Author: Innermost Being

I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Blogging has been a rewarding addition to my spiritual journey. It has shown me how much I want to connect with other people. It has revealed my fears and self-doubts and helped me to face them. My Innermost Being blog is about pursuing spiritual growth through self-examination.

Static

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

via Daily Prompt: Static

It seems a little weird to look up a simple word that I already know so that I can write about it. I looked up “static” to see not just its meaning but also its synonyms, thinking perhaps one of them would inspire me for the WordPress daily prompt challenge. The dictionary says that static is “lacking in movement, action or change, especially in a way viewed as undesirable or uninteresting.” Static has the synonyms unchanging, unvarying, stable, steady, fixed and constant among others.

The problem with relying on synonyms for meaning is the nuances or subtle differences of meaning like those that came after the word especially in the definition of static. While the words stable and steady have positive connotations, to be static may be considered undesirable or boring.

The word static reminds me of the word inert. Inactive. Doing nothing. Inert matter stays at rest unless it is acted on by an external force. An object can be static indefinitely unless something or someone makes it move.

There are times when lack of movement or change is desirable. When I was growing up, we moved a dozen times. I wanted my home life to be stable and unchanging and it wasn’t. As an adult, I’ve learned that change is unavoidable and that change is often desirable or necessary even if changing is not your choice.

There are times when it isn’t good to be static, when we should resist keeping things the way they are. For me, now is one of those times. I do not accept the way things are going in my country. I will not normalize vile, racist behavior. I am not inert. I want to be a force for change, even if it is just with words.

Standing My Ground

by Innermost Being, posted in Spiritual Growth

2017 was emotionally exhausting. Everyday the news brought concerns about what would happen to immigrants or refugees or the poor or the environment or democracy or freedom of the press. It is no wonder that I ended the year feeling sad and depressed. But as discouraging as the year was, I learned some important spiritual lessons.

Live like there’s no tomorrow. My brother-in-law passed away unexpectedly last year. He was only two years older than me. His death reminded me that not one day is promised to any of us. Time and chance happen to all. There’s nothing like losing someone to remind you that you should not take this life or the people you care about for granted.

Trust that God is on the side of truth and justice. Sometimes it seems like people will get away with lying or covering up the truth. I find hope in what Jesus said: For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open (Luke 8:17). Jesus said that we will be held accountable for every careless word we have spoken (Matthew 12:34-36).

Trust that the good news is still the good news. No matter how many bad things happen in this world, the good news is still the good news. Jesus still loves and forgives sinners. He still comforts those who mourn. He still offers a path to salvation. He is still the most powerful example of love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, and humility that I know.

I will stand my ground where hope can be found. Lauren Daigle’s song O’ Lord reminds me that “until this race is won, I will stand my ground where hope can be found.”  I know the one in whom I’ve placed my trust. I know that he will take all that is wrong and make it right. I will not be discouraged.

Lauren Daigle
Though times it seems
Like I’m coming undone
This walk can often feel lonely
No matter what until this race is won
I will stand my ground where hope can be found
I will stand my ground where hope can be found

Oh, O’Lord O’Lord I know You hear my cry
Your love is lifting me above all the lies
No matter what I face this I know in time
You’ll take all that is wrong and make it right
You’ll take all that is wrong and make it right

 

 

Viable Seeds

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

via Daily Prompt: Viable

Last May, I went to the People’s Climate March. Someone handed out free packets of seeds for flowers that were supposed to be attractive to bees. I had no idea what kind of flowers were in the packets. I waited until the end of May so the ground would be warm enough and planted the seeds in pots just in case the mystery plants spread too much.

It took two or three months for the plants to bloom. I loved watching the wildflower mystery unfold over the summer. There were marigolds, snapdragons, bachelor buttons, red clover and other flowers I didn’t recognize. Unfortunately, the flowers didn’t attract bees.

I am not much of a gardener so I have never given much thought to whether seeds are viable. A viable seed is one that can be germinated under the right conditions. If seeds are stored in the right conditions, they can remain viable for years.

I have discovered that it is very easy to germinate snapdragons from seed. I let the plants go to seed, then scatter them on the surface of the soil.

One of the reasons I love wildflowers is that they are viable in conditions that often don’t appear to be ideal – a little bit of dirt, a little bit of moisture and a little bit of sun.

Viable. Capable of surviving in the right conditions.

 

 

Chains He Shall Break

by Innermost Being, posted in Spiritual Struggles

This Christmas season, I found myself feeling so discouraged about the state of human hearts, mine included, I knew I needed to stop and reflect on my reasons for hope. On Christmas Eve, I went to church and sang carols, then came home and looked up the lyrics to one my favorites: “O Holy Night.” Not only does this song have an interesting history, the lyrics give me much food for reflection.

  1. Long lay the world. These words remind me that the world waited for the Messiah for a long, long time. It was hundreds of years between Old Testament prophesies and the birth of Jesus. Now the world groans waiting for Jesus to return. Sometimes I get impatient waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled and have to remind myself that God’s timing is not mine. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9)
  2. In sin and error pining. The world is enslaved by sin and longs to be set free. The lonely soul pines for the presence of God. Many people don’t know what they’re missing, they just know something is missing. The world chases money and success and attention and adulation, but in the end, finds an emptiness that this world cannot fill,
  3. He appeared and the soul felt its worth. All who have been saved know that there is no gift more precious than knowing that despite your sinfulness and failings, Jesus loves you. When Jesus appears in your life, the soul feels its worth as a precious child of God, one worth dying for.
  4. A thrill of hope. One of my friends doesn’t like it when people of faith use the word hope. I think she equates hope with wanting something to happen or wanting something to be true. But I see hope as the expectation of something good. Hope is trusting that God’s promises will be fulfilled. The thrill of hope is being uplifted by God’s promises, by the expectation of good things to come.
  5. The weary soul rejoices. The soul becomes weary from its struggles, with too many burdens to carry on its own. Jesus brings comfort, peace, and rest, in all our trials born to be our friend. Which reminds me of another old song, What a Friend We Have in Jesus (James Scriven, 1855). When we are sad, weak and heavy-laden, we can rejoice because he shares our sorrows.
  6. Truly he taught us to love one another. His law is love and his gospel is peace. When Jesus was asked to name the greatest commandment, he said love. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.
  7. Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother. And in His name all oppression shall cease. ‘O Holy Night‘ was brought to America by John Sullivan Dwight, who especially loved this verse because he was an abolitionist. The song was written in the 1840’s by a French poet, Placide Cappeau. A Jewish composer, Adolphe Adam, wrote the music. The song quickly became popular in France but the French Catholic church didn’t approve of Cappeau and denounced the song as not being in the spirit of religion.

Fall on your knees. Oh hear the angel voices. Oh night divine, oh night when Christ was born.

A good song has the power to move me emotionally. O Holy Night reminds me to not get so caught up in the worries of this world that I fail to see that God’s light is brightly shining just as it was long ago. It reminds me to be patient with God. He’s doing amazing things in the lives of ordinary people – stories that don’t get the big enticing headlines I see on my news feed. It reminds me that Jesus is on the side of the oppressed. It reminds me that the Good News is still the Good News. The words give rest to my weary soul and fill me with the thrill of hope once again. Yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

† † † † † † †

O Holy Night!

The stars are brightly shining

It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

Till he appear’d and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees

Oh hear the angel voices

Oh night divine

Oh night when Christ was born

Oh night divine

Oh night divine

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming

Here come the wise men from Orient land

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger

In all our trials born to be our friend

Truly He taught us to love one another

His law is love and His gospel is peace

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

And in His name all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name

The Light of the World

by Innermost Being, posted in Faith and Culture

Many names and phrases have been used to describe Jesus – the Messiah, Savior, Lord, Master, Teacher, Emmanuel (God with Us), the Lamb of God, the Prince of Peace, the Son of God, and the Son of Man. Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world.’  I love thinking of Jesus as light because his ways are such a dramatic contrast to the darkness of the world. The world seems darker to me now than it ever has; the contrast between Jesus and those who claim to follow him has never seemed starker.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. – John 1:4-5

Jesus warned about how bad things would be. He warned of false prophets. He warned of wolves in sheep’s clothing. He said that family members would turn against each other. He warned us to be on guard against deceivers.

I’ve grown accustomed to seeing a lack of reverence for God and Jesus from atheists. God isn’t real to them and the version of Christianity that most of them see isn’t real either. Too many people who claim to follow Jesus are just actors, hypocrites.

Jesus saved his harshest criticism for people who pretended to be righteous. Today, modern-day hypocrites are not just pretending to follow Christ, they are committing blasphemy, insulting or showing a lack of reverence for Jesus Christ, the Word who was with God from the beginning.

Below are some of the most offensive, outrageous words I’ve seen lately on social media. The author suggests that the president is a light, a savior against darkness. The author suggests that because the current Cabinet holds Bible studies, it does not have “complete disdain for everything right, everything good, for anything of God.” But the unrepentant president’s most ardent supporters display disdain for God as they lavish praise on a man who is the antithesis to the one true Light of the World, Jesus Christ.

Already a light has appeared. Just when it seemed the darkest, when evil and corruption were taking over our world and the weak and poor were being trampled on… the most unexpected thing happened. God entered into our world in the most unexpected way.

And even the most casual observer can tell which administration holds weekly Bible studies and which administration had complete disdain for everything right, everything good, for anything of God.

Author – unknown blasphemer

The one true light of the world entered the world in an unexpected way, as a humble, servant leader. The devil offered to give him all the kingdoms of the world and Jesus said no. Instead, he endured ridicule, beatings and death on a cross to demonstrate his love for the world.

The light of the world said that the greatest commandment of all is to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The light of the world said to do to others as you would have them do to you. He said to love your enemies and bless those who curse you.

The light of the world did not seek revenge against his enemies. He did not make fun of the disabled. He did not try to enrich himself on the backs of his creditors. He did not abuse and demean women. He did not lie.

I write all of this because Jesus is the light of the world. The message of Jesus is love. If what you’re hearing from anyone who claims to be righteous does not reflect light, it is not of God.

God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. ( 1 John 1:5-6)

The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:4-6)

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. (1 John 2:9)

Glory to the light of the world.