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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

The Prestige (2006) – A Film About Revelation of the Method

Link

jay008 / July 10, 2014


Film Poster. Image: Impawards.

By: Jay Dyer

The Pledge

For most viewers, The Prestige was a film about rival stage magicians in the Victorian Era, alternately seeking to top one another in the dank climate of emerging industrial revolution and technological wonder. Lord Caldlow/Angiers (Hugh Jackman) is the secret nobleman who has a flair for the art of illusion, while Robert Borden and his twin (Christian Bale) are the working class stage hands who have devoted their lives to their art. In the midst of this rivalry, the curious figure of Nikola Tesla enters (played by David Bowie) to interject the element of real magic, titled in the film, “wizardry.” Both magicians are on a quest to sabotage the other, while seeking to perfect the greatest trick of all – the transported man.

Stage rivalry and obsession is what The Prestige is about, but it is also about much more. After several viewings (as is my normal habit), my thesis began to congeal: The Prestige is about Hollywood and film-making itself. And not only that, it is an industry that is an art of deception and illusion. The director and the actors are in effect illusion artists, or con men, if you will. The successful director is able to fool the audience into accepting that what is presented on the screen is real, even if it is evidently fantastical. The magicians’ ingenieure, Mr. Cutter (Michael Caine), explains this principle of film as illusion at the beginning, which is to be applied to the film itself. Cutter states:

“Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t. The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.”

Director Christopher Nolan explains in “The Making of The Prestige” this is to be applied to both directing and the film itself as theatrical illusion: “For me, The Prestige is very much about film-making. It’s very much about what I do. It is also intended to suggest to the audience some of those ideas about how the film itself is spooling its narrative out to the audience. You want people to be aware of the effect the film is having as it’s unfolding before their eyes.” The Prestigefollows this same tripartite structure, as it draws you into an ordinary story of human rivalry and obsession, the “Turn,” where the audience is looking for the secret of Angier and the Borden’s trick, but not truly looking, because like film, stage magic operates under the audience’s suspension of disbelief. The audience “wants to be fooled.” And in the end, the transported man must come back – reemerge or resurrect, as the final climax of the show.


Keep ya bird in her cage, mate.

The Turn

In order to properly understand Nolan’s film, we must consider the same principle elucidated concerning David Lynch films – twilight language. Researcher Michael Hoffman defines “twilight language” as follows in his Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare: “The path to unlocking this gnosis was centered in “twilight language,” a once nearly universal subliminal communication system used in Egypt, Babylon, the Indian subcontinent and among the Aztecs, consisting of a combination of numbers, archetypal words and symbols, which in our time are sometimes embedded in modern advertising, and in certain modern films and music…. In Oriental Tantra, the mantra (including dharani, kavaca, yamala, etc.) is sonically calculated to induce a particular action. It forms part of the original sanskrit concept of sandhyabhasa(twilight language). In Tantra, ‘Sandhyabhasa…is a language of light and darkness…in this higher type of discourse, words have another, a different meaning: this is not to be openly discussed.” (pg. 207)

Like Kubrick, Lynch and Hitchcock, Nolan utilizes this same pattern, where certain words, images and phrases will stand out as ciphers to the film on the deeper level. This is a tricky process, as it is not always a simple science of picking out which clues and words are key, but it can be done with experience. This is one of the more controversial aspects dealt with at JaysAnalysis, so I intend on providing other examples of the same in other arenas to help convince skeptics. Hoffman continues:

“Ritual is obsession in motion. Obsessive people are walking rituals and they attract “coincidentally,” aids to their obsessions. If this is done consciously and the obsession happens to coordinate with the trend and tendency of the time, a lot more “coincidental” magnification will be forthcoming. Coincidence can be summoned. It is a matter of attention and timing. First you must be aware of – believing in and observing – the mechanism of coincidence when it agrees with your work, then you coordinate what you’re working on with what you were predestined to do. When you start to see the pattern of coincidence and it becomes a language for you, you have either become an initiate or a schizophrenic, take your pick, because you lose the protection of materialism – our own protection against the disordering of the arrangement we’ve given to the world to make it manageable.” (Ibid., 130)


Sandy Hook in The Dark Knight, prior to the Sandy Hook event.

Nolan’s films are replete with uses of Jungian archetypes and synchronicity – another Jungian concept. In my Inceptionanalysis, I wrote:

“The other crucial element is that the story is not a linear story, just like a dream is often non-linear. The film concerns essentially the “architecture of the mind,” as director Christopher Nolan described it. Jung’s theories involve the idea that the individual is a disparate instantiation of the collective unconscious, and thus fragmented from the collective. The collective conscious manifests itself in images and archetypes in our deepest selves – the lowest of the subconscious. It is here that we hide out most intimate failures, sins and fears. We guard this sensitive part of our selves, and have defense mechanisms by which we hide and guard these deeper, more elemental ethereal truths about who we really are. For Jung, being the gnostic he was, the goal is to overcome all purported fragmentation, work through the so-called self-realization/individuation process, and thus escape dualities. The masculine “side” must reconcile with the feminine. One notices here familiar themes found throughout the history of alchemy, and Jung was known for his penchant in such arcane studies.”

The above quotes thus solidify a central concept in my analysis of The Prestige – the film is not just about Hollywood illusion and twilight language, but the usage of that power through the illusion of the stage/screen to produce an effect in the consciousness of the viewer. In my Eyes Wide Shut analysis, I claimed the film was an attempt to initiate the reader, whereas with The Prestige, the film seems to delight in fooling the audience. It is an exaltation of the fact that most of the viewing audience will not understand the connotations, thinking the film was only about rival magicians, while being unable to place the usage of Nikola Tesla. It is also crucial to remember that Nolan’s Batman Trilogy included numerous examples of archetypal symbolism and conspiriana, the most famous of which being the Sandy Hook reference on Bain’s map of the city, prior to the Sandy Hook incident in 2012. Given that level of planned “synchronicity,” we may infer that nothing in Nolan’s films is accidental, especially not Tesla. Nolan is telling you something.


Wireless transmission of energy.

Recall as well that Nolan’s 2005 Batman Begins was entirely a conspiracy-themed plot, lending credence to my thesis that all of his films may legitimately be assumed to be “written” twilight language. On Batman Begins, I explained about the League of Shadows, the dark eastern cult that had become Batman’s nemesis:

“It is also relevant to consider that the drugging of the water supply, an old Soviet and Nazi tactic, is, in fact, still practiced today, as much of the United States’ water supply is purposefully drugged in order to chemically attack the masses, reducing Iqs and causing sterilization. See this video. Psychoactive drugs have also been proposed for addition to water supplies, as well as actual antidepressants, rocket fuel and radiation, turning up in samples. Drugs are also being sprayed in geo-engineering and “chemtrail” programs. For the League of Shadows, the purpose is mass insanity directed towards an engineered social collapse. Again, art mirrors reality. The hallucinogen mind control chemical is developed by “Scarecrow” (Cillian Murphy), who is a doctor specializing in mental health and brainwashing. Scarecrow represents the pharmaceutical complex which works in tandem with the military industrial complex to engineer and control society. The Scarecrow character brings to mind the famed MKULTRA program which did experiment with various methods, including drugs, to solve and control the human mind.”

In The Prestige, dualities play a tremendous role. Borden has a double, his twin brother, who shares his life as the family man, as well as Angier having his initial double, Mr. Root, the drunken failed actor. As the rivalry intensifies, Borden and Angier become doubles in a way, each seeking to top the other and obsessing over the other. Both Borden and Angier live double lives, not being who they appear to be. This duality is a common theme in Hitchcock and Nolan is clearly utilizing it. Dialectical dualism is one of the oldest religious principles, operating as a dialectic in both eastern and western religion and occultism. Our temporal life in that perspective is seen as one of constant struggle with duality and opposition, with alchemical fusion or other-worldly transcendence seen as the usual escape. Oriental religions are especially taken up with dualities and dualism and this becomes a symbolic indicator with the old Chinese magician. Cutter tells Borden and Angier they can have ten minutes of audition time if they can solve the old man’s act. After viewing it, Borden tells Angier the secret to the routine was that he always played the character of the old magician. It was all an act, because that is true devotion to the art, and true devotion to the art is the only way to “escape all this” (as he pounds on a rock wall). On one level, Borden was referring to his life of poverty, but on a deeper level, it is a reference to the film’s continual usage of bird cages, water tanks and boxes.


Bowie as Tesla.

The bird-cage is explained by Nolan as an image of being trapped. The magicians use of the tank and Angier’s use of “Tesla’s box” exemplify this, too, and the meaning is twofold. On the one hand, the characters are trapped in their own mental prisons of obsession over both women and their stagecraft. The obsession leads to the death of one of the Borden’s and his wife, as well as countless clones of Angier from the Tesla machine. As I will explain later, the amazing technology of Tesla is presented in The Prestige as something wholly other – something no one at that time was able to accept and could only be slowly introduced. The film presents Tesla as working covertly in Colorado to power a whole town while also conducting secret experiments involving cloning. I have written elsewhere about the truth behind this idea, that Tesla did do many of the seemingly miraculous things attributed to him, but that his work was confiscated by officials of various intelligence agencies, which is even referenced in passing in the film. Tesla did work on secret projects in Colorado, and this is significant in terms of twilight language in regard to another famous novel, Atlas Shrugged.

In Atlas Shrugged, John Galt’s rebellion of business leaders against government is centered around a hidden “Atlantis” community in Colorado. This secret community was based around the philosophy of Galt and was hidden using directed energy beams, or “defractor rays.” Galt’s idea was a “quantum propulsion engine” that would revolutionize energy markets by pulling energy from the environment – both of which are Tesla-related ideas. I have written elsewhere about the connection between Tesla’s work and an alternate, hidden metaphysics the establishment is aware of, yet suppresses from the masses, based largely around notions like the aether and quantum technology. While I am not necessarily saying Nolan had Atlas Shrugged in mind, what is clear is that both stories focus on hidden technology in relation to Colorado, and Colorado just happens to be a recent home to the CIA, as opposed to the more public and historic Langley, Virginia.


Ayn Rand’s novel of secret Tesla-type technology.

The Prestige

But what might be the use of Tesla in the film? Why Tesla? A host of scientists could have been used, but Tesla was chosen for a reason. As the film correctly notes, Tesla is the father of the modern world. Unfortunately, Tesla’s rather benevolent intention was not what his inventions were used for. As I have shown by uploading the declassified documents relating to his work, the confiscation of Tesla’s work was done with the full intent of technocratic enslavement. Back in 1973, longtime Washington geopolitical strategist Zbigniew Brzezinski described the usage of Tesla technology for the dystopian control of large masses of populations in his Between Two Ages:

“In addition… future developments may well include automated or manned space warships, deep-sea installations, chemical and biological weapons, death rays, and still other forms of warfare–even the weather may be tampered with.

In addition, it may be possible–and tempting–to exploit for strategic-political purposes the fruits of research on the brain and on human behavior. Gordon J. F. MacDonald, a geophysicist specializing in problems of warfare, has written that timed artificially excited electronic strokes could lead to a pattern of oscillations that produce relatively high power levels over certain regions of the earth…. In this way, one could develop a system that would seriously impair the brain performance of very large populations in selected regions over an extended period…. No matter how deeply disturbing the thought of using the environment to manipulate behavior for national advantages to some, the technology permitting such use will very probably develop within the next few decades.


Brzezinski’s Between Two Ages.

As one specialist noted, ‘By the year 2018, technology will make available to the leaders of the major nations, a variety of techniques for conducting secret warfare, of which only a bare minimum of the security forces need be appraised. One nation may attack a competitor covertly by bacteriological means, thoroughly weakening the population (though with a minimum of fatalities) before taking over with its own armed forces. Alternatively, techniques of weather modification could be employed to produce prolonged periods of drought or storm….(Gordon J. F. MacDonald, “Space,” in Toward the year 2018, p.34).” (pg. 57 with fn)

To bring this back home to The Prestige, the wireless transmission of television and Internet onto magical mirror boxes in most households was long foreseen as a means to “pledge,” “turn” and “prestige” the duped masses of Amerika and the world. It is my thesis that the film includes Tesla because not only was he the father of the modern world’s technology, his technology would in turn be used by the cryptocracy as the greatest means of propagandizing and tricking the populace through millions of screens broadcasting illusion. From fake news to fake lives, television and the invasion of the screens has erected an entirely synthetic alternate reality in which people’s minds inhabit, like the birds in cages or Angier in the tanks, in the film. The meaning of the cloning of Angier to top Borden symbolizes what Tesla says to Angier:

“Man’s reach exceeds his grasp”? It’s a lie. Man’s grasp exceeds his nerve. The only limits on scientific progress are those imposed by society. The first time I changed the world, I was hailed as a visionary. The second time I was asked politely to retire. The world only tolerates one change at a time. And so here I am. Enjoying my “retirement.” Tesla means that what man attempts, when he overcomes his fear, can exceed what seems possible. With Angier’s funding, Tesla creates a “box” that results in cloning. The greatest mystery of western religion – bodily resurrection, is presented as within the possibility of science, but Tesla in the film issues a warning that all of this obsession comes at a price. Modern scientism is something I have written about at length, and one of the greatest dark secrets is revealed precisely in the figure of Tesla. Like the Brzezinski quote above, not only has Tesla tech been used for weather warfare, Army psychological warfare expert and founder of the Satanic Temple of Set, Col. Michael Aquino describes the actual usage of Tesla’s ELF/VLF radio frequency attacks upon mass populations. In his “From PsyOp to Mindwar: The Psychology of Victory,” Aquino writes in the footnotes towards the end:

“Atmospheric electromagnetic (EM) activity: The Human body communicates internally by EM and electrochemical impulses. The EM field displayed in Kirlian photographs, the effectiveness of acupuncture, and the body’s physical responses to various types of EM radiation (X-rays, infrared radiation, visible light spectra, etc.) are all examples of human sensitivity to EM forces and fields. Atmospheric EM activity is regularly altered by such phenomena as sunspot eruptions and gravitational stresses which distort the Earth’s magnetic field. Under varying external EM conditions, humans are more or less disposed to the consideration of new ideas.

MindWar should be timed accordingly. Per Dr. L.J. Ravitz: Electromagnetic field constructs add fuel to the assumption unifying living matter harmoniously with the operations of nature, the expression of an electromagnetic field no less than non-living systems; and that as points on spectrums, these two entities may at last take their positions in the organization of the universe in a way both explicable and rational … A tenable theory has been provided for emergence of the nervous system, developing not from functional demands, but instead deriving as a result of dynamic forces imposed on cell groups by the total field pattern. Living matter on has a definition of state based on relativity field physics, through which it has been possible to detect a measurable property of total state functions. (Ravitz, State-Function, Including Hypnotic States” in Journal of American Society of Psychosomatic Dentistry and Medicine Vol. 17, No. 4, 1970.)”

And,

“Ionization of the air: An abundance of negative condensation nuclei (“air ions”) in ingested air enhances alertness and exhilaration, while an excess of positive ions enhances drowsiness and depression. Calculation of the ionic balance of a target audience’s atmospheric environment will be correspondingly useful. Again this is a naturally-occurring condition – caused by such varying agents as solar ultraviolet light, lightning, and rapidly-moving water – rather than one which most be artificially created. (Detonation of nuclear weapons, however, will alter atmospheric ionization levels.) Cf. Soyke, Fred and Edmonds, Alan, “The Ion Effect”. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1977.

Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) waves: ELF waves up to 100 Hz are once more naturally occurring,but they can also be produced artificially (such as for the Navy’s Project Sanguine for submarine communication). ELF-waves are not normally noticed by the unaided senses, yet their resonant effect upon the human body has been connected to both physiological disorders and emotional distortion. Infrasound vibration (up to 20 Hz) can subliminally influence brain activity to align itself to “delta”, “theta”, “alpha”, or “beta” wave patterns, inclining an audience toward everything from alertness to passivity. Infrasound could be used tactically, as ELF-waves endure for great distances; and it could be used in conjunction with media broadcasts as well. See Playfair, Guy L. and Hill, Scott, The Cycles of Heaven. New York: St. Martin’sPress, 1978, pages 130-140.”


“This machine was not built by a magician, but by a wizard,” Cutter explains of the Tesla “box.” Note as well that the box resembles both a kind of coffin and an uncapped pyramid.

Now you understand the reason for the prevalence of television, wifi, and ELF/VLF towers. The prestige you don’t want to see is staring you right in the face. The tech grid that is built all around us is erected for the purpose of working in conjunction with the “chemtrail” geo-engineering that ionizes the atmosphere. The heating of the atmosphere is used in conjunction with frequency manipulation to control mass populations. While The Prestige is not a film directly about this, this is the use of Tesla, the father of modern communications technology, which brings to the masses the frequency manipulation on top of the theatrical illusion of Hollywood cinema “magic.” And I have just shown you two high level cryptocracy controllers who openly say it is such. The world is a stage, but most are spectators in this technocratic drama.

Hoffman writes again of the methods and techniques of the shadow establishment that are equally applicable to the Hollywood illusion machine:

“The Cryptocracy has always operated as a rhetorical system. In the Kennedy assassination we saw this in the command-words Camelot, Storyville, Shakespeare and Truth or Consequences. Predictive Programming works by means of the propagation of the illusion of an infallibly accurate vision of how the world is going to look in the future. This fraud has had a not inconsiderable impact on our reality. Aleister Crowley, in a statement to OTO initiates concerning one of his books, describes the underlying epistemology behind the glamour and enchantment which causes the occult con-game to become the weird reality we inhabit in America today:

‘In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or may not exist. It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them.’ (Liber O)

Here Crowley admits that the OTO is a vehicle for imposing an artificial reality based on nothing but lies and promoted by liars initiated into the art and science of illusion.” (Emphasis mine. Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare, 206)

Although not immediately pertinent to the film, I would like to give another example of twilight language for skeptics. IMF head Christine Lagarde recently gave a speech in which she made some very interesting comments about numerology that many found baffling. The video claims to give a prediction about economic issues based on the video’s numerology, which I would caution against. However, even if the video creator’s interpretation of the dating is incorrect, what Lagarde’s carefully planned speech undoubtedly demonstrates is the very principle of twilight language I have been arguing for. For her, the numerology is a language that conveys another message beyond the immediate, surface meaning.

The last sentence of Hoffman perfectly describes the theme and message of The Prestige: “imposing an artificial reality based on nothing but lies and promoted by liars initiated into the art and science of illusion.” Written in twilight language, it is a film about much more than petty magicians: It is a film about revelation of the method itself. It is a revelation of the method of revelation of the method. Just as Borden’s diary in the film is written in a cipher with a keyword that turns out to be “Tesla,” Nolan wants the viewer to understand that The Prestige is a film written in a cipher, whose keyword is Tesla. That is why I have focused my analysis on Tesla, who is the real message of the film, not Angier or the Bordens. Tesla is the real “wizard” who created the modern world, not the illusionists, with their stagecraft and sleight of hand. To transcend space and time and resurrect is the goal of modern science and transhumanism, but remember Tesla’s warning – it comes at a price. This is the message of the film’s twilight language. In my article, I presented a pledge, a turn and a prestige and today is Nikola Tesla’s birthday: Are you watching closely, or are you wanting to be fooled?


Are you?

O Deus de toda Consolação

Link
Uma compilação

“Bendito seja o Deus e Pai de nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo, Pai das misericórdias e Deus de toda consolação…”—2 Coríntios 1:3[1]

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“O Deus de toda consolação”. Em Deus encontra-se todo tipo de consolação. Não importa a necessidade na hora da aflição, Deus tem o consolo exato, e está sempre pronto para dispensá-lo! Fique tranquilo, acreditando sempre que, se pedir, receberá esse consolo. Essas palavras dão ânimo a todos que estão cansados da jornada por este grande e terrível deserto! Deus é o Deus de toda consolação. Não é uma consolação parcial, mas total, toda consolação. Se precisar do consolo de qualquer tipo que seja que o ser humano já recebeu, Deus o tem reservado! Se o povo de Deus precisar de algum consolo durante uma doença, na prisão, na hora da necessidade, na depressão, o Deus de toda consolação o dará de acordo com a necessidade!—Charles Spurgeon[2]

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Não tema, estou contigo; não se assuste, pois eu sou teu Deus. Eu te esforço, Eu te ajudo, Eu te sustento, com a destra da minha justiça.—Isaias 41:10[3]

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Tudo isto tenho dito a ti, para que em mim tenhas paz. No mundo terás aflição, mas tem bom ânimo, porque Eu venci o mundo.—João 16:33[4]

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Ainda que eu andasse pelo vale da sombra da morte não temeria mal algum, porque tu estás comigo, a tua vara e o teu cajado me consolam.—Salmo 23:4[5]

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Eu vos deixo a paz; a minha paz eu vos dou, não a dou como o mundo a dá. Não se atribule o seu coração nem se atemorize.—João 14:27[6]

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Vinde a mim todos os que estais cansados e oprimidos e eu vos aliviarei. Tomai sobre vós o meu jugo e aprendei de mim, que sou manso e humilde de coração, e encontrareis descanso para as vossas almas.—Mateus 11:28–29[7]

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Muitas pessoas recebem bênçãos incontáveis de Deus e se apoiam em Suas promessas. No entanto, não conhecem a Deus de uma maneira pessoal. Existem muitos que confiaram em Cristo por um tempo e nEle encontraram grande consolo e a certeza do Seu amor. Posteriormente, em um período de dificuldades, criaram amizade com Ele, e nessa relação encontraram tesouros de amor, empatia e consolo muito além do que haviam vivenciado até então. Ao buscarmos ajuda na hora da dor, jamais deveríamos nos contentar apenas com os dons que Deus nos concede, ou com a consolação prometida em Sua palavra. Deveríamos encontrar no próprio Deus a satisfação do Seu infinito e bem-aventurado amor.

As Escrituras revelam um Deus generoso e misericordioso que concede benefícios, mas que não gostaria que nos contentássemos apenas com isso. “Ele faz o sol nascer para o mau e para o bom, e envia chuva para o justo e o injusto.” Mas Ele deseja Se manifestar para Seus filhos como o faz para o mundo. Os grandes santos da Bíblia foram ajudados e encontraram satisfação não nos dons de Deus, mas na relação com o próprio Deus. Por essa razão Davi pode fazer tão linda declaração: “Nada me faltará”. Ele não disse isso porque sentia possuir uma grande reserva de dons de Deus, mas porque “o Senhor é o meu pastor”. Davi não depositava sua confiança na riqueza que Deus lhe dera para cuidar do seu futuro, mas no próprio Deus. Em outro Salmo, Davi deseja ardentemente não apenas os benefícios ou favores da bondade divina, mas próprio Deus. “Minha alma tem sede de Deus; tem sede do Deus vivo.” Nada saciava a sua sede, exceto a companhia de Deus. Nada que Deus lhe desse, por mais precioso que fosse o presente, dentre as mais doces bênçãos, teriam satisfeito o seu anelo. Ele tinha sede de Deus, do Deus vivo. A alma humana foi criada por Deus, e só Ele pode suprir sua necessidade.

A única coisa que conforta nosso coração é a consolação que Deus nos dá. O nosso Pai quer nos abençoar. Ele espera de nós total confiança para então Se revelar ternamente e de uma maneira bastante pessoal. Após a morte de Horace Bushnell, encontraram uma folha de papel na sua Bíblia, onde estava escrito: “O instinto amoroso da minha mãe vinha de Deus, e o amor que ela passava para mim era o dEle, um amor muito mais profundo e duradouro do que o dela. Ela já se foi há muitos anos, mas Deus continua ao meu lado. Ele me acompanha na velhice com a mesma ternura e atenção que ela me dispensou na infância, concedendo-me alegria e a glória maior na minha vida que é a certeza de conhecê-lo, e ter verdadeira confiança para chamá-lO de Pai.”

Persuasões, argumentos e promessas, por mais verdadeiros, valiosos e fundamentados na fé que sejam, jamais darão paz ao coração angustiado. Podemos ouvir preleções das pessoas mais talentosas em confortar, que usam a palavra de Deus para nossa consolação, mas o nosso espírito solitário continuará só. Podemos concordar com tudo o que ouvimos, a nossa mente pode aceitar e ficar um pouco em paz. Mas no fundo do coração continuamos sem consolo. Falta-nos algo. Se, porém, nos aconchegarmos no seio de Deus e ali nos aninharmos como faz uma criança cansada no colo da mãe, deixando o Seu amor nos envolver e penetrar no nosso coração, por mais profunda que seja a tristeza, nós nos sentiremos consolados e ficaremos satisfeitos. E mesmo que não tenhamos nada que nos dê alegria, e nos sintamos privados de tudo, Deus nos será suficiente.

Existe a bênção da solidariedade, pois Deus nos envia os amigos para mostrar um pouco do Seu amor, como se nos desse pequenas doses da Sua graça. Mas Ele é o único que nos dá a verdadeira consolação. O amor de Deus é grande o suficiente para encher nosso coração, e a Sua mão habilidosa para tratar nossas feridas.—J. R. Miller[8]

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Mesmo perdendo toda a esperança e tudo pareça falhar, mesmo com os sonhos despedaçados e os navios com as velas em frangalhos, ainda teremos Jesus! E Ele é tudo o que precisamos!—David Brandt Berg

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Tu, Senhor, manténs acesa a minha lâmpada; o meu Deus transforma em luz as minhas trevas.—Salmo 18:28[9]

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Tu és o meu abrigo; tu me preservarás das angústias e me cercarás de canções de livramento.—Salmo 32:7[10]

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Para onde poderia eu escapar do teu Espírito?
Para onde poderia fugir da tua presença?
Se eu subir aos céus, lá estás; se eu fizer a minha cama na sepultura, também lá estás.
Se eu subir com as asas da alvorada e morar na extremidade do mar,
mesmo ali a tua mão direita me guiará e me susterá.
Mesmo que eu dissesse que as trevas me encobrirão,
e que a luz se tornará noite ao meu redor,
verei que nem as trevas são escuras para ti. A noite brilhará como o dia, pois para ti as trevas são luz. —Salmo 139:7–12[11]

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Ele enxugará dos seus olhos toda lágrima. Não haverá mais morte, nem tristeza, nem choro, nem dor, pois a antiga ordem já passou".—Apocalipse 21:4[12]

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A Palavra de Deus é sempre um console, e a voz do Seu Espírito um encorajamento na hora mais angustiante.—David Brandt Berg

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Lance os teus cuidados sobre o Senhor. Entregue a Jesus e vá dormir. Deixe Ele passar a noite em claro! Não se preocupe com a situação, deixe o Senhor Se preocupar! Ele tem os ombros largos o bastante para carregar qualquer fardo — todos os fardos, inclusive o dEle próprio!—David Brandt Berg

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Mantenha os olhos sempre em mim. O céu pode ficar anuviado; os ventos soprarem; as águas ficarem turvas e profundas. As ondas podem arrebentar ao seu redor e você se sentir num beco sem saída. Mas Eu sou a sua rota de fuga. Sou a luz do sol que espanta as nuvens escuras. A Minha voz acalmará as ondas tempestuosas. Os Meus raios de sol deixarão claras as águas, para você poder contemplar o esplendor e a maravilha abaixo da superfície, no oceano da vida.

Por isso, caso se sinta no escuro e tudo ao seu redor esteja sombrio, olhe para Mim, a sua eterna luz. Eu incidirei a Minha luz na sua vida, acalmarei os mares, e você encontrará paz e segurança.—Jesus falando em profecia

Publicado no Âncora em maio 2014. Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli.


[1] NIV.

[2] Ministrado por Spurgeon no Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, 15 de junho de 1882.

[3] NVI.

[4] NVI.

[5] NVI.

[6] NVI.

[7] NVI.

[8] The Ministry of Comfort (Hodder and Stoughton, 1901).

[9] NVI.

[10] NVI.

[11] NVI.

[12] NVI.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Storying the Gospel


Storying the Gospel—Part 2 By M. Fountaine
Link
The first part of this series introduced Bible storying, a method of preaching the gospel that has been effective since Jesus first used it. As I explained, millions of people around the world can’t read, and millions more can’t read well, or come from what are known as oral cultures. In these cultures their primary learning style isn’t through literate means, and the printed word doesn’t shape their thinking to any significant degree. However, oral learners can assimilate the same thoughts, ideas, and concepts that literate learners can, as long as the lessons are presented in a way that they can retain them. You can reach oral learners through stories. According to the Bible, “Jesus always used stories and illustrations when speaking to the crowds.”1

Bible storying isn’t only for people in underdeveloped areas of the world. It can be used in any country or culture. In America, where many people don’t or won’t read that much, Bible storying has taken off in an amazing way. It is being used in some megachurches as an evangelism and discipling tool, with surprising results. A story can be valuable in passing along the gospel, wherever you are, as you become all things to all men that by all possible means you might save some.2

If you’re anything like me and a whole lot of other people when they first hear about Bible storying, we think it sounds perfect for people who haven’t learned to read, but we seriously wonder whether such an approach could be very effective in places where people are literate.

Following are some examples of Bible storying. Portions of some of these retold examples are from the book, Truth That Sticks.3 I think you’ll be surprised when you see how engaged people can become in this kind of Bible study and the effects that it can bring about.

One pastor moved to the Pacific Northwest to start a church using storying. He began by going to a cafe owner and suggesting they hold a “story night.” Anyone could tell any story he or she wanted, and some stories were pretty raunchy. However, since the pastor was hosting it, he’d listen for a theme from the stories and end by telling a Bible story that spoke to the issues others had raised. He found that people would listen intently and want to talk to him about it later, and his church has grown and now has forty groups telling Bible stories to address the problems that the people are facing in one of the most literate—and one of the most non-Christian—areas of the U.S.

People who learn Bible stories pass them on. Randy Proctor got trained in storying one week and put it to work the next week when he spoke to a five-week-old “cowboy church.”

He told the story of the Red Sea crossing from Exodus as the cowboys and their families listened. Then he asked several questions about the story: Who was holding them in bondage? What was pursuing them? Who was their “Pharaoh”? Who was their only hope of salvation?

He finally had everyone stand up. “I asked them if they would surrender to God, asking Him to deal with the Pharaoh in their lives,” Randy said. He lost count after fifteen stepped forward. As people were leaving, one man told him, “Clearest Bible message I have ever heard in my life.”

A pastor named Jim was called to the bedside of Terry, a terminally ill cancer patient, who wondered if God could ever forgive him. Jim said Luke 15 came to mind, so he told Terry the story of the prodigal son, and both Terry and his wife burst into tears. “It was powerful,” Jim said.

On a plane from Detroit to Atlanta, one Christian began talking to Brandon, a young man with a degree in biomechanics from Vanderbilt University who was working on a master’s at Georgia Tech. He said he was a Christian but he never read the Bible, and didn’t understand the difference between works and faith. After he heard the story of the wayward son, his forgiving father, and the jealous older brother, Brandon caught the meaning right away—a bright twenty-four-year-old who was transfixed by a story and moved by its faith.

Paul Krueger and Chuck Broughton from the Navigators worked for six years to bring Bible storying to the inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, once known as the bloodiest prison in America. The prison is the size of Manhattan Island and has 5,200 prisoners. More than 80 percent of its inmates are there for life with no chance of parole.

Today in Angola, the story groups have multiplied to twenty-eight churches and a totally internal two-year Bible college. There are 142 inmates who have been trained in the storying process. Several of them became chaplains and have been transferred to other prisons.

Bible storying can be very effective with people of other religions. The stories slip under their defenses because we are not directly confronting their beliefs or arguing with them.

Several Muslim men kept coming into a restaurant operated by a Christian man and his wife. The men would often swap stories, so the restaurant owner decided to tell some stories of God’s power from the Bible. After a few meals and story-swapping times together, one of the men said, “These stories of yours are really good, but it seems that they are from a bigger story.” The owner said, “That’s right. Would you like to hear the Big Story?” When the men agreed, the owner started at Genesis and began week after week telling the stories chronologically through the Bible.

After about six weeks, the men asked, “Does your wife know these stories too?” When he said that she did, the men arranged for their wives to come and hear the Big Story from her. Soon, four of the men and their wives accepted Jesus and began evangelizing among their own networks of friends.

Pastor Bobby Welch has trained thousands of Christians to share their faith, using a combination of Bible stories and skits. He does a very dramatic depiction of Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep. He walks around the front of the auditorium counting his imaginary sheep. “Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine ... ninety-nine? Ninety-nine?” A look of horror comes over his face. “The hundredth sheep is lost!” he shouts.

Frantic, Bobby runs into the audience, ending up on a balcony that is a good treetop’s distance above the floor below. He has spotted his sheep. Very carefully, he grabs the railing and strains out into the air at the imaginary lost sheep. It’s a death-defying stretch.

With a cry of joy, Bobby yells loudly, “Don’t worry, little sheep. I’ve got you!” Bobby pulls himself back onto the railing and into the balcony and makes his way back to the imaginary pen. And with a shout of “One hundred!” the drama ends.

He made his point without preaching, and everyone understood that a shepherd would go to great lengths to rescue even one of his sheep.

Someone related an example of Bible storying this way: One retired Marine stood up at our small group meeting and started telling the story of the prodigal son; no embellishment, just standing there quietly telling the story. And everyone in the group of thirteen was caught up in his telling that story.

When it was over, he asked very simple questions related to the story: “Which one of the people in this story do you most relate to: the father, the prodigal son, or the older brother?”

It was like the floodgates were opened. One guy said he was like the father because his kid was struggling. The first person was so honest and transparent about what was going on in his life that it went around the circle like we were family! Another said he related to the prodigal son because “That was me!”

It was just someone opening up a story and letting us get into it where we are in our lives and where we are intersecting with that story. What that guy had done made me realize that Bible storying worked by letting everyday people spread the message.

If you’re interested in learning more about Bible storying for use in your soul winning and discipleship ministries, I’ll be explaining more about this very effective method in the last of this series, coming soon. Also, I would recommend the aforementioned book, which served as an inspiration for this series of posts:Truth That Sticks: How to Communicate Velcro Truth in a Teflon World, Avery T. Willis Jr. and Mark Snowden (NavPress, 2009).

About the authors: Avery T. Willis Jr. was a pastor in Texas and Oklahoma for ten years and served as a missionary to Indonesia for fourteen years. He holds a PhD in missiology and is the executive director of the International Orality Network.

Mark Snowden is a world-class Bible storying trainer who developed an oral Bible for use among a predominantly Muslim people group in central Asia, and currently trains missionary and lay church planters in Bible storying.


1 Matthew 13:34 NLT.
2 1 Corinthians 9:22.
3 Avery T. Willis Jr. and Mark Snowden, Truth That Sticks: How to Communicate Velcro Truth in a Teflon World (NavPress, 2009).Link

A fé cresce em meio a tempestades

Link
Compilação

“A fé cresce em meio a tempestades” —apenas sete palavras, mas quão importantes se tornam para a alma quando vêm as tempestades!

A fé é a faculdade concedida por Deus que, quando exercitada, torna o invisível plenamente visível e o impossível, possível. A fé atua no sobrenatural.

Cresce em meio a tempestades, ou seja, nas turbulências da atmosfera espiritual. As tempestades são causadas pelos conflitos dos elementos e, as que acontecem no mundo espiritual resultam do conflito de elementos hostis.

É nessa atmosfera que a fé encontra as melhores condições para se desenvolver, é aí que cresce e amadurece.

A árvore mais robusta não nasce sob o abrigo da floresta, mas exposta aos ventos que vêm de toda direção e se arremetem contra ela, a dobram, a torcem até que se torne um gigante em estatura —é a árvore que os mecânicos querem que seja usada para fabricar suas ferramentas e a que buscam os que fabricam carroças.

Assim é no mundo espiritual. Ao ver um gigante, lembre-se que a estrada pela qual deve viajar para se colocar ao seu lado não é uma vereda plácida ladeada de flores silvestres a receber o sol, mas uma trilha íngreme, pedregosa e estreita, onde as rajadas de vento do inferno não dão trégua, onde as pedras cortantes lhe penetram a carne, onde os espinhos lhe ferem a cabeça e víboras espreitam por toda parte.

É o caminho de dor e alegria; de sofrimento e bálsamo curador; de lágrimas e sorrisos; de provações e vitórias; de conflitos e triunfos; de durezas, perigos e açoites; de perseguições e mal-entendidos; de angústias e inquietações. É nessa trilha que todos somos feitos mais que conquistadores por Aquele que nos ama.

“Em meio a tempestades.” Sim, bem ali onde ela se torna mais feroz, surge a vontade de recuar da provação e do teste inexorável —mas avante siga! Deus ali está para o encontrar, no centro de todas as suas provações, para lhe sussurrar Seus segredos, que lhe fará dali sair com o rosto reluzente e uma fé indomável que todos os demônios do inferno jamais poderão fazer vacilar. —E. A. Kilbourne[1]

*

A fé não pode ser ignorada
Na Rocha com firmeza planta os pés;
Em meio às ferozes tempestades é revigorada,
E o rugir dos trovões não lhe impõem revés
Sabe que a Onipotência sua oração há de acatar
E brada: “Será feito”, em algum dia, em algum lugar.

O silêncio permanece? Ora, não diga indeferida
Talvez sua parte ainda não terminou
A obra começou à primeira palavra proferida
E Deus há de cumprir o que começou
Se mantiver o incenso ali a queimar
Sua glória verá, em algum momento, em algum lugar
—Robert Browning

*

Há vezes em que as coisas parecem ficar muito escuras —tanto que tenho de esperar até pela esperança. O cumprimento demorado traz suas dores, mas esperar pela esperança, sem ver sequer sinal da resposta, sem ceder ao desespero; nada ter senão a noite à vista lá fora, mas manter a janela aberta para estrelas que possam surgir; ter um vazio no coração, sem contudo deixar que se preencha por alguma presença inferior —essa é a maior paciência do universo. É Jó na tempestade; Abraão no caminho para Moriá; Moisés no Deserto de Midian; é o Filho do Homem no Jardim de Getsêmani —George Matheson

*

O metal mais puro se faz na fornalha mais quente e os mais brilhantes relâmpagos se veem nas tempestades mais escuras . —Charles Caleb Colton

*

O cipó se agarra ao carvalho quando as tempestades são mais severas. Mesmo que a violência da tempestade arranque a árvore, a vinha dele não solta. Se estiver do lado oposto ao vento, o forte tronco a protege; se exposta ao rigor da tormenta, esta só faz com que se apegue ainda mais ao carvalho.

Em algumas tempestades da vida, Deus intervém e nos abriga; em outras, nos permite sermos expostos para que o abracemos ainda com maia força. —B. M. Launderville

*

Estamos mais seguros na tempestade enviada por Deus que na calmaria em que somos aceitos como amigos pelo mundo. —Jeremy Taylor

*

O falecido Reverendo Martin Luther King, Jr. disse: “Tudo que é feito no mundo é feito pela esperança.” Estou certo que enquanto você estiver respirando, há esperança para você. Somos apenas humanos. Não podemos ver o futuro, mas imaginamos suas possibilidades. Só Deus sabe como nossas vidas evoluirão. A esperança é a dádiva que Ele nos dá, uma janela pela qual olharmos. Não sabemos o futuro que Ele tem planejado para nós. Confie nEle, mantenha a esperança no seu coração e quando encontrar o pior, faça o que for preciso para se preparar para o melhor!

Como é possível suster a esperança em meio ao sofrimento? Algo que me mantém quando ouço sobre grandes calamidades é o fato de que sempre provocam uma tremenda solidariedade de outros seres humanos. No momento em que você está se perguntando o porquê de tudo aquilo, em meio a um sofrimento tão sem sentido, as pessoas ainda têm esperança e centenas de voluntários altruístas surgem nessas regiões.

A esperança surge mesmo nos piores momentos para nos dar prova da presença de Deus. —Nick Vujicic[2]

*

Está em meio a circunstâncias difíceis agora mesmo? Têm dificuldade para entender por que tudo isso está acontecendo a você? Tente aceitar que Deus o ama e permitiu suas adversidades porque sabe que são boas para você. Louve-O pelo que Ele trouxe à sua vida.

O louvor a Deus não é uma fórmula mágica para o sucesso. É uma maneira de viver que está solidamente amparada na Palavra de Deus. Louvamos Deus não pelos resultados esperados, mas pela situação tal qual é.

O louvor é baseado em aceitar de forma ampla e com alegria o presente como parte da amorosa e perfeita vontade de Deus para nós. O louvor não se baseia no que pensamos ou esperamos vá acontecer no futuro.

É verdade que quando sinceramente louvamos a Deus, algo acontece como resultado. Seu poder obviamente flui para a situação e notaremos, cedo ou tarde, uma mudança em nós ou à nossa volta. A mudança pode ser sentirmos verdadeira alegria e felicidade no meio do que parece uma situação miserável, ou pode ser que a situação mude. Mas é o resultado do louvor e não pode ser a motivação para o louvor.

Deus tem um plano perfeito para nossas vidas, mas não pode nos levar para o próximo passo do Seu plano até que tenhamos aceitado nossa presente situação como parte desse plano. O que acontece a seguir compete a Deus, não a nós. —Merlin R. Carothers[3]

*

Jesus parecia ser do contra em tudo. “Você é bem-aventurado quando chega ao limite de tudo. Quanto menos de você houver, mais Deus haverá.” É assim que Eugene Peterson interpreta a primeira bem-aventurança.

Nunca ouvi ninguém se levantar para dar um testemunho e dizer: “Sei que sou muito abençoado hoje porque não tenho opções. Perdi tudo e estou no fim da rosca, com nada em que me agarrar.” Não vemos pessoas assim como abençoadas. Nós as vemos como necessitadas. Consideramo-nos abençoados quando todas as nossas necessidades são atendidas e não há nuvens escuras no horizonte. Mas estamos errados!

Cada um dos escritores do Novo Testamento reverbera as palavras de Jesus. Todos nos dizem que podemos nos regozijar nas maiores dificuldades porque nesses momentos Jesus está agindo em coisas que jamais Lhe deixaríamos tocar quando tudo está bem. Ele não nos disse para nos regozijar pelos momentos ruins, mas nos momentos ruins, porque Ele converteria nosso sofrimento em Sua glória. —Wayne Jacobsen[4]

*

Nem sempre sabemos por que Deus fez certas coisas ou permitiu que acontecessem. Em alguns casos, só descobriremos no céu. Tenho muitas perguntas que quero fazer quando chegar lá. Só temos que, de alguma forma, confiar nEle!

Há muitas coisas que não entendemos agora. Às vezes, temos vergonha de não entender e tentamos explicar para os outros coisas que nós mesmos não entendemos. Achamos que deveríamos saber as respostas, quando, às vezes, a melhor coisa a fazer é sermos sinceros e dizer: “Não sei!”

Uma das grandes perguntas da vida é por que Deus permite que coisas aparentemente ruins aconteçam às pessoas e, especificamente, a nós. Provavelmente não saberemos a resposta completa para isso até chegarmos ao céu. Podemos ver parte da resposta e entender algumas das razões, mas não compreenderemos plenamente até chegarmos lá e vermos toda a situação. Acho que vai ser parte da nossa educação continuada no porvir: entender por quê. Como Paulo escreveu: “Agora conheço em parte; então, conhecerei plenamente, da mesma forma como sou plenamente conhecido”[5]

Tudo que conhecemos é Deus! Não sabemos todos os porquês, mas sabemos que o Senhor nos ama e sabe o que é melhor. E se não entendermos algo agora, entenderemos depois. No meio tempo, temos de confiar em Deus aconteça o que acontecer, mesmo se não entendermos por que algumas coisas estão acontecendo. Talvez Deus permita que aconteçam coisas que escapam à nossa compreensão simplesmente para testar nossa fé e ver se ainda confiamos nEle!

O negócio é ter fé e confiar. Fé para confiar em Deus. “Ainda que Ele me mate, nEle confiarei! Apesar das dificuldades e de eu não entender por que tudo isso está acontecendo, vou confiar nEle! Vou confiar nEle, apesar de Ele deixar isso ou aquilo acontecer! Apesar de Ele permitir que eu passe por aflições ou os meus amados, ainda assim vou confiar nEle.”

Deus adora ver se você tem verdadeira fé e se vai confiar nEle aconteça o que acontecer. É a maior vitória de todas, quando você parece derrotado e ainda confia no Senhor. Isso deve agradar ao Senhor mais do que qualquer coisa —inclusive quando parece que você está perdido e derrotado, ainda confia nEle, como Jó. É a fé diante do desastre ou da agonia. É a fé diante da morte! —David Brandt Berg[6]

Publicado em Âncora em maio de 2013.


[1] Mrs. Charles E. Cowman. Streams in the Desert, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1965).

[2] Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life (New York: Doubleday, 2010).

[3]Power in Praise (Merlin R. Carothers, 1980).

[4] He Loves Me! second edition (Newbury Park, CA: Windblown Media, 2007).

[5] 1 Coríntios 13:12 NIV.

[6] Mais que Conquistadores (Aurora Produções, 2002).

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Sovereign Man - Notes from the Field



By Simon Black
Sovereign Valley Farm, Chile
September 17, 2015

First of all, I really want to say thanks to all of our extremely kind and thoughtful readers who emailed us to make sure that we’re all OK.

If you hadn’t heard, there was a rather substantial earthquake in Chile yesterday that made international news.

While the horses may still be a bit spooked, our team is fine, the farms are fine, and we very much appreciate the kind words and thoughts.

If this were a different country my answer could have been dramatically different.

Yesterday’s earthquake measured an 8.3 at its epicenter with a very shallow depth of just 11 kilometers.

Parenthetically, a lot of people think that the intensity of an earthquake is just its score on the Richter scale, but in fact there are many other factors involved.

Shallow earthquakes can be much more destructive even with a lower magnitude, and 11 kilometers is considered quite shallow. So this one was pretty big.

A few months ago an earthquake of lesser magnitude struck Nepal and devastated much of the country… because they weren’t prepared.

In Chile it’s different.

Earthquakes are just part of the deal when you live here. So even when powerful earthquakes strike, the impact is not ruinous.

They don’t ignore the risks.

My own house was specifically designed to withstand powerful earthquakes, and we built in strong cross-bracing and other countermeasures.

It’s no accident that it’s still standing this morning.

Coincidentally, while my house was shaking last night, hopefuls for the US presidency debated last night about how to make America great again.

They spent three hours bickering and quibbling while nary a word was spoken about the real challenges.

Right now nearly every Western government is completely bankrupt.

This is not hyperbole-- these are facts ripped from the pages of their own financial reports.

Most Western central banks are borderline insolvent, again based on their own published balance sheets.

Western banking systems are dangerously illiquid, and pension systems around the world are fraudulently underfunded.

It took decades to get into this mess, and it’s a total farce to believe that the way out is to simply go down to the voting booth and cast a ballot.

It’s even more insane to think that after generations of bad decisions that a single person can restore grandeur and prosperity in a few months, or even years, especially when almost everything the government does makes things worse.

Again, the numbers paint a very clear picture here.

Since 2008, US official debt has doubled, and their own budget projections show they have no plan to pay down a penny of it. Ever.

And how can they, when the government blows through almost all of its tax revenue just on entitlement programs and interest on the debt?

They could eliminate entire departments of government and still not make a dent in the budget deficit.

As I wrote to you yesterday, the only ‘solution’ is to default-- either default on the people who loaned America money, or default on their obligations to the American people.

Either way, a lot of people are getting the shaft.

Don’t allow yourself to be a victim of other people’s stupidity. Remember that rational people have a Plan B, especially in light of such obvious risks.

If all the objective data shows that your government is completely insolvent, and that your banking system is dangerously illiquid, why would you keep 100% of your money there?

Instead, it probably makes sense to consider moving at least a portion of your savings to a safe, stable banking system overseas in a country that has no debt. (Yes it exists!)

Even if you want to believe they can still fix everything, it’s hard to imagine that you’ll be worse off for taking sensible steps to prepare for reality.

Here in Chile, they don’t ignore the obvious risk of earthquakes.

In the developed West, however, people are ignoring what could turn out to be some of the biggest risks of their lives.

You can’t fix your broken government.

But with a little bit of awareness and a few sensible steps, you can ensure that no matter how strong the force, your house will always remain standing.
Until tomorrow,

Simon Black
Founder, SovereignMan.com

Tempos difíceis

Link

Uma compilação

“Fizeste passar o teu povo por tempos difíceis.”[1] Sempre gostei do fato de o salmista ter dito para Deus que algumas coisas eram difíceis. Afinal, a vida tem suas dificuldades. Neste verão alguém me presenteou com lindas flores cor-de-rosa. Perguntei que tipo eram. “São rockflowers. Nascem, crescem e florescem somem em rochas, onde não há grama” —foi a resposta. Então pensei nas flores de Deus que nascem em lugares duros e acho que, de alguma forma, Ele deva ter uma ternura em particular por Suas “rockflowers”. —Margaret Bottome

*

[A dor] é uma maneira que o Pai tem para falar com você. É a evidência de seu amor sem limites, pelo que Ele tenta afastá-lo do mal e o aproximar dEle, …[e] ajudá-lo a se apoiar com mais confiança no Senhor. —Walter A. Maier

*

Jon, um dos meus mais antigos e queridos amigos, casou com uma mulher que conheço desde a infância. No meio da noite, dois anos depois, Jon me ligou porque acabara de encontrar e-mails que deixaram claro para ele que sua esposa o estava traindo. Pouco depois, ela foi embora e nunca mais voltou. Em menos de um ano estavam divorciados.

Seria compreensível se Jon se achasse no direito de permitir que sua vida fosse definida por aquele dia, por aquele ano, por aquela mulher, por aquela traição. Em vez disso, contudo, fez algo maravilhoso: deixou-se aberto e vulnerável à vida, a Deus, à terapia e aos amigos, dando início ao incrível processo de se tornar melhor nas mais diferentes maneiras. Tornou-se um homem melhor de muitas maneiras. Quem conversa com ele percebe que bateu no fundo do poço e lutou para subir de novo. Ele escuta mais e ora como quem fala com o melhor amigo. Eu o conhecia bem, desde muito antes de ela o deixar e, embora eu jamais desejaria que ninguém passasse pelo sofrimento que ele visivelmente passou naquela época, o que Deus fez na sua vida me faz acreditar na Sua bondade ainda mais do que antes.

Sei que parecia que Deus estava sendo cruel com ele naquele ano em que, no meio da noite, ligou para mim. Mas não estava. O que sei agora é que Sua bondade é mais forte que as mais profundas traições e convida à vida quem está na morte, bastando para isso que permitamos. Há coisas que explodem nas nossas vidas e chamamos maldições, até que chega um dia, um ou dez anos mais tarde, quando entendemos que eram outra coisa. São os tipos mais preciosos de bênçãos. —Shauna Niequest[2]

*

“Provação é igual a benefício.” Entender essa simples equação e acreditar nela pode tornar sua vida mais rica, com mais propósito e mais feliz. Faz uma grande diferença se tememos problemas e desafios, esperando que o pior aconteça, ou se enfrentamos os obstáculos corajosamente e cheios de fé, na expectativa do bem que o Senhor trará através deles e da força de espírito que ganharemos.

É natural querer saber por que nos acontecem coisas "ruins". Deus sempre tem um propósito, mesmo que não nos seja revelado imediatamente.

Às vezes, o Senhor usa doenças, problemas, e tribulações para nos aproximar dEle e para confiarmos mais nEle. Do contrário, teríamos a tendência de simplesmente deixar o barco correr.

Algumas coisas acontecem conosco somente para nos manter humildes; para nos aproximar das pessoas, para nos fazer orar, para nos ensinar a ser cuidadosos e a agir com mais oração, ou mesmo para testar a nossa fé. Deus permite problemas por várias razões mas, no final das contas, todas cumprem o mesmo propósito: aproximar-nos mais dEle para que possamos nos beneficiar mais do Seu poder, ficando assim mais repletos do Seu amor e alegria.

“Muitas são as aflições do justo, mas o Senhor o livra de todas."[3] Ele permite tais coisas como testes para fortalecer a sua fé e obter uma vitória ainda maior de uma aparente derrota.

Mas lembre-se de que Deus sempre age em amor. "Todas as coisas contribuem juntamente para o bem daqueles que amam a Deus.”[4] Ele não permitirá que aconteça nada a você que é Seu filho e O ama, a não ser o que seja para o seu bem. Mesmo que tenha muitas aflições ou dificuldades, como o Senhor disse no versículo anterior, Ele o livrará de todas, não importa quantas ou quais sejam! —David Brandt Berg[5]

*

Eu tinha uma caixinha, uma caixa preciosa,
De amor humano — meu nardo de grande valor;
Tinha-a como o mais sagrado
E raramente abria sua tampa
Evitando assim desperdiçar seu perfume no ar.
Um dia uma dor estranha e profunda surgiu
Deixou seu um peso esmagador cair
Sobre meu caro, doce e raro tesouro
Desfez-se assim a caixa em átomos.
Meu coração se contorceu em dores pela perda
Mas em pleno luto, deu-se um milagre
da divina graça. Meu amor humano foi mudado.
Transformou-se em celeste e dele jorrou cura
Sobre outros corações partidos, ao som da voz suave
Que de cima sussurrava: “Filho Meu,
Com o consolo que és consolado
Vai e consola os outros
E terás comunhão bendita Comigo
Cujo coração partido pelo amor curou o mundo.”
—R. A. Torrey

*

Médico algum jamais dosou medicamento para um enfermo com metade do cuidado e da precisão que Deus pesa cada provação. Nem um único grão a mais é posto na balança. —Henry Ward Beecher

*

Antes de ser castigado, eu andava desviado, mas agora obedeço à Tua palavra. —Salmo 119:67[6]

*

Foi bom para mim ter sido castigado, para que aprendesse os Teus decretos. —Salmo 119:71[7]

Publicado em Âncora em junho de 2013.


[1] Salmo 60:3 .

[2] Cold Tangerines (Zondervan, 2007).

[3] Salmo 34:19.

[4] Romanos 8:28.

[5] Superando Obstáculos (Aurora Produções, 2010).

[6] NVI.

[7] NVI.

Three Reminders

By P. Amsterdam
Link

It’s a challenge to live as a follower of Jesus in today’s world, but when our thoughts, actions, and days are guided by godly principles, it becomes easier to navigate our course. The right decision generally comes into focus when we measure the options before us in the light of our Christ-centered values; when we consider how Jesus might have approached the situation. As we go through life, we have experiences, we learn lessons, we have aha moments, often followed by the thought, I hope I remember that in the future.

Learning is a journey that takes a lifetime, and unfortunately, we sometimes make the same, or similar, mistakes down the road. We knew … but we forgot, or we missed connecting the dots. If we could just somehow keep all the truths we’ve learned—whether from our own experience or that of others—at the forefront of our mind, we’d save ourselves a lot of trouble. But we’re human. We get too busy. Distracted. We forget. We need the help of others. We need reminders.

Second Peter 3:1 touches on the power of godly reminders, as one way that God intends for us to help each other to stay strong in the faith, and to stir ourselves up, to inspire progress, and to spur us to good works. This verse says:

This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder…

The apostle Peter was writing a letter to the believers in northern Galatia. His audience was made up of solid Christians. He refers to their “sincere minds”; they loved the Word of God. In his first letter, he addressed his readers as individuals of strong faith, equal to the apostles.

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours [referring to the apostles] by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ …1

The intent of his letters was not to try to convince them of something or argue with them. He was motivating these dedicated followers of Jesus; drawing their focus to things that they already knew, that they believed, but that perhaps they hadn’t been thinking of or acting upon. Here is an example of some of the reminders he gave to his fellow laborers in Christ.

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder.2

We all need such reminders from time to time, and they can come from many sources: an audio podcast, counsel from a friend, quiet time spent studying God’s Word, meditation and listening to God’s whispers, etc. Godly reminders are an important component in our spiritual growth; they can help to keep us spiritually active, healthy, and well rounded.

Perhaps there is an area or two in your spiritual life where you need a reminder. Or maybe your faith is flagging and you need to be reminded that God is able, that nothing is impossible for Him, and that He is going to help you through this tough time. We all need reminders to keep us striving to be like Jesus—gracious, loving, compassionate, honest, longsuffering, gentle, good, slow to criticize, and generous with encouragement.

In this post I’m going to share three such “reminders” in the hopes that they will serve as both encouragement and motivation. By its very nature, a reminder is something we already know. It’s not new information; rather, it’s a valuable truth (big or small) that we may not have thought of for a little while. Regardless, we can draw strength, hope, or fresh resolve from a godly reminder and hold that in our hearts as we go about our days.
GPS for daily life

I could really relate to this story told by Francis Chan. This is one of the things I love about how God works with us.

The thing I love most about my GPS is how she (my GPS is female) deals with my mistakes. Sometimes she’ll tell me to turn right, but I still miss it for some reason. I feel so bad. She told me clearly, but I was distracted or something so I messed up. But she never gets mad. All she says is “Recalculating.” That’s it! She never says, “Why didn’t you turn? Now I have to do all of this extra work!” I’m sitting there feeling bad. It’s my fault. I’m the one who didn’t turn when she told me to. And she just recalculates and directs me there by another route.

I love that voice. It’s so forgiving, so full of grace. When she says, “Recalculation,” what I hear is, “Francis, you made a wrong turn, but I’ll get you there. Don’t worry. It’s going to take a little longer now, so be careful to listen to me next time. But I’ll get you there.”

That’s really what the Holy Spirit has done with me my whole life. I’ve taken some wrong turns. And He says to me, “Recalculating.” “Don’t worry. I’ll still get you there. I’m still going to form you into the man I created you to be. It’ll take a little bit longer because you really screwed up this time. But don’t worry. I still know how to get you there.”

I hope you hear the Holy Spirit saying that to you when you’ve made a wrong turn, when you find that you’re not where you thought you’d be in your walk with the Lord. “Recalculating. Don’t worry, I’ll still get you there.” At some point, you have to listen. At some point, you have to trust that God’s Word is trying to direct us to life. It’s time to listen to the instructions God gives and ask yourself where you’re going to go.3


Reminder: When you take a wrong turn in life, all is not lost. The Holy Spirit is “recalculating” your route, always working to get you back on track. God is faithful and wants to help you get to your destination. You just have to listen and follow.
Jesus vs. Satan

The need to stay filled up with God’s Word is a reminder that we’ve heard a whole lot in our lives. So much, in fact, that it can become cliché. But it’s vitally important that we actually make the time, imbibe God’s Word, and let it fortify our hearts and minds.

You’ve probably heard it said many times that God has a plan for your life. Did you know that the Devil has a plan for your life too? Both God and Satan’s plans for your life are summed up in a single verse. Jesus first outlines the Devil’s intent, goal, and plan, and then God’s. Here’s what He says:

The thief [referring to Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I[Jesus] came that they may have life and have it abundantly.4

The Devil is out to destroy us in any way possible. Jesus came to give us life abundant. Which plan do you like? It’s a no-brainer, right? Besides giving us this heads-up, Jesus has also given us the secret to protecting ourselves from the Enemy’s dastardly plans for us. That protection is God’s Word and our obedience to it.

Matthew 13 tells the parable of the sower, referring to the “seed” as the Word of God. We need to tend to the “soil” of our heart so that the “seed” will take root and grow. Jesus says, “The seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it.”5 Jesus goes on to say that this person bears fruit.

For our hearts to be “good soil” that bears fruit, we need to be passionate about God’s Word. We need to make reading and studying God’s Word a cornerstone habit in our lives. How often do you go for a whole day without eating or drinking anything and not notice? It doesn’t happen, right? It should be the same with our intake of God’s Word. We shop for physical food. Likewise, we need to plan our spiritual menu. We set a time to eat meals. We should likewise set a time for spiritual nourishment.

God doesn’t mean for His Word to just be studied, or even hidden in our hearts. He means for it to be lived and applied on the battlefield of life, in the most difficult situations that we face, including the moments when Satan has us in his sights and we are in crisis. God’s Word is given to us to provide us with strength and hope, to see us through tribulation and to make us victors. Of course, to avail ourselves of that power, we need to regularly study the Word and bring it into the reality of our daily life.

Daily life can be a fight. Life is full of challenges. But there is a spiritual “fight” going on as well, and as a member of Team Jesus, you’ll want to tank up on God’s Word, tend to the soil of your heart, and guard yourself from the attacks of Team Satan. Satan’s plan for you is not good, so use the protection of God’s Word against his evil intentions.


Reminder: God’s Word not only gives you strength, hope, and spiritual sustenance, it also protects you from Satan’s intentions and attacks on your life. Give God’s Word importance, time, focus, and a place in your daily life.
Now, not later

We don’t have to wait until “someday” to be involved in God’s work or what He has planned for us. We can be part of God’s wonderful plan today, right now, no matter what we’re doing.

Pastor Louie Giglio put it well when he said, “Often we think being powerfully used by God is a ‘someday’ thing instead of a ‘right now’ thing. We live in holding-pattern thinking that sets us up for a ‘not yet arrived’ mentality, always waiting for what comes next instead of taking hold of the right now.”6

Rather than thinking about some not-yet-realized opportunity in the future, think about right now. Look at the situation you’re in today and embrace what God can do in the middle of it, even if it seems messy, temporary, or challenging. No situation you’re in could disqualify you from being part of spreading the wonderful news of Jesus.

It can be a temptation to look toward the future, either wondering what God’s plan will be for you then, or figuring that “maybe next year I’ll be in a better position or place from which I can do more for God.” Or “I’ll have more time” or “will be more ready.” You don’t have to be more “ready” for God to be able to use you. He wants to move in you, work through you, and empower you to be His “salt” and to shine as His “light” to those around you today.

If you say, “God, I’m available. Use me now, today, right here, as You would like,” and you look for ways to lift Jesus up, God will maximize your little light. You’ll not only find increased fulfillment as you make yourself available to Him, but you’ll probably gain clarity on your current situation and what your next step should be.

As someone said, referring to Jesus, “It doesn’t matter so much where you go; it matters what you carry.” Isn’t that the truth? It’s human nature to focus on our challenges, our concerns, and the uncertain future before us, but those things aren’t the most important thing. The most important thing is what we carry. Through the Holy Spirit, we carry Jesus with us and His power, purpose, light, message, and His eternal gift of salvation.

Of course, this doesn’t diminish the many responsibilities we each have, such as making wise choices, providing diligently for our families, doing excellent work, and being a good testimony of our faith, but we’d be wise to remember that it doesn’t matter so much where we go as what we carry. We carry Jesus with us everywhere we go, and He is the true treasure, the pearl of great price.


Reminder: You are ready now, today, to be part of God’s great plan and purpose. Don’t put off being available to God. Jesus wants to use us right now, just as we are.

Footnotes:
1 2 Peter 1:1 ESV.
2 2 Peter 1:5–8, 12–13 ESV.
3 Francis Chan in Louie Giglio, Passion: The Bright Light of Glory (Nashville: W Publishing, 2014), 63–64.
4 John 10:10 ESV.
5 Matthew 13:23 NIV.
6 Giglio, Passion, 198.

Clashes at Jerusalem Holy Site for 3rd Straight Day

Associated Press, Sept. 15, 2015

JERUSALEM–Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters Tuesday in a third straight day of unrest at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said police entered the Al-Aqsa mosque compound early Tuesday morning to disperse a group of protesters who had holed up inside the mosque overnight.

The protesters threw rocks, fireworks, concrete blocks and a firebomb at officers, she said, adding that two Palestinians were arrested and five police officers were lightly injured.

She said that a firebomb thrown at police from within the mosque ignited a rug and planks of wood stockpiled by the protesters. Mosque officials later extinguished the fire, she said. Police released photos showing piles of charred rubble outside the mosque.

Police later managed to restore calm and open the site for visitors, Samri said, but a group of protesters remained inside the mosque.

Azzam Khatib, the director of the Waqf–the Islamic religious authority that oversees the compound–said Israeli police entered deep inside the mosque in what he called “a very dangerous development.”

The site is revered by Jews and Muslims and is a frequent flashpoint of violence. The compound in Jerusalem’s old city is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, site of the two biblical Jewish temples. Muslims revere it as the Noble Sanctuary, where they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is ground zero in the territorial and religious conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Non-Muslim visitors are only allowed to enter the site at specific hours and are banned by police from praying there. Officers are stationed nearby to enforce that restriction as well as to ensure their safety.

Muslims view these visits as a provocation and accuse extremists of plotting to take over the site. The compound often becomes the center of tensions on major Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, which ends Tuesday night.

The site is so holy for Jews that they traditionally have refrained from praying on the hilltop, congregating instead at the adjacent Western Wall.

Israel’s chief rabbis, as well as the rabbi of the Western Wall, have issued directives urging people not to ascend the Temple Mount, arguing that Jews could inadvertently enter the holiest area of the once-standing temple, where it was forbidden to tread.

But there is a movement advocating the rights for Jews to pray at the hilltop. Some try and get around the ban on prayers by secretly mumbling the words.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to convene an emergency meeting Tuesday evening after the holiday ends to discuss ways to deal with the violence at the site, as well a recent increase in Palestinian rock throwing attacks which claimed the life of an Israeli man on Monday.

Israel has promised to maintain the status quo at the site.

Jordan, which has a peace treaty with Israel, administers Muslim religious affairs at the site and Jordanian King Abdullah II warned Israel on Monday night to restore calm.

“Any more provocations in Jerusalem, will affect the relationship between Jordan and Israel; and Jordan will have no choice, but to take action, unfortunately,” he said.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Zigzag Your Way to the Top

By Adam Bryant, NY Times, Sept. 12, 2015

Interview with Patty Stonesifer, chief executive of Martha’s Table, a provider of food and clothing for low-income people

Q. What were some early influences for you?

A. I’m the sixth of nine children. The most notable things about my family were that my parents had to achieve order at scale, and they were extremely community-oriented.

My dad was a sales manager for an auto dealership, and yet he found time on the way home to pick up excess food from the local grocery markets and repurpose it for those who needed food. We participated in the soup kitchen. He drove a bus for the deaf children who were coming to Sunday Mass. This idea of being part of a team really defined my childhood.

Any thoughts on how your birth order shaped you?

Being in the middle taught me to use my voice. I was a talkative child, I had a lot to say, and I knew how to get my points across at an early age because there were a lot of people with a lot to say at the table.

Being right in the middle also teaches you that it’s not about you. Some of my first memories were folding diapers for my younger siblings or taking somebody’s hand to go to school. It was always about making sure that the whole came together.

You moved up the ranks pretty quickly at Microsoft early in your career. What were some inflection points?

This was back when Microsoft was really small. They had an annual managers’ retreat, and each vice president picked a new leader to bring along, and I was chosen. There were only two women.

When we were discussing an issue, I started questioning where the group was heading. The executive team, especially Bill [Gates], decided after that I was somebody they should move around so that I had opportunities to use those skills. I literally was packing my bags within a few weeks after the retreat to run our operations in Canada.

You obviously made an impression on the boss. You became the founding C.E.O. of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The thing about growing up at a big dinner table is that people are going to disagree and people are going to have points of view, and for me, that was very comfortable. I’m really comfortable with a fair amount of conflict and disagreement. As long as people are nice and not mean about it, those conflicts can be really productive.

How do you hire?

I can get a really good sense of whether I want to be working with somebody when I walk them through the place. It is a busy, crazy place with lots of programs going on to make sure there’s food for the hungry. I watch how the person reacts to the environment. Because if they’re not curious about the work, and it’s just a job, then I don’t want to work with them.

I’ll stop and introduce them to a half-dozen people, and see if it’s just a handshake or whether there’s some curiosity and interest. We talk a lot about dignity at Martha’s Table, and dignity comes first from, “I see you, I hear you, I know you.” The ultimate dignity is whether you’re really present for other people.

What career and life advice do you give to new college grads?

A lot of young people will ask, “Do I go broad or do I go deep?” I think it’s often great to go broad before you go deep. It’s like going to school. You get a broad view of the world but then you do have to own something. You have to know what the quality of your work is and get feedback on it and understand it.

I also think zigzagging is a better approach than pursuing the idea of a fixed career ladder. Some of the roles I’ve taken looked like they were significantly less important than other roles, but they all led me to new knowledge and new skills that allowed me to keep zigzagging more or less on an upward trajectory. Don’t look to take a job just because it’s up the ladder. Maybe go for a lateral move to learn a whole other area.

And people are often taught that the boss will make the difference in their career, and I think maybe the first time you get chosen for a promotion, it is because of the boss. But by the second or third or fourth time, it’s about the people around you deciding that when you win, they win.

If you create a situation where other people win when you win, your opportunities to lead are going to come faster than you ever dreamed. If you can make it less about you and more about the team, you will go further.

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