‘Jacob’s Ladder’ is a weekly Sunday post; its blog
history is at dreliatjacobsladder.blogpost.com
This is a Fellowship of the Spirit. It is not a church
construct; it involves neither mission, fund raising, nor religious
participation. God desires our participation in all of life, and not via the
existential false ‘gospel’ of corporate and culture formatted selection.
Jacob’s Ladder pursues Christian growth as human growth. It works to complete
social holiness and move into personal holiness for all. As God wills community
for all of us, Jacob’s Ladder will keep growing!
Friday April 3rd 2025 – God’s Love For Us
Good Friday has traditionally been a sad day. But it is
really a day for deep reverence and wonder at God’s love for us. As Jesus said
to Philip, ‘If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father…’This is what it is. The
Father, in the person of the Son, comes to live amongst us, that we might learn
to live like Him. Good lives, Godly lives. Clear strong full and abundant lives.
With just about unlimited potential. Not in order to gain the materialism of
this world fueled by its greed, but for the Kingdom of God, which Jesus says
…is within you! And His answer to Pilate – my Kingdom is not of this world.
Dimensionality! Forget about the ups of heaven and the downs of hell. Amazing
how old and dilapidated these ideas are. We have not really grown much. Priestly
tradition, like the Levites, keeps the old alive and asks loyalty to it, for
much of its identity is based on such. But God does not exist in a fixed state.
So we continue to cling to outdated notions that are so out of touch with
modern technological society. Hence Jesus’ Father, forgive them. For they know
not….’ Understandable then. Now, too plainly a matter of choice.
Good Friday is not about suffering on the cross. The
Romans crucified a lot of people, some crooks, some innocent. All suffered and
died a slow death. But this is intentional. The offer of salvation, the work of
the Christ, the love of God that bleeds for us. Sacrificial love at its
highest. Power is a very attractive word to all. But the power of God is the
power of love, and the only power than can bring life to death.
Do the following if you will; perhaps a fast for a day
(sunrise-sunset, water/coconut water) , either on Friday or on Saturday, in response
to God’s self-giving love for us. Not with existing clinical conditions - no
AMAs. Take 10 minutes of each hour between 12noon to 6pm to pray a little.
Remember, be still and know. Not the
intellectual knowing of the mind, but the spiritual knowing of the soul.
Quiet solitude. Meditate on the love of God. Hard to fathom. But God requires
justice. And sin is more the harm we do to ourselves than any offense that we
cause to God. Creation gone bad. So those who do not heed the call to ‘Repent,
for the Kingdom is at hand….’ are happily going to hell, wherever and whatever
waits for them of their own creation, because they have refused the invitation
to come home to who and what they were created to be. Instead, they have turned
on their own kind and inflict pain and suffering and misery in their greed, because
of what they have allowed themselves to become. Sad future for our children.
Do not claim empowerment; Saying a thing loudly will not
make it happen. Claim nothing. Some are given to making claims that amount to
no more than self-deception. Some are given to praying loudly and aggressively
as though God is a little deaf. But align yourself with God’s will, always
wanting only the good for others, and watch how God uses you in the lives
around you. Quite amazing. And watch how you grow – in mind and body, but
mostly in spirit. This is the greatest gift to us – a way out beyond the limits
of this life, a way in that allows us control over the limits of this life! How
far those limits run is the adventure of what it means to be Christian. This
life is all we know; yes, but there is far more to it than most of us realize.
Learn of the Kingdom of God in the here and now. And all it takes is the will
to choose, the will to seek above all else, and we all have this. Change old
habits for new ones; it’s not in the look, the style, the outward show – it’s
in the vibe, in your very being. Why Jesus said The Kingdom of God is within
you. Make the connect between your spirit and the Comforter. Be resolved to do
this. Start with what faith you have, it is enough. He will lead and empower
you as needed. And you will never be the same again. A blessed Good Friday to
you all, G.
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