Former location of "The Kingdom of the Heavens" blog, written by an incurable fool who is trying to become a holy fool!
We, together, are the salt of the earth. We season our world, making it taste good to God. And individually we are to have salt in ourselves–the salt of peace within and among ourselves. Salt is something we are, not something we do. And salt that has lost its flavor is sand in the saltshaker, It was never salt in the first place.
Adiós por ahora, mis amigos
Hay mucho que todavía yo no sé.
Habrá cosas que yo no puedo saber.
¿Si otra vez nos volveremos a ver?
De cierto, hay mucho que nunca sabré.
¿A dónde nuestras vidas nos llevarán?
¡Eso es el rompecabezas más grande!
Viendo mañana, nadie ahora rinde
Ni si al buen lugar nos traerán.
Pero sí, conozco a mi futuro
Entero a sí mismo él me traerá
Aunque él me da un camino duro.
Debo creer que completos nos hará
Que confían en su amor seguro
Y en su amor mis amigos guardará.
Una bendición para algunos queridos amigos que me han rechazado, y para mis compañeros de la Universidad este semestre.
I must live more righteously than the most religious people, the people who make a show of keeping all of the rules in their own strength. Jesus’ first example of this is that I must handle my anger better than the most religious people do, and better than the traditional interpretations of the Law of Moses prescribed. I am responsible not only for letting the Spirit control my anger, but for doing what I can, led by the Spirit, to avoid giving a brother or sister an occasion to develop a grudge against me. If I love my brother or sister, I will try to reconcile with them promptly when I know I have aroused their anger.
If I am truly living in the Kingdom of the Heavens, living under the direction and power of the Holy Spirit, God will be fulfilling the purpose of the Law through me, the same way Jesus did during his earthly ministry. But If I use my freedom as an opportunity for my flesh, to mistreat or exploit my fellow believers, I am breaking the Law. If I bite and devour another believer, I have broken the whole Law–and I should fear being bitten and devoured myself. If I teach others that there are exceptions to the Law of Love, I am teaching others to “break” God’s commandments and am the least in the Kingdom. Whenever I let the Holy Spirit do his walking through my feet, his work through my hands and his speaking through my mouth, I am free from the Law, free to do whatever the Spirit directs. I won’t be doing what the flesh tells me to do, biting and devouring my fellows. The Spirit then fulfills the Law in me, and I am free.
Not the smallest piece of the Law has ever been abolished. But its summary, and its fulfillment, is its command to love my neighbor as myself. If I love myself as I should, and love others in the same way, I will fulfill the Law. But I must come to Jesus to be taught the way of love and to be given the power to love as he does. Then he will fulfill the whole Law through me, in the love he shows others through my life.