Mark 11:22-25
"And Iesous answering saith unto them, "Have faith in Theou.""
"For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto the mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."
"Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."
One of the gifts of the Iesous is the power of clarity. He gives the power of accurate spiritual perception.
"Have faith in Theou" is a call to move into the sphere where one can posses the assurance of the sustaining presence of God.
The challenge, however, is to move into the sphere of faith and set aside the sphere of manipulated awareness or conventional empiricism (Empiricism, of course has practical application for one's daily and temporal life).
The constraints of empirical experience mitigates the life of faith. "Have faith in God" means to walk by faith and not by sight (empiricism).
Manipulated sensory awareness keeps us on the boundaries of the spiritual life. The human eye can only perceive only one one millionth of the electromagnetic spectrum. The light that we 'see' during the daytime came from the sun, our local star seven minutes ago. When I look up at the stars at night I am looking back in time.
Faith moves us into the realm where we abandon sensory perception for spiritual perception. It is here we meet Theou.
The Iesous states in this section of scripture that faith is not merely faith. Faith is only as good as the object of faith. Therefore faith in God stands in radical antithesis to any other specimen of faith.
If one has faith in God he can say to the mountain - not this mountain, but the mountain, be removed, and be thou cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart, but believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith.
What is the mountain in your life? Do you want it removed? Have faith in God and he will bring it to pass.
Faith in God empowers us to step out of the well worn tracks of others and embark upon the exciting journey of the new life script of faith-action.
For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Get Out of the Box of Unbelief
"And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed (etherapeuse- super-powerful deliverance out from sickness) them. And he marveled because of their unbelief." Mk. 6:5-6a
Mark is considered to be the oldest Gospel Document. The literary style is noted for brevity and action. In this document the Iesous is present as the incomparable Servant.
Mark has recorded for his readers or auditors a remarkable account of a visit of the Iesous to his 'own country.' On a Sabbath day he entered a synagogue (place of public gathering) in order to teach the Word.
Those who heard him speak were taken aback by the notable power of his teaching so much so that they wanted to know the source of his 'wisdom', and his ability to do mighty works.
The next question revealed what they really thought of him in spite of the empirical evidence before their eyes.
The family of the Iesous lived among them. They could not reconcile the powerful works performed by the Iesous with the fact that they knew his family.
"And they were offended (eskandalizonto - to commit an act or acts that leads someone to ruin albeit not on purpose) at (en - within) him."
They heard his teaching through the veil of an unquestioned premise. The power to really hear and therefore see the evidential power and integrity of the works of the Iesous were dulled by the sickness of unbelief.
Their collective will was compromised by the unconscious premise of suspicion and envy coupled with fear.
What did the presence of his family among them have to do with an opportunity for spiritual healing? Their questions were merely rhetorical and filled with false reasoning.
They manufactured excuses for not believing in the Iesous and his work. He marveled at their entrenched unbelief. He could therefore do no mighty work among them except heal a few sick folk.
Are you surprised by those who decide for spiritual sickness over spiritual health? This phenomenon is more common than one might suspect.
Are you ready to come to the Iesous and allow him to do a mighty work in your life? Step out of the box of unbelief and believe that Theos has a blessing for you.
For more information about Dr. Rich or his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
Mark is considered to be the oldest Gospel Document. The literary style is noted for brevity and action. In this document the Iesous is present as the incomparable Servant.
Mark has recorded for his readers or auditors a remarkable account of a visit of the Iesous to his 'own country.' On a Sabbath day he entered a synagogue (place of public gathering) in order to teach the Word.
Those who heard him speak were taken aback by the notable power of his teaching so much so that they wanted to know the source of his 'wisdom', and his ability to do mighty works.
The next question revealed what they really thought of him in spite of the empirical evidence before their eyes.
The family of the Iesous lived among them. They could not reconcile the powerful works performed by the Iesous with the fact that they knew his family.
"And they were offended (eskandalizonto - to commit an act or acts that leads someone to ruin albeit not on purpose) at (en - within) him."
They heard his teaching through the veil of an unquestioned premise. The power to really hear and therefore see the evidential power and integrity of the works of the Iesous were dulled by the sickness of unbelief.
Their collective will was compromised by the unconscious premise of suspicion and envy coupled with fear.
What did the presence of his family among them have to do with an opportunity for spiritual healing? Their questions were merely rhetorical and filled with false reasoning.
They manufactured excuses for not believing in the Iesous and his work. He marveled at their entrenched unbelief. He could therefore do no mighty work among them except heal a few sick folk.
Are you surprised by those who decide for spiritual sickness over spiritual health? This phenomenon is more common than one might suspect.
Are you ready to come to the Iesous and allow him to do a mighty work in your life? Step out of the box of unbelief and believe that Theos has a blessing for you.
For more information about Dr. Rich or his teaching ministry, please visit his website.
Monday, April 23, 2012
A Meditation on Release from Judging Others
"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged (Lk. 6:37)"
These poignant words address an attitudinal hubris to which most of us are prone. They also reveal a 'sickness unto death' in that the one who judges will in turn be judged.
The term 'judge' is stated in the imperative and therefore means to stop at once a self-imposed behavioral mandate. Furthermore, the word judge is from 'krino' in the Greek New Testament and it means to try someone in a judicial manner, or to divide or separate.
The one who has assumed to judge others and impose a sentence upon them little realizes that he has set the standard by which he will be sentenced. To judge is a double-edged weapon, and the one who wields it not only seeks to mortally wound the soul of another he also inflicts upon himself the identical trauma.
The call of the incomparable Iesous is to listen with the ears of the mind, and recognize the intrinsic necessity to put down the formidable weapon of judging another person. The commandment 'judge not' is coupled with "...and ye shall not be judged."
The inevitable consequences of judging others are set aside when one steps out of the arena of judging. The sentence that was passed upon another and oneself too escapes the tawdry dialectic of mutual condemnation or Mutual Assured Destruction (M.A.D).
Judge not and ye shall not be judged are intrinsic reality. They relieve one of assured self harm and a myopic sense of life. One may not pretend that these words are not real or forebode certain consequences. The fiction of self-deception may create an illusory space for a time but the burden of the fiction will at some point implode the lie bubble.
Give your burdens to the Iesous and he will show you the way to inner peace. Ask him today to relieve you of the need to judge others.
For more information about Dr Josiah Rich and his teachings, please visit his website.
These poignant words address an attitudinal hubris to which most of us are prone. They also reveal a 'sickness unto death' in that the one who judges will in turn be judged.
The term 'judge' is stated in the imperative and therefore means to stop at once a self-imposed behavioral mandate. Furthermore, the word judge is from 'krino' in the Greek New Testament and it means to try someone in a judicial manner, or to divide or separate.
The one who has assumed to judge others and impose a sentence upon them little realizes that he has set the standard by which he will be sentenced. To judge is a double-edged weapon, and the one who wields it not only seeks to mortally wound the soul of another he also inflicts upon himself the identical trauma.
The call of the incomparable Iesous is to listen with the ears of the mind, and recognize the intrinsic necessity to put down the formidable weapon of judging another person. The commandment 'judge not' is coupled with "...and ye shall not be judged."
The inevitable consequences of judging others are set aside when one steps out of the arena of judging. The sentence that was passed upon another and oneself too escapes the tawdry dialectic of mutual condemnation or Mutual Assured Destruction (M.A.D).
Judge not and ye shall not be judged are intrinsic reality. They relieve one of assured self harm and a myopic sense of life. One may not pretend that these words are not real or forebode certain consequences. The fiction of self-deception may create an illusory space for a time but the burden of the fiction will at some point implode the lie bubble.
Give your burdens to the Iesous and he will show you the way to inner peace. Ask him today to relieve you of the need to judge others.
For more information about Dr Josiah Rich and his teachings, please visit his website.
Friday, April 20, 2012
A Prayer Prescription for the Pain of Slander
"Pray for them which despitefully use you." Lk.6:28
'Pray' is a verb. It is here used by the Iesous in a prescriptive sense. It is also enjoined in the imperative impressing upon the auditor/reader that here is a command without apology.
Pray means to ask or request or even to wish. The act of praying is intensely mood altering and therefore mind changing for the one so engaged.
To pray is spiritually assertive. The one who prays is looking out from the limitations of one's own resources and looks expectantly to the unlimited resources of the Theos.
The pray-prescription as given here is a positive response to a not so positive behavior. "Pray for them which despitefully use you." The word 'despitefully' speaks of a ghastly type of behavior. It involves threats, or slander, or even to insult.
In the Old Testament, on the eve of entrance into the Promised Land, Yahweh allowed spies to go in and spy out the land for the people. The majority of the spies created fear and apprehension in the hearts of the people. They uttered a bad report on Yahweh's blessing to the people.
In other words, they slandered the character of Yahweh by their reprehensible report.s Also, in the Old Testament the word 'slander' means to stand against the life of another.
To pray for those who despitefully use us is indeed a prescription to protect our hearts from mirroring behavior that would undermine our spiritual lives.
Has someone despitefully used you? Do you want to do as he or she has done to you? To pray is the way to reframe your mind by releasing your laser-like attention from the spiritual attack upon your person.
Such attacks will always come to us. Therefore become super-prepared by praying without ceasing for those who despitefully use you. We pray that those who have slandered us will be given a new attitude about the interconnection that we share with one another. Hate is a spiritual aberration. The Love of Theos is the intrinsic foundation of all things.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his ministry, please visit his website.
'Pray' is a verb. It is here used by the Iesous in a prescriptive sense. It is also enjoined in the imperative impressing upon the auditor/reader that here is a command without apology.
Pray means to ask or request or even to wish. The act of praying is intensely mood altering and therefore mind changing for the one so engaged.
To pray is spiritually assertive. The one who prays is looking out from the limitations of one's own resources and looks expectantly to the unlimited resources of the Theos.
The pray-prescription as given here is a positive response to a not so positive behavior. "Pray for them which despitefully use you." The word 'despitefully' speaks of a ghastly type of behavior. It involves threats, or slander, or even to insult.
In the Old Testament, on the eve of entrance into the Promised Land, Yahweh allowed spies to go in and spy out the land for the people. The majority of the spies created fear and apprehension in the hearts of the people. They uttered a bad report on Yahweh's blessing to the people.
In other words, they slandered the character of Yahweh by their reprehensible report.s Also, in the Old Testament the word 'slander' means to stand against the life of another.
To pray for those who despitefully use us is indeed a prescription to protect our hearts from mirroring behavior that would undermine our spiritual lives.
Has someone despitefully used you? Do you want to do as he or she has done to you? To pray is the way to reframe your mind by releasing your laser-like attention from the spiritual attack upon your person.
Such attacks will always come to us. Therefore become super-prepared by praying without ceasing for those who despitefully use you. We pray that those who have slandered us will be given a new attitude about the interconnection that we share with one another. Hate is a spiritual aberration. The Love of Theos is the intrinsic foundation of all things.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his ministry, please visit his website.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
A Meditation on the Formula for Spiritual Wellness
"Bless them that curse you." Lk. 6:28
In the same context in which one is enjoined by the Iesous to do good to those who are removed from us by hostility toward us another imperative is given.
We are told to bless (Gk. eulogeo: to speak well of) those that curse us. Again, one must not seek refuge in subtle or overt measures of retaliatory behavior. We must not revert to behavior that repays in like manner or escalate an emotional impasse because of a curse hurled upon us by another.
Contrary to an instinctive reaction of speaking a curse against those who curses us we are to speak well of them. In our text the word curse in the Greek is the term 'Kataraomai' and it means to wish ruin upon another person. It is an icy word filled with loathing and disgust for someone or a group of people.
The Iesous does not want those who seriously receive the words "Follow Me" to fail to realize that one's natural inclinations must be surrendered at the point of accepting the intrinsic invitation to follow him as a habit of life.
"Bless those that curse you," lifts following the Iesous out of the milieu of the merely intellectual and transports one into the qualitatively new world of spiritual wholeness wherein one does not live by reactionary defenses that shrinks one's humanity by feeding on the festering wounds of hostility toward those who desire our ruin.
Bless is the prescription of spiritual freedom from the desire to wish ruin in kind. Bless protects the heart and nourishes the spirit. Bless those that curse you is the formula for spiritual wellness. Bless retrains the focus of the heart to concentrate on appropriate emotions that secure our hearts.
Today you must begin the important journey of speaking well of those who have sought to curse you by terribly inappropriate speech actions or to undo your intrinsic humanity by destructive behavior. Stop continuing their efforts to harm you by investing in emotional reactions that perpetuate their attempt to curse you. Bless you.
For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his ministry, please visit his website.
In the same context in which one is enjoined by the Iesous to do good to those who are removed from us by hostility toward us another imperative is given.
We are told to bless (Gk. eulogeo: to speak well of) those that curse us. Again, one must not seek refuge in subtle or overt measures of retaliatory behavior. We must not revert to behavior that repays in like manner or escalate an emotional impasse because of a curse hurled upon us by another.
Contrary to an instinctive reaction of speaking a curse against those who curses us we are to speak well of them. In our text the word curse in the Greek is the term 'Kataraomai' and it means to wish ruin upon another person. It is an icy word filled with loathing and disgust for someone or a group of people.
The Iesous does not want those who seriously receive the words "Follow Me" to fail to realize that one's natural inclinations must be surrendered at the point of accepting the intrinsic invitation to follow him as a habit of life.
"Bless those that curse you," lifts following the Iesous out of the milieu of the merely intellectual and transports one into the qualitatively new world of spiritual wholeness wherein one does not live by reactionary defenses that shrinks one's humanity by feeding on the festering wounds of hostility toward those who desire our ruin.
Bless is the prescription of spiritual freedom from the desire to wish ruin in kind. Bless protects the heart and nourishes the spirit. Bless those that curse you is the formula for spiritual wellness. Bless retrains the focus of the heart to concentrate on appropriate emotions that secure our hearts.
Today you must begin the important journey of speaking well of those who have sought to curse you by terribly inappropriate speech actions or to undo your intrinsic humanity by destructive behavior. Stop continuing their efforts to harm you by investing in emotional reactions that perpetuate their attempt to curse you. Bless you.
For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his ministry, please visit his website.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
A Meditation on a Most Needed Infection
"...do good..." Lk.6:35
Within the same context in which the Iesous speaks of the obligation to love those who are hostile toward us he adds another surprising imperative. He adds that one must do good (agathopoieite - to do good, i.e. perform an action that will benefit another).
Why would the Iesous join together "Love ye your enemies (hostile ones)" and "do good?" And why would he state these two demands in the ethical imperative?
Paul, the Apostle, wrote: "And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he (the Iesous) reconciled (Col. 1:21)." In other words, we were once hostile toward Theos and he demonstrated his love toward us by sending the incomparable Iesous.
The word for love in the Greek New Testament that expresses the love of Theos for us is agape. It is more than a noun. It is a noun of action. The love of Theos is not passive and neither is it impotent, or sentimental. The love of Theos is intrinsic to his nature or essence. The love of Theos is uncreated and eternal. This is the love that is expressed in the Theanthropos - Iesous. Therefore, when we are enjoined by the Iesous to love those who are hostile toward us he is speaking from the divine ground of action.
Love, real love, is always in the imperative and expresses itself in doing good indiscriminately and without shadowy motives. Doing good is the expression of the inward freedom that one enjoys unencumbered by reaction to the calculated hostility of others.
Love sets us free to do good so that we articulate the love of God by performing actions of benevolence for the advantage of others. This is what C.S. Lewis calls, "Good Infection."
For more information about Dr. Rich or his ministry, please visit his website.
Monday, April 16, 2012
A Meditation on a Prescription for Spiritual Health
But I say unto you which hear, "Love your enemies (echthrous - those who are hostile to you)..." Lk. 6:27
These powerful words were spoken by the Iesous during the Sermon on the Mount. They are an intrinsic part of the fabric of this healing message. To those who were privy to this great event the Iesous addressed them in compassionate and authoritative power.
In Luke's record of this great message the Iesous spoke to those that "...hear." 'Hear' in this context means perception with the 'ear' of the mind. There is a poignancy and urgency to the term hear as if he is preparing the auditor for an unexpected and difficult message.
Next the Iesous says "Love your enemies." Imagine the number of people in the audience who were stunned by these words. Imagine those who were at war with their neighbors and relatives. Imagine saying these words to those who were smarting from the brutalities of the Pax Romana (the peace ? of Rome) of Roman occupation of their country.
These were difficult words to hear with the ear of the mind. Love (agapate) is a Greek noun of action and is placed at the beginning of the sentence to emphasis its imperative nature. Hate is emotional brutality to oneself immediately and to others.
We have powerful excuses for our hate-walls. It is our reaction to an offense whether real or the result of hate training. But the reaction carries with it substantive damage to the body. Cortisol eats away at our organs and compromises us internally. It also erodes our emotional life and ability to love.
When we hate we paradoxically are not punishing the object of our rancor we are wounding ourselves. The premise of hate is false but at the time it 'feels' right - hate is irrational. It is the sanctification of madness.
Love your enemies is a prescription to release yourself from the internal poison of hate. Iesous is the consummate Epidemiologist. He is here addressing a pandemic sin against oneself and others.
Please meditate on his words and don't allow your heart to become stone-like by holding on to hate. Love your enemies is a prescription for spiritual health.
How does one love someone who is hostile? Decide to be a proactive sower of positive regard for others. Look closely at your life and if necessary do some careful thinking. Reversing negative and nonproductive hate thinking behavior will provide a more satisfying life.
For more information about Dr. Rich or his ministry, please visit his website.
These powerful words were spoken by the Iesous during the Sermon on the Mount. They are an intrinsic part of the fabric of this healing message. To those who were privy to this great event the Iesous addressed them in compassionate and authoritative power.
In Luke's record of this great message the Iesous spoke to those that "...hear." 'Hear' in this context means perception with the 'ear' of the mind. There is a poignancy and urgency to the term hear as if he is preparing the auditor for an unexpected and difficult message.
Next the Iesous says "Love your enemies." Imagine the number of people in the audience who were stunned by these words. Imagine those who were at war with their neighbors and relatives. Imagine saying these words to those who were smarting from the brutalities of the Pax Romana (the peace ? of Rome) of Roman occupation of their country.
These were difficult words to hear with the ear of the mind. Love (agapate) is a Greek noun of action and is placed at the beginning of the sentence to emphasis its imperative nature. Hate is emotional brutality to oneself immediately and to others.
We have powerful excuses for our hate-walls. It is our reaction to an offense whether real or the result of hate training. But the reaction carries with it substantive damage to the body. Cortisol eats away at our organs and compromises us internally. It also erodes our emotional life and ability to love.
When we hate we paradoxically are not punishing the object of our rancor we are wounding ourselves. The premise of hate is false but at the time it 'feels' right - hate is irrational. It is the sanctification of madness.
Love your enemies is a prescription to release yourself from the internal poison of hate. Iesous is the consummate Epidemiologist. He is here addressing a pandemic sin against oneself and others.
Please meditate on his words and don't allow your heart to become stone-like by holding on to hate. Love your enemies is a prescription for spiritual health.
How does one love someone who is hostile? Decide to be a proactive sower of positive regard for others. Look closely at your life and if necessary do some careful thinking. Reversing negative and nonproductive hate thinking behavior will provide a more satisfying life.
For more information about Dr. Rich or his ministry, please visit his website.
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