Monthly Archives: November 2015

BONDAGE & FREEDOM, KIANG P. LEE

 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Gal.5:1).

Greetings Friends!

I hope you all had a joyful and happy Thanksgiving 2015.  Hopefully, the Friday after Thanksgiving has not left any of us high on hangovers from surfeiting the joys of food and drink. I’m sure we all have much to be thankful for. I also hope that Friday, known to consumer America as “Black Friday,” has not left us recovering from hangovers of a different sort, that of recuperating from the consumer frenzy of countless bargains stores are offering would-be bargain hunters, and running up debt some can ill afford.

The essential meaning of Thanksgiving is the celebration of freedom from a life from bondage and persecution. It is to live free with the liberty to choose how to live one’s life without imposing our ideology upon others. The original Pilgrims had fled to the new world in 1620 to escape religious and political persecution in England and Europe. So much history has been written since the Mayflower brought those spirited freedom-seekers to the new world. Much of the events occurring in the timeline of US history remain unknown to the common American. We know the mere highlights. The original colonizers of America were still subjects and liable to the English crown across the Atlantic. But travel was far cry from today’s more rapid pace of movement, so the crown’s rule was somewhat distant, if not less effective. But without realizing, these freedom-seekers had actually stepped into space and time unlike any other before their generation, a time warp of sort. They were planting the seeds which would usher mankind into a new age never before seen in man’s history.  Of course, it was not without trials and tribulations: from a colony to an independent American nation of migrants; from the Louisiana Purchase to the Texas revolution and annexation, to the California gold rush and western expansion; from slavery and the civil war to civil rights; from an agrarian to industrial society; from the industrial world to the scientific world; with two world wars in between and the threat of an all-out nuclear conflict; from the war against terror to the environmental impact war;  the story of man marches on.   

 Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York – Symbol of Freedom (Wiki Commons)

In every age and time man is asked to make a choice between bondage and freedom. Whatever we have said and briefly covered aside, this has been the mode of life from the beginning. It goes back to Adam when he had to choose for man between bondage and freedom. He chose bondage. And ever since man’s struggle has been to attain that illusive freedom that seem to escape us. However, we somehow apprehend it in our present incarcerated circumstance, whether it is slavery, the environment, the war against terror, or some form of ideology, but we still grapple with what true freedom truly means, let alone apprehend it. It seems like man is forever in a state of bondage, and freedom is just a pipe dream. After struggling and overcoming one form of bondage, like a stump of tree that’s not fully destroyed, it sprouts again and its insidious fruits abound and rear its ugly repressive head.

The reason for this is made clear by Jesus Christ, He said, “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions” (Matt.7:17-20, NLT).  Apparently, it seems like Jesus was taking us back in time to the very beginning, where the problem between bondage and freedom started with Adam and the two trees in Eden. Remember God specifically spoke about with Adam and Eve, one was the ‘good tree,’ the   “Tree of Life,” while the other was the ‘bad tree,’ the“Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” (Gen.2:9) The two trees are symbolic and represented freedom and bondage; good and evil, life and death. We know the story, Adam was banished from Eden because he chose to eat from the ‘bad tree’ (bondage). Eden represented the presence of God and the ‘good tree’ or the Tree of Life (freedom). Even so, the “Tree of Good and Evil” existed in Eden, meaning, nothing happens outside of God’s sovereignty.

The Bible specifically said, “After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the Tree of Life” (Gen.3:24; 3:6). So the road to true freedom was cut off because of Adam’s sin, when, with Eve they ate the forbidden fruit from the ‘bad tree.’ The two trees are metaphors of the way of life God lives by, the Tree of Life which brings freedom, and the way of life opposed to God, which brings bondage.

Because the archangel Lucifer had earlier rebelled against God, he became Satan and the chief adversary to everything the God of Love stood for. (Isa.14:12-17) So man had a choice to: follow God or follow Satan – freedom or bondage? And that has been man’s lot since Adam – this constant and unending struggle of choosing between freedom he has been shut out of, and the bondage he chose to live by. Yes, this relentless fight between good and evil, God and Satan. Adam came out of Eden with a stem of the Tree of Good and Evil to plant outside of Eden, and man has been eating its fruits of bondage since. But the story does not end there…File:Dachau-camp-1947.jpg

Dachau Death Camp, Germany – Symbol of Bondage and Death (Wiki Commons)

But God, out of the greatness of His Love for man promised to send His Son, the second Adam, to right the wrong the first Adam had made by putting mankind on the path to freedom. Four thousand years later, in a town called Bethlehem, a baby is born to Mary and Joseph. They were chosen to raise Jesus. (Luk.1:29-33; Matt.1:20-21) The Scripture is plain that Jesus was no ordinary human, the Bible says, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). The prophet Micah referred to Jesus’ divine origin, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago. From the days of eternity” (Mic.5:2, NASB). He was Jesus, the Son of God, sent by God the Father to save mankind from bondage to sin and bring freedom in His Son. Paul affirms this, saying, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Gal.5:1).

How does true freedom, which has been lost to humanity since Adam, enter our lives so we can apprehend it? The tree of bondage, the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” has to be uprooted so the tree of freedom, the “Tree of Life,” may take its rightful place in man. The tree cannot be cut, for it will sprout again, but completely uprooted and destroyed. Jesus said it this way when He taught a Jewish leader by the name of Nicodemus, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:5-6). So Jesus speaks of a complete rebirth – of uprooting the old tree and planting a new tree. A new life to replace the old. That is the only way out of this dilemma which plaques man to no end. It seems like every good man does is always cancelled out by evil, so our good intentions are forever nullified, no matter what. That is life lived under the Tree of Good and Evil. Even the ‘good’ in this tree God declares as “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isa.64:6). So even the good we do does not free us.

Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” Human problems are simply the product of ignorance which emanates from dwelling under the Tree of Good and Evil and eating of its fruits. The history of human experience bears out what the Scriptures attest in mankind’s suffering and inhumanity to each other. Man does not have the barest inkling of what it means to live under the “Tree of Life,” for man has not tasted that life since Adam before the fall. Metaphorically speaking, we have to get up from sitting under the “tree of the fruit of good and evil,” and sit under and eat the fruits from the “the tree of life.” (Gen.2:8-9) The “tree of life” represents God’s Son, His Spirit, and God’s Love. (Rom.5:5; 1 Cor.13)

That’s the first step. The second is to realize that we are still living in a fallen world, and not every human has chosen to receive Jesus and the way of freedom God offers. So, freedom is something we have to constantly fight for because of opposing forces. We fight for our freedoms because the devil who deceived Eve in Eden does not let up with his work of deception. Peter says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. So, be alert and of sober mind” (1 Pet.5:8). But there’s no reason to fear. It is for this very purpose that God our Father sent His Son. God wanted Jesus to defeat Satan at his game of deception and sin, and conquer the devil for man once for all time. Jesus did this, so we can have our victory over the enemy vicariously in Him.

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Jesus’ Temptation and Crucifixion Are Twin Acts of God Which Freed Mankind (Wiki Commons)

When Jesus fought the devil on man’s behalf, there were three areas of life the enemy chose to deceive Jesus. If Satan had succeeded, we would not have a Savior today. But Jesus came out victorious. (Matt.4:1-11) It is these same three areas I call “The 3-Drivers of Life” that Satan continues to deceive man and spiritually holds man in bondage. No matter where we live, sustenance (health), security (happiness), and material wealth (abundance), are the three areas of life which people give 100 percent of their time and attention. Of course these material expressions affect our spirituality because the source of it is spiritual – from the arch deceiver himself. These are the three areas in which God has promised to bless us and more, and ultimately be given immortality which the enemy cannot deliver. (John 3:16) The enemy’s ploy is to replace God’s promises with his own, which are his promises from the tree of ‘good and evil’ which deceives man into bondage and sin. Yet, the two are far cry in comparison – the devil can’t give man immortality, only God who imparts all life, both physical and spiritual, can promise that. Recall how Satan deceived Adam and Eve. They are counterfeit blessings. He wants to displace God as our true Provider and put himself in God’s place (Isa. 14:12-15). That is the difference. That is why the enemy will pose in the form of light, when in fact he comes from the depth of darkness and bondage. (2 Cor. 11:14)

Note Jesus taught us how to fight for our freedoms. Jesus was fully human and had natural proclivities like any other human. He was tempted as we are in His natural human appetites (Heb. 4:15). Each time He was tested by the enemy, He used God’s words to defend Himself, He said “It is written…” three times for each temptation. (Matt.4:4, 6, 7, 10). He did not react through His human wisdom and did what seems right in His own eyes, but committed Himself to God. His weapon was God’s Word. By referring the enemy to the Word of God, Jesus was stating the foundation of our freedoms in God’s Word. The Word of God is the literal Word, the Bible, and is also the Personified Word, Jesus Himself. Both are one and the same, one is utterance of the other, and leads us out of the path of bondage into freedom. 

Also, Jesus fasted. Jesus fasted 40 days, but many of us cannot do the same for health reasons. The beauty of what Jesus did was He fasted for us. He took our place in the battle for the soul of mankind. That battle will never be fought again, for it was fought once for all time by Jesus. That was God’s determination. (Matt.4:1) This is an impossible battle for man – can one who is held prisoner with his hands, feet, and neck, cripplingly chained do battle with his captor? But more than that,  man was incarcerated beyond his knowing (spiritual), how can he free himself from such a bondage? Such was the lot of man when Jesus appeared to save humanity. Be thankful that battle has been won! But in our freedoms there will be skirmishes so to speak, and if circumstance warrants, Jesus said His followers will fast. (Matt.6:16-18) We can miss meals (partial) or do daily fast with medical advice, but realize this, we can fast only because Jesus has already done it for us – in His footprints. Our fast can become unfruitful if it is turned into a self-righteous act just as Jesus cautions us. The reason we fast is so the devil’s strongholds which blinds us is destroyed and removed so we can see the will of God for us. O yes, Satan can turn these “3-drivers of life” into his fortress in us if we let him. We do not become indebted to “the 3-drivers,” but to God’s Love. In everything, in all our actions, nothing else must influence and motivate us but God’s Love. (Act.10:38; Eph.2:10)

These human appetites don’t leave us when we become Christians. They remain with us for as long as we are humans. They are not wrong of themselves, but we must not invert the priority. These three material aspects of life must not become gods we idolize in place of the true God. That is the devil’s objective – that we make them into idols of worship. If Jesus has taken all our cares in these three areas and more, then we have no burden but the burden of Christ’s Love (Matt. 11:29-30). Paul said, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to Love one another, for whoever Love others has fulfilled the law (free and not under the law)” (Rom.13:8). We are not to become indebted to “the 3-drivers of life” but to God’s Love. Love is the source of all true abundance and blessing – the three areas of life and more, and in due course immortality.

The third step to freedom is that we cannot defeat the devil’s wiles and deceptions, but Jesus has already conquered Satan in our place, so we can vicariously live in and through His victorious life by the power of the Spirit. Paul said, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Cor.5;21, NLT). This concept of vicariously walking Jesus’ life in us is a life of living faith. It’s the anthropomorphism of Jesus in the life in the believer, and brings, “The blessing of the Lord, it makes rich, and toil adds nothing to it” (Prov. 10:22, JPS emphasis added). This vital promise makes redundant the performance/reward incarcerated life of the devil. The blessing and good we seek for our lives and that of our families – the kind of life that doesn’t come with the baggage and bondage of negative repercussions and all the heartache, sorrow, and gloomy consequences – has nothing to do with our toil and labor or performance. Did Adam and Eve plant the garden Eden? Did the children of Israel gave themselves the Promise Land? No, It all has to do with God’s unconditional Love for man, and manifested to man in His Son. By freely giving and sacrificing His Son, the Father brought man into a union with Him to make this life of Love and abundance possible. Yes, we will “toil,” but we’ll toil in our field of dreams. (2 Thes. 3:10) Adam did it in Eden. It has been said that if you find something you enjoy doing, you will never have to “work” another day in your life. The question will always be, ‘where is this field of my dreams?’ That, only God can reveal, but first you have to be walking in freedom. The choice will always be man’s to make to find his dream-life. It starts with freedom!

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The Triune God – Symbol of True Freedom & Love (Wiki Commons)

We cannot Love genuinely while in a state of spiritual bondage. We have to be freed like Israel was liberated from Egypt to freely serve God in the Promise Land. Satan will deceive us into thinking we can live “freely” while living under incarceration to sin, but the negative fruits of greed, covetousness, jealousy, pride, hatred, unhappiness, the stress of life, and all its undesirable aftermath says otherwise. It’s not authentic freedom, it’s bondage through deception. We can only Love freely on a daily basis through the Spirit who gives us this victory over the bondage of our fallen depraved nature that’s driven by these “three drivers” of life.

I sincerely hope God will give you the wisdom and heart to give your life to Jesus, receive Him as your Savior, and be overflowing  with the knowledge that truly frees us from bondage. He is the Personified Word of God, as He is the literal Word of God, the Bible.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. Thank you for visiting!

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life” as a  Bulamanriver.*  Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,  

Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my book.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.

Note: All information is copy-write. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information.

THANKS FOR GIVING, BY KIANG P LEE

“Give Thanks to The LORD, for He is Good; His Love Endures Forever.” – 1 Chronicles 16:24

Greetings Friends the world over! This is the time for Thanksgiving in America. Thanksgiving Day is on Thursday, November 26, 2015.

To be thankful is the essence of the human spirit which stands inviolate and knows no borders. It is the spirit which undergirds human relationships. It is the epitome for good in all people. Sometimes gratitude does not come easily because of our biases and prejudices. To say “thank you” is to express the dignity and decency of our humanity replicated in the Creator’s likeness. “Thank you,” (English) “Danke” (German), “Mahalo” (Hawaiian), “Merci” (French), “xiexie” (Chinese), “Terima Kasih” (Malay), “Takk” (Norwegian), “Kamasahamnida” (Korean), “Paldies” (Latvian), “Gracias” (Spanish), “Spasibo” (Russian), “Dhayavad” (Hindi), “Dziekuje,” (Polish), “Obrigado” (Portuguese), “Vinaka” (Fijian), and hundreds and thousands of languages and dialects all speak the language of this larger-than-life divine attribute. Let’s talk “Thanksgiving” today.

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“Rest and Be Thankful” Bench at Gortin Glens Forest Park, UK (Wiki Commons)

Where, how, and when did Thanksgiving began? In America we usually reflect on our colonial history and tell the story of the Pilgrims and native Americans coming together to celebrate their harvest in the autumn of 1621. That’s all fine, and I find the story inspiring each time I learn fresh bits of information. It was reported the Wampanoag native tribe arrived bearing five deer for the feast. And of course, an abundance of turkey caught in the wild, I’m sure. Although it was not known then by a thanksgiving label, it was obvious gratitude was the prevailing mood among the Pilgrims and indigenous natives. It was reported that they celebrated for three days, not just one. They were thankful to God for surviving the hardships they endured in the New World, for the religious freedom they now enjoyed, and for the successful harvest and bounty before them.

“Thanksgiving” & Eden

Much later, by Presidential edict a day was set aside for a national day of Thanksgiving. But let’s step further back in history and see where thanksgiving truly began. Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden – yes, as far back as the very beginning. Here, we’ll find where the spirit of “thanksgiving” all started. For the most part, the story of Adam and Eve almost invariably gravitate to their disobedience, right? We don’t look at the life they lived before being alienated from Eden. There is no record how long Adam and Eve remained faithful to God before the fall. Some have postulated that it was 33 years, the same age Jesus lived on earth. Whatever that may be, the point is it is sad that the brief moment of indiscretion had overshadowed the many years Adam and Eve lived in complete joy and happiness with their Maker. This is important, for the life Adam and Eve had with God was the kind of life God had in mind for mankind. It was a relationship that Adam and Eve enjoyed with God. It was a relationship based upon His Love for man which is the sole reason why He created man. What we see in history in the post-Eden era of man, is six thousand years of human experience lived apart from God. Though not apart from His supreme sovereignty.

Gratitude – A Way of Life in Eden

The truth is: being appreciative and thankful was a way of life for Adam and Eve as long as God was in their lives. Adam and Eve did not live like Neanderthal cavemen trying to eke out a living. No, they lived in God’s glorious company. Our educational system in supporting evolutionary science (so-called) place our children at a great disadvantage in this area of human origin. Think about this, Eden was a garden planted with God’s own hands. He handed it to our first parents with all the blessings of a home where they could live a life of unbelievable miraculous manifestation and live happily as humans. Adam never dropped a sweat off his brow. Eden was handed to him and his wife on a platter – literally. Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian, said the fruit trees in Eden would automatically produce fruits right before our first parents’ eyes when they were hungry. Imagine what that’s like? Adam’s thoughts had the power to materialize what he desired into reality. What do you think happened when God brought the animals to Adam to be named? “Whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name” (Gen.2:19). The nature of things is revealed by its name. Could it be that God gave Adam to decide the nature of the living creatures. Adam was completely united with God in Love. All creatures were tame. Mankind has drifted so far away from God that he has no inkling of the kind of life He desires to give man.

Was It a Legalistic Union?

God could well have pointed a dense jungle to Adam and said, “I want you both to go out there and make us a garden-home where we can all live together. I know it’s going to be tough, but it will be good for character-building. Your performance will be a reward of itself when the garden is complete.” No, but unfortunately, many a legalist would have us believe God to be like that. And sadly many a believer has fallen for that kind of relationship with God. The legalist would have you believe God would never plant a garden for you—you are to plant it for yourself. He would not fight your battles for you—you are to fight your own battles. Of course that is what the “solitary life”** brings us. They are proponents of the belief there has to be something we do to earn God’s Love. If that’s so, then whatever man does in his “solitary” expression will be reward unto itself, so at the end of the day, he has no one to thank, but himself. Is it any wonder then that they live thankless lives, because they can’t see God as the Mover and Shaker in their lives? How can we see God in this way where He is the Mover and Shaker in our lives? How do we find every reason to thank Him? Or, is it hard to find reason to thank Him, if ever?

Instruction Was a “Thank You,” Not “Payback”

What was the only instruction God gave Adam? What were they to do with their lives and their beautiful garden-home? They were “to work it and watch over Eden, and to not eat from the tree of the fruit of good and evil” – or the forbidden fruit (Gen.2:15, 17, emphasis added). Adam and Eve were to take good care of Eden, their home. And right here – here’s where the origin of gratitude and where thanksgiving began. It began with the Creator giving Adam and Eve every blessing so they would enjoy living in His presence, and giving them a purpose and calling. This is the very first directive God gave man – what do you think was Adam’s response when he looked around him, and: 1> He was told he was created from the soil on which he stood. 2> He saw the most beautiful woman created with God’s own hands, his wife Eve, as his fitting life-partner. 3> He saw this most beautiful garden-home call Eden, with all the abundance to keep them alive and healthy. Then, they were to export this Edenic model in their dominion over the whole earth. 4> He saw God living and walking with them, and gave them gifts to live a purposeful life.  5> They saw how this relationship created the incredible ongoing miraculous life of living their destiny. There was nothing they saw in all this they could attribute to themselves and pat themselves on the back – none whatsoever. 6> Every single day they experienced the Love of the only Father they knew – God!

Here’s where the very first act of man to his Father comes through: Adam’s responsibility of “keeping and caring for Eden, and not eating from the tree of good and evil” was their way of saying “Thank You” to God for His Love. It was their act of worship and gratitude. That was the first and natural reaction of humans to God their Father – to respond to what they saw around them, acknowledge the Love of the generous Giver, and say “Thank You, God.” That was all – what else could be more fitting than a heartfelt “Thank You.” Nothing more and nothing less! The act of gratitude is an act of Love flowing back to the God who is Love and who lives for Love.

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Cornucopia, Emblem of Thanksgiving for Abundance. Thanksgiving Dinner Aboard USS Ship (Wiki Commons Public Domain)

Love is “Free” 

This was a relationship based upon Love that can only be exchanged “freely.” Love is unconditional. It also tells us the basic determination God had in mind when He created humans in His own image. And what’s that? He determined to give and bless man with everything out of His Love, so that man will enjoy living in His presence. And that was how the dynamism of God’s Love permeated all of Eden and Adam and Eve’s relationship with their Maker and Father. It was to make man see and never doubt where his happiness stem from, and how and to whom he is to respond with his gratitude and worship. There’s no price tag attached to this relationship. The relationship in God’s Love was very simple – there is a Giver who lives to freely give His Love for He is Love; and there’re humans who live to receive Love for he is the vessel for God’s Love – and whose response is to live life purposefully and worship and give thanks to the Great Giver. To give thanks is an act of Love. God will not spare anything from man, whom He has made in His likeness. That would be tantamount to denying Himself. Later, His Love would not hold back His only Son but sacrificed Him for man.

Love Cannot be “Repaid”

The act of taking care of Eden was not to “repay” God as it were a legalistic duty. Love can never be repaid. True Love travels one-way, and never expects to be repaid. Jesus said, “If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? But lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High” (Luk.6:33-35). Jesus was talking about God’s divine Love. That is man’s purpose: to be a vessel for the divine Love through his God-ordained calling. If you pay for something, then it becomes a “trade.” By its very nature, Love can never be traded. Think of the sunshine, the air we breathe, the water we get from our rivers and lakes? Think of our earth that hangs in the blackness of space? Can man imagine a way in which to repay God?

God’s Love is His unearned favor to man. Love is priceless. What price tag do you place on His Love for you? For Adam, do you think “working and watching over Eden, and not eating of the fruit of good and evil” was enough to repay or earn God’s Love? There is only one response that God’s Love can generate and trigger in us – all we can say to God’s Love is – “Thank you.” There is nothing else to say. There is not a word in any language which could adequately express our gratitude to God for His Love. God’s Love is not for sale. You can’t buy Love. You can only live it by giving it away and pleasing the One who Loves you by Loving in return. We can’t say “If I obey God – “work and watch my garden, and be obedient” – He will bless me.” That’s extortion, not Love. The miraculous life in His divine purpose comes from a Love that cannot be earned, not because of our obedience. We don’t “obey” God, we Love God. For Adam and Eve, their calling in “working and watching over Eden and not eating the forbidden fruit” was an act of Love and gratitude, not legalistic “obedience,” for God’s Love for them. “Working and watching over Eden and being obedient” was going to be their life’s calling and purpose. Therefore, all of life with its gift, is an act of gratitude. Life is an act of gratitude. Gratitude is an act of Love.

We would find the true meaning to life if we remember God our Father did not create us out of a judgmental conviction so we may live in fear of Him, but out of the wellspring of His unmerited Love so we can Love Him in return“Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever” (Psa. 118:1-2). Humans are miracles waiting to happen when they believe God is the Mover and Shaker in their lives.If we don’t have thankfulness in our hearts, then we’re not living His divine purpose in the miraculous life springing out of His Love, which in turn generates joy and thanksgiving in our hearts. 

God Provided “Freely” for Israel’s Well-Being

When we look in the Bible, do we find this miraculous life happening on this side of the post-Eden era? The answer is a resounding “yes.” More remarkably, it happened on a national scale. > This relationship with God, though alienated by Adam, was once more brought to earth with Abraham’s encounter with God. Through Abraham’s faithfulness God called him a friend and their relationship was bound by a covenant which extended to his descendants and eventually the nation of Israel. > Israel found itself a slave people in Egypt. God remembered His covenant with Abraham, and through Moses He brought Israel out of slavery from Egypt. > How did He do it? By a series of miracles with His own hands, just as He planted Eden with His own hands! We know the story. Israel experienced the miraculous life and saw one miracle after another until the final miracle of the Passover forced Pharaoh’s hand to free the people. (Exodus chap. 3 to 12) > They left with riches handed to them by the petrified Egyptians. > They saw the pillar of fire leading them by night, and a pillar of cloud by day. > They saw the Red Sea part with their own eyes which allowed them safe passage across it. > They saw Pharaoh’s pursuing army drown as the sea collapsed upon them. > They celebrated and gave thanks for their deliverance. > They saw God wrote the Ten Commandments with His own hands at Sinai. > He miraculously fed them for 40 years in the desert where nothing could grow. Their clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on their feet. (Deut.8;4)

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Humanity’s Promise Land. View of The Earth Rising over The Moon’s Horizon from The Apollo 11 Spacecraft. (Pic: Wiki Commons Public Domain)

The Promise Land

> Finally, when they were ready to enter the Promise Land, He went before them and defeated Jericho in such a spectacular manner that it left no doubt in their minds God was leading them. > He drove out the inhabitants of the land, and gave > them cities they did not build > vineyards they did not plant > livestock they did not raise > homes they did not build or furnish > riches they did not acquire > wells they did not dig—with God Himself going before them as their Defense (Deut. 6:10-12; Ps. 46:1; Josh. 23:9-11). Just as God planted Eden for Adam and Eve, He handed Israel the Promise Land  – on a platter. The one singular reason this miraculous life was possible was because God was in Israel, as He was with Adam and Eve in Eden. As long as they lived in such an environment their lives was one continuous miraculous expression after another. In that kind of situation, it was hard, if not impossible, to be thankless. The people had to see God as the Mover and Shaker in their lives to generate awe and gratitude.

Israel’s Instruction

What was God’s instruction to Israel? Recall, this is the path of disobedience and mayhem Adam took humanity into the post-Eden era. Mankind has lived through so much pain and death under the influence of the unseen enemy. The flood of Noah had come and gone. Israel’s instruction was to keep the covenant. God told Israel, “Now if you obey me fully and keep My covenant, then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine,  you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exo.19:5-6).Israel answered, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do” (Exo.19:8). Where Adam’s gratitude for God’s Love was “to work and watch over Eden and being obedient in not eating the forbidden fruit,” Israel’s gratitude was to “keep My covenant.” That was Israel’s purpose and calling in life. Life was to be lived in a certain way as explained in the Commandments. The decree at creation for man to “have dominion over the earth” remained a constant. All the physical and material ancillary benefits they enjoyed from the Promise Land sprung from their calling and destiny as explained in the covenant. The Promise Land was given to fulfill Israel’s purpose. Listen to what Moses told Israel before they entered the Promise Land, “But you shall remember the Lord your God: for it is He that gives you power to get wealth,” and for what purpose? “…that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deut.8:18).

Living that life was their expression of gratitude for all the miraculous manifestations which saved them from slavery in Egypt and establish them as a nation, which continued to be manifested in their national life and purpose. But instead of “keeping the covenant” as an act of gratitude, it became a burden for them. They forgot their roots and how they came to be a people and nation descendant from the Abrahamic lineage and promise. They became a thankless nation. They desired to serve the gods of other nations around them. The ongoing miraculous manifestation was withdrawn due to unbelief in their purpose, and their lack of gratitude and worship of the God who has always been their salvation. God was no longer the Mover and Shaker in Israel.

Outline, Review

We know what happened? Let’s look back at this scenario presented to us. Adam failed, and so did Israel. Israel found itself back to where they started as a slave nation carted off by the northern kingdoms. Eden – gone! The Promise Land – gone! The presence of God which brought the miraculous life and divine purpose – gone! Their security and defense with angelic host that stood guard over Israel – gone! The thankful heart – gone! Man in the pre-Eden era had failed. Man in the post-Eden era had failed. You can say both sides of Eden was experimented on, our “solitary” self-centered way of life was put to the test, and found wanting. What happens now? God gave man the only answer.

Jesus the Second Adam

God sent the Second Adam in Jesus Christ, His Son. After seeing a thankless nation forsook His purpose and flout His covenant, He had the prophet Jeremiah foretell the establishment of a New Covenant in the Second Adam to do what the first Adam and Israel could not do. God said, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jer.31:33-34; Heb.8:10,12). Jesus lived a miraculous life healing all who came to Him with whatever disease and sickness. Not only physical but spiritual disease – He brought a spiritual message of the New Covenant from the Father. (Acts 10:38)

“Tree of Life”

Recall, it is sin which separates humans from God’s Presence and His miraculous manifestation in life. Jesus rectifies the mistake of the first Adam, redeeming man from the sin condition as Savior and Mediator, and takes man back to the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is the metaphor for the Holy Spirit who brings to man the “Triune Life” of the “Bulamanriver.”* The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which we were made to partake through the first Adam, is a metaphor for a life of the self (the “solitary life”**) under the influence of the devil. Jesus said, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). It is the Spirit who brings the miraculous life, and reveals our gift and purpose through which we live a thankful life.

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Rest and be Thankful Bench in England, Thought to have Been Built in the Late 19th Century (Wiki Commons)

Pentecost – Spirit of the Miraculous Life in Man

Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit came, became the birth date of the Church. The main characteristic of its birth was the power of miraculous manifestation God gave it. It’s a power based upon God’s Love. (Rom.5;5) Prior to that, the disciples and the faithful were cowering in fear for their lives. We know the story in Acts 2. The Spirit gave them faith, purpose, conviction, and boldness they never had. They spoke in languages of the different populace that were there for the feast of Pentecost. Three thousand gave their lives to Christ that day. They healed the sick and maimed. With the Spirit’s move the people took the Gospel message back to their countries and homes. What a story to tell.

Man is given the Holy Spirit which brings this rebirth from the fallen condition he had in the first Adam, to the new life in Christ, the Second Adam. Jesus said, “No one can enter the kingdom of God (live the “Triune Life”) unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:5-6). This rebirth where, through repentance, we dispose of everything to do with the path of the “solitary life”** we inherited from Adam. The Second Adam comes with the Spirit who brings us the “Triune Life,” and the greater promise of eternal life. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:22, “He (God) set His seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” It is the Spirit who brings the continuous miraculous manifestation into the life of the believer. Not only in terms of the physical, but more so the spiritual – we have an eternal High Priest in Christ and the Spirit who brings Jesus’ mediatory work in heaven into our lives. Our “Eden,” our “Promise Land,” is a heavenly one in Christ, which the Holy Spirit brings to us personally, each and every day.

Once more, just as God gave our first parents Eden, and Israel the Promise Land, freely our the abundance of His Love, today He does it again and gives us the Holy Spirit without price to be with us “forever.” (John 14:16,16:7) Speaking of the Spirit, the ancient prophet said, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” (Isa.55:1-2, 12:3; John 7:38-39)

The Believer’s Calling – Eternal Absolution

What is our purpose under the New Covenant? Very simply, it is to receive with thanksgiving the Savior God has provided for our redemption. (John 3:16; John 16:8-11, note especially, V.9; Heb.8:10-12) He is Jesus Christ. It is the only way that God could “forgive our wickedness and remember our sins no more.” (V.12) Then in response to our faith in Jesus, our Father gives us the gift of the Spirit to “put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.” (V.10 a) Only then, through this Triune activity of God, He can now say,  “I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (V.10 b) Man can now live the reborn “Triune Life.” How can we not respond in gratitude?

As fallen humans, we will never stop trespassing, and God will never stop forgiving us in His Son. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray daily for forgiveness. (Matt.6:12) This brings joy and gratitude in us because, as Paul tells us, we are declared “righteous” so we can remain in His Presence, and not be ejected from His Presence like Adam and Israel were. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor.5:21). That is the continuous miraculous manifestation of God’s Love we have in Christ – which we will have all the days of our lives to be thankful. Each and every day we are declared righteous to live the miraculous life which brings our purpose and all blessings physical and spiritual alike and to offer thanksgiving.

Our work, like Adam was given his work, and so was Israel, is to make this good news or Gospel of Jesus Christ known to all peoples and nations through the gifts and talents God has graciously blessed each of us. The gift represents your “Eden,” your “Promise Land,” whatever that may be in your life. You are to take care of it and God utilizes it to make His Son known to the people you come into contact. It doesn’t mean you have to be a preacher, but it is our example which counts. We are the living, breathing, practitioners of God’s Love. Our gifts don’t have to be of an ecclesiastical nature. The majority of us have secular occupational talents. Yet, God calls all believers part of His priesthood. (1 Pet.2:9) Your example speaks louder than your words. ”Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt.28:18-20). Paul tell us, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph.2:10) “Good works” means our gift, calling, and destiny in the body of Christ.

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However We’ll Celebrate Thanksgiving 2015, Let’s Reflect and Thank God for His Profound and Immeasurable Love for His Creation and Mankind (Wiki Commons)

We should understand the effect of how the New Covenant is presented and the manner it is brought to work in human life in true Triune fashion: no human can adequately thank and Love God in the way God expects because God exists outside of our human reality in His most holy state of Being. God exists in all the mystery of His holiness we will never ever know or comprehend, while man, still exists in his fallen state of alienation from Him. Humans, in their fallen state of existence, will never be able to adequately thank God who lives in absolute holiness. The truth is, only another God who is equally holy as the Father, can thank and Love another God adequately, perfectly, and absolutely. That God is Jesus Christ, the Immanuel – fully God and fully man. (Isa.7;14; Matt.1:23) Jesus existed in the Triune Godhead as the Logos from eternity with the Father and the Spirit in their divine holy existence. But here is the most beautiful picture of humanity God our Father presents to us through the Gospel message Christ brought, and wants us to understand – we are there in their midst, living in the center of their holy Triune presence – the Immanuel who took our humanity in Himself to the heavenly abode of the most holy God – represents and stands for us until the time of our change in the resurrection. (1 Cor.15)

Spirit Unifies Man In The Triune Life

The Spirit is given to man as a gift flowing perpetually through human life. As He dwells in man, He is at the same time indivisibly and inseparably connected to the Triune God in heaven, for He is the third Person in the Trinity. So, as long as He lives in us, He is the union of man to the Triune God, and the union of the Triune God to man. He brings the Triune Life in Jesus to us, and as Mediator, Jesus takes all our inadequate and imperfect human responses to the Father, absolves them in Himself, so we can be declared righteous before Him. (2 Cor. 5:21)

Holy as His Father

It is through the Spirit, who takes our inadequate human responses, our hollow and many times meaningless “thank-you’s,” to Jesus who mollifies and perfects our shortcomings in Himself, and offers our “thanksgiving offering” suitably and perfectly to the Father. That’s the purpose of the Mediator, our High Priest, inside the Triune Life of God. Jesus takes the “thanksgiving offering” of our human existence and offer them on the altar of the perfect sacrifice of Himself to the holy God and our Father. (Rom.12:1) Only Jesus could do that for He is God as His Father. He is holy like His Father. There is no other way!

The High Priest

We recall what God taught the Israelite. No one was permitted into the holiest place of the temple where God was present with the exception of the High Priest. If an Israelite brought a peace offering, or a thanksgiving offering, he cannot offer it himself in the holy place. He remained in a designated court within the temple grounds but the priesthood was appointed by God to perform the role of intermediary between God and man. The high priest alone is permitted to go into the Holy of Holies into God’s presence. That is what’s happening in heaven today with Jesus who is our High Priest. The priesthood represent the work of the Spirit in God’s people today, and the high priest represent Jesus, the true High Priest in heaven.

Israel had a human high priest, who mediated for Israel, but this time God Himself in Christ, is our High Priest mediating for all mankind. The human high priest went into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement, Jesus has gone back to heaven to be with the Father as He was eternally with the Triune God. We recall, the moment Jesus died on His cross, a violent earthquake shook the land and the veil which cloaked and hid the holiest place in the temple tore from top to bottom. (Matt.27:50-51) The event signified the holy God Himself had come to open the way for all mankind to continuously enter and live in His holy Presence through Christ our High Priest.

“Holy Father”

Jesus, by addressing His Father, “Holy Father,” (John 17:11), portrays for us a God whose mystery is beyond our comprehension of Him in His holiness, but, at the same time He is also closer to us than we can imagine – by being our “Father.” Jesus is our elder Brother. The Holy Spirit is our Friend and Confidante, our Miracle Worker. His holiness does not mean He is distant and untouchable. In fact, it means the exact opposite. He sent His Son so we can enter and live in His holy Presence. Yet He will be the God as He will always be God – holy, exalted, and sovereign above all creation in the physical and spiritual realms. The holy angels could echo only one refrain, “Holy, Holy, Holy!” (Rev.4:8)

“No Matter What Happens…”

So we read Paul tells believers, “Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, ALWAYS BE THANKFUL… No matter what happens, ALWAYS BE THANKFul…for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16-18, emphasis added). Life is now lived with a rejoicing and be thankful heart. Paul affirms this condition we have in Jesus, saying, “We are complete in Christ, for He is the head over every power and authority” (Col.2:10). Yes, indeed!

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“Rest and Be Thankful”  Bench (Wiki Commons)

We have come one full circle, from the first Adam to the Second Adam, and find ourselves where God has always wanted us to be in the first place: “to enjoy living in His presence” – that’s all the Father wants of His children. That, in its simplest form, is the heart and core of the Gospel message. We are to be thankful that He is our Loving Father, the Mover and Shaker in our lives.

Summation

How do we surmise the life of the believer? All of the believer’s life which subsists in the Triune Being of God, is now an expression of holy gratitude. Every cell in his body, every pint of blood in his veins, every movement in his muscle, every breadth he takes, every heartbeat in his chest, every expression of purpose and gift, all marches with a drumroll which voices a unified chorus: “Thank You, Lord! Thanks for Giving!”

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com.

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life” as a  Bulamanriver.*  Be thankful, be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,                                                                                                                                                         (Your Servant in Christ)  

Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my book.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.

Note: All information is copy-write. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information.

EMOTIONAL WELLBEING FROM A SPIRITUAL CORE, BY KIANG P LEE

“Mental and emotional well-being is essential to overall health.” – Surgeon General of America

Greetings Friends!

The Surgeon General of America says this about emotional wellbeing, “Mental and emotional well-being is essential to overall health. Positive mental health allows people to realize their full potential, cope with the stresses of life, work productively, and make meaningful contributions to their communities.” (http://www.surgeongeneral.gov) The World Health Organization (WHO), reported in 2012, “Depression is a common illness worldwide, with an estimated 350 million people affected.  It can cause the affected person to suffer greatly and function poorly at work, at school and in the family. At its worst, depression can lead to suicide. Suicide results in an estimated 1 million deaths every year. The burden of depression and other mental health conditions is on the rise globally.” In May 2012, WHO called for a comprehensive, coordinated response to mental disorders at country level. (http://www.who.int/mediacentre) It is obvious that emotional health is an absolutely top priority for many countries. Depression, in whatever form it takes, is prevalent at epidemic proportions worldwide.

Emotional vulnerability leads to low self-esteem. Lower self-esteem makes us more susceptible to anxiety and stress. When our self-esteem is high we are stronger emotionally and more resilient to stresses from our environment. Studies have found that when our self-esteem is low we release more cortisol (high levels of cortisol can weaken the immune system) into our bloodstream when we experience stress and it circulates in our systems for longer compared to people who have high self-esteem. Other conditions are we’re prone to muscle aches, sleep deprivation, tiredness and weight gain, to name a few. We see the tentacles of emotional frailty can invade our health in far-reaching ways.  

The Concern (7618118856).jpg

Depression, a Worldwide Epidemic. (Pic: “The Concern” by Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia -Wiki Commons)

Self-esteem explains your self-worth. Your self-worth defines self-acceptance, and self-acceptance determines who you are – someone you can identify and live with. You identity is measured by rules of behavior you have accepted in your mind as socially “normal and acceptable” for you and your loved ones. When you fail to live up to the standard, you’re emotionally affected and your self-esteem hits a road hump, slowing you down. You go through the process of self-analysis and reflection. You dedicate yourself anew to your standard of moral goodness. If we fail to do this, we’ll keep punching ourselves emotionally in the gut of our self-worth. Eventually, they catch up with us, and depression sets in.

However, much of our human emotional response originate from the burden of care from living the three areas of life: health, wealth, and security or happiness. Many don’t understand the origin of their emotional life. Basically, they come from two main sources, the first has to do with a person’s moral code of good and evil, and second has to do with the burden of care in life. The latter is the most unstable form of emotional response because it has to do with life which vacillates irrationally and is always unstable. I call these three areas “the three drivers of life” we saw above. We compare ourselves with others; we have desires and wants; everybody has one so I want one too; etc, all these drive our emotions. The more stable emotional life stem from our moral standards of right and wrong, and ought to govern and provide stability in our lives. Often the damaging emotional aftermath comes from the spirit of care overriding the stabilizing emotions which suppose to anchor us. If “the three drivers of life” should drive our emotional life, then the compass which guide our self esteem changes for the worse. The “three drivers of life” are not necessarily wrong of themselves, they become iniquitous when roles are reversed and care overrides the primary moral code on which our lives ought to be anchored.

But here is a relevant question we ought to ask, what if the moral standard we have set for ourselves is unsound, even unworkable, so that, as the saying goes, we are constantly shooting ourselves in the foot of our emotional life. We ought to keep an open mind more especially for the sake of our emotional wellbeing. This moral grounding has to be an immovable anchor providing stability whenever the wind of care buffets and tries to change us. Here’s the Christian view on the topic: in the Christian faith, a believer is supposedly living with all the positive emotions of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the anchor of the Christian’s life. These emotional traits are revealed by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, Galatians, Colossians, and Romans. It is commonly called fruits in Christian teaching, but they are actually emotionally attributes of God’s Love: patience, kindness, contentedness, being modest and unboastful, honor, unselfishness, calmness and dignity, humility, forgiveness and compassion, delighting in good and shunning evil, tolerance, responsibility, faith, hope, steadfast perseverance, joy, peace, goodness, generosity, gentleness, self-control, and so forth. The Bible reveals that the Spirit is the Personification of God’s Love in humans:- “God’s Love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Rom.5:5).

File:Gezi2.jpgDove – Symbol of Holy Spirit and God’s Love (Wiki Commons)

God’s Love is not some magical potion we ingest which mystically changes us, no, they are hands-on attributes displaying emotional response whenever practitioners (believers) put God’s Love in action. God’s Love is a mind thing and manifests in human feelings and affection. Oftentimes as believers, we view these fruits of the Spirit academically through the legalistic lens of religious proponents who want to make us “better people.” We live powerless lives when we apply these Love-traits that way. For first and foremost, these are emotional responses (attributes) which create excitement and undergirds God’s Love relationship. They are emotional Love-traits of God, and show us how the Tri-Personal God of the Father, Son, and Spirit have lived from eternity as One unified Being through their Love for each other. These are not inanimate qualities, but are living and powerful emotion-based virtues of God’s very nature of Love. 

When a person receives Jesus he or she enters a life which God lives in His Tri-Personal Being, thereby, exercising these emotional attributes in his or her relationship with God. They reveal to us how we Love and relate with God and then we pass this on in the way we live with our fellow humans. (Luk.10:27) This is so vital to our emotional strength and health and our self-worth: when we receive the Triune God, then we live the “Triune Life.” To live the “Triune Life” simply means to live by the power of God’s Love, with all the emotional attributes of His Love. (1 Cor.13; Gal.5:22-24; also read Romans Chap. 12 & 13).

Joy – The Elixir of Life (Pic. by Rachel L. Johnson)

We were created in God’s image as the creation account in Genesis show. (Gen.1:26-27) You can say His Trinitarian nature is reflected in man through his triune makeup of mind, spirit, and body. Man’s emotional life is healthy when, like God, these three vital elements of man’s tri-personal being are integrated and lived in one unified front and expression. The most important of these three elements is the human spirit, which, when united with God’s Spirit subpoenas His emotional Love attributes into human action and activity. Thereby, living this integrated 3-dimensional life of God in His Love appears like this:

 Body, Mind, Spirit1

 Fiq.1 – One Integrated 3-Dimensional Life Lived in The Spirit

We saw God’s Love attributes, now think of all the conflicting emotional traits which oppose them, for example, greed instead of generosity, pride in place of humility, discord instead of peace, indifference instead of compassion, maliciousness instead of goodness, self-indulgence instead of self-control, and so forth. They all produce negative emotions instead of the positive ones proceeding from God’s Love. When we live by the opposing attributes from God’s Love, they become our personal standards. (Gal.5:16-21) We are creatures of choice and free to choose the way we live, and as surely as leaven will raise the dough, we will lie on the bed we make for ourselves. So when our lives are not integrated with God’s through His Spirit, then we live a 1-dimensional solitary life like this:

Body, Mind, Spirit, 111015

Fig.2 – Solitary 1-Dimensional Life Lived in The “Self”

G.K. Chesterton said that humans are incomplete thinkers, “We want things in fragments, that way we do not have to think of our inconsistencies. That way, we do not mind when our work contradicts our ideals (or principles), or when our politics contradicts our faith, and we keep each thing in its watertight compartment.” (The Apostle of Common Sense, Pg.19) Yes, we try to live this “solitary” persona compartmentalizing our actions and living a life of contradictions. Most people live without activating their spiritual life, perhaps they are atheists, or for reasons known only to them. Then they try to live life on just mind and body which is impossible to do. (Fig.2). In fact, man cannot live without this spiritual aspect of his human makeup. If he chooses not to anchor himself in God’s Love attributes, then he automatically defaults to the devil’s spiritual traits, whether he likes it or not. Why, because life consists of his tri-personal being, and his spiritual life is an essential part of human personhood. Either we choose God’s Love and His way of life, or default to the one chosen for us by Adam. (Gal.5; Rom.12 & 13).

We live a ‘double life’ of the self-indulgent being unknowingly influenced by the unseen enemy, when we ought to freely choose to live one unified “Triune Life” in the Spirit of God. If we do not activate the spiritual aspect of life we are living against the grain of who we are as a person created in our Maker’s likeness. The end-result of that is we bring upon ourselves unwarranted stress which lead to all kinds of issues, especially to mental and emotional consequences. If this is not corrected, depression sets in, and the condition worsens with time unless we do something to reverse it.

However, where Love is unifying the 3-dimensional life (Fiq.1), depression has nothing to take hold on. Can depression exists in God presence? No, Christ came to give us a life in the Father’s presence and make the Spirit available to man. Depression and emotional insecurity thrives only where and when Love is non-existent.

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“God Is Love” 1 John 4:8 – The Trinity Bound by Persons in Loving Relations in One God 

The Bible is clear about this 3-dimensional aspect of man’s life and that it is to be expressed in unison and in harmony in a Trinitarian way. Paul said, “May God Himself (“God is Love” – 1 John 4:8), the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, mind (soul) and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Thes.5:23) Yes, Love and peace will dominate your life to the end of your days. The Bible shows also that only His Word, His guidance for us in this human existence, is capable of reaching down into the deepest parts of our being, to tap into our innermost feelings, our profoundest thoughts, where one else can, so we can find meaning and purpose in life. Without it, we’ll live empty lives, always in search for answers, and without direction we turn to the wrong sources which do us more harm than good.

Paul says to us, “For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb.4:13) The root cause of depression was told to us in the story of Adam and Eve, it was the spirit of rebellion, that’s passed down to mankind. Unfortunately, it continues to this day. It’s mainly our refusal to activate the spiritual component of our 3-dimensional makeup, or inheriting the wrong spiritual component, which is the basic cause of mental and many other issues. Yet, the Bible speaks of a second Adam, Jesus Christ, who came to right the wrong Adam had done. Jesus came to give man back the Spirit life Adam lost in Eden. We can start a new journey with a genuine 3-dimensional integrated healthful life by giving ourselves to Him.  

God knows the vulnerabilities we encounter in life and wants us to stay true to our spiritual core and not be buffeted about by cares and become emotional wrecks. God’s Loving message to each of us is, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you” (1 Pet.5:7).

I sincerely hope you can begin to take the path to emotional health and maturity with the help of God’s Spirit by receiving Jesus as your Savior.  (Rom.8:9)

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. Thank you for visiting!

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life” as a  Bulamanriver.*  Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,                                                                                                                                                         (Your Servant in Christ)  

Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my book.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.

Note: All information is copy-write. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information.