Taking Offence

 In the scriptures, the term "Offence" often refers to doing actual harm to someone, but in our culture today, people often take offence when no actual harm was done.  Offence is often taken just because a person has an emotional response to an outside stimuli, and can even be taken from their own imaginations of whatever they assume is happening.  This obviously places the person who takes offence when no harm was actually done, into the category of a controller, manipulator, etc.  Remember, this is when no damage was done.  Yet, a person who does damage to others, is an offender.  Even though it is up to the person who was harmed to forgive, the person who did the harm is also required to repent.  This reveals an interesting thought; To even take offence when the damage was intentionally caused, seems a poor choice, since we are trying to follow the example of the Saviour and forgive, which is not always an easy task.  Yet for our Lord's sake, we must try!  

My advice is simple; Do not take offence when the offence was not intentional.  Do not take offence when the offence was intentional.  Instead, try to solve the situation, so everyone can move forward.  

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Hoe Your Own Row

"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."  

~ Matthew 7:3-5

I see this scripture as great advice, to be in a better position to help others!  

I grew up on a tobacco farm.  And one of the biggest jobs in the summer was to hoe the weeds out of the rows of tobacco.  This job had a strange aspect to it though.  As a person walked down the rows all day long looking at sand and tobacco plants with the odd weed, the mind started to play tricks.  The mind started to self-correct what it saw, into what it wanted to see.  In other words, the mind started to miss seeing the weeds from time to time.  Then upon looking back, the weeds were visible.  But, if a person never looked back at their own row, then they would never be able to see their own mistakes.  

I remember watching others hoe their rows, and pointing out when they missed a weed.  My uncle would have great patience with me, but from time to time, he would point out all the weeds I missed.  “Hoe your own row,” he would say.  The more I watched other people’s rows, the more weeds I missed in my own row.  The more I watched for mistakes in others, the more I could not see my own mistakes, the more my own row suffered, the slower I worked, and the slower my own skills improved.  

My uncle was very good at his job, and would take several rows to the end of the field, then work his way back down our rows, helping the work get done much more effectively, while still placing us in the situation to improve our skills.  He could see that the most effective way to help someone, was to watch his own rows first, then he was in a unique position to help others, without hindering their own development.  

This principle applies to many areas of life, and by looking at our own hearts and not trying to catch others in their mistakes, we can increase our own skill, and be in a much better position to effectively help others where we can.  

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Father's Desire For Us

I was trying to think of how to explain the Gospel in a different way, so that it would be easier to see what Father is actually trying to develop us into. But I do think there is a false doctrine that keeps getting in the way, that of God's magic wand. Even though the Gospel is about progression, about becoming, about overcoming, about developing, creating yourself into the person you would like to be, I often hear the belief that, even though I am not perfect, God will just reward me. In other words, the false doctrine of the magic wand is still prevalent.

Father is trying to teach us how to develop ourselves into gods. And to do this, we need to have the skills of a god. This means we need to learn, to practice, to become good at those skills. There is no magic wand! The instructions (commonly known as the commandments) are given to us so we have our choice to develop ourselves as much as we want. As we follow the instructions, we become more and more pure, in heart, in mind, in body, and we pierce the veil. So, it is entirely up to us, how much we develop.

For example: It is terribly difficult to pierce the veil with impure thoughts. If a person has filled their thoughts with contemplations of bad images, then when praying: what do they see? The instructions of God are instructions to make us pure. The instructions of our Heavenly Father are there to help us become pure, so we can stand before God, and do what He does.

So, instead of worrying about punishment and reward, or the magic wand, we need to understand that it is up to us to become what it is we want to become. Instead of thinking, God will reward me, by waving His magic wand over me, and letting me go to the Celestial Kingdom, make yourself into a Celestial being. Become celestial! That way, anywhere you go, you will be Celestial. Anywhere you go will be Celestial! When Father comes to the earth, the area immediately surrounding Him is Celestial. Just as it was with Moses, and Joseph, the Glory of God shone round about them, as if the groves were on fire, yet nothing consumed. It can be the same with you! It is not about getting a reward of going to the Celestial Kingdom, it is about becoming a Celestial person. Father cannot shake pixie dust on us and make us Celestial, that would violate agency, but He can show us how to be a Celestial person ourselves, and we can then be just like Him.

We really need to get this doctrine into us, so that we can progress, and fill the measure of our creation. After all, we were created to become Gods!

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Transference

I feel a great deal of compassion on those who have come out of churches that are led by popes and presidents which hold absolute authority over the eternal welfare of their constituents.  Often these folk, who come out of such churches, go through a grieving process(shock, denial, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression, acceptance, etc.), and are suspicious of anything that may or may not resemble the society from which they fled, and thereby spend all their time looking for fault, instead of looking for the good in all things.  This transference is a very common phenomena, requiring specific treatment options.  These unfortunate people spend their time pulling down all those who may have something to offer for their healing, and in so doing become twice the child of hell than those who once ruled over them.  The victims have become the persecutors!  God cannot justify those who do evil to others, just because evil was done to them.  He most certainly does not justify the degradation of the innocent, just because an evil person took advantage of you.  In fact, even Justice herself stands against you seeking to pull down those who have risen up.  Only a coward would go after someone who did them no harm.  If you are so right, stand against the doctrines of the church which did you wrong, instead of picking on those who have helped you.  Stand up for the doctrines of the Messiah, be forgiving, kind, loving, merciful, etc.  Even forgive those in the previous church who have wronged you.  Repent now, before it is everlastingly too late! 

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Selfishness

3. Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others.  Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  

4.  Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.   

Philippians 2:3-4  NIV  

Life in the Gospel is often an adventure.  Even though we go to church to find peace, to rest, to recharge, it is often the most difficult part of the week.  In church, are all kinds of people.  There are many selfish people that are only looking out for themselves, and can really only see their own situation in life.  And so we hear the comment, "I do not like going to church because the people there are not living the Gospel."  Well, this is true!  Many people do not live the Gospel.  They are much more interested in just looking out for their own interests, making themselves look good, taking advantage of others, etc.  And yet, that is what we are here for.  Who will help these people if not you?  Who will show forth a good example, patience in long-suffering, to help these selfish people, if not you?  

We often want to serve God, and sometimes dream about being sent to a foreign nation, returning in triumph like Jonah, having converted the entire city.  And yet, here are the Ninivites, right here at church!  Can we have patience in long-suffering, always showing forth good examples to those whom the Lord has placed in our lives?  Can we strive with the members at church, until all of them are converted?  

"But these are not nice people.  They insult me, they hurt me, they spread rumors about me.  I have never done any of those things to them!"  Yes, of course!  Sometimes others are oblivious to the evil they do, and other times, they know very well the evil they do.  But what about us?  We need to do right before God.  We need to be good, no matter what the other members do to us.  All this and more happened to many in the Scriptures, good people being beat, tortured, imprisoned, and even killed.  Yet, they kept the faith!  Even our Saviour kept the faith.  Are we better than He?  Let us be good, even when bad things are done to us on purpose.  

Let us give up our selfishness, and keep striving with those who are not yet converted to the Father.  Let us be humble, for they are worth as much as we are.  Let us not look to our own self-interests, but look to their eternal salvation.  

Remember, we are only here for a short season; we can do this!  

May God bless you all.  

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Learning From Example

Were you not close enough to a great king to learn by his example?
~ Saladin, Kingdom of Heaven.

In the movie, Kingdom of Heaven, the king of Jerusalem is always trying to make and keep peace, even among generational enemies. When the old king dies, a new king comes into power, and things change. The new king, filled with pride, actually thought he was just as smart as the old king, and therefore did not learn the example that was right in front of him. And when he did his own ideas, he did not get the same results. In fact, he lost the kingdom, and his people had to suffer! 

It has been said: There are many paths which lead to the top of the mountain, and although this may be true, there are easier paths, and harder paths. There are safer paths, and there are paths which are more dangerous! And if the Lord Yeshua Himself, comes to show us the path back into the presence of the Father, and Yeshua shows by the results that His path works, and tells us that His is the only path which will get us back into the presence of Father, and proves this by the results of His path, then should we believe Him and follow His path? 

The new king, filled with pride, thought his method was just as valid as the method of the previous king, yet it did not produce the same results. This led to great suffering of his people, and the loss of the kingdom, the loss of his life, the loss of Jerusalem. All because he thought his ideas were just as valid as the ideas of the great king before him. 

Are we close enough to the Great King Jehovah to learn by His example? If not, how do we know what ideas are in line with His proven method, or what ideas are our own? I submit, it is the Spirit of Holiness which we must acquire, in order to know what ideas of which the Saviour does approve. The great Spirit of Holiness will lead us into Holier, and Holier paths. The way to tell is, if the results are Holy. 

I remember a time when a young person in my stewardship told me of a different approach than the one I was using, to which the Spirit of Holiness bore immediate witness. I instantly apologized and changed to that Holier approach, and the results were undeniable! There have been many such examples in my life, which have alleviated suffering as a direct result. 

When a person comes into your life, who has the results you desire, and offers to share the method to get those results, how do you respond? Do you inflate your pride, and say, "My way is just as valid as your way!" Or, do you immediately give up your way, for the proven method? 

Even if a person has not yet witnessed the life of the Saviour, and exactly how He did things to get the proven results, we can apply to the Holy Spirit of Promise, and be led into Holier and Holier paths, which will alleviate suffering caused by our own approach. 

Are you not close enough to the Great King to learn by his example?

Diet Vs Lifestyle

When we are young, we often have a joyful lifestyle more conducive to a lean body. All the running around, happily playing with the other children, the constant growth, keeps us much more healthy. This is often the same in the Gospel. In the beginning, we are learning, growing, running around making new friends, becoming a part of things. This keeps us healthy and growing in the Gospel. We can get into good Gospel shape!

Then when we grow up, we tend to slow down on these different features of a healthy lifestyle, which leads to the extra weight, cynical attitude, depression, lack of growth, and overall poor health. The same in the Gospel. As we "grow up" and settle down in the Gospel, we gain a few extra vices, cynical attitude, depression begins to set in, experience a lack of growth, and generally obtain poor Gospel Health! Well, we need to change all that!

Let us re-visit the beginning:

In the beginning, we were introduced to an exciting new goal, a new way of looking at things, new things to accomplish. This is the same today, let us make an exciting new goal!

Second, we learned and learned. We fed that goal. We focused pretty hard on the goal, and fed ourselves loads of new material, researching all the things we needed to accomplish that goal. With all the moving toward our new goals, we naturally did not ingest the old inputs. This got us healthy! And we moved forward quickly.

Third, we exercised a lot! We got involved. We got a new calling, we started going to more meetings, we shaped, and shared, our new outlook with many people, we participated!!!

Fourth, We spent a lot of time in prayer, and meditation, contemplating every aspect we could. We stretched our minds and hearts. We found peace to our souls, in the promise of Eternal Life!

And all this revolved around our Love for our Heavenly Father and His Son! In which regard, we were constantly analyzing ourselves, striving to improve, looking at the harsh reality of ourselves, and changing ourselves deeper and deeper, in response to which, we felt that ever burning witness of the Holy Ghost, the messenger of Heavenly Father, letting us know that we are on the right path, that we are loved, that the course of life we are pursuing is acceptable to Him! What a beautiful memory.

And all this can be yours again. Let us re-new ourselves, and run the gauntlet again!

May God bless you all.