The Most Fundamental Change in Our Relationship with God: Paul, Mystery, and Blue Elephants8/1/2015 About 50 AD, a man named Paul wrote about the most fundamental change in our relationship with God. He revealed a great mystery and made simple-to-understand that:
He revealed the greatest spiritual truth that anyone could ever know. Once I learned what it was, it changed my life forever. I encourage other men to read the following article and investigate certain truths for themselves and learn to how be better men, wonderful husbands, and loving fathers. Let's start with the great mystery that Paul revealed. Mystery What’s a mystery? A mystery is anything that’s kept a secret, and remains unexplained. Paul was a man who revealed one of the greatest mystery of the world. And it triggered a fundamental change in humanity's relationship with God - a relationship in which believing, rather than behavior, became the key to a more than abundant life. Paul was born Jewish. He lived in Tarsus, which is now Turkey. He lived within the Roman empire. He traveled to Jerusalem, Asia, Greece, Rome. And he taught and wrote. Paul wrote 13 letters. He never met Jesus, the man, but met his friends and disciples, and for many years, he actually had a job to hunt and persecute them. He grew up under Roman law, and he knew the Jewish law or Law of Moses (Old Testament) very well. Under Jewish Law, good behavior included what was/is called “indulgences,” where you essentially pay for God’s love. The more money you pay the church, the more of God's love you receive. This is the crap you get from Abrahamic religions that limited ignorant people of the past. Because of men like Paul, we know better. One day Paul was walking along a road with his friends and donkeys, when a very bright light hit him right in the face. It blinded him. Paul heard a voice speak to him. The voice told him to go see a man name Ananias who would heal him. And on that day, Paul became a new man. That miraculous experience changed him forever. Paul started traveling from country to country, teaching about how everyone can have a direct, personal relationship (fellowship) with God and experientially know and practically apply truths to one’s life. All over the world, he traveled, teaching, writing, and fellowshipping. And Paul was telling everyone a secret that was revealed to him. Paul was on a mission to share that revelation. A great mystery that has been hidden from everyone since time began was being revealed. The Greatest Mystery of All Time This great mystery that Paul revealed is the greatest spiritual truth that anyone could ever know. Once I learned what it was, it changed me and my life forever, just like Paul's life was changed. And it’s written down. You can read it for yourself. It's written in the Bible. Now, let's get something straight about this book. Most of the bible is actually NOT written to you. Most of it is written for you to read and learn from. There are only a few parts of the bible that are actually written to you and for you to empirically understand and practically apply to your life. To understand what you're reading, you could do a word study. It's kinda fun. We do word studies in our weekly family fellowships. A couple thousand years ago, King James hired a bunch of smart people to translate the old Greek and Aramaic versions of the bible and translate them into English. So, just about every word in the King James version can be researched back to its original language. If we take a look at the word mystery, it appears many times in the bible. The Greek word for mystery is musterion. Out of the many occurrences of that word, 17 refer to the great mystery revealed by Paul. Word Study and Blue Elephants Let’s get a piece of paper, and take notes, while looking up a few of them.
In our recent family fellowship, I asked everyone to pass on the following sentence by whispering it in your neighbor's ear. The sentence was, "The big, blue elephant stomps, chomps, and blows his horn." I whispered it to someone in our fellowship; they whispered it to someone else sitting next to them; and so on. At the end of the line of whispering, the sentence was hardly recognizable. Paul knew this problem of people accurately learning truths told by others. And that's why he wrote down his revelation about the mystery. Paul wrote and explained the great mystery in his letters, so that we could study and understand it today in our fellowships.
This type of teaching was smack in the face of the Jewish Law and the Law of Moses. Folks who benefited from these laws, where you have to pay for God's love, were threatened by this type of antagonistic teaching. Both Paul and Jesus taught that the old Abrahamic religion was dead and the new way of life was through believing with your mind and freely receiving the love of God manifested in your life.
Back then, Paul's revelation and teaching was shocking to people. Religion is Dead His insight triggered a transformative change in the way common folk understood themselves, their spiritual position and abilities, and how they related themselves to others who were in preposterous religious power. Paul made spirituality easy to understand. He said that we're all spiritually the same, where no one is greater than anyone else, and that believers are of the same spiritual family body. This revelation killed any need for religion. Why pay the farmer, when you can milk the cow for free? Everyone has a direct connection and relationship to God, Spirit. The great mystery is a big topic to study. Can’t be done in one word study, one fellowship, or one article. But that's the fun part of studying and learning -- it never ends. But let's continue with one last verse. And it's in Colossians. Turn to Colossians 1:26-27 in the King James Bible. It says, "Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Paul writes this to help reveal the great mystery in more detail. Every believer can have Christ in him or her, which is the gift of holy spirit. Holy spirit is a gift from God to every believer. And it's given unconditionally. "Christ in you" in the bible means the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation. So, where the bible says "God in Christ in you," that means that you can have the gift of holy spirit in you, from God, held in your mind (renewed mind) and manifested in your life. How can God be in your mind? Well, you have to understand what God is, and is not. God is not a man. God is not an old man with curly hair floating in the clouds, waving his finger, and doing good and bad things. That's delusional. You might as well believe in Poseidon. Actually, God is what the bible says it is: spirit, love, light, energy, everywhere, powerful.
That's how every believer can have the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation. It's all about believing. And it starts with your mind. Conclusion That’s what Paul revealed. That’s the great mystery -- we can have the love of God in our renewed minds manifested in our lives. Paul taught that we are fellow heirs and of the same spiritual body with other believers. And God’s riches of this mystery is Christ in you, holy spirit.
Investigate for Yourself I encourage you to read, study, and meditate upon these things. Investigate certain spiritual truths for yourself by studying what has been made available to us. The great mystery is now made known. It’s no longer a secret. Work is very important to our lives. I teach my kids that their work could be walking the dog, sweeping the floor, doing the dishes, taking out the trash, doing homework, or cleaning their rooms. Whatever work we do, we ought to do it heartily. And when we do that, our work is fruitful. In this article, we'll learn about:
Whatever may be our task, we can work at it heartily, from our soul. And in our work, we can do something not just for others, but for our own spirit (God's presence within us). We can work for money, material possession, or praise from others. Certainly. However, the real reward from our work comes from the spirit (Colossians 3:23-24).
How can this be? To work heartily means to use an intensive force, with all the powers of your being. The Buddha said that our work is to discover our work and then with all our heart to give ourselves to it. That's pretty good. When we work heartily, we are using our bodies, our minds, soul, and spirit. We use everything of ourselves and we give it our all. We intuitively understand, subjectively, without effort, that we have spirit within us. And that spirit is something like a heavenly inheritance that we've received from God (Ephesians 1:13-14).
Spirit is a gift, like a reward. And we keep that spiritual gift within our hearts (2 Corinthians 1:22) like a treasure.
Quick Recap So, let’s recap. Whatever work we do, we do it heartily (with intensive force and all the powers of our being), knowing that we have received the reward of our inheritance, which is a gift of spirit in our hearts. Messy Bedroom Consider this. Let’s say I tell my kid to pick up her room before she goes to a friend’s house. She runs to her room, throws her toys into her closet, stuffs her clothes into a drawer, and runs out the door. Would you say she put your whole heart into this task? No. Now, consider the same situation, but let's imagine that she takes a couple of extra minutes to straighten each area of her room. She puts her things back where they belong and folds her laundry decently and in order. Her room would be more of a blessing to walk into. Right? Sure. This would be good example to teach children how to work heartily. For Us Adults For us adults, we also try to work heartily in everything we do. Why? Because we have inherited from God our reward, a gift of holy spirit, the presence of God within ourselves. Inheritance means having a right or privilege to which a person is entitled by birth. When we are born again (or when we realize and believe to connect with the God and everything that is created), we inherit from God a right and a privilege to live with holy spirit in our hearts. What an incredible gift! Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Steiner said that the strength of humankind was planted by God in his soul so that he could, with all his might, love to work and learn.
Remember. Because God is spirit (not an old man with a gray beard floating in the clouds), God's gift is spirit. Because God is spirit, God's gift is spirit. We have the gift of holy spirit in our hearts. And when we work, we do it heartily, with all that intensive force and power in our being. Cool stuff, eh? But where's the fruit? Where's the fruit of our work? Being Fruitful Galatians 5:22 says that when we work, with this knowledge of having spirit within our hearts, then we are fruitful.
This is the work that God's presence within you, your spirit, accomplishes. Another Recap Whatever we do, we do it heartily, because God’s presence within us brings forth fruit, such as love, joy, and peace. We bring forth fruit in every good work we do, as we steadily grow in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:9-12).
The more we grow, learn, become mindful of God (the universe, our Source, the unlimited power that surrounds us), the more fruit is produced in every good work that we do. As we renew our minds upon that which God has provided to us (Romans 12:2), the more we intuitively understand how powerful our spirit is in relation to the work we do.
The word translated in that verse is from the Greek word meaning “metamorphosis.” It refers to the process that leads to an outward, permanent change. Like a caterpillar to a butterfly. Our work, when brought forth from the spirit, produces fruit, which actually is the manifested presence of God's love in the renewed mind. Read that again. Our work, when brought forth from the spirit, produces fruit, which actually is the manifested presence of God's love in the renewed mind. Hercules, King Augeas, and Working Smartly There's an old story that's been told many times. It's the one about Hercules cleaning the dirty cattle barns of King Augeas. Hercules asked the king that if he could clean the incredibly messy cattle barns (which held 300,000 cattle) in one day, would the king give Hercules 30,000 cattle in return for his work. The king agreed, because he knew it would be impossible for a man to shovel the 3-feet thick layer of manure that covered the floor of his enormous barn. Hercules was smart about his work though. Let's say he was inspired. Instead of shoveling the barn, he dug a trench from the nearby river and directed the flowing water toward one end of the barn. The water flowed through the barn, washed everything away, and the barn was cleaned in less than one day. Hercules worked heartily. And smartly. Conclusion In conclusion, our work may not include cleaning a messy cattle barn, but whatever work we do (from cleaning our rooms to working in a kitchen to working in a ditch to working at an office), it can be done heartily. When we work heartily, we put all of our being into it, knowing that we have inherited a holy spirit, which brings forth fruit, such as love, joy, and peace. I encourage you to work heartily in whatsoever you do, and grow in the knowledge of God. If you liked that advice, please like us on Facebook. Download the crossword puzzle and answer sheet from this article. When I look at the stars in the night sky, I am amazed of how much we're uncertain.
96% is Unknown Physicists say the observable universe makes up only 4% of the entire universe. That includes all of the stars, galaxies, clouds, planets, comets, dust, etc. The rest - 96% of the universe - is called dark matter and dark energy. Invisible stuff. Unseen. We're uncertain of what makes up most of the universe. We really have no idea what's going on. My observations seem to agree. There's much more going on than what I can see. I don't believe in anything simply because I heard someone say it. I don't believe in things simply because it is found written in religious books. I don't believe in anything merely on the authority of others. I believe by observation, thought, and reason. So, let's think about what we see, and not see, in our world. Martin Luther Martin Luther said that God is not just in the Bible, but is also found in the trees, the flowers, the clouds, and the stars. In the crisp, clean air of Boulder, Colorado, I see the stars almost every night. The stars are amazing. They remind us of how vast God's presence is - not just throughout the universe, but also within each of us. Wonder Men travel great distances to climb snow-capped mountains, sail wavy seas, gaze across lands, ride wild rivers, and dive deep oceans. But we tend to pass by ourselves, not stopping to wonder about our connection to the universe. God is Everywhere Might it be that God is everywhere present and unseen? Yes. What we actually see are the manifestations of God, as Martin Luther said. God is a universal presence. Quantum physicists refer to an infinite field of invisible potentiality. Hm. Same thing. We cannot see God with our eyes. Why? Because God is Spirit. God is invisible to the human eye. No one has ever seen God. But we know, we believe, God is always present, with us, around us, in us. God is spirit (John 4:24). What else is God? Man? No. Woman? No. Is God Jesus? No. Is God religion? Certainly not. God is energy, everywhere, unlimited, eternal, powerful, joy, peace, love. God is unconditional love. And God is around us, with us, always. No matter where we are, God. Even if I was in the middle of nowhere – like the uttermost parts of the sea - I would not be alone (Psalms 139:9-10). God is everywhere present. He is always there as a source and a guide. How Big is the Universe? If God is everywhere present in the infinite universe, then God is, therefore, everywhere present in event the smallest, tiniest thing. Well, how big is the universe? Let's imagine the Earth was the size of a grain of sand. Then the size of our solar system, out to the planet Neptune, would be as big about as big as a football field. Now, imagine if our solar system was the size of a grain of sand, then our Milky Way Galaxy would be 1,000 times the size of a football field. Now, let's imagine our galaxy to be the size of a grain of sand. Then the size of the universe would be as big as a football field. The universe is really, really big. And God is everywhere. Everywhere Means Everywhere Now, let's imagine God being present everywhere, even in the smallest building blocks of everything that we see - atoms. What’s inside atoms? Nothing that we can see with our eyes. There are electrons, neutrons, and protons. And even smaller than that, there are quanta. Even in the tiniest of things, God is everywhere. Everywhere means everywhere. Why Study the Unseen? Why do we study things we can not see? Because the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). God is eternal. Why is This Important? Why is it important to know that God is is everywhere, eternal, and always with us? It might be that remembering God’s presence in our lives helps us to not have fear. We can be peaceful in any situation as we stay our minds on God. Peace We experience perfect peace when our minds are stayed and focused on God (Isaiah 26:3). God says He will keep us in perfect peace. How? As we stay our minds on God. How do we do that? Staying Our Minds on God How do we stay our minds on God? We are not be conformed to this world, fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs. But instead we are transformed (changed) by the entire renewal of our minds, with its new ideals and its new attitude, so that we may prove for ourselves what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). As we keep our minds on God by renewing our minds, and reading the Word, we can be peaceful, knowing that God is present. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). He is with us day and night, inside and out, no matter what challenge we face. Boat in a Storm Jesus knew God was with him in every situation. He practiced the presence of God. Because he remembered God was always with him to help, Jesus turned to God and stayed peaceful in difficult situations. In Luke 8:22-25, there a story about when Jesus and his friends were on a boat crossing over the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was tired from teaching, so he took a nap on the boat. While he slept, a large storm hit and lots of water came into their boat. This was a very scary and dangerous situation. Can you imagine being in this boat? Would you remain peaceful? Jesus did. He remembered that God was with him. He rebuked the storm. Rebuke means to express sharp disapproval or criticism of someone or something, because of their behavior or actions. He knew that God’s power was greater than the power of the storm. He commanded the storm to stop, and it did. Practice the Presence of God We can practice the presence of God in our lives. In all our ways we can acknowledge God’s presence. We can lean on, trust in, and be confident in God with all our heart and mind. We don't rely on our own insight or understanding. In all our ways, we know, recognize, and acknowledge that which is ever present, unlimited, yet unseen. And God will direct and make straight and plain our paths. Love Each Other And we can pray to God for ourselves and each other. We can pray at all times, on every occasion, in every season, in the Spirit, being inspired. We keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, and we intercede on behalf of each other. We have free will, freedom to either be opportunity to serve or excuse for selfishness. Through love we should serve one another (Galatians 5:13). Put on the Mind of God We can put on the mind of God by (a) studying the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15), (b) recognizing ourselves as children of God or children of light (Ephesians 5:8), (c) practicing the presence of God (Proverbs 3:5-6), and (d) walking in love (2 John 1:6). Love One Another We ought to love one another. And what this love consists of is this: that we live and walk in accordance with and guided by God and the teachings from God. If there be only one expressed desire, it would be that we continue to walk in love, guided by it and following it (2 John 1:5-6). Conclusion When we keep our minds on God and His Word, we have God’s peace. God will guide us and help us. We can practice the presence of God in our lives as we acknowledge God in all situations, and we can pray and believe. When you’re outside today, is God with you? Yes. How about tonight when you’re sleeping? Is God with you? Yes. No matter where you are or what you’re doing or what challenges you’re facing, you can say, “God is with me always.” You might be interested in reading "Gandhi, Sugar and iPhones" from The King's Guide. |
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