"To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6
This blog is for those who have suffered or who are suffering from childhood sexual abuse. I want those who have suffered this type of violation to know that they are valued by God. Perhaps, you know of someone who wrestles daily with the results of this type of trauma. Let me remind you that the word "trauma" means wound, and childhood sexual abuse does wound.
God loves all of us, and those who have been abused have a difficult time believing in love, because love means to be valued, and appreciated for who one is. The ability to feel intrinsically valued has been distorted within the heart of the abused one. They have experienced love as a violation of self. They know love as exploitation and humiliation.
In their experience trust has been systematically removed by the perpetrator(s), and replaced with vile secrecy and lies. The heart of the victim believes that because of her past or present abuse that she may be "used goods," or not good enough to have real relationships. With her oftentimes the past is the present in so many ways.
Self acceptance is a very important part of healthy growth, but, sadly many persons will never know this truth. The users will exploit children because they can without fear of retribution. The abusers breakdown healthy self-growth which children should expect from their primary caregivers. Their children will be existentially robbed of appropriate self boundaries and appropriate trust of the outside world. They will be unceremoniously baptized into the unsavory world of episodic, ritual, or prolonged tenacious sexual abuse.
The Good News is that God loves us in the midst of our brokenness. In fact, the psalmist-poet wrote that he heals the broken-hearts and binds up their wounds. When love has been radically unfamiliar it is wonderful to know that God is there to wonderfully give love to the wounded. This is the essence of the death of Iesous on the Roman cross.
Childhood sexual abuse is a sin against the ontological well-being of another person. Yes, these violations may be hidden for a time, but the Iesous assures us that what has been hidden will be shouted from the roof-tops. There are really no secrets. Man cannot possibly hide their deeds from God. It is self-deception on their part that convinces them that such is the case.
Beloved, if you have a legacy of childhood sexual abuse God loves you. He wants to give you a new life that is untainted by the past. He wants you to free you from the past through His love. Go before Him in prayer and ask Him to release you from the bondage of the past or the present as the case may be. Today, accept your acceptance by God. Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow his blog and visit his website.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Urizen by William Blake: A Sobering Picture of 21th Century Political Discourse
It was within the pages of an old book by today’s standards entitled, “Where the Wasteland Ends: Politics and Transcendence in Postindustrial Society,” by Theodore Roszak, that I read about William Blake’s ‘Urizen.’ Urizen is a Zoa or a creative power. Urizen is from the Greek word horizein which means “to limit, bound, restrict; also Your Reason.” Urizen is single vision: functional logicality, that which divides up, limits, draws lines-the dominant Zoa of scientized culture, the Zoa that rules modern society. His sign is in “the Starry Wheels’: law, logic, inexorable order: the world-machine.”
Roszak writes that, ” Urizen embodies Blake’s full horror of the scientific cosmos, which is a “soul-shudd’ring vacuum” fashioned conceptually by a demon intelligence.” Thus to Blake Urizen is a god of creation, but he is a fallen god, “in isolation and stern dominion (“petrifying all the Human Imagination into rock & sand”).” Under the despotism of Urizen,…life…decays. We fall to the empirical lie.”
Listen carefully, ever so carefully to the rhetoric of contemporary political discourse and you will perceive the presence of the militant and self-isolated Zoa Urizen. His words are filled with the mischief of behavorial manipulation. ”In Blakes’s most famous drawing, “Urizen is the bearded demigod, the ancient of days, creator of the fallen world, reaching down to measure off space with giant calipers.”
Urizen’s power is hypnotic and compelling because he first seduces people to believe in a very truncated view of consciousness. ”Our infinite senses” shrink and grow opaque.” ”(Urizen,…,is also the “tyger, tyger burning bright”: the god of brute, unfeeling power, antithesis of the lamb of God.)” Diminished consciousness is Urizen’s most potent ally and our most fiendish foe.
During this election cycle we cannot focus upon clever phrases, and empty platitudes “full of sound and fury signifying nothing.” We must do our best to recognize seductive speech that will promise to do when there is the stubborn intention to continue toward our collective undoing.
For Blake, Urizen is the creator of MAYA, “who deludes by claiming to be the totality.” ”Lo, I am God,” says Urizen. ”The Spectre is the Man. The rest is only delusion & fancy.” Urizen is…”force without vision, “the idiot Reasoner.” ”No breaking Urizen’s tyranny, then but by cleansing “the doors of perception…And yet Urizen dares to teach, can only teach that the Spectre (“the Reasoning Power”) is the whole person.”
I am suggesting that when the race for the White House, and therefore the control of our collective lives, comes to a fever pitch we pause, we ruminate, we calculate, we consider, we deliberate, we focus on God first, and then the feeble words of politicos. God is the only one who can cleanse the doors of perception and deliver us from Urizen and his dark designs.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow his blog and visit his website.
Monday, September 24, 2012
These Afflictions
"That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labor be in vain." 1Thess. 3:3-5
These are astounding words by Paul, and they thoughtfully lay out that conflict is an inherent part of our Faith. Not that our faith is conflicted, but that because we have become organically identified with the Iesous through constantly believing the Gospel we have been made anew.
For the constantly believing ones the new life that we have is qualitatively new. It is no mere religious affiliation or some other man-made hubris. It is new life directly out from God through the only Mediator between God and man, and that is the Theanthropos or God-Man, Iesous.
The new life that we have been given as adopted ones is unto the ages of the ages and we dare not lose sight of our glorious destiny while we suffer now within the sphere of what one has called 'This Present Darkness.'
Yes, weep may go on through the night but joy cometh in the morning. When the Bright and Morning Star comes for us we will lay down the mantle of suffering, and the Iesous will wipe away all of our tears. It is this understanding that Paul wanted the Thessalonian saints to grasp.
It is tough sometimes to fight the good fight of Faith, and we therefore must not rely upon our own understanding of the conflict. Mere human reason and resolve will most certainly falter in the midst of the ferocity of the battle. And the books that we have read, and the authors that we can readily quote will not come to us when we are suddenly visited by terror or unexpected disaster.
When I am rendered almost paralyzed by the assault upon my faith and cogent speech has fled I can know that I am stayed by God, and I do not quit the battlefield of Faith. But one might say I hurt, or I hurt so deep that I cannot utter to God that I am almost buried by grief and conflict.
Beloved you are not alone, and your pain is the pain of the Iesous too. He is well-versed in grief. He is a MAN of SORROWS. You may have never realized before that we have been appointed to suffering as saints of God, but know this; that those who suffer for and with Him now will definitely co-reign with him unto the ages of the ages.
Don't be ashamed of who you are, or whose you are as a constantly believing one because your faith will be rewarded by God. Your faith will be squeezed, or you may be crushed, compressed or be constricted by outward or inward circumstances, but we must suffer tribulation.
Oftentimes God may not deliver us from our circumstances but within or through our circumstances. When he does this he is teaching us to lean not on our own understanding but exclusively upon his divine agency.
For more information about Dr. Rich ad his teaching ministry, please visit his website. Also, please sign up as a follower or Pneumatikos to stay up to date on future posts. Blessings to you.
These are astounding words by Paul, and they thoughtfully lay out that conflict is an inherent part of our Faith. Not that our faith is conflicted, but that because we have become organically identified with the Iesous through constantly believing the Gospel we have been made anew.
For the constantly believing ones the new life that we have is qualitatively new. It is no mere religious affiliation or some other man-made hubris. It is new life directly out from God through the only Mediator between God and man, and that is the Theanthropos or God-Man, Iesous.
The new life that we have been given as adopted ones is unto the ages of the ages and we dare not lose sight of our glorious destiny while we suffer now within the sphere of what one has called 'This Present Darkness.'
Yes, weep may go on through the night but joy cometh in the morning. When the Bright and Morning Star comes for us we will lay down the mantle of suffering, and the Iesous will wipe away all of our tears. It is this understanding that Paul wanted the Thessalonian saints to grasp.
It is tough sometimes to fight the good fight of Faith, and we therefore must not rely upon our own understanding of the conflict. Mere human reason and resolve will most certainly falter in the midst of the ferocity of the battle. And the books that we have read, and the authors that we can readily quote will not come to us when we are suddenly visited by terror or unexpected disaster.
When I am rendered almost paralyzed by the assault upon my faith and cogent speech has fled I can know that I am stayed by God, and I do not quit the battlefield of Faith. But one might say I hurt, or I hurt so deep that I cannot utter to God that I am almost buried by grief and conflict.
Beloved you are not alone, and your pain is the pain of the Iesous too. He is well-versed in grief. He is a MAN of SORROWS. You may have never realized before that we have been appointed to suffering as saints of God, but know this; that those who suffer for and with Him now will definitely co-reign with him unto the ages of the ages.
Don't be ashamed of who you are, or whose you are as a constantly believing one because your faith will be rewarded by God. Your faith will be squeezed, or you may be crushed, compressed or be constricted by outward or inward circumstances, but we must suffer tribulation.
Oftentimes God may not deliver us from our circumstances but within or through our circumstances. When he does this he is teaching us to lean not on our own understanding but exclusively upon his divine agency.
For more information about Dr. Rich ad his teaching ministry, please visit his website. Also, please sign up as a follower or Pneumatikos to stay up to date on future posts. Blessings to you.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Projection-How to Cure Jaundiced Spiritual Eyes
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye." Luke 6:41
In this verse we are given insight into the expert clinical wisdom of the Iesous. His approach is filled with irony, and humor due to the grave, and poignant nature of this topic. He knows that there are persons who are religiously devoted to their jaundiced perceptions. But how does one bring attention to a highly selfish manner of being with persons seduced by militant denial of their real condition?
The Iesous addresses this powerful problem with great skillfulness. He addresses the reality of the jaundiced and subjective eye that masquerades as objective realism. Such individuals are filled with sardonic (bitter) judgement of others. Of course they do not perceive this to be the case. Their jaundiced eyes have become weapons that slay others with sour disdain. Unsuspecting souls are withered by their caustic assaults. They may abuse others ever so nicely, but dagger of existential betrayal, nevertheless does its brutal work.
They are self-appointed witnesses against those who are victimized by their scorn and disapproval. And yet they do not understand that their self-appointed witness against others is mere fiction. Like the main character, Dorian, in Oscar Wilde's the 'Picture of Dorian Gray' the social persona maintains its malevolent status quo but the inside, that is, the soul is leprous.
The Iesous states that such persons do not comprehend that there is an intrinsic object embedded within their eyes. They must bend their sight around the embedded object in order to see the failure in the lives of others.
It is the existential adjustment to the innate object that imprisons them in benign self-mockery. The Great Eye Doctor can look into the eyes and His insight can go deeper than any devise that can look into and through the eyes. His 'seeing' penetrates into the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, ... and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Iesous says that the possessors of jaundiced eyes cannot see accurately because they have log obstructed eyes. Therefore accurate perception is skewed and limited thereby. It is really their internal misery that they really see when they harass others with their lofty disapproval. They are not free inside therefore the world must bear the chagrin of their bondage. This is the meddlesome essence of projection. The cure, of course is to remove the log from one's own eye. This is a call to massive courage. It is to risk seeing what has long been refused to see for whatever reason. But it is vital if one is to have a healthy spiritual life.
God excepts the ones enslaved to jaundiced eyes too. I can remember when I was in the grips of this all too common spiritual disease, and when the temptation returns I know that I can go to the Great Eye Physician and get a check up. I stay away from persons who cleverly hide their logs behind pious masks. Communion with God is very good medicine.
Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
In this verse we are given insight into the expert clinical wisdom of the Iesous. His approach is filled with irony, and humor due to the grave, and poignant nature of this topic. He knows that there are persons who are religiously devoted to their jaundiced perceptions. But how does one bring attention to a highly selfish manner of being with persons seduced by militant denial of their real condition?
The Iesous addresses this powerful problem with great skillfulness. He addresses the reality of the jaundiced and subjective eye that masquerades as objective realism. Such individuals are filled with sardonic (bitter) judgement of others. Of course they do not perceive this to be the case. Their jaundiced eyes have become weapons that slay others with sour disdain. Unsuspecting souls are withered by their caustic assaults. They may abuse others ever so nicely, but dagger of existential betrayal, nevertheless does its brutal work.
They are self-appointed witnesses against those who are victimized by their scorn and disapproval. And yet they do not understand that their self-appointed witness against others is mere fiction. Like the main character, Dorian, in Oscar Wilde's the 'Picture of Dorian Gray' the social persona maintains its malevolent status quo but the inside, that is, the soul is leprous.
The Iesous states that such persons do not comprehend that there is an intrinsic object embedded within their eyes. They must bend their sight around the embedded object in order to see the failure in the lives of others.
It is the existential adjustment to the innate object that imprisons them in benign self-mockery. The Great Eye Doctor can look into the eyes and His insight can go deeper than any devise that can look into and through the eyes. His 'seeing' penetrates into the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, ... and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Iesous says that the possessors of jaundiced eyes cannot see accurately because they have log obstructed eyes. Therefore accurate perception is skewed and limited thereby. It is really their internal misery that they really see when they harass others with their lofty disapproval. They are not free inside therefore the world must bear the chagrin of their bondage. This is the meddlesome essence of projection. The cure, of course is to remove the log from one's own eye. This is a call to massive courage. It is to risk seeing what has long been refused to see for whatever reason. But it is vital if one is to have a healthy spiritual life.
God excepts the ones enslaved to jaundiced eyes too. I can remember when I was in the grips of this all too common spiritual disease, and when the temptation returns I know that I can go to the Great Eye Physician and get a check up. I stay away from persons who cleverly hide their logs behind pious masks. Communion with God is very good medicine.
Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Troubled Bones
"Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled." Psalms 6:2
The poet is stricken by some deep disappointment or grief. He has been shaken by his situation so much so that he confesses to the LORD what the LORD already knows only too well: "... I am weak." The poet is gifted in acute self-analysis. He has moved beyond any philosophical reflection on his condition. He has nothing left but wounded nakedness.
There is no multiplication of useless adjectives to hurl upon the divine majesty. Worship is joined to grief, and he wants Yahweh to meet him where he is. This is a hard place for the poet, but it is also a good place too. Pressure has a way of getting us to concentrate upon the decisions that we have fashioned upon the anvil of personal desire. Tenacious pressure has a way of unceremoniously deflating self-mocking hubris.
Yahweh waits to answer us sometimes. When we need Him right now His waiting seems too long. Trouble makes us long for our real home because trouble exposes the illusion of our place here in this world. We engage in remarkable self-injury when we are single-eyed about this world of power politics and metallic moral surfaces.
"O LORD, heal me is worship and prayer. Here worship and prayer are intermixed with grief. There is no peace or shalom in his heart. His heart is in pain and he asks Yahweh to heal him. He tells Yahweh that he hurts so much that his bones are troubled. Here is a species of mind-body medicine from the biblical materials.
The heart and body are unitary. We are body-soul. We are beings who can be impacted by stressful events so much that we can injure our bodies. Chronic stress can cause our immune system to lower its efficiency and expose us to dis-ease. My bones are troubled is scientifically sound. Check out the journals on Mind/Body Medicine.
We need God all the time. Our souls require his presence, and so do our bodies. The very cells of our bodies need the Lord for optimal functioning and longevity. Do you need Yahweh to help you where you are? Do you need healing? Go to Him and cast yourself upon his mercy.
Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
The poet is stricken by some deep disappointment or grief. He has been shaken by his situation so much so that he confesses to the LORD what the LORD already knows only too well: "... I am weak." The poet is gifted in acute self-analysis. He has moved beyond any philosophical reflection on his condition. He has nothing left but wounded nakedness.
There is no multiplication of useless adjectives to hurl upon the divine majesty. Worship is joined to grief, and he wants Yahweh to meet him where he is. This is a hard place for the poet, but it is also a good place too. Pressure has a way of getting us to concentrate upon the decisions that we have fashioned upon the anvil of personal desire. Tenacious pressure has a way of unceremoniously deflating self-mocking hubris.
Yahweh waits to answer us sometimes. When we need Him right now His waiting seems too long. Trouble makes us long for our real home because trouble exposes the illusion of our place here in this world. We engage in remarkable self-injury when we are single-eyed about this world of power politics and metallic moral surfaces.
"O LORD, heal me is worship and prayer. Here worship and prayer are intermixed with grief. There is no peace or shalom in his heart. His heart is in pain and he asks Yahweh to heal him. He tells Yahweh that he hurts so much that his bones are troubled. Here is a species of mind-body medicine from the biblical materials.
The heart and body are unitary. We are body-soul. We are beings who can be impacted by stressful events so much that we can injure our bodies. Chronic stress can cause our immune system to lower its efficiency and expose us to dis-ease. My bones are troubled is scientifically sound. Check out the journals on Mind/Body Medicine.
We need God all the time. Our souls require his presence, and so do our bodies. The very cells of our bodies need the Lord for optimal functioning and longevity. Do you need Yahweh to help you where you are? Do you need healing? Go to Him and cast yourself upon his mercy.
Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The One Who Lifts My Head
"But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head." Psalm3:3
The psalmist is alarmed, and is taken aback by the number of enemies that have laid siege to his well-being. Those who trouble him have increased without apology. It is his perspective that "many are they who rise up against me (v.1)." There is the solitary "I" against the "many" who threaten to overthrow the sacred space. The psalmist has found out that his enemies do not care about his cultivated sacred space.
His solitude is of no concern to his enemies. They see his resolve to live for God and they therefore initiate exquisite torture of him. They marshal a collective and dismal assault upon his faith. They attack him through a spurious theological proposition. They launch an attack upon his heart. They say, "There is no help for him in God (v.2)." Your faith in God is precious. It is the treasure that sets you apart and makes you the target of tenacious opposition.
His enemies want to eat him up with words dipped in the poison of acrimony. They are masters of theological darkness. They carefully watch to see if their words have taken root in your soul and watch you grimace and writhe as the poison makes its way through your heart. They administer spiritual curare so that you become paralyzed and unable to move. You can only watch your misery.
Their collective candor about you is chillingly destructive. But you have a resource at your disposal that they cannot imagine. The secret of the Almighty is with those who trust him. The eyes of the LORD run to and fro through the earth beholding the good (tob) and evil (ra).
In spite of their efforts to supplant your life, you stand because it is with you. He is your shield right at this very moment. He is protecting you from your enemies because you are trusting in Him. Stand fast and let God lead you to victory by faith. God is the One who lifts up your head.
Are you hurting today because soul-damaging words have been spoken about you? Or are you still hurting over something that was said about you in the past?
You need to give those hurtful words that have become embedded within your psyche to God. Surrender ownership of these hurtful words through forgiveness. Forgiveness is the snakebite kit for the spiritual life. Forgiveness is the antidote that also cleanses the wound left by our sinful reactions to those who have sinned against us.
Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich's teaching ministry, please visit his website.
The psalmist is alarmed, and is taken aback by the number of enemies that have laid siege to his well-being. Those who trouble him have increased without apology. It is his perspective that "many are they who rise up against me (v.1)." There is the solitary "I" against the "many" who threaten to overthrow the sacred space. The psalmist has found out that his enemies do not care about his cultivated sacred space.
His solitude is of no concern to his enemies. They see his resolve to live for God and they therefore initiate exquisite torture of him. They marshal a collective and dismal assault upon his faith. They attack him through a spurious theological proposition. They launch an attack upon his heart. They say, "There is no help for him in God (v.2)." Your faith in God is precious. It is the treasure that sets you apart and makes you the target of tenacious opposition.
His enemies want to eat him up with words dipped in the poison of acrimony. They are masters of theological darkness. They carefully watch to see if their words have taken root in your soul and watch you grimace and writhe as the poison makes its way through your heart. They administer spiritual curare so that you become paralyzed and unable to move. You can only watch your misery.
Their collective candor about you is chillingly destructive. But you have a resource at your disposal that they cannot imagine. The secret of the Almighty is with those who trust him. The eyes of the LORD run to and fro through the earth beholding the good (tob) and evil (ra).
In spite of their efforts to supplant your life, you stand because it is with you. He is your shield right at this very moment. He is protecting you from your enemies because you are trusting in Him. Stand fast and let God lead you to victory by faith. God is the One who lifts up your head.
Are you hurting today because soul-damaging words have been spoken about you? Or are you still hurting over something that was said about you in the past?
You need to give those hurtful words that have become embedded within your psyche to God. Surrender ownership of these hurtful words through forgiveness. Forgiveness is the snakebite kit for the spiritual life. Forgiveness is the antidote that also cleanses the wound left by our sinful reactions to those who have sinned against us.
Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich's teaching ministry, please visit his website.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
The Intrinsic Necessity of Sacred Space
"Then the LORD said, 'There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock." Exodus 33:21
This is an amazing account of special revelation. Moses told Yahweh that if your Presence (Faces) do not go with us, do not send us up from here. How else will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth (vs.15-16).
Yahweh agrees to go with Moses as he has requested. And then Moses said to Yahweh show me your glory.
The powerful request of Moses is granted, and then Yahweh said to him that he would cause all of his goodness to pass in front of Moses. It is interesting that the request of Moses is granted in a dynamic manner. Moses' encounter is intrinsic to his mission-call. He knows that he has been entrusted with a great work but he does not really know its depth.
"And the Lord said, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name (shem) the LORD, in your presence(v.19)." Yahweh's self-revelation to Moses is dynamic and tenaciously practical. The mission of Moses must become living, dynamic, and filled with the presence of Yahweh. The living God passes before Moses and 'preaches' the divine character to him. Moses must be assured of the character of God once again as he takes another step in God's mission for him.
Many of us in ministry, and those who are not in ministry are in constant need of the presence of Yahweh. The journey through the wilderness of the world require the assurance of God's presence. We all have the need to be reassured that he will never leave or forsake us. As our lives are dynamic and filled with both positive and negative stresses we need God to meet us in a sacred space.
The sacred space is a place where we can be near Him, and stand on a rock when it seems that we are slipping in our faith walk. Within the sphere of the sacred space I can tell him of my deepest need and then allow him to proclaim his presence with me. He refreshes me within the sacred space. He fills me with himself, and restores my soul. He leads me besides the quiet waters. His goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the House of the LORD (sacred space) forever.
Beloved ones if you do not have have a sacred space create one with Him. If you avail yourself of it you will prosper in your spirit, soul-mind, and body. Blessing to You.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
This is an amazing account of special revelation. Moses told Yahweh that if your Presence (Faces) do not go with us, do not send us up from here. How else will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth (vs.15-16).
Yahweh agrees to go with Moses as he has requested. And then Moses said to Yahweh show me your glory.
The powerful request of Moses is granted, and then Yahweh said to him that he would cause all of his goodness to pass in front of Moses. It is interesting that the request of Moses is granted in a dynamic manner. Moses' encounter is intrinsic to his mission-call. He knows that he has been entrusted with a great work but he does not really know its depth.
"And the Lord said, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name (shem) the LORD, in your presence(v.19)." Yahweh's self-revelation to Moses is dynamic and tenaciously practical. The mission of Moses must become living, dynamic, and filled with the presence of Yahweh. The living God passes before Moses and 'preaches' the divine character to him. Moses must be assured of the character of God once again as he takes another step in God's mission for him.
Many of us in ministry, and those who are not in ministry are in constant need of the presence of Yahweh. The journey through the wilderness of the world require the assurance of God's presence. We all have the need to be reassured that he will never leave or forsake us. As our lives are dynamic and filled with both positive and negative stresses we need God to meet us in a sacred space.
The sacred space is a place where we can be near Him, and stand on a rock when it seems that we are slipping in our faith walk. Within the sphere of the sacred space I can tell him of my deepest need and then allow him to proclaim his presence with me. He refreshes me within the sacred space. He fills me with himself, and restores my soul. He leads me besides the quiet waters. His goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the House of the LORD (sacred space) forever.
Beloved ones if you do not have have a sacred space create one with Him. If you avail yourself of it you will prosper in your spirit, soul-mind, and body. Blessing to You.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
Friday, September 7, 2012
The Faces of God
"The LORD replied, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14
Moses enjoyed a special relationship with Yahweh. Moses was the leader of Yahweh's people and therefore he was entrusted with a difficult and demanding task. In this particular chapter Moses is told that he is to lead the people of Yahweh "...into the land that I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", saying, "I will give it to your descendants (v.1)."
Yahweh will fulfill his determined will through the human agency of Moses. Yahweh's promises are embedded in history, and not in Canaanite nature religions. This is no easy task for Moses because he is the leader of a nation that bears the collective title of being 'stiff-necked' and Yahweh says that "...I might destroy ...on the way (v.3). Yahweh repeats these words "...I might destroy you on the way (v.5)." Moses is one of the greatest theologians because he is in situ. His experience with Yahweh and his people is in the first person.
Moses realizes that his task is beyond his inherent ability to perform, and he knows that he cannot rely on himself. Given the collective psychology of the people and the logistics of what needs to be done he wisely takes the matter to Yahweh. Moses needs the strength of Yahweh to fulfill his ministry. He also knows that there is no turning back and he cannot run away from the ministry that Yahweh has placed upon his shoulders. This is real ministry not certificated by sheepskin or alphabets arranged behind one's name. It is ministry that requires faithfulness to the end. One cannot and dare not walk away without great consequence.
Moses is called of Yahweh for this great task. Moses knows the behavior of sheep and long before Piaget, Skinner and others used observational psychology Yahweh used it to train Moses. But for Moses it was not mere subject-object observational psychology. Moses was embedded with the sheep so that he could learn of himself too. His training was I-Thou. The living human document was encountered immediately and without the veil of some arcane theory.
Moses says to Yahweh that he cannot perform his living theological task without His power. Moses knows that he needs Yahweh. He knows that Yahweh has provided his people with Torah, and that Yahweh's power alone can move his people from the mud pits of Egypt to the majesty of the Promised Land.
Yahweh told Moses (Moshe) that his Presence (Heb. Faces) would go with him and give him rest. The Faces of Yahweh are situation-specific, and what Moses would need at any time would be given to him.
Do you need the Faces of Yahweh in your life? Has Yahweh called you to lead his people in some manner? Are you tempted to give up? Are you full of excuses for not doing Yahweh's will? Don't give up. It's always too soon to quit.
Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
Moses enjoyed a special relationship with Yahweh. Moses was the leader of Yahweh's people and therefore he was entrusted with a difficult and demanding task. In this particular chapter Moses is told that he is to lead the people of Yahweh "...into the land that I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", saying, "I will give it to your descendants (v.1)."
Yahweh will fulfill his determined will through the human agency of Moses. Yahweh's promises are embedded in history, and not in Canaanite nature religions. This is no easy task for Moses because he is the leader of a nation that bears the collective title of being 'stiff-necked' and Yahweh says that "...I might destroy ...on the way (v.3). Yahweh repeats these words "...I might destroy you on the way (v.5)." Moses is one of the greatest theologians because he is in situ. His experience with Yahweh and his people is in the first person.
Moses realizes that his task is beyond his inherent ability to perform, and he knows that he cannot rely on himself. Given the collective psychology of the people and the logistics of what needs to be done he wisely takes the matter to Yahweh. Moses needs the strength of Yahweh to fulfill his ministry. He also knows that there is no turning back and he cannot run away from the ministry that Yahweh has placed upon his shoulders. This is real ministry not certificated by sheepskin or alphabets arranged behind one's name. It is ministry that requires faithfulness to the end. One cannot and dare not walk away without great consequence.
Moses is called of Yahweh for this great task. Moses knows the behavior of sheep and long before Piaget, Skinner and others used observational psychology Yahweh used it to train Moses. But for Moses it was not mere subject-object observational psychology. Moses was embedded with the sheep so that he could learn of himself too. His training was I-Thou. The living human document was encountered immediately and without the veil of some arcane theory.
Moses says to Yahweh that he cannot perform his living theological task without His power. Moses knows that he needs Yahweh. He knows that Yahweh has provided his people with Torah, and that Yahweh's power alone can move his people from the mud pits of Egypt to the majesty of the Promised Land.
Yahweh told Moses (Moshe) that his Presence (Heb. Faces) would go with him and give him rest. The Faces of Yahweh are situation-specific, and what Moses would need at any time would be given to him.
Do you need the Faces of Yahweh in your life? Has Yahweh called you to lead his people in some manner? Are you tempted to give up? Are you full of excuses for not doing Yahweh's will? Don't give up. It's always too soon to quit.
Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The Spiritual One
"But the natural (psuchikos) man receives not the things of the Spirit of Theou : for they are foolishness (moronic) unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man." I Cor. 2:14-15
In these two verses Paul presents a powerful contrast for the saints at Corinth. Even though there is the reality of positional truths that are held in common among members of the community there is also another reality that is in not commonly shared. Spiritual perspicacity or insight into the deep things of God is not common among the constantly believing ones. There are degrees of spiritual perception.
Emotional words and experiences are not guarantees of spiritual insight through the Spirit of God. Paul wrote that we have received the Spirit of God that we might know the things that we have been freely given by Him. It is wonderful that we can have immediate cognition of spiritual benefits from God himself apart from any human agency.
Just think how many would be left out of this vital knowledge if mediated solely through human agency. Spiritual insight is so vial to us that God alone gives it to us through his Spirit. God wants us to know him without any obstacle.
When the Iesous died on the cross the Graphe (Scriptures) record that the veil of the temple rent in two. We all have access to God through the person of the Iesous, and with this access comes divine knowledge.
The source of this knowledge is God. It is not knowledge that can be derived from human libraries in which much of the 'knowledge ' is outmoded or outdated by the time that books were printed. This knowledge is present tense and is filled with living spiritual insight.
We are breath and this knowledge builds up our spirits. It draws us closer to God because it enlightens our hearts about the love of God. It teaches us that we are valued by God. This knowledge is super-cultural and it is trans-cultural. It is for all of God's saints regardless of social standing or dermal hue.
Note that through growing in spiritual awareness we can increase both our natural and spiritual IQs.
However, the merely psychological person or the person who is governed solely by the animal appetites cannot or more accurately does not have spiritual insight because it is moronic to him. He is able to spin fallacious arguments to defend his viewpoint without the realization of the circular nature of his enterprise. It is his determined volitional effort to stand against the reality of spiritual truth. His world of mere sensory experience is enough for him. He has deliberately cut himself off from the spiritual world and its magnificent vistas.
He constantly surrenders to the self-victimization of another 'reasonable' or 'plausible' explanation of the meaning of life. He is intoxicated by the numbing beverage of the merely human. God is not in all of his thoughts. The spiritual perception that Paul speaks of is the heritage of all of those who trust in God. Choose God's gift of spiritual perception today and step into the awesome realm of the One who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
In these two verses Paul presents a powerful contrast for the saints at Corinth. Even though there is the reality of positional truths that are held in common among members of the community there is also another reality that is in not commonly shared. Spiritual perspicacity or insight into the deep things of God is not common among the constantly believing ones. There are degrees of spiritual perception.
Emotional words and experiences are not guarantees of spiritual insight through the Spirit of God. Paul wrote that we have received the Spirit of God that we might know the things that we have been freely given by Him. It is wonderful that we can have immediate cognition of spiritual benefits from God himself apart from any human agency.
Just think how many would be left out of this vital knowledge if mediated solely through human agency. Spiritual insight is so vial to us that God alone gives it to us through his Spirit. God wants us to know him without any obstacle.
When the Iesous died on the cross the Graphe (Scriptures) record that the veil of the temple rent in two. We all have access to God through the person of the Iesous, and with this access comes divine knowledge.
The source of this knowledge is God. It is not knowledge that can be derived from human libraries in which much of the 'knowledge ' is outmoded or outdated by the time that books were printed. This knowledge is present tense and is filled with living spiritual insight.
We are breath and this knowledge builds up our spirits. It draws us closer to God because it enlightens our hearts about the love of God. It teaches us that we are valued by God. This knowledge is super-cultural and it is trans-cultural. It is for all of God's saints regardless of social standing or dermal hue.
Note that through growing in spiritual awareness we can increase both our natural and spiritual IQs.
However, the merely psychological person or the person who is governed solely by the animal appetites cannot or more accurately does not have spiritual insight because it is moronic to him. He is able to spin fallacious arguments to defend his viewpoint without the realization of the circular nature of his enterprise. It is his determined volitional effort to stand against the reality of spiritual truth. His world of mere sensory experience is enough for him. He has deliberately cut himself off from the spiritual world and its magnificent vistas.
He constantly surrenders to the self-victimization of another 'reasonable' or 'plausible' explanation of the meaning of life. He is intoxicated by the numbing beverage of the merely human. God is not in all of his thoughts. The spiritual perception that Paul speaks of is the heritage of all of those who trust in God. Choose God's gift of spiritual perception today and step into the awesome realm of the One who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Blessings to you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
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