God bless the pope
We pray for the pope

Horseman: Thank you! Apology.. I wish I would forget nobody, so please add groups of people who you think of with regards to being victims of the Hitler regime..

Radiant Aunt: don't forget:
communists,catholics...trade unionists...jehova witnesses....

for all the soldiers who gave their lifes to FREE Europe from the occupation of the Germans during the Second World War..

also for ALL the undergroup warriors who gave their lives to save the lives of those who fought or those who were to be captured..

also for ALL the victims of the Hitler regime: Jews, Gipsies, homo sexuals, mental handicapted people..

Today May 5th, The Netherlands celebrates their 60 Years of Liberation after World War II!!

Praise the Lord for us living in Freedom thanks to these warriors..

Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and departed.

As the monks continued on their way, the one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. "Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!"

"Brother," the second monk replied, "I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her."

http://www.rider.edu/~suler/zenstory/zenstory.html

http://www.ccel.org/index/classics.html
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/
http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm

Happy Easter - Hristos Voskrese !
It's the Day of the Lamb - Best wishes to you and your families. ~*~ .

Jules: great site Jules, thanx:)

http://www.religion-online.org/


It's a Christian site.

One day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a river. "Look at the fish swimming about," said Chuang Tzu, "They are really enjoying themselves."
"You are not a fish," replied the friend, "So you can't truly know that they are enjoying themselves."

"You are not me," said Chuang Tzu. "So how do you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves?"




(A western version of this story describes two philosophers on a walk while discussing phenomenology. One of them kicks a dog and says, "See! This dog is experiencing pain".... etc.)

Just learned yesterday and some of you the day before, that the Docs informed her, that is benign!! Remember the surgery she had beginning of this year... she has been in agony for a while now.. Imagine how much JOY this gives her and Happiness :-) Good4Her!

I put up a surprise party for her at Gods Place! Please join in, enjoy the cakes and the champaign and drop her a line :-)

Thank you
~*Josetta*~

Horseman: thank you, that is very interesting! :-)

for those who want ta learn more, like why the bread is dipped twice, or about pesach...

I recommend: www.torah.org

Radiant Aunt:
;)anytime Radiant.anytime.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall
--Confucius

Ecclesiastes 7 (New International Version)
20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.

God to enfold me,
God to surround me,
God in my speaking,
God in my thinking.

God in my sleeping,
God in my waking,
God in my watching,
God in my hoping.

God in my life,
God in my lips,
God in my soul,
God in my heart.

God in my sufficing,
God in my slumber,
God in mine ever-living soul,
God in mine eternity.

ancient celtic oral traditions - carmina gadelica

Horseman: Thank you so much for sharing this!!! Bless your heart

terms: Hagada=Passover night liturgy
Kashrus=dietary laws
Tahars=laws of family purity
Jews remember in the Divrei Negidim (in the book of Exodus part)
3-fold subjugation of Israel by Egypt
1.they were in Exile (strangers in a strange land)
2.They were enslaved in exile
3.They were tortured physically and mentally
as 4 signifies completion they remember the four expressions of freedom...this fullness that is the final stage of development and made them a nation with a purpose
4 expressions of freedom (exodus 6:6-7)
God says
1. I shall take you out from your burdens of egypt
2.I shall rescue you
3.I shall redeem you
4.I shall take you to me.

In this God tells them that he will take them to him as a nation. It is at this point in time that GOd makes the Jews his chosen people.

Because of the disgrace and disrespect that Cham (Ham) showed Noach (Noah) he was cursed. His decendants the slaves of his brothers. In egypt the Jews were in effect the slaves of slaves. How much lower is there?
And God raised them up. God took them and made them his chosen people.
It is this journey, from slave to freedom and God that passover celebrates.
MAtzo represents the bread they ate as slaves and their hasty departure from egypt
Maror...the bitter herbs...to remember the bitterness of being slaves
They dip the bread twice and
recline when eating because reclining is the act of a noble man. There is the cup for Eiljah in memory that he will return.
there are 4 questions asked. THe first is:
Why is this night different from all {other} nights?
4 cups represent the 4 expressions God uttered upon freeing his people from egypt.

Also remember that it was during the sabbath that Christ was sacrificed. THere were 2 sabbaths that week. The yearly Sabbath of Passover and the weekly sabaath on saturday.

Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord. Hallelu Yah

Today at the Women Aglow meeting one of our sisters shared with us ,that today The Passover will be celebrated in Jerusalem, Israel. Its the day before the Jewish Pesach. The women are cleaning their houses and preparing for the Celebration. This cleaning proces has been done ages and ages.. continuously. Its an action to move out all the dirt and dust out of their houses.. a parallel to what happened at Easter: Jesus' Death moved out all the sin of our lives. The PassOver in Egypt was a forshadowing of what Jesus came to earth for: his suffering and cruxifiction and death. Jesus was the Passover Lamb. It also symbolises to get the Egypt out of our lives. The gentile believers will be together with the Jewish believers and when they get together we will be in His Presence: He will be our Hiding place!!

You are my hiding place,
You always fill my heart
with songs of deliverance
whenever I am afraid. I will trust in You!

I will trust in You!
Let the weak say I am strong
in the strength of my God.

Psalm 32:7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.

2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then i am strong.

Shalom!!

O Krishna, it is right that the world delights
and rejoices in your praise,
that all the saints and sages bow down to you
and all evil flees before you to the far corners of the universe.

How could they not worship you, O Lord?
You are the eternal spirit,
who existed before Brahma the creator
and who will never cease to be,
the Lord of the gods,
you are the abode of the universe.
Changeless, you are what is and what is not,
and beyond the duality of existence and nonexistence.

You are the first among gods,
the timeless spirit, the resting place of all beings.
You are the knower and the thing which is known.
You are the final home;
within your infinite form you pervade the cosmos.

You are Vayu, god of wind;
Yama, god of death;
Agni, god of fire;
Varuna, god of water.
You are the moon and the creator Prajapati,
and the great-grandfather of all creatures.
I bow before you and salute you again and again.

You are behind me and in front of me;
I bow to you on every side.
Your power is immeasurable.
You pervade everything;
you are everything.

the bhagavad gita - 11:36-40 - arjuna

It is said that when Buddha was first Enlightened he was asked,
"Are you a God?"
"No," he replied.
"Are you a saint?"
"No."
"Then what are you?"

And he answered, "I am awake."

A master of the tea ceremony in old Japan once accidentally slighted a soldier. He quickly apologized, but the rather impetuous soldier demanded that the matter be settled in a sword duel. The tea master, who had no experience with swords, asked the advice of a fellow Zen master who did possess such skill. As he was served by his friend, the Zen swordsman could not help but notice how the tea master performed his art with perfect concentration and tranquility. "Tomorrow," the Zen swordsman said, "when you duel the soldier, hold your weapon above your head, as if ready to strike, and face him with the same concentration and tranquility with which you perform the tea ceremony." The next day, at the appointed time and place for the duel, the tea master followed this advice. The soldier, readying himself to strike, stared for a long time into the fully attentive but calm face of the tea master. Finally, the soldier lowered his sword, apologized for his arrogance, and left without a blow being struck.

Faith and love which are gifts of the Holy Spirit are such great
and powerful means that a person who has them can easily, and with
joy and consolation, go the way Jesus Christ went. Besides this,
the Holy Spirit gives man the power to resist the delusions of the
world so that although he makes use of earthly good, yet he uses
them as a temporary visitor, without attaching his heart to them.
But a man who has not got the Holy Spirit, despite all his
learning and prudence, is always more or less a slave and
worshipper of the world.

St. Innocent of Irkutsk, Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of
Heaven.

This is the mark of Christianity--however much a man toils, and
however many righteousnesses he performs, to feel that he has done
nothing, and in fasting to say, "This is not fasting," and in
praying, "This is not prayer," and in perseverance at prayer, "I
have shown no perseverance; I am only just beginning to practice
and to take pains"; and even if he is righteous before God, he
should say, "I am not righteous, not I; I do not take pains, but
only make a beginning every day."

St. Macarius the Great

The Lord's Day is a mystery of the knowledge of the truth that is
not received by flesh and blood, and it transcends speculations.
In this age there is no eighth day, nor is there a true Sabbath.
For he who said that `God rested on the seventh day,' signified
the rest [of our nature] from the course of this life, since the
grave is also of a bodily nature and belongs to this world. Six
days are accomplished in the husbandry of life by means of keeping
the commandments; the seventh is spent entirely in the grave; and
the eighth is the departure from it.

St. Isaac of Syria, The Ascetical Homilies.I

Horseman: hi hossieman good to see you.
indeed niemoeller's reflection is kinda
revelation in my antifascist bible ... ... ~*~

danoschek: I always loved that quote:)

Mark 10 (New International Version)

13People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

Let nothing upset you,
let nothing startle you.
All things pass;
God does not change.
Patience wins
all it seeks.
Whoever has God
lacks nothing:
God alone is enough.

-St Teresa Avila

Radiant Aunt: Great devotional Radiant. Says it all. Thanks for posting. ;)

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

NKJV

Through Eyes of Faith
by John Fischer

You were planned for God’s pleasure, and bringing pleasure to God is called worship. Put these two things together and you can conclude that living your life as it was meant to be lived is an act of worship in and of itself. It would be good if we could get this concept and actually live our lives this way, but we have a tendency to miss the worship in the ordinary because we are looking elsewhere for the worship experience.

And people are looking everywhere. There is a movement afoot that can only be explained as a longing for a mystical religious experience, and by mystical, I mean something otherworldly. The huge outpouring of sentiment over the death of Pope John Paul II is one example. Interest in end-of-the-world apocalypse stories such as the Left Behind series would be another. The bestselling novel Da Vinci Code and NBC’s new dramatic series, Revelation, both show a rising interest is what one commentator called “religious mysteries.” And yesterday, on Larry King Live, a panel of “experts” explored the whole phenomenon of near-death experiences with a “hereafter.” What is going on here if it isn’t a growing spiritual hunger for a real experience with God?

Which is good and not so good. Good: in that people are seeking God — not so good: in that they have a tendency to look to the mysterious and otherworldly to find Him, and not into the more obvious day-to-day part of our lives. There is an element of mystery to our worship in that we are dealing with the unseen, but we are also dealing with the down-to-earth and the obvious, and if we had the eyes to see and the ears to hear, we would be finding God and mystery in the ordinary things as much as anywhere else. It’s like what Frederick Buechner wrote when he observed the childlike faith of people “who, like children, are so relatively unburdened by preconceptions that if somebody says there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, they are perfectly willing to go take a look for themselves.”

In other words, they take the spiritual as something expected. People with childlike faith have no need to explain or explain away God in their lives; He simply is, and He is a part of everything they do. Spiritual things are obvious to children — even mystery. It’s all part of wonder, and worship is a kind of grownup wonder.

We don’t need to go outside of our normal experiences to experience God. We just need to believe, and starting with the eyes of a child, see everything we do through the eyes of faith.


John Fischer is the Senior Writer for Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular speaker.

I'm thankful I'm a child of God, in His safe tender care,
But most of all I'm thankful I can talk to Him in prayer.

Sometimes I come in joyful praise, and thank Him for His grace,
And other times I whisper as the tears course down my face.

I share with Him my deepest fears, my sorrows and my pain,
Until they all are washed away, much like a cleansing rain.

It often seems too marvelous to fully comprehend
The fact that Christ desires through prayer to be my dearest friend.

For in His Word He welcomes me to come before His throne,
And tells me He will answer if I make my longings known.

I've seen so many miracles that prayer alone has wrought,
But know that more would happen if I prayed the way I ought.

Dear Lord, please help me stay so close in fellowship with You,
That I'll reflect Your likeness, and draw others to You too.

And keep my heart completely tuned to hear Your every call,
So every breath will be a prayer, surrendering my all.

Written by: Betty Jo Mings

*

*

First they came for the communists
and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist

Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist

Next they came for the Catholics
and I did not speak out - because I was not a Catholic

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

* ))) Pastor Niemoeller, protestant minister and victim of the Nazis ... ~*~

A note from Max Lucado

Courage

Could you use some courage? Are you backing down more then you are standing up? Jesus scattered the butterflies out of the stomachs of his nervous desciples....

We need to remember that the disciples were common men given a compelling task. Before they were the stained-glassed saints in the windows of cathedrals, they were somebody's next-door-neighbours trying to make a living and raised on supernatural milk. But they were an once more devoted than they were afraid and , as a result, did soome extraordinairy things.

Earthly fears are no fears at all. Answer the big question of eternity, and the little questions of life fall into perspective.

Isaiah 43:1-3:Don't be afraid, because i have saved you. I have called you by name, and you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross rivers, you will not drown. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flames hurt you. This is because I, the LORD, am your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Psalm 31:19-20: How great is your goodness that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you have given to those who trust you. You do this for all to see. You protect them by your presence from what people plan against them. You shelter them from evil words.

Radiant Aunt: Yes! I pray that all will come to a knowledge of the TRUTH which sets us free.

More specifically, I pray for grace on BrainKing & that God will touch the lives of each & every person here in a special way.

Usurper: Hi Greg :-) How are you? Have any prayer request?

Radiant Aunt: Hi Josetta

Ok, ask away.. there that is :)

Hello Jules and Usurper :-)

Nice discussion and I also have questions for Jules, but I suggest we continue our debate at the Debate club!! Thank you :-)

God bless you,
~*Josetta*~

Usurper: Ok, but that wasn't part of what I was refering to.

Plus why indefinite? Is it that the person can control the flesh like Christ did, whereas Death, disease has no effect on their body and they can choose the moment they cross over?

(Concordant Version)
21 And making is Yahweh Elohim for Adam and for his wife tunics of skin, and is clothing them.
22 And saying is Yahweh Elohim, "Behold! The human becomes as one of us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he stretch forth his hand, moreover, and take of the tree of the living, and eat and live for the eon--!"

"Forever" is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word which means "eon", an indefinite period of time with beginning & end. There is no Hebrew or Greek equivalent to "forever" in the original.

Radiant Aunt: Chapter 3

Radiant Aunt: NIV

Jules: Which Bible are you quoting?

Grampa AD: Afetr all, is says quite plainly in Genesis that only through knowing good and evil could we become like God. ;)

"21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.""

Jules: ;)