He made himself poor....

Today I share a small part of the writings of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897), Carmelite, Doctor of the Church. I post it because in a few words she says so much.

Hidden treasure

The spouse of the Canticles says that... she arose to look for her Beloved in the city, but in vain; after having gone out of the city, she found him whom her soul loved! (Sg. 3,1-4).  Jesus does not will that we find his adorable presence in repose; He hides Himself... Oh! what a melody for me  is this silence of Jesus. He made Himself poor that we might  be able to give Him love. He holds out His hand to us like a beggar so that on the radiant day of judgment when He will appear glory, He may have us hear those sweet words: "Come, blessed of my Father, for I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I did not know where to lodge, and you gave me a home; I was in prison, sick, and you helped me,» (Mt 25,34-36). It was Jesus Himself who spoke these words; it is He who wants our love, who begs for it. He places Himself, so to speak, at our mercy; He does not want to take anything unless we give it to Him...

Jesus is a hidden treasure, an inestimable good which few find, for it is hidden, and the world loves what sparkles. Ah! if Jesus had willed to show Himself to all souls with His ineffable gifts, no doubt there is not one of them that would have despised Him. However, He does not will that we love Him for His gifts, He Himself must be our reward.

To find a hidden thing one must hide oneself; our life must then be a mystery. We must be like Jesus, whose face was hidden,» (Is 53,3)... Jesus loves you with a love so great that, if you to see it, you would be in an ecstasy of happiness... but you do not see it, and you are suffering. Soon, Jesus «will stand up to save all the meek and humble of the earth!» (Ps 76[75], 10).

What stood out for me was the sentence.."He made himself poor so that we might love him."

Isn't it just like Jesus to do that, to make Himself approachable for all? Think about it for a few minutes of your time. When we read about the world's wealthy we say to ourselves that they have everything, they lack for nothing. It was not any different in the time of Jesus on this earth, the very poor saw the rich and said the same thing to themselves. Jesus knew that he would be despised and shunned if he came looking like a wealthy socialite but instead He wanted to be able to reach the furthest into the sea of humanity and at least have a chance of someone accepting Him just as a person, someone sitting on the other end of that park bench, someone you would open up to and tell what is burdening your heart. Jesus wants us to care for Him and accept Him for Himself, not for what He may or may not do for us (isn't that exactly what we want too...acceptance).  Please ponder on this and let Him know how you feel about this, that He threw off all remnant of His position as creator and King to be born in a feeding trough. He did not do it to fool us or make a mockery of how we live, He did it because He wants to live as we live, to love as we love so that we will know that He understands us and why we do the things we do. He did it all for us, you and me.

Slaves Are Issued Weapons; Free People Own Them

The excerpt below is from a very good article posted on the American Thinker and written by William A. Levinson. It gives a very good and detailed overview of how ownership of weapons versus being issued a weapon are very different and how the former points toward an individual's accepted sovereignty while a slave or servant is issued a weapon with the intention that it would be later returned and the slave would return to their rank and file.

"We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects."


http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/07/slaves_are_issued_weapons_free_people_own_them.html


This statement relates to Queen Elizabeth I as she responded to threats of being apprehended by armed guards.


Please read over and share this article. The concept of owning a firearm or some sort of means of self defense as well as a tool for food gathering is what seperates a free person from a servant. Throughout Holy Scripture I have never found a place where God clearly came out and said that as His children we are to never be armed. I have not found a place where God said it was a commandment to walk the earth leaving ourselves at the mercy of armed opponents. I have on the other hand read where God has said it is a sin to commit murder, a cold-blooded, calculated plan to bring another person to their demise. One instance that stands out for me is in Genesis where Moses sees an Egyptian guard beating a Hebrew. Moses looked for someone to come along and stop the abuse and possible death of this man but there was no one else around. Out of compassion for the slave, Moses found something for a weapon and struck the guard thus killing him as a result. Did Moses set out that morning to kill an Egyptian? We are not told that but at the same time it does not fit his character and behavior. Also, I noticed that God never spoke to Moses about the killing, God said nothing and in fact summoned Moses to His presence. When Moses arrived God did not say anything like, "Moses why are you covered with the blood of another?" God did not chastise Moses for what Moses did clearly in self defense of the slave. I am not saying that God did not care that a man was dead but I am saying that a man was being beaten to death and Moses sought to stop the beating in the only way he had at his disposal and the death of the guard was an unfortunate outcome but Moses only sought mercy on the slave.


We too can have it in mind that life is precious and is a gift from God and that what is formed by God, given by God and blessed by God is something to cherish. You my friend, who are reading this and wondering what I am trying to justify, I am not trying to justify but rather posing the argument that you are preciously made in God's sight and like each and every creation of God's hand is to be cherished and honored because it is a creation of God's own hand. This is where we see each of us has an intrinsic value to our life. People, including myself, at one time or another will ask the big question, "why am I here and what is my life's purpose?" It has come to me over years of seeking the answer that I am here out of God's good pleasure and my purpose is to live, love, grow and experience life as God intended so that I will feel free to express myself and show the world what sort of creation God made when He formed me. Will the world accept me? Will the world put out the red carpet for me? Hasn't happened yet but who knows, what I do know is that God makes wondrous and beautiful things and the same is said of what He forms out of the mud and breathes into their nostrils. I am going far and wide with this because life is treated so cheaply these days and for some, when they say that others should not be allowed to carry weapons, should not be allowed to raise a defense against hostility but that my wife or myself should allow ourselves to be abused or even killed so that violence will stop with me and not go on further, my spirit screams out that I am Holy made and I am Holy inspired and therefore the world needs me. The world needs Holy inspired people of all walks of life and all cultures and societies because we can be a reflection of God's love in this world. If you want to change the world you can start right where you are by being all that God intends for you to be. When you are doing that you will truly be a mirror of God 's love in your part of the world.


You will be like a precious pearl or a gift of great price that is worth piles of gold and tons if silver because you present the spirit of life to the dying in this world. You are not cheap my friend and you are not easily replaced by another face or another name, don't lose sight of your worth and protect what God is doing in your heart and life. Defense of your life is defending a creation of God. It is about defense and you have a right to it.

A very sad thing happened to a very close friend of mine today

Today, if you haven't seen much of the news as I have and poking around on the Internet you might have come across the sad news. A much beloved and respected friend has left us and it's not because of sickness or that He had found something better to do, it was more of that He wasn't wanted anymore. Have any of you known a friend, relative, coworker who for some reason people just stopped liking? That to invite them to lunch would somehow alienate you from the click or if you gave them a ride home in your car people would tease you all the next day because you did a kind gesture to that person?

This friend is someone that I have personally known since 1994 and at times was hard to call them my friend but when the truth needed to be known I could not and will not tell a lie. I know I have had disagreements and at times argued but I never asked my friend to leave and I would never drive by and leave Him standing on the side of the road without stopping and giving Him a ride. But today, my friend, someone I've known for nearly two decades was told they must leave, that their presence was not only no longer desired but actually had become offensive. Have you ever experienced the pain of being told to your face that you are not wanted? If so, the pain never goes away from that and the memory stays fresh always. You know what it is that I refer to, that kind of pain that can cut deep and leaves a scar that never fades with time. My friend was told recently they were never to be referred to again and the funny thing is, my friend is what makes our group! Who is the friend you wonder, if invited, would they like to come to your church this Sunday? The answer to that question is simple, my friend would love to come to your church or any church where people would not be ashamed to say His name out loud. My friend loves to be around people and loves to laugh with them and share their family stories, my friend is someone whom you can go to the movies with or even share your deepest secrets with and have no fear He would talk about you behind your back because He knows how that feels and would never think to inflict that level of pain on anyone. My friend.........is Jesus, the Christ and today it was announced in many newspapers country-wide that Campus Crusade for Christ founded by Bill Bright nearly sixty years ago has decided to remove the name of Christ from its title. The reason they state is because in many countries the name, "Christ", is at times offensive to people and has a tendency to turn people away from hearing the gospel, according to Campus Crusade for Christ, now called "Cru."

Read about it here:
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-07-19/features/os-campus-crusade-name-change-20110719_1_campus-crusade-steve-douglass-ministry

When I first heard and read about this I was intensely angry that a ministry founded on Christ and His love for all the world would now turn around and remove the name of Christ for which is their whole purpose of being and would rather go the way of the politically correct and preach about Jesus but not talk about Him or mention His name. My question; how will they spread the good news of the gospel and not say for what or whom the gospel is about? If Christ Jesus cannot be mentioned in the title of the ministry then who is it that bled and died for expiation of our sins? My anger is now righteous indignation, they done ticked off the wrong foot soldier of Christ.

1 John chapter 4 - New American Standard Version - Verses 7 - 14

God Is Love

 ⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is ^[a]born of God and knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was manifested ^[b]in us, that God has sent His ^[c]only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. ¹³ By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

If you find these words unfamiliar at all I encourage you to use Google for something worth while and look up First John and read through the book, it's only five or so pages and about five chapters. Tiny book but this Apostle of "Christ" (oh, oops, did not mean to offend) has truth to be told not only about Christ Jesus but also about His true followers and truth about those who do not follow. It has been two years or so since the passing of Bill Bright and just like Wal-Mart, when the ole' man is dead and buried and enough dust has settled the place goes corporate. Sam Walton believed in his image of his company because he believed in people, his philosophy was to operate the company from the bottom up. The workers on the floor are the ambassadors of Wal-Mart to the customers, the mid-level managers served the floor workers to enable them to better serve the customer and so on up the ladder of structure. When the ole' man was dead and gone after two years the kids took over and the place is now nothing like what Same built, it is nothing more than an outlet for the country of China and instead of building up America selling American made products and helping employ Americans, they go for the cheap buck, the cheap product and gross market share.

In the same way, Campus Crusade for Christ has left the template for success constructed by Bill Bright through the empowerment and blessing of the Holy Spirit of God and is now going for market share of the soul. Anyone, anyone who looks upon the Cross of Christ can either be spellbound by the suffering servant who hangs there for all eternity as a wordless sign that all is well, all is forgiven, all are welcome in my Father's house...or they will be repulsed by His nakedness and will turn their backs on Him with disgust. Happy to speak of the benefits of belonging but never to utter what price was paid for enrollment.

Please listen to Glenn Beck on his web page as he speaks about this issue;http://www.glennbeck.com/2011/07/21/campus-crusade-for-christ-drops-chris-from-the-title/

Go to the page through the link and click on the video, it will start after the commercial but for Christian and non-Christian alike a single issue stands out. "Cru", who are they and what do they want with anyone?
A ministry without a purpose is like a clanging symbol or chiming gong, making lots of noise for no reason at all.

Lou.

Woe to me if I should prove myself

but a halfhearted soldier

in the service of

my thorn-crowned Captain.

Saint Fidelis of Sigmarigen