Through the Bog of questioning

The past few months have been quite intense for this christian mystic, so much that it he began to question all the things that had meant anything to him.
now, if you have ever gotten to a point where you challenge each and everything that you hold dear in life, you will agree with me that it can be quite an unnerving experience. it can only be equated with walking on bogged down, swampy marshes, where every step might lead to your eventual demise. the christian mystic felt claustophobic, trapped in the every day routine of life, enclosed, trapped, and his quest for a better way of life led him through the "bog of questioning".the christian mystic understood that life is all about growth and change, and this does not always come easy-sometimes the best way to grow is to face our worst fears and, hopefully, overcome them. with this in mind, the mystic stepped off into uncharted territory and came face to face with the unknown, all the while aware that the experience could only have two outcomes-total defeat or total victory.
having navigated through the swampy bog, the mystic is now an enlightened being. in the darkness that ruled over the bog, one light shone bright-Jesus Christ. though the mystic stumbled and fell many many times, the hand of the Lord was there, faifully picking him up and setting him on the right course. when the fog enshrouded itself around the mystic, choking the very life from him, when even death's icy hands touched the young mystic, draining him of the vital life force, Jesus' love and warmth was there to keep this solitary seeker of truth on track.
as disagreeable as it may seem at first, even the mystic himself felt like giving up-infact gave up on the whole journey thing and decided to let fate take its way. the mystic rebellled against the master, yes, even turned his face away from the light, but even then Jesus Christ, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, did not give up on the disillusioned young one, but constantly sought his attention, flooded him with love and was faithful to the very end.
having passed through all that, the mystic has come to know the person of his Lord and master even better, and has proven through experience what he knew theoretically, that the Lord "will never leave him nor forsake him". it is now that the words of psalms 23 ring true ...

1The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

³ he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, ^a]">[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

what will i call this post?

Blessed assurance?
divine comforting?
what will i call this post?
what title is sufficiently captivating
conveying strongly my deeply felt emotions
i lack adequate words to fully express myself
words fail me when i try to explain
HIS intervention
For i was torn by the storm within
thunder crashed, lightning flashed
raging waters roaring,blizzards blowing
bearing razor-sharp hailstones that tore at my soul
hurricane after hurricane battered the shores of my mind
and every ray of hope was enveloped in the dark clouds of despair
The storm raged with increasing violence
thunder tattooing a staccato beat of tom-tom drums...
summoning ancient demons from the abyss of forget.
i could feel their dark sinewy tentacles entangling, suffocating
pulling me under......and i cried out in my anguish
HE heard and heeded my call for help
HE calmed the storm
and i slept in HIS hands of peace.

+{PHIL 4:6-7}+

THROUGH THE KALEIDOSCOPE

I cant help but marvel at the wonders of the modern lifestyle.we`ve got machines that travel faster than in any previous generation before us,yet we are drifting farther and further away from each other.we live in great cities populated by millions of people,yet each one is a stranger drifting through life,not knowing the next soul,not caring,just living their individual lives.we have telescopes that search the skies for extraterrestial life,yet our lives are crumbling in dismay.
MADDENNNING.
we`ve got machines that are supposed to make life easier,but we are the most overworked,overstressed generation in the history of mankind. We have accumulated knowledge,and along with it brought more misery to our brothers and sisters.This is the age of plastic surgery,GM food and antidepressants.
CRAZY.
its good to know that i have somewhere to run to,someone to talk to,someone to wake in the middle of the night when life doesnt make much sense and just let them into my world.
THANKS!!

Amazing GRACE!!!

I, like all men, i struggle with my flesh. the flesh,the worldly carnal nature found in all men, is perhaps the greatest hindrance to one`s growth as a christian.this is because the flesh is in essence a part of you and so, it knows you in and out.it knows which button to press, when to press them and when to appeal to your senses to get to you. Paul writes in 1 cor 10:12 that he that thinks that he stands should take heed lest he falls. i had a rude reminder of these words of paul recently.
life was going on well for me, better than it had been in a long while. I was on a spiritual high, i was on a roll,in the zone,it couldn't get better than this.then it happened.BAM!.1 strike n i was down.i had failed to notice that as i was living my life to the maximum, my flesh was accumulating its forces deep in the dark alleys of my mind. i was unprepared, caught offguard n swept into the swirling vortex of sin.
How could i do this?how could i betray my Father like this, after all that he has done for me? why didnt i just resist the temptation?Father must be fuming at your disappointing lapse into sin.The questions flooded my mind, one after the other in quick succession,seeking to torment me, trying drive the wedge of failure between me and Father. I felt miserable, i felt weak. i felt like giving up and just letting life take its course.it was at this point that Father`s love and warmth crept into my forlorn heart. at first, i resisted it, knowing that i had let Him down, and i could only expect to let him down again in future. that's when a thought crept into my mind:Father knows and understands my weaknesses,yet he still loves me.He hates the weaknesses, and he was wanted me to overcome them,yet he wasn't going to let me go just because i had succumbed.with these words, a ray of hope broke through my resistance, and soon,the cloud of despair that clouded my life began to dissipate.Like the onset of a storm,the tiny drops of hope that were wetting the dry parched recesses of my heart turned into a raging torrent.I admitted my guilt before father and asked for his forgiveness.i felt the last strongholds of the flesh crumble, and sin had,albeit for a moment, lost its choke hold on me.the Grimm forces of the flesh were thoroughly routed and sent packing to wherever crevices they had crept from, and i,I , i had one more reason to thank Father, one more reason to seek him even more.For once more, his grace had delivered me from the forces of destruction

"for by grace are we saved through faith;it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast"

-saint Paul(Ephesians 2:8,9)

Meditations on My Lord!

Here i am,just me
not too good, not too bad
just me
and yet,
He loves me just as i am.
He knows all about me
the good, the not so good, the downright ugly
yet
he loves me just the same

My lord,
My friend,
My father
My God

His eyes blaze with bright flames of fire
but he looks at me with compassion.
His voice is like the roar of raging watersm
but he whispers reassurance into my heart
He is all powerful; omnipotent;
but he loves me despite my weaknesses
He is all knowing; omniscient;
but he still loves me despite my ignorance
He is the Almighty God,
but he seeks a relationship with frail man

He strengthens my limbs
invigorates my life
He fills my mouth with laughter
my heart with gladness
He is the best thing thing to happen to me
and I hold on to his promises
confident
He has come through for me in the past
He will come through for me now
and in the future
and
one day, one glorious day
I will see His face!!

METAMORPHOSIS

there was life in an egg, life encapsulated,
shielded and protected from harsh realities
and endearing beauties
but life cannot be forever encased, for it then ceases to be life
for life feeds on freedom,lives on liberty
life breeds on decisions,spawning more life or creating monsters.
life,seeking to increase its experience
to enhance its scope of existence
broke out of its shell, crawled out into a new world

the warm,bright sunlight on its rippling back,
the vast expanse of gren,green grass -true freedom
but life did not fail to notice,lurking in the shadows
hostile lives,predators,life which feeds off other lives.

life was happy and carefree
the field,its new home,offered more than its previous home -the shell
life rejoiced in living,
life gloried in the sunshine,was glad when it rained
life met more life like itself
and by learning more about other life,
life learnt more about itself

life was content
until the day it looked upwards, and beheld the vast blue sky
life then realised that there was a higher scope of existence
it noticed the celestial creatures, graceful and delicate,
exquisitely beautiful which lived therein
life decided to join them.
by forsaking the here and now for the then and after,
life gave up its new found freedom-
the happiness,the warm sunlight and the refreshing rains it was so familiar with
life gave up even sojourn with other lives
that which was free decided to give up its freedom
in search of a higher freedom.
life decided to pay the price
enduring encapsulation
cocooned
life travailed in agony
until one day the shells fell off
and life sprung into a new world
reborn
a celestial creature,graceful and delicate
exquisitely beautiful,
a new being
to dance on the wind, and to share its life with the living.

What is mysticism?
mysticism
noun [U]
the belief that there is hidden meaning in life or that each human being can unite with God

mystic
noun [C]
someone who attempts to be united with God through prayer

mys·ti·cism

Pronunciation:

\ˈmis-tə-ˌsi-zəm\

Function:

noun

Date:

1735

1: the experience of mystical union or direct communion with ultimate reality reported by mystics2: the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight)

who is a christian mystic? well, here are a few definitions that will clarify things a little.

mystic
noun [C]
someone who attempts to be united with God through prayer
a mystic can be said to be a person who practises or believes in mysticism, as defined below.
mysticism
noun [U]
the belief that there is hidden meaning in life or that each human being can unite with God

<<>>

mys·ti·cism

Pronunciation:

\ˈmis-tə-ˌsi-zəm\

Function:

noun

Date:

1735

1: the experience of mystical union or direct communion with ultimate reality reported by mystics2: the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight)

<<>>

A christian, obviously, is one who follows the teachings of Christ Jesus. i know the word mystic is laden with occult connotations, but as the definitions above show, mysticism is not always occult by nature. In fact, all true Christians are mystics, but not all mystics are Christians.

In the bible, it is evident that God communicates to people through various means. in fact, the various authors of the bible take this as a basic assumption: that it is common knowledge to all that God exists, and that anyone can establish a direct, one on one relationship with him.
mystical experiences in the bible are numerous and varying in intensity, significance and purpose.
From the remarkable story of Enoch,who walked with God and was seen no more, to the story of Stephen,the first martyr, we see a common thread that connects all the great heroes of faith.This uniting factor is the reality of God manifesting himself to the world through them all,as he still wishes to do with us today.Christian mysticism,though hinted at strongly in the old testament,comes into full disclosure in the new testament through the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ was the greatest mystic of them all, as is evident in the four gospels, especially in the gospel of john.He speaks of oneness with the father with surprising ease,for example in john 10:30 making it so easy for one to overlook the impact of his statements, but what profound statements they are!! Indeed, Jesus Christ is the very essence of God personified (phil 2:5-7,col 1:19), and the bible clearly states that He indwells all who receive him( john 15:4-7,rev 3:20) and so,God,in Christ Jesus,dwells in us(see gal 2:20).we therefore have to seek out the presence of God in our everyday lives, seeking to come into communion with him continually, that he, in turn, will manifest himself more and more in our lives, making us fountains of life-giving waters in a dry and parched world