{"id":16287,"date":"2017-12-20T09:58:38","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T14:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=16287"},"modified":"2017-12-20T10:34:36","modified_gmt":"2017-12-20T15:34:36","slug":"16287","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=16287","title":{"rendered":"The Search for the Real"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RBv2cjTiBd8\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" allow=\"encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Heaven     The Search for the Real<\/strong><br \/>\nWednesday, December 20, 2017<\/p>\n<p>We are created with an inner restlessness that sends all of us looking for our True Self, whether we know it or not. There is a God-sized hole waiting to be filled. God creates the very dissatisfaction that finally only divine grace and love can satisfy.<br \/>\nWe dare not try to fill our souls and minds with numbing addictions, diversionary tactics, or mindless distractions. The root of evil is much more selfishness, superficiality, and ignorance than the usually listed \u201chot sins.\u201d God hides, and is found, precisely in the depths of everything, even and maybe especially in the deep fathoming of our fallings and failures.<br \/>\nIf we go to the depths of anything, we will begin to knock upon something substantial, \u201creal,\u201d and with a timeless quality to it. We will move from \u201cbelief\u201d to an actual inner knowing. This is most especially true if we have ever loved truly, accompanied someone through the mystery of dying, or stood in awe before mystery, time, or beauty.<br \/>\nThis \u201csomething real\u201d is what all the world religions point to when they speak of heaven, nirvana, bliss, or enlightenment. Our mistake has been delaying that inner state until after death. If heaven is later, that\u2019s because it is first of all now. When we die before we die, we are surrendering to the Real, to our union with God ahead of time. Why wait? If God loves us now, why not later too?<br \/>\nExperiences of the Real here on earth are the pledge, guarantee, hint, and promise of an eternal something. Once we touch upon the Real, there is an inner insistence that the Real, if it is the Real, has to be forever. Call it wishful thinking, if you will, but this insistence has been a recurring intuition since the beginnings of humanity. Jesus promised the Samaritan woman that \u201cthe spring within you will well up unto eternal life\u201d (John 4:14). In other words, heaven\/union\/love emerges from deep wellsprings within us, which can only imply it is already there. Why, since that is true, does most organized religion keep us concentrating on external \u201choly\u201d things outside the self? The primary sacrament is the soul itself (I have the courage and authority to speak this way from experts like Augustine, all the Teresas, John of the Cross, and any mystic worthy of the name.)<br \/>\nOur task is simply to embody heaven now. We cannot \u201cget there\u201d; we can only \u201cbe there\u201d\u2014which ironically is to \u201cbe here!\u201d Love, like prayer, is not so much an action that we do, but a reality that we are. We don\u2019t decide to be loving. Love is our True Self. It is where we came from and where we\u2019re going. All spiritual growth is no more than a matter of becoming who we already are.<\/p>\n<p>Gateway to Silence:<br \/>\nGoing home to Love<br \/>\n&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p>The Right Kind of Help<br \/>\nBy Oswald Chambers<\/p>\n<p>And I, if I am lifted up\u2026will draw all peoples to Myself. \u2014John 12:32<br \/>\nVery few of us have any understanding of the reason why Jesus Christ died. If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not \u201ca little bit of love,\u201d but major surgery.<br \/>\nWhen you find yourself face to face with a person who is spiritually lost, remind yourself of Jesus Christ on the cross. If that person can get to God in any other way, then the Cross of Christ is unnecessary. If you think you are helping lost people with your sympathy and understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You must have a right-standing relationship with Him yourself, and pour your life out in helping others in His way\u2014 not in a human way that ignores God. The theme of the world\u2019s religion today is to serve in a pleasant, non-confrontational manner.<br \/>\nBut our only priority must be to present Jesus Christ crucified\u2014 to lift Him up all the time (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). Every belief that is not firmly rooted in the Cross of Christ will lead people astray. If the worker himself believes in Jesus Christ and is trusting in the reality of redemption, his words will be compelling to others. What is extremely important is for the worker\u2019s simple relationship with Jesus Christ to be strong and growing. His usefulness to God depends on that, and that alone.<br \/>\nThe calling of a New Testament worker is to expose sin and to reveal Jesus Christ as Savior. Consequently, he cannot always be charming and friendly, but must be willing to be stern to accomplish major surgery. We are sent by God to lift up Jesus Christ, not to give wonderfully beautiful speeches. We must be willing to examine others as deeply as God has examined us. We must also be sharply intent on sensing those Scripture passages that will drive the truth home, and then not be afraid to apply them.<\/p>\n<p>Heaven<\/p>\n<p>The Search for the Real<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday, December 20, 2017<\/p>\n<p>We are created with an inner restlessness that sends all of us looking for our True Self, whether we know it or not. There is a God-sized hole waiting to be filled. God creates the very dissatisfaction that finally only divine grace and love can satisfy.<br \/>\nWe dare not try to fill our souls and minds with numbing addictions, diversionary tactics, or mindless distractions. The root of evil is much more selfishness, superficiality, and ignorance than the usually listed \u201chot sins.\u201d God hides, and is found, precisely in the depths of everything, even and maybe especially in the deep fathoming of our fallings and failures.<br \/>\nIf we go to the depths of anything, we will begin to knock upon something substantial, \u201creal,\u201d and with a timeless quality to it. We will move from \u201cbelief\u201d to an actual inner knowing. This is most especially true if we have ever loved truly, accompanied someone through the mystery of dying, or stood in awe before mystery, time, or beauty.<br \/>\nThis \u201csomething real\u201d is what all the world religions point to when they speak of heaven, nirvana, bliss, or enlightenment. Our mistake has been delaying that inner state until after death. If heaven is later, that\u2019s because it is first of all now. When we die before we die, we are surrendering to the Real, to our union with God ahead of time. Why wait? If God loves us now, why not later too?<br \/>\nExperiences of the Real here on earth are the pledge, guarantee, hint, and promise of an eternal something. Once we touch upon the Real, there is an inner insistence that the Real, if it is the Real, has to be forever. Call it wishful thinking, if you will, but this insistence has been a recurring intuition since the beginnings of humanity. Jesus promised the Samaritan woman that \u201cthe spring within you will well up unto eternal life\u201d (John 4:14). In other words, heaven\/union\/love emerges from deep wellsprings within us, which can only imply it is already there. Why, since that is true, does most organized religion keep us concentrating on external \u201choly\u201d things outside the self? The primary sacrament is the soul itself (I have the courage and authority to speak this way from experts like Augustine, all the Teresas, John of the Cross, and any mystic worthy of the name.)<br \/>\nOur task is simply to embody heaven now. We cannot \u201cget there\u201d; we can only \u201cbe there\u201d\u2014which ironically is to \u201cbe here!\u201d Love, like prayer, is not so much an action that we do, but a reality that we are. We don\u2019t decide to be loving. Love is our True Self. It is where we came from and where we\u2019re going. All spiritual growth is no more than a matter of becoming who we already are.<br \/>\nGateway to Silence:<\/p>\n<p>Going home to Love<\/p>\n<p>The Right Kind of Help<\/p>\n<p>By Oswald Chambers<\/p>\n<p>And I, if I am lifted up\u2026will draw all peoples to Myself. \u2014John 12:32<\/p>\n<p>Very few of us have any understanding of the reason why Jesus Christ died. If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not \u201ca little bit of love,\u201d but major surgery.<br \/>\nWhen you find yourself face to face with a person who is spiritually lost, remind yourself of Jesus Christ on the cross. If that person can get to God in any other way, then the Cross of Christ is unnecessary. If you think you are helping lost people with your sympathy and understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You must have a right-standing relationship with Him yourself, and pour your life out in helping others in His way\u2014 not in a human way that ignores God. The theme of the world\u2019s religion today is to serve in a pleasant, non-confrontational manner.<br \/>\nBut our only priority must be to present Jesus Christ crucified\u2014 to lift Him up all the time (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). Every belief that is not firmly rooted in the Cross of Christ will lead people astray. If the worker himself believes in Jesus Christ and is trusting in the reality of redemption, his words will be compelling to others. What is extremely important is for the worker\u2019s simple relationship with Jesus Christ to be strong and growing. His usefulness to God depends on that, and that alone.<br \/>\nThe calling of a New Testament worker is to expose sin and to reveal Jesus Christ as Savior. Consequently, he cannot always be charming and friendly, but must be willing to be stern to accomplish major surgery. We are sent by God to lift up Jesus Christ, not to give wonderfully beautiful speeches. We must be willing to examine others as deeply as God has examined us. We must also be sharply intent on sensing those Scripture passages that will drive the truth home, and then not be afraid to apply them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heaven The Search for the Real Wednesday, December 20, 2017 We are created with an inner restlessness that sends all of us looking for our True Self, whether we know it or not. There is a God-sized hole waiting to be filled. God creates the very dissatisfaction that finally only divine grace and love can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16287"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16287"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16291,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16287\/revisions\/16291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}