Jerusalem, a City of Peace

I was talking to Nitsan about a possible trip to Israel where she lives and where "love beyond words" (www.beyondwords.org is bringing peace to troubled land.  I commented to her that I had no desire to "walk where Jesus walked"as I get that that is what some people seems to want or need to do which draws them to travel to Israel.  I recalled how my brother, Phil and his wife Debby did that as God put that on their heart.  I totally get that for some but it is not my thing.  I then, perhaps a defensive part of me or Self not sure, said to her:  "I would rather walk in the footsteps of the way Jesus Walked, I do not need to walk in the footsteps where Jesus walked."  She said I really like that can I use it change it?  I said it i snot mine as I spoke it to her I had never thought of it in that way before.  She shifted it a bit and it became.

"I would rather walk in the way Jesus walked than to walk where Jesus walked"  We both agreed that we both liked it.

I then told her that several years ago I had a vision about running the Israel Marathon and crossing the finish line holding the hands of other communities of faith in celebration that the parts of religion create conflict but the heart of religion, is the harmonizing SELF and Spirit of all faiths.  Nitsan is Jewish.  She looked at me and said:  "That would be a picture of the way of Jesus.  We can work on that happening!"

"That they might be one"

Living in Love and Peace is the Jesus Way

The War for Peace

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said "End War" and another that said "Endless War".  I mused that that is the opposite of "Endless Peace".

Everyone says they are for peace but the peace that they are for is outer peace over their enemy, perceived to be real.  Believing the enemy of peace it outside of me in another persons aggression fuels the flame of war, perpetuates abuse, violence and oppression.

Jesus could not, did not, and would not end war for profit or for outer peace.  The advent of the peace talks that Jesus began were about everyone surrendering their desire to win and fear of losing to the highest good of humanity:  to live in love and peace.  At his birth and through out his life the angles message was, "Glorify God in the highest, and on earth there will be inner peace and good will acts of loving kindness automatically happening toward all by all.

The religious machinery and the political malcontents coupled together to kill him because the message of inner peace served neither of them and threatened both.  The threat was  to shift the focus from religion and military attempt to promote their agendas for peace that only served the sea of turbulence and violence that perpetuate abuse, oppression and resentment.  Jesus message was not about religion or against politics but for "inner peace focus" that perpetuates deference, respectfulness, liberty, and justice for all by all.  Their is an internal resiliency to and for peace when the propensity of fear of loss and of desire to win are set aside and surrendered to the natural flow of inner peace.

"Glory ot God in the Highest and on earth peace good will toward all humanity.

God's Peace is here

I know it is often said but God is here, there and everywhere.   In this remote island, in the middle of no whereville, on the St Croix River in Baileyville, Maine God is wonderfully present.  The wonder of the peacefulness that magnifies sounds across the tranquil waters reminds me this early morning of the tranquility of God's peace in the heart.  It passes and surpasses human understanding and reason.  In the middle of the garden there was a tree but there was also a river of life running through all the problems of life both potentially available with all the blessings of life.  This island is a blessing.  I thank my father in law, Don for the gift that this island was to him and now beyond his living to our living.

Eternal living is like the eternal waters that well up into everlasting life because the flow of the river brings life and caries death away.  Today I drink of the river of life and rejoice in the gifts passed on from generation to generation in a family.  Uncle Jack comes over to the island tonight to share the living waters even in the wake of his wife's passing.  He with Flip were a pair who blessed this family form the goodness of earth and the goodness of life.  Thank you, Don Flip and Jack.  One of three will come to dinner tonight or perhaps all three will be there!

You can feel the peace of nature that is not arguably about anything but receiving that peace.  It is not peace of this world that we think is achieved by peace talks and singed agreements.  It is peace achieved through he balance and harmony of all things or everything God has made for as it interacts with responsible respectfulness to all nature, all is clam, all is bright.  It is indeed a good and silent night

.

God saw everything that he had made and how it balances and counter balances and said it is very good.  Genesis 1:31.  In everything give thanks for this is the Will of God for you.  Everything works together for good and goodness is in everything.

Another breath of fresh air.  It is God country here!

Footprints of/for Peace

Many people love the saying of "Footprints".  thousands have it in one way or another on their walls or in their hearts.  It is ubiquitous and uplifting.  It presents the idea that when I am in trouble God picks me up and carries me through that troubled time.  I do believe that happens sometimes.

When I went through my dark time of the soul.  I pleaded for God to rescue me, pick me up and carry me through but when I never felt God doing that I became more depressed, more isolated, more despairing.  Either God did not care for me or there was something wrong with me that God could not care for me.

After I came out of the darkness of despair into the a new perspective of presence, I rewrote the footprints saying in different words.

I was in a dark place, the valley of the shadow of death.  It was a place of darkness and light but at first all I could see is darkness.  I noticed that as I walked though the valley of the shadow of death, I was walking on  the sandy seashore of God's presence.  I  noticed there was only one set of footprints on the sandy shore.  Previously there were two sets of footprints mine and God's.  I had felt God with me, walking with me and talking with me.  God was alongside of me.  I loved those times.  They were great times.  But now why was I alone.  One set of footprints?

Then I heard God whisper to me.  Those were the times when life was so rough, things were so terrible, you lost sight of me.  I was inside you, not just alongside of you.  Hidden in the hurt and pain or your living I was there giving you strength from the inside out.  When you do not notice me I am the most present in you.

I realized that God had not rescued me to teach me of God's inner presence greatest when I feel alone.

I am never alone.  Sometimes I am carried through difficult times other times I am strengthened by the sense of God is in me regardless of anything that goes on outside of me.

Walk in love and peace and love and peace will be in you.  Nurture love and peace in you and you will walk in peace.   The road to peace is not to be rescued from conflict but to be at peace and walk in peace in the turmoil and trouble of conflict.

Footpritns of Peace.  Originally posted in www.parakalein.blogspot.com July 23

The Greatest Debt owed to all by all, might bring peace and justice

A few weeks ago there was a political jostling on the issue of raising the "debt ceiling".  I called my son who is much better about finances than me and he tried to explain to me that we have to do that so our credit will remain good.  I was a bit puzzled and told him that I was.  My puzzlement was that if I raised my debt ceiling I would have less credibility and if I decreased my debt I would have more.  I think he told me that I was right but that we had to do this wrong thing or something bad would happen.  Interesting?

Today, I was reflecting on debt. I was reminded of a verse in Romans 13 which is interestingly enough a passage that deals with the relationship of citizenry to their government.  Verse 8 says:  "Let no debt remain outstanding except the ongoing debt to love one another".  What if we were to raise this debt ceiling and all of us took this seriously.  What if in America everyone eliminated all their debt but increased their sense of owing everyone "love and compassion".  What if that love was unconditional and free of any agenda: political, economic, social, religious or personal?  What if instead of owning things we focused on owing to all people love and care.   The true debt and the only debt we should be servicing is the debt to love one another.

Maybe just maybe their might be peace and justice on earth.  Maybe even our economy would improve because our energy was in the right place.

Maybe if we did the right thing something good would happen?

originally posted on
paraklein.blogspot.com

The Meek will inherit the earth

Posted this on www.parakalein.blogspot.com and decided it is foundational to peace.

The way of peace is the way of meekness.Years ago I took this be-attitude to mean that if I kept my mouth shut, suffered for Jesus, let people trample me under foot, in the end I will get the "well done" and not only get eternal happiness but also I will get to rule the earth.  Today I have one word for that, "Really"!

I see that position or understanding as feeding the ego, depleting honesty, and ruining the church.  It is not about getting power over.  It is about being empowered from the inside out.  It is about speaking out with courage, calmness and compassion toward all even those who would persecute or undermine you.  It is not power of over others it is power to be the authentic person you are and to see God work through that authenticity and audacity.

The meek are not the quiet mousey people that harbor inner angst or anger just waiting for their turn to rule.

The meek are the strong, opinionated, capable, assertive, and aggressive people who have no agenda to control and who can with unconditional love surrender their power without malice toward anyone and can exert their power with charity toward everyone.  The reason the meek will inherit the earth is they are then ones who have been given f=great power but refused to use that power to fulfill their own agendas or to abuse or misuse anyone regardless of how tight they might have been.  Might does not make right in this spiritual system.  Might is willing to sacrifice its power.  Right rules might.  In the kingdom only those who have been meek can be trusted to rule in a Godly way.  In the way of righteousness, might surrenders to right!  

Power is not about exerting control over others it is about being in control of one's human self.  Similarly the divine self is in control from the inside. 

Omnipotence is all powerful from within not over those without.  Guess I am a little still on that from yesterday's blog.  I will control myself and let that be all folks.

Peace a new movement in the making, author people all over the world

I have not posted on this blog for sometime but am having a renewed interest in sowing peace in the world.  This blog is a way to do it.

I am excited about some ideas that seem to be congruent with others that our day is a day of God doing a new thing as we are willing to look at old things in new ways.

Peace ripplers are away of doing it.  Drops of water that make up the power of a tsunami like thoughts are what makes up a tsunami of peace.  Droplets of peace ripplers dropped into one another's lives.  Sowing peace in the presence of all things is a win win.

Several years ago I spoke at a conference and used the imagery of pieces of a quilt paralleling all the pieces or parts of humanity connected and intersecting one another in one way or another in a tapestry of peace.

Pieces of a quilt represent the diversities of humanity connected by the thread of kindness and compassion. Negativity has the potential to cripple the peace ripplers but we will not be deterred.

Drops of peace creating ripples of peace on their way to waves of kindness on their way to a tsunami of compassion and calmness throughout the world.

Last week the world was suppose to come to an end according to one individual ho did have a lot of followers.  There are some things that never change.  One of them is that people want to believe that the world of hurt and pain will be over and the world millennium of peace and love will be ushered in.  Still others seem to rejoice in the death of people who are un-believers.  Like I mourned a few weeks ago when Osama bib Laden was shot, I mourned that anyone would delight in another’s demise.  Yet rejoice they do and predict they will.

I noticed a billboard in the background when CNN was showing all the bill boards lining the highway about the end of the world.  I thought how thoughtful, creative, true and respectful this person was to put this up as a billboard.  I thought, in the midst of hatred and disrespectfulness sow truth and grace as a contributor to  peace.

I put a made up copy of that billboard below with no comment except thank you to the person who visioned it and did it and to the Spirit of Truth and Grace in him that is the heart and soul of true Christianity.