Christ in you, the hope of glory

This Sunday morning, September… actually it is Monday morning September 7th in the year of our Lord, 2009, is one of memories flooding back from childhood days. The shows my brother Paul and I watched as kids, Rosie and someone, Barnacle bill, the lighthouse, Joe 90, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the mysterons, and I’m sure many more. My parents looking in from behind the door into my bedroom as they got ready for work, the smell of toast and tea, none of these thoughts are of possessions, or things, but of times gone by, of parents, of family, our closest loved ones. Anyhow this morning as many, Sue and I shower together and joke about the label on the Nivea shower container we say “flooga-doosh” but it really is “pflegedusche”, after a little looking online (where else would you look nowadays!) I find an answer and translation, “Care shower”, then I search “meaning of life” in the same Yahoo Answers tool and come across this quote by George Matthew Adams…

Every one of us, unconsciously, works out a personal philosophy of life, by which we are guided, inspired, and corrected, as time goes on. It is this philosophy by which we measure out our days, and by which we advertise to all about us the man, or woman, that we are. It takes but a brief time to scent the life philosophy of anyone. It is defined in the conversation, in the look of the eye, and in the general mien of the person. It has no hiding place. It’s like the perfume of the flower - unseen, but known almost instantly. It is the possession of the successful, and the happy. And it can be greatly embellished by the absorption of ideas and experiences of the useful of this earth.

Immediately I can sense the man knows from his own experiences, much like my own, the ways on men and the lessons we all learn when we have slowed down either by choice or not, to notice our own ways.  “By which we advertise…” and  “it takes but a brief time to scent the life philosophy…” and “It’s like the perfume of a flower – unseen, but known immediately”. These seem so obvious to me, someone who has had his portion of illumination and chastisement from the Lord. God has shown me the ugliness of my ways and I know without His presence within, I would be on the dang pile without hope.

Yet, for me at least, the question remains. What to do with the life the Lord has given. Immediately coming to mind “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, strength and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself” and “Go, and share the Gospel”, the next question is “How Lord, how?” How do I really do this in my family who are sick of hearing about Jesus, my coworkers who see my testimony, with whom when I share starts to irritate and one could end up without the means to support ones family getting fired for sharing the gospel at work, its like one possesses truly the “pearl of great price” but no one cares nor wants it for themselves, unless it will give them something.

I have now, not a care of the world. Of course I so desired that my family know that life does not need to be worried over, or pursued in the way most men do, I do not care what another man thinks of me, just what our Lord and God thinks. I care not for possessions, or wealth, or things, each are means to an end. Time seems plentiful in this season. Yet change goes on each day through the seasons and the temperature, the months float by. What grieves and burdens me now is that knowing the fullness of Christ within I have this richness that I cannot give to anyone unless the Lord opens the door. I tried (Read “I”) with books and CD’s, yet most read but none seemed changed. I looked for visible signs of change. What kind of faith is this Tony? Not.

Lord I feel stuck. The machine of religion is fully at work. The church of today is of buildings and teaching and comfort and entertainment. And of calling down a God “out there” and giving at the end of a sermon the “10 things we must do” what a load of crap. God is within!!! We do nothing! He does the work! The Kingdom of God is within you!!! Man shall no longer teach man, the anointing within you, and teach you. Not one fallen head teaching another fallen head.

I digress, but once you know yourself well you can see in each mans work the truth, it stands out, regardless of if another man says the work is “Secular” or “Sacred” – what crap – it is all from God. God permits the evil one to operate. What kind of everywhere God cannot see what all His creatures are doing?

Not my kind of God.

So moving on, here are a few more of Adam’s quotes culled from the Internet…

1. What you think means more than anything else in your life. More than what you earn, more than where you live, more than your social position, and more than what anyone else may think about you.
2. It’s what each of us sows, and how, that gives to us character and prestige. Seeds of kindness, goodwill, and human understanding, planted in fertile soil, spring up into deathless friendships, big deeds of worth, and a memory that will not soon fade.
3. Everyone knows that weeds eat out the life of the garden and of the productive fields. The gardener and farmer alike each has to keep the weeding process alive. It’s like that in the building and developing of character. No one knows our own faults and tendencies better than we do ourselves, so that it is up to each one of us to keep the weeds out, and to keep all growth vigorous and fruitful.
4. It is no disgrace to start all over. It is usually an opportunity.
5. One reason why men and women lose their heads so often is that they use them so little! It is the same with everything. If we have anything that is valuable, it must be put to some sort of use. If a man’s muscles are neglected, he soon has none, or rather any worth mentioning. The more the mind is used the more flexible it becomes, and the more it takes upon itself new interests.
6. I wonder if the human touch, which people have, is not one of the greatest assets that one can have. You meet some people, and immediately you feel their warmth of mind or heart. You read a book, sit before the performance of a fine actor, or read a poem - and there it is - something that streams into your consciousness. Those who keep climbing higher, in their chosen work, all have this outstanding something. The nurse in the hospital, the man who delivers your mail, the clerk behind many a store counter, and the effective minister or public speaker. Without this human touch, hope has little on which to feed or thrive.
7. There is no such thing as a ’self-made’ man. We are made up of thousands of others.
8. Every one of us, unconsciously, works out a personal philosophy of life, by which we are guided, inspired, and corrected, as time goes on. It is this philosophy by which we measure out our days, and by which we advertise to all about us the man, or woman, that we are. It takes but a brief time to scent the life philosophy of anyone. It is defined in the conversation, in the look of the eye, and in the general mien of the person. It has no hiding place. It’s like the perfume of the flower - unseen, but known almost instantly. It is the possession of the successful, and the happy. And it can be greatly embellished by the absorption of ideas and experiences of the useful of this earth.
9. The difficult tasks to be performed are not the ones that mean physical and mental labor, but the ones that you dislike, are the ones that you do not love. There are unpleasant angles to nearly every important job to be done in this world, but there must be an over all love for doing each, else precious time and effort are uselessly wasted. I shall never forget noting a sign above a construction job that read: “Builder of Difficult Foundations.” That man must have loved that calling, else he would not have made a point of advertising the fact!
10. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken a word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and our thoughts, as well as our success.
11. This world and life of ours are filled with inequalities. The worst possible use to make of this fact, however, is to allow resentments to possess us. All of us have imagined limitations, but we have also the privilege of pushing them aside, and spreading our lives out! We never know any of our limitations until we put ourselves to the test. There are always “growing pains” working within us.
12. There are high spots in all of our lives and most of them have come about through encouragement from someone else. I don’t care how great, how famous or successful a man or woman may be, each hungers for applause.
13. He who does not get fun and enjoyment out of every day . . . needs to reorganize his life.
14. Anyone who has had a long life of experiences is worth listening to, worth emulating, and worth tying to as a friend. No one can have too much experience in any line of endeavor. We readily welcome to our group of friends that one who talks with the voice of experience and common sense. We know that we are safe in his hands. He is not going to get us into trouble. Rather is he going to point out the pitfalls and mistakes that experience has taught him to avoid. There is no experience but what carries its lasting good for us along with it. And you don’t have to discard experience. It’s a coat for life! It never wears out.
15. Each day of your life, as soon as you open your eyes in the morning, you can square away for a happy and successful day. It’s the mood and the purpose at the inception of each day that are the important facts in charting your course for the day. We can always square away for a fresh start, no matter what the past has been. It’s today that is the paramount problem always. Yesterday is but history.
16. Enthusiasm is a kind of faith that has been set afire.
17. Note how good you feel after you have encouraged someone else. No other argument is necessary to suggest that one should never miss the opportunity to give encouragement.