White Sun - The Silence of the Wise

By Teow Aun Chew

Although the truth cannot be seen, heard or touched, yet it is the origin of all things and it is beyond time, space and religion. The great ancients who lived in accordance to the truth were men of subtle wisdom and penetrating intelligence. They were so profound that others did not understand them and such people are the founders of the Five Great Religions like Lao Tze, Confucius, Sakyamuni Buddha, Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammad.

Everything under Heaven has a beginning which can be said as the origin of things. If we know the origin, we can then say there is a mother of all under Heaven and everything is its offspring. By observing with a quiet and still mind, one can perceive the origin of things and in Tao, we say, "Tao is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, Humanity is great and within the universe are all things and humans are one with the universe and God. There is going and there is coming. Everything returns to nothingness. Man is in harmony with Earth, Earth harmonises with Heaven, Heaven harmonises with Tao and Tao harmonises with what is natural."

The truth is not something rare and strange. It is not like he can turn into a beauty today and turn into a devil-like creature tomorrow. Then all of a sudden he turns into a ninety-nine year old man. All these are not the truth because the truth is we grow and mature naturally through learning and studying. Don't expect to become a great person overnight because we need wisdom and it takes time to absorb and get experience through learning. Collect our wisdom slowly then our virtuous nature will be the same as the Light Beings.

How can we save this despairing world? asked my Heavenly Master JiGong. Start with oneself. Then change the most beloved people, our own family members. Correct oneself well; enlighten and transform others. The statement said, "In order to govern the state well, it is necessary to regulate the family first. It is not possible for a man to discipline others when he is not able to discipline himself and his own family."

It is advised, "As a member of the family, we must treat the other family members with a sincere heart. Sincerity is Tao. We must treat everybody this way. Sincerity between husband and wife; there must be mutual understanding for each other. Between father and son (parents and children), when it calls for strictness, the father should be strict. When it calls for loving-kindness, the father must advise the son with kindly words. Then only, people would not find themselves living in a battlefield and dwelling in hell. Hence, when it's time to be strict, the father must guide the son with truth. He should give the son a true, correct and sensible way to follow. And in showing his loving-kindness, he must use the Principle of Oneness to untie the knot in the son's heart, so that both hearts can link together."

Live a peaceful life. When there is friction at home, it depends on what type of heart you would use to transform the friction into peace. Likewise if there is friction outside the home, the same applies. Everyone wants to live in peace and when everyone gathers in harmony, wisdom will be generated and the world will be at peace.

Author: T.A Chew

T.A Chew, prays leaders of the world will follow the teachings of the ancient Saints and Sages. The Silence of the Wise told us the Way and the Principle of Heaven and Earth. To save this despairing world, start with oneself. Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you. Website: http://www.white-sun.com

Postmodern Self-assessment: Pretending Doesn't Make It So

By Steve Singleton

It was the fourth quarter in last Friday night's football game between rival Texas high schools Keller and Richland, with Keller in possession on its own one-yard line. The Keller quarterback handed off to running back Lyndon LaPlante. LaPlante took off toward the goal line, slipping through a hole and avoiding tackles all along his 99-yard run to the goal line.

But LaPlante's run didn't count. Was there a penalty on the play? Had he stepped out of bounds? No. The whole thing was a set-up, probably inspired by "Radio," the 2003 film starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Ed Harris, and Debra Winger. Kevin Atkinson, the Keller coach, had long been planning to give Lyndon, who has Down Syndrome, this moment of glory. He cleared it with Richland coach Gene Wier and with the game's officials prior to the opening kickoff that it would happen on Keller's first offensive play of the fourth quarter. Even the fans were in on the gesture, as they rose to their feet and cheered.

"Man, it was awesome," LaPlante said. He was still holding the game ball when his mother woke him up on Saturday morning. "Everybody said, 'Lyndon! Lyndon! Lyndon!' I was crying with chills."

We applaud this act of kindness; it was a wonderful expression of love and appreciation that Lyndon and his family will always remember fondly. Nevertheless, Lyndon's touchdown didn't change the score; on the next play, Keller was right back at its own one-yard line.

My postmodern friends tell me, "Perception forms reality." But is it really true? Is reality totally subjective, or does reality exist objectively, whether or not we perceive it correctly? Teams, coaches, officials, and fans all agreed that despite Lyndon's perception, an objective reality existed that said: "No score."

We can apply this same principle again and again in our world. Children's test scores should be meaningful measures of their knowledge and skills. They shouldn't move on to the next grade unless they pass. Adults who are incompetent should not stay in jobs to fill a racial, ethnic, or disability quota. We should measure governmental programs or policies with objective standards. Those that aren't working we should fix or end. Why? Because if we ignore objective reality, it will come back to bite us in painfully objective ways, like collapsing bridges or incompetent bureaucrats.

The same principle holds true in the moral universe. Someone argues, "A universal moral code doesn't exist--everyone knows that. We can all agree that anyone who claims it does exist is a big liar." Do you perceive the contradiction? Making such a claim doesn't make it so.

Likewise you can look at your own life and say, "I am perfect in every way." But even if you convince yourself, that doesn't make you flawless. According to the Apostle John, if we should make such a claim, "We deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). What could be worse? Only someone who claims not only to be perfect now, but also blameless in the past. John says "If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word has no place in our lives" (verse 10). That is one function the Bible fulfills for us: it calls us back to objective reality. We are sinners in need of a Savior--and not just One Who can make us feel saved, but One who saves us in reality.

Abraham Lincoln once asked a stubborn disputant, "How many legs does a cow have?" "Why, four, of course!" was the reply. Lincoln leaned forward and looked the man in the eye, "Well then, how many would it have if we called its tail a leg?" With a sneer, the man answered, "Five!" "Nope!" said Lincoln. "It would still have four, because calling a tail a leg doesn't make it so."

* * *

Copyright ©2005 Steve Singleton

Steve Singleton has written and edited several books and numerous articles on subjects of interest to Bible students. He has been a book editor, newspaper reporter, news editor, and public relations consultant. He has taught Greek, Bible, and religious studies courses Bible college, university, and adult education programs. He has taught seminars and workshops in 11 states and the Caribbean.

Go to his DeeperStudy.com for Bible study resources, no matter what your level of expertise. Explore "The Shallows," plumb "The Depths," or use the well-organized "Study Links" for original sources in English translation. Sign up for Steve's free "DeeperStudy Newsletter."

Copyright information: This article is free for reproduction but must be reproduced in its entirety, including live links & this copyright statement.

Give Thanks

By Vivian Gordon

"It is a commandment that you praise God. If you don't hear
and lay it to heart to give glory to My Name, I will curse you."

Malachi 2:1-2 (Amplified)

God commands that we give Him thanks and praise
everyday of the year, not just one day a year as we celebrate Thanksgiving. God is a jealous God who demands that we follow His commandments but it's not because He's vain, He means them for our own good, He wants what is best for us, His children. He loves to bestow His gifts upon us when we are obedient to Him in return. We can never out give God but He sure can make our blessing flow. Sometimes we feel that God isn't hearing us and so we lack our daily devotions to Him and we think we are punishing Him by doing that. But frankly, God isn't to be mocked and He isn't here for our pleasure, we are here to please Him!

It's natural for us to have this all mixed up when we are living in the world of selfishness, greed, and vanity. We like to
complain about the things we don't have when in reality, we should be grateful that God doesn't give us what we deserve! He is patient with us and willing to give us time in order to get this right. He wishes that no man will ever perish. In exchange for our praises and thanksgiving, He wants to give us eternal life!

There are many references in the Bible to thanksgiving and praise and if you're not familiar with them, you should get acquainted with some of them.

One such verse is this: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with
praise! Be thankful and say to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name." Psalm 100:4 (Amplified)

This psalm is just one example that indicates how we are to
approach our Almight Father. He wants us to come to Him affectionately, compassionately, whole heartedly, and reverently.

"Why?" you may ask. As I mentioned already, it's our duty to give God ALL the glory and know that Him and only Him is responsible for all the blessings that we have been given. He knows our hearts, and therefore we can't fool Him with outward appearances. We can fool others with our phoney actions of thankfulness, but we will never put one over on God. The reason we give Him all our thanks and praise is so that He can prosper us. Yes, God will prosper His children when He knows their hearts are truly thankful for all
that He's done. He tells us through His Son Jesus that He came to give us life and life abundantly. He wants the best for those who are truly thankful and praise His name.

"Because you don't serve God with joyfulness in heart and gratitude, He will send enemies for you to serve." Deu. 28:47 (Amplified)

Maybe this sounds a bit harsh, but God has to judge us for our sinful nature. If we refuse to obey and honor Him, He will make our lives less than meaningful in order to get our attention so that we will realize that He is the only way.

It's in these valley times when we recognize His omnipotance and relinquish all our worldy ways to come to
Him. In coming to Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are given His free gift of grace that allows us to become more like Christ. This outward life changing experience takes a life time to achieve, but one that is well worth it. To thank and
praise God for all that He's done becomes a natural, daily function. We no longer take our lives for granted or anything else for that matter.

His Word tells us about the benefits of our thanksgiving to Him.

1. God inhabits the place of praise. His presence is guaranteed. (Ps. 22:3) This is truly something to praise Him for because even Satan has to bow down to Him and
therefore he can't keep you held in bondage anymore.

2. God will take over your battles. (Ps. 34:4) This is when you tell Him you can't do this by yourself. Give Him your problems and watch Him go to work on your behalf.

3. Diverse miracles will take place. (Ps. 103:7) God did exploits for Moses when He parted the Red Sea.
4. Pride is destroyed. (Jer. 9:23) God's word doesn't have
very many nice things to say about a person's pride. He will make low a person with pride. In giving praise, it will destroy the poison of pride. The glory belongs to the Lord.

5. Praise will preserve blessings. (Josh. 24:28; Ps.102:18) God promises our inheritance through generations of those who love and praise Him.

6. We will flourish and be elevated. (Ps. 92:12) Praising brings raising!

Praise and Thanksgiving is not a religion or even a holiday.
It's not something we do just one day a week or one day a year. It's much more than that, it's a commandment, a commitment on our part.

When we come to our heavenly Father in praise, we should expect to ask Him for anything, according to His will, and it shall be given.

"Keep on asking, and it will be given you, keep on seeking and you will find, keep on knocking (reverently) and (the door) will be opened to you." Matt. 7:7 (Amplified)

The key word in this verse is "keep". God's ways are not our ways, we don't snap a finger and expect Him to give us
everything we ask for. Sometimes, the answer is "No" if it's not in His will for us, but through maturing in Christ, you will learn what and how to ask. Other times, He makes us wait, only because there is something we need to learn first in order to recognize the blessing. In our requests we need to know this also:

"And if (since) we (positively) know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know (with settled and absolute knowledge) that we have (granted our present possessions) the requests made of Him." 1 Jn. 5:15 (Amplified)

"Do not fret or have anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition
(definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God." Phil. 4:6 (Amplified)

If you have never felt that God was listening to your prayers, call on His Son Jesus. Tell God you're sorry that you have sinned and you want to be washed clean in the blood of His Son Christ Who died for your sins and rose again. Tell God you are giving your life to Christ in order that you may come to Him with all your prayers and petitions because you are now His child.

If you have said this prayer with total commitment from your heart, Christ will come and live in you through the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit will make the ways of God clear for you to keep from sinning and will give you a deep seeded desire to praise Him and give Him thanks in everything.

We are not saved by what we do but by trusting what Christ has already done.

Vivian Gordon a child of the King who desires that all who read her articles will come to Christ and be saved. Her writing is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is a God given gift that she can share with others.

You Know Your Life Is On Purpose When You Know Yourself As A World Citizen

By Brad Swift

As of this writing over 155,000 of our brothers and sisters have died in Asia from the natural disaster of a tsunami. As Ann and I have watched the death toll climb over the past week, Ann reminded me that we are not simply citizens of Flat Rock, or of North Carolina, or of the United States -- we are world citizens. We are all on this planet together, playing the game called life full out, doing the best we can in each situation, and if we're ever to truly experience a World On Purpose we can no longer isolate ourselves by made up borders or beliefs.

Another interesting number that I heard related to the tsunami disaster was that over 1 billion dollars had been pledged to help the victims. One thing that we did as a family on New Year's Eve was to discuss what we felt we could do as 'world citizens' to help our world family through this challenging time. Here's what we came up with. I share this simply to encourage and to inspire others to explore for themselves what they can do.

It has evolved into a simple 4 Step Plan:

1. Pray for those most affected. You might include in your prayer something like this: "Please help us recognize that what has happened is an opportunity masquerading as a natural disaster. It is an opportunity for us all to come together as ONE in love and harmony. Help me stay mindful to this opportunity."

2. Contribute some 'good green energy' of money now to help the people of Asia to get through these next few weeks. Our 12-year old daughter, Amber, asked if she could contribute from her "Future Fund"-- money that has been set aside for her future/college. Realizing she has no future that doesn't include the rest of the world, we agreed.

3. Pledge to continue giving throughout the year. After all, the rebuilding process will take years. Long after this matter is no longer in the news, there will still be much to do, so we felt some continual support was important. One way we're planning to provide ongoing support is by 'adopting' or sponsoring one or more children. Here are a couple of the agencies through which this can be done:

www.savethechildren.org
As a child sponsor, you'll see up close and personal, through corresponding with your sponsored child, how you are helping to create a better, brighter future for children in need. For less than a $1 a day, your sponsored child and others in the community can benefit from quality education, school health and nutrition programs and many other initiatives.

www.planusa.org
Child sponsorship makes a difference in a child's life. Your participation results in benefits like safe, clean drinking water, improved education and health care, increased family income, and more in countries where such benefits are often unattainable. You'll be helping to provide the most basic needs of your sponsored child.

Another way to provide support is through the Heifer Project:

www.heifer.org/
After immediate needs for food, shelter, fresh water, clothing and other necessities have been met, Heifer works within communities to empower disaster survivors with the economic means - such as livestock, training and other resources - to rebuild their families, their neighborhoods and their hope for sustainable futures.

4. Share with others and invite their participation in whatever way works for them. (Like I'm doing right now.)

If you realize that you're a world citizen also and want to contribute as well, here's a web site that has a list of organizations that are at work in disaster relief:
www.redcross.org/
www.networkforgood.org/

Help Support Disaster Relief in Southeast Asia
People across Southeast Asia, stricken by the Tsunami Disaster, need your help to recover and rebuild - many have lost everything. Please join millions of other generous Americans and support one or many of the important relief organizations with a safe and easy contribution now. Your cash contributions are desperately needed and will provide assistance to those whose lives have been devastated by this terrible disaster.

©2005 Brad Swift of Life On Purpose Institute, Inc.
This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this resource box are included.
PPE 1/10/05

Dr. Brad Swift founded Life On Purpose Institute in 1996 with the vision of creating a World On Purpose by assisting people like yourself to clarify their life purpose & live true to it. Determine how on or off purpose your life is with the fun & insightful Self Test at:
http://lifeonpurpose.com/_forms/self-test.php?source=ezart
Inspire yourself with a fr.ee subscription to Purposeful Pondering Ezine:
http://lifeonpurpose.com/index.php?dir=_ezines&task=view-ezines

How to Find Hope, Remove Fear and Live Again by Harvesting the Power of Your Mind

By Entjik Jeffrie

Knowing something but not doing something about it is equal of not knowing at all.

When you have eyes but you don’t use them to see, you’re as good as blind. When you have a great mind, but you never to use it to think, you’re as good as not having one.

Let me make it very brief and clear to you. You are blessed with a great, awesome and wonderful gift, it is called your mind or we can call it your brain.

Where you are right now in life depends on what your mind makes of you! You can not get your Bachelor degree, master degree and PhD degree today without the use of your mind!

Earn Nightingale says that we become what our mind thinks about all day! Let say, you get into an accident and your brain is damaged during the accident and your ability to read and write is gone from your mind!

I don’t care if you are the CEO of a company or a director of an organization, but I can assure you that you will not be able to keep your present position today if your ability to read and write is taken away from your mind today.

A human being without a working mind is called a brain dead patient, he/she must be connected to a life support machine that can help them breath and to live, because their mind can no longer control their bodily function, they can no longer love their love ones, they can no longer remember their families and loved ones, and they can no longer work.

Oh my friend, you are the most awesome creation that is ever built on the face of the earth! A human mind can create the most powerful force that can even destroy the whole entire earth and its population.

How do some hard working immigrants from other countries come to the United States and become multi millionaires? They can’t even speak English when they first came to the United States and they do not even understand the culture and the language, but these hard working immigrants who are not lazy use their God’s given gift which is their mind to learn the culture and to learn the English language, so they can be very successful in the United States.

My friend, if you are ever tempted of being lazy to use your mind, think twice! Be grateful and thankful that you still have a functioning brain and mind that allows you to think!

Your mind is powerful! It can help you find solutions on how to get you out of your present problems and circumstances. Your mind is the wonder of this world, there is nothing like it. Because of a human mind, the Great Wall of China was built, the Eiffel Tower of Paris is now here, the Empire State Building stands tall in Manhattan today, the nuclear power, and every single invention that is ever invented, it is invented because of the greatness of our mind!

You are alive today on this planet earth because of the mind you have! Once your mind dies, your mind can no longer tell your body what to do, you will lay asleep, helpless and you will no longer be able to do anything or make any decision for yourself.

I appeal to you right here, right now that you will use your mind and invest in your mind, because today will be your greatest day ever on this planet! Now I want you to realize something that you never realized before. You have the greatest gift on this earth that no animals, bacteria or virus have! You my friend are a human being that is gifted with a great mind to change the world! Your mind will rock this world!

You can be a hero in your home and your own family, because today is your day my friend! Today is the day that you and I will keep pressing forward toward our goals and dreams! Today is the day that you can I will never ever give up in spite of the challenges of life!

For today is your day my friend, today is your day my friend! Get up, stand up and stand tall! You are special, you are awesome and you are able to change your present circumstances! There will be no more word of despair coming out of your mouth ever because you can do great things, you can achieve great success, you can get to your dreams and goals, because you have the greatest gift on earth and it is called "Your mind!"

© Copyright 2005 Pebden.com, Author: Entjik Jeffrie, All Rights Reserved.