This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – Joshua 1:8
There is true value and riches in meditation. From a Christian perspective, meditation on the Word of God is a powerful practice in our daily lives. The word “meditate” comes from the same root as our word “medicine” – Meditation is a way to literally think ourselves to health. When we meditate on the scriptures we ponder on them, savoring them, ruminating and musing over every word, every jot and title, allowing them to speak to us, wash over us, transform us.
For the word of God [is] living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart – Hebrews 4:12
….be transformed by the renewing of your mind…. - Romans 12:2
The scriptures have the power to penetrate deep into our hearts and in that deep place they “discern”, they critique, our thoughts, ideas and concepts – aligning them with revealed truth and quickening these internal conversations of ours. From this place of inner health and healing there arises a gushing of life that bursts forth and manifests itself as a business idea, or a new ministry concept – a manifestation of a coming Kingdom being reflected from a deep well of treasure within.
I wrote this poem after I was scandalized by the number of illegal immigrants who needlessly drown every year trying to make the crossing of the Straits of Gibraltar into Spain, in search of a better future in Europe.
Another Body washed ashore.
Thousands die in a dark abyss
an ocean never satisfied
Driven by fear and hopes of bliss
no guidance from the qualified
They dream of a better tomorrow
they escape a ghoulish hell
An extra day they cannot borrow
another story they will not tell
A watery grave receives them
hordes of poor with hope deferred
When will we rise up and condemn
life discounted so absurd
How many more must die
how many more must perish
When will the rich ones try
their lives to save and cherish?
Enough tears of the orphan
enough of the widow’s mourn
I see their bodies often
floating lifeless ripped and torn
Thousands die in a dark abyss
no chance to have a dream
Something here is so amiss
for I no longer hear their scream.
The innovative use of seawater greenhouses combined with solar power could very well be used to turn parts of arid desert into fertile agricultural land. This would be a huge deal if this model can be replicated and scaled up across Sub-Saharan Africa! Just consider the possibilities for a moment:
The generation of employment in the agricultural sector will provide a much-needed boost for many of these economies.
The generation of employment in their homelands would serve to stem the flow of illegal immigration into Europe from this region – a tide that is tragically claiming thousands of lives every year as desperate people make the perilous crossing of the Straits of Gibraltar
The transformation of desert into blooming fertile land can secure a much-needed food supply for the increasing global population. This would help level-off the increase in commodity prices that hurt poor economies so much.
- As much seawater would be diverted into desert regions this could initially help to absorb some of the rising sea levels as a result of global warming, buying us some more time to come-up with more permanent (sustainable?) solutions.
More living and breathing greenery in general will help to remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere and replace it with oxygen.
The concept of solar mirror arrays, like the one seen outside Seville in Spain, as an alternative source of energy shows huge potential in providing energy whilst weaning us off dirty fuels. This has enormous geopolitical implications for the world community as well.
Now, why am I going on about this stuff on a blog that is supposed to explore issues relating to spirituality? Well, I think that this is a huge Kingdom issue!
The turning of a desert into a garden is one of God’s ways of blessing His creation – a reversal of the fall. We have already seen a modern prototype of this in the nation of Israel as a direct fulfillment of prophesy within scripture as they have successfully turned extremely arid and depleted land into agricultural land that is at the forefront in terms of innovation and development in this sector. They secured their own food supplies, and created surpluses for export under the most adverse climatic conditions. Israel is undoubtedly the renowned leader in developing new agricultural technologies. Isaiah 51: 3 reads, “For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.” - a prophetic “blueprint” that has been foreshadowed in Israel and will be replicated globally as God put this world to rights.
As Christians we have ignored the environment for too long, and have therefore forfeited our place in the bringing to fruition of solutions that bless the world – our Abrahamic mandate (“…And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”). Maybe we have focused so much on moralising that we have taken our eye off the stewardship of the world and its resources. Frankly, we should be at the vanguard of solutions that deal with the challenge of climate change – sadly, we are nowhere to be seen. The reasons for this are explored in part here, but really form the meat for another post.
OK so I’ve finished reading my four books on Richard Branson. Not only have I survived the ordeal, but I have also found it quite enjoyable and insightful. “Business the Richard Branson Way” offers an objective study into how this remarkable man has managed to build an infinitely elastic global brand that seems to defy the best of business literature on the subject. So far, something seems to be working.
This piece of work offers lessons, not only for the businessman or entrepreneur, but for anybody who is in any position of leadership. It is highly recommended. You will learn how the Branson brand:
Picks on Goliaths
Is in tune with the times
Haggles for everything and secures impressive outcomes from negotiations
Makes work fun
Stretches the brand infinitely
Leverages the power of media and news coverage
Inspires people and empowers them to draw out the best on them
I wrote the following letter to the Gibraltar Chronicle after they published a story that a man who was caught in Gibraltar distributing thousands of the most extreme images of child pronography was sentenced to only 18 months in prison, due to a “glaring gap in Gibraltar law” (!) :
Dear Sir,
NOTHING SHORT OF OUTRAGEOUS
It is nothing short of outrageous that in a society like ours a man convicted of a gross crime against the weakest of all should be sentenced to only 18 months in prison.
I am not well read in the intricacies of law, but common sense surely dictates that aiding and abetting a crime must carry the same degree of guilt as the crime itself. So for example, if I purchase and supply the gun that is subsequently used to commit murder, I must be as guilty as the person who pressed the trigger.
Most readers will agree that this man has been an accomplice to the kidnapping, prostitution, physical and sexual abuse of minors, and the human trafficking otherwise known as the sex slave trade. He must be as guilty as the perpetrators of these crimes. For this catalogue of offences, Mr. Klinkiewicz will spend 18 months behind bars.
In sentencing, Mr. Justice Dudley said that “unfortunately” it was not an offence to process these images in Gibraltar. I would not call this unfortunate, I would call it scandalous. That our judges do not already have the tools in place to deal decisively with these heinous crimes constitutes negligence at best. At worst it sends a signal that we are soft on a perversion of the darkest genre, and we send out an open invitation for the breeding, cultivation and perpetuation of this deviant exploitation of minors. Somebody, it seems, has been asleep at the switch. The legislation in question must be fast-tracked into law now.
I also propose, that after this man has enjoyed the comfort of Her Majesty’s hospitality for 18 months Government buy him a one-way ticket to a dubious destination far away from our shores.
The above video is a 45-minute documentary on the people of Gibraltar that very effectively describes Gibraltarians as a people and our very unique cultural and linguistic quirks and also tries to some extent to look into part of the political journey that Gibraltar has been through in its recent history. So when I start speaking gibberish with you and tell you that something is “Kicks por si pega” or “stay here a licquin doi” you may understand some of what I’m saying. hahaha! Enjoy.
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Business Stripped Bare, the third book on my Richard Branson reading palooza. Many of the examples used in this book are a rehashed version of material already found on his previous two books – even so, I would recommend this book to any aspiring entrepreneur. In-fact, read anything about this man that you can get your hands on. He has the knack that whenever he enters into a different market, he effectively "changes the rules of the game" within that industry. This is more than simply being innovative or creative – it is the innate ability to create a whole new paradigm within a business sector where others are just doing business as usual. There are very few companies that I can think of that have this ability, save for maybe Apple and Google.
His philosophy on business and money is some sort of enlightened capitalism. A real sense of responsibility comes through the pages where he is very conscious that those who have been blessed with success and wealth in life are under an obligation to help fix as much of this broken world as possible. Richard Branson really believes in the power of entrepreneurship in order to fix some of the world’s most intractable problems – This really strikes a chord with me. He also oozes charisma and energy (being known as "Dr. Yes" by some in his team). I only wish I could clone myself as him sometimes
The following is a little meditation of the power of the Easter story. I delivered these little “Pauses” for reflection on Radio Gibraltar and many people have shared with me how they were really blessed by them. If you get this via email or RSS please visit the blog here in order to load the audio. I hope that you will be encouraged by this short message.
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The following is a little meditation of the power of the Easter story. I delivered these little “Pauses” for reflection on Radio Gibraltar and many people have shared with me how they were really blessed by them. If you get this via email or RSS please visit the blog here in order to load the audio. I hope that you will be encouraged by this short message.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The following is a little meditation of the power of the Easter story. I delivered these little “Pauses” for reflection on Radio Gibraltar and many people have shared with me how they were really blessed by them. If you get this via email or RSS please visit the blog here in order to load the audio. I hope that you will be encouraged by this short message.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The following is a little meditation of the power of the Easter story. I delivered these little “Pauses” for reflection on Radio Gibraltar and many people have shared with me how they were really blessed by them. If you get this via email or RSS please visit the blog here in order to load the audio. I hope that you will be encouraged by this short message.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The following is a little meditation of the power of the Easter story. I delivered these little “Pauses” for reflection in Radio Gibraltar and many people have shared with me how they were really blessed by them. If you get this via email or RSS please visit the blog here in order to load the audio. I hope that you will be encouraged by this short message.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
photo credit: JustinLowery.com
