Today my reading in the prayer challenge book is about abiding. He writes a lot about abiding in the word of God.
A few things I underlined:
"Come follow me...meant taking the Rabbi's yoke...the yoke represented the sum total of the Rabbi's philosophy and practice. It meant spending every waking moment with him."
If we are disciples of Jesus, that means we "follow" him. It means we take on the total of Jesus' philosophy and practice-spending every waking hour with him.
But, we want to just take a quick glance at his life - maybe on a Sunday when someone teaches from the bible. Maybe a quick bible verse or chapter here and there.
And we want to ask him to follow us....so we can turn around and check in whenever it's convenient and we want to blame him when prayers aren't answered or life sucks.
But, all the while, we aren't following him. Because, it costs us everything. We have to let go of our life and surrender. We don't want to do that. That's radical. Crazy really.
So, we call ourselves disciples, followers, believers...but do we even know what that means?
We look at Jesus' life, maybe read the gospels that show us his "philosophy and practice" while living among us. And we marvel at the way he lived! We marvel at the way he upended the religious and led a revolution of selfless grace and compassion. He was so beautiful. Love in the flesh.
But he was radical!
So we may marvel, but we don't really follow.
He didn't have a home or possessions. He didn't have a wife and kids, a stable job with a plan for retirement and college savings plans. He didn't justify ANY violence, but instead said "love your enemies". He forgave his enemies while he was being tortured to death. He didn't spend any time with people in powerful, influential positions, but he was always with the people who were considered lower, less than, unworthy, unimportant, not powerful. He wasn't trying to convince the government to change, but was starting a grass roots revolution of radical love that was founded on putting others before himself. A servant expecting nothing in return.
We marvel at this.
Wow, Jesus was amazing!
But we don't really follow.
If follow means "taking on the total of Jesus' philosophy and practice", then we usually find ourselves learning from, admiring, and pondering - but rarely actually following.
Yet, we know that our joy can be complete if we follow. But, it's too hard. We have too much we do not want to surrender and let go of.
I guess what's weird is that we don't surrender and follow, but we hold on to our own plans, our idols, and our fear. But then we wonder why Jesus isn't rescuing us, or we say "I don't hear from God - that just happened back in the time the bible was written." Or we blame God for everything. Yet, do we even know him? Do we know His character? Have we trusted His goodness? Or have we tried to learn a little bit from Jesus' life, all the while holding on tightly to our own?
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Monday, March 11, 2019
Miracles, Forgiveness and Buddhism?
Reading Acts 14:1-7
What jumped out at me was verse 3 "So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders."
Really? How cool is that? Must be nice, aye? They tell people about the power of the risen Christ and then they do some miracles so they have some street cred.
If that's how God works, I should assume that's still possible. But, we don't believe it ourselves, so we wouldn't trust enough to ask for miracles.
When did that get so lost? So many of us simply "believe in God" and consider all of the bible stuff ancient history.
But Paul enters the story at the same point we do. So, where did his power come from? Same as ours. The power given by the holy spirit.
But I don't live as if that power is real. I'm skeptical, maybe even cynical. Yet, if I reflect, I've seen so many miracles!
So many lives transformed, redeemed, rescued, changed, lifted out of darkness.
That's probably why I like the book 'The Hiding Place" so much. Corrie Ten Boom talks about so many instances where she just had supernatural understanding, knowledge, protection, direction, power, strength, and ability.
But, did it protect her from suffering? Not at all!
She lost everything!
She lost her dignity, health, home, safety, and her loved ones. They were killed. They weren't protected. The miracles were not always the ones she desperately pleaded for. But, somehow, she continued to put her faith and TRUST in God!
And he led her to heal so many from the trauma of the war and the holocaust. She could not have been open to any of that had she simply looked at her own loss and pain and blamed it on God.
How in the world was she so strong?
That's true freedom.
Living in acceptance of the reality of the deep pain, yet being open to the continued possibility that God is good, can be trusted, and will guide her.
Oh, her story about forgiving that guard! She had absolutely no reason to forgive. She had no desire either. Everything in her held on and wanted to hate him. She couldn't even make herself want to forgive. But, she just asked the holy spirit to help her. And, she reached out her hand to shake his - and it was electric. The surge of the love of God went through her and literally gave her the supernatural power to love that unlovable person. She couldn't do it, but God could! And, although she resisted because she couldn't imagine letting this guy off the hook for all of the torment and torture, it was her own heart that was set free. She had never before experienced that depth of love. She let go of the hatred, blame, anger, and score card. She forgave. And it set her free!
Oh, that's the freedom we deeply desire! But it really is supernatural. We can't do it. Our minds and hearts hold on to grudges, hurts, and fear. How can we forgive? It seems to give permission to be hurt again! Often we just can't cognitively get to a place of forgiveness. But, I personally want the freedom of letting go of offense. I want the supernatural love that flows from a spirit that can't hate or fear.
It doesn't erase past suffering. It doesn't promise a future without suffering. But it releases the current suffering that tortures the soul while holding on to hate, fear and blame. That just suffocates. I want deep breaths of life. That can only come through a spirit of love. It just doesn't flow through a spirit of hate. Hate turns to bitterness. It feeds off negative. It searches for wrongs and injustices.
I won't ignore wrongs and injustices or pretend they don't exist. But I pray and hope that I can live a life of forgiveness and a flow of supernatural, miraculous love that is free to experience joy even when there's crap that is cruel, unfair, and hate-filled. I want to choose to acknowledge it, but not let it take over.
I've been listening to a podcast series about Buddhism. And it's interesting that this is the foundation of the Buddhist practice. The four noble truths. The first is that life brings suffering. The second is that being attached leads to suffering. The last two are about the path to the cessation of suffering.
To me, it's simply another way to travel the path of forgiveness I'm talking about.
Life isn't fair. It's in a constant state of change. Death and birth. When we grasp on to something that isn't fair, our suffering intensifies. We can choose to stay in that grasping, clinging place - wishing things weren't the way they are. Or we can find a way to release that grasp.
God wants to give us his supernatural power to let go. To release our grasp. To forgive. But, we fear, and we grasp. And, according to the four pillars, this grasping is what leads to so much suffering.
No matter how tightly I grasp on to the truth that something isn't fair, isn't right, is painful, I can't change it. But, I don't think we can always let go on our own. Sometimes it's a surrender to a power greater than ourselves. And, that's a miracle!
There are miraculous healings happening all around us - where people are set free from their suffering, released from their torment of hatred towards themselves or others, unburied from a suffocating weight of regret, blame or fear.
I've witnessed these miracles. It's more beautiful that anything I can imagine. There's such power evident. It gives my faith a jump start - a renewed energy.
What jumped out at me was verse 3 "So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders."
Really? How cool is that? Must be nice, aye? They tell people about the power of the risen Christ and then they do some miracles so they have some street cred.
If that's how God works, I should assume that's still possible. But, we don't believe it ourselves, so we wouldn't trust enough to ask for miracles.
When did that get so lost? So many of us simply "believe in God" and consider all of the bible stuff ancient history.
But Paul enters the story at the same point we do. So, where did his power come from? Same as ours. The power given by the holy spirit.
But I don't live as if that power is real. I'm skeptical, maybe even cynical. Yet, if I reflect, I've seen so many miracles!
So many lives transformed, redeemed, rescued, changed, lifted out of darkness.
That's probably why I like the book 'The Hiding Place" so much. Corrie Ten Boom talks about so many instances where she just had supernatural understanding, knowledge, protection, direction, power, strength, and ability.
But, did it protect her from suffering? Not at all!
She lost everything!
She lost her dignity, health, home, safety, and her loved ones. They were killed. They weren't protected. The miracles were not always the ones she desperately pleaded for. But, somehow, she continued to put her faith and TRUST in God!
And he led her to heal so many from the trauma of the war and the holocaust. She could not have been open to any of that had she simply looked at her own loss and pain and blamed it on God.
How in the world was she so strong?
That's true freedom.
Living in acceptance of the reality of the deep pain, yet being open to the continued possibility that God is good, can be trusted, and will guide her.
Oh, her story about forgiving that guard! She had absolutely no reason to forgive. She had no desire either. Everything in her held on and wanted to hate him. She couldn't even make herself want to forgive. But, she just asked the holy spirit to help her. And, she reached out her hand to shake his - and it was electric. The surge of the love of God went through her and literally gave her the supernatural power to love that unlovable person. She couldn't do it, but God could! And, although she resisted because she couldn't imagine letting this guy off the hook for all of the torment and torture, it was her own heart that was set free. She had never before experienced that depth of love. She let go of the hatred, blame, anger, and score card. She forgave. And it set her free!
Oh, that's the freedom we deeply desire! But it really is supernatural. We can't do it. Our minds and hearts hold on to grudges, hurts, and fear. How can we forgive? It seems to give permission to be hurt again! Often we just can't cognitively get to a place of forgiveness. But, I personally want the freedom of letting go of offense. I want the supernatural love that flows from a spirit that can't hate or fear.
It doesn't erase past suffering. It doesn't promise a future without suffering. But it releases the current suffering that tortures the soul while holding on to hate, fear and blame. That just suffocates. I want deep breaths of life. That can only come through a spirit of love. It just doesn't flow through a spirit of hate. Hate turns to bitterness. It feeds off negative. It searches for wrongs and injustices.
I won't ignore wrongs and injustices or pretend they don't exist. But I pray and hope that I can live a life of forgiveness and a flow of supernatural, miraculous love that is free to experience joy even when there's crap that is cruel, unfair, and hate-filled. I want to choose to acknowledge it, but not let it take over.
I've been listening to a podcast series about Buddhism. And it's interesting that this is the foundation of the Buddhist practice. The four noble truths. The first is that life brings suffering. The second is that being attached leads to suffering. The last two are about the path to the cessation of suffering.
To me, it's simply another way to travel the path of forgiveness I'm talking about.
Life isn't fair. It's in a constant state of change. Death and birth. When we grasp on to something that isn't fair, our suffering intensifies. We can choose to stay in that grasping, clinging place - wishing things weren't the way they are. Or we can find a way to release that grasp.
God wants to give us his supernatural power to let go. To release our grasp. To forgive. But, we fear, and we grasp. And, according to the four pillars, this grasping is what leads to so much suffering.
No matter how tightly I grasp on to the truth that something isn't fair, isn't right, is painful, I can't change it. But, I don't think we can always let go on our own. Sometimes it's a surrender to a power greater than ourselves. And, that's a miracle!
There are miraculous healings happening all around us - where people are set free from their suffering, released from their torment of hatred towards themselves or others, unburied from a suffocating weight of regret, blame or fear.
I've witnessed these miracles. It's more beautiful that anything I can imagine. There's such power evident. It gives my faith a jump start - a renewed energy.
Friday, March 1, 2019
Where is Jesus?
Reading about Paul's conversion.
There are 3 descriptions of it in Acts (chapters 9, 22, and 26)
And in Galations, Paul writes "The Gospel which I preach....came through the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1:11-12)
Paul NEVER DOUBTS this revelation.
The Christ he met was not the Christ in the flesh (Jesus); it was the Risen Christ, the Christ who is available to us now as Spirit.
YES!
I love this. I've always felt most drawn to Paul because he's entering the story where we are - after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yes! He meets Jesus like we do - in Spirit.
Here Paul was, a devoted Jew who was assigned and authorized to capture anyone who was following Jesus' way. He saw the world in black and white. He was a "good guy" and Jesus followers were clearly the "bad guys".
Then he encounters the risen Christ.
And, the voice asks "Why are you persecuting ME?"
So Paul has to realize - these people he is persecuting ARE Jesus.
Think about how weird that must have been for him to consider and believe! How can it be?
He's persecuting PEOPLE, but Christ says he is persecuting THE CHRIST. How? In theory? In reality?
Then Paul never wavers.
And with the same loyal, driven, committed, passionate energy that he was pursuing to put to death this movement, he switches to a lifetime of work to protect, defend and spread the message of Christ. The gospel. The good news. The way. The truth. The life.
Why?
What was so good about this message? Why did it spread? What's the good news?
Paul spent every single bit of energy from every cell of his being for the rest of his life sharing this message.
Why????
He never met the human Jesus!!!
He met the risen Christ who showed him that PEOPLE make up CHRIST - that people are the power of good. People under the lordship of Christ have the power of the Lord of the universe. People submitted to his power can bring peace on earth.
This is the plan for saving the world!!
PEOPLE.
People submitted to Christ.
And Paul knew it wasn't about "Us and them" - but "All"! All are invited. All are welcomed, called, loved, accepted, invited, embraced, forgiven, empowered, set free. He expressed this with every breath he took. He never grew weary of sharing this good news.
How do we humans take such good news and make it ugly?
Wow.
Jesus was so clear about how He was not exclusively for any one group of people. He said things like "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to ME" (Matthew 25:40)
The least?
Do we consider some people to be greater and some lesser?
Heck yes we do.
We do it all the time! And the "least of these" doesn't simply mean people "with less".
Nope. It's the person I'm thinking of right now who I'm convinced has no good in them. Or I'm OK hating them or wishing them harm. It's enemies. It's "those people".
It doesn't take me long to identify who comes to mind as "those people" who I wish would get what's coming to them - or I wish they would figure out how horrible they are, etc.
I think about politicians, or people in power who are greedy, cruel, not compassionate, rude and self promoting, like our President.
I think about people who have gotten guns and killed masses of people.
I think of all the people who refuse to acknowledge that the majority of Americans want to make an effort to reduce these mass shootings by trying to establish some laws around how people come to possess a firearm. And they refuse to acknowledge this because they FEAR losing financial support from an organization that has money and power but does not represent the majority of Americans.
And I think about those who fall into the minority - who actually do fear that if we put some guidelines in place that help us attempt to help those with mental illness by identifying problems rather than issuing a gun, then we somehow are on a "slippery slope" of the government taking all guns away.
I think about religious people who proclaim faith in Jesus but are filled with fear, hate, and judgement. I think about some of these religious people who have a voice in our media and express things that horrify me - but they do it in the name of our sweet Jesus. And it turns people away from Jesus.
Oh, I could go on and on and on.
I think about people who are involved in trafficking girls for sex, people who believe that poor people just need to work harder to stop being poor, people who look down at immigrants as "less than" when we all immigrated to this country.
UGH!
I'll stop.
Breathe.
So, if these are the people who come to my mind when I think of "the least" - Jesus tells me that whatever I do to them, I do to Him.
So, HE is in each of THEM.
He's not just in those who I like to think of as the "good guys".
He's in those I like to classify as the "bad guys".
He's in each person. But, instead of spreading THAT good news and praying for people to find the joy of being in submission to Jesus as Lord - we just keep dividing ourselves into us/them, good/bad, right/wrong, worthy/unworthy, in/out, etc.
Jesus said to Paul, when you persecute PEOPLE, you persecute ME.
Jesus in his humanity said - what you do to PEOPLE you do to ME.
Why can't we get this? All people. Not just the "good guys".
Christ in me and in others. He wants me to SEE him in others.
It's a mystery.
It's weird.
It's supernatural.
That's why Paul is always saying weird stuff like "You have been raised with Christ, you died, your life is hidden with Christ in God."
What? What is that supposed to mean exactly? Was he just talking crazy?
I don't think so.
He encountered the risen Christ!
Christ showed him that He is alive in people and people can choose to submit to him and have power that is good.
Christ isn't wandering around "out there" somewhere - waiting to be invited into a place or person.
He always has been and always will be.
Colossians 1:15-20 is all about this! And its AWESOME!
It's overwhelming to think - "what should I do about this?"
I know I can continue to ask for Christ to show me things through His eyes. And I can love 'the least of these" in a supernatural way that I'm not capable of in my own spirit.
But, after listening to a message last weekend about being a "difference maker", I really need to keep asking what that means.
What does that look like?
In the message, he listed the steps :
1 - Feel a burden
2 - Have a broken heart
3 - Turn burdens into action (pray and plan)
Sometimes I get stuck on having a broken heart. It's too painful and I hate the pain.
So I feel a burden, I get sad, then that turns to anger or apathy and I'm done.
My typical thought is "what can I really do about it?"
Allowing it to break my heart makes it personal.
Shedding tears over it makes me uncomfortable.
Feeling it makes it real.
I'm not good at that part.
So, maybe that's my answer?
Let some of these things hurt me. Shed tears. Feel it.
Then maybe I would be invested in taking action.
There are 3 descriptions of it in Acts (chapters 9, 22, and 26)
And in Galations, Paul writes "The Gospel which I preach....came through the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1:11-12)
Paul NEVER DOUBTS this revelation.
The Christ he met was not the Christ in the flesh (Jesus); it was the Risen Christ, the Christ who is available to us now as Spirit.
YES!
I love this. I've always felt most drawn to Paul because he's entering the story where we are - after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yes! He meets Jesus like we do - in Spirit.
Here Paul was, a devoted Jew who was assigned and authorized to capture anyone who was following Jesus' way. He saw the world in black and white. He was a "good guy" and Jesus followers were clearly the "bad guys".
Then he encounters the risen Christ.
And, the voice asks "Why are you persecuting ME?"
So Paul has to realize - these people he is persecuting ARE Jesus.
Think about how weird that must have been for him to consider and believe! How can it be?
He's persecuting PEOPLE, but Christ says he is persecuting THE CHRIST. How? In theory? In reality?
Then Paul never wavers.
And with the same loyal, driven, committed, passionate energy that he was pursuing to put to death this movement, he switches to a lifetime of work to protect, defend and spread the message of Christ. The gospel. The good news. The way. The truth. The life.
Why?
What was so good about this message? Why did it spread? What's the good news?
Paul spent every single bit of energy from every cell of his being for the rest of his life sharing this message.
Why????
He never met the human Jesus!!!
He met the risen Christ who showed him that PEOPLE make up CHRIST - that people are the power of good. People under the lordship of Christ have the power of the Lord of the universe. People submitted to his power can bring peace on earth.
This is the plan for saving the world!!
PEOPLE.
People submitted to Christ.
And Paul knew it wasn't about "Us and them" - but "All"! All are invited. All are welcomed, called, loved, accepted, invited, embraced, forgiven, empowered, set free. He expressed this with every breath he took. He never grew weary of sharing this good news.
How do we humans take such good news and make it ugly?
Wow.
Jesus was so clear about how He was not exclusively for any one group of people. He said things like "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to ME" (Matthew 25:40)
The least?
Do we consider some people to be greater and some lesser?
Heck yes we do.
We do it all the time! And the "least of these" doesn't simply mean people "with less".
Nope. It's the person I'm thinking of right now who I'm convinced has no good in them. Or I'm OK hating them or wishing them harm. It's enemies. It's "those people".
It doesn't take me long to identify who comes to mind as "those people" who I wish would get what's coming to them - or I wish they would figure out how horrible they are, etc.
I think about politicians, or people in power who are greedy, cruel, not compassionate, rude and self promoting, like our President.
I think about people who have gotten guns and killed masses of people.
I think of all the people who refuse to acknowledge that the majority of Americans want to make an effort to reduce these mass shootings by trying to establish some laws around how people come to possess a firearm. And they refuse to acknowledge this because they FEAR losing financial support from an organization that has money and power but does not represent the majority of Americans.
And I think about those who fall into the minority - who actually do fear that if we put some guidelines in place that help us attempt to help those with mental illness by identifying problems rather than issuing a gun, then we somehow are on a "slippery slope" of the government taking all guns away.
I think about religious people who proclaim faith in Jesus but are filled with fear, hate, and judgement. I think about some of these religious people who have a voice in our media and express things that horrify me - but they do it in the name of our sweet Jesus. And it turns people away from Jesus.
Oh, I could go on and on and on.
I think about people who are involved in trafficking girls for sex, people who believe that poor people just need to work harder to stop being poor, people who look down at immigrants as "less than" when we all immigrated to this country.
UGH!
I'll stop.
Breathe.
So, if these are the people who come to my mind when I think of "the least" - Jesus tells me that whatever I do to them, I do to Him.
So, HE is in each of THEM.
He's not just in those who I like to think of as the "good guys".
He's in those I like to classify as the "bad guys".
He's in each person. But, instead of spreading THAT good news and praying for people to find the joy of being in submission to Jesus as Lord - we just keep dividing ourselves into us/them, good/bad, right/wrong, worthy/unworthy, in/out, etc.
Jesus said to Paul, when you persecute PEOPLE, you persecute ME.
Jesus in his humanity said - what you do to PEOPLE you do to ME.
Why can't we get this? All people. Not just the "good guys".
Christ in me and in others. He wants me to SEE him in others.
It's a mystery.
It's weird.
It's supernatural.
That's why Paul is always saying weird stuff like "You have been raised with Christ, you died, your life is hidden with Christ in God."
What? What is that supposed to mean exactly? Was he just talking crazy?
I don't think so.
He encountered the risen Christ!
Christ showed him that He is alive in people and people can choose to submit to him and have power that is good.
Christ isn't wandering around "out there" somewhere - waiting to be invited into a place or person.
He always has been and always will be.
Colossians 1:15-20 is all about this! And its AWESOME!
It's overwhelming to think - "what should I do about this?"
I know I can continue to ask for Christ to show me things through His eyes. And I can love 'the least of these" in a supernatural way that I'm not capable of in my own spirit.
But, after listening to a message last weekend about being a "difference maker", I really need to keep asking what that means.
What does that look like?
In the message, he listed the steps :
1 - Feel a burden
2 - Have a broken heart
3 - Turn burdens into action (pray and plan)
Sometimes I get stuck on having a broken heart. It's too painful and I hate the pain.
So I feel a burden, I get sad, then that turns to anger or apathy and I'm done.
My typical thought is "what can I really do about it?"
Allowing it to break my heart makes it personal.
Shedding tears over it makes me uncomfortable.
Feeling it makes it real.
I'm not good at that part.
So, maybe that's my answer?
Let some of these things hurt me. Shed tears. Feel it.
Then maybe I would be invested in taking action.
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