ONE FAMILY PLAN
Willoughby
...a "peaceful, restful place, where a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure." (The Twilight Zone, A Stop at Willoughby, 1960)
Can you live there?
No worries! In the midst of the storms...
"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?" (Mark 4:37-38)
NO! He did not care! Because He trusts in God He can sleep through storms! Nothing interferes with this kind of peace! This is faith!
"And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." (Mark 4:39)
"And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" (Mark 4:40)
No worries...
"Be anxious for NOTHING..." !!
How? Trust God to be sovereign!!
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3)
What happens then?
The peace that passes ALL understanding happens!!
Only here... In Christ, In The City... as The Buddha... In Nirvana... In Willoughby...
Only here is the renewing of the mind... the thinking on good things!
"Be anxious for nothing... and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV)
Finally, AFTER you stop worrying by trusting in God's sovereignty...
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)
"Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." (2 Cor 13:11)
"Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace." (Psalm 37:37)
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom 12:2)
"Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you." (Philippians 3:15)
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)
"The Lord lives in the heart of every creature. He turns them round and round upon the wheel of his Maya. Take refuge utterly in Him. By His grace you will find supreme peace, and the state which is beyond all change." Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 18.61-62
"They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Isaiah 2.4
"Victory breeds hatred, for the defeated live in pain. Happily live the peaceful, giving up victory and defeat." Buddhism. Dhammapada 201
"The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace." Judaism. Talmud, Gittin 59b
"God is peace, His name is peace, and all is bound together in peace." Judaism. Zohar, Leviticus 10b
"For Christ Jesus is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility." Christianity. Bible, Ephesians 2.14
"Should anyone be victim of great anxiety, his body racked with maladies, Beset with problems of home and family, With pleasure and pain alternating, Wandering in all four directions without peace or rest-- Should he then contemplate the Supreme Being, Peaceful shall his mind and body become." Sikhism. Adi Granth, Sri Raga, M.5, p. 70
"As rivers flow into the ocean but cannot make the vast ocean overflow, so flow the streams... the sea of peace that is the sage." Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 2.70
A Calming...
"Men do not mirror themselves in running water--they mirror themselves in still water. Only what is still can still the stillness of other things." Taoism. Chuang Tzu 5
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you." Christianity. Bible, John 14.27
"This is peace, this is the excellent, namely the calm of all the impulses... Nirvana." Buddhism. Anguttara Nikaya v.322
"O tranquil soul, return to your Lord so pleasant and well-pleased! Enter among My servants and enter My garden!" Islam. Qur'an 89.27-30
Into the Light...
"Jesus spoke to them, saying 'I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life...'" Christianity. Bible, John 8.12
"Him the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor the lightning--nor, verily, fires kindled upon the earth. He is the one light that gives light to all. He shines; everything shines." Hinduism. Katha Upanishad 5.15; Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.10; Svetavatara Upanishad 6.14
"The holy Preceptor by the Word lighted a lamp; Thereby was shattered darkness of the temple of the self, And the unique chamber of jewels thrown open. Wonderstruck were we in extreme on beholding it--Its greatness beyond expression." Sikhism. Adi Granth, Bilaval, M.5, p. 821
"A sun in splendor, The revealed Brahman." Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 5.15-16
"I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the light comes from above, it enlightens my heart and I can see, for the Eye of my heart sees everything; and through this vision I can help my people. The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things, and through which we see Him. If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen." Native American Religions. Black Elk, Sioux Tradition
"Wherefore he who has crossed that boundary, and has realized the Self, if he is blind, ceases to be blind; if he is wounded, ceases to be wounded; if he is afflicted, ceases to be afflicted. When that boundary is crossed, night becomes day; for the world of Brahman is light itself." Hinduism. Chandogya Upanishad 4.1-2
