Wednesday, October 12, 2016

I am the Vine - 2

I recognize that I have coined a few terms. I am not saying that these terms are used universally. Rather I have described certain ideas that I have been thinking about, often using the same or similar words. This similarity has evolved into a verbal "formula," which I have continued to use.

So, here is a first. I am going to intentionally, formally recognize one of these terms. We have hinted at the term "spiritual check-in" in past posts. (Which will probably, but unintentionally, get shortened to just check-in, sometime in the future.)

A "spiritual check-in" is "an intentional, but short, focusing and opening of a person's heart, in a spirit of worship and prayer, allowing God's love, Spirit and grace flow into needed areas in our lives; often with actual prayer, prayer, and active listening."

When considering "I am the vine," we saw how life flows into a person's heart in relation to his connection to Jesus. Since, one's connection is constituted by one's heart focus, and a human being can only maintain 100% focus for discrete periods of time, we need to develop something like a spiritual check-in to maintain our connection.

For the same reason, a spiritual check-in is needed to produce fruit. Connection allows the flow of God's love and grace to fill a person's heart. When people allow that love and grace to flow out, into, and affect the world, then God begins restoring his kingdom, step by step. God's life, love and grace are the essential ingredients in bringing about God's revolution. It is the connection of God to his people that will communicate that life to the world. Consistent worship and prayer are vital to this process for other reasons, as well as maintaining the connection. Spiritual check-ins are also vital for maintaining moment by moment connection. They will bring spiritual healing, restoration, and transformation.

But they may not necessarily produce fruit. Spiritual life, received through worship, prayer, and spiritual check-ins, need to be released into the world. Love, and the message of the gospel, both need to be shared abundantly. Which means God's family needs to rub off on, leak into, and "pollute" the world. Which makes spiritual check-ins more important, as God's children will need to continually replenish, so that they can continually leak.

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