There is a chill in the air!

[rockytopva]

I believe keeping a spiritual fire, light, and warmth in the heart are things most important. I also believe this fire and light are things that easily dissipate away. There are those of age who have droopy dog jaws and eye-lids that never seem to smile and are always negative. It should be a joy to have the privilege to be alive and we all should be charitable and full of life. The fire we receive from God makes the heart full of joy, warmth, and very much alive!

I have a wood stove in the garage that is attached to my house. Keeping the wood stove stoked keeps the whole house warm and in the seventies. My heat pump is set to turn on at 65 so I can feel the effects of the fire if it goes out. Especially as there is a chill in the house. There is also a fire that God has lit in my heart that must be tended to daily or it also will go out!

If E = mc2 then we can divide and conclude that...

Mass (m) = Energy (E/c2)

And there are three varieties...

Natural E/c2 - All mass is basically cooled plasma
Mental E/c2 - Mentally, A mathematical formula, but this has chemical and spiritual properties as well.
Spiritual E/c2 - E (motivation, warmth, love) / c2 (faith, hope, charity, joy)

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. - 1 John 1:5

Unfortunately, though, the light and the darkness interact here on planet Earth. The opposite of E/c2 would be z (absolute zero)/ c (darkness)...

Natural z/d - Nothing, empty space.
Mental z/d - Again nothing but empty space.
Spiritual z/d - z (laziness, coldness, hatred) / d (fear, despair, greed, sorrow)

A correct spiritual E/c2 is an important ally to the Christian faith. Robert Sheffey is my favorite saint and lived in the 1800s during the great Methodist revival here in Giles County, Virginia. As we approached 1900 the Methodist revival seems to have grown cold. Robert once was at a conference and was annoyed by the the lack of revival spirit in the air. Asked to lead the closing prayer he prayed...

"Dear Lord, a chill wind seems to imprison our hearts; and the brothers and sisters sit about as rotting tree stumps; and even the mouths of Thy servants who have spoken seem cold with formality and aloofness. These brethren who call themselves preachers and who by divine calling should let Thy lovingkindness shine from them like the light of the sun do not know what the trouble is. I think I know what the trouble is. Thou are not with us. We have not invited Thee. They will not like Thy servant Robert Sheffey for asking you this at so late an hour, but, Lord, come quickly, like a descending dove. Forgive them, Lord, for their stiff shirt collars and brand-new suits make it hard for them to look down from the pulpit to see if anyone stands at the altar. Forgive them, Lord, they are small potatoes, and very few in the hill …"

 

[rockytopva]

Pierre Talec is a Catholic French priest and poet. Even though I am not Catholic I like the guy as he brought out the virtues of light and energy. He wrote a book entitled, "Jesus and the Hunger for things Unknown" in 1982 that was a joy to read. I search the internet and am surprised I find very little on the guy.

But the point of the E/c2 reference is to separate the mass, knowledge, and spirituality. Take for instance two preachers. Both guys are educated in the same doctrine and both look the part. However....

Preacher 1 - Sermons are warm, encouraging, uplifting, and the guy comes across as Christ-like.
Preacher 2 - Sermons are cold, depressing, discouraging, and the guy comes across as arrogant.

Even though the two come from the same school of thought, yet they are two different individuals. I did not take many notes on the Pierre Talec "Jesus and the Hunger for things Unknown" book, save one...

"Live for the joy of it! Live in broad daylight! Live with fire in your soul! Live in love and living water!"-Pierre Talec

I would have loved to have met the guy!

 

[rockytopva]

I believe it is scriptural for things to grow gold in the last days__

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. - Matthew 24:5
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. - Revelation 3:15-16
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. - John 3:19

 

[rockytopva]

What I am trying to describe is the change that happens spiritually in the heart through faith in Christ. John Wesley was almost in despair after a disasterous trip to America and loosing his dad. He did not have the faith to continue to preach. When death stared him in the face, he was fearful and found little comfort in his religion. To Peter Böhler, a Moravian friend, he confessed his growing misery and decision to give up the ministry. Böhler counseled otherwise. "Preach faith till you have it," he advised. "And then because you have it, you will preach faith." On May 24th, 1738 he opened his Bible at about five in the morning and came across these words, "There are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, even that ye should partakers of the divine nature." He read similar words in other places. That evening he reluctantly attended a meeting in Aldersgate. Someone read from Luther's Preface to the Epistle to Romans. About 8:45 p.m. "while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."