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| SPIRITUAL GROWTH IN THE CHURCHES, by Gail Gupton |
| Flipping the channels on
television one evening brought us to a Christian station where we paused the remote. By
doing so, we heard a "Christian" leader make mention that people of the Buddhist
faith would not enter into the kingdom of heaven. In discovering the Truth that Jesus came to enlighten humanity to the "kingdom of heaven is within" and that "God is no respecter of persons", one can't help but wonder how the Christian sect can ostracize those different from themselves? Does not the Bible indicate we are ALL the "sons of Gods, joint heirs with Christ"? It's not the fault of religious leaders. Throughout time, Truth has been veiled from the people. In the traditional sense, churches appear to bind members to orthodoxy instead of liberating them. Mail sent to the Beyond Prayer and Meditation web site has revealed hundreds of people dissatisfied and unfulfilled with the church of today. There is a marked difference between religious socialization and spiritual growth. The real spiritual message of the Christ has been lost in favor of idolizing the messenger. A spiritual journey brings spiritual understanding which brings about freedom. As one discovers his real identity as God BEING, prior religious concepts and beliefs fade away as light dawns brighter. The road to spiritual SELF discovery brings with it a new awareness of what Jesus was here to reveal. Buddha brought the same Truth to the people of the Eastern Continent in his time. Let us, for just a moment, think about what God is. The Universal God. The One God. God is I AM. "I am (God is) come that you might have life and have it more abundantly." Jesus was speaking as GOD. This same I AM is us. This same I AM lives as us! This same I AM lives as you and as your neighbor - even those who are unaware. What do you preface your name with except I am . . . ? God is Almighty. This means omnipotence - all power, the only power. People go to church every Sunday, open their hymn books and sing "Oh God, Almighty, How great are Thy works", close the books, go home and fear a supposed opposite of God. How can God be all powerful and we still have a disease, condition or situation unlike God to be afraid of or be threatened by? We can't, except in our false belief or unbelief. God is Omnipresence. This means God fills all space - that God is virtually everywhere. If one truly understands this as being true, how can we think of God as separate from ourselves, perhaps sitting on a throne up in the clouds somewhere. Yet preachers and ministers of many denominations want their congregations to believe God is "up above". Above human thought, yes. Above human emotions, yes. Above human logic, yes. In higher understanding! But more than that - God is right here, in every form, as every form, both visible and invisible. God is All Knowing. This means omniscience. When one tells children, "Santa knows if you've been bad or good", it's because the parent knows all that the child does. God is much more knowing than any human mind can conceive of. God knows "the hairs on the head are numbered". How then can people think they can tell God what they need by way of petitioning prayer, as though God does not know ALL? Does one need to tell God anything? No wonder prayers go unanswered. We pray amiss. God is Omniaction. This means all activity is an activity of God. Every breath we take, every leaf unfurled, every blink of the eyelid, every raindrop that falls is done so because God is the source of the action. No individual can exhale oxygen. Let us wake up and realize the Truth of God's activities. In consciousness, in conscious thought, let us finally realize God is the activity of our life, our body, our home, our relationships, our business, our travels. God is the only power, the only presence, the only source of knowledge and activity. So, what else is left? Nothing. There is nothing but God. Everything is God BEING something, someone, some form, some action. With this realization culminating in a new understanding, people and churches will have freedom. Not freedom FROM something, not freedom from an anti-Christ or Satan, the devil, but freedom IN Truth. Meditation reveals God as ALL. There is none else.
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