Believe

Do you have faith in health or in illness?
Do you have faith in the abundance of God's universe or in lack?

You say, "What silly questions!" But you do have a choice as to where you put your faith, and this choice will determine your experience.

Are you willing to invest your faith in the solution as much as you may have in the problem?

Faith is a security that can be invested. Anything you have faith in can become a reality in your life. That is the wealth permeating faith. During times of great distress, by holding onto faith in God, you can be carried through the experience.

A gardner plants seeds in the soil and then begins to act on faith. He or she cannot see the growth that is happening beneath the earth, yet continues to water and weed the garden. That is faith! That is belief in the invisible, trusting that there is a Power at work to bring forth the harvest.

We can't see or know the whole picture. But we can know that thre is a Higher Power & Vision and that seeing through our human eyes, we can only see a tiny piece of the whole. That is where faith comes in.

Every Second Counts

Thoughts of a Counselor

And if I count myself a counselor of men, it is only because my soul, which is one with yours, has preached to me.

...My soul preached to me and instructed me to drink the wine that cannot be pressed and cannot be poured from cups.

Before my soul preached to me, my thirst was like a dim spark hidden under the ashes that can be extinguished by a swallow of water.

But now my longing has become my cup, my affections my wine, and my loneliness my intoxication; yet, in this unquenchable thirst there is eternal joy.

My soul preached to me and taught me to touch that which has not become incarnate; my soul revealed to me that whatever we touch is part of our desire.

But now my fingers have turned into mist penetrating that which is seen in the universe and mingling with the Unseen.

...My soul spoke to me and said, "Do not measure Time by saying, 'There was yesterday, and there shall be tomorrow.'"

And before my soul spoke to me, I imagined the Past as an epoch that never returned, and the Future as one that could never be reached.

Now I realize that the present moment contains all time and within it is all that can be hoped for, done and realized.

My soul preached to me exhorting me not to limit space by saying, "Here, there, and yonder."

Before my soul preached to me, I felt that wherever I walked was far from any other space.

Now I realize that wherever I am contains all places; and the distance that I walk embraces all distances.

My soul preached to me and said, "Do not be delighted because of praise, and do not be distressed because of blame."

Before my soul counseled me, I doubted the worth of my work.

Now I ralize that the trees blossom in Spring and bear fruit in Summer without seeking praise; and they drop their leaves in Autumn and become naked in Winter without fearing blame.

...My soul preached to me and taught me much.

And your soul has preached and taught as much to you.

For you and I are one.

(adapted from Secrets of the Heart. Meditations by Kahlil Gibran, II A Counselor or Men, pgs 19-24)

Just Say "No"

There is a story of a legion of soldiers from Thebes (present day Lurer in Upper Egypt) that is a spectacular example of witnessing to others about the Christian faith. They were known as The Roman Theban Legion because the men were Egyptian Christian Copts who had been recruited from and stationed in Thebias in Upper Egypt. All 6600 were Martyred in the town (known in the Roman times) as "Aguanum", an important communication center in 286 A.D. The following is report of why none would survive.


Maximian, the second in command to Emperor Diocletian, ordered the Theban Legion (which were quartered in the east) to march to the border of Gaul (France). The legion camped in (present day) Switzerland. There they were to assist him against the rebels of Burgundy. It was the custom of the Romans to move troops from extreme parts of the empire to avoid the problem of Roman-trained soldiers participating in uprisings to free their native lands.

[It should be noted here that the Egyptians or the Copts accepted Christianity so very rapidly to the extent that the Romans had to exercise a series of persecutions in an attempt to suppress the growth of a religion which openly defied the divinity of the Emperor. The Roman Edict of 202 A.D. decreed that Christian conversion should be stopped at all costs. The edict of 250 A.D. decreed that every citizen should carry at all times a certificate issued by the local authorities testifying that he had offered sacrifice to the gods. Those who refused to conform were tortured with unprecedented ferocity. Some were beheaded, others were thrown to the lions and others were burnt alive. All were subjected to even innovated veracious torture regardless of age or sex. The Catechetical School of Alexandria was closed by order of the authorities, though its members continued to meet in other secret places. At one time, the number of bishops was restricted by the State to three. The consummation of the age of persecution is considered by the Copts to be during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305). So severe was the mass execution and the savage torture of the Copts that they took the day of DiocIetian's military election as Emperor to mark the beginning of the era of the Coptic martyrs. That very day marked the start of the Coptic Calendar known in the Western world as Anno Martyrum (A.M.) or the year of the Martyrs.]

There are conflicting reports as to the timing of the event: there are some reports that state the following happened the night before the attack and others reporting that it took place after the revolt was quelled), the Emperor Maximian issued an order that the whole army should join offering sacrifices for the Roman gods for the success of their mission. The order included killing Christians. Only the Thebian Legion dared to refuse to comply with the orders declaring that they were Christians themselves. The legion withdrew itself, encamped near Aguanum and refused to take part in these rites. The declaration angered Maximian

He stood them in file and had them decimated (i.e. every 10th man killed) hoping to intimidate the rest. The remaining soldiers met together and wrote a letter to him, which then all signed. They wrote:

Great Caesar - we are your soldiers, and at the same time we are God's slaves. We owe you our military service, but our prime allegiance we owe to God. From you we receive our daily wages; from Him our eternal reward. Great Caesar, we cannot obey any order if it turns counter to God's commands. If your orders coincide with God's commands we will certainly obey; if not, 'we ought to obey God rather than man' (Acts 5:29) for our loyalty to Him surpasses all other loyalties. We are not rebels; if we were, we would defend ourselves for we have our weapons. But we prefer to die upright than to live stained. As Christians, we will serve you. But we will not relinquish our faith in our Lord, and this we openly declare.

This steadfastness of the whole legion infuriated Caesar and he ordered the Roman soldiers to wipe out the whole legion, which they did. Pere Cheneau, the historian, described the event in this way:

Thus they were martyred...It was a mighty holocaust; an unparalleled massacre, the plains were drunk with blood and the bodies strewn to the winds. But by being willing to make the supreme sacrifice, the men of the Theban Legion proved that their faithfulness to their Heavenly Lord and King surpassed their valor as soldiers in the army of the temporal ruler.

(painting by Joannis Santoniadis)

Calling

The call is to Community
The impoverished power
that sets the soul free in humility
to take the vow
that day after day
we must take up the basin and the towel
in any ordinary place
on any ordinary day.
The parable can Live again
when one will kneel
and one will yield
our savior/servant
must show us how
through the will of the water
and the tenderness of the towel.
     -- Lyrics by Michael Card

Healing Center of Arizona

Meditation

Each morning, sit quietly with your eyes closed and let your mind go blank and hold hands with God for just 1/2 hour (30 minutes) or more if you can.

Meditation gathers all of your scattered thoughts together and allows God within you to shape and mold and heal them for His purpose.

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Goodness

This is what should be done
By those who are skilled in goodness,
And who know the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech.

Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.

Peaceful and calm,
and wise and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.

Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.

Wishing:
in gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.

Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong,
omitting none,
The great or the mighty,
medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those born and to-be-born
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.

Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.

Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world:
Spreading upward to the skies,
And downward to the depths;
Outward and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.

Whether standing or walking,
seated or lying down,
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.

This is said to be the sublime abiding.

By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one,
having clarity and vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.

-- from the Metta Sutta