{"id":13364,"date":"2013-06-28T20:44:12","date_gmt":"2013-06-29T01:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianrep.com\/blog\/?p=13364"},"modified":"2014-05-30T19:35:49","modified_gmt":"2014-05-31T00:35:49","slug":"have-you-achieved-enlightenment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianrep.com\/blog\/2013\/06\/28\/have-you-achieved-enlightenment\/","title":{"rendered":"Have You Achieved Enlightenment?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Not me!<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
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But it’s not like I haven’t been looking for it……\"enligtenment\"<\/a><\/div>\n
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No, I am not a\u00a0Buddhist\u00a0(and I mean no disrespect towards\u00a0Buddhists<\/i>) but I have nonetheless been searching for “comprehension” most of my life.<\/div>\n
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I have spent this life running aimlessly from one thing to another searching for something that I could use to say to God,\u00a0“I found it, can I come up now?” \u00a0<\/em>I know now it’s been right in front of me all along….but I was so busy searching for it that I couldn’t see it! \u00a0Like when I can’t find a tool in the toolbox, totally convinced it is just not there….until my wife points to it.\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
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Here’s my main thought on enlightenment folks…..<\/div>\n
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I think about someone dying and appearing at the gates of heaven only to be told….<\/div>\n
“Sorry, but you haven’t achieved the proper\u00a0quota\u00a0of humming\u00a0exercises.” (again…no disrespect towards\u00a0Buddhists\u00a0intended!)<\/i><\/div>\n
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The world will tell you…. \u00a0“If you would just work harder and be willing to put everything else aside, sacrificing everything, you might attain true happiness.<\/em>….”<\/div>\n
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What kind of promise is that? Work hard for the future, do your best…and you\u00a0might<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0<\/i>achieve the promise of happiness?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Be<\/em>\u00a0very careful,<\/em>\u00a0because if you do achieve happiness in this world...<\/em>it can be taken away at any moment…..Some of you most likely have already learned that painful lesson<\/em>…I know I have!<\/em><\/div>\n
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God has promised us paradise\u2026and we have to do nothing for it except believe in him and accept the sacrifice he made of Jesus Christ to atone for our sins\u2026.that\u2019s it…no catch, no fine print. And the\u00a0awesome\u00a0news is…..it cannot be taken away from us…!<\/span><\/b><\/em><\/div>\n
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Self-help gurus all have their own special formulas for attaining true happiness and self enlightenment –\u00a0but if you listen closely<\/em>….they don’t really promise anything!\u00a0But of course, they can sell you lots of books……<\/em><\/div>\n
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God has already provided a book for us to follow\u2026and it\u2019s free!<\/b><\/i><\/div>\n
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Am I the only one who has figured out that although we are all created in God’s image, we all have very unique reasons we are here…united in the one great reason…which is that we have been sent into the world to glorify him? So what good would it do me to read a book by a celebrity about their life to find secrets about achieving enlightenment for my own?<\/div>\n
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That’s like a mechanic reading a truck manual to learn how to fix my car.<\/i><\/div>\n
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I think it’s good to read about other people\u2019s journey in life….and they may very well have achieved what God wanted\u00a0THEM<\/i>\u00a0to\u00a0achieve…but that doesn’t\u00a0necessarily\u00a0mean that is what he wants me to achieve…..<\/div>\n
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I think the main reason we all struggle in this world\u2026is that no matter how hard we try\u2026\u2026we cannot enlighten ourselves!<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
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Do you have a favorite plant in the house….? Do you think that it can water itself or maneuver itself to get the best light…? Can your plant fertilize itself?<\/div>\n
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“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” \u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em>Matthew 6:31<\/span><\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
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True enlightenment is already available to us\u2026.we just need to accept it!<\/div>\n
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“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”\u00a0John\u00a08:12\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not me! But it’s not like I haven’t been looking for it…… No, I am not a\u00a0Buddhist\u00a0(and I mean no disrespect towards\u00a0Buddhists) but I have nonetheless been searching for “comprehension” most of my life. I have spent this life running aimlessly from one thing to another searching for something that I could use to say … <\/p>\n

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