All Good Things...

According to the Columbia World Book and Encyclopedia my title, and the quote it is taken from, is credited to the immoralist Zarathustra. It was he who was the first documented thinker who struggled with the idea of good and evil as the very “wheel in the machinery of all things.” In other words, history credits this man with the idea that ‘all things’ are driven by good and evil- and not necessarily ‘goodness’ or ‘evilness’- but the struggle between the two. He believed the violent struggle between the opposing wills of good and evil drive all that is.

This is untrue. To believe that the struggle between good and evil drives all things is to believe that there is a ‘struggle’- something that would be contrary to creation. All of creation exists in harmony with itself. It was created out of Goodness. It is this ‘goodness’- Divine Providence- that drives the ‘machinery of all things.’

Yes, evil does exist. And it certainly works to disrupt Goodness; however, it in no way ‘struggles’ with Goodness so that the very struggle of the two forces itself drive all. Evil has been allowed and will continue to be allowed until time has been fulfilled. At that point Goodness will prevail the victor.

This is in direct opposition to Zarathustra’s position. Even in his lifetime he saw the present generation as more evil than the preceding one. He envisioned time ending with evil as the ultimate victor and all things- all goodness- being destroyed. An immoralist. An erroneous thinker.

The victory of Goodness has been established from the very beginning. God, the source of goodness, created all and thus all things were created by Goodness. It is the perversion of His goodness that is itself evil. For evil to be locked in struggle with Goodness would be to suggest that the Nature of God is in struggle with a perverse form of His own Nature. This cannot be for God Himself cannot be turned against Himself. Ultimately the Nature of God will shine forth wholly once the perversion- or evil- has been removed.

Goodness existed before. Goodness exists now. Goodness exists at every moment in time at once. Goodness is not bound to time because it is the Nature of God and simply is. Evil had a beginning. It had a moment of creation and thus it will have a moment of destruction.

My apology to Zarathustra’s ‘thought’ is purposed to discredit the following saying that is rooted in his mythology. “All good things must come to an end.”

All ‘good’ things must continue. In fact, if they are good, they will continue because Goodness cannot be destroyed. Things bound by time, limited by a definite creation and destruction, cannot affect the thing that exists outside of time. Goodness is. It is a definitive statement with no beginning and no ending.

I think on this topic because this will be the final post for this blog. For some time my personal life has become much more hectic and this blog has suffered. My recent quest to ‘de-tech’ my life has now, finally after a few months of pathetic attempts to keep things going, consumed The Dialogue.

Thank you to all of my fans and avid readers. Perhaps, in some distant future, there might be a reincarnation of this site in some other form. In the meantime all things pertaining to this site remain under copyright and are the sole possession of the creator. :oP

So, I leave you thinking individuals with this…

All good things must come to an end.

-Joseph

Tea Fan

Not because I actually participated in one- although if I knew then what I know now I would have- but because the Democrates continue to wine about them, make fun of people who participated in them, and are generally making them into a bigger headache for themselves then they were to start with. Democrates- go figure?

Anyway... I couldn't say it better myself... so here:

"Democrats' modus operandi is to lead voters to believe they are no more likely to raise taxes than Republicans, get elected and immediately raise taxes. Apparently, the people who actually pay taxes consider this a bad idea." -Ann Coulter

The Lily

"I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon." Hosea 14:15

I have always wondered about the Easter Lily and why it is the Easter Lily. So... here is what I have found... Enjoy.

Christianity, like all other faiths, has stories or traditions that can neither be proven or disproved. The stories surrounding the Easter Lily are examples of such.

According to some scholars the Lily was found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane after Jesus had prayed. Tradition says that the flower miraculously grew out of the ground that drank in the sweat and tears from Jesus' travail in prayer. There are even stories that say the Lily grew around the tomb of Mary and many historical paintings will show Gabriel delivering heaven's message to her with Lilies in his hand- giving her a silent message as to what was to come.

The beauty of the Lily is also something of story. It is nicknamed the "White Robed Apostles of Hope.' The flower's white color speaks to the purity of the Resurrection and its shape to the joy of sounding trumpets proclaiming Christ's Resurrection.

The flower itself is remarkable. It has the ability to grow in almost any condition. It can grow in the murkiest and sometimes scummiest places. Without too much attention, its first green shoots might look similar to weeds; however, at some point it will burst forth with a beautiful crown of white.

Have a Joyful Easter! My God IS ALIVE! HE LIVES!

Spring BLAST

This weekend was Spring BLAST and I am so thankful for what God did for us at Life Tabernacle. If you have been keeping up with our church, then you have heard about all the wonderful, recent baptisms and Holy Ghost outpouring that has taken place. This weekend, we turned our focus to our children!

On Friday night Rev. and Mrs. Joseph Castorina, our weekend evangelists, taught a workshop for all of our staff who work with children: Bus Drivers & Captains; Sunday School Teachers; Bible Quizzing Coaches & Staff; and X-treme workers. I know it was a blessing to many of our staff and it was certainly a blessing to myself. Everything that was said seemed to go right along with what we have been hearing as a church for some time. It was the same message taken and focused specifically toward children.

On Saturday we had our first ever 'Life Tabernacle Kids 'Hood Party'. A neighborhood block party for kids and families here in our city. We selected a spot that had been specifically targeted for our recent Community Day two weeks ago. It was a great turn out. I really feel that we will see results from our day for several weeks to come.

Sunday was another exciting time. "Bro. Joe", as our kids called him, was in x-treme church with us. We had a wonderful altar call and some great praying by our children. Sunday night was another wonderful service. As great as it was to have three children baptized and at least another three receive the Holy Ghost, just as important were the number of children who were crying and speaking in tongues again. Not only do I want to see our children filled with the Holy Ghost for the first time, but I want to see them filled with it every time they can be.

I think a lot of times we forget about the importance of continued renewal- especially when it concerns children. I want every child who comes through our church to be completely equipped for the next stage of their life- not only getting the Holy Ghost but keeping it and growing in it.

This weekend was a success. I really enjoyed the time I was able to spend with our evangelist, who I would highly recommend to anyone. It was a great weekend and many people deserve thanks for making it happen. I cannot wait till we get to do it again in the fall! Our Fall BLAST will be just as spectacular!