ROCK Bottom: FAMILY AFFAIR

Saturday, July 05, 2008

FAMILY AFFAIR

Christianity is Exclusive.
So is my family, by the way.

I come from the Morency family.
There is no other family like my family.
I mean, Dad is Claude, Mom is Rolande,
and Serge, Danielle and Christian are my siblings.
You cannot be a part of my family
unless you were born into it.

That's just the way it is.

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Now, about another family.

Jesus explains to Nicodemus:

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him,
How can a man be born when he is old?
can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb,
and be born? Jesus answered,

Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee,
Ye must be born again. "

John 3:3-7

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And to the woman at the well...

Again, He speaks explicitly...

"But an hour is coming, and now is,
when the true worshipers
will worship the Father
in spirit and in truth;
for such people the Father seeks
to be His worshipers.

"God is Spirit,
and those who worship Him
must worship Him in Spirit and truth."
-John 4:23, 24

__________________________________________

That's just how it is.

You must be born INTO God's family.
Then and only then can you call Him Father...

All are born of the water of the womb. (physical)

All are called to be born of the spirit of God. (spiritual)

But not all respond. They just don't want to.

So, a Father is an exclusive Thing -
He does not impose Himself on anyone.
He's looking for those who will Love Him...
He is not interested in pre-programmed,
cold, heartless, and mindless children.

So there is a choice to be made -
all for the sake of true love.

It's a family affair...
And it's totally,
lovingly,
fair.

"The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying,
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:
therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee."

Jeremiah 31:3

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A Poem of New Beginnings

by Jocelyne Sade

Letting pride,
Be crucified,
Humbly,
On bended knee,
Seek Him thoroughly,
His face to see.

Willful heart - when won,
Easier said - Thy will be done!
He in you is then created,
Carnal, for Spirit, is traded.
Let this be your goal -
All His, body, spirit and soul.

Behold, God sees
You on your knees.
Be simple, yes be true,
Be sure, He hears you.

He’ll spin you ‘round,
On His ground,
No game to play.
You, now but clay
For Him to mold
True and bold.

Trust your God
To strip the fraud.
To set you free,
Give integrity.
No more playing saint,
Foolish pharisaical paint!
Even words well spoken,
Can be worthless tokens.

Go ahead… sigh,
Your God is nigh.
He, resplendent,
You, repentant
Yet, now confident
At last, an honest heart!
Truth in the inward part!

“Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part, You will make me to know wisdom.”
Psalm 51:6

SHAKESPEARE SAID IT FIRST!

A fool's paradise—Romeo and Juliet

A foregone conclusion—Othello

A tower of strength—Richard III

All the world's a stage—As You Like It

An eye-sore—The Taming of the Shrew

As white as driven snow—The Winter's Tale

Bated breath—The Merchant of Venice

Breathe one’s last—Henry VI, part 3

Brevity is the soul of wit—Hamlet

Budge an inch—The Taming of the Shrew

Cold comfort—King John

Come full circle—King Lear

Come what may—Macbeth

Conscience does make cowards of us all—Hamlet

Cowards die many times before their deaths—Julius Caesar

Crack of doom—Macbeth

Dead as a doornail—Henry VI, part 2

Devil incarnate—Henry V

Dish fit for the gods—Julius Caesar

Done to death—Much Ado About Nothing

Eaten me out of house and home—Henry IV, part 2

Elbow room— King John

Every inch a king—King Lear

Flaming youth—Hamlet

For goodness sake—Henry VIII

Foregone conclusion—Othello

Full of sound and fury—Macbeth

Good riddance—Troilus and Cressida

Hold a candle to—The Merchant of Venice

I have immortal longings in me—Antony and Cleopatra

I have not slept one wink—Cymbeline

In my heart of hearts—Hamlet

In my mind's eye—Hamlet

Into thin air—The Tempest

It smells to heaven—Hamlet

It was Greek to me—Julius Caesar

It's a wise father that knows his own child—The Merchant of Venice

Kill ... with kindness—The Taming of the Shrew

Knock, knock! Who’s there? —Macbeth

Laughing-stock—The Merry Wives of Windsor

Lean and hungry look—Julius Caesar

Lend me your ears—Julius Caesar

Love is blind—The Merchant of Venice

Merry as the day is long—Much Ado About Nothing

Milk of human kindness—Macbeth

My own flesh and blood—The Merchant of Venice

Neither a borrower nor a lender be—Hamlet

Not a mouse stirring—Hamlet

Now is the winter of our discontent—Richard III

One fell swoop—Macbeth

Out, out, brief candle—Macbeth

Parting is such sweet sorrow—Romeo and Juliet

Pomp and Circumstance—Othello

Primrose path—Hamlet

Put out the light—Othello

Sharper than a serpent’s tooth—King Lear

Short and the Long of It—Merry Wives of Windsor

Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep—Henry VI, Part II

Something in the wind—The Comedy of Errors

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark—Hamlet

Sorry sight—Macbeth

Spotless reputation—Richard III

Stony-hearted villains—Henry IV, part 1

Strange bedfellows—The Tempest

Sweets to the sweet—Hamlet

The be-all and the end-all—Macbeth

The better part of valour is discretion—Henry IV,

The course of true love never did run smooth—A Midsummer Night's Dream

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose—The Merchant of Venice

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers—Henry VI, part 2

The game is afoot—Henry IV, part 1

The game is up—Cymbeline

The naked truth—Love's Labour's Lost

The lady doth protest too much, methinks—Hamlet

The readiness is all—Hamlet

The rest is silence—Hamlet

The time is out of joint—Hamlet

The working day world—As You Like It

The world's mine oyster—The Merry Wives of Windsor

There’s a divinity that shapes our ends—Hamlet

Though this be madness, yet there is method in't—Hamlet

Throw cold water on it—The Merry Wives of Windsor

Till the crack of doom—Macbeth

'Tis neither here nor there—--Othello

To be, or not to be: that is the question—Hamlet

To make a virtue of necessity—The Two Gentlemen of Verona

To thine own self be true—Hamlet

Too much of a good thing—As You Like It

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown—Henry IV, part 2

We are such stuff as dreams are made on--The Tempest

We have seen better days—As You Like It

Wear my heart on my sleeve—Othello

What a piece of work is a man—Hamlet

What the dickens—The Merry Wives of Windsor

What’s done is done—Macbeth

What's in a name?—Romeo and Juliet