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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 hope 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 please 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.
You are invited to join Brian at his fellowship group on Facebook. The group is called OneLife Ministries – An Interspiritual Contemplative Fellowship. Hope to see you there. Blessings.
Today's Scripture
You are the Light of the world. A town standing on a hill is visible to everyone. When a lamp is lit, one does not put it under a covering, but on a lamp-stand. where it gives light to everyone in the house. And you, like that lamp, are to let your light shine among other persons, so that, when they see the good you do, they may praise your Father in heaven.
*Matthew 5.14-16
Spiritual Teaching
A Purpose of life, your life, my life, is to be a conduit of Life. We are to be avenues of Sacredness flowing into the world. This is the recreating Presence of Grace.
How do we do this? Prayer, as communion with and union in the Divine, is essential - This is the way of prayer. The means ... have to be conformable to the end. Our Christian communities do not exist for themselves, but for others and ultimately for the Other (John Main. Word into Silence).
This existing for the other and Other is seen in the Matthew text above. The Jesus of Matthew notes our shining our light - or participation in the Light - and that leading to others giving praise to the One. We shine the Light, or our light reflecting the Light, partly through what we do. Our life is inspired by our prayer; our deeds conform to our prayer.
What do we discover in this prayer, that impacts so our living in the world, sharing the Light? - In our prayer we have to discover ourselves existing for the Other because it is in prayer that we experience ourselves being created and sustained by [God] (John Main. Word into Silence).
This is the mystery of mystical Prayer in Christ. We are not only praying for others, with and beyond words and thoughts, we grow into the discovery that in the Silence of ourselves in God, we are presently being created and sustained by the One. That is, we were not simply created in the past, we are being always created, for we are flowing out of the Being of God, and this sustains us. Therefore, being created and sustained are one process in God, eternally.
We take joy, therefore, being formed by God, to see others adore the One we love. We relish our lives reflecting the Goodness of the Sacred. We find peace, knowing our deeds point to a Greater Reality, one that births all creatures in each instant and, so, eternally.
Responding
1) What does it mean to you to discover you are now being created in and from God? How does this impact the way you see yourself and others? The choices you make?
2) What are ways you are gifted to let your light shine?
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*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian Kenneth Wilcox, SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life and with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, with friends and under a vow of simplicity. Brian is an ecumenical-interspiritual leader, who chooses not to identify with any group, and renounces all titles of sacredness that some would apply to him, but seeks to be open to how Christ manifests in the diversity of Christian denominations and varied religious-spiritual traditions. He affirms that all spiritual paths lead ultimately back to Jesus Christ. He is Senior Chaplain for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, Punta Gorda, FL.
*Brian welcomes responses to his writings or submission of prayer requests at briankwilcox@yahoo.com . Also, Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*Contact the above email to book Brian for preaching, Spiritual Direction, retreats, workshops, animal blessing services, house blessings, or other spiritual requests. You can order his book An Ache for Union from major booksellers.
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