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Welcome to OneLife Ministries. This site is designed to lead you prayerfully into a heart experience of Divine Presence, Who is Love. While it focuses on Christian teaching, I pray persons of varied faiths will find inspiration here. Indeed, "God" can be whatever image helps us trust in the Sacred, by whatever means Grace touches us each. Please share this ministry with others, and I hope you return soon. There is a new offering daily. And to be placed on the daily OneLife email list, to request notifications of new writings or submit prayer requests, write to briankwilcox@yahoo.com .
Blessings,
Brian Kenneth Wilcox
MDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual Pastor-Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader, Spiritual Counselor, and Chaplain.
Brian encourages support of the 4-Star Christian organization Compassion, which supports children worldwide; see www.compassion.com .
Opening Prayer
My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day be wholly Thine!
May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me, O may my love to Thee,
Pure warm, and changeless be, a living fire!
While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread, be Thou my Guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray from Thee aside.
When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold sullen stream over me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love,
fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above, a ransomed soul!
*Hymn "My Faith Looks Up To Thee," Words Ray Palmer, 1830. Written after receiving a vision of Christ, shortly after Palmer had graduated from Yale University.
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Today's Scripture
I am not trying to please people. I want to please God. Do you think I am trying to please people? If I were doing that, I would not be a servant of Christ.
*Galatians 1.10 (CEV)
I always try to please others instead of myself, in the hope that many of them will be saved.
*I Corinthians 10.33 (CEV)
Spiritual Teaching
Well, did Paul, or did he not, seek to please others? In one scripture he is defending his ministry, and he says he is not trying to please persons? In another passage, he is speaking of needing to deny oneself certain rights, rather than offend persons. He says, in this last scripture, he always tries to please others, so they will possibly turn to God and become a Christian.
First, Paul dictated his writings as letters and over time to different churches or persons. We have no basis to expect Paul to have been consistent always in his writings. He was a human being like us; inconsistency is consistent with being a human being.
Yet, possibly Paul is not contradicting himself. Could it be he is trying to live out a middle way of seeking to please in what he can, but when it comes to the essentials of the faith, he seeks only to please God. In one seeking Paul wants to help others so much he will deny himself certain rights; in another seeking he will not compromise the Gospel to please others.
I hold to this second option. Paul was willing to seek to please others before himself that he might serve them. Yet, Paul would not compromise his calling to please anyone.
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This not seeking to please others in the essentials of spiritual life requires courage of us. This requires a degree of holy stubbornness and healthy independence.
Continued... |
