CHECK YOUR FOCUS

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Jim May

What we focus on becomes larger, and the background fades.
Focus draws us into actions whether wise or foolish.
When I focus on not eating ice cream, the Dairy Queen gets larger and larger until I go buy a Blizzard.
Advertisers direct our focus on their products to make them larger when we look on the store shelves.
When I focus on my favorite teams, wins get larger and losses more devastating.
When we focus on our favorite hobby, it becomes larger and takes up more of our time.
When I focus on the end of the world, I miss the present – the only time I have- now.
When I focus on the spiritual battle with the enemy, I have to be careful that I don’t allow the devil to get larger than God.
When I focus on my sin; the “flesh” gets larger and the spirit gets smaller, and sin increases.
When I focus on politics and the decline of the American culture, the world gets larger and the Kingdom of God gets smaller.

But these three enemies – the devil, the flesh and the world – are already conquered…
The devil was crushed on the cross. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:9) Did he do it? You bet. “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Col 2:15)

The flesh was crucified with Christ. “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.” (Rom 6:6, 7)

Jesus conquered the world. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But be of good cheer! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Notice this is past tense.

So why do we focus on defeated enemies? It just makes them larger.
It is an illusion.

Jesus has a revolutionary tactic to defeat our enemies- don’t resist them!’ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Matt 5:38-42 ESV)
He knew that resistance would increase the illusion that they were larger than they are.
When we resist evil, we empower it.
It is true that James says to resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7) But how? Jesus did it by focusing on the truth against his lies. He resisted by saying “it is written…”
He focused on the truth to make the lies flee.

Years ago I was about to buy some books on the devil. As I placed them on the counter and pulled out my credit card, a wise clerk asked, “Why are you buying these?” I explained to him, “Because I was told you have to know your enemy!” Then he said something dripping with wisdom, “Why don’t you get to know the real thing and then you will recognize the counterfeit.” I put the books back on the shelf and put my to focus back on Knowing God. This was Paul’s focus, Phil 3:10 “For my determined purpose is that I may know Him – that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly…” (Phil 3:10 AMP)

King David got it right, “Let us magnify the Lord.”
If I focus on God and His Word, the devil will flee.
If I “walk in the spirit, I will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” (Gal. 5:16)
If I focus on the kingdom of God, the world will fade and continue to destroy itself without my help.

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HOPE WHEN JUSTICE SEEMS ABSENT

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Jim May

THE LAW OF COMPENSATION

For those of you who think the bad guys are winning,
Who think justice has left the world,
Who think the rich and powerful have it easy,
Who think arrogant politicians are not paying for their lust for power,
I was there with you until…
I found comfort in nature’s law of compensation.
Let me explain…
You see, God has written into nature a duality in everything.
Light and dark,
Heat and cold,
Ebb and flow of waves,
Man and woman.
If we empty here, we fill there,
If we miss here, we gain there.
It is comforting to me because every person no matter what their status, high or low, rich or poor, powerful or weak, is bound by this law of compensation, and cannot alter or avoid it. There is always a leveling of experience that puts down the overbearing, the oppressor, the abuser, the strong, the rich, the famous, the fortunate, and puts us all on the same ground.
Every advantage has a tax. (Viewing a documentary on the Rockefellers, I was struck by the heavy burden of great wealth.)
Every sin carries its own punishment in the now, even though justice may be delayed.
The swindler swindles himself.
The greedy steals from himself.
The tyrant oppresses himself.
Emerson wrote over a century ago: “The farmer imagines power and place are fine things. But the President has paid dear for his White House. It has commonly cost him all his peace, and the best of his manly attributes. To preserve for a short time so conspicuous an appearance before the world, he is content to eat dust before the real masters who stand erect behind the throne.”
Hannah expressed the law of compensation. “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more… The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.” (1 Sam 2:4-8 NIV)
Emerson again, “This law writes the laws of cities and nations. It is in vain to build or plot or combine against it. Things refuse to be mismanaged long. Though no checks to a new evil appear, the checks exist, and will appear. If the government is cruel, the governor’s life is not safe. If you tax too high, the revenue will yield nothing. If you make the criminal code sanguinary (eager to shed blood), juries will not convict. If the law is too mild, private vengeance comes in.”
So for us frustrated that we cannot set things right, we can take comfort that God’s law of compensation is at work right now in everything and every person in the world. Compensation is not delayed. It is working now. So relax and know God is taking care of leveling the playing field.

By Jim May

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GOING BLIND

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Jim May

On March 28, 2013, on I-77 outside Galax, Virginia 95 cars were involved in a chain reaction crash in dense fog. Three people were killed and 25 injured. It is very dangerous to follow others who can’t see where they are going. They can lead you into a fatal crash.

Jesus warned about following blind leaders. “They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” (Matt 15:14 NKJV) The most treacherous are those who think they see. “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” (John 9:39 NLT)

How can we avoid blind leaders who think they see? Here are some of the signs to look for…

Hate causes blindness. “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness…. he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” (1 John 2:9-11 NIV). Leaders who divide the country by stirring up hate with tactics such as class envy are blind guides who can’t see where they are going. Those who follow them will crash with them like that chain reaction in a dense fog.

Bribes cause blindness. “Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly.” (Deut 16:19-20 NLT) Bribery today is carried out by lobbyists and special interest groups who “wine and dine” leaders to get favorable rulings. Now I understand why there are so many irrational decisions coming from Washington D.C. Just one example among thousands – The Department of Education only allows only evolution to be taught in schools while the Environmental Protection Agency spends fifteen million to keep a rare spider from evolving into extinction. Money is turning wise men into blind fools.

Criticizing other’s faults causes blindness. The story of the blind leading others into the ditch is followed by the “speck and log” story. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” (Luke 6:41-42) The “log” of our own faults will block our vision until we take care of it first.

Not walking the talk causes blindness. “Who is as blind as my chosen people, the servant of the Lord? You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.” (Isa 42:20) The world tires of people telling others what to do without doing it themselves. The word is hypocrisy and it is a frustrating use of the double-standard.

Trivializing the important and emphasizing the trivial makes us blind. “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith… Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel! (Matt. 23:16, 23) This is a funny. It is like getting water from a filter and drinking it while eating spoiled meat.

Judging by surface appearance makes us blind. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.” ((Matt 23:25, 26 NLT) How wrong I have been judging people by appearance, and not looking at their hearts.

How can we get our sight back? By having the humility to listen, the wisdom to come to the light and filling our hearts with God’s love for everyone.

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SIGNIFICANCE

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Jim May

SIGNIFICANCE

We all want to feel significant.
We all want to leave a positive legacy.
How?
Let me tell you what God thinks is being significant.

A lady of doubtful reputation and little means came to the home of Simon, where Jesus was having dinner. She poured a jar of expensive perfume over his head. The disciples thought it was an awful waste of money that could be given to the poor, and they scolded her for her sacrifice.

Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.” (Mark 14:6-9 NLT)

So here is the simple answer on how to lead a significant life:
Do what you can and don’t try to be significant!
This lady was significant because she did what she could, not what she couldn’t do, and she had no idea that her act of love would be told throughout the world.

Whenever we do an act of kindness, it will ripple out to the world and we know not how or where.

Remember there is a big difference between Christian demands that burn us out and God’s commands that come with the power and ability to do them.

So do what you can and you will be significant to God who has the only vote that counts.

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DEAD MAN YELLING

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Jim May

Who’s yelling at us robbing us of sleep with worries about the future and regrets about the past?
Who’s keeping me awake debating political rivals with perfect logic who don’t even know I exist and don’t care.
Who’s yelling at couples robbing them of peace with escalating irrational arguments and keeping us from connecting in heart?
Who’s yelling in our heads taking us out of the joy of the present?
Who’s yelling at our country dividing us with lies and hatred?
Who is this yelling in the heads of world leaders taking nations into wars nobody wanted?
Paul calls him the Old Man.
Brennan Manning calls him The Imposter.
Paul Tournier calls him The Personage covering up the Person.
Eckhart Tolle calls him The Pain Body.
Others call him The False Self or Ego.
I call him Dead Man Yelling, because he died with Christ (Rom. 6:6), and is only a thought – bad memories and lies.

The Imposter is the false self we created to deal with the pain hurts, and demands of life without the love, comfort, wisdom and grace of God. The Imposter’s method is usually “fight or flight.” He eggs us on to fight with such weapons as anger, vengeance, retaliation, competition, and violence in words or action. The imposter tells others to retreat into such things as withdrawal, depression, defeat, self-deprecation, and even suicide.

This cagy Imposter can take over our identity and bury our True Self deep into our souls and make us act out of what we are not. The False Self can hijack our identity and make our dysfunction seem normal. We don’t know who we are or where we fit in God’s creation. We are out of sync with the unity of God’s universe. We can’t connect with each other. We seem to have learned the wrong lines for the play we are in. We are alone and alienated.

Couples can’t communicate on the same plane.
Mother’s say of wayward sons, “That is not the child I know.”
Churches split on trivial pursuits.
Nations go into wars nobody wants.
The world becomes irrational and plunges into insanity and the madness of inquisitions and genocides.
“If the history of humanity were the clinical case history of a single human being, the diagnosis would have to be: chronic paranoid delusions, a pathological propensity to commit murder and acts of extreme violence and cruelty against his perceived “enemies” — his own unconsciousness projected outward. Criminally insane, with a few brief lucid intervals.” (Eckhart Tolle)

And all this is accomplished by a fictitious Imposter that exists only in our thoughts. His main weapon is lies convincing us he is who we are.

Is there a way out of the grip of the Imposter? Yes!

I can personally confirm it, because a steady peace has settled over my wife and I since we discovered one basic truth:
WE ARE NOT OUR STORY OR OUR THOUGHTS, BUT THE OBSERVER OF THEM.

Eckhart Tolle explains, “When you no longer believe everything you think you step out of thought and see clearly that the thinker is not who you are.”

After living in an extended time of depression and anxiety, Tolle, found himself saying, “’I cannot live with myself any longer.” This was the thought that kept repeating itself in my mind. Then suddenly I became aware of what a peculiar thought it was. “Am I one or two? If I cannot live with myself, there must be two of me: the ‘I’ and the ‘self’ that ‘I’ cannot live with.” “Maybe,” I thought, “only one of them is real.”’ (“The Power of Now”) He woke up the next morning to a totally new life and world. “That day I walked around the city in utter amazement at the miracle of life on earth, as if I had just been born into this world. For the next five months, I lived in a state of uninterrupted deep peace and bliss.”

So how do we not let this false-self take over our identity? First, we have to recognize he is dead. He is fictitious. He is not real, but only the thoughts and story that we have adopted. Secondly, we must see that our true-self is the observer of our story and thoughts and expose them to ourselves. John calls it “walking in the light.” (1 John 1:5-7) If we try to resist our thoughts by pushing them into the dark, they only become magnified. If we simply state what we are thinking, the light will diffuse the lies and magnify the truth.

David practiced this throughout the Psalms. He was the observer of his thoughts saying things like “Why am I so discouraged? Why am I so sad?” (Psa. 42:5)

The encouraging thing is that transformation can take place in seconds. It is not a long struggle. Our true self is our “on call” counselor with all the truth we need to “enlighten our hearts.” (Eph. 1:18)

This “walking in the light” brings us into the NOW, diffusing the worries of the future and the lies of the past. When we live in the eternal present, everything slows down to the secret rhythms of grace of God’s kingdom, and we leave the frantic pace of the world that wears us out and tears us down.

What does all this mean to me?
I am not an evil person, with a desperately wicked heart, (as I believed for 68 years) but a person made in the image of God with his character imbedded in my unique true self. I see what Paul meant when he said, “But if I am always doing what I don’t want to do… Now really it is not that I am doing these things, but it is sin that has its home in me.” (Rom. 7:16,17)The real me is the one that wants to do what is right and avoid what is wrong. I am not the “worm” my religion taught me. My responsibility in life is to “be who I be” – God’s idea of me. I don’t have to try to be good, because the True Self in me is already good. It is the Imposter that is causing all the trouble and sin.

You may ask, as I did, what about that verse that says, “The heart is desperately wicked and deceitful, who can know it?” (Jer, 17:9) This is a poor translation of the Hebrew. “Desperately wicked” is really “frail, feeble, or melancholy.” The “heart” is “feelings, will and intellect” which is more a description of the mind, not the true self or spirit. “Deceitful” means “tracked, and “made crooked or polluted.” So putting this all together, We are born with a pure spirit, and feeble minds. The world begins to “track and pollute” our minds, and our spirits become dormant until brought to life by the seed of the Spirit of God. Then the process is the Spirit begins to reclaim the mind with truth and casting out the lies. The remolding of the mind is what Rom. 12:2 is all about. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (NLT)

I no longer have to be controlled by my pain body from the past. I tell the Lord what I am thinking and say, “delete,” and we move back into the present where He is, where heaven is, where the kingdom is. Living in the present brings us into His presence, unites us with the eternal law of unity, and we are connected with the whole of creation. As my friend, John, says, “The perfect place to live in the whole world is right here, right now.”

How can I recognize a thought from my false self? Some signs are: worry, fear, anger, frustration, depression, despair, defeat, lack of peace, hate, irritation, desire to control and dominate, most of all an absence of love.

Here’s a practical example. A thought comes into my mind, “You are useless and if you don’t get to work, God will not like you.” I recognize it is coming from my Imposter (who got it from my dad who beat into me, ”make yourself useful as well as ornamental”) and tell the Lord, “This is what I am thinking…” then I say “delete.” It has to be totally honest and accurate, not hiding bad words or thoughts. The amazing thing is bringing the thought into the light, dissipates it. I don’t have to try and not think about it; that just magnifies it. Instantly, my True Self rules, I am back with God in the present, and peaceful.

In addition to deleting my own Imposter thoughts, I do not have to respond to and feed other’s Imposter thoughts. When I hear their expressions of pain bodies (anger, fear, worry etc.) or they are trying to bring judgment, fear or guilt on me, I can take a deep breath, be silent, and starve them. This is what has brought peace to my wife and I. We are learning when a pain body is speaking and not respond to it, but to wait until we starve it with inattention. At this point the True Self emerges and we connect with love and reason.

I can view everyone around me as gifts from God, created in His image, but controlled by pain bodies that have hijacked their true identity. I can be a “see througher” to the real self and not just a “look atter” of pain bodies. I can cease judging from appearance and see through to the real self and help draw him out.

The most powerful weapon I have to change the world is truth. It can overcome all the lies of the world’s pain bodies. As Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (Jn.8:33)

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THE LAST STAGE FOR AMERICA?

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Jim May

THE LAST STAGE FOR AMERICA?

Today, I was reviewing Tytler’s classic study on the decline of democracies in history and suddenly woke up to the fact that America is in the last stage of decline – “from dependency to bondage.” In case you have forgotten it, here is the whole quote:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the Public Treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the Public Treasury with a result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy and is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. The nations have progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from courage to liberty;
from liberty to abundance;
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to complacency;
from complacency to apathy;
from apathy to dependency;
from dependency back to bondage.”
(Alexander Fraser Tytler, 1748-1813, From “The Decline and
Fall of the Athenian Republic.”)

Is America adopting irresponsible fiscal policy? The national debt is reaching the point where it can never be repaid (without deep cuts that can’t get passed) even if every citizen were taxed at 100%.

Is the American presidency becoming a dictatorship? The present administration has dictated 146 executive orders which circumvent Congressional oversight. According to the Office of the Federal Register, in 1998, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the official listing of all regulations in effect, contained a total of 134,723 pages in 201 volumes that claimed 19 feet of shelf space. In 1970, the CFR totaled only 54,834 pages. These figures do not include the regulations in the 2700 page health bill. Chances are we are all breaking some law just sitting in our homes! These laws can be (and have been) selectively applied to prosecute targeted citizens into silence.

The good news in all this is the cycle starts again with a return to spiritual faith.

The bad news is between bondage and spiritual faith is usually a bloody revolution or civil war. (William Wilberforce was able to save England from civil war by restoring civility to the culture, but this is a rare occurrence in history. At this time in America, both the government and citizens are arming for a coming conflict, and no one with the power of Wilberforce is screaming for us to stop the insanity.)

I know that our men’s groups return to this theme after agonizing over the state of the nation. We have come to the conclusion that the deeper issue is that the Kingdom of God will outlast all of man’s puny attempts at utopia. So our focus is away from the distractions of national crisis to promoting God’s Kingdom where ever we can, and our greatest weapon is to keep speaking the truth where God gives us favor. So I get back to writing my books and blogs and doing my small part in helping to spread God’s character in the schools of America through Rachel’s Challenge.

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Where can we find happiness?

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Jim May
The Declaration of Independence says we have the right to “the pursuit of happiness.”

Where do we find it?

Time Magazine (Jan. 5, 2005) featured a cover with just the word HAPPINESS. The article was entitled “The New Science of Happiness.” Seems scientists, especially Psychologists are getting interest in the subject. Here is an excerpt,

“So, what has science learned about what makes the human heart sing? More than one might imagine — along with some surprising things about what doesn’t ring our inner chimes. Take wealth, for instance, and all the delightful things that money can buy. Research… has shown that once your basic needs are met, additional income does little to raise your sense of satisfaction with life. A good education? Sorry, Mom and Dad, neither education nor, for that matter, a high IQ paves the road to happiness. Youth? No, again. In fact, older people are more consistently satisfied with their lives than the young. And they’re less prone to dark moods… Marriage? A complicated picture: married people are generally happier than singles, but that may be because they were happier to begin with. Sunny days? Nope, although a 1998 study showed that Midwesterners think folks living in balmy California are happier and that Californians incorrectly believe this about themselves too.”

So what do scientists say make us happy? They sight, religious faith, strong ties to family and friends, engagement (the depth of involvement with one’s family, work, romance and hobbies), meaning (using personal strengths to serve some larger end), gratitude (and keeping a journal of things we are thankful for), acts of kindness, generosity, and humor. This is not a bad list, but it is only what scientists have observed and very limited.

It seems that when we pursue happiness, we lose it. Paul Tournier writes, “It is a universal law that the pursuit of happiness results only in it’s loss… The pursuit of pleasure brings no happiness. The lover who thinks only of the pleasure it will bring him very quickly destroys happiness. The one who thinks of giving pleasure keeps his happiness.

”Why does the pursuit of happiness end in its loss. It is because happiness is a result, not a thing to be pursued.

“There once was in man a true happiness of which now remains to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present. But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself.” [Pascal]

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY?

With all this thinking and writing about happiness, I decided to lean back for a few minutes and think about what makes me happy…
– I love an honest conversation from the heart, not the fake stuff to impress.
– I love finishing any task, from writing a book to completing a hard workout.
– I love teaching what I have learned to people who are interested.
– I love it when my kids are happy no matter their mate or mission.
– I love a hot shower on a cold day.
– I love books that are real, because they hold my attention.
– I love recording my thoughts in my journal, because it helps me process.
– I love to have an honest talk with my Father, Big Brother (Jesus), and Teacher (Spirit).
– I love sitting in my favorite chair with God, His Word, my books, toast, jam (or my recent discovery – Irish soda bread) and coffee.
– I love hearing people are changed positively by my writings or teachings.
– I love a new word from the Lord spoken directly to me.
– I love to hear people candidly tell their story.
– I love an open discussion with no agenda to change each other.
– I love it when my wife and I are in harmony and hate it when we aren’t.
– I love God’s surprises.
– I love sitting by a pond or stream or ocean and reading with a hot cup of coffee by my side.
– I love New Zealand with the kids, Estes Park and Carlsbad with the family, and visiting our friends in Washington.
– I love coming home after a trip.
– I love unforced giving.
– I love finally setting things straight with others and the peace that follows.
– I love being me and not pretending to be what I am not to impress people.
– I love to make people laugh – especially my kids and grandkids.
– I love summer nights in Colorado, driving on the open road, watching sports, and British mysteries.
So there you have it – more insight into Jim. Why don’t you make your own list and share it with others and then listen to what makes them happy.

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REDISCOVERING THE POWER OF THE PRESENT MOMENT

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Jim May

Sometimes I get bored in late afternoon when I am all caught up.
Today I got up at 4:00,
read the Word,
recorded thoughts in my journal,
wrote some lines in a new book,
met with guys for breakfast,
attended Rachel’s Challenge staff meeting,
picked up supplies,
had some lunch,
caught up on emails,
collected the trash,
Now, it’s about 4:00 and I am bored and a little tired.
A trip to the refrigerator in my large body only feed my guilt.
That’s a dead end.
Read out of several books on my Kindle, but nothing was interesting.
TV is incredibly shallow.
Used to like catching up on politics. Not anymore. The election cured me of all interest and hope. Haven’t watched any news or pundits since the election two months ago. The freedom from turning off fool’s voices is refreshing – like leaving a polluted cesspool and drinking from a clear mountain stream. It is too hard to watch our beautiful nation sleep walking to suicide, and half the county thinking we are on the right path that leads over some “fiscal cliff.” Reason is dead, insanity reigns. Oh well, Guess we will all congregate at the bottom in the asylum.
Got some food and water stored up for the crisis. That’s about it.
I’m waiting for the “government on His shoulders” anyway.
Thankfully, the powers that be will soon be the powers that have been.
So here I sit at 4:00 pm, the boring hour.
Thought about Pascal’s analysis, “I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.” He sure was right about that! It’s hard to sit alone in quiet. You feel like you are not accomplishing anything without an idea of what to accomplish to feel useful. Bummer.
(I know all you incredibly busy people out there who don’t have enough time to do everything are envious of me and think I should get up and change the world, but no one seems to be listening.)

So I came to Father.
I know he has time to listen.
Told Him I was bored. Told him if anything happened, it was up to him. Otherwise, I would remain a useless bump on a log.
I heard, “Return to the only place of power, the present moment.”
That’s it! This present moment is all I have and it has all the happiness and muscle I need to live.
I looked out my window at a tall tree.
I looked up at the top branch.
How many years did it take that branch to appear? Seed, roots, sprout, trunk, branches, and more growth until years later that top branch appeared.
It came from the growth of many others.
I looked around my office. Everything came from other’s efforts – creative thought, designer, suppliers, builders, inventors all contributed to my chair, desk, light, books, journal, pen, and computer.
Melody sent me a new coffee mug for Christmas. Great new design. You punch down on the top to open the spout. It’s spring loaded. Wow. It keeps my coffee warm longer than any I have had.
Who thought of that?
Who designed it so it would work?
Who explored for, drilled for, refined, and made the oil to mold into plastic so I could drink from a beautiful blue mug?
Thanks everyone.
I am grateful.
And now I am not bored anymore, because Father inspired me to write this piece for you.

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THE KINGDOM -The shaking has begun.

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Jim May

“When he spoke before, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once again I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was made — things that can be shaken — will be destroyed. Only the things that cannot be shaken will remain. So let us be thankful, because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. (Heb. 12:26-28)

Jesus message was the kingdom of God. “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because this is why I was sent.” [Luke 4:43] He said the “good news” of “the Gospel” was about the kingdom, not just a Gospel of salvation. It included the entire cosmos. [Matt. 4:23] He sent his disciples out to preach the kingdom of God. He came back after the resurrection to meet with his men for forty days to teach them about the kingdom. [Acts 1:3] He said we would have everything we need in life if we first sought His kingdom and His righteousness. [Matt. 6:33] The first petition in the Lord’s Prayer is “thy kingdom come.” Jesus called his men, “disciples of the kingdom of God.” [Matt. 13:52] Paul said that everything in the universe that is not of the kingdom of God will be shaken and removed, but the kingdom of God is unshakable and permanent. [Heb. 12:26,27]

A Hindu chairman heard these words about the kingdom of God and said, “If this isn’t true, it doesn’t matter, but if it is true, nothing else matters.”

The kingdom is the character of God (His righteousness) universalized. The entire universe was created to work only one way – the way of Christ and His kingdom. Everything was created through Him and for Him. [Col. 1:15,16] Every particle in the universe and every living cell have the imprint of God’s kingdom. Everything is destined to work His way. The kingdom of God is God’s total order expressed in the individual, society and universe when all are surrendered to God and it will replace every unworkable world order. Jesus was a realist, not an idealist. He taught the way things were. He taught with “authority” meaning “out of the nature of things.” The sum total of reality was behind Him. He said, in essence, “this is the way things were created to work and you must come to terms with it.” Whether we come to terms by the process of elimination or by the process of seeking His kingdom is our choice, but in the end, the kingdom is unshakable.

The kingdom will rise out of the ashes of the world’s brokenness like leaven rises in a loaf of bread. All history is moving toward the establishment of the kingdom of God. The kingdom will come by the process of elimination of everything in the individual, society, culture, nation, world, history and universe that is contrary to its order. The world is in the process of eliminating every way that is not “The Way.” The world is finding out how not to live. There are many ways that the nature of reality will not support and only one way it will – the way of God’s kingdom. Nature will not support rulers that lord over people. It will not support a lust for power sought with lies and manipulation. Our bodies were not made for hate, resentments, self-centeredness, fear, guilt, and bitterness. We are allergic to evil and our bodies break down under its influence.

The world is committing suicide on alternatives to the kingdom of God. Everything contrary to God’s kingdom is breaking down. Socialism, totalitarianism, capitalism, and every other “ism” have failed or will fail. As the failures multiply, man becomes homesick for God’s house and His kingdom.

Malcolm Muggeridge understood this and has expressed this well in his book “Christ and the Media.” “Let us then as Christians rejoice that we see all around us on every hand the decay of the institutions and instruments of power, intimations of empires falling to pieces, money in total disarray, dictators and parliaments alike nonplused by the confusion and conflicts which encompass them. For it is precisely when every hope has been explored and found wanting, when every possibility of help from earthly sources has been sought and is not forthcoming, when every resource this world offers, moral as well as material, has been explored to no effect, when in the shivering cold the last log has been thrown on the fire and in the gathering darkness every glimmer of light has finally flickered out – it is then that Christ’s hand reaches out, sure and firm, that Christ’s words bring their inexpressible comfort, that His light shines brightest, abolishing the darkness forever. So finding in everything only deception and nothingness the soul is constrained to have recourse to God Himself and to rest content with Him.”

The kingdom is taken from the religious (Pharisees) who block the understanding of the kingdom from others. Matt 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (NKJV)

The church did not reject the kingdom, it reduced it. “The greatest loss that has ever come to the Christian movement in its long course in history is the loss of the kingdom. The thing that Jesus called the Good News, the Gospel, has been lost. Not silenced, but lost as the directive of the movement. The Christian movement went riding off in all directions without goal and without power to move on to that goal. The substitutes became the goal. The church with all its manufactured claims of infallibility became the kingdom… A crippled Christianity went across the Western World leaving a crippled result. The church left a vacuum offering an individual experience now and a collective experience in heaven – later and vast areas of life were left out, unredeemed – economic, social, and political. Into that vacuum the earthborn totalitarianisms moved and said, ‘we will give you your inner experience, but we will take over the collective experience’ and an alien philosophy of life moved into the soul of Christendom. We are still in shock. It may be that God is applying the shock treatment to shock us back into the discovery of the kingdom. If that should happen there would be the greatest spiritual awakening that this planet has ever seen. For the half-answers are all breaking down and will break down progressively. Today we are in the midst of the greatest shaking, ideologically and outwardly, the planet has ever seen. It means the removal of that which can be shaken. It is the cosmic sifting hour. What does the cosmic scoreboard say? “Weighed and found wanting.” (Jones) All the world’s systems are breaking down – family, tradition, economic, political and religious)

WHILE THE KINGDOM IS TAKEN FROM THE RELIGIOUS, IT IS GIVEN TO –

The “see-througher,” not the “look-atter” – Those who look past appearances to reality. Matt 13:10-14 “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

The poor in spirit (Matt. 3:5) – those who know their need for God and need God’s righteousness not their own. These are those who don’t try to be good, but let come out what is already there.

The persecuted for righteousness sake. (Matt. 3:10) His righteousness is the enemy of the world system and when we seek to know it, we become its enemy. The good news is that while we make ourselves the enemy of the world, we make ourselves the friend of the universe which supports us. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is the prayer for His righteousness to be universalized.

The childlike – Those who live in the now and live out of their true self, who be who they be. Matt 18:3-4 “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Children live in the present and they are resilient.

The humble – Matt 18:4 Whoever will humble himself therefore and become like this little child [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (AMP)

The broken – Peter was broken after denying Jesus three times and then was given the keys to the kingdom. Matt 16:19 “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Those see the value and sell out to get it. – Matt 13:44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matt 13:45-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

“Man needs nothing so much as he needs something upon which he can put his whole weight down in time and eternity, something that will not turn sour or stale through sickness, old age, or death and which will give him something to sing about except the fact of an Unshakable Kingdom.” (Jones) The kingdom gives us the art to paint, sing, and write about.

The seekers who give it priority – Matt 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (His righteousness = things like kindness, compassion, grace, love, etc.)
“At the heart of every earthly thing there is a sting; and that sting is that man is too great to be satisfied with things.” (Estelle Carver)

To nations bearing its fruits. Matt. 21:43 In the parable of the wicked servant (Matt 18:23-34) the fruit Jesus is looking for is passing on forgiveness He gave us. “It was offered to all and identified with none – a worthy exclusion and a worthy inclusion. The kingdom is Christlikeness universalized. He was it saving God’s kingdom from being identified with kingdoms of socialism, capitalism, communism, and kingdoms of the church…” (Jones)

The disciples tried to jam a universal order into a nationalistic mold when they asked Jesus “will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel” – Acts 1:6. They didn’t get it.

(Some quotes from E. S. Jones’ “Unshakable Kingdom”)

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THE SHEPHERD AND THE GOATS

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Jim May

(In my work for Rachel’s Challenge, I have been rewriting and updating over 50 of Aesop’s 500 Fables for teachers to use in their classrooms. The legend of Aesop is that he was a slave from Ethopia and brought to Greece around 600 BC. He was a dwarf, very ugly, and teased unmercifully; but by his wisdom through stories gained the ear of Greek nobility. His stories have become so deeply engrained in Western Culture, many do not know their source. Nevertheless, Aesop was a treasure from God for humanity. Here is a sample of one story with two updates for modern readers.)

A shepherd was herding his sheep back to their pen when he found some wild goats mingled among them. He shut them up together hoping to keep the wild goats. The next day it snowed and the sheep could not go out to pasture. So the shepherd fed the sheep in the pen. He gave more grain to the wild goats than his own sheep, hoping to entice them to stay with the herd. The next day the shepherd took them all to the pasture and the wild goats ran away into the mountains. The shepherd scolded the wild sheep for their ingratitude when he had treated them better than his own during the storm. One of the wild goats turned around and said, “That is the reason we are leaving your herd, because you treated us better than your own. It was plain to us that if we stayed with you and others came, you would treat us the same.”

Moral: You can’t sacrifice old, faithful friends to get new ones. Treat everyone with respect and don’t show favoritism.

Update #1.
(This is a true story.) Two restaurants were built on either side of the freeway. One was a Nickerson Farms which catered to passing travelers. The other was Johnson’s Corners that catered to both travelers and local neighbors. As the years went by the Nickerson Farms went out of business. Weeds grew up in the cracks of the parking lot and the building was boarded up and useless. Meanwhile, Johnson’s Corners was a thriving business and added a motel and RV park. The owner of Johnson’s Corners, a man named Clayton, was asked why his business was successful and Nickerson Farms failed. He said, “You have to take care of the local people first. They are the ones who come every week to eat and get gas. The passing travelers may only come one time and never come this way again. Nickerson Farms did not take care of the locals.”

Moral: You can’t neglect old, faithful friends to get new ones.

Update #2:
The owner of a clothing store hired employees to take care of his customers. They did a good job and his business became more successful. He expanded his store and needed more workers. He ran an ad in a local paper to attract new applicants. He promised a higher salary than the older employees. The new applicants came and worked for a while, but resigned in a few months. He asked them why they didn’t stay and they said, “We saw how unfairly you treated your faithful employees to hire us and feared that someday you would treat us the same as you did them.”

Moral: You can’t mistreat faithful workers to impress new ones.

Remember: Faithful old friends who have been tested in hard times are very valuable to us. Do not dismiss them for the “new and improved” or you will lose both. Why not write a letter of appreciation to an old friend today. It will mean a lot to both of you.

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