children and He asked us to become children of God. He asked us to plug into Him, with good sturdy wires and become charged and empowered to become as a son or daughter of God. HE called for total transformation. A transformation that changes and charges our internals, where we begin to look outward with the eyes of God and not with the eyes of man.

If you are still reading this, please take a moment to close your eyes and to look around your home and society with the eyes of God. What do you see? When you look are you overwhelmed with love? When you look does it bring a love drenched smile to your face? When you look, can you see the laughter as well as the pain of the society around you? Can you see the individual people around you - the winners, the losers, the drug addicts, the homeless, the beautiful, the ugly, the smart and the not so smart? Can you see them through the filter of Gods love flowing through you? Are you overcome with love and compassion and does this love equal or exceed the love you have for your spouse, children and parents?
If you do, then you are truly a child of God.
If you cant come anywhere close, then that is the measure of the Christian you are - not your faith, not your works, not your acts, not your ancestral heritage.
THERE IS NO OTHER MEASURE THAN LOVE IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. AND THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS WITHIN YOU WHEN YOU LOVE AS GOD DOES

This is what the Christ meant when he said   --   leave your family and follow me.

Please use the comments section to share your thoughts. 

Grief

Grief is a strange thing. You cant quantify it nor express it. It just stays with you until it's done. Sometimes it overwhelms, sometimes it just leaves you numb. Grief stems from love, from remembered memories. Grief flows, grief purges, grief liberates?
In love may your memories be held, in love may you rest in peace.

Go set my people free Part 2

In life we are given one basket,  full of the goodness of God - Gods unconditional love for us, His wonderful mercy, His steadfastness, His forgiveness and His Glory.
We are also given a second basket full of what I call Prescribed goodness - We should love and respect God, try not to sin, even if we do we can go and ask forgiveness, lead 'good' lives, attend mass or Sunday services regularly, tell others about Christ (evangelise) etc, etc.
But then unknowingly we are also left with an almost empty basket which is rarely filled. But in it rests all our other elements of life.

We have indeed been taught the Truth. But unfortunately we are only being given these first two baskets at the most. This can be called the theory of the partial truth or that of the half truth. These two baskets can only get you to a certain point in your life. Faith, largely, the world over, comprises solely of these two baskets.

But our leaders and preachers still dont get it! they dont get it that these two baskets are failing in the modern world. they are failing flock in the millions. Mankind is now on the verge of self-destruction because the WHOLE, COMPLETE and ENTIRE Gospel is not being TAUGHT, PREACHED or PRACTISED.

Please use the comments section to share your thoughts. 

Go set my people free.

When I talk of the pain and suffering in this world and the need for us fellow  humans to help alleviate it, I am sometimes misunderstood. The misunderstanding is this. Such thoughts are relegated to the realm of social justice. Somehow social justice and spiritual renewal are widely thought off as two worthy but parallel streams. And as with all things parallel - they don't meet!

Needless to say, I don't think that they are mutually exclusive.

The real reason that people are falling away from faith and that church attendances are dwindling is because the value of subscribing to a faith/ any faith, is dwindling and faith in itself is becoming irrelevant in a persons day to day life. Man is finding fewer things that he needs to ask God for divine intervention, miracles are becoming irrelevant amidst aplenty, and man is becoming more self sufficient and has realised that he can live a moral and humane life without the crutches of a religion.
The spectre of hell, hellfire and the afterlife no more scares him.

The main regions of the world where religions are growing are the developing nations where there are many physical needs and wants, plenty of superstitions, and where miracles are needed.

Having been in the charismatic renewal since the age of 12 and having listened to innumerable evangelisers across the world over the years I pondered these and other questions in my heart. I have truly questioned and challenged my faith.  I have become my own and my faiths best critic. I see that the folly is not wilful, but merely a learned condition transmitted from generation to generation. We fear to look at the truth and to question our faith for we are not sure if what we find will shake our beliefs.

My faith and life crisis took me into a dark place from where with my heavenly Fathers guidance I re-learnt the gospel.But not as anyone else taught it - only as my Lord wanted me to know it. The gospel and the word of God became the nidus of my liberation. The new gospel revelation taught me the power of the human person and that true empowerment is not only possible but also the key element to a living and relevant faith. The transformation was from a very physical entity into a spiritual entity who loved God and received from him the right currency of love with which to build all other relationships. The journey of liberation and freedom was a long one but a necessary one.
This journey can be replicated. And this gospel of transformation will be lived. For that is His will.

Please use the comments section to share your thoughts.

John 1:12-13 Explained more fully

      Regular readers of my blog would notice that I often mention John1:12-13. I don't ever imagine that I can explain it wholly but I am ever grateful to God for slowly revealing His heart and wisdom which I shall share with you.

     In John 1:12-13, John the dearest disciple of Jesus tells us that to all those who received Jesus and believed in His name Jesus gave the power to become children of God -  then he goes on to clarify that this was a rebirth where the person ceases to be of the flesh but truly born of God.

John 1: 12-13 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

     Now let us go to John Chapter 3 and read the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus the Pharissean leader of the Jews.

 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’  Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” 


      Here we read the words of Christ where he clearly talks of 'being born from above'. He talks of 'being born of water' (when you  repent and recieve Christ) and 'of the spirit'. He goes on to explain that what is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. In the second part Jesus focusses more on the birth in the spirit for it is this birth in the spirit that makes us the son or daughter of God. It is this birth that kills our life in the flesh, the life of humans without humanity, the life of selfishness and self preservation.

      If we imagine that since we believe in Jesus and have taken a water baptism, we are handed a passport and flight ticket into the Kingdom of God we are mistaken. Passport may be. But flight tickets? I don't think so - for our Lord clearly says "NO one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above" and "what is born of the spirit is spirit".
       So until and unless the lives we live our lives in the spirit we can not enter the kingdom of God. BUT when we are born of the spirit we become the son and daughter of the most High God and co heirs with Christ to the Kingdom of God.
       Some Christians would like to believe that this birth in the spirit is purely a supernatural event wherein you are overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit. I would beg to differ. The word of God clearly says that 'he gave  power to become children of God'. There is most definitely an element where each individual needs to use this power bestowed on him or her to become ready to die in the flesh and take on the spiritual life that comes with becoming the son or daughter of God. Paul the Apostle talks of this great war of the flesh in Romans Chapter 8 which we can read here.

Romans 8:5-17 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—  for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.  For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’  it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.p

If we then live according to the flesh, wallowing in our own selfishness and congratulating ourselves on our selfrighteous and pious lives, without understanding what it is to be living as a son or daughter of God, then we are doing ourselves the greatest disservice of all time. We are robbing ourselves of what could be a glorious and empowered life lived spreading love and relieving pain around us and instead we live a life of penury, worry, fear and begggarliness, taking comfort in the material riches we surround ourselves in and stockpile for the future. 

Freedom Truth and Liberation

We stand in need of Freedom Truth and Liberation. We stand in need of breaking the bondages and shackles of old and rise up to a New Dawn of life. A life that is a tribute to the great parentage to which we are eligible through Christ. As a phoenix rises from the ashes, so too must we rise up from learned servitude and helplessness. 

A way Lost - The lost tribes of Christianity

"When you preach Hell-fire and brimstone, you are teaching fear and condemnation, When you preach worldly riches and glory you are merchandising the Christ. For Christ came to liberate and to set free. Not to terrorize, not to subjugate. Not to puff you up nor to tear down. He came that we may know who we are, he came that we enter into the glorious transformation that God our father desires for us. He came to set us FREE. Freedom from chains, freedom from shackles, freedom from bondage, freedom from fear. But still we preach and teach beggarhood not brotherhood."

Self righteousness is the greatest stumbling block for self realization. 2000 years after Christs death on the cross there are about 2.3 billions Christians the world over. Of the 2.3 billion Christians how many Christs are there? The entire world bowed in awe before a scrawny little lady who worked the streets of Calcutta, India, binding wounds and kissing lepers. She inspired many a generation to work with the poor. There are many other saints some of whom even took on the wounds of Christ like Padre Pio and seemed to live in that realm where earth meets heaven. We have mighty preachers who give thunderous sermons to en-rapt audiences watching miracles taking place in scores. We also have divisions after divisions and splits after splits and splinters after splinters disintegrating doctrine and dividing the church of Christ. 
We see the Holy Spirit at work in Protestant conventions, Pentecostal revivalist missions as well as in Catholic Charismatic retreats. We see a non partisan God but strive to make our differences seem bigger than they are and work hard to keep it that way. 
In day to day life we the 2.3 billion Christians of the world live a life largely not too different from our non christian brothers and sisters. 
We the 2.3 billion Christians have the same pain, the same woes, the same concerns, the same fears and the same powerlessness as our non christian brothers and sisters. 
We denigrate Christianity to such an extent that Christ has been reduced to ' a way' rather than 'the way'.

For us the cross and the one crucified has become the solution to our material problems and material desires and needs. We have supermarketised Christianity and try to lure others in. We peddle fear and condemnation freely, hoping to lure souls for the sake of an escape from eternal damnation in the afterlife without even casting a second thought to their present life as long as they join and subscribe and pay obeisance to our group or version of doctrine. We, together with them live a wretched existence in this life hoping for a glorious existence in the next. Or alternatively we preach the great riches and glory and wealth that comes from following the promises of the bible. We encourage and applaud the pursuit of wealth as righteousness as long as the faithful tithe fills our coffers.


Somewhere along the way we have lost THE WAY. No doubt.

To be contd

The Father and the Two sons.

A.K.A the story of the Prodigal Son is one of the most popular stories from the New Testament.
In actual fact the two sons represents the bulk of humanity. The following is a very clear, succinct and genuine characterization of the same story taken from the following website  http://www.ucb.co.uk/word-for-today-23519.html
"The real star in the Parable of the Prodigal Son is the father. He had two boys. One was rebellious, the other was religious. But he loved each of them. And because they were his family he refused to give up on them. While the younger brother was away wallowing in sin, the older brother was at home wallowing in self-righteousness. One was guilty of the sins of the flesh (the obvious ones); the other was guilty of the sins of the spirit (the not-so-obvious ones). Only when the younger brother lost everything did he discover that living in submission to his father’s rule was the safest, most fulfilling place you could be. Only when the older brother discovered the difference between rule-keeping and relationship was he able to understand his father’s words, ‘…Everything I have is yours’ (Luke 15:31 NIV). One was a miserable rule keeper; the other was a miserable rule breaker. (Which are you?) The problem was neither boy really knew the heart of their father because they were self-centred. But that changed when they discovered that he loved them in spite of their flaws, and planned to bless them. Understand this: you can read the Bible, go to church, keep all the rules - and not really know God’s faithfulness, His love and His plan for you. Until you really know God, you’ll have no anchor in life; you’ll be tossed to and fro by every circumstance, emotion and temptation. But when you know Whose you are, you’ll begin to understand who you are, what you’re supposed to do, and where you’re supposed to be."

I would perhaps add when you know who you are and whose you are...
its true--the reason why Christianity has lost her way stems from the fact that the relationship and realization disappeared. God and church became service providers.

“A sum can be put right: but only by going back till you find the error and working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

The western church, including that of Australia is lamenting the significant fall in the number of faithful attending church services. This has indeed a knock on effect on the money that fills the coffers and services the church can continue to provide. Another unfortunate outcome is the dwindling number of vocations to the priesthood and religious orders. 
The following is some data of how the proportion of catholics have changed over the last century. It is clearly evident that Europe, once the stronghold of catholicism, now faces rapid decline.






Further data compares the number of catholics as a share of the resident population. This appears more meaningful as population world over has been growing and moving.


The church in Australia is particularly concerned, with some of its parishes taking the unprecedented step of opting to run in a federated manner with a clubbing together of priests and other resources.

It is very easy to put the blame on the sexual abuse scandals but in actual fact this trend started a while back. People move away and out of a church or faith when the church/faith and what it stands for looses relevance in their day to day life. What is irrelevant soon becomes redundant.
A wholistic scientific method needs to be applied to understand this issue.