The Body of Christ - V

Bodies need rest too. Time is required for healing, for building up reserves and for gaining a renewed perspective. Sometimes, rest means to stop being active for a while. Sometimes, rest is not a cessation of activity, but a change of activity. In the US, we call this kind of rest a "vacation."

And a cessation of activity does not necessarily mean "a cessation of activity." Sleep is, for all purposes, a regular, voluntary cessation of activity. But research shows that sleep has cycles, involving varying degrees of activity. People progress through stages of less and less physical activity, until they reach a stage called "REM sleep." REM sleep is characterized by the least amount of physical activity, but also a sudden upsurge of mental activity. It is the stage when dreams happen. Scientists still don't fully understand dreams. A person seems somehow to process recent events while dreaming. Sometimes, scientists see more mental activity during REM sleep than when the person is awake.

People need the right kind of rest too. Restoration of some reserves, in the form of the manufacture of some hormones by the body, take place after 75-80% of the entire sleep cycle. (Meaning it occurs after 6-7 hours of continuous sleep.) So, if we don't get enough sleep, or we get interrupted sleep, these reserves are not manufactured, and it could be detrimental to our health over the long haul.

There are some similarities between physical and spiritual rest. Both provide healing and restoration. With spiritual rest, a person is removed from the "war." There is a release from stresses. There is a renewal of perspectives and expectations. It will bring peace.

Now, as one person put it, "sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap." There is a crossover between physical rest and spiritual rest. Sometimes, to get spiritual rest, we need physical rest.

But, there is also true spiritual rest. We discussed the spiritual disciplines as part of getting exercise. The disciplines can also be part of getting rest. They can challenge our thinking and force to change our world view -- thus forcing us to move, to become stronger, to change, to exercise. They can also uncover truths that comfort, encourage, heal and restore -- in other words, provide rest.

 

There are also spiritual "vacations." They go by various names. Conferences and retreats are the most common. There are also walks, camps, and connects to name a few. No matter the name, a person removes himself from normal concerns and impending crises to give himself exclusively to his relationship with God and, possibly, God's family. He takes the time to put the clutter of life in a box (no doubt, to pull it all out again at a later time) and to review, clarify and prioritize what is important in life. And this might not be done in an overt manner.

No sane person would consider going weeks without sleep. So, every child of God ought to provide opportunity for regular rest, and probably, include both varieties, 

The Body of Christ - IV

Bodies also need exercise. There is a video posted in several places on the internet called “23 and ½ hours.” It was produced by a doctor named Mike Evans, and describes “the single most important thing we can do for our health.” That is, it describes what modern research demonstrates to be the multitude of benefits of a daily half-hour of exercise. Human bodies were designed to move. And this is true spiritually as well as physically.

There are a number of activities that lead to spiritual health. Spiritual disciplines (prayer, worship, Scripture reading and meditation, etc.) have been encouraged by influential Christians for hundreds of years. And “discipline” describes a regular, consistent (maybe daily) practice of these things.

But disciplines, sermons, books, videos, podcasts, or any other form of communication used by God’s people currently are not for the accumulation of merit, knowledge or brownie points. God intends for this communication to change our world view. And, as a result, it should change our actions and lifestyles as well. If activity in keeping with God’s standards and character do not result from any form of “spiritual input,” it’s not worth the time, not God’s, not ours. If we spend time with God, or with God’s people, at the end of that time, we should be different. And not just different, more Christ-like. Then, we should be engaging in activity that overtly or privately expresses God’s nature. We should be engaging in activity that overtly or privately advances God’s purposes or mission. We should be engaging in activity that overtly or privately fulfills our special place or special function in God’s family.

And all this activity, not just the disciplines, advances God’s kingdom, and our personal growth.

The Body of Christ - III

Bodies also need to be fed. Food provide material to:

  - create energy for work and movement;

  - build, repair and improve.

Scripture refers to the Word of God as bread, or the most basic of foods. But, in order to receive any benefit, it has to be applied (fed) to our hearts. Scripture does not stand alone. The Spirit does not stand alone. The Spirit applies Scripture to our hearts.

In the same way, our bodies could have an iron deficiency, our spirits could have a deficiency. The Spirit applies different "nutrients" to our hearts. He applies encouragement, sometimes discipline, and always adjustments to our world view. We need to see the world with two world views, the ideal and the real. In other words, we should see the world as it should be working; and we need to see the world as it is really working. The Spirit teaches us, and we move our values, our expectations, our reactions, our goals and our desires away from what they are currently to what they should be. So, we move step by step to living in reality like Jesus.

I have heard people say they were going to leave one church for another, because they were not getting "fed."

It is important to be wise when joining a church. We are born into the family of God. But there are numerous "branches" of that family. Just as physical families are organized differently, these "branches" are also organized differently. Some take the roles of the Spirit and Scripture more -- or less -- seriously. Some are organized with mind-set more in keeping with clubs or businesses. And people have the right to choose which "branch" to belong. We should choose a "branch" that takes the roles of the Spirit and Scripture seriously, and gives strong priority to God's priorities, purposes and mission.

But no matter which "branch" we associate with, it is not responsible to "feed" us. Ultimate responsibility rests with God. It is the Spirit who creates the channel into our hearts, and initiates the flow of God's grace and love to us. It is the Spirit who knows our state, our needs, the nutrients that are best for us, and the best way to communicate with us, so that we hear his word to us.

Secondly, responsibility rests with us. Life, love and grace do not flow to our hearts unless we have focused our hearts on God. And no one can communicate with us, if we do not make ourselves available to listen. We need to set our hearts and our "ears" to receive from him ... or we will not be fed anywhere.

The Body of Christ - II

What does the body of Christ need? It is a "body" and bodies need certain things to survive, to grow and to flourish.

Bodies are living,breathing things. If something breathes, it needs "air." It is interesting to note that the word in the original language for "spirit" is "breath," including ths Spirit of God. (The breath of God.)

The first thing the body of Christ needs is the breath of God. It is the Spirit of God, who is the immanence of God. God is everywhere, but sometimes we do not experience his presence. Immanence is his presence that we do experience. It is the "right here-ness" of God. We focus our hearts on God, and he becomes immanent. He feeds our hearts. He is the channel of God's grace and love. He is our personal guide and teacher.

He is our connection to God. He is like a powerful generator, producing life and grace in our hearts. He is also like the wires, because he is the connection between us and the Source.

Scripture also says that he is like a down payment. When someone buys a house or a car, there is often a down payment. Money given to the seller by the buyer which says "I am really serious about this. I have to go get the rest of the money, but I am coming back." The Spirit is God's down payment to us saying that he is really serious about making us his family and returning to take us home with him.

And he is active. And we need him to be active in our lives. And it is possible to hinder the activity of the Spirit. The least we could do is stop focusing our hearts on God, and the Spirit will cease his flow -- and his activity -- in our lives.

We want the Spirit to be active. The more activity there is, then there are more hearts focused on God, God is more focused on his children, and there is a greater flow of grace into the world. There is a greater impact by God and his kingdom is restored more. His children live as they were designed more, with more love and more fruitful results.

A while ago, I wrote about a man ( Here ) who equated more Spirit with more of the miraculous. Now, I am not against the miraculous. In fact, more of the miraculous would be a good thing. But, my point before was the miraculous without love is not the miraculous. It is just card tricks with glitter. It has no substance and no worth.

The miraculous can be a sign of the Spirit's activity. But so can cooking a meal for a neighbor in need. And we can be more sure of the meal than we can of the miracle.

The Body of Christ

A couple of days ago, I was heading out the door, dropping someone off at their job and, then, going to mine. It was early in the morning and still dark. There are six steps going from our living room down to the front door, and some silly person left a pair of shoes on the steps. (Before we go too far, they were my shoes, I left them there, and, to make matters worse, I knew they were there. But, because it was dark, I couldn't see them.) So, I stepped on the shoes. My feet went one way; my body went another way; and I had an upclose and personal experience with the steps. Specifically, the ribs beneath my right shoulder blades. Fortunately, nothing is broken, but my ribs have been complaining a lot since then. They complain when I sit down. They complain when I stand up. They complain when I walk up or down stairs. They really complain when I lie down to sleep.

Is anyone surprised I have been thinking about the body a lot? Yes, I have been thinking about my body. Painkillers? Doctor? Improving? Bend over slowly.

It has caused me to think about the body of Christ too. The Bible says the family of God is like a body. We all are different parts. Some parts are generally more noticeable, for example the eyes, hands and mouth. Some parts usually stay in the background. (I tend to think of livers and kidneys at this point. But ribs stay in the background too. Especially, the part of the ribs in the back underneath the shoulder blades.)

Scripture goes onto say that it is the "in the background," unnoticed parts that are most necessary. I have never given much thought about my ribs ... until very recently. Now that they are not functioning at their "optimum," I am realizing how important they are. I can't perform most normal functions in a normal manner.

If you go to most churches, and ask people who the most important person in the church is, most will say it is the professional leader. He leads the Sunday meeting. He delivers the Sunday teaching.

Now, the professional pastor might be the most important person in the church, but it is not because he leads and teaches on a Sunday. That's like saying the CEO is the most important person in a company, because he sets the agenda for the monthly director's meeting. Or that the father is the most important person in a family, because he passes out the presents at Christmas.

A church is part of the family of God. And each local church is a microcosm of the entire family of God, even though each one has unique features. And holiday celebrations can be an important part of life in each family. But it is such a small part of life as a family.

If you are a follower of Jesus and you believe that attending the Sunday meeting is the ultimate or only expression of obeying Jesus you ought to be involved in, you are robbing yourself. If you say you are too busy to do anything else, Satan is robbing you blind.

God's Heart - II

There is another prayer mentioned in the letter I referred to in the last post. In this letter, Paul recognizes that these people have recently entered into God's family. They have recently started their relationship with God. There is a lot they need to know. There are a lot of adjustments they need to make. So, because he know "life" originates in the heart of people, he prays that God will teach these children of his, and that understanding and the basis of making right decisions would settle firmly as a foundation deep into their hearts.

Of course, he mentions some specifics. First, he prays for understanding of the Father. The gods of the Greeks and Romans were nothing like the One, True God. What pleases him is nothing like what pleased them. He is a God of holiness and a God of love. Both of these are qualities that God wishes his family to practice.

Second, he prays for understanding of what their hope is. They need to understand their destiny, their future. God's children are his inheritance. They will be his possession for eternity. There will be an eternal relationship of mutual love and enjoyment. The Father of All enjoys being with each of his children. He will enjoy being with them in eternity. And eternity starts now ... once a person chooses Jesus as his allegiance. So, God's enjoyment begins now. So, our destiny is not only being citizens of God's kingdom, restored and freed from the polluting effects of sin, but also a relationship of a loving father who delights to be with his children.

Third, he prays for understanding about the power he exercised in Jesus, and the power he can and does exercise in and for his family. For it is the same power.

The effect of God's power in Jesus was not just raising him from the dead. God placed him in the ruling position over the universe. He rules over every king, president and despot, from Obama, to Putin, to Xi Jinping, to Kim Jung-Un. And his family is his body.

I suppose a lot of speculation could be done about the effects of Jesus being in the preeminent position in the universe. (Eg. The presence of evil, the shape of politics and society, etc.) But what is written is that his family will be made full and complete. Jesus fills all things with himself. Which means, while Jesus' family will certainly fail, stumble, misread him and misrepresent him, they will also grow by being filled with his nature. Jesus' family will become more holy; Jesus' family will love more; and the world will see Jesus more and more in his family.

God's Heart

In the Bible, Paul writes a number of letters to different branches of God’s family. In these letters, Paul expresses his heart, and God’s heart, for these different groups … especially in his prayers. What I mean is, he tells these groups that he prays for them, and what he prays for. So, he is telling them what he believes God wants to do in their lives.

There is one prayer where Paul prays for four things. First, he prays that God might deposit his resources in all of their hearts, and, as a result, their hearts might be strengthened. So, God’s children might face any sort of trial with peace and joy.

Second, he prays that, as the resources flow into their hearts, and they see the fruit of the resources, their trust of Jesus would grow, which would result in Jesus abiding in their hearts more fully. And, as Jesus resides more fully, they begin to sink roots more and more into Jesus’ love.

Third, he prays that they might understand his love more.

Fourth, he prays that they might experience his love more.

And, as these things take place, the individuals will be made complete in the life and power that God gives.

So, God gives these people what they need, demonstrating his love. The people learn to trust Jesus more, but especially as the draw on Jesus’ love. Then, they understand that love more. Then, they experience that love more. Then, they mature, are healed, and experience life in abundance.

Is it only me, or does it seem to anyone else like there is a lot riding on God’s love?

Staying Connected to God - II

I realize that pointing out that God wants to speak to people, does speak to people far more often than we expect, and yet, maybe there is no sure way to determine whether he wishes to speak in a particular situation, does not give any help.

I also feel like I am on the edge of my understanding. I think the question I brought up in my last post is valid. Does God expect to have input in every situation? Does he expect us to mature to a point where we should be making our own decisions in some cases? And how do we determine when to seek him? Do we seek him for everything? It does say we should pray at all times, which seems to support a "yes" answer.

There are instances where we have been taught what is correct and proper to do. We should already know that if we are going to work, maybe we should be wearing black socks. And if we are going to play basketball, maybe we should be wearing white socks. And if you work construction, maybe white socks are appropriate in both cases. (Assuming we know whether or not we should even go to work.)

Often, we do know the right thing to do. But, just as often, we need to do something else ... instead of what we were taught. Or do what we were going to do ... plus something else. So, do we give God permission to interrupt us?

Sometimes, he does speak when we should know better. Like when we get cut off in traffic, we begin to get angry and maybe even begin to say some bad words. Even though we know that those actions are not good, we might just need a reminder sometimes.

But sometimes, there is no time. Do we hit the brakes, or swerve to the right?

We have all chosen a life that follows God. This means we have given God our allegiance. Our first priority is advancing his kingdom. Which means living in a certain way, often counter to what we were taught. It is a life that is more than following a set of rules. It involves a relationship; it involves quality of life; it involves a partnership. Walking and staying connected to him leads to that abundant life he talked about.

It is also about transformation. Abundant living means living in holiness, and living as we were designed to live. (And our idea of holiness is probably different than his idea of holiness.) He has shown us that, in order to get all this stuff working the way it is supposed to, we need to stay connected to him. We need to keep our hearts focused on him. We need to maintain as constant, and consistent communication with him as we can. Then, we need to follow what he tells us. And to be honest, we are all miserable at all of this.

Sometimes we don't want to. Sometimes we simply forget. Sometimes we are in a place that is noisy, and we can't tune into him; we can't get quiet in our hearts and centered in him.

This morning, in an attempt to move in the right direction. 

• I have given God permission to interrupt me, knowing full well I would miss it sometimes. 
• I resolved to seek him as often as I remembered. 
• Realizing that time and place were going to be factors, I was going to try and develop the habit of just praying "Please speak." Just those two words. God knows my heart. God knows my limits, my hopes and my desire to get him more involved.

It is probably not the best, but I do think it is a positive move forward.

Staying Connected to God

As Christians we don't get to live "normal" live. -- John Eldredge

I would think that the most obvious question at this point is: "what is normal?" And the most obvious answer would most likely be: "like everyone else." How are Christians not like everyone else? They walk with Jesus.

There are several ways we could explore this.

• The drive for happiness.
• Personal ambition vs. God's mission.
• Sacrificial love.

However, we will look at the context that the above quote was in. Which was the daily abiding in Christ, the moment by moment conversational relationship with God. One metaphor of this connection is a branch on a vine. It is this connection that provides life and the power to bear fruit. Another metaphor of this connection is a shepherd and his sheep. The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd, following him and his directions.

There are several passages of Scripture (don't stop praying; walk in the Spirit; abide in Christ) that give many people the feeling that walking with God is a continuous, stream of consciousness, moment by moment conversation with God, where his children get instructions for everything.

In my small group last week, we discussed this some. How is it supposed to look? How are we supposed to engage in it? (Caution! Facetious example ahead! "Good morning, Father. What a wonderful day you have given us. Please, I need to hear your voice this morning. Should I shower today? Should I go to work? Should I wear black socks or white socks? One of each! On my ears!")

Followers of Jesus live connected to the Father of All. He is trying to speak to us far more often than we realize. And we ought to be seeking him far more often than we do. And if we seek him, we ought to seriously obey what we hear. (Maybe that's why his family does not seek him more? What I don't know, I don't have to obey.)

In the context of the above quote, Eldredge cites someone saying that he wanted to just go to Hawaii for vacation, and he did not want to ask God about it.

• What do we understand about how God views our heart ... and our happiness?
• What do we understand about how God views growth, maturity and personal decision making? Does God trust us and expect us to grow to the point where we can make our own decisions about what color of socks to wear?
• Suppose you did ask God about your vacation, and he said "Don't go to Hawaii. Go camping at Shenandoah." Maybe you go to Hawaii anyway ...
• and you get to enjoy the lovely Class-5 cyclone.
• or you miss the inner healing from trauma you suffered as a child.
• or you miss the family from Lima, Peru, and God will need to find someone else to be a catalyst of revival through out South America.

We can play "what-if" games until the cows come home. But we do need to come to some type of understanding of when and how to seek God, to hear his voice, for direction. If someone cuts us off in traffic, we don't need to seek him as to whether we should be patient, or whether we should lose our temper.

Drawing Lines

I mentioned a while ago, about an actor who had gotten in trouble for some things he said. There is still a lot of noise going on about this incident. (And I am a little concerned about posting this, because I might get viewed as practicing what I am writing about … as in “practice what you preach.”)

I was looking at a blog aggregator, trying to see if there was a writer I would like to check out. It was a list of popular Christian bloggers and recent posts they had written. And one writer had a post about this particular person and incident. So, I took a peek.

The post was not so much a discussion of the incident, as it was a discussion about the reaction of a large part of the “Christian community.” These people felt the actor was being treated unfairly. The rationale goes like:

“Many others espouse an opinion that is unpopular, and it does not create such big waves. This person espouses an unpopular view, and an uproar ensues, because his view is based on his allegiance to Jesus, and what he believes pleases him.”

The writer’s point was (1) the actor did not understand nor characterize the people he was talking about in a way that Jesus would have talked about; and (2) since the “Christian community” seemed to be defending his actions, then the writer felt alienated from (not part of) the “Christian community.”

Moreover, the writer posted the thoughts of several other writers who said similar things. “Because they defended what this person did, I don’t feel like I am part of the Christian community, because …”

Now, I confess I did not read what these people were saying very closely. Mostly, it was because of the emotional impression I was getting. The feeling I got was that there was an us/them mind-set being created. (And, of course, I could be totally wrong about what went on these people’s hearts.)

Christians seem to be very good at drawing us/them lines. Protestants/Catholics. Evangelicals/Pentecostal-Charismatic/Mainline. Conservative/Liberal. Some of the line-drawing involves “Because you don’t believe/do this (or do believe/do this) you’re not really a follower of Jesus, or a member of his family. You have not really made Jesus your first allegiance.”

My concern here is the line-drawing. Some line-drawing is inevitable. Even Jesus drew some lines. Of course, his earnest desire was that everyone would be on his side of the line. But I don’t think people realize the seriousness God gives this. Most people realize that Jesus said that one of the ways people will know who the Jesus-followers are is that they have a genuine love for one another. What is less known is that Jesus said the unity of his family demonstrates that God truly sent Jesus. Francis Schaeffer, 30 years ago, took this one step further. He said when Jesus said this, he almost gave permission to people, who had no allegiance to him, to conclude that if there is no unity among Jesus’ family, then Jesus’ claims about his mission, about his work, and about God’s purposes are a pack of lies. Suddenly, drawing lines takes on a whole new significance.

There are going to be disagreements. Every family, every couple, has them. But we need to find a way to disagree, but not draw lines. We need to find a way where there is only an “us”.

Confidence of David

David composed songs. In some of the songs, he seems to review his life. He remembers his humble origins, the defeat of Goliath, hiding from Saul, being protected by God in those years, as well as being protected in the multiple wars and battles. He remembers his failures and sins. And he remembers his relationship with God.

There is one song that many have thought was a prophetic description of Jesus. He will be king, and rule over creation. But how did David interpret this song? He might agree with the scholars. But what if he goes through the past in his mind, and then, reflects on where God has placed him. He is King of Israel. And he has the favor of the King of Kings. The Lord of Creation stands like a shield, like an unassailable wall, between him and any opponent. God’s favor seems to mean that no other person, no other nation, can stand before him. He has a “I’m on top of the world! I’m better than the best, because God stands with me” attitude.

He seems to conclude that as long as he stands for God, and with God, that he will stand above anything that occurs. And as long as the other kingdoms ignore God, or do not submit to him, they are perched on very thin ice. Ready to slip at any moment. Ready to crash at any time.

As David was a man after God’s heart, perhaps he understood God’s heart better than most. And, as we seek to understand God’s heart, maybe we can develop the same confidence in God’s nature, favor, intentions and responses as David had.

The Spirit's Presence (Fruit)

God sent Jesus into the world (1) to reconcile us to him, and (2) to model how we are intended and designed to live. I have said in a couple of places that Scripture paints some pictures of what Jesus is like

.

Since, God is love, then the description of love, the traits of love, paint a picture of what Jesus is like. (Jesus is patient; Jesus is kind; etc.)

Since, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are both part of the God-head, then the description of what results occur when the Spirit is present, also occur when Jesus is present. (Jesus is love, joy, peace, etc.)

And since, Jesus is the model, the picture, of how people were designed to live, then people should follow Jesus' pattern. People should follow the the description of the traits of love and people should bring the results of the Spirit.

So, if our heart-focus is true, if we are connecting with God, and the grace and Spirit of God are flowing into our hearts, and therefore, into our lives, then the traits of love and the results of the Spirit ought to be flowing into the world, and be apparent in our lives. Yes, they will still be imperfect, but they will be real, authentic and -- as we persist and God's work continues -- growing.

What if the traits and results are blocked? What if, for example, we are not experiencing joy and peace? The obvious answer would seem to be that something is interfering with the flow from God. We have lost connection with the Spirit. Grace and love have been choked off.

A loss of patience, joy or peace ought to be a warning to us. (As well as a loss of any of the traits or results. A strong urge to go on a "bender" -- "bender" being defined as uncontrolled indulging in any addictive behavior --  ought to be an obvious example.) Spiritual warfare is, in large part, the enemy convincing us to break our connection with God.

Breaking our heart-focus, our connection, with God is the enemy's basic step in disrupting God's purposes in the world. There are obviously other more cognitive, more strategic types of disruptions. (For example, I am sure the enemy wanted to, and tried to, negate Billy Graham's influence. What if the enemy managed to convince Billy to engage in an adulterous relationship? And it went public?) But the disruption leads to a smaller flow from God, less grace moving from the hearts of Jesus' followers into the world,  and a weaker impact of God's family in the world. It is like there is an emotional, psychological and spiritual atmosphere built from what flows out of each person's heart. And a loss of connection with God means that this atmosphere becomes more what the enemy wants and less what God wants.

Not only should it be a warning that the enemy is attempting to disrupt God's purposes in the world, but he is also attempting to disrupt God's purposes for us. The world is broken; we are broken. It is the effects of sin that lead to this brokenness. It is the connection, the heart-focus, with God that allows the life of God to flow to us and to move our hearts and our lives towards being like Christ, and like our original design.

A loss of patience, joy, peace or other traits and\or results ought to cause a warning message to flash on in our brains: "Warning! Warning! Power source connection has failed! Take steps to re-establish the connection!"  And we might need to talk to an expert -- our Father, for example -- or consult a manual. And maybe, we already know the correct procedure.

The Spirit's Presence (Release)

First of all, notice the illustration at the bottom. Many use this diagram to represent the nature of a human being. Human beings are comprised of three parts: body, soul and spirit. The illustration does a pretty good job of showing the basic areas of a human being, and how they can be independent of one another. For example, the term "muscle memory" refers to a response so ingrained into a human body that it seems to by-pass human thinking. It also illustrates how people work from the inside out. Everything a person does is birthed in the spirit, moves into the soul and, then, out through the body.

It does not do a well-enough job with the inter-dependence of the main areas. For example, when a body is fatigued, the soul often gets grouchy. But, even if it is not entirely accurate, it is helpful.

Without Christ, the body and the soul are alive. The spirit, in one sense, is alive, because it is the animating force for the body and soul. But, in another sense, it is dead, because it is not connected to Christ.

Without Christ, a wall of sin grows at the division of soul and spirit. (There is no basis for this really. I am trying to build a picture that I hope is helpful in understanding the relationship between the Spirit, our spirits and the prevalence of sin still in God's family.) Without the influence of the Spirit, sin strengthens, grows, and reinforces this sin-wall. Whatever actions, words or impulses are birthed in our spirits need to filter through the sin-wall, and are polluted by it. Like a duck, that gets trapped in an oil spill, its body gets coated with the oil. It can't swim correctly; it can't fly correctly; it can't live as it was designed to live.

Now, the person receives Christ. God sends the Holy Spirit to mark the person, give the person life, connect the person to God and add the person into God's family. Connected to God, the person has life. As the person focuses his/her heart on God, God reciprocates the focus. Love, grace and life flow into the person's spirit and naturally begins to flow through the division of soul and spirit, into the soul ... and right through the sin-wall that's still there.

The person's God-filled life-essense flowing out into the world has just gotten dragged through the oil slick. It has been polluted and spoiled. The effect of God's life in his children has gotten messed up, so it can't have the same impact in the world, as if it flowed out pure and clean.

So, what does God do? He cleans up the oil slick. He smashes down the wall. As we walk with God, focus our hearts on God, grace, love and the Spirit flow into our hearts and begin an attack on this sin-wall. Sometimes it is an acetylene torch; sometimes it is a sledge hammer; sometimes it is a wrecking ball.

As these work, the wall gets thinner, less dense and more porous. What comes out of our spirits is less polluted. Sometimes, there is a crack or a hole, and what emerges is pure, unadulterated God. Of course, the reverse is true. We focus elsewhere, break God's word, and the sin-wall begins to grow and strengthen again.

All sorts of experiences and practices weaken the wall: prayer, reading and meditation, worship, service and using a special ability God gives individually and personally to each of his children. There are other experiences that can have an effect too: special meetings, conferences or God breaking through, meeting a need in a special way. The daily activities are similar to the torch, or hammer and chisel. The special events can sometimes act like dynamite or the wrecking ball.

The people I mentioned in the last post, who focused on particular actions and results, often (not always) emphasized these special experiences. As if only dynamite can break down a wall. But someone, with a spoon, patience, perseverance and diligence, can still dig through a wall. And maybe the spoon can weaken a strategic point and give the special event more impact.

• The man in the previous post seemed to say people did not have enough of the Spirit. Maybe all of the Spirit is in our spirit, but not enough of him is getting out.
• God works through all of life. Multiple experiences work to release God's Spirit in and thorugh our lives. The special and the every day. The main catalyst of this release is our heart-focus.
• To quote John Eldredge, "It's not what God is not giving, but what he is giving." He is always giving and always speaking to us. Quite often, we expect something else, and so we miss what he is doing. Pay attention. Focus your heart and receive what he sends, whether it is an earthquake or a whisper.

The Spirit's Presence

There was a man who connected God's Spirit, correctly, with God's power; and he connected God's power with signs and miracles. Since, A=B and B=C, then A=C. So, he concluded that the lack of signs and miracles meant that most people who called on God did not have the Spirit of God.

And he concluded that since people in the first church received the Spirit, and it was desireable to have the Spirit, there must be some way that people got it. After all, God did command his children to be filled with the Spirit. So, this resulted in a search for some means to invite the Holy Spirit to take up residence in a person's life with a good likelihood of success. Which, in turn, caused a large number of Christians to focus on a particular type of action, and a particular type of result, which became the main demonstration that the Spirit now filled the heart of a person.

I am not arguing against either the action or the result. I do have some concerns with the basic assumptions. (Maybe A != C. Maybe A+D = C.)

(1) It is written that the Spirit is the source of our power in God. We connect with God and his Spirit flows into our hearts; his presence brings power. But it is also written that God gives his Spirit to mark us as belonging to his family.

(2) If the Spirit is the mark of being in God's family, and in order to demonstrate the presence of God's Spirit in a person's life requires the "miraculous," then we are forced to exclude from God's family many people who have set their hearts, faith, hopes and allegiance -- as well as time, energy and resources -- on Jesus, his family and his purposes.

But Scripture testifies that if we give our hearts and allegiance to Jesus, he accepts us, justifies us and receives us into his family. He also marks us as part of his family by putting the Spirit into our hearts. By adding the "miraculous," we seem to be adding a condition that God does not add.

(3) By focusing on the "miraculous," we ignore other results that Scripture says should be obvious if the Spirit is in our lives. There is a reason they are called "the fruit of the Spirit."

(4) By focusing on the "miraculous," we scramble God's priorities. Love is God's first command. Love is the first fruit of the Spirit, or the first demonstration of God's Spirit in a person's life. Scripture says that the "miraculous" is temporary, but that love is eternal. Scripture says that without love, the "miraculous" is vanity and chasing after the wind. 

• So, A != C, there is a D somewhere that needs to be factored in.
• We are foolish if we overlook or attach too little importance to the "miraculous." But we are equally foolish if we attach too much importance to it.
• We need to have God's priorities, and give most of our time and energy to what he regards as important. (Maybe we are experiencing little of the mirculous, because we are expressing little love.)
• I have some ideas about the D factor that I hope to shared very soon.

Open, Available and Expectant

We have been discussing the heart-focus recently. We have described how important it is. How it is the basis for our connection to God. How it is the foundation for our relationship, for our enablement for love, service and evangelism. We have discussed disruptions, challenges and distractions. We have discussed prayer and blockages.

I belong to a small group of people, who try to meet regularly and consistently for prayer, for mutual encouragement, and, of course, for eating. We met recently, and the spiritual portion of the evening was: sharing what God was teaching each one, (there were eight of us, that night) and what was a spiritual goal for the upcoming year. What each one was learning was different, coming from different experiences and sources. But whatever we were learning, all of us were motivated to pursue greater intimacy, more abiding, or, to use the terms we have been using here, a stronger heart-focus toward and with God.

We found it remarkable that 100% of a group of people felt compelled to pursue the same goal.

I decided on a course of action, with several activities, that are intended to enable me to gain more understanding of my heart-focus, which should lead to practices resulting in a greater heart-focus.

I am also experiencing some difficulty connecting with God at this time. I am experiencing less heart-focus.

Since, heart-focus is the basis for spiritual power, this could be an attack from the enemy, seek to disrupt my relationship, my heart-focus, and, therefore, any fruit that may result.

Or, since it is Christmas, and there are a lot of distractions, this could be just me not handling the distractions well.

In the "Admin" part of this blog, there is a list of the most recently read posts. I noticed that someone had recently read a post called "Seeking God." In it, I described God's desire to communicate with us -- frequently, regularly, and consistently -- and how important it is for us to be open, available and expectant (OAE). If we are not OAE, it is like trying to listen to the radio without being tuned to a station. The "signal" just doesn't get through. Like with Christmas distractions, there might be interference.

Distractions can work in another way too. Sometimes, life can get too busy and we won't take the time to "tune" into the "signal" well enough. Even, important things -- or the desire to accomplish the important things -- can interfere with OAE. Time is required to temporarily release all other concerns and move into a place of OAE. We aim our hearts to God, and give him an opportunity to speak to us.

Then, I had a thought. What if I had got focused on accomplishing the activities that I was doing to strengthen my heart-focus, that I neglected to cultivate any OAE. In other words, while trying to strengthen my heart-focus, I was failing to exercize my heart-focus.

Hear-Focus (Prayer)

God knows our hearts, our intentions and our plans. He knows our circumstances. He knows our intentions for us.

So, why pray? A large part of prayer seems to be beseeching God to do things he already knows about, convincing him of the wisdom and benefit of doing these things, and -- if you are really spiritual -- how good he will look in the eyes of the world. Doesn't this seem a little bit like putting the cart before the horse? Isn't God aware of all this long before we are? Prayer seems, in some ways, like a waste of time. Yet, it is God who recommends this practice. Doesn't the Bible say to ALWAYS pray?

Prayer is NOT for God's benefit. He is completely self-sustaining, completely independent. He does not need convincing to act in love, because he is love. He does not need convincing to right wrongs, to demonstrate his glory, or to advance his kingdom. All of these things agree with his purposes, and agree with his work of redemption and restoration.

Prayer is for us, his children, his kingdom, and his family. Prayer is focusing our hearts on God, receiving grace and receiving transformation. We are put into a new place, so we agree with God's heart, accept God's purposes, work toward God's ends, and complete our purpose in his kingdom. Prayer gets our heart in sync with God's heart.

Spiritual Fads

It seems like there is always something "hot" that the Christian community is engaged with. Currently, there is a large amount of noise about something a particular actor, who is a follower of Jesus, said about the gay community. Now, he is in trouble with the people who sponsor him, and the Christian community is yelling "Terrible! Terrible! Terrible!" (Read: He expresses what he believes in, and he is a terrible person; other people express what they believe in, and that's OK. Can you say "double standard?")

I obviously have some thoughts of my own ... or else, why would I be bringing it up.

(1) I have not read the gentlemen's comments. But, if you read the Bible, you know that God has certain standards about how we are supposed to speak about others. Did he step over the line?

(2) Also, if you read the Bible, you know God does not exactly approve of the gay lifestyle. And, as followers of Jesus, we ought to think what Jesus thinks, feel what Jesus feels, approve what Jesus approves, and do what Jesus does.

(3) There is an awful lot of breath expended in the Christian community about gay issues. Given the amount of breath and energy given, one would think this is the most vital issue of the age. What did Jesus say was the greatest command. It was NOT "thou shalt not engage in gay activities." The greatest command is to love God, and the second is to love people. Yes, it is sin to engage in gay activitiy. It is also sin not to love. Which means it is sin to be impatient, unkind, envious and to hold grudges.

Does it not seem wiser, better and more effective to put first things first? Maybe we ought to focus on first things -- the things Jesus said were most important -- until we get them right, and then go onto lesser matters. Or can we, at least, give equal breath to the first things as we do the lesser things?

Heart Focus (Challenges)

The result of a life in relationship with God is a life with a heart growing in focus on God. When your heart is focused on God, God reciprocates and focuses his heart on you. The result is his love, grace and Spirit flow into you heart. Your heart is purified. Your character is refined. You are empowered. And all of it happens from the inside out.

But God continues to test and challenge us. The point of his work in our lives is to refine our focus, to convince us of our need for him in relationship, and to build in us a heart for him.

Many people tend to think of challenges as adverse circumstances. And they can be. But positive or good things can be as well.

If we are in the midst of good things and god times, we can have elevated and incorrect thoughts about ourselves. We can say to ourselves, "I'm doing all right. I am being rewarded for all my work." And the result is -- your heart-focus is on you, your position, your work, and your heart-focus is not on God.

Success or fame can break your relationship with God. It can sever the connection between your heart and God's heart, stopping the work going on.

Failure, bad things and bad times can equally test our connection and heart-focus. In this case, we say "I'm a failure. A jerk. I'm not work anything." We doubt God's love. We doubt God's intentions. We focus on ourselves.

Failure or guilt can break your relationship with God. It can sever the connection between your heart and God's heart, stopping the work going on.

At the center of our lives as followers of Jesus is a relationship with God, and maintaining our heart-focus on him. All of life's circumstances are opportunities to enhance our heart-focus or to damage our heart-focus. Each circumstance has a different effect, and therefore, a different lesson on how to maintain our relationship and heart-focus with God.

Heart Focus (Distractions)

We often have foreign students living with us. They are either attending the local university or studying English in preparation for attending the local university. 

Currently, we have a student from China. And his father recently decided to visit the US. He has friends in San Francisco, relatives in Boston, and a son elsewhere on the east coast. They will return to China next week. (After the son will return to the US after winter break.) 

The father will be staying with us for a couple of weeks. He speaks little English, and the son attends classes Monday through Friday. Because communication is difficult, the normal means of expressing hospitality are very limited. His son translates and there are apps on the internet. But TV, normal conversation and asking questions are pretty much out of the question. And there are some transportation issues. Realizing this is not an earth shaking predicament, it does add up to a slight increase in stress. 

I believe people live from their heart, from their inner core, from the inside out. Jesus said that what they put in their heart automatically comes out of their mouth and in their actions. This is the normal way people work. But what happens on the outside does affect the heart. 

I have noticed that the ability to focus my heart -- to reflect, pray and meditate -- has been blocked somewhat. It could be the visit, the season, (the effects of too much turkey) or one of those bio-rhythm things. With a diminishing of my heart-focus, one would expect a diminishing of God's reciprocating heart-focus, an therefore, a lessening of grace, and the flow of God's Spirit getting blocked somewhat. 

One would also expect a decrease in appropriate behavior. Now, I haven't lost my temper. I haven't gone on a "bender" of one sort or another. But I have noticed a "tremor in the Force." A small loss of peace. (Or a small gain in anxiety. A stranger in the house? Too much turkey? The BCS standings?) But there is a definite sense that I am not functioning at 100%. And there is a definite sense that, at least in part, it is a result of a heart-focus that is not optimal. 

If what we have been discussing lately, the heart-focus being the conduit of God's grace, and the flow of the Spirit into our lives, and if, as followers of Jesus, we live by that flow of grace and the Spirit, then disruptions of that flow are serious. Then, anything that causes a distraction to that heart-focus is serious. 

One could say that our primary weapon is achieving God's purposes, growth or restoring God's kingdom is our heart-focus. It connects us to God, to grace and to God's Spirit, which are our primary resources in achieving the things mentioned above. Then, it would not be too much of a stretch to conclude that Satan's primary objective in spiritual warfare is to disrupt our heart-focus, and to cut us off from our primary resources. Anything that disrupts our heart-focus can be an attack from the enemy. (I would not get too hyper about this. All he needs to do in many cases is just let life work. Living is distracting all on its own.) Areas of sin, areas of every day life (politics, school, work) and even areas associated with righteousness (family, church) can become an artillery barrage to our heart-focus. 

NOTE: I am beginning to wonder if what we are calling our heart-focus is what Jesus meant by "abide in me." 

NOTE: I just finished a historical novel about the battle of Vicksburg during the Civil War. The deciding factors in the battle were (a) the Confederate army was cut off from their resources (food, ammunition and clean water) and (b) the Union army was well-supplied in all of the above. Demonstrating how vital maintaining connections to resources in war is.

Something New

Jesus was talking about following religious practices with some people. He told them that at different times, we need to adjust our practices. Like when God reveals something new to us.

He used two metaphors to illustrate this. The first was patching a hole in an old piece of clothing with new material. If one sews a patch on an old item of clothing, when it is washed, the patch will shrink, pull on the old fabric, weaken it, and, eventually, create a bigger hole.

The second was putting new wine into old leather skins. Fermentation causes gas to form. The gas will stretch the leather skin. New skins will stretch; old skins will not. Stretching the old skins will cause them to burst. Ruining the skins and the wine.

Pretty often, I read, hear or see some Christian announce that God is going to do something new. He will reveal himself differently. He will reveal his purposes in a new way. If these proclamations are true, then, according to Jesus, should we not be making adjustments in our practices? Should we not be acting differently?

(I have heard that old leather can be treated in a way that it will regain its suppleness and elasticity. But doesn't that mean someone has to do something different?)

The basic form of doing church has been set for hundreds of years. There have been some changes. The music is different. Many churches no longer use special robes. People still meet in special buildings. They are still led by professionals. The focus still is on the weekly meeting. Most people are still spectators. There is a fixed time of singing and prayer. Then, someone gives a speech. 

I do not mean to suggest that any of these things are bad or evil somehow. But, if God is doing something new, then we need to do something new.