![]() | |
![]() | |
![]() |
Spirituality Information |
|
![]() |
Unfinished Business (Part 2)
We know that David did much to stabilize the Kingdom of Israel. He fought a long series of wars to make Israel secure. He surrounded Israel with client kingdoms that at the very least were peaceful in their foreign relations towards him and Israel's God. But the one thing that David wanted to do more than anything else was to establish a permanent Temple on Mount Zion for the present and future use of the Lord God Almighty. He desired building a house for God where He alone might be honored and worshipped. David did not want to go to his final rest until the house of God was built. But, this hope was to be fulfilled by another, his son Solomon. And so it is with us. After we have taken care of our private business; after we have gone about our worldly affairs with our envies and jealousies, our complaints and dissatisfactions, we find no time left to build a house for God. But the real tragedy of existence is not in its shortness, but rather, it is in its incompleteness. The Old Testament as well as the New Testament seems to be overloaded with great individuals with incomplete lives. Their hopes were not realized, their plans not perfected, their vision not actualized. Abraham left the land of Ur to receive an inheritance of a country but he died not owning a single yard of land in Canaan except a grave. Jacob cherished the same hope but he died a stranger in a strange land. Moses inherited the same glorious purpose. His vision, coupled with the inspiration from the burning bush, led him to establish Israel in their promised land in Canaan. This was the task for when he gave his life. Moses trained himself for a work for 40 years. He succeeded in converting a ravel of slaves into a nation of prestige and dignity. He succeeded in taking the Israelites across the Red Sea and away from the slavery of Egypt and away from Pharaoh's army. He succeeded in seeing them through difficult times. He took them to the edge of the Promised Land. But by a mandate from God, he never saw them settled there. Moses could not enter into the Promised Land. He died and was buried in an unknown grave somewhere in the land of Moab. He missed his aim. He never accomplished his purpose, he never finished his business. So it was with John the Baptist, the martyr Stephen, the apostle Paul, John Kennedy, John Kennedy Jr. They have all joined with countless others, the gallant march with God's greats who went to their glory with their work undone, their business unfinished, their dreams unfulfilled, and their lives incomplete. This suggests to me that we do not have time for a lot of petty, useless, senseless engagements. We need to stop wasting so much time in pettiness, trivialities and foolishness because in the midst of our wasted time in the insignificant, Mother Nature goes on about her business. Our clay houses fall to pieces but the sun goes right on shining. A man's body disintegrates but the moon continues to glow, the birds keep on singing and Father Time keeps on ticking. TICK - TOCK Tick tock, Tick tock, Tick tock, Tick tock, Tick tock, Tick tock? Tick tock? In the scrolls of history, there is only one Man who was able to accomplish everything He set out to do. He was King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He came forth into this world with a dying garment on. He was the root of Jesse and the seed of Abraham. - It was Jesus and Jesus alone, in a death robe at Calvary's cross, who could look at a dying sin-sick world and declare, "It is finished." - It was Jesus and Jesus alone, who could look at the men under the cross, fighting and gambling for His clothes and cry out, "It is finished." - It was Jesus and Jesus alone, who could look His enemies in the face. Those who had ridiculed Him and criticized Him and tried to find something wrong with Him. Those who planned and plotted and schemed and connived against Him every chance they got; He looked at them and said, "It is finished." - It was Jesus and Jesus alone, whose life was played out to the end. - It was Jesus and Jesus alone, who could say without fear of contradiction, "It is finished." The business for which He came to this earth was now finished. The battle had been won and from that point on, the wicked ceased from troubling and the weary One was now at rest. But for the rest of us, it is never finished. Death creeps in on us before we get to do all the things we want to do. Watch what you do with your time. Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon. You are welcome to visit AMEN Ministries: Your Soul's Service Station for spiritual refreshing, soul edification, browse our newly expanded mini shopping mall or review our recommended books you may want to add to your personal library. Blessings to all!
MORE RESOURCES:
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
RELATED ARTICLES
Complicated is Born of a Simple Thought (Channelled)Roy, this morning in "Roy Bits," you tried to write about simple and it became more difficult as you put your thoughts on paper. What you have demonstrated is the very essence of life. So None of Us Arrived With an Owners Manual! A Fresh Perspective on the Drive to Lead (part 1) So, none of us arrived with an Owner's Manual, neatly referenced to enable us to look up our ails, appreciate where we are, and, understand what is next. We expected its indelible validation to enable us to navigate some of the more fearful and exhilarating moments in our lives. What Is The Spiritual Path? For many years of my life, I thought the spiritual path had something to do with following one of the major world religions or pursuing an Eastern practice. I even thought it had something to do with morality and ethics. Zen and Peace (The Road To Lasting Harmony) Presently, many of us live in uncertainty. Due to the world situation and the many changes in society, there is a sense that at any time, our lives may be disrupted. Are You Being In Service? Divine Source Greetings Divine Ones, I am going to ask you a few questions so that you can simply ask yourself where you stand within your heart and mind, to know whether you are being in service or in servitude.Are you fulfilling the joys within your heart or are you struggling to discover what your joys are?Are you trying to attain anything outside of yourself to feel better? Or are you loving the process of all that lies within the attainment?Are you sacrificing your truth on any level of your life? Or are you sharing your truth with yourself and all others, regardless of what others might think, say or do?Being "in service" means that you are serving from the joys in your heart because it brings you joy to do so. Are you Addicted to 'NO'? Locating the YES! of the Heart It seems to me that our moment to moment relationship to Life can basically be reduced to a 'YES' or a 'NO'. Let me explain?This moment and everything in it, IS as it IS, ALREADY. Your Guide to the Archangels An angel can be your best friend. Angels have been known respond to prayers that contain the phrase "Hey, somebody, anybody up there HELP!!!" but they come quickest when addressed politely by their Christian names. Salvation: The Divine Imperative Of the many individuals who were touched through the ministry of Paul while on his second missionary journey, three are specifically mentioned. His first convert was Lydia, a businesswoman; the second was a young lady who had been used and manipulated by her masters so that they could profit financially. Do You Really Want to Know the Truth? Back in 1992, Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise co-starred in a movie entitled A Few Good Men. The high point of the film, in my view, was a classic, heated exchange between their characters, during which Kaffee (the military attorney played by Cruise) says: "I want the truth," and Col. De-Materialization #2 My lady Lydia was a Hawkins of the ancestry of the great privateer 'Black Jack' just as thousands of miles away in Ottawa (We met in Las Vegas.) a cousin of my sister-in-law who was about to come work for my family's company was living. Is America Losing Its Religion? Has America known its finest hour? Are we losing our religion and sanity as well? What is wrong with our society anyway? These are baffling questions that are frequently being asked by more and more people, even the media.From environmental pollution to spiritual pollution, from artificial food to artificial joy - these are the side effects of the pursuit of materialism (a by-product of the American Dream, as we know it). Are You Hooked to the Power Source? As Christian's we are often very independent. We try to do everything and often feel we do everything. Keeping The Faith Well I had a website that I was posting on but have since decided my writing works should be meant for friends and family .I have been writing articles on and off for awhile now. Controlling What YOU Hear By Watching What YOU Say If you're going to listen to anyone you're going to hear yourself. It does not matter what anyone in the world says about you, it means nothing until you allow it to get into your spirit and you begin to say what is being said to you. Terminal Diagnosis and Putting Our House in Order In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover. By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them Military personnel at a U.S. Enlightenment Takes You to Selfishness An act of selflessness is the highest expression of selfishness and unconditional love because it considers the soul first.Selfishness does not preclude consideration of others, but selfishness is necessary before consideration of others is acted upon. Higher Self: Growing Inside of Us Maybe once in a lifetime, we find ourselves seeking spiritual growth mostly when everything we try to do is hard to achieve. Among the many questions that consequently come out are: Who am I? Why am I here? Is there a Higher Power?Since arguing over these questions surely can bring down a lot of lines, I will present to you some definitions from the common New Age term "Higher Self," which I believe is the very important start of all well being. An Open Invitation "All you who are thirsty, come and drink." ISAIAH 55:1, NCVThe most incredible invitations are not found in envelopes; they are found in the Bible. Why Keep a Journal What purpose does keeping a journal serve?Do you write down your thoughts, your innermost feelings, the joys and the pains embedded deep in your heart ? Does it help for you to "verbalize" in words your plans, your promises and don't forget those forgotten events?Anne Frank kept a diary. To this day and for many more generations to come, she shares a world , a life at an era where human dignity and freedom for some was a crime. ![]() |
home | site map |
© 2006 |