Changes

[[Image:lighterstill.jpg]]

[[Image:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:TOJ_icon.jpg|right|frame]]

==CHAPTER 24==

==CHAPTER 24==

As they walked over this bridge, Jesus, among other things, said:

As they walked over this bridge, Jesus, among other things, said:

*"This world is only a bridge. You may pass over it, but you should not think to build a dwelling place upon it."  

*<u>"This '''world''' is only a bridge, you may pass over it, but you should not think to build a dwelling place upon it."</u>

It was during one of these conferences at the home of Justa that the Master first told his disciples that:

It was during one of these conferences at the home of Justa that the Master first told his disciples that:

He admonished them to:

He admonished them to:

*"Forget those things which are in the past while you push forward to embrace the greater realities of the kingdom."   

*<u>"Forget those things which are in the '''past''' while you push forward to embrace the greater realities of the kingdom."</u>  

Said Jesus:

Said Jesus:

*"My disciples must not only cease to do evil but learn to do well. You must not only be cleansed from all conscious sin, but you must refuse to harbor even the feelings of guilt. If you confess your sins, they are forgiven. Therefore must you maintain a conscience void of offense."

*"My disciples must not only cease to do evil but learn to do well. <u>You must not only be cleansed from all conscious sin, but you must refuse to harbor even the feelings of '''guilt'''.</u> If you confess your sins, they are forgiven, therefore must you maintain a conscience void of offense."

He once said to Thomas:       

He once said to Thomas:       

====Jesus' Teaching at Tyre====  

====Jesus' Teaching at Tyre====  

   

   

On this Wednesday afternoon, in the course of his address, Jesus first told his followers '''the story of the white lily''', which rears its pure and snowy head high into the sunshine while its roots are grounded in the slime, and muck of the darkened soil beneath.  

On this Wednesday afternoon, in the course of his address, Jesus first told his followers the story of the white lily, which rears its pure and snowy head high into the sunshine while its roots are grounded in the slime, and muck of the darkened soil beneath.  

Said he:

Said he:

*"Likewise, mortal man, while he has his roots of origin and being in the animal soil of human nature, can by faith raise his spiritual nature up into the sunlight of heavenly truth and actually bear the noble fruits of the spirit."

*"Likewise, mortal man, while he has his roots of origin and being in the animal soil of human nature, can by faith raise his spiritual nature up into the sunlight of heavenly truth and actually bear the noble fruits of the spirit."

It was during this same sermon that Jesus made use of his first and only parable having to do with his own trade -- carpentry. In the course of his admonition to:

It was during this same sermon that Jesus made use of his first and only parable having to do with his own trade -- carpentry, in the course of his admonition to:

*"Build well the foundations for the growth of '''a noble character''' of spiritual endowments. In order to yield the fruits of the spirit, you must be born of the spirit. You must be taught by the spirit and be led by the spirit if you would live the spirit-filled life among your fellows. But do not make the mistake of the foolish carpenter who wastes valuable time squaring, measuring, and smoothing his worm-eaten and inwardly rotting timber and then, when he has thus bestowed all of his labor upon the unsound beam, must reject it as unfit to enter into the foundations of the building that he would construct to withstand the assaults of time and storm. Let every man make sure that '''the intellectual and moral foundations of character''' are such as will adequately support the superstructure of the enlarging and ennobling '''spiritual nature''', which is thus to transform the mortal mind and then, in association with that re-created mind, is to achieve the evolvement of the '''soul''' of immortal destiny. '''Your spirit nature''' -- the jointly created '''soul''' -- is a living growth, but the mind and morals of the individual are the soil from which these higher manifestations of human development and divine destiny must spring. The soil of the '''evolving soul''' is human and material, but the destiny of '''this combined creature of mind and spirit''' is spiritual and divine."

*<u>"Build well the foundations for the growth of a noble '''character''' of spiritual endowments.</u> In order to yield the fruits of the spirit, you must be born of the spirit. You must be taught by the spirit and be led by the spirit if you would live the spirit-filled life among your fellows. But do not make the mistake of the foolish carpenter who wastes valuable time squaring, measuring, and smoothing his worm-eaten and inwardly rotting timber and then, when he has thus bestowed all of his labor upon the unsound beam, must reject it as unfit to enter into the foundations of the building that he would construct to withstand the assaults of time and storm. Let every man make sure that the intellectual and moral foundations of character are such as will adequately support the superstructure of the enlarging and ennobling spiritual nature, which is thus to transform the mortal mind and then, in association with that re-created mind, is to achieve the evolvement of the soul of immortal destiny. <u>Your spirit nature -- the jointly created '''soul''' -- is a living growth, but the mind and morals of the individual are the soil from which these higher manifestations of human development and divine destiny must spring.</u> The soil of the evolving soul is human and material, but the destiny of this combined creature of mind and spirit is spiritual and divine."

 

 

On the evening of this same day Nathaniel asked Jesus:  

On the evening of this same day Nathaniel asked Jesus:  

*"'''Master, why do we pray that God will lead us not into temptation when we well know from your revelation of the Father that he never does such things'''?"  

*<u>"Master, why do we pray that God will lead us not into '''temptation''' when we well know from your revelation of the Father that he never does such things?"</u>

Jesus answered Nathaniel:  

Jesus answered Nathaniel:  

   

   

*"It is not strange that you ask such questions seeing that you are beginning to know the Father as I know him, and not as the early Hebrew prophets so dimly saw him. You well know how our forefathers were disposed to see God in almost everything that happened. They looked for the hand of God in all natural occurrences and in every unusual episode of human experience. They connected God with both good and evil. They thought he softened the heart of Moses and hardened the heart of Pharaoh. When man had a strong urge to do something, good or evil, he was in the habit of accounting for these unusual emotions by remarking: `The Lord spoke to me saying, do thus and so, or go here and there.' Accordingly, since men so often and so violently ran into '''temptation''', it became the habit of our forefathers to believe that God led them thither for testing, punishing, or strengthening. But you, indeed, now know better. You know that men are all too often led into '''temptation''' by the urge of their own selfishness and by the impulses of their animal natures. When you are in this way tempted, I admonish you that, while you recognize '''temptation''' honestly and sincerely for just what it is, you intelligently redirect the energies of spirit, mind, and body, that are seeking expression, into higher channels and toward more idealistic goals. In this way may you transform your temptations into the highest types of uplifting mortal ministry while you almost wholly avoid these wasteful and weakening conflicts between the animal and spiritual natures.  

*"It is not strange that you ask such questions seeing that you are beginning to know the Father as I know him, and not as the early Hebrew prophets so dimly saw him. You well know how our forefathers were disposed to see God in almost everything that happened. They looked for the hand of God in all natural occurrences and in every unusual episode of human experience. They connected God with both good and evil. They thought he softened the heart of Moses and hardened the heart of Pharaoh. When man had a strong urge to do something, good or evil, he was in the habit of accounting for these unusual emotions by remarking: `The Lord spoke to me saying, do thus and so, or go here and there.' Accordingly, since men so often and so violently ran into temptation, it became the habit of our forefathers to believe that God led them thither for testing, punishing, or strengthening. But you, indeed, now know better. You know that men are all too often led into temptation by the urge of their own selfishness and by the impulses of their animal natures. When you are in this way tempted, I admonish you that, while you recognize temptation honestly and sincerely for just what it is, you intelligently redirect the energies of spirit, mind, and body, that are seeking expression, into higher channels and toward more idealistic goals. In this way may you transform your temptations into the highest types of uplifting mortal ministry while you almost wholly avoid these wasteful and weakening conflicts between the animal and spiritual natures.  

*"But let me warn you against the folly of undertaking to surmount '''temptation''' by the effort of supplanting one desire by another and supposedly superior desire through the mere force of the human will. If you would be truly triumphant over the temptations of the lesser and lower nature, you must come to that place of spiritual advantage where you have really and truly developed an actual interest in, and love for, those higher and more idealistic forms of conduct that your mind is desirous of substituting for these lower and less idealistic habits of behavior that you recognize as '''temptation'''.  

*"But let me warn you against the folly of undertaking to surmount temptation by the effort of supplanting one desire by another and supposedly superior desire through the mere force of the human will. If you would be truly triumphant over the temptations of the lesser and lower nature, you must come to that place of spiritual advantage where you have really and truly developed an actual interest in, and love for, those higher and more idealistic forms of conduct that your mind is desirous of substituting for these lower and less idealistic habits of behavior that you recognize as temptation.  

*“You will in this way be delivered through spiritual transformation rather than be increasingly overburdened with the deceptive suppression of mortal desires. The old and the inferior will be forgotten in the love for the new and the superior. Beauty is always triumphant over ugliness in the hearts of all who are illuminated by the love of truth. There is mighty power in the expulsive energy of a new and sincere spiritual affection. And again I say to you, be not overcome by evil but rather overcome evil with good.  

*“You will in this way be delivered through spiritual transformation rather than be increasingly overburdened with the deceptive suppression of mortal desires. The old and the inferior will be forgotten in the love for the new and the superior. Beauty is always triumphant over ugliness in the hearts of all who are illuminated by the love of truth. There is mighty power in the expulsive energy of a new and sincere spiritual affection. And again I say to you, be not overcome by evil but rather overcome evil with good.  

====Answers to Questions====

====Answering Questions====

 

Long into the night the apostles and evangelists continued to ask questions, and he answered:

In answering these many questions Jesus said:

*"Forceful ambition, intelligent judgment, and seasoned wisdom are the essentials of material success. Leadership is dependent on natural ability, discretion, will power, and determination. Spiritual destiny is dependent on faith, love, and devotion to truth -- hunger and thirst for righteousness -- the wholehearted desire to find God and to be like him.

*"Forceful ambition, intelligent judgment, and seasoned wisdom are the essentials of material success. Leadership is dependent on natural ability, discretion, will power, and determination. Spiritual destiny is dependent on faith, love, and devotion to truth -- hunger and thirst for righteousness -- the wholehearted desire to find God and to be like him.

*“As the days pass, every true believer becomes more skillful in alluring his fellows into the love of eternal truth. Are you more resourceful in revealing goodness to humanity today than you were yesterday? Are you a better righteousness recommender this year than you were last year? Are you becoming increasingly artistic in your technique of leading hungry souls into the spiritual kingdom?

*“As the days pass, every true believer becomes more skillful in alluring his fellows into the love of eternal truth. Are you more resourceful in revealing goodness to humanity today than you were yesterday? Are you a better righteousness recommender this year than you were last year? Are you becoming increasingly artistic in your technique of leading hungry souls into the spiritual kingdom?

*“Are your ideals sufficiently high to insure your eternal salvation while your ideas are so practical as to render you a useful citizen to function on earth in association with your mortal fellows? In the spirit, your citizenship is in heaven; in the flesh, you are still citizens of the earth kingdoms. Render to the Caesars the things that are material and to God those that are spiritual.

*“Are your ideals sufficiently high to insure your eternal salvation while your ideas are so practical as to render you a useful citizen to function on earth in association with your mortal fellows? In the spirit, your citizenship is in heaven; in the flesh, you are still citizens of the earth kingdoms. Render to the Caesars the things that are material and to God those that are spiritual.