| "May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, Oh Lord, My Rock and Redeemer." Psalms 19:14 Dearest Lord of my being, Thank you for blessing me with all that I need to be the best that I can be. I am so grateful for your love, light, and peace. May I always be aware of your presence and may I love and honor you above all things. I need you in my heart, in my soul, and in my life now and forever. Amen |
| astrologizing.net Sabbath Devotionals The Sabbath; February 20, 2010 |
| Bible Reading The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23 |
| HOMILY; Emptiness and Fullness. There are many words for God and there are many feelings toward him. In the Old Testament, he was called Elohim, plural of El. Adonai is another OT plural name for him. We wonder who the "we" of the pluralities were in the Old Testament. The idea of the trinity was not made dogma until Constantine's time. Perhaps the "we" meant He and She as he said later that it was not good for man to be alone. Since Man was made in God's image, God was both male and female; hence the "We." Jehovah was the strict God to be feared in the Old Testament, while YHWH was a name so sacred that it could not be spelled out totally. Jesus called him simply, "Our Father," which art in heaven in the NT. He forever brought God out of the dark and fearful emptiness into the light and fullness of infinite love. It is interesting that one can read the Bible on three levels; literally, metaphysically, or both. Another way to approach the Bible is from the standpoint of the religious history of 4,500 years. That is the time length of monotheism as well as the two Zodiacal Ages of Aries (Moses) and Pisces (Jesus). Interesting that Moses replaced the calf or bull (the Zodiacal symbol for the Age of Taurus) with the Ram (the Zodiacal symbol for the Age of Aries. The fish, then, became the Zodiacal symbol for Jesus in the Piscean Age. Those symbols, in themselves, show the metaphysical tone of the Bible. Much was taken out, but those who know can find many astrological symbols in the scripture. See Kelly Lee Phipps: Astrology and the Bible I read two lines in the introduction of Forbidden Faith by Richard Smoley that really hit home; Christianity today often resembles an egg into which someone has poked a hole and sucked out all its contents, and then taken the shell, encrusted it with gold and jewels, and set it up as an object of veneration. In many ways, it remains a beautiful shell, but more and more people are finding that it no longer offers any nourishment. If they complain, they're usually told that they just need to have more faith--which is of course no answer at all...faith is merely a halting first step. www.amazon.com |
| Where can I find You — and where can I not find You? Above — only You; Below — only You; To the East — only You; To the West — only You; To the South — only You; To the North — only You; If it is good — it is You; If it is not — also You; It is You; It is only You. — Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev (1740-1809) From www.spiritualityandPractice.com |
| "SOLOMON'S CONCLUSION" When you read Ecclesiastes you see that Solomon's life always seemed to come up empty. No matter what he tried he found it meaningless. He begins in Chapter one by telling us that everything is Meaningless! Meaningless! This man who had wisdom, power, wealth and even the favor of God talked about how all this world has to offer is emptiness. As you read Ecclesiastes you begin to get the feeling that Solomon is a very negative and pessimistic person. He wrote Ecclesiastes in the later years of his life, and as everyone does he looked back over his life and everything he had done and to him the majority of it was meaningless. Solomon achieved a lot in his lifetime and he came to one conclusion and that was how he ended Ecclesiastes. (Ecclesiastes 12) Now all has been heard: here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments." for this is the whole duty of man. (14) For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. Solomon realized that only God could make him happy. He wanted those of us who read this book not to waste time chasing after everything in the world to make us happy. Solomon wanted us to realize that success and prosperity do not last long that in the end we will end up disappointed but true happiness comes from a relationship with God. Nothing in this world can satisfy the place that only God can fill. It doesn't matter what kind of home you live in, what kind of car you drive, or what your bank account says, only a relationship with God can satisfy the longings, restlessness and emptiness inside you. I don't know about you but the first time I bit into a hollow Easter bunny, I was disappointed. I was expecting, marshmallow, or fudge, or caramel. I was expecting "SOMETHING" and got "NOTHING!" But, you know what? That's what we are without God, just empty shells. Oh, we may be wrapped in fancy wrappings, and even when you pull away the wrapping there may be an image of what we are suppose to be. But, without God we are as hollow as that bunny. There is no life inside, you are empty and hollow. You spend your time trying to fill that void with possessions, pleasure, power, etc. But, you still fill empty, your life fills meaningless. Solomon gave us practical and spiritual wisdom in Ecclesiastes. He is trying to teach us that true happiness will only come from serving God. I read this recently and it really spoke to me because of what my family has gone through. It said......A life centered around God is fulfilling; it will make the "days of trouble" - when disabilities, sickness, and handicaps cause barriers to enjoying life satisfying because of the hope of eternal life. As long as I serve God I can be filled, because I can have God living in me. I don't have to be hollow, I can be what ever God wants me to be. I can be filled with the fruits of the spirit love; joy; peace; patience; kindness; goodness; faithfulness; gentleness; self-control. I could be blessed with one if not several gifts of the spirit; the gift of wisdom, the gift of knowledge, the gift of faith, the gift of healing, the gift of miracles, the gift of prophecy, the gift of discerning spirits, the gift of tongues, the gift of interpreting tongues, the gift of administration, and the gift of helps. WOW! Did you ever realize what all you can hold if you will just let go and let God fill that hollow empty place inside? I'll end with this, I don't think that Solomon wanted Ecclesiastes to be a negative book. I think he wanted to lead us to seek our happiness, our passion, our direction from God and God alone. He wanted us to put our hope in God. So amidst your busy schedules of school, work, and pleasure keep in mind these things are temporal and will pass away, but God remains the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow. Let Him fill the hollow place inside. Love & Prayers, Kathy Note: All Scripture References are from the NIV. http://www.stevepegramministries.com/Archives-SolomonsConclusion.htm |