SpiritualFamily.Net: Strange Preacher's blogs

The Mind

Strange Preacher — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 09:32:47 -0400

The mind is designed for the contemplation of great things. In the absence of great things it makes a great fuss over little things. Therefore, the contemplation of the Infinite is necessary if we are to keep all things in their true perspective.

Happiness

Strange Preacher — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 09:31:04 -0400

A person may be happy by accident but they can never stay happy by accident. Happiness is dependent upon living in harmony with, and intelligently and creatively employing, the fundamental laws of happiness.

The Gospel Cosmic

Strange Preacher — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 09:29:26 -0400

The Gospel Cosmic

This is the Gospel: the one and only Ever Living, Ever Loving, All-Powerful God of all Creation is the Father of your soul. You are a child of this Ever Living, Ever Loving,All-Powerful Source from whence springs all things and beings, meanings and personalities, facts and values. If you can dare to accept this transforming truth, if you will allow it to sink down into the deeps of your being, then you are both in and of the Kin-Dom of God.

The primacy of this relationship precedes the formation of the world, precedes the establishment of borders and the division of humanity into the various races; it stood before the formation of even the galaxies and it therefore takes precedence over all these other incidental and coincidental factors. The moral obligation, the divine privilege, to serve this family precedes all other loyalties. There exists only one other thing more primal than these duties, obligations and privileges, and that is the worshipful recognition and loving response to the Eternal Father, the Primal Source from whence this tremendous reality issues.

Theologies and ideologies reflect the time and place, as well as the level of enlightenment of the individuals and people wherein, wherefrom and through whom they originate. These very material facts, the diversity of their origins and the relationships that govern them, imply that theologies and ideologies inevitably become contaminated by materialistic thinking - materialism. Our perception of the unifying and indivisible truth from whence we all draw our existence is thus obscured and refracted and, consequently, is our primordial sense of loyalty and brotherhood corrupted, distorted, perverted and twisted. In our confusion, we mistake brothers for enemies and out of the dark fear soil of the human heart spring vengeance and violence, hatred and wrath, the Masters of Woe, the Architects of Tragedy, Sorrow and Heartache.

Once we learn to spiritually transcend material differences; racial, national, religious and ideological, and from that exalted perspective learn to perceive the underlying unity that creatively binds all this endless diversity, then will we have entered truly and fully into the clear light of unending truth and therein shall the darkness of our ignorance no more be found and our cup of joy will be filled to overflowing!

Destiny

Strange Preacher — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 20:47:09 -0400

Destiny

Click the Link below to Listen Now to Destiny

Entrance into the Kin-dom

Strange Preacher — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 20:13:57 -0400

Entrance Into The Kin-dom

Click the Link below to listen Now to the Entrance into the Kin-dom

Next Generation Gospel

Strange Preacher — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 18:28:49 -0500

The gospel of Jesus of Nazareth cannot be wholly limited to the things he said; only the matchless life he lived can provide us with the full stereoscopic reality of the depth of his teachings. It is remarkable to think that such marvellous truths could be hidden in plain sight. Indeed, if you were to ask many Christian theologians 'what was truly original about the teachings of Jesus?' many would be at a loss to tell you, and while this might seem extreme – it is nonetheless valid.

Part of the difficulty we experience when we try to interpret the life and teachings of the Man from Nazareth is to be found in the audience of Jesus. Of necessity, he had to speak in a language they would understand – not simply Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek but employing the idioms of that day, age and culture. Consequently, it was inevitable that he would employ the vocabulary of concepts supplied by the Torah; it was literally the only show in town. While he was at pains to ensure his disciples did not confuse the Torah with the Gospel he taught and lived, undoubtedly, the flawless fluidity with which he employed the Torah to relate gospel truths compelled his followers to think they were co-extensive and mutually inter-dependant. Heaven knows, they were hardly likely to be very familiar with the traditions of others.

Jesus was so skillful in the art of putting new spin on old truths; so artful in his employment of available idioms and common concepts; so expert in using the ordinary and everyday things of life to communicate extraordinary truths; and we should remember, the truths he taught were so vital, vivifying, and enlightening, that not only was their spirit revered but so too were their very forms; such that incidental facts associated with the gospel came to be viewed as fundamental elements of it – the New cloth was sewn onto the Old. Consequently, the Old Wineskin of the Torah, contrary to the teachings of Jesus, was blended with the New Wine of the Gospel he taught and lived. For all his effort to ensure that his followers did not confuse the spirit of his gospel with its inevitable cultural expression, the subtlety of his message proved too fine – consequently they missed his point, and his gospel became identified with, and ultimately seen as an extension of, the Torah. Such was the success of this hybridisation that in the hearts and minds of nearly all Christendom the Torah is now regarded as an indispensible element of the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth.

While it is easy to see how this error evolved, there can be no overestimating the significance the difficulty this presents to the forward motion of the gospel. People’s loyalties, once mobilised, are difficult to reset; especially is this so when people are locked into a tradition where disloyalty means a first class ticket to Hell! While the highly serviceable nature of the Torah is beyond question, it should be borne in mind that the Spirit of Truth can gainfully employ the truth of any tradition. The Spirit of God is not limited by gender, race or religion; the Creation may be limited but the Creator is not; the Creation is an instrument of the Creator but it is not that Creator. However, we commit a tremendous spiritual blunder when we take one piece of the Creation and say ‘that and that alone’ reflects the Creator and this is what we do when we assert the primacy of one tradition over another.

Do you realise, or can you appreciate, the truly marvellous nature of the revelation made by Jesus? For many people, prior to the arrival of Jesus, God was a terrifying mystery – the One who inspired fear and dread; a God of War, Judgement, and Vengeance; but the Cross put an end to such a god. Behold! In place of the god of War, we find the Prince of Peace! In place of Judgement, we find Mercy! In place of Vengeance, we find Forgiveness! In Jesus we discover a God who inspires Love and Faith and Hope; a God who can quench the raging fire of terror with the Great River of Peace that flows from the Rock of Faith; who can turn tragedy into triumph, defeat into victory, despair into hope, death into everlasting life; who can transform the flawed and weak creatures of time into the perfected children of an Eternal God.

And so, on the cross, we see the greatest spectacle this world has ever beheld! The death of an old god and the birth a new and everlasting Ideal; a God who inspires transforming love, a hope that can give life new direction, new meaning, new value; an enlightened faith that no darkness can extinguish! A God of Loving Mercy! Behold! He was beaten and tortured, did he curse? Did he revile? Did he promise retribution? Vengeance? No! This is the one who proclaimed, 'You that have seen me, have seen God.' Behold the Great Revelation! Know your God!