Mystic Lessons: The Value of Solitude

To live life in such vital context, I “Realize the value of solitude.” It has most often been in solitude where I have experienced my clearest perceptions and been most honest with myself. It is in the quiet moments that I feel most in touch with what is really real.
The trouble is that our world today produces so little solitude. We live in roaring suburbs inundated with a multitude of “noises.” Dancing images from the television, movies, and the internet distract us. Our headphones jam with latest tunes. Headlines scream. Radio hosts jabber. Bosses yell. Advertisers clamor. Technology rings, vibrates, buzzes, and hums. Amid all this, we must somehow sort through the cacophony to find harmony and peace. The best way to do this is to find a moment, a place, a breath of solitude.
That place may be may be at the top of a snow-covered mountain or in the brisk scent of a pine-filled valley. It may be on the shore of the ocean or bank of a gurgling brook. It might be at 30,000 feet in an airplane. But, most likely it will be a glass of iced tea on the front porch on a summer afternoon or a brisk walk through the neighborhood before the morning lurches to life. It will be on my knees in a chapel or beside my bed. It will be piddling in the garage or traveling to work in my car. In these alone moments, I listen to hear that inner voice that guides me. If I do not hear it, I feel lost and alone.
So, for me solitude is essential. And, I admit, I am not afraid of my own company. Sometimes, I particularly like being alone and I am perfectly content to take that glass of iced tea and shut myself away to enjoy some quiet. I just wish I could experience it more frequently. I need to take my own advice and make more quiet moments alone. Maybe more of my next steps in life would come into focus.

Mystic Lessons: Eternal in the Temporal

One of the greatest mysteries of all is to “Discover the eternal in the temporal.” Of course, many do not believe in the “eternal.” Some believe that all there is to living are the fleeting moments we walk this earth. I think that is far too narrow a view and it does not resonate well with a universe that requires millions of light years for us to view a single star! Rather I think the eternal is what grounds the temporal and gives it meaning.
Please allow me to describe what I mean. If there is no eternality, then the present is all we have. Extrapolated, that means there is no higher purpose or reason for living. Only the existential moment matters. The past becomes irrelevant. The future has no value. Only the now is. If this is the case, then it does not matter what one does or who one is. These are only figments of a society’s collective imagination.
If the past is irrelevant, one’s past transgressions or achievements are insignificant. If the future is valueless, then why strive for goals or avoid offenses? If the present only matters, then do what you will. Have fun or not. Believe or not. Be kind or not. Be faithful or not. Build or destroy. Succeed or fail. Give life or take it. None of it matters.
But, if eternality is reality, then everything matters. If my existence is tied to the past where I was made, the present where I exist, and the future where I may be, then every moment of my life matters. Who my parents were shapes me. Who I marry is significant. Who my children are is important. What I become is relevant. Whom I impact is momentous. And, what I do with every facet of my life for all of my life will matter or not based on the choices I make and the choices I influence.
This is why I take time to make to make decisions. This is why I love to talk to my Mom and Dad on the phone. This is why my heart warms at the laughter of my children. This is why I pause to consider the possibility of a Creator when I view nature or the universe. This why I strive for higher education, a broader circle of friends, lives to touch, and goals to achieve. In all these things I see the eternal moment where everything – yes, everything – matters.

My Favorite Credo

I Stand by the Door by Sam Shoemaker

I stand by the door. I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out, The door is the most important door in the world- It is the door through which people walk when they find God. There's no use my going way inside, and staying there, When so many are still outside and they, as much as I, Crave to know where the door is. And all that so many ever find Is only the wall where a door ought to be. They creep along the wall like blind people, With outstretched, groping hands. Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door, Yet they never find it ... So I stand by the door. The most tremendous thing in the world Is for people to find that door--the door to God. The most important thing any person can do Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands, And put it on the latch--the latch that only clicks And opens to the person's own touch. People die outside that door, as starving beggars die On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter— Die for want of what is within their grasp. They live, on the other side of it--live because they have not found it. Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it, And open it, and walk in, and find Him ... So I stand by the door. Go in, great saints, go all the way in-- Go way down into the cavernous cellars, And way up into the spacious attics-- It is a vast roomy house, this house where God is. Go into the deepest of hidden casements, Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood. Some must inhabit those inner rooms. And know the depths and heights of God, And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is. Sometimes I take a deeper look in, Sometimes venture in a little farther; But my place seems closer to the opening ... So I stand by the door. There is another reason why I stand there. Some people get part way in and become afraid Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them For God is so very great, and asks all of us. And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia, And want to get out. "Let me out!" they cry, And the people way inside only terrify, them more. Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled For the old life, they have seen too much: Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more. Somebody must be watching for the frightened Who seek to sneak out just where they came in, To tell them how much better it is inside. The people too far in do not see how near these are To leaving--preoccupied with the wonder of it all. Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door, But would like to run away. So for them, too, I stand by the door. I admire the people who go way in. But I wish they would not forget how it was Before they got in. Then they would be able to help The people who have not, yet even found the door, Or the people who want to run away again from God, You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long, And forget the people outside the door. As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place, Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there, But not so far from people as not to hear them, And remember they are there, too. Where? Outside the door-- Thousands of them, millions of them. But--more important for me-- One of them, two of them, ten of them, Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch. So I shall stand by the door and wait For those who seek it. "I had rather be a door-keeper ..." So I stand by the door. Sam Shoemaker, founder of Faith At Work at Calvary Episcopal Church in New York City, in 1926, was also one of the spiritual leaders who helped draft the 12 Steps of A.A.

Upside Down

Visit this link for a video clip that will encourage and inspire you. It's wonderful. While you are there, check out the rest of the site. They have some good resources. Have a blessed Sunday!

Upside Down

God.

Today is Sunday, and this little site is enlightening and encouraging as it explores the many Hebrew names for God. Visit and be strengthened!

http://www.ldolphin.org/Names.html

Sunday - God's Yellow Pages

Here's a great little site I came across this week. I hope it blesses and encourages you. We can never be into God's word too much. http://web2.airmail.net/dpelc/yellow/

Don't forget to honor God's day today!

We No Longer Need You

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go tell Him they were done with him. The scientist walked up to God and said, "God we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost."
God listened very patiently and kindly to the man and after the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well. How about this. Let's say we have a man-making contest." To which the scientist replied, "OK. Great!"
But God added, "Now we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."
The scientist said, "Sure; no problem," and bent down to grab a handful of dirt.
God just looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt."

Quoted, Author Unknown

Higher Power

"I found no comfort in any of the philosophical ideas which some men parade in their hours of ease and strength and safety. They seemed only fair-weather friends. I realized with awful force that no exercise of my own feeble wit and strength could save me from my enemies, and that without the assistance of that Higher Power which interferes in the eternal sequence of causes and effects more often than we are always prone to admit, I could never succeed. I prayed long and earnestly for help and guidance. My prayer, as it seems to me, was swiftly and wonderfully answered."

- Sir Winston Churchill

From p. 182 of Never Give In, by Stephen Mansfield ISBN: 1-888952-19-9

The Lamb & the Fuhrer

Just a brief review this Sunday of another wonderful book I completed this week by Ravi Zacharias titled, "The Lamb & the Fuhrer: Jesus Talks with Hitler." It is a well-done imaginary conversation as Hitler meets Christ for the first time after committing suicide. Juxtaposing the tenets of Hitler with those of Christ through quotes from Christ, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Hitler himself, one may plainly see the emptiness of the philosophy that altered the world inexorably from what it was before that time. I recommend the book and give it four stars of five. Enjoy!

The End of Reason

I just finished an excellent book, The End of Reason, by Ravi Zacharias. I sat down to read a brief excerpt and didn't put the book down until I had read it cover to cover. In an eloquent response to atheists everywhere, Ravi systematically reveals the bankruptcy of atheistic arguments and demonstrates yet again why Christ is worthy of consideration. I encourage anyone who sees this blurb to read the book. It will challenge and deepen you on whichever side of the fence you are.

Sunday - Krishna & Christ

Today is a day of rest...so I will rest from the politics for today. I read a good book this week. It reminded me yet again of the amazing simplicity of the Gospel. The book was "New Birth or Rebirth," by Ravi Zacharias. Primarily it was a discussion of the opposing points of Hinduism's Krishna and the Christ of the Bible. Even if one knows little of Hinduism, it is fairly easy to pick up on the points Ravi is making. And it is easy to see yet again the power of the simple Gospel that presents so simply the perspective, the problem, and the solution for all mankind. The older I get, the more I appreciate the way, the truth, and the life of Christ. I encourage all who question the relevancy of the Gospel or who are interested in the challenges of eastern religions to tackle this book and honestly consider its perspectives. Have a restful and Christ honoring Sunday!

The Impossible

When you are facing the impossible, look to the God Who made it! He is still in charge of it all! As you worship this weekend, worship Him Who is above all things our Savior & King!

God Wants You!

God wants you more than you ever imagined. God wants you so much that He sent His only Son to die in your place. "But," you say, "that was a long time ago!" Sure it was, but it’s still real today.

“I’m nothing,” you say.

God is everything.

“I’m everything,” you say.

God is more.

“I’m too old,” you say.

As long as there is life, there is hope.

“I’ve waited too long,” you say.

Only when you have crossed into eternity, will it be too late.

God has wanted you from day one – which is why He made you. That’s why He has preserved you amid every trial you’ve faced – He wants you. That’s why He’ll call until you take your last breath – because He wants you.

Don’t slam the doors in His face: open to His knock.

Don’t plug your ears: answer at His call.

Today is the day of salvation!

Jesus spoke to the unspeakable – The Samaritan Woman

Jesus forgave the unforgivable – The Woman in Adultery/Those at His Cross

Jesus reached the unreachable – The publicans and harlots

Jesus touched the untouchable – The lepers and unclean

Jesus heard those who could not speak, answered those who could not call, saw those who could not see, came to those who could not come to him, cleansed those who could not clean themselves. In everything, Jesus demonstrated His love for every human with whom he ever interacted. He went beyond every demand of duty and every claim of conscience to renew that which was destroyed, to restore that which was marred, to repair that which was broken. In short, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.” He didn’t wait until we were perfect or clean. He came to make us what we ought to be. He came to change us from what we were into what we can be.

He sees a beautiful diamond to be polished. Granted, it may be in the rough, and some may require more polish than others may, but that is of little consequence in the eyes of God. He is abundantly capable of polishing your gemstone if only you’ll yield to His control.

Surrender to His embrace like that of a lover. Yield yourself to Him body, mind, and soul.