Pray for the #Rapture2017

by Mark W. Gaffney

The solar eclipse of 2017 has come and gone, but  yet the earth continues under auspices of God's Divine grace and mercy.

It is always good to be reminded that an Almighty powerful omnipotent God Who created the heavens and Earth is in complete control of everything, therefore all is necessary is to surrender and trust in His Divine guidance and Wisdom as a child of God.

A child is able to do the impossible and love unconditionally because a child trust completely. Jesus said, 'No one shall enter the Kingdom of God unless they become like one of these little ones'. 

As it is written in 1 Corinthians 13,

" if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing"

The Holy Bible says in Matthew 24 - 36 :

' Nobody knows the final day or hour but the Father Himself'.

Why does God allow bad things to happen?  People have been asking that question since the beginning of time. According to Romans 8: 28 ,

"All things work for good to those who believe and are called according to his purpose"

Oftentimes while planning for the future we fall into the trap of taking matters into our own hands, instead of relying upon God's Divine Providence.

It is written in Proverbs 19-21, 

"A man plans his way, but it's every direction is from the Lord."

Human thinking is an anomaly within the physical universe. Rene Decartes stated, " I think therefore I am"  

Although thinking is good because God created human beings as thinking creatures, we must learn to empty our mind to seek God's will.

The problem with emptying ones mind is that it leaves us vulnerable to be taken advantage of by other people. In business circles people do a lot of thinking while negotiating business deals. 

In business one tries to negotiate a deal whereby they come out financially ahead. However, learning to empty ones mind in process of seeking Gods will helps one to think more clear, concise, and rationally, thereby becoming better able to negotiate a win - win deal mutually beneficial for both business partners.

Renown psychologist Albert Ellis conducted scientific research to demonstrate events do not have power over people to upset them. Instead, how people think about events creates emotional reactions.

Oftentimes, excessive thinking creates irrational emotional reactions that lead to harmful behavior. Harmful behavior as a consequence of excessive thinking does not help improve a situation for anyone, but instead makes things worse. Traumatic events can cause excessive thinking.

Traumatic events can be a test for obedience to God's Divine will and faith. During difficult times people should turn to God for help.

It is normal to think and emote too much after tramatic events. In the Book of Job,  Job cried out to God, Why me? Job was chastised by three religious clerics because of his rebuke and questioning God. Job found favor in God's sight because of his child like faith. Job replied to the clerics " I know my Redeemer Liveth".

The thinking - emotive response as outlined within Dr. Albert Ellis rational emotive therapy paradigm explains  how people sometimes forget to rely on God's Divine will, but instead follow their own path.  When one thinks too much they tend to reduce or limit a streaming fast moving data field of key variables.

Unfortunately, the internet and social media is conducive to an excessive amount of thinking. Every word and syllable carries with it an emotive response. So what is the answer? Should we embrace a puritan philosophy and completely abandon language and knowledge?

In my freelance article entitled, Words: Linguistics of Healthcare Reform, I shared insight into neuroscience of Linguistics:

Words are moving cognitive actions that mysteriously pop up from substrate of apparent nothingness. Words as moving cognitive actions are designed to create and transform. Rene Descartes said, “I think therefore I am”.

Words have great power to transform either good or bad. Words that enter the mind through hearing words spoken or reading are encoded as neuroelectrical chemical sequences. Words that enter the mind by hearing words spoken or reading are manipulated by an existing lattice of neuroelectrical sequences comprising neurological   architecture of long term memory. 

Momentary cessation of thinking through a meditative reflective sensory response pause during active listening may help one abstract true accurate meaningfulness of words by reducing direct action of Long Term Memory neuroelectrical chemical sequences, which comprise neurological architechture within the prefrontal lobe. Perhaps, mentally challenged people who have a slow cognitive processing speed are creative because slow cognitive processing speed enable a momentary cessation of thinking as outlined in my freelance article entitled,  Creative Storytelling in Educating Public about Healthcare Reform.

According to Scripture verse Romans 12: 2, 
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Everyday we are constantly bombarded by the world trying to tell us what to believe, how to live, and what to think. According to Romans 8: 25, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans".

And so the solar eclipse of 2017 has come and gone, but  yet the earth continues under auspices of God's Divine grace and mercy. Genesis 18: 22 - 33 provides a narrative of God's mercy:

22Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD.23Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24“Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25“Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked aretreated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” 26So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.” 27And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. 28“Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” 32Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” 33As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place.