"It's that if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn't there, then I never really lost it to begin with (speaking of heart's desire). Is that it?" Dorothy speaking to Glinda, the Good witch of the North at the conclusion of The Wizard of Oz. Glinda responded: " That's all it is."
Our thought process...chasing after our heart's desires...thinking correctly or thinking wrong, is this a part of the Born Again experience?...the time we acknowledged to God the sin in our own lives, asked for forgiveness, and invited His son to come and live in our hearts.
What is this "Born Again" experience? What happens when we decide to do this? What's gonna' happen?
Finding contentment in life, searching for purpose to why we are here, and embracing this faith to why we call ourselves...Christian, all these thoughts can often times daunt our minds as we walk through our daily lives and choose a lifestyle we find ourselves in each day.
It seems it all begins in our thoughts. As I had mentioned in previous articles, the ancient Hebrews believed our thoughts originate...in our hearts. The Sacred Scriptures seem to indicate that as well. Our hearts, the Born Again experience, sin....it all starts or so it seems...in our thoughts....the "Thoughts of our Hearts".
Here is an interesting quote. It is from the Sacred Scripture, and it is from Jesus who is doing the Sermon on the Mount. In this particular passage He seems to indicate we all have a "type of master", He leaves no room for being a "master of my own destiny" thing.
Yet, if we choose to follow Him, we find our individual freedom. This freedom we all seem to cherish and want, freedom to make good and healthy choices in life, freedom to express ourselves in our own unique way, and freedom that is only available to us when we respond to this experience of being..."Born Again".
C.S. Lewis, the great novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, lay theologian, and most importantly...Christian, had some unique comments concerning those who choose to follow through and actually experience being "Born Again". In fact, from my personal perspective his conversion to Christianity was one of those "Pauline" types, much like the conversion of Rosaria Champagne Butterfield...you just didn't see this one coming.
Here are some quotes from C. S. Lewis on this "Born Again" experience:
" I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it (referring to the sun), but because I see everything else."
" If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is: we were made for...another world."
" You never know how much you really believe anything, until its truth or falsehood become a matter of life and death...to you."
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance...and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing Christianity can not be...is moderately important."
"The problem with mental pain: Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but is more common and more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden. It's easier to say "My tooth is aching" then to say "My heart is broken."
" Relying on God has to begin all over again every day...as if nothing had yet been done."
" The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become...because He made us...He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. It is when I turn my life to Christ Jesus, when I give up myself...to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own."
And now here is a Gleaning from Matthew 6:24
"We as humans are not able to serve 2 masters...at one time. It becomes a contrast which usually results in loving one and rejecting the other. Oh, we might "pamper" or cater to the one master we really don't care for or give much attention to..from our hearts, but in the end we end up giving our adoration to one and...despising the other.
It's really not possible to give your heart and your daily thoughts to the Lord Jesus, while at the same time giving your heart and daily thoughts to things like pursuit of riches, the possessions in life you so firmly grip, having resentment and unforgiveness toward others, gossip, and all those things we anchor our trust in....outside the Sacred Scriptures and nurturing our friendship with Him....the one we say is our Lord...the Lord Jesus Christ."
Well, my thoughts...sin....Jesus...looks like I might need a ...part 2.
Our thought process...chasing after our heart's desires...thinking correctly or thinking wrong, is this a part of the Born Again experience?...the time we acknowledged to God the sin in our own lives, asked for forgiveness, and invited His son to come and live in our hearts.
What is this "Born Again" experience? What happens when we decide to do this? What's gonna' happen?
Finding contentment in life, searching for purpose to why we are here, and embracing this faith to why we call ourselves...Christian, all these thoughts can often times daunt our minds as we walk through our daily lives and choose a lifestyle we find ourselves in each day.
It seems it all begins in our thoughts. As I had mentioned in previous articles, the ancient Hebrews believed our thoughts originate...in our hearts. The Sacred Scriptures seem to indicate that as well. Our hearts, the Born Again experience, sin....it all starts or so it seems...in our thoughts....the "Thoughts of our Hearts".
Here is an interesting quote. It is from the Sacred Scripture, and it is from Jesus who is doing the Sermon on the Mount. In this particular passage He seems to indicate we all have a "type of master", He leaves no room for being a "master of my own destiny" thing.
Yet, if we choose to follow Him, we find our individual freedom. This freedom we all seem to cherish and want, freedom to make good and healthy choices in life, freedom to express ourselves in our own unique way, and freedom that is only available to us when we respond to this experience of being..."Born Again".
C.S. Lewis, the great novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, lay theologian, and most importantly...Christian, had some unique comments concerning those who choose to follow through and actually experience being "Born Again". In fact, from my personal perspective his conversion to Christianity was one of those "Pauline" types, much like the conversion of Rosaria Champagne Butterfield...you just didn't see this one coming.
Here are some quotes from C. S. Lewis on this "Born Again" experience:
" I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it (referring to the sun), but because I see everything else."
" If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is: we were made for...another world."
" You never know how much you really believe anything, until its truth or falsehood become a matter of life and death...to you."
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance...and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing Christianity can not be...is moderately important."
"The problem with mental pain: Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but is more common and more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden. It's easier to say "My tooth is aching" then to say "My heart is broken."
" Relying on God has to begin all over again every day...as if nothing had yet been done."
" The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become...because He made us...He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. It is when I turn my life to Christ Jesus, when I give up myself...to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own."
And now here is a Gleaning from Matthew 6:24
"We as humans are not able to serve 2 masters...at one time. It becomes a contrast which usually results in loving one and rejecting the other. Oh, we might "pamper" or cater to the one master we really don't care for or give much attention to..from our hearts, but in the end we end up giving our adoration to one and...despising the other.
It's really not possible to give your heart and your daily thoughts to the Lord Jesus, while at the same time giving your heart and daily thoughts to things like pursuit of riches, the possessions in life you so firmly grip, having resentment and unforgiveness toward others, gossip, and all those things we anchor our trust in....outside the Sacred Scriptures and nurturing our friendship with Him....the one we say is our Lord...the Lord Jesus Christ."
Well, my thoughts...sin....Jesus...looks like I might need a ...part 2.
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