"...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it
more abundantly. I am the good shepherd..." - Jesus (St. John 10:10-11)
And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be
with me in paradise." (St. Luke 24:43)
"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." (St. John 14:2-3)
"Remember me and I will remember you." (Holy Qu'ran 2:152)
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A man jumped off of a ten storied building. As he fell, people on every
floor could hear him say, "So far so good, so far so good".
(Movie actor Steve McQueen in "The Magnificent Seven")
PEACE IN IRAQ, NOW. (www.kingdomofparadise.com)
My kingdom of paradise exist only on a computer storage device.
The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven have always existed.
As a follower of the "good shepherd", I pray for PEACE IN IRAQ, NOW.
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"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14)
"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything
too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:27)
"...The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."
(St. Luke 18:27)
"That is easy for me...God but saith to it,'Be', and it is."
The Holy Qur-an [19:9] [19:21] [3:47]
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"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you..." - Jesus
(St. John 15:14)
"The Venerable Thich Quang-Duc" is my "friend".
I have only seen him once on film. Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh writes
in his book "Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire" "that the Venerable Thich
Quang-Duc was over seventy, that I had lived with him for nearly one
year at Long-Vinh pagoda and found him a very kind and lucid person,
and that he was calm and in full possession of his mental faculties
when..." I saw him on the television newscast.
I believe I am a young Christian in spirit. I only know life as a
student of Christ. I am interested in other systems of logic, reason,
and faith; but watching my friend on Phan-dinh-Phung Street in Saigon,
Vietnam try to bring Peace to the Vietnam War help make me a stronger
Christian. In my mind's eye, I asked him why did he choose to seek Peace
this way? In my mind's eye, I told him that I would remember him and
Peace of mind be unto him.
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So another "friend" writes "The Message of the Gita". In a translation
by Stephen Mitchell, my friend Mohandas K. Gandhi explains his
understanding of the Hindu "Bhagavad Gita".
In Mitchell's translation of the Bhagavad Gita the God I recognize says
in chapter 7:24-26,
"Though I am unmanifest, fools think that I have a form, unaware
of my higher existence, which is permanent and supreme.
Veiled in my mystery and power, I am not perceived by most men;
their deluded minds cannot see me, the Unborn, the Changeless,
the Undying.
I know all beings have passed, and all who live now...and all
who are yet to be; but I am beyond all knowing."
in chapter 4:6-8,
"Although I am unborn, deathless, the infinite Lord of all beings,
through my own wondrous power I come into finite form.
Whenever righteousness falters and chaos threatens to prevail,
I take on a human body and manifest myself on earth.
In order to protect the good, to destroy the doers of evil,
to ensure the triumph of righteousness, in every age
I am born."
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The Holy Qur-an from the King Fahd Holy Qur-an Printing Complex
(Surat Az-Zukhruf, Gold Adornments, 43:61-63)
And (Jesus) shall be
A Sign (for the coming
Of) the Hour (Of Judgment):
Therefore have no doubt
About the (Hour), but
Follow ye Me: this
Is a Straight Way.
Let not Satan
Hinder you: for he is
To you an enemey avowed.
When Jesus came
With Clear Signs, he said:
"Now have I come
To you with Wisdom,
And in order to make
Clear to you some
Of the (points) on which
Ye dispute: therefore fear Allah [God]
And obey me.
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"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in
my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even
as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you
and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, that ye love
one another, as I have loved you." (St. John 15:9-12)
...Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand." (St. Matthew 4:17)
"...the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent
ye, and believe the gospel." (St. Mark 1:15)
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