Family Ties

Luke 14:26 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters, and besides, even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
Yes, I understand!

Jesus said some stuff that was, and still is, quite polemical. But what he said he always lived it. He told us to "hate" children, wife, mother, etc. Didn't he? At least from what we can gather from the bible today. So let's go to his life and see how he "hated" his close family. If we study his sample we understand his preaching, right?

There were several situations when he gave an example of what he thought about family ties.

Mathew 12:47-50 Then one said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You. But answering, He said to the one speaking to Him, Who is My mother? And who are My brothers? And stretching out His hand to His disciples, He said, Behold, My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in Heaven, that one is My brother and sister and mother.

Luke 2:42-50 And when He was twelve years old, they, going up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the Feast, and fulfilling the days, in their returning, the boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know... Luke 2:46  And it happened after three days they found Him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, even hearing them and questioning them... And His mother said to Him, Child, why did You do so to us? Behold, Your father and I were looking for You, greatly distressed. And He said to them, Why did you look for me? Did you not know that I must be busy in the affairs of My Father? And they did not understand the word which He spoke to them.

It was hard for them to understand that Jesus was not putting his family in first place.
He also warned us that our biggest enemies would be those from our own family.

Matthew 10:34-37  Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I came to divide a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a bride against her mother-in-law. "Ones hostile to the man shall be those of his own house." (Mic. 7:6)  The one loving father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And the one loving son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

So here it is what Jesus thinks about family ties.

God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, in other words, kill him and offer him in sacrifice. Don't you think that Abraham had to hate his son when he was on the way to kill him? Don't you think that maybe he had to harden his heart in order to be able to bear it? His most beloved son, how could he even bear the idea of killing him?

God the Father went through similar situation. He offered his son in sacrifice. Jesus said to him, "Father, Father, why have you forsaken me?" The plea of a beloved son to his Father. Imagine how much this broke the Father's heart to not being able to do anything for his beloved son at that moment. At least for a moment Jesus thought that his Father had forsaken him.

All this was necessary to redeem humanity to the original state of grace and bring the Kingdom of God on earth. What an Amazing Story.

He is Alive

I think Christians give too much emphasis to the cross. They say that the cross is what saved us. Nonsense! Jesus Christ's resurrection is what saved us, not his death on the cross.

1Cor. 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

This thing of talking about the cross, the cross, the cross, makes me very tired. If the death of Christ in the cross is what saved us then why did Jesus had to rise from the dead 3 days later?

No! He had to go through the cross in order to resurrect and overcome death. It was very hard to go through the cross, "if it is your will, let this cup pass from me", he prayed just before been taken to the ordeal, so great was his anguish that he sweat blood while he was praying. Later from his heart came out blood and water because he was absolutely broken hearted and it’s a known fact that when people go through heavy emotional pain water accumulates around the heart. I am not despising what he went through in order to save us but, my dear, what saved us was not that he died on the cross, but the fact that he resurrected afterwards. That's what saved us: His Resurrection.

So I get very upset when I hear all this emphasis on the cross, this worship of the cross. Jesus got out of the cross long time ago, why people try to keep him there? That's what I call bulls**t. All this emphasis on the cross is a false doctrine from the churches. If anything, the cross was the temporary victory for his enemies. I underline temporary, because it was a false victory, they thought they had the victory, that's all. It was all an illusion.

Now, let me ask you a question. If your very best friend was killed by criminals with a knife when he was trying to save you, would you worship the knife from then on? Would you put a similar knife on your wall, in your room, make a monument for the knife that killed him, and walk with a little knife on your neck to remember the sacrifice he made for you? Was he your best friend or not? What do you want to remember - him or the instrument that killed him?

So, that's how side-tracked Christians can be. If they love Jesus they should only celebrate the fact that he resurrected and with him we all resurrect.

That's the truth and that's the facts.

If you think you are beaten,...

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you'd like to win but think you can't,

It's almost certain you won't.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But sooner or later, the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

Walter D. Wintle

In men whom men condemn as ill

I find so much of goodness still,

In men whom men pronounce divine

I find so much of sin and blot,

I do not dare to draw a line

Between the two, where God has not.

Joaquin Miller

If you're in a comfort zone, afraid to venture out,

Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt.

A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true.

Reach for your future with a smile; success is there for you!

Unknown

A longing prayer of love

Dear Jesus, I care more about you than I care about the opinion of one hundred kids that think they know how to answer. I care more about you because from you comes everything that I have, all my dreams, all my logings, all my faith, all my beliefes, all the good things I do. I need you Jesus. I need you, I need You , I need you.

You are the fountain of all my dreams, all the good moves I make. You are my ally, not just my ally, but I trust you so much that I depend on you to show me how I should play, and to play 100% on my favour. How could I not love someone like you? Tell me! It's impossible not to love someone like you.

I wouldn't mind to be drawned by the flood of your wine. Jesus, I need you every single hour of my life. I am speaking from the bottom of my heart, these are original words from my heart to you. I could be drawned by your flood. I let go, I don't care, please come my love.

I am not patterning my words according to the words of the religion praises. I mean it Jesus, I desperatly need you and love you. I desperatly want you Jesus. From you comes everything that I am glad I can attain. From you comes the dreams I never dared to dream. From you comes the hopes I never dared to hope. From you comes eternal joy, oh my love, when all the world hates me and despises me I find your love so pure and so strong and so loyal.

Oh Jesus take away from my heart any drop of bitterness and replace it by the possession of You. I desperatly love you, I desperatly need you, I desperatly long for you.

I’ll Never Be Lonely Again

(Extract from Virginina Brand Berg Radio Program - Meditation Moments)

Lonely days

And lonely nights
Filled with despair,
Cause me to long
For someone to care.

Then I heard Christ say to me,
This promise I’ve made:
Lo I am with you
Now and forever,
Be not afraid!

So I’ve never been lonely again.
I’ve opened my heart’s door to Him,
I’ll brush away the tears
Forget my foolish fears,
I’ll never be lonely again.

This precious song, “I’ll Never Be Lonely Again” brings us to our thought for today: “There is a mystery in human hearts, and though we be encircled by a host of those who love us well, and are beloved, to every one of us from time to time there comes a sense of utter loneliness, our dearest friend is stranger to our joy, and cannot realize our bitterness. There is not one who really understands, not one to enter into all I feel.

There is a Place out of Time and Space

There is a time to think about nothing

In a place where I don’t struggle asking

Where time stops and is no more

In a place with no after or before

There I don't care about my poems

I shut my mind and relax my shoulders

I have no audience to show my best

I don’t flee from myself nor be fast

It’s a place without time where I believe

There’s no reason to argue nor retrieve 

A place where I don’t care about my pride

And to tell you the truth, I don't mind!

A place where there are no rules to go by

And I can’t hear any voice asking me why.

A place where I can go very deep and above

A place where I can lose all and find love

I don’t have to make sense, rhyme or reason

Because here I am never afraid of treason

It’s a place where the silence speaks louder

Giving no time and attention to the prouder

(Now I was in a place like that

While I was healing my sorrow

Then I decide to make this poem

So I will try again tomorrow.)