The Fall From Perfection

When the world and the Universe came to exist, it was all creation of an Intelligent Designer.

When we look around us, we have to concede that His abilities are amazing.

To be the Creator, He must be the source of all that exists.

And this must include earth, space, life, time and consciousness.

Everything and anything that there is.

In the world as it He originally created it, there was no conflict between what is and what ought to be.

The people who lived in the world enjoyed a world in which everything occurred in complete harmony with itself as it was supposed to be.

That is where our desire for such a world comes from that I talked about in the last post.

What occurred to cause the disharmony?

We did it, the people.

We caused the perfect creation to fail.

We asked for it.

The perfect creation included perfect people with perfect free will.

Their free will allowed the first people to choose something other than what ought to be.

How could the people choose something that did not exist?

They were given a simple prohibition, not to do something, and at the same time they had the free will, the ability to choose what they wanted to do.

And so, suddenly, the ability to disobey emerged.

And the people were told that if they would do what they were not to do, there would be a fall from the reality.

The cosmos, the world around us, would no longer be as it ought.

But it would veer away from perfection and descend into an alternative reality.

One that could never retain its original perfection.

The people would enter in a world of death, decay and chaos, profaning the original plan.

When they disobeyed anyway, from that moment on, all humanity has become aware of the difference between is and ought.

The first people did not know the agony of what existed on the other side of that decision.

But their failure was still a statement to the Creator that His guidance and wisdom were no longer needed or wanted.

GOD IS GOOD - GRATITUD LIST WEEK Nr 1

This is my first gratitud list but I have fallen in love with the posts about the blessings in our lives. 

And I think it's so important to know to be gratefull.

So even though this is not the beginning of the year, here is my Gratitud List for the Week Nr 1.

My son is coming back home on Sunday. He’s been away with his dad for two weeks and it’s HARD!

Our Chihuahua Bailarina, she sleeps with me at night and reminds me that I’m not alone but my furry family is here with me.

Teacher training is going amazingly. The special education teachers are showing off all that they have learnt in the past three years and they are making me so proud.

It has stopped raining all the time and the sun is shining. It’s hot and humid but it’s so nice to be able to see the sun and get the clothes dry.

Our trip to the beach, it was two weeks ago but it was such a nice, relaxing visit and I enjoyed it so much.

All my amazing friends, one of them just gave me a bottle of natural medicine she made for my knee (old injury from a sting ray that got a bit too close). It’s so nice to feel loved and see that there are people who care around me.

My blogs, I’m so happy with the success of my first blog and finally decided to start another one to organize the posts and themes better.

All seems beautiful to me - (Not So) Wordless Wednesday

We are all fallen creatures and all very hard to live with.
C. S. Lewis

“I am larger, better than I thought; 

I did not know I held so much goodness.

All seems beautiful to me.

Whoever denies me, it shall not trouble me; 

Whoever accepts me, he or she shall be blessed, and shall bless me.” 

― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

²⁴ It was for us, too, assuring us that God will accept us in the same way he accepted Abraham—when we believe the promises of God who brought back Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He died for our sins and rose again to make us right with God,^[a] filling us with God’s goodness.

Romans 4:24-25Living Bible (TLB)

The Roots of the Resurrection

The roots of the Resurrection grow deeply from the soil of Old Testament

Messianic Jew, Paul, explains to the people of Korinthos that without Resurrection our faith is useless.

If Jesus did not return from death, why would we believe in Him?

How is He different from any other man that has died or will die?

For the believers, both for Gentiles and Jews, the power of Resurrection was manifested on Pentecost.

On Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured over the believers.

We can receive this power because of the Resurrection.

Because Christ has beaten the death.

Resurrection is a physical deed, and the hope of the Resurrection is as old as the humanity itself.

The Resurrection was the hope and dream during the first covenant.

King David knew that even though he would die and be buried, he had the hope of redemption.

This was the spring where his joy ran from.

Because God would not let His Anointed One to die, we all will raise one day from the death.

Just like Jesus we will receive a new body and be whole in Him, perfect like we were meant to be.

Jesus rose from the death and once and for all demonstrated that we can be atoned and given redemption.

He, who is the head of the congregation, vanquished the death and rules now both life and death.

He will also return victorious.

We, his body, have been forgiven our sins and freed from the chains of death.

And we have been called to rule together with Him – forever.

We Are Not Of This World

We live in a world that is divided.

There is something about us, who we are, that tells us the world ought to be a certain way.

Yet we are confronted with the reality of the world that is.

We constantly fight this reality and maneuver ourselves to try and repair the world.

To make it what it ought to be.

But all the time we do this, we also realize that none of us are as we ought to be.

We fight a war, build a home, join a cause or engage in endeavors to distract us.

Only to realize that we will still never escape from being trapped within ourselves.

The real dilemma is where this dire feeling comes from in the first place?

Why is it that we don’t accept things as they are?

But insist that the world is not how it should be?

To make it even worse.

Each of us has a different idea of what ought to be.

In the world as it was originally created, there was no conflict between what is and what ought to be.

The first people who lived here enjoyed a world in which everything occurred in complete harmony with itself as it was supposed to be.

That is where our desire for such a world comes from.

How to spoil the renewal in the church - Part 4

This is the fourth, and last, part of a series about renewal in the church. The series has four parts in total and is posted once a week, on consecutive Tuesdays.

7. Create a culture of disrespect and blind following

 

A real respect between the older and younger generations demands honesty and causes trust.

 

In worst case scenario, the people who were against the renewal in the beginning become reformist themselves and will start to push for a renewal in the church.

 

This happens when the people advocating a renewal are too respected and listened too open mindedly, and become trusted.

 

The most important thing to do to avoid this is to create a culture of disrespecting others, of secret agendas and blindly following the leadership.

 

8. Keep the young people out of leadership

 

Even if there were young people with calling to teaching and leadership in the church, keep them out of the teams, elders (even the name says elders, not youngsters) and central responsibilities in the church.

Do not let young people, or people open to renewal, steal away the responsibilities in the church.

This could mean that the church would change and people would become more open to the renewal.

The congregation might even reach out to new generations and find ways to close the generational gap.

It could even become a church that creates new disciples and reaches out to find new Christians.

His love endures forever - (Not so) Wordless Wednesday

It does not take great men to do great things; it only takes consecrated men.

Phillips Brooks

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

NIV

Eight handy ways to spoil the renewal in the church - Part 3

This is the third part of a series about renewal in the church. The series has four parts in total and is posted once a week, on consecutive Tuesdays.

5. Always team-up and keep the side of the people who are against the renewal

 

Many people get hurt, angry or are afraid of the renewal.

 

Because of this they might leave the church – or worse – they might stop tithing the church.

 

If you are a leader in a church, do not annoy the people.

 

But obey them and try to make everyone happy, especially the most strong willed, and richest, people.

 

They are usually the most conservative people around, and sure to be against any renewal in the church.

 

6. Keep the mission and vision of the church secret and as obscure as possible

 

If the congregation has a clear vision and mission of what they want to accomplish, they might actually do it.

 

And this could cause a renewal in the church.

 

Make sure as few people as possible know the church’s mission and vision.

 

And make it at obscure and hard to understand as possible.

 

It is always better to use theological terms and long, hard words, maybe even some Latin and Greek.

 

If the people actually understand what vision is and internalize the mission, they might get involved and put it in practice in their own lives.

 

Again, this might lead to a renewal.