ALL His Handiwork

Dear Beloveds - ALL Humanity,

 

In light of the ongoing hatred, pain, brutality, and dangers of this world to which ALL of we humans, given the circumstances, contribute, and prompted by the anger and threats of violence in my country in the past two days:

 

I continue to trust and practice that this life is a Wise and Loving Creator's "Refiner's Fire" to prepare us all for our Amazing Real lives.  And if it's not, we are more loving and tolerant if we can "Act as If" it is.

 

I am fortunate to have that hope and practice and know that I am no better or worse than anyone in this world - all being His Handiwork to make us into His image and ALL humanity together in joy in our REAL lives.

 

Unfortunately, in this time period, He has remained largely silent, possibly allowing us to bring this eon (time period) to a close, as He has continued to use our fearful, animalistic natures given by Him for His completed plan, as one of His most significant, although difficult and painful tools, for our formation.

 

Isaiah 64:8 "O I AM Always Am (YHWH), You are our Father.  We are the clay, and You the Former (Potter) and we ALL are the work of Your Hand."

 

Romans 3:10 "None of us are in right relationship with I AM Always AM (YHWH) [as ordained by Him in this existence, designed for our Formation - this "Valley of the Shadow of Death"]. No, Not One.  We have ALL missed the mark and come short of God's Perfection." [again, by His design and for this time period to accomplish His Joyful Ultimate Goal - His Eternal Family/Body/Bride]

 

For now, we are ALL "like sheep without a Shepherd." Matthew 9:36

 

Until He brings us all (ALL Humanity) to our real home, as He promised.

 

Revelation 22: 20: "Even so/Truly, come Owner, I AM SAVES (Jah (YHWH) Sua) (Jesus)!"

 

Rejoicing for ALL, especially when it SUCKS!

June

His Tara (the land; the earth)

I am going in for a spinal procedure today (steroid injections into the neck vertebrae related to chronic pain).

It is so lovely to practice that my God ordains all for His loving, wise, omnipotent, omniscient plan for all of our ultimate joy (all humanity) with each other and Him.

I have written many little songs over the years - some on the SONG tab on this blog.  And I have written one specifically for each of my grandchildren: Elijah, Faith, Grace.  Elijah reminded me that I now owe Tara (pretty miraculously born 7/19/16 to my 45 y.o. daughter and her 54 y.o. husband) a song.

I think with this minor surgery coming up, I wanted to be sure to get Tara's done.  In case God's best is to get me to Himself sooner instead of later:)

I will also post this under the SONGS tab and I hope after the first of the year to record many of my songs on the computer to make into a CD at some point (God's timing) for the kids and grandkids (and the world's kids and grandkids if God decides to use it more widely).

His Tara

(the land; the earth)

The Earth is the Lord's

And ALL that is in her;

His Pearl of Great Price

For whom He gives all.

His Pearl of Great Price 

To whom He gives all.

His Tara.

His Tara.

(Repeat His Tara X 3 for final verse)

 

He dreamed of her Always;

He dreamed of her beauty;

He dreamed of her love

Above all His Stars.

His Tara.

His Tara.

 

But what a great price,

To gift His perfection;

To bring all that beauty

From depths no one knew,

Except by His dreams,

Except by His longing,

From Imagination Unsurpassed.

His Tara.

His Tara.

 

(Repeat first verse with 3 Tara ending)

 

Agape (Caring-for Love),

June

GOD witholds His Persuasion for ALL so that He may Pardon ALL (Romans 11:32)

For your consideration: Romans 11:32

Poorly translated and interpreted NIV Study Bible for this scripture: "For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all."

Greater understanding by drilling deeper into the Greek: "For God has shut up (closed) ALL men into absence of persuasion/faith ("apeitheon" from apo-away from & pistos - His persuasion) that to ALL He may show pardon/pity/forgiveness/compassion/mercy.

First, the Greek word, "apeitheon", that the NIV translates as "disobedience" is incorrectly translated as "disobedience".  It can be literally translated from the Greek as: "away from persuasion".  In other words, God has "shut up" ALL men away from His persuading them into understanding/accepting Him - so that He can pardon ALL [at His appointed time].

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our path..."

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our path, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see."  Corrie Ten Boom (Her imprisonment during the Holocaust was the subject of the 1975 movie, "The Hiding Place".)

It has been almost two months since I was given the opportunity to place more Posts on this Blog.  Life has been quite busy.  These are some examples of how I have gotten to trust that the experiences that God has chosen for me in the last 4 1/2 years AND in the last two months are "...the perfect preparation for a future only He can see."

When I retired in December 2011, I envisioned retirement with certain possibilities:

"THE GREAT COMMISSION", AN ADDITIONAL TRANSLATION

Matthew 28: 18 - 20 has been frequently referred to as "The Great Commission".

For your consideration, I would like to give you an additional possible translation that I have drawn from the word choices in the original Greek.  This could enable you to see some of the potential richness, greater accuracy, greater depth, and greater correlation to other scriptures that may be found in a scripture by drawing on the original languages.

Matthew 28: 18 - 20 NIV (New International Version): "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"

Matthew 28: 18, 19, 20 Alternate translation for your consideration: "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Going then, taught by practice with all the nations, immersing them [as in a dye to change a fabric's color] in the nature/character/identity of the Father and the Son and of The Set Apart/Unique Breath/Spirit, teaching/directing/admonishing them to keep watch over/guard/protect/preserve everything that I have commissioned you to proclaim. And lo!  I am with you all of the days until the completion of the age.'"

Comment: The word "age" above is "aeonos" in Greek.  It is very commonly mistranslated "eternity" or "eternal" in many scriptures used to support the horrendous concept of "eternal punishment" or "eternal damnation", which is accurately translated from kolasin aionion as "pruning [which produces greater productivity in a vine] for an age" (Matthew 25:46)

June

The "Holy Spirit"/ the "Breath of Life" - the Feminine in the Trinity

For those of you who enjoy and are open to thinking "out of the box" and imagining the amazing possibilities that are/may be within our Creator's nature:

 

I was having some fun yesterday morning with my studies:

 

I had learned previously that the words for "Holy Spirit" in Greek were: Hagios: Set apart for special use/Unique; Pneuma: Wind/Air in motion/Breath) and were feminine. 

 

But I got into the Old Testament Hebrew yesterday and the word for the "Breath of life" that God breathed into Adam "neshamah" is also feminine AND the word for God's personal "Spirit" (Breath) is "ruwach"  is also feminine.

 

So, we've got the Father, the Son and the ?"Mum"?:) that emanates from the Father and Son - the action force (air in motion/ spirit in motion/breath in motion) used by them to do the creating!?!  Imagine all the fun thoughts about "life"/"creation" being "delivered" via the female aspect of the Godhead!

 

Lots of imagination fun for some unique (holy/hagios:) and creative minds!

WHICH AGENDA AND WHOSE?: HAPPINESS IN THIS LIFE VERSUS ULTIMATE HAPPINESS IN THE FUTURE LIFE

*As Ordained:

So many individuals read the Bible with the perspective of thinking it will provide a better life in THIS world.  This leads to 1) failure of attempting to use Biblical/Spiritual principles in reaching their material/physical goals/existence, 2) disillusionment in the spiritual due to failure in this faulty application 3) perpetuation of the false teaching of being able to "have it now" materially and physically (by attempting to use spiritual principles), a lure to which we humans are very susceptible 4) failure in understanding God's nature and true ultimate agenda, 5) being robbed of the comfort that is available with accurate understanding of God's agenda (our future existence beyond this life) when life/God does not meet their material-world expectations. 6) negative judgment of others.

YOU ARE PERFECT, SINCE YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN IS PERFECT

I will reiterate that I am not a Greek "scholar" but this is what I have been given in my studies for your consideration.  June

Matthew 5:48 "You will be [Greek - esesthe] [are- as His ongoing Work] Perfect since/just as [Greek - osper] your Father in Heaven is Perfect."

This is quite a departure from the daunting sound of command of the traditional translation "BE YE Perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." that has caused much concern and confusion.  This uses both the legalistic prejudices of the translators and the King James English of the time to give the phrase this "flavor".

NOBODY WANTS TO LISTEN

I have such grand thoughts
That are lovely to me,
But nobody wants to listen.

Can I be so wrong 'bout my heart's myriad songs,
When nobody wants to listen?

Could I have evolved from some alien race
Of some other time or some other place?
When I look in the mirror my face is your face,
But nobody wants to listen.

So I sing to myself,
Put my words on a shelf,
And hope in some space in
Some life I may find,
An ear and a heart
From some kindred start.

Oh, so long we'll both speak, smile,
And listen.

March, 1996
June

HUMMING ALONG

I believe our prayers are to God's work,
Something like a person
Who gets to hum along to a symphony.

God's plans and purposes are complete
Unto themselves.
God, the Composer and Musician, is
Pleased when His audience appreciates
His music enough to hum along,
But knows that His symphony
Stands on its own.

Our humming along is something that
Adds nothing nor takes away anything
From the Masterpiece.
The Master loves us enough as His children
To enjoy our babyish addition to what
Is already Perfect.

1994
June

TATTERED

On the outside I look strong and whole.
But on the inside, like an old flag,
Exposed to the sun and wind,
I am Tattered.

My colors are faded, my cloth is thin.
I am torn and weakened and threadbare
By days and nights of life's elements.

I long to be lowered to the earth...
To be enfolded by the Strongest Arms...
To be held to His breast.

That the wind of the Spirit,
The wind that mends and strengthens rather than wounding
And draining,
May enter my every fiber.

Thus may I be unfurled in the strange
Sun and wind of that world,
My colors changed to unspeakable hues,
And my finished pattern revealed
To the timeless skies.
 
1994
June

THE UNSEEN HAND

When the bare world presses,
Press to see the Unseen Hand.
When the cold world clutches,
Reach to feel the Unseen Hand.

When the hard world screams and rails,
Dance and sing the Unseen Hand.
When fear surrounds each breath,
Dream the greatest dream you can
Of living in the Unseen Hand

When hope, not faith is all you have,
The best dream is the Unseen Hand.

1994

I have been reviewing some of my poetry and songs from the past and feel led to share them on this blog, since that is now an option.  So the next posts will include poetry that has not been included previously in the "Poetry" Tab.
June

IF GOD DOESN'T EXIST AND YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY, BETTER INVENT HIM/HER - AND MAKE HIM/HER A GOOD ONE!

Given this world's misery, and life's transitory nature, if there is not a sufficient positive purpose for this life and a destiny beyond this one that is worth the suffering here, it would, to my mind, be better to either commit suicide OR INVENT a sufficient purpose to justify this suffering- a happy existence for us all in the life following this one and a Good Father-God whose wisdom has ordained a quite nasty but necessary "school" (this life) to form/prepare His children for their "Real Lives" that come after this one.

It would be far better to live in an illusion of purpose for this suffering world as preparation for a sufficiently joyful one to come, than to settle for this life's reality as an end and not a beginning.  It would be far better to "pretend" that there is more, than to live in the view that this is all there is.

THE WORK OF YOUR HAND ARE WE ALL

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord (YHWH - I AM Always AM), You are our Father; we are the clay and You our Former, and the work of Your Hand are we ALL."

If I accept the above scripture as true, it has immense implications for the way that I view myself and every other human being (past, present, and future).

100 Scriptural Proofs That Jesus Christ is the Savior of All Mankind by James Whittemore, 1840

For Your Consideration - June

    100 Scriptural Proofs That Jesus Christ is the Savior of All Mankind

by Thomas Whittemore, 1840

---

GOD THE CREATOR OF MEN

1. God is the Creator of all men. "He hath made of one blood, all nations of men, to dwell on all the face of the earth." Acts 17:26 He would not have created intelligent beings, had he known they were to be forever miserable. To suppose that God would bring beings into existence who he knew would be infinite losers by that existence, is to charge him with the utmost malignity. The existence itself would not be a blessing, but a curse; the greatness of which cannot be described. As God is infinite in knowledge, and as he sees the end from the beginning, he must have known before the creation, the result of the existence he was about to confer, and whether, upon the whole, it would be a blessing; and , as he was not under any necessity to create man, being also infinitely benevolent, he could not have conferred an existence that he knew would end in the worst possible consequences to his creatures.

Mistranslation/Misinterpretation of the"Rich Man and the Beggar" Parable

The Rich Man and the Beggar Parable Luke 16: 19-31  

This parable is often used by those who believe in eternal conscious suffering as another justification of their position.  But looking at historical mistranslation and misinterpretation  compared to more accurate translation and interpretation reveals completely different meanings.

Context: From Luke 14:1 – 16:31, Jesus gives a number of teachings, many as parables, and most directed to the lawyers and Pharisees.  To give more perspective on the context of these teachings, I’m going to address them below in the order in which they occur, which hopefully will shed more light on the context of the “Rich man and the beggar” parable in Luke 16: 19-31. This parable is also discussed in order of its appearance in Luke below. 

1,500 YEARS OF MISTRANSLATION AND MISINTERPRETATION

So many key words and phrases in the translations of the Bible since the dark ages do not carry the meaning that was present in the original languages (Hebrew – Old Testament; Greek – New Testament).
Historically and currently they have been translated with the prejudice toward the expectation of a punitive, exclusionary god.  To understand the original message of the Bible, it is important to not only take into consideration “the full counsel of the scriptures” (rather than taking passages or words in isolation), but to go to the meanings in the original language with translation and interpretation using first, God’s nature/character, and then the necessary ripples from that nature and character to His plan and purposes for man and for the entire of His creation.

GLOSSARY OF KEY WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE ORIGINAL HEBREW AND GREEK

 

INITIATOR VERSUS RESPONDER

Parenting and Responsibility:
Ephesians 6:1-4 “Children, under-listen (Greek: hupokouete) [pay attention to] your parents in the Master (Greek: Kurios – Owner, Supreme Ruler, Lord), for this is right.  Value/regard as precious your father and your mother…that you may live long on the earth.  And fathers: Do not bring your children towards anger/impulsiveness, but out of [your spiritual] strength/health, give them instruction and place understanding in their minds, of the Master (Greek: Kurios – Owner, Supreme Ruler, Lord).”

Marriage and Responsibility:
Ephesians 5:24, 33 "Wives, hupostassesthe – “arrange/set yourself under”/["reverence"] your husband"..."each one of you [husbands] must love (agape) his wife as he loves (agapes) himself.”

God and Responsibility: 1 John 4:19 “…we love Him [God] since/because He first loved us.”

THE "I AM ALWAYS AM" IS MY SHEPHERD

Psalm 23: 1 “The I AM Always AM (YHWH) is my Shepherd; I shall not lack.”

If we accept or experiment with accepting this scripture as true, there are huge implications for how we view and experience this life.

If a completely loving, completely wise, completely omniscient and omnipotent God is my (our) “Shepherd”, and provides everything that is for my best good at every moment, then there is no moment that I am lacking anything that is for my best good.