A-post-a-day #4. Yes,but God said it first.

Recently, I have been noticing how so many new, trendy-type things are actually rooted in basic Christian theology.  A few that come to mind are:

The Ted Talks video about The Art of Asking. Done by a woman in a music niche pretty much all by herself, and the idea presented as though never thought of by anybody before, ever.

                   Except here -- You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:2-3

                    And here: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7

                   Oh and don't forget Matthew 21:22:  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

                    Or -- If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5


 Oh I know it is necessary to have right motives and all that jazz, but I am just pointing out the original thinker-upper of the asking principle.


Another principal is mindfulness. Associated with Buddhism and specifically writings by  Thich Nhat Hanh, I can't help but think that being present in a certain moment, or a certain day, is something God recommended to us from the start.

This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us be glad and rejoice therein. Psalm 188:34

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31

And the account of the still, small voice in 1Kings 19:11-13
¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
 

And most of all : Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Being still, meditating, being mindful of what some would call their inner voice,  I would call the voice of God, (this being a conscious direction of our own will. If a person deliberately refuses to seek the voice of God, then He will not impose Himself, yet he does pursue all of us with love, patience, persistence and faithfulness. but all it requires is the asking, again. Matthew 7:7).

I don't think we are the creators of the peace within, but we are able to find the place of peace and serenity each moment if we direct our hearts to Him.

I said it poorly. But basically, to sum up--

 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.  Revelation 22:13

 http://copiosa.org/four_last_things/time_eternity.htm