The Object of Biblical Mindfulness Meditation (Iesous)

"Looking unto Iesous the author and finisher of our faith: who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down on the right hand of the throne of God."  Heb. 12:20

There is an intrinsic demarcation between the constantly believing ones and the cosmos-world.  It is due to the reality of a vital relationship with God.  I say vital relationship with God because it is in fact a living, organic, and dynamic relationship that we possess.  One can possess a vital relationship with God despite one's circumstances. (Read Job)

Circumstances are powerful experiences whether good or bad as subjectively evaluated.  The writer to the Hebrews knew that adversity can be a compelling witness of the seal of God in our hearts.  This seal is not visible to us and, we are not conscious of its presence, but it is there in our hearts.

We must lay aside every weight and the sin that doth easily beset us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us.  We have need of endurance.  We know that this race is not given to the swift and neither is it given to the strong.  Indeed, it is given to those who submit to the lessons of divinely allowed trials.  These trials teach us to leverage the resources of God.

The greatest resource of God is the person of Iesous.  The divinely tested character of Iesous is our archetype of endurance.  We must learn to maintain a protracted gaze upon the person of the Iesous.  This is a prescription for our spiritual well-being.

Remember, beloved when Peter wanted to step out of the boat and walk to Iesou he was not told that this was impossible. On the contrary, he was told "Come" and he moved out of the boat by faith.  Iesous is the object and content of biblical mindfulness meditation.  He is the Parakletos or the Comfortis for the believer.  He is the Strong One who comes along side of the threatening circumstances and me.  He encourages me in may trials.  He walks with me in the fiery furnace of affliction, and I emerge therefrom without the evidence of being fire-scorched, and neither is there the distinctive smell of smoke upon my garments.  I am more than a survivor, I am a super-conqueror through Iesous.  Get to know your Savior.  Get to know Iesous.

Peter's protracted gaze upon Iesous enabled him to walk by faith and, not by sight.  We will be tested by storms, but we have God to strengthen and encourage us within the storms.  It is when Peter took his gaze off of the Iesous, and tapped into the 'impossible lobe' of his mind that he began to sink into the watery abyss.

Looking to the Iesous heals my doubt and irresolute ways, therefore changes my character to be more like Him.  Remember, we become what we behold.

Blessings to you.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow his blog and visit his website.

Don't Give Up

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."  Galatians 6:9

The standard Pauline approach is to elucidate doctrine, and then establish the ethical conduct that should flow from it.  The Galatian believing ones had been under fierce assault from those who sought to teach them an erroneous, both/and, gospel in radical contrast to the uncompromising, either/or, teaching of Paul.  There is no dialectical formula to the Gospel.

The battle for spiritual integrity is hard.  The battle for spiritual fidelity can result in the 'Shaking of the Foundations.'

The enemy of our Faith will sometimes press upon you very reasonable and sensible suggestions why it is understandable under the circumstances that you should quit.  People will understand, after all they have witnesses your great struggle for the Faith.  When we desire to quit our minds can conjure up any number of reasons to quit the journey.

We were never promised that the journey would be easy or without treachery. Our hearts may long for the comforting illusion of the so-called comfort zone.  We must remember that our comfort zone is no where on this earth, it is in Iesous.  Paul knew this as the controlling dynamic of his life.  Conflict in this world makes us desire the comfort of our real home.  We are not out of the cosmos-world as a source.

Do not quit.  I say this to you as one who has been tempted to quit, and find other less demanding and financially more rewarding work.  I don't have to tell many of you of the powerful darkness that can sometimes demand surrender or at least compromise.  "Its ok to compromise," some say to you.  "God understands" the power of the flesh, or "don't be so extreme."  

Paul wants us to realize that we must stand firm in the midst of the conflict.  We are sometimes brought upon the world stage for ridicule and reproach.  There are times when we may be tempted to feel shame for a situation that has come suddenly into our lives.  Stand firm beloved, and do not lose heart or faint away.  The trial of your Faith is precious before Iesou.

Be assured that we shall reap a great reward if we do not give up, and leave the battle field.  Most certainly real ministry is thankless, and filled with hurt.  In due season we shall reap if we do not give up.

What are you facing today that has you thinking that the struggle is too hard?  Who is asking you to compromise your marriage or relationship with God?  Who has compromised you, and made you feel that you cannot get back to God?  Remember that the Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep and goes after the one that went astray.

We have within us the resurrection power of Iesous to provide us with the strength that we need to persevere through trials and charge on to victory.  Before you give up, look up.  Stand fast beloved and watch the salvation of the Lord. He will renew within you a right spirit.

Blessings to you.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow his blog and visit his website.

Iesous 'Smears Over' My Disquieting Thoughts (Anxiety)

"When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."  Psalm 94:19

At a recent meeting with clinical chaplains one of them, a man that is close to my heart was in attendance.  This wonderful man was an attorney in his former life, but now he is ministry.  He had lost his wife to cancer about 5 years ago.  He is still grieving his loss, but he is also thankful that he had her in his life all those years. He loved her so very much, and the feeling of being blessed that she had chosen him as her life partner was a constant source of amazement to him.  He misses her greatly.  He has a close relative who has been diagnosed with cancer, and he has anxiety over the outcome of this situation.

A member of my family is in the midst of trouble.  She is one of the greatest treasures of my life.  I know that he knows this to be true, but she seems to be running from herself.  An unfortunate relationship has left her "a day and a night in the deep" and she is kept from sinking into the deep by God.  I bear anxiety over this situation, and He is keeping me too.

A dear friend of our family was diagnosed with cancer and she was also pregnant.  She was told that she had to give up the baby in order to save her life.  She said no to giving up the baby and they waited as long as they could so that the baby could be near as possible to full term.  We had collective anxiety over this situation.  We prayed fervently that God would move in the midst of this situation and bless.  He answered our prayers.  She delivered  a health baby, and then started the other treatment protocol.  It is now several years later, and she is doing well, and her son is doing well too.  God is good to us.

The poet of this psalm is no stranger to what we experience.  He knew the power of anxiety to control our lives.  Anxiety has been defined as, fearful concern, uneasiness, and apprehension.  The poet said that he experienced disquieting thoughts, and he found himself floundering in uncertainty.  He could  not get control over the threatening witness of his thoughts.  Fear had taken root in his heart, and he could not get free.

He therefore turned to God and found in Him the source of consolation that he so desperately needed.  The word 'consolation' in our text means to stroke, and God did this for the poet, and not only did God stroke the beleaguered poet with merciful concern and love HE also renewed his soul with delight.

This word 'delight' is a powerful tool because it means to 'smear over, to smear the eyes shut.' God smears over the weary eyes of my soul with His healing and restorative balm so that I might see Him.  God enters into my tenacious anxiety and smears His peace over my soul.

Beloved, do you need God to relieve you of some dogged and persistent anxiety today.  Seek Him out in prayer.  Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened.  Blessings to you.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow his blog and visit his website.

No Night There

"And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there."  Rev. 21:25

The apocalyptic vision of John is filled with conflict and hope.  He has written the great document called the 'Revelation' in order to comfort harassed believing ones who have experienced formidable persecution because of their Faith.

The God who cannot lie gave this series of visions to John that he may know that the great "LIE" of unaccountable human autonomy will wear out.

The lie, the great lie that started in Gan-Eden, and the subsequent history of the rise and fall of so many civilizations founded on tenacious hubris.  At the end of man-centered history the intrinsic darkness thereof was caused to cease by divine fiat. The Light shined into the darkness and the darkness the was not powerful to overtake it.

The word for darkness in the Greek Text is 'skotia' and it means the consequences of darkness.  This is the essence of the matter for John.  His theology is characterized by contrast and dichotomy.  Light verses darkness, life verses death, eternal life verses eternal death nothing is ever given over to doubt.  God cannot lie, therefore his word is always trustworthy.

The malignant power of darkness has sank into the abyss from which it emerged.  The powers of darkness are overcome by the Wrath of the Lamb.  I've always marveled over those words 'The Wrath of the Lamb.' Even the Psalmist-Poet wrote that 'He that sits in the heavens laughs' at the insistent and feeble rhetoric of men who believe contrary to commonsense evidence that independent of God he may live forever.  The ingrained lie is not easily removed-it is in fact the primal idolatry.

John can see that the day of darkness is gone and the Day of God is here, and all of the Universe is relieved of the stress of man's imposed rule.  The sacred space now extends to all of the universe.  God is ALL in All and the removal of human power and oppression is greeted by inexpressible joy by the redeemed of the Lord.  Fear has been consigned to the flames of woe-everlastingly so.  MAD or mutually assured destruction  will be a forgotten story.  This was all once upon a time.  Now, however, the Iesous reigns in glory.

God shall wipe away all tears.  Amen.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow his blog and visit his website.

Doublethink: The Institutionalization of Sexual Harassment

I have received training as a Sexual Assault Victim Counselor and Advocate in accordance with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and in compliance with Evidence Code 1035.2 of the State of California.  During one training session the assistant DA told us of a case in which a young man was brought to trial for sexual assault upon a minor female.  There was an incredible amount of evidence presented in the trial by the assistant DA, and other evidence that was not admitted by the judge in the case.

In spite of the evidence, the jury unanimously voted the young man not guilty.  After the trial, the jury waited in the hallway, and gave ‘high fives’ to the individual who opportunistically took advantage of a minor female who must not only bear the indelible wound of the sexual assault, but who must also carry the reality of the insult to her person dealt out by the system that was suppose to protect her rights.

In an article entitled “Ending Men’s Violence Against Women” Ted Bunch said, ” The U.S. Department of Justice reports that men will rape 1 out of 6 women and commit more that 300,000 acts of rape and sexual assault every year.  It is estimated that 84% of rape and sexual assault goes unreported.  In addition, more than 80% of those women and girls will be under the age of 25.  It is a fact that more than 3 out of 4 rapists will know the women they rape.  Men are responsible for a multi-billion  dollar industry that supports and promotes the commercial sexual exploitation, enslavement, and trafficking of women.  The overwhelming majority of the men that do enter the criminal justice system do not experience prosecution and the small percentages that are prosecuted receive little or no penalty.”

This blog in entitled Doublethink because it is a term that adequately depicts our current situation.  Doublethink is a term that I learned from a book called ‘Soul Murder’ by Leonard Shengold, M.D., in which he discusses the nightmarish nature of child abuse with clinical insight and prophetic power.  Doublethink means the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs at the same time, and affirm both without conscious tension.

Our culture has mastered this psychic split as manifested in laws that decry the sexual exploitation and abuse of persons, and yet under free speech support the rights of those who publish materials that portray horrific images of persons being hurled into the abyss of moral ruin for the ‘pleasure’ of others.

There is little if any realization that such malevolent intrigue and preposterous behavior may go on indefinitely.  Our universe, such as we know of it is organic.  It is not merely composed of physic-chemical forces.  It has an intrinsic ethos that is self-correcting.  The belief in  a moral continuum that allows for unrestrained moral license protected by the arcane reasoning of legal fiction will some day collapse under the weight of its own frightful  misdeeds.

In the editor’s introduction to ‘The Grand Inquisitor’ these words are found speaking of the cardinal in the book: ” He suffers from the very deception the he has to practice.”   So it is with those who fantastically believe that they may reduce others to mere objects and not walk away grandly lacking what they have stolen from others-’Soul Murder’ is a mutual affair.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow his blog and visit his website.

Accepted in the Beloved (Iesous) for Sexual Abuse Survivors

"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.

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.