Religion and Truth

The magical Sintra Micro Climate

Today I was reminded of the micro climate of the beautiful area of Sintra, near Lisbon, Portugal. It is often shrouded in a thick sea fog making it appear magical, because of all the abundant majestic foliage and picturesque palaces it engulfs whilst, meanwhile, everywhere nearby could be baking under a cloudless sky. I may sound like a marketing leaflet but it truly can be stunning. It sometimes seems like fairyland or the setting for magical princesses and if you dismiss my descriptions as nonsense Sintra continues to exist. Similarly, we can consider that God, God's Kingdom, Heaven, Eternity don't exist but that doesn't mean they do not exist. In not believing, the loss is ours. At least seek as there are so many of us who believe and do not let go of our belief.

You are Special

I am reminded of a Christian allegorical story, "You are Special", about a wooden community, in which the wooden people cover each other in golden stars when they think they have a talent or look good. If someone has seemingly failed or is not looking good, they are given grey dots. One female wooden character had no stars or dots and the protagonist in this story learns that it is because she makes daily visits to her Maker who reassures her that he made her with love and with no mistakes. Furthermore, the Maker emphasises that the value of his creations should not be dictated by the stickers, whether good or bad/ criticism or praise. The author of this story is encouraging us to understand that, similarly, God loves us unconditionally. As Apostle Paul declared, "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10). In John 12:26 we read that God honours those who honour Him. As such, we don't need man's honour.

Relax

Today I feel that the Holy Spirit wants to remind us to relax, not necessarily in the context of putting our feet up but more to loosen our mental hold on what could potentially stress us. We need to learn to relax in the Lord, which requires complete trust in Him. There are many verses that remind us of this. For instance, Mathew 11:28-29 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls". Jesus is not out to accuse and condemn us but instead to convict us if necessary and to comfort us. Another often quoted verse is "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Note that it says "all".

A soft bull dog clip

Today I saw a picture in my mind's eye of a soft bulldog clip. Usually this type of clip is a hard metal device for temporarily, but firmly, binding loose sheets of paper together. I believe that this soft clip is a reminder that God wants to bind us all together to Him in love, in a soft, comfortable but committed way, of our own free will. "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure..." (Hebrews 6:17-19). 'We who have fled' is referring to the cities of refuge where a person who had accidentally killed someone could run to as a safe haven before facing a fair trial (see Numbers 35:6,9). Grace, mercy and understanding are extended to us when we bind ourselves to God. Jesus died for all of us for all our sins but we need to choose, in free will, to 'flee' to him. We are being convicted, not condemned. We having nothing to fear. We have 'hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure'.

Seeds

Today's picture is of seeds. This has caused me to think on the seeds of inheritance. Mary was the natural mother of Jesus upon whom the Holy Spirit descended (see Luke 1:35). In Mathew we explicitly read, "She was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit". Joseph heard from Angel Gabriel and was willing to adopt baby Jesus, making Him an official descendent of his lineage which was of King David and Abraham. This fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would be a direct descendant of King David and Abraham. Joseph chose to adopt Jesus and we can choose to be adopted by God. "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba Father." (Romans 8:15). Abba is equivalent to Daddy. 'Sons' refers to all of mankind. That is the relationship we can all have.