The Gate of Heaven Is Everywhere

A Full Body Tune Up

SCRIPTURE Isaiah 45:15 (NIV) Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself, the God and Savior of Israel. REFRAIN God is at the depth of all things, including me. QUOTE Richard Rohr, from The Universal Christ "I doubt if you can see the image of God in your fellow humans if you cannot first see it in rudimentary forms in stones, in plants and flowers, in strange little animals, in bread and wine, and most especially cannot honor this objective divine image in yourself. It is a full-body tune-up, this spiritual journey. It really ends up being all or nothing, here and then everywhere." ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Image Cannot Be Extinguished

SCRIPTURE Ephesians 2:4–6 (NIV) But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. REFRAIN The image of God cannot be extinguished. QUOTE Walter Wink, from Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way "There is no one, and surely no entire people, in whom the image of God has been utterly extinguished. Faith in God means believing that anyone can be transformed, regardless of the past. To write off whole groups of people as intrinsically racist and violent is to accept the very same premise that upholds racist and oppressive regimes." ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Something in Common With All Creatures

SCRIPTURE Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin. REFRAIN Christ is present in the depth of all things. QUOTE St. Bonaventure "As a human being Christ has something in common with all creatures. With the stones he shares existence, with plants he shares life, with animals he shares sensation, and with the angels he shares intelligence." ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

All of Him

SCRIPTURE Philippians 2:7 (NIV) Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. REFRAIN Christ came for all of me. QUOTE Nikos Kazantzakis, from Report to Greco "One day the religion of Christ will take another step forward on earth. It will embrace the whole man, all of him, not just half as it does now in embracing only the soul." ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Gate of Heaven Is Everywhere

SCRIPTURE Genesis 2:15 (NIV) The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. REFRAIN The gate of heaven is everywhere. QUOTE Thomas Merton "We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and God is shining through it all the time. God manifests Himself everywhere, in everything — in people and in things and in nature and in events. The only thing is we don't see it. I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere." ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.