Praise Power

Posted on by
Reply

There’s no doubt that the concept of praising God can be a difficult idea to embrace. In a society or culture where we value our independence and our right to choose, the idea of praising someone, even God, seems archaic. Praise, it would seem, is reserved for someone who has acted in a noble, heroic, or unexpectedly generous manner. Praise should be a voluntary act, an act of appreciation or recognition.

So, why praise God? What has He done lately that is worthy of praise? It seems that He hasn’t answered prayers. He has allowed death and destruction. He has allowed evil to exist.

Has He forgotten us? Or have we forgotten Him?

Even those of us with a weak faith might acknowledge that there is a force, an energy outside our earthly human experience. We might even consider that such a force is likely responsible for all of creation. If that is the case, perhaps praise is in order. Perhaps we need to show appreciation for our very existence.

Perhaps we need to recognize that our human experience is a learning opportunity for a spiritual being. Perhaps we need to recognize that any pain or distress we experience in our time on earth are just lessons of contrast that allow us to appreciate the ecstasy of our ultimate spiritual home.

Have we forgotten?

Maybe we offered up a prayer for relief from a painful episode in life and never saw the answer we needed. Were we listening, or were we so focused on the answer we wanted that we never recognized the answer when it came? Maybe the answer was “peace of mind,” but it required that we be open to that gift.

Should we still praise Him?

Perhaps the most important element in praising God is the fact that it is an expression of love, and love is the most powerful force in our existence.

Perhaps God derives some of His power from the love He receives from his creation. If it seems at times that God is not acting on our behalf, perhaps it is because we have weakened the connection we have with Him by not expressing our love for Him via praise.

Praise may be the love connection we have with our Creator and that connection grows stronger as we praise Him.

One of the most famous and universally used hymns begins “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”

There is power in those few words.

 

If There’s Anything I Can Do…

Posted on by
Reply

It’s probably one of the most frequent expressions uttered at a funeral. “If there’s anything I can do…” It is intended to offer some degree of comfort and support to someone who has lost a loved one to death. However well-intentioned it is, it is usually a futile effort. Chances are that the person this is offered to is lost in a sea of emotions and in no position to even consider or even appreciate such an offer.

It is a time when we offer our love in a sincere effort to fill the void of the love lost. It is a time when we struggle to find some way to ease the burden of someone’s grief. In that moment of crisis, we fumble into our emotional toolkit and apply the very logic that we have so often used to deny or doubt faith. Only now, ironically, we find ourselves using that logic to offer messages of hope and support. At a time when it seems that logic has no value, we instinctively fall back on logical expressions of comfort – “She’s in a better place now” – “At last he’s no longer in pain” – “She’s reunited with her husband now.”

We probably don’t even realize that we are submitting messages of faith.

If we reflect on it, we might realize that grief is the direct result of lost love, and faith is the only sure way to  heal the wounds of loss. The only way to avoid any possibility of experiencing grief is to reject or avoid love. When we consider how important love is to our life we begin to accept that such an attitude is unrealistic. Somehow, we instinctively understand that grief and love are two sides of the same coin.

In other words, some degree of grief is inevitable. It is one of the prices we pay for the privilege of living a human life. It is the price we eventually pay for having the experience of love. The extent of our grief is in direct proportion to the degree of love for the deceased individual. Certainly, the death of a parent, child, or spouse will result in a more intense and prolonged period of grief than a close friend, but it is still based on affection and closeness.

It is a frustrating and stressful moment when we want to shoulder some of the burden, yet we are essentially handicapped. There is little we can do, despite our sincere offer.

All we can do is offer our love as a fractional substitute for the love lost and reinforce or promote faith as a means of reassuring those who mourn that their loved one has merely returned to the source of all existence where they wait to be reunited.

Perhaps it is in that moment that we have the chance to recognize that love is the most powerful element in our existence, and sharing that love, sharing that faith, is the greatest gift we can offer to those who mourn.

 

 

 

Heaven’s Vocabulary

Posted on by
Reply

Heaven by any other name is… well, heaven. Or maybe it’s nirvana, or paradise, or the promised land. The truth is that heaven is a concept more than it is a place. In fact, to consider it a physical location is probably just plain wrong.

So, what about those streets of gold, the pearly gates, or the reference to “my Father’s house?”

The handicap we have is that we are trying to describe a concept that we have no experience with, by using familiar human terms. It is the limitation of human vocabulary that is our biggest stumbling block. It is like trying to describe a rainbow of colors to someone who was blind at birth. It is like trying to describe music to someone who was born deaf.

In trying to communicate the concept of heaven, we fall back on familiar terms because we have no words to describe something we have yet to experience. Even the word “heaven” is too vague.

If we review a number of NDE (near-death experience) reports, we will recognize that the vocabulary doesn’t exist for those who report such an event. It is fairly common to encounter a statement about colors that the person has never seen – colors that have no name in human terms. It is even more common to hear a description of experiencing a sensation of love beyond anything ever encountered in human life – a love so overwhelming that the person cannot begin to describe it.

If we analyze the description of the “afterlife” as related by various denominations and alternate beliefs, we will find a wide variety of interpretations. And, most of these interpretations view the afterlife as a place, a physical abode. When we reflect on the NDE descriptions of the domain we call heaven, we find that the “landscape” is unique to each individual. That suggests that heaven is partially defined by the wishes or expectations of the individual, making it even more difficult to attach a label or description to that final destination.

Another hint of the roadblock to understanding is the reality that each word in our vocabulary represents an image or thought. When it comes to describing conditions beyond death’s door, abstract is the key phrase. How do you describe a state of being that has no earthly/human counterpart? How do you describe a vision that is sensed rather than seen? How do you repeat a message than is received telepathically rather than heard?

If we have trouble visualizing the afterlife, it may simply be that our earthly vocabulary contains no terms that can describe that stage of our existence. Perhaps heaven’s vocabulary isn’t comprised of words, but sensations and understandings. Perhaps heaven’s vocabulary cannot be spoken but must be experienced.

In the Beginning

Posted on by
Reply

Perhaps no other scientific theory is as debated as the concept of evolution. This, despite the fact that the principles of evolution are evident and ongoing, even today. We see life forms adjust and adapt to their environment on a regular basis. Fossil records support the concept. Differences in life forms from one area to the next or from one climate to another support the idea that those life forms adjust and adapt.

But what about the beginning of life as described in the book of Genisis?

The book of Genisis is not without its critics. While the timeline of the development of life on earth is fairly accurate by today’s understanding, it does seem a bit too simplistic. It does leave out some of the most critical details. But so too does the scientific version of the beginnings of life on earth.

While science can make some pretty educated guesses on the process of earth’s development, when it comes to the emergence of living things, it omits a very crucial factor.

How does a chemical soup transform into a living thing?

Science can speculate on how water, gases and certain chemical elements could have arrived on earth during a very long period as the earth formed, but might be at a loss to explain the process that transforms those inert elements into a new combination that is capable of replicating itself and spreading over the surface of the planet.

Perhaps the early earth had only one landmass that gradually broke apart and created the different continents. That would certainly explain how life forms came to be distributed across the surface of the earth. Then perhaps evolution did occur and caused the ultimate differences in life forms from one area to the next.

But there are more twists to the story.

Genisis also records that plant life preceded animal life. another area of agreement with science. It also states that the first animal life forms were fish in the seas, followed by birds and land animals. Score another win for science.

But somewhere in this mix of theories and speculation is a big gap. A very big gap.

Even if we accept that plant life somehow came into being and instantly became capable of self-replication, there is another enormous gap between that plant life and animal life that was capable of self-awareness and the ability to react to its environment.

Even if we accept the idea that humans were the product of an evolutionary process that stretches back to the first fish in the sea, the leap between a plant rooted in the soil and the emergence of any animal life requires us to accept a pretty big lapse in logic.

The bottom line is that the transformation of that chemical soup of earth’s early history into the simplest life forms  requires a spark of creation that can only be explained by intelligent and incredibly complex design that is best described in these few words … “In the beginning, God created…”

 

Witnesses

Posted on by
Reply

The human race has evolved into a culture that expects proof of exceptional claims. In short, we don’t accept first-person narratives without logical or scientific backup, or, at least, multiple sources for the same claims.

It wasn’t always the case.

The most obvious example is the Bible itself. If we consider the Bible objectively, we would recognize that it is a unique collection of texts written by a variety of contributors claiming to be witnesses to the events they describe. It is also primarily a history book, written from a particular viewpoint. Finally, it is a collection of texts selected by a committee of clergymen. Over the centuries, the Bible became viewed as infallible. Those texts were accepted at face value with little debate over the validity of those messages.

Considering the profound impact of those ancient texts, we can only wonder what the response would be if those messages were produced today. There is little doubt that those same messages, if created today, would have been subjected to intense scrutiny.

We might wonder, “why don’t we receive those same inspiring messages today?” Perhaps a better question would be “If we were to receive such profound insights, would we believe them or reject them due to our doubts?”

If we accept that the authors of those texts in the Bible were gifted with visions and insights outside the norm of human experience, we might want to consider that today’s recipients of similar profound insights might be equally gifted. The question would then be – would we even recognize or acknowledge the messages we receive from those individuals? The first, and most obvious difference is that yesterday’s audience lacked the benchmarks of knowledge that would be the foundation of doubt.

Todays’ audience is well equipped with a basic grasp of logic, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, physics, and all the other tidbits of knowledge that serve to provide us with a working knowledge of our world. Collectively, these sciences give us the tools we need to make judgments about the information we are subjected to. Ultimately, this package of knowledge causes us to set the bar pretty high before we will believe anything beyond the norm.

Once we apply the filter of logic to some of today’s messengers, we might find that the flow of messages from beyond has more credibility than we might want to admit.

There are those today who wear the label “medium” or “clairvoyant” and claim to have the ability to communicate with entities beyond death’s door. Undoubtedly, there are some who fake that ability for their own benefit, yet there is a standard of evidence that lends credibility to some of those claims. Subject to critical appraisal, those who demonstrate knowledge of minute details that don’t exist in documented records, demonstrate an ability that cannot be explained by other means.

Likewise, those who have reported a near-death experience (NDE) have credibility when they are able to describe conditions and encounters that correspond to similar reports from others when there is no connection between the individuals. Additionally, some who report a NDE have been able to describe actions or statements that occurred outside the physical presence of the person experiencing the NDE.

For centuries, we have accepted the testimony of the witnesses of biblical events. Perhaps it is time for us to apply our logical skills to re-evaluate the evidence submitted by today’s witnesses.

Blurry Vision

Posted on by
Reply

There’s no question that humanity struggles to believe and understand the concept of a creator or supreme being. Even those of us who express a belief in God have trouble grasping the totality of that concept.

In the past, humanity’s belief in the Almighty was pervasive. So what happened?

What happened can largely be attributed to the advances in science and human understanding of the mechanics of the world we live in. Many of the miraculous elements of more primitive human experience are now understood as part of the complex but natural world.

We understand the mechanics of the weather systems that produce tornadoes and hurricanes. We understand earthquakes and volcanoes. We understand blizzards and floods. We understand chemistry and genetics. We understand the forces that cause the planets to orbit the sun.

We understand many of these things – to a degree.

As much as we have progressed in our understanding, there is a limit. Beyond a certain point, our vision is blurred. And it is in that recognition of our limitations that we are able to appreciate that there is much more to our existence than we are capable of grasping.

With every stage of our advancement in science, there seems to be another layer beyond which we are unable to continue. The view beyond that point is unclear.

Perhaps we are designed that way. Perhaps those limitations are an intentional design that provides humanity the incentive to strive and grow. In short, perhaps we are created with a built-in yearning to understand our existence and all that surrounds us. Those layers that block our view are just what we need to drive us toward greater understanding.

With that greater understanding comes the realization that there is a force, an energy, an existence beyond our ability to comprehend, and it is that entity we call God.

There is no doubt that our vision has limitations. Whether it is the wavelengths of light our eyes cannot detect, the sound frequencies our ears cannot hear, or the various types of radiation we cannot feel, we know we need to expand our reach to fully understand our existence.

Perhaps the clearest clue to our limitations lies within our most practical tool – mathematics. It is the tool we use most often in our exploration of science. It is also the tool that provides our greatest frustration.

God, it is said, has no beginning and no end – much like a circle/ The mathematical element of pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter of that circle. Mathematicians and scientists have labored for centuries to determine the ultimate value of pi – to no avail. Currently, pi has been calculated out to more than 62 trillion decimals, with no end in sight.

Perhaps we need to accept the example of pi as the evidence that humanity will never fully understand our existence based on science alone.

Is there an end to the pi ratio? Is there a final end point of understanding all that exists?

God only knows.

 

Cast the First Stone

Posted on by
Reply

” He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone“… John 8:7

It is a familiar quote from the Bible, and like so many other aspects of the Bible, it has a multi-layered meaning. And like so many other quotes from the Bible, mankind has embraced only the most obvious interpretation, without recognizing the deeper implications.

Certainly, the obvious lesson cautions us not to be too quick to judge others unless we are free from fault ourselves. Even a cursory reflection would tell us that we are far from faultless. Perhaps being quick to judge is a sin in itself.

To make matters worse, it would appear that being free of sin is an impossible task. Another Bible quote – Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” – is a pretty blunt reminder. Yet, most of us would probably judge our guilt on a human scale. Haven’t robbed a bank, committed adultery, or committed murder? Sounds like your sin score is pretty low. Does that mean our judgment of others is more acceptable?

That’s where a deeper understanding of these verses comes in. While we might rate our transgressions on a sin score, that phrase, “all have sinned” casts a pretty wide net. At that juncture, we need to re-examine our understanding of what constitutes sin. More importantly, what does it mean to “come short of the glory of God?”

The complexities of the Bible mean that it is subject to re-interpretation based on contemporary language,  the accumulated wisdom of Bible scholars, and advances in science in the years since those texts were originally penned. In addition, today’s technology allows individual experiences to be shared and compared when those experiences address faith or an understanding of the spirit realm.

The most conspicuous example is the similarities between narratives of those who have reported an NDE (near-death experience). Many of those having such an experience report a sensation of unconditional love. When we merge these experiences with a message from the Bible, the puzzle starts to resolve itself. When we compare the verse found in 1 John 4:16 (“God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them“) with the reference about all falling short of the glory of God, it begins to become clear – sin is any thought, word or action that is contrary to the acts of love. If we examine the Ten Commandments through this lens, we can see that each commandment is built on a foundation of love being the ideal behavior.

Once we make this connection, we can begin to recognize that everything in the Bible revolves around love, and the consequence to each of us is that, any act or thought that we have that is not directly supportive of love is a sin. Since we all go through our lives acting in a self-centered manner, we are all guilty of a multitude of sins, regardless of how we categorize or rate them. We all fall short of the glory of God.

None of us should be picking up those stones anytime soon.

Why praise God?

Posted on by
Reply

It’s a common lyric heard in churches across the globe.

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”

It is an expression of joy and love for a Creator we credit with delivering all the good we experience in life. It is an expression of gratitude.

But, what about those times when life is dealing us those troubling moments. What about when we experience the death of a loved one or a divorce or a job loss. What about when there isn’t enough food in the house to feed our children, or when the car is repossessed because we can’t make the payments.

What about those times? Do we still praise God when it seems He is letting us down? Does God need our praise? Does He have an insatiable ego or derive His power from our praise?

Why should we praise God?

Like many of the subtleties of our search for understanding faith, the concept of praise has a deeper, richer meaning than we ordinarily attribute to it. If we were to reflect upon it, we would probably recognize that anyone we have praised in the past has been a recipient of a feeling of love. We might not be quick to put such a label on it, but if we really think it through, we would recognize that this emotion is attached to our praise.

When we view the link between praise and love in light of other evidence, the value of praise of God becomes clearer. Testimony of those who have experienced a near-death experience (NDE) commonly describes their brief encounter with the spirit world as “unconditional love.”

Therein lies the answer we seek. The Bible contains the phrase “God is love.” (1 John 4:16). By praising God, we are tapping into the ultimate power of the universe. We are strengthening our bond with the Creator by engaging in the practice that drives all of creation.

Even with this understanding, we still need to confront our question about praising God when things aren’t going so well for us. How do we justify that?

Once again, we need to visit the reports of those who seem to have had some exposure to existence after death. Whether it be those who have had NDE, or the rare medium who seems capable of relaying messages from beyond, the prevailing understanding is that earthly experience for a spirit being is something like a learning process. While in human form, we all enjoy the experience of being human, along with all that such an adventure has to offer. While some human experiences can be unpleasant, they all contribute to the growth of the ultimate spirit-being, until death frees us from the bonds of the human form.

Our human experiences are ultimately inconsequential, except for the valuable lessons that contribute to the growth of that spirit being inside each of us. With that in mind, we can embrace that phrase – “praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”

Chief among those blessings is the gift of being human.

Ultimately, we recognize that God doesn’t require our praise, as much as we require that effort to connect us to the universal source of that powerful energy – love.

True or Truth

Posted on by
Reply

In a dinner discussion I had with my brother the other day, we tossed around the question of whether or not there is a difference between what is “true” and what is “truth.” When it comes to the messages contained in the Bible, that is an important distinction.

There is no doubt that our belief in the Bible is plagued by the seeds of doubt that arise from science and common sense. It seems that the more educated we become, the more we learn about the real-life examples we encounter, the harder it is to accept many of the passages of the Bible at face value.

The Biblical story of Jonah and the whale seems a little far-fetched to be true. While it is certainly possible for a whale to accidentally trap a human in its mouth, swallowing is another matter. Living in its stomach for three days is certainly an impossibility. Suffocation would likely end that story long before three days. So, is the story true?

Even more familiar is the story of Noah and the flood. The stories of floods and the disastrous consequences certainly exist in most cultures. It would probably be common for a family to try to save their livestock in such an event. But, a pair of every type of animal? Assuming that Noah and his clan lived somewhere in the middle-east, we can only wonder how he would have rounded up those kangaroos and koalas that are native to Australia. Finally, we would find it hard to imagine enough water to cover mountain tops. So, is the story true?

Then, we have the story of Moses, receiving the Ten Commandments from God while camping out on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights. While the story suggests that the stone tablets, engraved with those commandments, were written by the finger of God, we have to concede that 40 days was probably enough time for Moses to have done the job himself. So, is the story true?

The Bible is filled with such tales, each with its own degree of built-in questionable detail. Each has its own element of missing information or lost context. Like the final stages of assembling a jigsaw puzzle, even with the gaps, there is enough of the picture revealed to recognize the message.

And, perhaps that is the key to answering the ultimate question – true or truth?

Once we look beyond the inconsistencies or questionable elements of these stories, we are able to recognize that the fundamental truths are revealed, regardless of whether or not the specifics of the story are true.

Perhaps, like that jigsaw puzzle, it is up to us to fill in the blanks by exercising faith and recognizing that truth is, not only different from true, but ultimately, more important.

 

 

 

The Sound of Music

Posted on by
Reply

It’s all around us, the universal love of music. Somehow, the sound of music resonates with all animal life forms. Some even claim that plant life responds as well. Our communication technology has exposed us to multiple examples that have passed unnoticed before. The elephants that calmly listen to the man playing the piano for them. The herd of cows that rushes to the fence to attend a private concert performed with a violin, accordion, or another instrument. Birds, dogs, cats, wild animals – all seem to be mesmerized by the sound of music.

And, of course, humans who produce the music.

So, what does this mean?

Once we accept the fact that there is an infinite collection of sensations, stimuli, and states of existence that occur outside our earthly, human experience, we may be on the path to understanding and appreciating the impact of music.

The evidence is all around us.

Begin with the simplest of rhythms – the beat of a drum. All across the world, throughout history and in every culture, the rhythmic cadence of perfectly timed percussion instruments appears to be of universal appeal. Whether tapping fingers on a tabletop or tapping feet, the impulse to engage in “keeping time” is instinctual. Could that instinct be a response to a natural heartbeat of the universe?

Another common experience is the connection between a musical melody and an emotion. The melody of a romantic song revives an emotional response, long after the lyrics are forgotten. Likewise, the somber music of a funeral service may bring tears when heard again, long after the event.

The inspiring music of a marching band or the soaring, dramatic score of a dramatic movie stirs up an emotional response that has no logical explanation.

Why is it that the string of notes in a pleasant melody lingers in our memory, while a mismatched series of notes grates on our senses? Why do we continually seek out new variations of music? Why do we enjoy music? Why do animals enjoy music?

Perhaps the answers lie in an understanding and acceptance that we occupy a limited bubble inside a state of existence so foreign that we have no name for it. We also seem to have no direct sensory evidence of our connection to that state of existence.

Unless.

Unless music is the language, however fundamental, to communicate with and understand that state of existence.  Perhaps music and emotion are linked and are the keys to engaging with that mysterious and unknowable realm we are destined to inhabit after our tour of duty on earth is completed.