Christians :(

I had the most unpleasant conversation at a friends Halloween party with a group of Christians. It saddened me so to hear the rank and ignorant statements made by this group. Mind you I’m no dogmatic Christian but there are things that I hold dear. Never the less having this conversation was a God send because it reminded me to be humble when dealing with people who are not believers. Here is the meat of what I’m talking about. Most Christians have this “better than thou” attitude when they deal with the non-saved. Or they come off as arrogant like they know something that you don’t. So let me shed a little light on this problem. Christian brothers and sisters please stop acting like you are the only one who can show people the way to God. Please stop treating your un-saved brothers and sisters like they’re not going to heaven because they don’t hold your belief systems or worship in your church. Please stop behaving as if your righteousness is a thing to behold in all the earth.
Please do remember that we did not choose to come to God, God chose to call us to him.

And he remarked, “That is what I meant when I said that no one can come to me unless the Father attracts him to me.” John 6:65 Living Bible.

And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. John 6:65 King James
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When Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who are the people saying I am?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist; some, Elijah; some, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
Then he asked them, “Who do you think I am?” Simon Peter answered, “The Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
“God has blessed you, Simon, son of Jonah,” Jesus said, “for my Father in heaven has personally revealed this to you – this is not from any human source. Matthew 16:13-17 Living Bible

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 16:13-17 King James

So dear ones in your quest to educate and proselytize do not forget that God has a time and a season for all things. When people do not accept the Word of God do not bludgeon them with the bible or with your eagerness to show them what they’re missing. For none of us have come to God of our own accord. We came because we were called.
And remember that we are supposed to be the “salt of the earth,” and the “light of the world.” When we live as we are supposed to live then that light within us calls to them and we need not speak a word.

Jesus said to them, “You are truly my disciples if you live as I tell you to, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31&32 Living Bible

The true shepherd does only what he has seen the Father do. This is how we know that Christ is the shepherd in the parable. The sheep know the shepherds’ voice and obey it. This is how people know the true sheep. If we claim to be of God but act like devils then all of our high talk is as fleeting as trying to catch the wind. Children of God should behave as they have been taught that they should behave. With humility, chastity, love, concern, caring, empathy, sharing, joy, and the peace that surpasses understanding.

I was talking to a friend today about some of my journeys in this world. He was most interested in hearing about some of the different religions I have participated in. Most particularly he was interested in Buddhism. No one man can ever know all there is to know about any religion, religious observances, or path to enlightenment. So I told him what little I know. He seemed surprised that so much of what I told him paralleled Christianity. I told him that was why I continue to this day my education in the Buddhist way, because so much of Buddhism does parallel Christianity.
I told him that the reasons I came to these conclusions are from several scriptures. Also some of the similarities are because Christianity in its truest form is at heart an eastern religion. Most Christian holidays, religious observances, and practices are derived from Jewish and pagan holidays, ceremonies, and rituals.
In fact it is quite common for a newer up and coming religion to absorb ceremonies and holidays from older more established religions.
Yet even beyond these accepted reasons there are still some amazing parallels in the approach to eternal life. Christianity bases acceptance into eternity around the belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. While Buddhism doesn’t center ascendance into eternity around a figure of deity, the parallel becomes apparent in that there are several factors that can cause pain and suffering. When individuals can strip themselves through meditation of the desires for the things of this world then those individuals can ascend and leave the repetitive cycle of reincarnation behind.
In Christianity this is part of the core teachings. The love of the world and the things of the world will separate you from the love of God and the love of others. What I find refreshing is that the decision is always left with the individual. If you choose to love God and your brothers and sisters then your path is one of enlightenment. But if you choose to follow the world…… enough said.
So whatever path you have chosen, may it lead you to where ever it is that you want to be. Peace.

Faith

Faith. Such a simple word. So easy to say. It requires no fore thought to pronounce it properly. Yet there is a shadowy quality to it. A component of it that refuses to be contained, explained, defined, or categorized. The Bible teaches us that faith is the "substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".
Here on this earth, in darkness. With no evidence to qualify our beliefs. Yet unseen we believe. We have faith. And faith covers many a doubt. No I do not say that faith quenches all doubt, for it does not. But I do say that faith is like a soothing salve placed on our wounds. The skin in its own time in its own way will repair the damage. But the salve helps us in the now to deal with the pain and suffering.
And truly we are ignorant. We know nothing of the cosmos. We have no knowledge of the peoples of the worlds between us and infinity. We have no knowledge of the peoples who have lived, loved. learned, and ascended to heights that still await us.
I live for the day when we will awaken. When we will awaken to the truth of who we are. As I live I see so many of my brothers and sisters walking around in a daze. Waiting for they know not what. Other brothers and sisters who just can't take it any more and take their own lives. Yet still other brothers and sisters who could care less about tomorrow and focus their energy into today and the concerns of today.
I'm not saying that we should become air heads and place all of our faculties into wait mode to see what will come. I'm saying that what we see today is a veil. It's like a movie screen onto which is projected a film that is so far from reality that we wouldn't know reality if it bit us in the butt.
But I say to you that there is hope. This faith that I mentioned earlier is here now. Waiting for you to recognize it and accept it with open arms. Faith will take you from a place of wondering and fear and remove you to a place of comfort and belonging.
Know this my brothers and sisters. You are who you are for a reason. Even if you don't know that reason you can rest assured that the reason is a good one. I know the self speak that goes on in your head because it's the same self speak that goes on in my head. All of the doubts and fears and lies that accompany being human I have experienced too. But try to look at life like this. If there is no God and everything that happens happens by chance, then we are statistical anomalies. We shouldn't be here. But the universe in its wisdom decided that we were necessary for the properly ordered running of this reality.
And if there is a God then He in His infinite wisdom put you here for a reason. There is a plan in motion that we cannot begin to fathom of which we are all a part. There is a mission in this life that only you can accomplish, which is why you were given all of the skills, talents, and the peculiar personality that you have. There are no mistakes.
This myriad of intricately, interlapping, interwoven lives we live is no mistake. We were born to the parents we were born to for a reason. We have the abilities we have for a reason. We are the people we are for a reason.
And if we can get to a place where faith can begin to intercede for us in the place of our doubts then touching that reason is now a possibility.
I need you to understand that I'm not talking about faith in God here. I'm talking about us having faith in us. I'm talking about us having faith that we are special. We are gifts to this world. NO ONE, NO WHERE, NO WHEN, can do what we can do because that thing thing was not made for us to do. We were made to do that thing.
Have faith in yourself, love yourself, respect your individuality because it is that uniqueness that gives you purpose.
With all of the love, patience, and desire in my heart I bless you. I bless you now with the blessings of grace because grace is sufficient.

Dreams

I know a lot of people say that dreams are just dreams, that they don't mean anything. And then I've heard others say that dreams are very important to us and our lives.I don't know which one of these positions is closest to the truth but I know this, we are all experts at dreaming. I don't care how old you are or how young you are, we all dream. Yes all of us, even those of us who either can't remember them or intentionally block them out upon waking.But I have a theory of my own to posit. I have had dreams throughout my life that were not dream like. I know you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about. What I mean is that when I have dreams, normal dreams. I don't really feel anything. Sometimes they're fun, sometimes they're scary, and sometimes their down right silly or science fiction like. But every now and again I have a dream that defies conventional wisdom concerning dreams. Dreams that are too real to be dreams. You say how can a dream be too real to be a dream? This is how. Some times I dream and I can't get out of it. Yes I can't awaken myself. I've developed this trick I do in the dream. I bite my hand in the dream and presto I wake up. I learned how to do this because some of my dreams make horror movies look like a trip to Disney land. Nuff said about that. But this little trick I do always works on dreams. It doesn't work at all when I....... well I don't even know what to call them. It's too real, it's like I went to sleep, left my body, travelled to another dimension. In this dimension are other versions of our selves. Most certainly different. Sometimes I look different. Sometimes my surroundings are familiar, like my family home that I grew up in, in Hinkley, but slightly different here and there. The living room doors are in the wrong place. The kitchen isn't where I remember it. My bedroom is larger or smaller than it is here. Sometimes I'm white, sometimes I'm asian, sometimes I'm samoan. Sometimes I work for the government, (don't ask I'd have to kill you if I told you). Blah blah blah government security and all that rubbish. lolSometimes I'm in a space ship travelling the stars on good will missions. Sometimes I don't make contact; I just look in on a developing species. I know what you're thinking. Damn Ollis you need to stop watching that damned sci-fi crap; it's rotting your brain. And you know what? I think I'd agree with you if it wasn't for one thing that I just can't ignore. No matter where I'm at or what I'm doing in these too real dreams, the person in the center of the dreams is always me. I don't just mean he/she looks like me. (Yes I've on occasion been a woman too). I mean it is me. Not the me that I know who lives on planet earth in the third dimension, I mean ME. The mind, the heart, the soul, whatever you want to call it. It's always me. Just other versions of me.It is my belief that when I have these dreams that seem like they're too real it's because they are real. I'm not dreaming in the conventional sense. I'm living one of my other lives. Our scientists now know that there are an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of fractal timelines all skewing out in different directions. Think of it this way, in your life from your very birth your parents made decisions for you until such time as you could make them for yourself. Think of every decision your parents made. Do we raise our child in CA? Do we go elsewhere to look for better jobs? What about the community we raise our child in? What about family? What members of the family do we let have contact with our child? All of these decisions have very real consequences and effects on who you are. At every intersection where a choice must be made, either by your parents or by you, a universe is spawned where the path not taken here is taken in the other universe. We are who we are because of who our parents are, because of our life experiences, because of where we live, and people we've known. What if, and I'm taking a giant leap of faith here, what if we along with all of these infinite numbers of ourselves are all connected? What if we only think we are dreaming, but in actuality we are looking in on our lives in another dimension. Another universe. Another of our lives. We know it's us because no matter how different we may be, our core is the same.Science tells us that time travel is not possible because same matter cannot share the same time space. What if they are wrong? And since no one we know has ever managed to travel backwards or forwards in time what makes them the authority on time and how it works and exists?What if we are not just travelling to parallel universes or mirror dimensions? What if we are also traversing time and space? Ever notice that in some of these "dreams" you are your younger self? Ever notice that in some of these "dreams" you're much older than you are now? Ever notice that in some of your "dreams" you are doing things, participating in events, and handling objects that do not exist YET? Or existed in the past.Mind you for terminologies sake that I am not talking about remote viewing. Which is the psychic viewing of subjects, places, or things. This is not a per se psychic event. (Though for the sake of argument we may be utilizing these abilities to link to our other selves). You don't have to be psychic to touch yourself. These other you's like I said, no matter how different are still you. Just you in another time and another place.Like I said it's just a theory and at present there exists no means for me to prove this theory. But wouldn't it be interesting to be able to talk to you your other selves and ask if they've ever "dreamed" about you?Till my next crazy thought passes through my head good luck and God bless you all. Ollis.

Black Man

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