Selfishness opposite selflessness

Selfishness turns life into burdens,
while selflessness turns burdens into life.

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Egoïsme tegenover onzelfzuchtigheid

A stupid way, a simple thing

keniwrite looks at  2 kings 5:10-11 and Matthew 9:20-21 questioning

How would you feel when you realize that after the struggles and troubles you went through in getting a solution, all you needed to do was just a simple thing.

Today the eyes of servants may look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, but how many are willing to look at the Greatest Master of all masters, the Only One God Host of hosts?

We may question whose eyes are willing to wait

upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us

No faith aggravated issues and facing so many life difficulties with worried thoughts, even encountering at moments issues that look unsolvable, giving us sleepless nights towards hopeless solutions, so many people are affected by heavy weights with immense burdens. {(Look up)}

Our guestwriter of today may be opening up the curtain, seeing that it’s already morning and thanking God we aren’t mourning. He, like many may be

Going on a journey of faith, lost in the middle

and coming to the conclusion that his feeling was gone

my emotions were washed away, but I can’t help but notice that through my fears I see Hope, Hope am not left alone

Lots of people spend so much money and time on worldly goods, stumbling many times, before they come to realise there is only one solution for our problems. Our divine Creator has given the solution for each of us. We only have to accept it.

Our guestwriter reminds us of the story in the bible about a woman with an issue of blood for twelve years. Let us remember that though she lost a whole lot because of this disease, she didn’t lose hope. She must have heard many stories about the master teacher Jeshua. It might have been a very curious man, but she believed in her heart and was convinced if she only could touch the helm of the garment of Jesus she would be made whole.

It is by that son of God we can come closer to a better relationship with his heavenly Father the Only One True God. by knowing that Jesus is the way to God, we do not have to have sleepless nights or have to feel like a bereaved  sparrow alone on the housetop. with the knowledge that god has sent us His only begotten son, we can count on him. He restored the relationship between God and man and is our mediator the Most High Who is enthroned forever and Whose fame of  His Name endures to all generations. He

will arise and have mercy and loving kindness for Zion, for it is time to have pity and compassion for her, yes, the set time has come. Psalm 102 {Morning Coffee: A Prayer of the Afflicted}

 

2kings 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

2kings 5:11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 

Matthew 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

9:21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

Let me start with a question. How would you feel when you realize that after the struggles and troubles you went through in getting a solution, all you needed to do was just…

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An arm around the shoulder

When ill or not feeling well we can do with an arm around the shoulder.

Several times in our life we are confronted with moments that others try to pull us down or want us to react in a bad way, so that we make ourselves to shame or go against the commandments or will of god. When we give in and react angry they succeed and win their war with us always loosing.

Sister Marilyn Hurst reminds us

Jackie Robinson swinging a bat in Dodgers uniform, 1954. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play major league baseball in the modern era, in 1947. Breaking baseball’s color barrier, he faced disgusting racial slurs from opposing players, baseballs thrown at his head while he was batting, and baserunners sliding with spiked shoes lifted high, trying to cut or slash him. Also, he faced jeering crowds in every stadium. While playing one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he committed an error. Some in the crowd began to ridicule him. He stood at second base, disconcerted and humiliated, while even his hometown fans continued to ridicule and mock him.

Then shortstop Pee Wee Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Robinson, talked quietly to him, and encouraged him, as if the crowd’s cries meant nothing. He was a white Southerner, with his own experiences of racial prejudice, and might have been expected to keep a safe distance from a black man. But it was as if he were saying to everyone:

‘This is my teammate; he’s with me!’ Reese was a star player at this time: popular and successful and well-liked. The fans grew quiet, and the game resumed.

Jackie Robinson later said that that arm around his shoulder saved his career.

A statue will soon be erected and dedicated at the current Brooklyn baseball park, commemorating this simple yet profound act, performed more than 50 years ago now — joining and identifying with another so as to share his suffering.

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Daily Bible Reading Exhortations

May 25

Reading 1 – Jos 11:5,6

“All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain’ ” (Jos 11:5,6).

“A day now near at hand will see the revelation of God‘s righteous anger, and then the further and final restoration of His house, when the glory will return embodied in the new rulers that God has promised to Israel. The ‘great fury’ of God is a necessity created by man’s sin — his pride, cruelty, and corruption of the earth. The classic illustration of what is coming is to be found in the clearing of the land of Palestine by Joshua and the settlement of a purified remnant of Israel in the place of the Canaanites, whose licentious and debased religions had forfeited their right to live. We know more of what the fury of man can do, in the terrible effects of modern war. We know its futility as we realize that there does not exist the power to bring order and peace when destruction has ceased. Apart from the overruling by which the sword of the wicked is made to do the work of God, it is not in man to dispense terrors according to deserts. The striving of the potsherds lacks the elemental basis of justice and righteousness which will never be absent from the fury of God” (John Carter, “Prophets after the Exile” 86).

Reading 2 – Isa 15:1

The word “oracle” or “burden” (Isa 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1; 22:1; 23:1) is from the Hebrew “to lift up”, in foreboding or expectation; it implies something that God has planned for another. More often than not, it speaks of a coming punishment; but at times it simply means an important event involving a particular people. The distinction must be determined by the context. Often, the “burden” begins with warnings of judgments to come, and then proceeds with prophecies of something beneficial arising out of the dark times. Zec 12 illustrates this: it begins with a “burden… for Israel… in the siege”, but then quickly speaks of a time of blessing succeeding the time of affliction: Jerusalem inhabited again in her own place (Zec 12:6,7). The burdens of Isaiah generally follow this same pattern, with special reference to the Last Days of Gentile times and the establishment of “Israel in their own land” (Isa 14:1) and Christ as the “ruler of the land… upon the mount of the daughter of Zion” (Isa 16:1). Also the roles of various Gentile powers, especially in relation to Israel and God’s plans for the Last Days, are outlined. What might first appear to be a dry and unrewarding study becomes in reality a promise of God’s deliverance for His people (in typical prophecies) and a glorious assurance (in initial fulfillments) that God’s purpose stands firm (Isa 14:26,27).

Reading 3 – 2Ti 1:8

“Join with me in suffering” (2Ti 1:8).

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He who knows himself, is kind to others

Do we know our dark side?
‘The Legend of King Ape’ talks about a Buddhist monk who undertakes a dangerous voyage with valuable manuscripts on his back. His fellow travellers were ‘a monkey, a pig and quicksand’ , which symbolise evil powers , our dark side. Dark is what is described as bad, where there is no light.

It is a tremendous undertaking to carry the burden safely across the mountains. Continuously they are confronted with dangerous situations. It comes as a surprise that during this adventure the negative forces undergo a change. They come to a new insight , they convert and in the end even become positive forces that ultimately save the monk. This is not brought about by the holy scriptures on his back or their content, but …

‘The desert the monk crossed’
Each one of us, sooner or later, is confronted with difficulties that can be severe and lead to despair.
We are on ‘quicksand’ , call out and shout and discover that our belief is not enough , it is too weak. What remains is agony of doubt,  desperation, a loud scream. Dark times leave their mark, but also lead to insight, because …

He who went through his own hell… stops with something.
He no longer ‘prescribes’ for someone else. He no longer judges anyone by whom and what he is. He does not construct walls anymore of ‘my values’ that divide, he is no longer caught in a bastion of ‘my norms, standards and criteria’ that call for defence. In short, he no longer ‘stipulates’ what the norm is, because he has experienced, while going through his own hell, that he is accepted for what he is. Unconditionally. Because , notwithstanding his ‘fellow-travellers’, he was not condemned, but rather sustained and forgiven. Or how compassion fell to him. The person who has been allowed to experience this, also becomes compassionate and forgiving to others, it cannot be otherwise, because … he who knows himself, is kind to others.

– Translation from the Bond Zonder Name or Movement Without a Name thought of the month

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Dutch version / Nederlandse versie: Wie zichzelf kent, is mild voor een ander

Bhikkhu Vivekananda, a buddhist monk from Germany and a Vipassana-Teacher, walking on the street or being on his way (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Find to read:

1. May we have doubts
2. Dealing with worries in our lives
3. A Glory followed by Despair
4. Within despair
5. The Person Who Cannot Despair
6. Old age
7. Companionship
8. Watch out
9. Fear, struggles, sadness, bad feelings and depression
10. Are you right down in the dumps? Stop digging!
11. Obstacles to your goal
12. Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair
13. The soul has no rainbow if the eyes have no tears
14. Frank risks taking
15. A small trouble is like a pebble
16. Have a little talk with the Potter
17. A great man does not lose his self-possession when he is afflicted
18. Be happy that the thorn bush has roses
19. Your struggles develop your strengths
20. Remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead
21. Crying and trusting ones do not get disappointed
22. Remember there’s a light in the next day
23. Philippians 4:4–7 – Do Not Be Anxious
24. Is God behind all suffering here on earth
25. To Live Gratitude
26. Seeing or not seeing and willingness to find God
27. Looking at three “I am” s
28. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #10 Prayer #8 Condition
29. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #15 Exposition before the Creator
30. If your difficulties are longstanding, try kneeling
31. A Living Faith #4 Effort
32. In Defense of the truth
33. Some one or something to fear #6 Faith in the Most High

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Love the Whole Person

Love goes there where the tornado wind is not able to enter. It is where the heart sees the light in the darkness. It is the preparedness to bear all burdens together with the other and to make the heavy weights oh so light.

Tania Marie

Always see people in their wholeness – not in the illusions of their temporary stories ❤

This provides them the opportunity to choose to return to themselves and emerge from the darkness, as you hold the light and space at the other end of the bridge for them to cross into.

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