Love and Unity

There was a brief story I read, where a the writer describes a conservation with a woman. The woman and her family had decided to leave the church they were attending, because they did not feel they agreed with the vision the church had.

The writer recognized that shared vision was important. But he used to story to illustrate something he thought was more important: love and unity.

First, we do need to recognize that in God's kingdom, love is #1. To love God is the first command. First in importance. First in priority. First in practice. Loving people is the second command. Moreover, Jesus gives the two an equivalency. Jesus said, if we serve someone, motivated by love, then we serve him, motivated by love.

Then, love is a primary way that members of his family demonstrate that they follow him. And unity is a primary way that members of his family demonstrate love.

I don't think people realize how serious Jesus took unity. Scripture records one of Jesus' prayers. In it, he prays that, not only will his family be united, but that they will be united with the same intensity, the love, the same completeness as the Father, the Son and the Spirit. And if they are united, it demonstrates the truth, that God sent Jesus into the world.

What if there is no unity? Does it demonstrate that God did not send Jesus? I know of one person, who says God gives the unsaved permission, based on this portion of Scripture, to say that the Father did not send the Son.

Unity takes on a much, much bigger meaning, when seen in this context.

God's Heart - IIb

Paul begins by explaining God’s plan for the restoration of his kingdom. It will be a kingdom built out of all peoples, created into one new people, founded on his values nad priorities. Each person will choose his allegiance to the Father as king. Each person’s heart will be transformed, which will flow into the words and deeds, which will flow into a transformation of society and culture.

As I said before, he explains further how when he considers this plan, he is motivated to pray. (And we discussed the prayer somewhat.) Then, because of the size, scope and nature of this plan, he starts explaining what sort of lives – every day words and deeds; habits and practices – people need to have to bring this kingdom to actuality.

So, what does he say?

• Produce a powerful campaign to communicate the gospel across the world? Mail, radio, TV, internet, door-to-door? 
• Build large institutions to impact society in every segment? Media, education, government, and entertainment? Hospitals, universities, and churches? Mobilize lots of people? Economies of scale? 
• Develop goals and objectives for five, ten and twenty years? Marketing? Research? Packaging?

These seem like things that the world would do, and does do, to move society and culture to fit the mold it has. What did Paul say?

Paul said … focus on relationships. Focus on maintaining love and peace with each other. Be Jesus to one another. Love one another. And he goes on to try and illustrate what that might look like for men, women, children, married, parents, workers and management.

There is a revolution coming, but it coming on the basis of relationship – relationship with God and relationship with people.

God's Heart - IIa

We recently considered a couple of Paul’s prayers. I would like to return to one of these prayers. Paul said, that when he considered what he knew of God’s plans and purposes, it moved him to pray. It was so big, and so dependent on people, and so different that what people expected.

So, he prayed for people’s hearts to be strengthened. People will need to make decisions that involve things that are foreign to them, that take them out of their comfort zone. We now that; we talk about that; do that is another thing altogether.

He prayed that Christ makes his home in our hearts. It is in our hearts that Jesus changes our spiritual DNA. He changes our motivations, our values, and our priorities. It is important in this process that Jesus live there, not just come for a visit each week.

He prayed that we establish root in God’s love. There are many people who try to follow God from some sort of duty, some sort of “ought to.” Duty/obligation/ought will only take people so far. Look how far Jesus’ love took him.

And he prayed that we will understand the immensity of God’s love. There is no unit of love, but we all have a sense of degrees of love. So, we need to realize how sold out God is for us. Too many of God’s family do not realize the extent that God is willing to go for them, so they are unwilling to step out for him.

And he prays we would experience that love. It is one thing to feel the “warm fuzzies” of God’s love. I am not going to argue against them. I am going to remind us that we are people. And when we are faced with the cold, hard facts of life, the “warm fuzzies” quickly vanish. However, God is real and personal; he has given, is giving and will give hot factual evidence of his love. We have all experienced those facts. Sometimes from God’s hand personally. Sometimes through his body, who are also his family. We need to hang onto these.

One story, we like to tell happened shortly after we were married. Like all newlyweds, we had little money, and I wasn't working. It was a lot like today. Jobs were scarce. And in the midst of these money problems, we were anti-burgled. When you get burgled, someone sneaks into your house, and steals your stuff. When you are anti-burgled, someone sneaks into your house and leaves you stuff. In our case, it was about $200 worth of groceries. That's a lot of groceries nowadays. Back 30 years ago, it was more than a lot of groceries. And we continue to be grateful that God took time to let someone know about our need, and how they could fill it, many years later.

And he prayed for us to become complete. God transforms us, heals us, feeds us and strengthens us, so we are mature. Mature does not mean there is no more room for growth. It does mean we have made progress in thinking, speaking and acting like Jesus. Our motives, values and priorities are more like Jesus. And so, we are in a better position to be an asset, while God completes his plan.

Grace and Obedience

Why does it seem sometimes that we hear God speak to us all the time about all sorts of amazing things, and, at other times, the heavens seem to be as silent as a tomb?

Or, asking a similar question, why does it seem sometimes that obeying, glorifying and loving God is so easy and so joyous (we bear so much fruit that it pops the tires on the truck ... provided you are one of those people who put their fruit on a truck, rather than, for example, a rail car) and, at other times, it seems like the only thing you can do is give into temptation, fail, sin and spend lots of time in self-flagellation? Followed by the speculation of why. Sin? Out of sync? Not following the right formula of spiritual discipline? Followed by the solutions, which usually involve resolutions to pray more, read more, obey more and sin less. In other words, we are going to "try harder."

"Try harder" is not a bad thing. Often, discipline, diligence, perseverance and patience are what is needed for success. (Much better than simply quitting.) But is it always the case? Sometmes, we need to work smarter, not harder.

Often, people become motivated to seek a right relationship with God. They say, "I need to stop doing bad things. I need to start doing good things. Then, God will be pleased with me, and I will have peace with him." If you are a follower of Jesus, you call that foolish. We already know that no one can do enough to ransom his soul. Jesus died to provide forgiveness, justification, redemption, and a new life of abundance. To receive those things, we need to trust God and accept his gift. But to live the new life, we need to try harder.

We are undergoing a process of transformation. The process begins in our hearts. God works to change our motivations, values and perspectives. Some of us can barely change our eating habits. How do we even begin to get at our motivations?

We have been talking recently about focusing our hearts on God, God focusing his heart on us, and starting a flow of grace into our hearts, which transforms our spiritual DNA. We are saved by grace. Maybe we grow by grace.

This may make it sound like I think obedience is not important. I do think the heart is first. One, because we can sin or obey God in our hearts without doing or saying anything. Two, it is our words and actions that reveal what is in our hearts. Three, they are our entry point into the world. They are the way we bring the God, who is in our hearts, to the world to demonstrate his love and character.

New Life

Often people see themselves as bad. And they are bad. They did follow Satan. They were God's enemies.

But God sent Jesus.

God's family celebrate Jesus' coming. They celebrate Jesus' death and the right standing with God that it brought us. It is right for us to celebrate this. It is right to celebrate God's mercy. It is right to celebrate God's love. It is right to celebrate God's justice being satisfied at the cross.

But Jesus did more than just die. He rose.

Scripture says that when Jesus died, we died with him. We were buried with him. And we rose with him.

Obviously, we don't have nail holes in our hands. We weren't wrapped in burial clothes. We weren't laid in a tomb. And on the third day, we didn't help roll away the stone. But there are some places in Scripture where the writer seems to be saying that we were. Metaphorical? Metaphysical?

Is the writer trying to point out that there is a reality beyond a judicial pronouncement?

It is one thing to be arrested, go to trial, be pronounced guilty ... but your sentence has already been served, and not by you. It is another to be merged with another person, and to receive all the good he receives.

This judicial pronouncement that our punishment has been, not forgotten, no excused, but satisfied explains why we are free, citizens of God's kingdom, and members of God's family. But it does not explain changes in attitudes, values, goals, practices and pursuits. It doesn't explain changes in motivation.

It is almost like there has been a DNA transplant. Now, as the cell with the new DNA begins to multiply, a new person is being creted, step by step, cell by cell.

The Body of Christ - IVa

I want to take another look at exercise. If exercise is necessary to the health of a body, is the current day church getting enough?

I previously defined exercise as practicing the spiritual disciplines and practicing the special function God gives to each of his children individually. We could also include basic obedience to God's commands and involvement in God's mission.

The spiritual disciplines can be regarded as exercise that involves God and a single person. Although some practices can be done as a group, most are considered a private, solitary activity. Practicing the special function or missional activity must necessarily involve other people. Both could involve partners or "objects" of service. And Scripture indicates that his children should be involved in all avenues of exercise. 

Since, the focus of most current day churches is participation in the weekly meeting, and the meetings are structured for a few to get lots of exercise and most to get little, one could conclude that the current day church is not getting enough exercise and its spiritual muscles are flabby. (Worship is a part of spiritual discipline. Churches do, and need to, practice it. And I do not want to seem to be denigrating it in any way. But if it is the only exercise one gets, it is like only doing dead-lifts. A person is not doing any work to build up the arms or the core, not to mention cardio.)

In current day churches, the primary focus of the weekly meeting is a lecture on a Biblical topic. It was not until the 8th century that such lectures became a regular part of the meeting. During the historical era when scholars believe the gospel of Jesus had greatest effect, God's family did not follow this practice. Now, some would be offended if a church did not follow this practice. In many places, the success\failure of a church is judged by the success\failure of this practice. One of the special abilities God gives is teaching. So, I doubt a spiritual lecture per se is wrong. But if a spiritual lecture is the only teaching being done, is there enough exercise? All teaching is not the same. There are different subjects. There are different contexts. Some believe there is a different grace given to coincide with each subject and context. (Special grace given to teach two-year olds?) So, I am still asking if current day churches provide sufficient exercise. And we are considering just one special ability God gives. There are others. Nor have we considered missional activity.

Is it one of the functions of church leadership to discern the best fit for a particular person and ability? Or is the area too complex and the nuances too subtle for anyone except God to understand? So, each child needs to be ready and alert for God's direction? Or to initiate seeking God's direction? The body of Christ, the family of God, is a living, breathing, growing thing. It consists of many parts, each with its own function. There is no part that does not have a function. There is no part that just sits. Scripture says the Holy Spirit places each part. The Holy Spirit places each part into its individual context. So, it is strategic, and necessary, within its web or relationships and within its context of life.

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.