'It is I, be not afraid.'

-
I had the great pleasure of attending a two day teaching/meditation seminar with John Philip Newell.  As you recall, I have made some brief comments about his latest book, Christ of the Celts.  In one of the sessions, John Philip told a story about a 20th century Celtic teacher from France named Teilhard de Chardin who became a Christian during the first World War.  While caring for the wounded, Chardin heard deep within himself, 'Ego sum, noli timere' ( 'It is I, be not afraid' ).  He knew that it was Christ and his life changed because of the encounter.

Later, during the meditation time, we were to meditate on Isaiah 58.11 'You shall be like a garden, like a deep spring where waters never fail'.  While meditating, I saw light cascading over water.  The water appeared amber in color and the light reflecting on the many waves and ripples were every color imaginable.  As I breathed upward, I kept seeing the image and hearing 'It is I, be not afraid'.

This was significant for me because for the past several years I have inherited a phobia regarding local water -- ponds, rivers. lakes, and streams -- to the point that I would have a panic attack.  The fear -- from what I do not know -- would overtake me and I would become petrified.

This 4th of July weekend we went to visit my Dad in Eufaula.  Eufaula has a huge lake and my Dad has a boat.  Now, I normally don't have a problem with being in the boat so seeing my dad hasn't been an issue.  It's when we beach somewhere and my wife wants to walk along the shore or it's time to shove off again that problems arise.

This year, my plan was to find a secluded spot and slowly make my way into the water all the while repeating Christ's words to me, 'It is I, be not afraid'.  But I didn't get the opportunity.  And furthermore, I didn't have to.  I went out more than waste deep in the water without and issue.  My wife and I were pulled behind the boat in a huge inner-tube with water splashing us and I put my arms in the water as we were being pulled along.  We took our walks and had to wade out into the water to pass from one part of the beach to another.  All without a hint of anxiety.

The vision I saw wasn't something I needed to create in order for it to 'work'.  Christ had removed my anxiety through the vision.

I must be honest.  As I write this, the falseness is right here ready to pounce.  The apprehension is there to make me 'second guess' what I feel.  So, which feeling is true?  The feeling of apprehension?  Or, the feeling that Christ has removed my anxiety?  To quote M. Basilea Schlink from my meditation this morning:

I praise the blood of the Lamb
that has power to free me
from all my bondages...

I praise the blood of the Lamb
that is victorious
over all powers that seek to
oppress me...

I praise the blood of the Lamb
that makes all things new.
Hallelujah! Amen.

Peace be with you.

OD

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Linux Mint 5

-
Image
It's been a while since I did a technological (read: geek) blog, so I thought I would update you on what's going on. As you are aware, I am a full-fledged geek by trade and passion and I have gone from Windows to Mac to Linux.  My Linux evolution went from Linspire to Mepis to PCLinuxOS to Ubuntu .  I stayed with PCLinuxOS and Ubuntu for the longest.  However, I have always read good things about another distribution called Linux Mint .  It's based on the latest Ubuntu release but with a lot of add-ons.  The latest version is called Linux Mint 5, Elyssa.  So, at the office, I downloaded the latest iso and tried it out to see how it all worked. First of all, there are always some things I keep in mind when trying any new Linux distro, the primary thing being, 'How would the average user feel about using this OS?'  'Is it (very) simple to install?  Is it easy to use?  Is it easy to get help?  Is it easy to add or remove applications?  Is the terminal (command
Read more

Series: New Testament Eschatology

-
Image
From time to time, I hear a lot about the early church’s understanding of the “end of the world” or their belief that the “Second Coming of Jesus” would take place within their generation. And it’s usually not in a very good light. “They were obviously mistaken,” is often the remark I hear most. I know it’s hard to imagine but what if we’re mistaken? What if we’ve misunderstood what they meant? I’m hoping that this series on some of the major statements from the New Testament about the “end of the world” will show that they weren’t mistaken in their understanding of the “signs of the times.” Before we begin, however, let’s look at some terms that will have to be used. As most of you know, I try to refrain from using big “church” words. My reason for this is because those words are like suitcases where ideas and thoughts and understandings are packed into them. To explain the words would mean a long time spent unpacking the suitcases and explaining their contents. While such a pil
Read more

'Sick to my guts...'

-
I usually don't make posts like this because I'm way outta my element. But I am sick of all of the hype I see in the media. The whole one sided take on journalism. Each program has an agenda. As my wife says, 'You find what you're looking for'. It would absolutely kill a mainstream media person like Olbermann to say President Bush has done something good and right. Likewise it would kill a 'talk radio' media person like Limbaugh to say that Senator Clinton or Senator Obama did something good and right. We are a country shown the extremes. Most of the mainstream media are such Bush haters, that's right I stated 'haters', that they would actually explode if they had to report on the good that he has done. Likewise 'Fox' news and talk radio hosts are such Democrat haters that they, too, would explode if they had to report on any good that they have done. 'Fair and balanced' my butt! Everyone, everyone has their agenda. I
Read more