Intro to Kartur a Galxy Bereft

Over the next few days I will be blogging about Kartur, a fictional galaxy where all the worlds are bereft of something. It may seem ideal in some cases to be missing certain aspects of what makes us who we are, but after all what would we be if we did not have these characteristics? Would we be more robotic in function? Would we be a crueler, meaner people? Or would we be nicer and care more for our fellow man? What would we look like? I must say in these next several blogs you may not agree with all of my depictions but it is interesting to delve into the mind and to think about what we would look like without these elements that make us who and what we are. Where would our race be without these traits? The first planet we will explore tomorrow is Lufunon, this is a loveless land.

The Man Who Held Hands With the Enemy

 Listen to what I have to say. It is a love story, however, it is not like any love story you have heard before. The character in this story does not live happily ever after. In fact he loses everything. So please pay attention to what I have to say.

 

            Once upon a time there was a man. This man was a soldier, and he was a good one at that. He was a strong man, strong with will. His one weakness was women. At this same time there was a female spy on the opposing force who caught his eye. This man thinking he was strong called to her from a distance. She came over excited to meet him, and they hit it off really well. Now, this soldier knew she was a spy so he decided to keep this romance secret. The two would often meet off the battlefield, and she would slyly tell him her position on the opposing force. The two kept getting closer and closer until one day while they were conspiring she took a knife from her back pocket and stuck it in his spine. The worst thing is that this once strong soldier did not lose his life that day, he did die, however, the worst thing is sometime before this he lost his desire to fight because he had fallen in love with the enemy. Luckily for his country he was not a leader of men.

 

            This is like is a Christian who doesn’t set his morals. Every day he goes into the battle field, and in this field there are many “alluring spies” be it greed, or lust, or pride, or any sin for that matter. I am not saying there is no grace, just the opposite there is but we must be careful with what we let become our love when we enter the battle field. We must fill our minds with the things that are of God. We must set high scruples for ourselves, that way we know when we have crossed the line. As soon as the enemy catches your eye and you pursue her you become desensitized to the battle at hand, and eventually when she has you in her grasp she will seize that moment and take hold of your life. I say this not to inspire fear into you soldiers, but rather to make you think about the battle we all face, and to show you the importance of living a scrupulous life. Live long and victorious lives.

The Temple

   So today I ate dinner at the Thai place. I noticed some things at the Thai Place that I had never noticed before. A Vietnamese friend of mine works there, well actually that is where I met her, and I am friends with the owner. I noticed today, however, Lee (my Vietnamese friend) waiing to a small statue I never even saw before. I mean it has had to have been there for a while. It is not like they put new decorations in every day. The people that work at this restaurant are people I have come to know and cherish deeply. I know they feel the same about me (teaching me Thai and taking 10% off my bill whenever I come in). This act, however took me back to the spirit houses (that “house” the displaced spirits) I would walk past in Thailand that the Thai people would wai to in respect, and the monks in orange who became my friends. I was also reminded of the temples I went in with my friend Lara. I would see people putting golden leaves on these statues of Buddha for merit in the next life. I can still smell the incense they’d burn, and see the lotuses they were holding. Countless people walking into these centers of worship every day, these are people whom I love. I am taken back to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Burma, a hub of Buddhist worship. This is the golden center of a rundown city. I see people kneeling in front of the Buddha statues. It is one thing to be taken in by such beautiful buildings as a tourist; however, I am no tourist. What I see is artificial beauty masking a dark truth. There are people who are still out there who have yet to hear the good news. Salvation does not have to be earned, it can’t be. People without this truth going on with their day to day lives thinking “salvation” (I use this term very loosely) must be earned. These are what you would say are “good” people too.

              I don’t just speak this about Buddhists though; you can also apply this to Muslims, Wiccans, and Atheists too. I am just speaking out of my own personal journeys and ventures. How many of these people do we see a day, but we close our eyes to them. It is a tragedy that because we lack love in some of our churches they are shrinking when they should be growing. As a rule show me a church that loves (God, brothers, and man) I will show you one that grows. I have often wondered what is more important, loving people, or being a witness to them. We must do both, and we must not witness only because it is our duty, but witness out of love.

 

              We are TEMPLES of God. Now I am not saying imbed your chest with a cross and have people kneel at your feet. What I am saying is that inside of us there ought to be two things. First something in our life that points to the God we serve, and second a heart that is constantly worshipping God in Spirit and in truth. Each man is a temple to that which he worships. What I mean is the god, ideals, entity, morals, etc. one serves will show. How much it pains me to see us Christians pointing people away from God because we have constructed a temple to self within us.

St. Francis

In many ways St. Francis is one of my heroes of the faith. Where there are some things I strongly  disagree with him on in some of his statements you can see his heart in the following prayer.

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.”

May this heart and passion speak to you also as it has spoken to me.  May He conform us more to his image as was designed when we seek to be peacemakers, and lovers of people.

He has also said, “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” I desire one day to do missions but this quote spoke to me because I have, unfortunately at one time become so narrow minded about a land that I neglected the people I saw on the journey because I just wanted to get to that land. Perhaps in order to be a man of purpose, I realized maybe I need to live a life of purpose and not just fulfill the final purpose I desire.

May you whoever reads this desire to be a peacemaker, and a lover of people, and the things of God. May we be a people of purpose. May we desire to be not conformed to the image of this world but transformed back into clearer images of God not that we are gods but we are his stewards, and created in his image.

Self Portrait

When I look into a cool summer’s stream

I see a child whose face used to beam

Now that I’m older and grown

I know perfection is not as it seems

When I look into the mirror

I see a misconfigured figure

Filled with hate and overflowing with lies

This image I’ve come to despise

This portrait I now despise

Once filled with lust and foolish pride

When I glance at my marred face

I’m reminded (I’m) just a sinner saved by grace

The Cup I drink

The Cup I Drink

What is this cup I drink

Fatal as the poisons ‘neath the kitchen sink

I think this cup shall never pass

I have become an addict to the tainted glass

I feel strong within my inner bones

But this cup weakens the mortal soul

I can feel this fire burning inside

All I know is the anger and pride

Past the prison bars I cannot see

Everyone’s a potential enemy

Why can’t I let go of all this strife

Every turn is a whole new fight

Will this burning ever cease

Oh how I long for holy peace

Truth be said, one of the things I have struggled with is my anger, and the majority of you probably already know that. This is a poem I actually wrote in a fit of rage, and let me tell you do not succumb to anger it is something that will not let you go very easily. Over time anger does wear on you both emotionally, and spiritually, but what surprised me is when I would get in a fit of rage yes the adrenaline makes you feel strong but when the anger ceases you are left feeling physically drained and it does take its toll on your body as well. Do not get me wrong there is a time for anger, and there is a time to look at people and say REALLY! More often than not though we… I mean I need to strive to be a peace maker, and that does not happen by being constantly angry.  How can I make peace when I view everyone as a potential enemy? I cannot! Yes, I will admit I can sometimes be quite an angry individual, and I will admit it is an ongoing battle I face. Sometimes I lose the battle, but thanks be to God often I win the battle. Just remember do not let the sun go down on your anger because when you grudge that is really when you start to wear down, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I say this more to myself than to anyone else because anger is often my own battle Take advice from someone who has experience. 

Love and Lust

Many have said love is an irrational idea. I would agree to the world love is irrational, infact we are born into a world where lust is one of the most rational things there is (so it is thought, and we are born into the world thinking lust is joy without knowing. Lust in this case is just a strong desire. Why is love irrational and lust rational? The reason, we live in a world where we the human think we are the center of the universe, I would have reason to believe serving my own desires is the most rational of rationals, until I realize His love is what saved me, then to me love becomes the greatest rational.

Lust is often a bad thing. Lust of food can easily turn to gluttony. Lust of money can become greed. Blood lust only breeds hate. However I think as a Christian I should lust for love. Not to recieve, but to give. To love someone is to say I am going to give of myself so I can be with you even in death I will give of myself to you my brother, or friend, as Christ did. To love is to say I will give of my time so I can see you through the circumstances. I would go on but you probably by now get the point.

On Suffering

As I write I want to say I may not be the first to use these words, never mind have these ideas. Anyways I believe is was Gauguin who said, “Art is either plagiarism or revolution.” so either you make something up or use someone else’s thought. So here are my reflections, some my own, others not.

I have tasted defeat, I have felt victory slip through my grasp on many an occasion. I have wandered through life wondering who I am and what defines me. I have read too many words, and seen too much. I have at times wondered where God was when I could not hear him. Suppose for a minute the reason I could not hear him was I was living to loud, or my life was speaking to fast.

We all desire good things to happen to us. We want to feel loved, we want joy, and we want grace. We want to experience pleasure, and happiness, wealth, and prosperity. None of us want bad things to happen. I desire hunger, because in being hungry I will have chance to have the pleasure of being filled. I desire quietness, so I can hear Him when He speaks. Suppose for once without suffering of any type where the human race would be technologically, or even militarily. Think how one can mature without growing pains. So maybe I long for suffering not in some extremeist way that I would go about flogging myself but only to feel the prosperity that comes of it. I long for these things as a dying man longs for death, for I know whats on the other side of the struggle, or rather as a pregnant woman longs for the hours of labor, for I know the beauty that would be made complete if I last through the dark hour of pain. I’ve learned not to seek hunger, suffering, or silence as an end point, but rather as the start of a process. Besides this we know and understand God has made all things beautiful in time, emphasize the word ALL.

To the reader-

I have no idea what you are going through right now, but let those words of Ecclesiastes speak encouragement into your lives, whether you face a hill or a mountain know that God is with you. Even if you can’t see Him see how He is working everything out in you to make you beautiful (or shine) in your time. Remember to find that place of quietness where it is just you and Him.

On love and Beauty

I know its been a while since my last post, I forgot my password, and my email got changed so I have not been able to sign in lately but I am back. On another note here is my newest blog.

Love, what an intriguing word…we know in part, we see in part, we also love in part. It takes a perfect being to love perfectly, but who is perfect? Ah, no one but we are created in the image…in the likeness of God who is perfection. We were created perfect, but our perfection has become tarnished by sin. Our vision has become tarnished, and our love too has become tarnished. Does this mean that man lacks the capacity to love? No! We still have some natural ability to love, but one’s love has become defined by one’s view of God. In other such words, one’s view of love is as twisted as one’s view of God.

Beauty, this is a deep word. We are raised saying beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but are not somethings just inherently beautiful? We all look at a newborn and think it is most precious. Are not somethings inherently beautiful by design? Humanity is one of those beautiful creations. Yes like the previously mentioned topic (love) beauty too has become tarnished by sin. Storms, both physical and psychological are signs of that. Even take the previous statement (regarding the newborn) the pain invloved in the conception of such a being created in the image of God is painful, and even more painful is what it took for man to be born again, perfected in God’s sight. That took the ultimate price, death of a perfect being, undefiled by sin. That is a most beautiful love.

Birth, and Death of Dreams

A vision born

The heart is torn

The end too far to see

A vision die

With solemn sigh

I know it cannot be

Standing shaking

Mind is aching

For it’s bigger than me

The will God’s plan

Lord help me stan’

Please be my only plea

One dream gets consumed by the birth of another. The dreams of man are often not the dreams of God. Sometimes for us to pursue the dreams or visions God has placed on our hearts we must first see our own dreams goodbye. Sometimes in order to understand the value of our purpose we must seek God before our own wants. It is in that place where we seek God that we often find the true purpose of our lives.

 

Sincerely,
LovExpressed!