Imitation of Christ - Part IV

On following Christ our model

"No follower of Mine will ever walk in darkness." (John 8:12)

These words of our Lord counsel all to walk in His footsteps. Make it your aim to meditate on the life of Jesus Christ.

Christ´s teching surpasses that of all the Saints. But to find this spiritual nourishment you must seek to have the Spirit of Christ.

Be determined to detach your heart from the love of visible things, allowing it to center on those unseen.

Imitation of Christ - Part III

Our final home

Christ

My child, let not the labors which you have undertaken for My sake crush you, nor cause you to lose heart.

Whatever happens, have confidence that My promise will be your strength and consolation. I will reward you beyond all limits and measure.

Labor perseveringly in My vineyard, and I Myself will be your reward. Eternal life is worth all these combats and more. Peace shall come at a time known only to the Lord. It will not last a day or a night as we calculate time; there will be light everlasting, infinite glory, unbroken peace and undisturbed rest.

If we could only see the saints in heaven and in what great glory they now rejoice, how we would humble ourselves to the dust.

If you are really eager to get to heaven , you will relish with joy the struggles and conflicts of this world. Where I am with all My Saints, here in the kingdom of My Father, is where you will remain safe and at rest after your tribulations in this world are at an end.

Disciple

O blessed mansion of the heavenly city ! How bright is the day of eternity ! There no darkness ever obscures, for God, the high Truth , illumines and makes all clear.

I think of heavenly things. Blessed are those who abandon all created things for love of You, O Lord. Then with a serene conscience they may offer pure prayer to You.

The gift of life as an instrument for service

Imagine for a moment that, through a strange twist of fate, you wake up one morning and find yourself imprisoned in a nameless country and for political reasons scheduled for execution at midnight. You gaze out through prison bars and see the first rays of your last sunrise

You feel greedy for every sight, every sound, taste and aroma. You eat your last meal as the shadows grow long outside. And as the sun sets, you say your final farewell to the light of day, for you will never again see the sunrise. Each passing minute draws you closer to your final good-bye, your last prayer, and, finally, your last breath.

A final day awaits us all.

We may know in advance when our end is near, through declining health, a terminal illness, old age. Or we may have only a few seconds´ notice, or none at all.

When the executioner raises his scythe, how many of us may want to say, "Wait ! Just another moment, please ! Let me take one more sweet breath ! Give me one more sight, sound, touch of my beloved ! Just one more moment !"

Now is the time to see, to listen, to touch - bring our best to life while we have the life for it. How much we have, no one can say. Life itself is a near-death experience.

Consider how we appear from nowhere, as microscopic specks on a minuscule, blue-green moving dot through the infinity of space and time. Our lives are ephemeral and brief, and yet we strive to love, to serve, to find meaning and fulfillment while we live. Life itself is a hero´s journey.

But counting our blessings leads to a desire to give something back. Thus begins the path of service.

- Dan Millman

Imitation of Christ - Part II

Dialogue on suffering

Christ

Stop complaining and consider My Passion and the sufferings of My Saints. You ought to remind yourself to the intense sufferings that others endured for Me, that you may bear your own little miseries more easily.

The better disposed you are to suffer, the more wisely you will act and the more merit you will have, because you have prepared yourself for it and are well disposed to accept it.

Persons who are really patient do not mind who causes their suffering. They accept all gratefully as from the hand of God and consider it a great benefit.

Without a conflict you can not obtain the crown of patience. There is no rest without labor, or victory without battle.

Disciple

O Lord Jesus, make possible to me by grace what is impossible by nature. I beseech You, that any trouble or adversity may be loved by me for Your Name, for it is very profitable to my soul to suffer and be afflicted for You.

Imitation of Christ - Part I

This will be a series that contains excerpts from the book "Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A Kempis.

Dialogue on the topic of prayer

Christ

My Child, in every circumstance this is how you should pray:

"Lord, if it be Your will, so let it be, and if it be to Your honor, let it be fulfilled in Your Name. Lord, if this be for my good, give me the grace to use it for Your honor; but if you know that it will be harmful to me and not profitable to my soul, then take away from me such a desire."

It is with fear of God and a humble heart that you should desire and ask for whatever comes to your mind as desirable. With entire abandonment of yourself to God, commit all things to Me,saying:
"Do with me what You know to be best, as pleases You best and as will best promote Your glory."

Disciple

O most merciful Jesus, grant me always to will and desire what is most pleasing and acceptable to You.

Grant, above all things to be desired, that in Your heart alone may be my peace.

Apart from you, all is difficult and never still. In that peace, in You who are the one, I will sleep and take my rest. Amen.

Die Kunst des Scheiterns

Freitagabend, 24. August 2007 in der NDR-Talkshow: Das ist mutig, wenn einer nicht hinterm Berg hält mit seiner Abhängigkeit von Kokain und Crack, seinem finanziellen Zusammenbruch und seiner Verzweiflung am Leben. Liedermacher Konstantin Wecker erzählt von seinem Scheitern, von der Zeit, als vom einstigen Glamour nichts mehr übrig war - und er macht Mut, zu sich selbst zu stehen, auch zu dem, was daneben gegangen ist.

Im Juni ist er 60 geworden. 60 Jahre - und ein bisschen weise. In seinem Buch Die Kunst des Scheiterns - Tausend unmögliche Wege das Glück zu finden spielt die Lebensweisheit eine große Rolle. Wecker, der sich selbst einen typischen Herdplattenanfasser nennt (alles selbst ausprobieren muss), sagt: Das, was man in dieser Gesellschaft als Erfolglosigkeit versteht, muss nicht wirklich eine Erfolgslosigkeit sein für die innere Entwicklung.

Scheitern gehört zum Menschsein dazu. Scheitern im Kreis der Weight Watchers. Scheitern in Beziehungen, an Idealen. Es einfach nicht schaffen, was wir so gut vorhaben. Die Prüfung nicht bestehen. Mit der Firma in roten Zahlen landen.

Willkommen im Club. Wie viele Flugversuche sind gescheitert, bevor es dann endlich geklappt hat mit dem großen Traum vom Fliegen.

Wenn wir in die Bibel schauen: Lauter Biographien, wo das Scheitern eine große Rolle spielt:
Der Apostel Paulus hat sehr darunter gelitten - und welche Antwort hat er bekommen? Lass dir an meiner Gnade genügen, denn meine Kraft ist in den Schwachen mächtig!

Wenn Gott mit Menschen etwas vorhat, dann sucht er nicht die makellosen Siegertypen aus, sondern die, die was vom Scheitern verstehn.

C.G. Jung hat mal gesagt: Ein kräftiges Leid erspart oft 10 Jahre Meditation.

Es fällt mir nicht leicht, mit dem Scheitern umzugehen, wie Rita Süssmuth zu sagen: Hinfallen ist nicht schlimm. Wichtig ist, dass wir immer einmal mehr aufstehen als hinfallen.

Es fällt mir nicht leicht, wie Alexis Sorbas nach dem Zusammensturz einer Brücke zu lachen und zu sagen: Hast du jemals etwas so schön zusammenkrachen gesehen? - und danach Sirtaki zu tanzen.

Aber das, was der Konstantin Wecker erzählt hat, das hat mir Mut gemacht, mich mit dem Scheitern zu versöhnen. Das ist menschlich.

Lach mal drüber. Nimms nicht so tragisch. Nimm dich selbst nicht so ernst. Nobody is perfect. Versuch doch auch mal, Sirtaki zu tanzen! - Und schau, es hat dich verändert, es hat dich weiter gebracht!

(Quelle: Heidrun Kuhlmann = www.seelenfutter.de)

A Sermon in action

Example No.1:

One afternoon years ago, reporters and officials gathered at a Chicago train station, awaiting the arrival of a Nobel Prize winner. He stepped off the train - a giant of man, with bushy hair and a large mustache. As the cameras flashed, the officials extended their hands and began telling him how honored they were to meet him. The doctor thanked them and then, looking over their heads, asked if he might be excused for a moment.

Walking through the crowd with quick steps, he soon reached the side of an elderly woman who was having trouble trying to carry two large suitcases. He picked up the bags in his large hands and, with a kind of smile, escorted the woman to a bus. As the doctor helped her aboard, he wished her a safe journey. Then, since the crowd had tagged along behind him, he turned and apologized to them for keeping them waiting.

The man was Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary-physician who had spent his life helping the poorest of the poor in Africa. Said a member of the reception committee to one of the reporters:

"That´s the first time I ever saw a sermon walking."

- Sandra from New York

Example No.2:

I met a man at a wedding party one day. He was in a wheelchair and cornered me for the better part of an hour. He was badly deformed and had been that way from birth. We had a very pleasant conversation and when I learned he had a job I asked what kind of work he did. He told me he was an engineer and worked for the state. I was impressed. I guess he could see that I was impressed and went on to say,

"I suppose some people would think that I should have been aborted, but I have had a terrific life, and I really love my work."

This man´s life is a living sermon. He doesn´t have to say a word.

- J. Girzone

Basketball: More than just a game !

"Basketball teaches:

- It teaches us that even when there is no chance to win, there is still an opportunity to be a hero.

- It takes effort. You have to practice. Practice real hard.

- You have to practice Dedication, Teamwork, Sportsmanship, Patience, Unity and Love.

And if we can practice all those things to make our game better, can´t we practice those things to make "OUR World" better !?"

Magnificent approach to a game that sometimes is more than just a game.

Barack Obama´s way to Christ !

"In the day-to-day work of the men and women I met in church each day, in their ability to "make a way out of no way" and maintain hope and dignity in the direst of circumstances, I could see the word manifest.

And perhaps it was out of this intimate knowledge of hardship, the grounding faith in struggle, that the historically black church offered me a second insight: that faith doesn´t mean that you don´t have doubts, or that you relinquish your hold on this world.

In the black community the lines between sinner and saved were more fluid; the sins of those who came to church were not so different from the sins of those who didn´t, and so were as likely to be talked about with humor as with condemnation.

You needed to come to church precisely because you were of this world, not apart from it; rich,poor,sinner,saved, you needed to embrace Christ precisely because you had sins to wash away - because you were human and needed an ally in your difficult journey to make the peaks and valleys smooth and render all those crooket places straight.

It was because of this newfound understandings - that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved - that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized.

It came about as a choice not an epiphany; the questions I had did not magically disappear. But kneeling beneath that cross on South Side of Chicago, I felt God´s spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth."

- From the book "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama

The Touch of the Master´s Hand

`Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste mudh time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who´ll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar," then, "Two! Only two ?
Two dollars and who´ll make it three ?
Three dollars once, three dollars, twice;
Going for three - " But no,
From the room far back, a grey-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quite and low,
Said, "What am I bid for the old violin ?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who will make it two ?
Two thousand ! And who`ll make it three ?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going and gone,"said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried.
"We do not quite understand
What changed its worth." Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a master´s hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of pottage", a glass of wine.
A game - and he travels on.
He is "going" once, and "going" twice.
He´s "going" and almost "gone".
But the master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and a change that´s wrought
By the touch of the Master´s hand.

12 reasons why following Christ is the coolest thing !

Here are a dozen reasons why I think it´s the coolest thing to be a follower of Jesus Christ:

1. You are in touch with the "Most High".

2. You are never alone. In Jesus you have a best friend. A friend that wants to know you, who always understands and never criticizes or accuses you. He promised it: "I´ll never leave you alone."

3. God has a perfect plan for your life. With Him on your side you never have to worry about your future. If you trust in Him, everything that happens serves for your highest good.

4. You are given the book of books - the Bible. God talks so wonderfully through this book. A guideline for your life and God´s love letter.

5. In following Christ you join into one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide world. We are family !

6. Your view on things and people change. Jesus shows you that true wealth is coming from within and that love is the way !

7. You can be yourself, without the fear of getting rejected. As a child of God you are meant to be free and destined to develop your unique personality.

8. Living with God doesn´t mean that everything will be going fine in your life. But He has the power to give you the inner peace that is needed to withstand the struggles of life. And the rest that God gives, passes all understanding.

9. His grace enriches your life. God always forgives. Like the paraple of the prodigal son: He will never turn away from you and He will always welcome you with open arms, no matter what happened ! Like a loving father.

10. God in your life means that the door of eternity opens !

11. There are so many great role models and saints who showed that Jesus is real. In finding such a role model you can add another good guideline to your life.

12. Go out and be confident:

- I am a child of God and perfectly free.
- My best friend is Jesus Christ who always understands and who will never leave me alone.
- His Spirit lives in me.

And please don´t you ever be ashamed of that connection.Instead, go out into the world, live and proclaim:

"It is the coolest thing to follow Jesus Christ. Period !"

Be blessed !
Yours,
Martin

The Cross, the Diamond and the Joy that is found in Jesus !

The integral part of our spirituality is carrying the cross with Christ. The Cross or sacrifice will always be part of our life with Jesus.

Most pain, is not caused by our relationship with God. Frequently, our troubles are of our own making, or are just part of ordinary living: The pain of loss, the pain of illness, the pain of depression, the emotional pain that comes from so many unfullfilled needs. These kinds of pains are not due to commitment to God, but are just part of life.

The comforting phenomenon, however, is the fact that they can all be incorporated into our life with God and can facilitate an even greater intimacy with Jesus, because it allows us to share with Him all these hurts and anxieties, and find in His friendship the comfort and guidance we need.

Nothing that happens in our lives is wasted energy. God in some way will find a way to put things to good use sometime, somewhere.

When you read the lives of the saints, there is hardly one who did not suffer intensely in his or her life.

I like to think of a piece of coal and a diamond in this regard. Both are made of carbon. One is worthless, the other is priceless, even though they are both made of the same material. The difference is that a diamond is a piece of coal that has been subjected to the intense heat and pressures of the earth until all the impurities have been driven out of it. It then becomes a diamond, and priceless. You might say that a diamond is a piece of coal that has suffered.

Even though the cross is essential to the development of true spirituality, it does not hang over the life of Jesus and should never cast a pall over the life of His followers. Joy will always be the predominant spirit of Jesus´approach to our life with God. Jesus was above all else a happy person, and a person remarkably free, free from the grip of material things, free from unhealthy attachments to people, free from obsessive hang-ups and neurotic needs.

It is a pleasure to watch Jesus move so easily through life, even with His knowing the troubles were always impending. He never allowed Himself to be obsessed with worry or with a sense of doom. Problems He handed over to His Father, as if that was His business. He just did what He knew He had to do each day. In living this way He was able to manifest a remarkable detachment and continually radiate a spirit of joy.

- Joseph Girzone, "Never alone - A personal way to God"

Michael Jordan - Remain positive !

Michael Jordan´s view on life is an imprint on optimism. Earlier in the video "To the max" he stated:

"If I can ever pass anything on to my kids it would be to be optimistic about everything in life !"



Here are his words of wisdom:

"When my father died, I had him for 32 years. I was very lucky ! I looked at it as being lucky and not as bein´disappointed that he wasn´t around any more. I was lucky that he was there when I needed him. Some kids never had that."

"People are put on this earth for a reason. And you should utilize the time when they are here. And you never now when that is gonna taken away from you. That is one thing he taught me. But why they are here is that they make an impact on someone´s life. And he made impact on my life !"

The Message for us ?

Honor your parents and appreciate the time you have with them !!!

The importance of imitating Jesus !

When I was in a country where Buddhism was popular I picked up a book on Buddha. After giving a synopsis of Buddha´s life, the book went on to describe his way of life and principles. The rest of the book contained a detailed description of how Buddha arrived at his vision of life and how his followers, in imitating him, could find their way to inner peace.

We don´t do that with Jesus:
We have endless books about whether He existed, or whether the Jesus we have learned about is really accurate and historical or mystical.We have endless complicated tracts on fine technical issues,

but we don´t explore Jesus´ way to happiness and peace, or try to understand this feelings about God and Creation or how we view relationships with God, or His attitude toward human weakness.

And when we are close to Jesus and we begin to see through His eyes, we also begin to absorb something of His understanding of His Father. We begin to see God much bigger than someone human. He once said: "Do you not realize that when you see me, you see the Father ?"

So let´s imitate Jesus and take a closer look at His attitude:

1. About our Father:

Jesus projects an image of His Father as always with Him, as the source of His strength, as the intimate partner in everything He does. He tells us that what His Father is to Him, He will be all these things to us as well if we open our hearts to Him.

2. About the Father´s love:

Jesus tries relentlessly to show us that His Father is a loving, forgiving God. God´s perfection is not about the keeping of the commandments, it is about the expression of His ineffable love. Love is the definition of God. It is His essence.
It is what makes Him God. So, in enjoying us to be perfect like His Father, Jesus is challenging us to love as completely and as unselfishly as His Father.

3. Jesus on materialism and what He has to offer:

Jesus Himself was poor, by choice. His poverty was logical for Him. Jesus was detached from material things. He simply enjoyed what He saw in nature, in His Father´s creation. What Jesus had to offer was infinitely more valuable. Freedom of spirit and the joy that flows from that freedom were essential to Jesus.
It is this spirit He passed on to those who follow Him.

4. Forgiveness

Scanning Jesus` own life for examples of forgiveness, I could not help but be amazed at all insults and daily slights that Jesus encountered. And you never see Him taking offense: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" seems to be the overriding attitude in Jesus´mind.

5. How Jesus viewed people:

And Jesus embraced a leper just as naturally as He embraced an official from Herod´s palace. The ability flows from His profound realization that each of us is a child in His Father´s family, and each has a equal dignity. We preach it but Jesus believed it and we see in this the form such belief takes in real life. It is stunning. It is magic in its effect on people. This grace must prompt our charity to reach out to everyone, so that no one will ever be to us a stranger.

6. To do the Father´s will:

There is another aspect of Jesus´life which is an essential facet of His spirituality. That is the realization He is here to do His Father´s will. That should not be unique to Him. It should be the hallmark of each of us. We should all be here to do our Father´s will. We belong to God and our prayer should be:

"God, I finished my job for you today. I may not have done a perfect job, Lord, but I tried. My life is to do your work. I am yours. Keep me in your love. Keep my soul at peace."

Once Jesus establishes this place in our souls, the first gift He shares is peace. Keeping ourselves that we are partners with God, and with Jesus, has an important effect on us. We know we belong to God, and He has to take care of us because we are doing His work. That gives us a feeling of security and a trust that no matter what may come up, God will resolve the problem and bring about a happy end.

It can give us tremendous stability and a remarkable feeling of confidence knowing that we are doing God´s work, and that He is also our partner, and no matter how complicated the route, we will ultimately be succesful.

7. Spirituality:

Jesus didn´t depend on showy external practices. He somehow had a hidden spirituality. Therefore He said:
"When you pray, go to your room and lock your door and pray to your Father in secret and your Father who knows what is secret will hear you."

or

"Do not your good deeds to be seen by others. Those who do such things already have their reward."

In imitating Jesus, He will give us rest. And the rest that He gives passeth all understanding.

- Excerpts from "Never alone" by J. Girzone

The need to read and a way to pray !

Reading opens our minds to the endless possibilities for spiritual growth, depending on where God is leading us and in what direction our energies drive us.

In the past spiritually minded people read the lives of the saints. There was a great benefit in that as well as enjoyment. In getting rid of saints, many modern christians deprived themselves of an army of inspiring whitnesses to faith and heroic spirituality.

Besides reading, prayer is essential. Our relationship with God grows from our constant awareness of His presence in our lives. At first it is difficult to think of Him. But as His presence becomes more real, our sense of His nearness blossoms into an intimate communing with Him in a beautiful kind of prayer. It may be a monologue, but in prayer God works on our attitudes:

- He alters our vision, our understanding of life. Over a period of time spent communing with God, we will notice our attitudes changing toward everything. We think differently about God. We think differently about material things but foremost we think differently about ourselves and others.

- We see God´s creation and everything in it as sacred. Given the time God will eventually transform our whole life. He does this so subtly we do not even know it.

This is what St. Paul meant when he wrote, "I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me."

- From the book "Never alone" by Joseph F. Girzone

Never alone - a personal way to God !

The one thing that is absolutely necessary if we are to develop a spirituality based on Jesus´ life is that we open our hearts to the Person of Jesus Himself, and allow Him to come into our lives to befriend us and guide us. He promised, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you... He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

This is the essence of Jesus in our souls. He is there, not as a dummy, neither hearing or speaking, but as an active partner in our lives, guiding and comforting us when we need Him. It is the this mystical friendship with Jesus that is the core of Christian spirituality, and makes Christian Spirituality a unique costum-designed journey fashioned after uniqueness of each individual person.

Once we open ourselves to God and show a willingness to follow His grace in our lives, we want to see immediate results. Many people feel they have to shed their old selves when they enter the spiritual life, and become saintly over night. It doesn´t work that way.

We don´t grow physically overnight. Neither do we grow emotionally or mentally over night. Growth consists of long involved processes. It is the same with the spiritual life. We grow gradually, over a lifetime.

He does, however, need our cooperation, and when we give Him our goodwill and open our hearts to Him, He sets in motion all the machinery that we need to fulfill the task He has planned for us. That is always exciting and rewarding, because the gifts and talents He has given us are perfectly adapted to the work He has designed for us. That is the perfect blueprint for success, happiness, and fulfillment.

What is important is that we leave ourselves open to God each day so He can use us as He sees fit. To be at his disposal is our responsibility. Humility has to be a fundamental condition of our relationship with God. But we can be sure that He will use us and His using us will always be exciting and always an adventure.

My own life became a whirlwind when I made up my mind that I was not going to forge my own way through life but instead would let God guide me. And it makes good sense. God didn´t create us haphazardly. He made each of us for a purpose and He is determined that we accomplish that purpose.

- From the book "Never alone!" by Joseph F. Girzone

How to develop a healthy self-worth

Discover your worth !

Self worth is not a thing, it is a perception.
Just as a gymnast begins a routine with ten points and receives deductions for each mistake, so you began your life with a natural, complete sense of self-worth. Have you ever met an infant with self-worth issues ? This should be another reason to follow Jesus´command of becoming like children.

But as you grow up, you serve your own judge, deducting points when you misunderstand the nature of living and learning. When you forget that you are a human in training and that making mistakes and having slips of integrity and mediocre moments are a part of life and not unforgiveable sins.

We may have a difficulty with this, because all of us are only too conscious of our many failings and feel we do not have a right to God´s kindness toward us. But that is precisely what makes God´s love so beautiful. It does not spring from the goodness he sees in us, but from the overflowing goodness of His own love and the compassion.

In order to develop a healthy self-worth we have to recognize the need for God in our lives, and placing ourselves in His hands with complete trust, confident of the tenderness of our Father´s love for us.

And the next time you feel that something good can´t last, remind yourself that evolution moves in an upward spiral and that life can, and usually does get better over time. You live and learn, stumble and fall, rise and fall. If you pay attention and develop a good relationship with God you become stronger, clearer, wiser and move up.

Life is a process of rediscovering your worth and the worth of all of God´s children.

The key is to remember that even though we don´t feel very kind, or brave, or even deserving, the roof over our head continues to shelter us from storms, the sun shines upon us even when it´s cloudy, our chairs keep supporting us, and so does God. That is in essence the Grace of God which is found in Jesus Christ.

The following poem is an excerpt from a sermon from Martin Luther King Jr. and expresses the worth of everything in God´s creation:

If you can´t be the highway,
just be the trail.
If you can´t be the sun,
be a star.

´Cause it isn´t by size that you win or fail,
just be the best in whatever you are.

Barack Obama

One of the greatest speeches I´ve ever heard. Take the time and listen to this great man, his values and profound knowledge.

One thing comes to my mind when I listen to it:
The thing that impresses me the most is that he recognized that we can only reach our goal of a peaceful world by trusting in each other, working together as allies and standing as one. Unity is not only a christian principle.

Take a glance at this great speech. And if you happen to have no time at all, I picked some quotes and wrote ´em down below.




- Tonight I don´t speak to you as a candidate for president. I come to you as a proud citizen of the United States and as a proud citizen of the world.

- Berlin, the city of all cities knows the dream of freedom. The people of Berlin refused to give up.

- People of the world, look at Berlin: Where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than 3 years after facing each other on the field of battle.

- Look at Berlin where a wall came down and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.

- The greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us frome each other. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, christians, muslims and jews can not stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.

- Partnership among nations is not a choice. It´s the only way, the one way to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.

- This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons !

- Let us resolve that we will not leave our children to a world where oceans rise and the famines spread and terrible storms devastate our lands.

- Our (the U.S.) allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom. Indeed every language is spoken in our country, every culture has left its imprint on ours.

Heavenly Rap !

Excerpts:
A place where death doesn't reside, just thugs who collide
Not to start beef but spark trees, no cops rollin by
No policemen, no homicide, no chalk on the streets
No reason, for nobody's momma to cry

Cause one day we'll all be together, sippin heavnly champagne
where angels soar, with golden wings in thug's mansion

Picture a place that they exist, together
There has to be a place better than this, in heaven
So right before I sleep, dear God, what I'm askin
Remember this face, save me a place, in thug's mansion

Joshua - by Joseph F. Girzone

Excerpts from the book "Joshua - A parable for today" by Joseph F. Girzone:


1. God´s presents:

Joshua watched them, smiling, with obvious satisfaction at the simplicity of the children´s delight. Then, at once, they turned to Joshua, hugged him, and told him how much they loved him.

He bent down, put his arms around them, and told them that he loved them too.
"Your Father in heaven has given you many presents, just like these little birds, but all alive and free singing for you all day long, and even at night, like the nightingale. You should notice these beautiful creatures and let them remind you how much your Father loves you."

"Do you know God, Joshua ?" the blond-haired girl asked him.
"Yes, I do know him. We are good friends !"

2. Church and religion:

"Josh", Herm asked, "what do you think of church and religion ?"

"Real religion is in people´s hearts, not in buildings. Jesus tried to teach this lesson once before when he told the woman at the well that the time was coming when men would woship neither on Mount Garizim nor in Jerusalem, but would worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

Unfortunately, that lesson never caught on. Religious leaders always felt they had to organize people and structure the practice of religion in such a way that they would become highly respected mediaries with God, and religion then became the practice of what religious leaders told one to do and deteriorated into the measurable observance of manmade laws.

Religion doesn´t have to be like that. Jesus taught that people are free, free to enjoy being God´s children, free to grow and become the beautiful people God intended !"

3. Vision

Each person looks at life through a different vision. Three men can look at a tree. One man will see many board feet of valuable lumber worth so much money. The second man will see it as so much firewood to be burned, to keep his family warm in the winter. The third man will see it as a masterpiece of God´s creative art, given to man as an expression of God´s love and enduring strength, with a value far beyond its worth in money or firewood.
What we live for determines what we see in life and gives clear focus to our inner vision.

4. Solitude

"Joy comes to those who do not fear solitude."

I like being by myself. And I´m never really alone. People stop in all during the day. And besides, God is with us all the time, and He´s real, though we don´t think of that very much.

5. God´s Love

God´s love is like the warmth of the sun, which touches every object in creation at the same moment.

I think that you can best find God if you look within yourself. The most powerful revelation of God´s presence and his love lies within you. If you take the time and talk to God, you will find Him, and in finding Him you will find the greatest joy of your life. He will reveal himself, and in possessing Him you will understand all else.

6. Daily Life

Look in the mirror when you go to your room tonight and you will see an evolution of wonders far more exciting than a miracle. The whole course of each day is filled with endless wonder, which we take for granted because it all flows so smoothly as the ordinary cause of life. But each tiny event, and each moment of time, is a miracle of creation.

Service - Anne Sullivan & Helen Keller

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"There is no higher purpose than service to others."
- Socrates (Peaceful warrior)


Note: Listen to this song and start reading ;)


"Helen Keller is one of the most remarkable persons born in the nineteenth century. She managed to overcome the double handicap of blindness and deafness, and to take an active part in the life of the world.

Of course, she could never have accomplished this alone. Just as remarkable as Miss Keller was her teacher, Anne Sullivan, the young woman who undertook to lead her out of the darkness and enable her to have a normal life.

The dark and silent world in which her brilliant mind was imprisoned became increasingly unbearable. It is no wonder that she later called the day Miss Sullivan came to be her teacher "the most important day in my life".

Nine months after learning her first word, Helen was able to write complete sentences in her letters. Seldom had a devoted teacher been so splendidly rewarded. It is true Helen Keller was an unusually gifted, eager pupil. But the accomplishment of releasing this child´s mind was Anne Sullivan´s.

As a result of the devotion of Anne Sullivan, Helen actually copied the unselfish service of her teacher and spent her busy life in the service of other handicapped people."

As I read the beautiful story of Helen Keller, I was pretty impressed about how she managed to develop a life-loving attitude although she lived in an imprisoned world, without being able to see and hear. In her biography Helen describes the beauty of simply touching flowers or feeling the warmth of the rays of the sun on her skin. Further on it is inspiring for us, who have the ability to see and hear, to appreciate our senses to the full extent.

The reason why Helen achieved all her educational goals and reached the highest academic heights was because of the great woman, her life long teacher and companion:
Anne Sullivan.

She simply dedicated her life to make the life of Helen better. She really understood, that by simply showing love, patience and compassion one can set free unknown territories in others. Even for a deaf-blind child like Helen !

The following excerpt from Helen Keller´s autobiography simply shows how beautiful and loving the service of Anne Sullivan was:

Miss Sullivan put her arm gently around me and spelled into my hand: I love Helen.
"What is love ?" I asked. She drew me closer to her and said, "It is here," pointing to my heart.

Her words puzzled me very much, because I did not understand anything at that time unless I touched it. I smelled the flowers in her hand and asked half in words and half in signs a question which meant, "Is love the sweet smells of flowers ?" "No," said my teacher.

I thought again. The warm sun was shining on us, and pointing in the direction from which the warmth came, I asked again, "Is this love ?".

I thought it was very strange that my teacher could not show me the meaning of love.
One day she came up with an answer:

"Love is something like the clouds that were in the sky before the sun came out. You can´t touch the clouds, you know, but you feel the rain and you know how glad the flowers and the thirsty earth are to have it after a hot day. You can not touch love either, but you know the sweet feeling that it pours into everything. Without love you would not be happy or want to play."


This whole story shows me once again that love is the greatest power on this planet.

And at the end of her biography Helen mentions all the people that had an influence on her life. One of ´em was Bishop Brooks. She describes what she learned from him:

"Once when I was puzzled to know why there are so many religions, he said:

There is only one religion, Helen - the religion of love. Love God with your whole heart and soul, love the people in the world as much as you can, and remember that the possibilities of good are greater than the possibilities of evil.

There you have the key to heaven !"


Yours,
Martin

True success

------------------------------------------------

Success

To laugh often and love much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love this Faith !

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Faith and Basketball

In my opinion the game of Basketball has a lot in common with our Christian Faith. The cornerstones of a good Basketball team are teamwork, selflessness and compassion. Championship teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls or the Boston Celtics are role models for those three great principles.

Teamwork, selflessness and compassion are found many times in the Holy Bible as well. The most popular simile might be Jesus and His 12 disciples. This group of men showed us that Faith is definetly something that needs to be shared with each other. Through Christian Fellowship we are also able to develop a deeper relationship with God and Jesus.

And although Jesus was, speaking in terms of Basketball, the superstar of the team, he always cared for his companions and in the end even died for them and eventually, which is far more important, for you and me also:

That is love (compassion) and selflessness at its highest level.

Coming back to Basketball, the motto of the Boston Celtics championship team of last years season was "Ubuntu": An african symbol for togetherness. As a result, superstars like Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce layed down their pride and really cared about making their teammates better. They achieved their goal of finally winning a championship by sacrificing their personal needs for the sake of the team. To me this is compassionate and selfless Basketball.

As a fan of Jesus and also as a fan of the game of Basketball, I´m gettin´ always filled with great joy when I watch the videoclips of the "NBA Cares" - campaign. A national wide initiative in which NBA Stars like Kobe Bryant or Dirk Nowitzki demonstrate their love for the community and really care about not so fortunate people. They send out the message: Basketball is far more than just a game.



Long story short, Faith and Basketball stand for:

- Teamwork,
- Selflessness, and
- Compassion.

"I love this game !" is an official slogan of the NBA and it is an often used phrase by Basketballfans all over the globe.

So let´s add a new slogan to our treasury of words:

"I LOVE THIS FAITH !"

Be blessed !

Faith in action - News Release Basketball

In this post I want to share an amazing story that I´ve experienced during this years´ News Release Basketball Tour in Lörrach.

It is a story about the impact of prayer:

When I first met with the team at the end of July in Loerrach I felt an immediate connection to my future fellow players on the team. Normally it is usual that basketballplayers have a special bond. But the fact that all of these guys are walkin´ where the Good Lord leads added an even deeper connection. It was truely a blessing.

Our first game was against an election team from Switzerland. Their best player happened to be their coach as well. Until half-time it was an intense game and we were up with only 4 points. During the game their best player (and coach) started some really dirty talk. Fortunately he was cursing at our players mostly in german, so his trash talk didn´t have that kind of an impact on us. But we all could feel the hostility that the guy threw verbally in our direction.

Unfortunately we simply couldn´t ignore his provocations and kind of gestured back at him. And although we won with over 20 points in the end, this trash talk was definetly the negative note of our first game together.

As fate would have it, we were goin´ to play this guy again four days later, since he was the coach of the local YMCA Lörrach. That game kind of presented us the opportunity to get things straight: After Game 1, in our team meeting, we talked things over. And we agreed to pray for this guy in particular before our next game against him.

On gameday, right before the game, still in the locker room, we got together in order to pray for the game. It was our pregame ritual to ask God for His presence and guidance during our matches. And we prayed especially for the players that were to give their testimony during half time. The difference on this day was that we included the others´ team coach and player into our prayers. Tim Jones, one of our coaches, prayed for patience, love and understanding goodwill for that person.

After the prayer was over and as we stepped on the court, I felt an immediate transformation. I didn´t see the guy as a bad or hostile person any more. In this moment I really understood the truth that God loves him as much as he loved anybody else in that gym ! My main focus simply wasn´t any more on his inappropriate behaviour or bad attitude.

My thoughts were:
" Man, we prayed for this guy. And although he is our opponent on the court, God loves him as well as anybody else ! And didn´t Jesus give us the command to pray for our enemies and love ´em ? This is a fine lesson !"

I don´t know it for sure but I think we all felt that way. One example was Tim Jones. There was an ingame scene in which Tim Jones happened to foul him pretty hard. He was upset of course but Tim simply directed some nice words towards him and finally gave him a clap on the back: Understanding goodwill !!!
All in all we simply didn´t buy into his lil´games. We had the patience and the love.

We won the game that night again with over 20 points. But from the spiritual point of view, we really won that game to a 100 %, because we bridged the gulf, through the help and impact of prayer, to walk the walk instead of just talkin´ the talk.

For me, this was faith in action. And Jesus is right: It is something special to be able to love our enemies. This game was a perfect lesson on how a simple prayer can shift our attention to a higher level (spiritual realm) and finally enables us to love our enemies, ´cause God loves our enemies as well !

Thank you, News Release Basketball !

The essence of prayer

Sometimes, when we wish or pray for something and it doesn´t happen, we may believe that God didn´t answer our prayers.

But God always answers our prayers; it´s just that sometimes the answer is no. Perhaps what we are asking for came from kind of fear based desires and attachments rather than from a commitment to growth and learning, which often entails letting go.

True prayer is done with faith, without attachments to outcomes, with the sense, "Thy will be done !".

Sometimes we ask for things without considering whether they serve our highest good:

Some years ago, I met Arthur, who used to be a professional taxi driver. He prayed one day for having one million dollars. He kept working hard. And one day finally he did get his million....A truck collided with his taxi, and he won a 1.6 million-dollar settlement in compension for permanently losing the use of his arms and legs.

When we ask for something, we do well to add, "If it serves my highest good and learning" !

- From the book "No ordinary moments!" by Dan Millman

Our body - A gift from God !

When in balance, our body is one of the finely tuned instruments in creation. The moment we appreciate our human body as a miracoulus gift from God we feel naturally moved to take better care of it.

And however our body may look, whether it pleases us or not, we get only one, and it lasts a lifetime. To put this another way, our lifetime only lasts as long as our body. And the quality of that lifetime will parallel the quality of our body. During life, with all its cycles, we will say good-bye to friends and loved ones; we will lose a lot of things, but our body, loyal to the end, will stick with us for life - guaranteed. When this truth penetrates fully, we begin to take good care of our "best friend": Our body !

So what are the precise benefits of physical exercise ? And how can I get into it ?

Exercise strengthen muscles, including the heart; it expands our lung volume, increasing oxygen supply to our brain, other organs and all our cells; and it stimulates our nervous system.

In addition to these well-known physiological benefits, exercise clears blocked emotional energies and also raises our metabolic fire, developing an artificial fever that helps purify the body of toxins, making it less hospitable to invading bacteria and viruses.

Those of us who do move regularly know the secret: Physical activity can expand our energy field and can often invigorate us far more than a nap or a rest. Phyisical exercise also stimulates endorphins, the body´s natural painkillers and relaxants.

Not everyone has to compete in athletics or even pursue intense fitness activities to enjoy the benefits of physical training. Appropriate kinds of training exist for every body, every age, and every level of condition.

Fitness and vitality used to refer to brute power, size or muscularity. That´s not the case any more. For instance, lifting weights can build strength, but if we lose our sense of proportion, we end up building more muscles than we need. Muscles weigh more than fat, so we end up carrying around extra weight that serves no useful function.

An excerpt from the book "No ordinary moments" - Dan Millman

Geduld

Die Geduld besteht im Erinnern der Tatsache, dass die Dinge sich zur gegebenen Zeit entfalten, ohne dass es dazu eines besonderen Anstoßes bedarf. Wenn man nicht versucht in diesem Augenblick irgendwo anders zu sein, entwickelt sich die Geduld von selbst.

Man kann die Jahreszeiten auch nicht zur Eile herantreiben. Der Frühling kommt. Das Gras wächst von allein. Eile führt gewöhnlich zu nichts und kann viel Leid verursachen - manchmal für uns Selbst und manchmal für unseren Nächsten.

Geduld ist eine stets mögliche Alternative zu notorischer Ruhelosigkeit und Ungeduld des Geistes. Aus der Perspektive der Geduld geschehen Dinge, weil andere Dinge entstehen. Nichts existiert unabhängig oder isoliert voneinander.

Und es wird uns gelingen, den Augenblick auszubalancieren, wenn wir verstehen, dass die Weisheit in der Geduld liegt, wenn wir uns bewusst sind, dass das, was als nächstes geschieht, dadurch bestimmt wird, wie wir jetzt sind: ...geduldig !

- Jon Kabat

Woody Allen interviews Billy Graham

"Serafim" - A wise christian monk !

Serafim is a christian monk from russia.
In the book "The journeys of Socrates" he discusses faith with his student. But let´s take a look at his words of wisdom:

"In truth, you have no opponents but yourself. Make peace within, and there will be no one who can overcome you. And no one you will wish to overcome.

God remains a mystery even to me. There was once a wise man named Hillel, one of the Hebrew fathers, who said: There are three mysteries in this world...air to the birds, water to the fish and humanity to itself...

I for myself have found God to be the greatest mystery of all, yet as intimate as our heartbeat, as close as our next breath...surrounding us like air, like water...always present. But the mind cannot fathom God, only the heart.That is where you will find the faith.

Abide in the mystery. Trust it. Let go of knowing what should and shouldn´t be, and you will find your faith once again.

The intellect is a great ladder into the sky, but it stops short of the heavens. Only the hearts wisdom can light the way.

Put one foot in front of the other ! You are only a player in a drama greater than anyone but God can conceive.
We can only play the role we are given. Those who appear in your life - whether to help or to harm - are all given by God. Meet all of them with a peaceful heart, but with a warrior´s spirit. You will fail many times, but in failing you will learn, and in learning you will find your way.

In the meantime surrender to God´s will, to the life you were given, moment by moment !

Faith does not rely on knowing anything with certainty. It requires only the courage to accept that whatever happens, whether it brings pleasure or pain, is for the highest good !

Memories themselves are faded paintings. Some we cherish, others are painful. There is no reason to throw them away. Just tuck those you want to keep in a safe place, to review as you wish. The past is not meant to intrude on the present.

In any case, I remind you again that there is nowhere to go. Now is all you have. Wherever you walk, you will always be here.

I don´t even know if the sun will rise or whether I´ll wake up in the morning. I don´t even know if God will grant me my next breath. So I chose to live on faith rather than knowledge - and accept whatever comes, welcome or not, bitter or sweet - all of it, a gift from God.

Each day is a new life and each moment you are born anew. This is one meaning of grace.

How to know God´s will ?
I only know that God speaks through your heart, and that your heart will show the way...to becoming a true man...and a peaceful warrior.
You´ve learned the warrior´s way, so fight:

- Make war on hatred.
- Battle against ignorance.
- Fight for justice.

Only light can banish the shadows from this world."

Die Schönheit der Frau

Dieser Beitrag handelt von der Rolle der Frau und insbesondere die Schönheit, die jede Frau in sich trägt. Eine von Gott gegebene Schönheit.

Das Buch "Weisst du nicht, wie schön du bist ?" von Stacy und John Eldredge hat sehr gute Ansätze. Hier folgen nun Auszüge aus dem Buch:

Zunächst mal ein paar Beispiele, um die Stellung der Frau in anderen Kulturen zu beleuchten:

- Einem chinesischen Sprichwort zufolge soll eine Frau wie Wasser sein: Sie soll keine Form annehmen und keine Stimme haben.

- Ein indisches Sprichwort besagt:
Einer Frau Bildung zukommen zu lassen, ist so, als würde man den Garten das Nachbarn wässern. Sprich: Bildung für Frauen ist sowohl sinnlos als auch Zeitverschwendung.

- Im Hinduismus gilt eine Frau weniger als eine Kuh.

- Nach islamischen Recht braucht eine Frau drei Männer als Zeugen, damit ihre Aussage berücksichtigt wird. Das Wort eines Mannes ist also dreimal so viel Wert wie das der Frau.

- Die Beschneidung der Frau ist vor allem in Afrika immer noch eine weit verbreitete Sitte. Dabei werden die weiblichen Genitalien verstümmelt. Eine beschnittene Frau ist für immer gezeichnet und wird sexuelle Gemeinschaft nie genießen können. Eine sexuell empfindsame Frau gilt in den betreffenden Kulturen als gefährlich. Weiblichkeit muss im Zaum gehalten werden.


Doch was lehrt uns die Bibel über die Identität und die Stellung der Frau ?!
Hierzu sollte man einen Blick auf die Schöpfungsgeschichte werfen:

Dann passiert etwas ganz Erstaunliches. Gott setzt sein Ebenbild in die Welt. Er schafft ein Wesen, das ihm ähnlich ist. Er erschafft einen Sohn. (1.Mose 2,7).
Adam erscheint als Gottes Ebenbild. Mit diesem Geniestreich vollendet Gott sein Werk. Und doch, der Meister ist noch nicht zufrieden. Zumindest vermisst er noch Etwas....und dieses Etwas ist Eva !!!

Sie ist der Schlussakkord, das letzte, erstaunliche Werk Gottes.
Die Frau. Die Schöpfung findet ihren Höhepunkt nicht in der Erschaffung Adams, sondern von Eva.

Sie ist der geniale letzte Pinselstrich des Meisters.
Kein Postskriptum, kein verspäteter Gedanke. Nicht nur eine nette Ergänzung. Sie ist Gottes letztes Werk, der endgültige Beweis seiner Meisterschaft.

Was können wir von Eva lernen ?

Gott wollte etwas von sich selbst offenbaren, deshalb hat er uns Eva gegeben. Denn Gott ist durch und durch beziehungsorientiert und schließlich hat uns Gott in Eva seine eigene Schönheit offenbart.

Für Gott ist Schönheit wesentlich. Eigentlich müsste man es noch stärker ausdrücken: Schönheit ist eine Wesensart Gottes. Das wird uns erst durch die Natur bewusst, ein Geschenk Gottes an uns. Aus der Bibel wissen wir, dass die ganze Schöpfung erfüllt ist von der Herrlichkeit Gottes. Die Natur dient nicht in erster Linie einem Zweck. Sie ist in erster Linie schön.

Gott hat Eva eine schöne Gestalt und einen schönen Geist gegeben. In beidem verkörpert sie Schönheit. Sie bringt Schönheit einfach dadurch zum Ausdruck, dass sie Frau ist. Schönheit ist ihr Wesen, so wie Gottes Wesen Schönheit ist.

Und um es unmissverständlich deutlich zu machen:
Schönheit ist für uns immer beides: Körperliche Schönheit gepaart mit Schönheit der Seele, der Person, des Wesens.

Fazit:

Wir Christen sollten also die Frau als Krönung der Schöpfung ansehen. Und die Schönheit in ihrem Wesen erkennen. Die Welt verramscht und prostituiert Schönheit, indem sie sie lediglich auf eine willkürlich definierte perfekte Figur reduziert.
Wenn wir uns aber die Schöpfungsgeschichte vor Augen halten, dann hat Gott uns mit der Frau ein sonderbares Geschenk gemacht. Ein "schönes" Geschenk !

Death isn´t sad !

Death is life´s ultimate tragedy. That something that always makes a broken heart.
Who hasn´t experienced it ?
And no one can lose a loved one without ending up with a broken heart.

Actually there are a lot of good ways to face the topic of death. In this case the bible is an amazing treasure.

At first take a look at this story and its essence:

One day a young woman lost her three year old son. She told her sister: "I can´t bear the pain and sorrow !"
Her sister replied: "My sister, did you mourn when your son was born ?"
"Of course not !", she answered.
"Well then, you need not to mourn for him now. He has only returned to the same place, his original home, before he was ever born."

This story reveals a basic biblical philosophy. We all have our eternal home in Heaven. We all come from God and we all go back to God.

Just think of death as a transformation, a bit more radical than puberty but in the end it´s just one of the body´s changes. When it happens, it happens. Death isn´t sad. The sad thing is that most people don´t live at all.

Let´s take a closer look at the hope that is found in the bible and especially in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master:


Romans 8, 38-39:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


John 3, 16:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.


John 11, 25, 26

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.


Romans 6:23

The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Am I rich ?!?

"Then said Jesus to his disciples, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go trough an eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
- Matt. 19, 23 - 24

In this situation Jesus was referring to wealth in the common sense.
He said it is not worthy to amass great possessions and collect tons of money.

Jesus never really owned something. To the world´s definition he was actually a poor man. But nevertheless he lived a fullfilled life.

So how should we handle money ?! And what is the proper definition of being rich ?!?

Actually you are rich when you have enough money to satisfy all your desires.

So there are two ways to be rich: You earn, inherit, borrow, beg, or steal enough money to meet all your desires; or, you cultivate a simple lifestyle of few desires; that way you always have enough money.

Jesus actually had the insight and discipline to choose the simple way. He knew the difference between needs and wants.

We have a few basic needs but endless wants. And if we put our full attention to God and every moment we live with Him, that makes us truly rich and happy. The secret of happiness, is not found in seeking more, but developing the capacity to enjoy less.

Take a look at the life of Jesus: His main concern was not money. His main concern was Love and Grace ! So let´s copy this kind of lifestyle and forget about getting rich in the common sense.

Alles Roger - Positiver deutscher Hip Hop

"Man kann die Zeit nicht zurückdrehen. Manche Dinge muss man hinnehmen. Man muss nach vorne sehen !"

"Nach vorne schaun !" heisst der Song von Roger (Blumentopf) und er hat es für einen Freund geschrieben, der ne Trennung hinter sich hatte und ziemlich unter Liebeskummer gelitten hat.

Diesen Song find ich deshalb so gut, weil man ihn eben nicht nur auf eine zerbrochene Beziehung anwenden kann bzw. sollte.

Ja, manche Dinge muss man eben hinnehmen, man muss nach vorne sehen !

Hinten haben wir schließlich keine Augen ;) !

Viel Freude mit dem Song:

Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum

When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best
When I lay me down to die
Goin' up to the spirit in the sky
Goin' up to the spirit in the sky
That's where I'm gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best

Prepare yourself you know it's a must
Gotta have a friend in Jesus
So you know that when you die
He's gonna recommend you
To the spirit in the sky
Gonna recommend you
To the spirit in the sky
That's where you're gonna go when you die
When you die and they lay you to rest
You're gonna go to the place that's the best

Never been a sinner I never sinned
I got a friend in Jesus
So you know that when I die
He's gonna set me up with
The spirit in the sky
Oh set me up with the spirit in the sky
That's where I'm gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
I'm gonna go to the place that's the best
Go to the place that's the best

Praise the Lord and pass Him munition ! =)

Sing along with the Dixie Chicks:

Is your heart right ?!?

From the sermon "Unfulfilled dreams" by Martin Luther King


And this brings me to the basic point of the text. In the final analysis, God does not judge us by the seperate incidents or the seperate mistakes that we make, but by the total bent of our lives. In the final analysis God knows that his children are weak and they are frail. In the final analysis what God requires is that your heart is right.

Salvation isn´t reaching the destination of absolute morality, but it´s being in the process and on the right road.

Some weeks ago somebody was saying something to me about a person that I have great, magnificent respect for. And they were trying to say something that didn´t sound too good about his character, something he was doing.

And I said:
< Number one, I don´t believe it. But number two, even if he is, he´s a good man because his heart is right. >
And in the final analysis, God isn´t going to judge him by that little seperate mistake that he´s making, because the bent of his life is right.

And the question I want to raise this morning with you: Is your heart right ?
If your heart isn´t right, fix it up today; get God fix it up.
Get somebody to be able to say about you, "He may not have reached the highest height, he may not have realized all of his dreams, but he tried."

Isn´t that a wonderful thing for somebody to say about you: "He tried to be a good man. He tried to be a just man. He tried to be an honest man. His heart was in the right place."

And I can hear a voice saying, crying out through eternities:
"I accept you. You are a recipient of my grace because it was in your heart. And it is so well that it was within thine heart."


I don´t know this morning about you, but I can make a testimony. You don´t need to go out this morning saying that Martin Luther King is a saint. Oh, no. I want you to know this morning that I´m a sinner like all of God´s children.
But I want to be a good man !

Oh, this morning, if I can leave anything with you, let me urge you to be sure that you have a strong boat of faith. The winds are going to blow. The storms of disappointment are coming. It will be dark sometimes, and it will be dismal and trying, and tribulations will come.
But if you have faith in the God that I´m talking about this morning, it doesn´t matter.

And I say to you this morning: Yes, I´ve seen the lightning flash. I´ve heard the thunder roll. But I heard the voice of Jesus, saying still to fight on.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone !

And when you get this faith, you can walk with your feet solid to the ground and your head to the air, and you fear no man.

John Q - Fatherly love !

The following video is an excerpt from the movie "John Q" with Denzel Washington.



This scene is so beautiful, ´cause it reminds us of the fatherly love that God has in store for us.

John Q simply wants the best for his son.
With God it is the same way. He also simply wants the best for us !
`Cause we are his children:

1 John 3,1-3

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.

Everybody needs love !

1 Corinthians 13

Love

If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Words from MLK´s Funeral

In the sermon "The drum major instinct !" Martin Luther King Jr. basically spoke the words he wanted to hear at his funeral.

"Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life´s common denominator - that something that we call death.
We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don´t think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, " What is it that I would want said ?" An I leave the word to you this morning.

I´d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr., tried to love somebody.

I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question.
I want you to be able to say that day I did try to feed the hungry.

And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked.

I want you to say on that day that I did try to visit those who were in prison.
I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness.

And all of the other shallow things will not matter.
I won´t have any money to leave behind. I won´t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a commited life behind. And that´s all I want to say:

If I can help somebody as I pass along,
If I can cheer somebody with a word or song,
If I can show somebody that he is traveling wrong.
Then my living will not be in vain !

If I can do my duty as a Christian ought,
If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought,
If I can spread the message as the master taught,
Then my living will not be in vain !

Ray Allen - Life goes on !

Ray Allen, Shooting Guard of the Boston Celtics, compares in this scene Basketball with life:



"I think Basketball is like life. When things go bad for you, you know, there is another game. When you miss a shot, you got another shot !"

The essence of this quote is actually a biblical principle. All the great people who were anointed by God had to withstand struggles and endure some really hard times. But instead of giving up, they kept holding their head high, ´cause: Life goes on !

Look at Joseph, he got excluded by his family and experienced slavery at a really young age. But did he give up ? No !

Look at Peter: He denied Jesus. But did he give up ? No !

Look at Paul: He was severely prosecuted and suffered enormous physical pain. Did he give up ? No !

Look at Job (Hiob): He lost literally everything. Did he give up ? No !

And if you take a closer look at the final destiny of those characters, they all ended up as blessed people.

So let´s never turn our back towards God, even though we have to endure really hard times:

Psalm 23, 4:
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."