Tag Archives: Religion and Spirituality

I Stand by the Door

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door 212

door 212 (Photo credit: Aunt Owwee)

I Stand at the Door

An Apologia for my Life By Sam Shoemaker (from the Oxford Group)

I stand by the door. I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out. The door is the most important door in the world – It is the door through which men walk when they find God. There is no use my going way inside and staying there, When so many are still outside and they, as much as I, Crave to know where the door is. And all that so many ever find Is only the wall where the door ought to be. They creep along the wall like blind men, With outstretched, groping hands, Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door, Yet they never find it. So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world Is for men to find that door – the door to God. The most important thing that any man can do Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands And put it on the latch – the latch that only clicks And opens to the man’s own touch.

Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter. Die for want of what is within their grasp. They live on the other side of it – live because they have not found it.

Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it, And open it, and walk in, and find Him. So I stand by the door.

Go in great saints; go all the way in – Go way down into the cavernous cellars, And way up into the spacious attics. It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is. Go into the deepest of hidden casements, Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood. Some must inhabit those inner rooms And know the depths and heights of God, And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is. Sometimes I take a deeper look in. Sometimes venture in a little farther, But my place seems closer to the opening. So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there. Some people get part way in and become afraid Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them; For God is so very great and asks all of us. And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia And want to get out. ‘Let me out!’ they cry. And the people way inside only terrify them more. Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled. For the old life, they have seen too much: One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more. Somebody must be watching for the frightened Who seek to sneak out just where they came in, To tell them how much better it is inside. The people too far in do not see how near these are To leaving – preoccupied with the wonder of it all. Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door But would like to run away. So for them too, I stand by the door.

I admire the people who go way in. But I wish they would not forget how it was Before they got in. Then they would be able to help The people who have not yet even found the door. Or the people who want to run away again from God. You can go in too deeply and stay in too long And forget the people outside the door. As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place, Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there, But not so far from men as not to hear them, And remember they are there too.

Where? Outside the door – Thousands of them. Millions of them. But – more important for me – One of them, two of them, ten of them. Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch. So I shall stand by the door and wait For those who seek it.

‘I had rather be a door-keeper So I stand by the door.

http://www.silkworth.net/aa/istandatthedoor.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuYczvp-Kzo

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Grace for Fools

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English: Hay meadow near Dolanog Freshly mowed...

English: Hay meadow near Dolanog Freshly mowed hay meadow seen in early evening light, seen from the B4382. Dolwar Hall farm SJ0714 can be seen in the middle distance. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the country side I walked; timid through the night, but stronger in the dawn.

No fear at horror’s sounds; screeching through the air, or growling in the grass.

Bolder steps turned to confident strides; a willingness to leap within these tired bones.

Then a city appeared over the crest of a hill.

 

Through its gates I walked; upright back and confidence from the respite from war.

No one checked for weapons; that invisible proof of salvation hidden in my heart.

How should they suspect or investigate; no one here carries the mark I bear.

Past all stores and temptations I moved.

 

Then, from nowhere, a stabbing; my back was turned and I did not perceive attack.

My weakness exposed; vulnerable was I and did not prepare, distracted by the wares.

Sinking deep the wound was great; a sin appeared and the blood of man soaked my cloak.

I staggered through the alley.

 

Knowing nothing but the Gospel; my knees pounded the dust with sudden thrust.

A crying out to the One Who Is; a healing balm, nursing hands.

Even while the blood still flowed; legs found strength, beginning to run.

The exit gate in view came quickly.

 

Fools will step with careless stride;  the way of simple man open to attack.

Less is the weakness than the power of hope; that marvelous Grace He wields so well.

The night’s embrace outside the gate; humiliation abounds while healing starts.

I stagger through the field once again.

 

By His Grace!

“Some Things”

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President Nixon at Capital Motorcade

President Nixon at Capital Motorcade (Photo credit: SheepGuardingLlama)

To serve the Lord is a distinct privilege.  To know Him in Jesus is a direct blessing from the Father.

There are some things that are sincerely hard to accomplish for His sake as we fight against the flesh.  But there are also some things that are not hard at all.  All these “some things” require is an awareness of His commands.  These “some things” don’t require a continual alertness that the flesh requires.  One of these “some things” is the following:

13 “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.”  (Romans)

Soap and Fire

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clean hands

clean hands (Photo credit: Arlington County)

Not a one of us lives each day without serious challenges regarding righteous behavior.  Most people I’ve met, if allowed to speak their mind with honesty and clarity, will tell of a certain set of sins they know stand between the Living God and themselves.  Some are more able than others.  But most flounder poorly in their personal battle.

What shall be said about this?  We are told to “Make every effort. . .”  But what if our efforts are pathetically unable to turn that corner?

I am put to mind that man who appeared at the Great Feast, dressed appropriately but lacking a word to explain how he got in there.  There are clean hands among men.  But there are Clean Hands necessary when we appear before the Lord of Glory.  How do we accomplish what we are obviously lacking?  Our perception of sin seems to roll down to the bottom of the scale of importance.  We make excuses or simply ignore the truth.

I am forced, personally, to learn a truth.  If you can’t seem to summon the strength to fight, ask God for His wise intervention.  It won’t come in the form of obvious freedom from that sin (or set of sins).  But it will surely arrive.  Most people I’ve talked to about this mention a soul-shaking fear which is delivered to them by a word or two from the Lord.  Perhaps it is something like this, “You will be completely forgotten.”  There will be no place in the memory of God for sin.  If all we are is sin, then what does that do to us?

The Book of Life is being written.  Our names appear as we place our faith in the Lord.  The war begins at that moment.  But there is a “blotting out” also.  Let us be aware of both sides of the Lord’s promise.  Let it spur us beyond our weakness.  If we can’t find the strength to desire “Clean Hands”, let us not lie to God and pretend it doesn’t matter.  Tell Him you don’t want to.  Admit your resistance to His rule.  Why hide what is already seen in pure daylight?

Phenomenology Response

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Chart about the Hegel's "Phenomenology of...

Chart about the Hegel’s “Phenomenology of Spirit” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sometimes (actually more often than not) the Lord directs our words with a specific flavor when we converse with others about the nature of Himself and the Gospel.  I wanted to share His reply to an individual who is searching out the meaning of (or in) life.  Perhaps you too will find it interesting and useful:

Chinny:  I had never heard of phenomenology.  But the concept has rattled around in my mind for decades.  I didn’t think the world would have a word for what comes natural.  But, go figure.

Every man can approach an understanding of life from any aspect he chooses.  Who am I to say we are wrong as we search out the truth.  On the other hand, when we find a helpful directive, it is wise to attempt to share what we know.

Please allow me to respond to the concept of understanding the ultimate meaning of and in life.  If we are striving to understand or grasp the absolute truth of any subject, we may toy with lesser values in the beginning.  But there is a place where diluted materials stop providing information.  I have reached that lack of answers years ago.  And was forced to turn to pure materials to develop a pure understanding of what is pure and true.  Scientifically speaking, we get the answers we deserve according to the purity of the experiment.

People, in their best basic format, are full of misunderstandings, differings of opinions, and tossed about by all kinds of misinformation.  It seems a bit crude to me that we should strive to understand the perfection of God truth by linking together a mass of fallible knowledge.  Therefore, I would suggest that we would be better served in our quest by searching out the purest truth available to man.

The truth we seek should not be a peaceful and joyfilled understanding.  We have both established that man’s relationships will be full of turmoil.  So we surmise that any understanding of purity will necessarily be a bit disquieting to a tumultuous creature.  Only after repetition and learning can we hope to endure that truth with any sense of peace.  In other words, we come to understand the value of purity by experience alone (assuming that we have found what is pure and make it our specific target of bending our will.)

This is a very difficult subject, as is proven by the amount of words men have employed to research it.  I believe you and I are on the cutting edge of balance between true discovery (of a personal nature).  Now what remains is the ability to willingly approach the subject minus that sickness of pride that attends every man.  Don’t misunderstand that comment about pride.  It lives quite vibrantly in every one of us, and often goes undetected by our own perception.  It is quite obvious to others, however.  And, in the end, we find that we have not reached the fullness of understanding simply for lack of true humility.

I hope I have added something to the conversation here.

No Choice?

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Vegetables

Vegetables (Photo credit: WordShore)

We go to the store to buy something.  When we get there, there is an amazing variety of choices for each product.  We get up in the morning and encounter choices.  We want to explain something and we have thousands of words to choose from.  In everything we encounter here, there are billions of choices.  We get accustomed to making choices.  And we begin to believe that everything has a choice to make.

But in the way of eternal life there is no choice.  You either have life or you don’t.  You either have Jesus’ blessing or you don’t.  There are many choices we can make as we work out our salvation.  But God is truth.  There is very little room for choice when it comes to truth.

There are variety of items in creation.  But there is One God, One Savior, One Holy Spirit, One baptism, One faith, and so on.  It isn’t up to us to create choices in our salvation.  It belongs to us to limit our appetite for choice and accept the Lord’s offer.