Touched by God During my Brain Surgery Event

After over a year of thinking I was having bad sinus headaches, the reality of my real illness came closer as I began to experience intermittent double-vision. As the fact of my brain tumor was being revealed and my diagnosis determined, I began a journey on which the ultimate revelation was unfolding.

First, I was lifted up in prayer by the Christian Community I was so fortunate to have been a part of for many years. Second, I was intentional about letting people know of my situation and not trying to keep it a big secret. Through all of this, God revealed Himself to me through His Spirit. I felt an overwhelming love and forgiveness. Even though I had been told all my life that I was forgiven through Christ's atonement, I never really felt it until then. I felt as if I had been brushed clean with a wire brush using the strongest cleaning compound. God communicated to me non-verbally that He loved me and I felt totally secure no matter what the outcome of my illness and surgery. Being with Him was the comfort and He gave me a glimpse into His Eternal Kingdom. I lost my fear of death and all worry about my family disappeared as He showed me the love that He has for them as well.

God Showed me through His Spirit that I'm already in Eternal Life and that I need not draw a line between life and death. Yes, I can begin to experience His Kingdom right here and now. This is only a snapshot of His revelation to me. There were many images that helped build this newfound reality. The impact on me was that all doubt was removed concerning God's existence and I now can freely celebrate His Kingdom and my part in it , as I seek His Will in all things.

Marcus Borg comes very close to describing what I experienced during my brain surgery event. He says, "Enlightenment as an archetypal religious metaphor belongs to a mystical way of being religious...........Such an experience leads to seeing everything differently. It is not simply an intellectual or mental 'seeing', as when we say, 'Oh, I see what you mean.' Rather, enlightenment as a religious experience involves communion or union with what is, an immediate 'knowing' of the sacred that transforms one's way of seeing." Borg goes on to say, "The language of enlightenment connects to John's emphasis upon knowing God. For John, such knowing is the primary meaning of 'eternal life', not a future state beyond death, but an experience in the present. To know God is eternal life: 'This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God.'" Add a touch of forgiveness and you've got it.
[Marcus J. Borg, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, (c)2001 by Marcus J. Borg. Part Three, The New Testament, 8-Reading the Gospels Again p. 214.]

PROMISE - my psalm

Jesus, on your cross you have blessed me; God has lost all His memory of my life lived in Sin. Oh Your death brings forgiveness and a promise I see. Yes, Your light shines -- New life begins.

Save me from my many temptations; when I look at my sad self I see I've not begun; to turn to You as I know that You want me to.

Help me seek You, in my life.

Every time I turn to things that aren't desirable for me; Your angels fly over to watch and warn me, I know You won't ignore me.

Your light, is the light I must search for; I must look for the new life, that brings peace and ends Sin. Oh Your light shines and shows me that my darkness will end, and eternal life begins.

For all my days in my old ways You will not make me accountable; for when I seek You and turn my life on over, there's nothing insurmountable.

You find it so easy to love me even though I've strayed far from

all the ways that You've shown. You have touched me and now I know the promise You keep.

I will never be Alone.

(c) 1999 by Robert Halsey Pine, Pious Bob, LLC

Dear God

Dear God,

You sent Jesus our Lord to save humanity. In our sin we didn't know what life's meaning should be. In living this life we can grasp eternity. And when our world crashes in, we have a remedy. You are there for us in all things we do when we turn to you. Your love is like nothing else we can view and you want us to know it's true. Then, when we must die you'll lift us up, yes up into the sky and you'll show us your love like we've never seen, eternally.

Thank You,

Your Loving Child

(photo from Hubble Space Telescope "the perfect storm in swan nebula")

All His Children are Worth Loving and Forgiving

I have been involved in Kairos Prison Ministry Int'l, Inc. for many years. A significant part of this ministry has been 3-day retreats held inside a prison with 40 some inmates per retreat. Our team-cooks prepare and deliver six terrific meals and lots of homebaked cookies for the inmates and the team inside the prison over the 3-days. Our team bonds and trains in our specific retreat format beginning 2-months before the retreat with meetings (that include much prayer) totaling approximately 30-hours. The team recruits lots of outside prayer partners as we prepare and for support during the time we are with the inmates. The team brings it's love for God and for each other into the prison and directs that love to each of the 40-inmates. We never ask any inmate what he is serving time for. Many of them have never felt loved in their entire lives. They are shocked and blessed that our team members are willing to give up time with our families to come to prison and love them in the name of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. By following Jesus' call in Matthew 25: 31-46 where He says, "I was in prison and you visited me..........Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me", our team provides a blessing and is blessed in doing so. Christian communities are building inside prisons all over our nation and the world. God knows no barriers when He seeks to love and be loved by His children. While many in the world want to take God out of everything, many inmate lives are changed and the recidivism rate for those who participate in the retreats drops significantly compared to the general prison population. Jesus' Great Commission to, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations", includes the least of His children.

Is That You God?

Mark 4: 30-31 tells us that Jesus said, "With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." Here he compares us to the mustard seed, that while starting off small and undeveloped, we have the potential to become the fullest as we are fulfilled in our growth experience in God's Kingdom.

My personal experience in understanding God's Eternal Kingdom came out of chaos. The events surrounding my brain tumor removal in 1993, which included the prayers of my Christian Community and my own prayer brought about a revelation to me from God through His Spirit. He gave me a glimpse into His Kingdom as His Spirit, our Holy Comforter, brought me a peace in which I was not concerned about living or dying, but joyful in the knowledge of His Eternal Kingdom. This was for me a blessing that confirmed His Word, the Gospel, that I may have sometimes doubted or questioned. A greater sensitivity for my need to seek God's Will in my life and in the World came upon me. My listening skills began to improve greatly concerning Him.

At home in our bodies?

As St. Paul says in part in 2Corinthians 5:6-17 "We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord." That is our challenge as we are at home in our bodies. We must live into God's Kingdom by trying to please the Lord at all times. We must discipline ourselves to bring God into all things as we live our lives. This human challenge has been considered by the 'Best' for centuries. Oswald Chambers calls it "Abandoning to God". He declares that we must put aside our egos and let God do His work. Jean-Pierre de Caussade and others have referred to it as "Present Moment" living. That each moment of our lives is a Sacrament and in living life in such a way we are achieving the best in being at home with the Lord. For us the beginning of this is by the daily nourishing of our spirit through reading and meditating on the Word, connecting with God's Spirit through the sounds and sights of His creation and through study. Then we are better able to live out our lives according to His Will. As we continue to ponder life and death and the hereafter, it is our challenge to see the beauty of our creation and stay in close touch with Him in our daily lives so that we might enjoy His Kingdom now and forever. AMEN.