This morning my spiritual mentor and I were chatting. I was pontificating (like I do...and like you don't have to be a pontiff to do) on a few things and that's when she dropped Matthew 7:22 and further on me. The separation of the sheep and the goats is what it gets expanded out to elsewhere.
The context of our original conversation isn't important but suffice to say that we were talking about the parts of the Bible that Christians tend to want to ignore. Like...Sin. We have to be honest and say that American Christianity overall hates sin and not in the way God hates sin. What I mean to say is that we hate talking about it, preaching about it, admitting it exists, and especially hate admitting that it even exists within our selves. But, what is the power of the Gospel at all if we don't fully recognize that we are a fallen creature who has done this to themselves, continues to do it to themselves, and justifies it almost as much as we poo poo it in our own circles. "You disrespected your spouse? Oh, honey/dude everybody does that. It's no big deal. Heck, I did it four times on my way over here. Now, if you cheated that would be totally different." Uh...actually it's not except by our own fallen creature standards. But if I continue down this route I'll be putting the miter back on my cabeza and get all pontiff on a subject I've already established it's not crucial for the sake of this post to illuminate. #MaybeTooLate
I'm going to come right out and say what I may have already stated in previous episodes... Matthew 7:22 and following scares me. It scares me right out of a dead sleep some nights. Why? Because it's Jesus talking. It being Jesus talking mean's it's GOD talking and what GOD is saying we have zero right or ability to worm our way around. It's foundational which means it's been true since the foundation of the world, in a land before time (not a kid's movie reference, thank you) whether we want to admit it or not.
There are a lot of things that can and have been said about what the sheep and the goat separation, mostly regarding what it "doesn't" mean. Often focusing on what it "doesn't" mean leads us to not pay attention to what it "does" say (Thank You, Alistair Begg) and that is a road that leads to ruin.
So, as I believe the LORD tells me from time to time, buckle up, buttercup. This is going to get rough. You're not going to like it. I don't even like it. But most things that heal us are not likeable...potent medicine, resetting bones, the application of tourniquets, cancer surgery...none of these are holiday options. So, lets take this line by line instead of scanning through.
"Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?'" vs 22
Now here's the thing that pushed this blog post. It's a little thing. It's that first word. It's one of the scariest words in the whole of the scriptures because of its context.
Many.
It brings me absolutely not comfort and it shouldn't bring you any comfort either. Jesus isn't saying that a few, some, a goodly amount, but MANY are going to say to Him on the day of judgement, "but...but...but...we did stuff!"
These are people who clearly recognize Jesus as "Lord" and have dedicated themselves in some way to Him and His service. Barney down on the beach doesn't just prophesy for Jesus in between whiling his time away praying to Buddha and meditating on the Sutras. These "many" are for the home team. These are people swinging and fielding for Jesus, progressing to the point where they are actually prophesying, actually doing miracles, driving out DEMONS in His name, with His authority and His power. They call Him the Lord of their lives. Given this resume is it a huge leap to believe that they may have written books, taught Bible studies, headed up churches? Preached in arenas?
This is heavy. The very definition of heavy. These individuals believe they are Christians, believe they are saved, believe they are on His good side. They expected to be greeted with open arms and told, "Well done, good and faithful servant" or they wouldn't be protesting, they wouldn't be pleading their case before the judge of the living and the dead, the righteous and the wicked.
The message is compacted in the way only Jesus could, "Hey...this could be you. Look out. Don't make excuses. Don't tell me what I'm not saying. This is the deal. Guard your heart. Know your motivations. Make sure what is meant to be first is first in your life, and don't screw around with matters of your soul." We see this in His response.
"I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" v23 b
I. Never. Knew you.
That's some cold words from someone everyone sees as loving, forgiving, and all embracing. That condemns them to Hell and that doesn't even come close to the depiction of Jesus as just a "good teacher" that the World and some in the Church want to think of Him as. There's going to come a time when He is going to tell people that the miracles they performed, the demons they drove out, and the prophesies they spoke count for nothing.
Do you know Him? Seriously, there is a vast difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone. I could read about Winston Churchill, I can read his own words, but I could never say that I know him only that I know about him. I can feel like I know him, to be sure, but that's not the same as knowing him. Interestingly the Greek word for "know" here (ginosko) is the same Greek word used for the Jewish idiom for "knowing" someone...sex. The suggestion is a deep deep intimacy with Him. "I never knew you" isn't him saying they didn't show up to church or pray. It's not a casual acquaintance "know" and in my life that's the level I used to be at with Him.
My encouragement, meager as it may be, is this: Don't take this lightly. And by "this" I mean knowing Him. We can do all the great and mighty works of God and still not know Him. I venture to say that we can even feed the poor, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and it still wouldn't count if we did not deeply intimately know Him.
Knowing you and being known by you is very high on God's list of things He wants. There are many out there who say that you can't experience God and my response is now and always, "Then WHY does He tell us to?" "Taste and See", "If I answer the door I will come in to him and sup with him", and I could go on and on. Knowing about Him isn't enough, and He says it right there in Matthew. Stop being consumed by the distractions of the world though they call to you, though you are addicted to them, though they make you so blissfully happy (and you already know which ones I'm talking about) because they are distracting you from REAL LIFE. And by REAL LIFE I mean HIM, because He says "I am the way, the truth and the life". He's not just A way or A truth. We say that all the time leaving off there and betraying our hearts. He is not A life. He is THE life. He is by His very own definition REAL LIFE. And that's heavy because I didn't realize that until right now so I'm going to pause, close the Facebook window in the background and let that sink in.
.
.
.
Wow. I've still not fully absorbed that.
It's a massive alteration which takes time. Though I'm sure my beloved Pastor is thinking, "BOOM! Yes! Got one!" because he's been trying to teach that to his congregation for YEARS and I thought I had it before, but now my vision cracked just a little bit and all that light is pouring through causing a kind of spiritual pupil constriction making me shield my spirit peepers and utter a full on Neo from the Matrix, "Woah..." It'll be a while before I can utter, "I know Kung Fu..." on this one to which I'm sure my mentor will pull the Morpheus response of a skeptical appraising look followed by the line, "Show me."
The point, in so much as I can full articulate one, is to stop your distractions. Focus on what connects to Him. He says that this very act has eternal consequences. We nod our heads along when someone quotes "...and there is no life apart from Him..." then get in our SUVs, turn on the game of the week, while playing games on our phones sitting next to our loved ones who are doing the same, and we say "Where's God?" Clear the field. Seek Him and you will find Him. How do I know? No other reason than because He says so and He is not a man that He should lie.
Pax,
Will
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
The Deification of George Washington
Like many of my posts on here, I am uncomfortable with what I'm about to write. I believe that's actually part of the nature of whatever it is I do. I'm thinking, I'm questioning, I'm grabbing something and holding it up to the Lord and saying, "So, about this..." and I don't really seem to care if it's something beautiful or ugly. But then there are those days where I show something to Him that I think is benign and He says, "Uh, actually...we need to have a serious conversation about that. It's uglier than you think." And so I bring it here and share with you all for the purposes of conversation and iron sharpening iron. Today is likely to piss off some people whom I love, but that is not my intent AT ALL. So, without further ado...
Standard Disclaimer: I use this blog to express thoughts and ideas. I am not now nor am I ever trying to use it as a massive soapbox where I am all wise and you need to listen to me because you can't figure it out yourself. I often get things wrong, and I don't mind being proven wrong. I question everything including my questions. I am a growing, evolving being and in 5 minutes or 5 years I may think differently.
Now, with that out of the way, what's up with the title?
I was watching a video on Youtube the other day (I couldn't tell you which one to even link it here, I go down so many rabbit trails) and this guy was talking about how on the ceiling of the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building there is this painting called "The Apotheosis of Washington". It is a spectacular looking piece calling back to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Such rich colors and symbolism, all the good stuff you think of in great paintings. The thing of it is that there is George Washington seated in the clouds surrounded by these angelic and symbolic beings, and that's fine until you realize what "apotheosis" means. It means "the elevation of someone to divine status; deification" (hence my title). The other day it was simply an oddity and a "huh...why would someone of a Christian nation in 1865 make something to represent that?" So, I'll get back to this so hold it in your mind, or bookmark it, or whatever works.
My recent growth spurt in things pertaining to the Spirit started less than a year ago with the impressing of the Lord on me to get alone. I did. I worked through some issues, forgave people I didn't even realize I needed to forgive, and He gave me a directive; to learn what it means to walk in the Spirit. Now, I'm not a master of that, but I'm getting a handle on what it means. This morning He gave me another directive; to learn what it means to be of the Kingdom.
"Kingdom" is a word i keep hearing bandied about by would be prophets, televangelists even some dietitians (there seriously is a Christian "Kingdom Diet") and so I have spent a lot of time believing it to be the new Christianese buzzword. I've had my fill of them in my nearly 40 years and just shrug them off. So, when the Lord laid it on me this morning I went, "Uh...oh...kay..." and began to think about it. I consulted my spiritual mentor and she gave me the sort of things I wasn't looking for but needed to start on my journey. It would be really nice if it all came nicely bundled up in one book with a flashy cover so I could pour over it and nod sagely will drinking my coffee, saying things like, "Oh, yes. I see now. My how foolish I've been. I am so much wiser for having read this." And that does happen from time to time. C. S. Lewis gets me in the sagely nodding mode. But, today, my first step into understanding the Kingdom wasn't "Oh, yes. I see", it was "Oh, crap. Woe is me."
When I think about Kingdoms I think about Kings. I think about rulers. I think about who belongs to a King. I think about how a King owns all that he surveys from the land to the people and how the identity of people is often bound up in who is ruling over them. Their actions, reactions, purchases, holidays, celebrations, stuff around their house often reflects their monarch. We can see this in a negative light in North Korea with the near deification of their "blessed leader" and to more nostalgic effect with the Queen of England. The royal family is still given much regard even to the point that Her Majesty is sometimes sported on tea cozies and commemorative china plates.
So, as I was making the bed, folding the laundry, and trying to avoid scrubbing the toilets (because really, who jumps into that chore with gusto?) the question was raised in my head;
"So, whose Kingdom do you belong to?"
"Well, yours Lord. Naturally."
And there was a still pause there. It was the kind of pause your parents used to employ when they knew better than you about who you are and how you act and what they asked was to get you to realize that same thing too.
I looked in my heart and what I found there was a terrible thing. I almost didn't want to pull it out and look at it. My reflex of finding a thing and talking to the Lord about it was thankfully ingrained in me enough that I did it automatically.
One can't be born and raised in the United States of America and not encounter the American Myth. By that I mean the whole explanation of where we came from, what we are meant to be, and, in many evangelical circles, they even go so far as to believe that we are the "New Chosen People" now that Israel is somehow out of favor. Don't ask me how it makes sense. I don't get it, but I was suffused, even baptized in a way, into the belief in the greatness of America, how we were destined to be God's shining city on a hill, His light in the darkness. And these men, Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and all the rest were the greatest men of the age, men to emulate and try to live up to.
Here is my confession. I give it to you feeling a lump in my stomach and a hesitating flutter in my chest. Are you ready?
When God asked me whose Kingdom I belonged to I had to be honest and admit that I belonged not wholly to His Kingdom, but to the Kingdom of the Myth of America.
And how do I know? Because my passions, my excitement, my identity, my love, my desires are all wrapped up in the flag.
I realized in an instant that, as a Protestant, in the absence of saints I accepted Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin. I get more of a thrill, more guidance, more of my integrity, and my character from studying those men than I do when I study my Bible. Good me, exceptional men, to be sure, but I find that if I'm looking to them rather than Jesus...what am I doing?
I have believed, not consciously mind you, that the United States of America is "Jesus Inc." that we are somehow His new chosen people so of course we're fine, golden, and good. Just by being Americans we've got a spiritual leg up. Sure, other countries "have Jesus" but come on! We're the head office, the HQ, the Corporate Flagship. Those other guys are basically franchises. I mean that's why we have missionaries go out there, right?
I've swallowed hook, line, and sinker that we are right because of who we are as a nation. I mean, I know, I question all the time what we are doing in other places, I don't trust the government and that sort of thing, but there is this emotion in me, this switch that automatically goes "Yeah, but it's our flag so God is going to bless it."
When, on top of all this, the words of the Founders and the Constitution come more readily to my mind and direct more of my life than Scripture then, God forgive me, I have deified my own country. I treat those Founders as better and with even more regard (honest) even than Peter, John, Paul, Thomas, and yes, even Jesus. As great men as the Founders may have been for their age I have felt a fire for them that I haven't for the ones in the second half of the Book. As a Christian...that is messed up and I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not alone.
What I believe God is calling me to, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were others, is a people for Himself; a people who find no identity in the world apart from Him. Because once we come to Christ all those labels are supposed to fall away ("therefore there is no...Greek, Jew, slave, free) and become as dust, all previous political or social affections are to be snuffed out, and we turn our affections to one and only one. Given the long scope of our God's focus and vision this doesn't seem too far fetched. To Him, in the span of time, our nation, though it may be made "Great Again" is dust, it's vapor, it's gone in an instant. And yet I want to cling, I want to put my affections on those symbols, on this country, on those historical figures.
Is the American Myth better than most other myths out there? Absolutely. Can believing in the American Myth make you a better Man or Woman? I believe so. But what I want to tell you is that it's a competing myth that steers our affections toward something and away from something else.
I want to emphasize that nobody told me to have this issue that I have. Nobody sat down and taught me to turn my affections toward something other that Jesus. The Greeks had Hercules and people thought it would be better for me to read about someone who actually existed and was an American. I don't fault anyone but myself in this.
I worry that we, as a whole, are like the Israelites, who knew they were special to God and believed in that to save them from the wrath, and so they worshiped other gods, other heroes, other deities in high places rather than the One to whom they belonged. I worry that we think we are so special that hearing preaching on "sin" grates on our ears even as Christians. I worry that I've become so desensitized to the Bible through familiarity that I've cast my affections elsewhere because those new things are more tangible, relatable as quasi-politic-religious icons, and I cast my faith on the System and that politics will save us rather than His might, His power.
One of the most disturbing images I've ever seen has been whenever I see a Cross or Bible draped in a flag. I never knew why it bothered me so much, but now I have an inkling. It's been a long time since I've said the "Pledge of Allegiance" because it is swearing allegiance to a flag, an inanimate object. Again, I wasn't sure why it bothered me so much, but now...
Pax,
W
Standard Disclaimer: I use this blog to express thoughts and ideas. I am not now nor am I ever trying to use it as a massive soapbox where I am all wise and you need to listen to me because you can't figure it out yourself. I often get things wrong, and I don't mind being proven wrong. I question everything including my questions. I am a growing, evolving being and in 5 minutes or 5 years I may think differently.
Now, with that out of the way, what's up with the title?
I was watching a video on Youtube the other day (I couldn't tell you which one to even link it here, I go down so many rabbit trails) and this guy was talking about how on the ceiling of the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building there is this painting called "The Apotheosis of Washington". It is a spectacular looking piece calling back to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Such rich colors and symbolism, all the good stuff you think of in great paintings. The thing of it is that there is George Washington seated in the clouds surrounded by these angelic and symbolic beings, and that's fine until you realize what "apotheosis" means. It means "the elevation of someone to divine status; deification" (hence my title). The other day it was simply an oddity and a "huh...why would someone of a Christian nation in 1865 make something to represent that?" So, I'll get back to this so hold it in your mind, or bookmark it, or whatever works.
My recent growth spurt in things pertaining to the Spirit started less than a year ago with the impressing of the Lord on me to get alone. I did. I worked through some issues, forgave people I didn't even realize I needed to forgive, and He gave me a directive; to learn what it means to walk in the Spirit. Now, I'm not a master of that, but I'm getting a handle on what it means. This morning He gave me another directive; to learn what it means to be of the Kingdom.
"Kingdom" is a word i keep hearing bandied about by would be prophets, televangelists even some dietitians (there seriously is a Christian "Kingdom Diet") and so I have spent a lot of time believing it to be the new Christianese buzzword. I've had my fill of them in my nearly 40 years and just shrug them off. So, when the Lord laid it on me this morning I went, "Uh...oh...kay..." and began to think about it. I consulted my spiritual mentor and she gave me the sort of things I wasn't looking for but needed to start on my journey. It would be really nice if it all came nicely bundled up in one book with a flashy cover so I could pour over it and nod sagely will drinking my coffee, saying things like, "Oh, yes. I see now. My how foolish I've been. I am so much wiser for having read this." And that does happen from time to time. C. S. Lewis gets me in the sagely nodding mode. But, today, my first step into understanding the Kingdom wasn't "Oh, yes. I see", it was "Oh, crap. Woe is me."
When I think about Kingdoms I think about Kings. I think about rulers. I think about who belongs to a King. I think about how a King owns all that he surveys from the land to the people and how the identity of people is often bound up in who is ruling over them. Their actions, reactions, purchases, holidays, celebrations, stuff around their house often reflects their monarch. We can see this in a negative light in North Korea with the near deification of their "blessed leader" and to more nostalgic effect with the Queen of England. The royal family is still given much regard even to the point that Her Majesty is sometimes sported on tea cozies and commemorative china plates.
So, as I was making the bed, folding the laundry, and trying to avoid scrubbing the toilets (because really, who jumps into that chore with gusto?) the question was raised in my head;
"So, whose Kingdom do you belong to?"
"Well, yours Lord. Naturally."
And there was a still pause there. It was the kind of pause your parents used to employ when they knew better than you about who you are and how you act and what they asked was to get you to realize that same thing too.
I looked in my heart and what I found there was a terrible thing. I almost didn't want to pull it out and look at it. My reflex of finding a thing and talking to the Lord about it was thankfully ingrained in me enough that I did it automatically.
One can't be born and raised in the United States of America and not encounter the American Myth. By that I mean the whole explanation of where we came from, what we are meant to be, and, in many evangelical circles, they even go so far as to believe that we are the "New Chosen People" now that Israel is somehow out of favor. Don't ask me how it makes sense. I don't get it, but I was suffused, even baptized in a way, into the belief in the greatness of America, how we were destined to be God's shining city on a hill, His light in the darkness. And these men, Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and all the rest were the greatest men of the age, men to emulate and try to live up to.
Here is my confession. I give it to you feeling a lump in my stomach and a hesitating flutter in my chest. Are you ready?
When God asked me whose Kingdom I belonged to I had to be honest and admit that I belonged not wholly to His Kingdom, but to the Kingdom of the Myth of America.
And how do I know? Because my passions, my excitement, my identity, my love, my desires are all wrapped up in the flag.
I realized in an instant that, as a Protestant, in the absence of saints I accepted Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin. I get more of a thrill, more guidance, more of my integrity, and my character from studying those men than I do when I study my Bible. Good me, exceptional men, to be sure, but I find that if I'm looking to them rather than Jesus...what am I doing?
I have believed, not consciously mind you, that the United States of America is "Jesus Inc." that we are somehow His new chosen people so of course we're fine, golden, and good. Just by being Americans we've got a spiritual leg up. Sure, other countries "have Jesus" but come on! We're the head office, the HQ, the Corporate Flagship. Those other guys are basically franchises. I mean that's why we have missionaries go out there, right?
I've swallowed hook, line, and sinker that we are right because of who we are as a nation. I mean, I know, I question all the time what we are doing in other places, I don't trust the government and that sort of thing, but there is this emotion in me, this switch that automatically goes "Yeah, but it's our flag so God is going to bless it."
When, on top of all this, the words of the Founders and the Constitution come more readily to my mind and direct more of my life than Scripture then, God forgive me, I have deified my own country. I treat those Founders as better and with even more regard (honest) even than Peter, John, Paul, Thomas, and yes, even Jesus. As great men as the Founders may have been for their age I have felt a fire for them that I haven't for the ones in the second half of the Book. As a Christian...that is messed up and I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not alone.
What I believe God is calling me to, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were others, is a people for Himself; a people who find no identity in the world apart from Him. Because once we come to Christ all those labels are supposed to fall away ("therefore there is no...Greek, Jew, slave, free) and become as dust, all previous political or social affections are to be snuffed out, and we turn our affections to one and only one. Given the long scope of our God's focus and vision this doesn't seem too far fetched. To Him, in the span of time, our nation, though it may be made "Great Again" is dust, it's vapor, it's gone in an instant. And yet I want to cling, I want to put my affections on those symbols, on this country, on those historical figures.
Is the American Myth better than most other myths out there? Absolutely. Can believing in the American Myth make you a better Man or Woman? I believe so. But what I want to tell you is that it's a competing myth that steers our affections toward something and away from something else.
I want to emphasize that nobody told me to have this issue that I have. Nobody sat down and taught me to turn my affections toward something other that Jesus. The Greeks had Hercules and people thought it would be better for me to read about someone who actually existed and was an American. I don't fault anyone but myself in this.
I worry that we, as a whole, are like the Israelites, who knew they were special to God and believed in that to save them from the wrath, and so they worshiped other gods, other heroes, other deities in high places rather than the One to whom they belonged. I worry that we think we are so special that hearing preaching on "sin" grates on our ears even as Christians. I worry that I've become so desensitized to the Bible through familiarity that I've cast my affections elsewhere because those new things are more tangible, relatable as quasi-politic-religious icons, and I cast my faith on the System and that politics will save us rather than His might, His power.
One of the most disturbing images I've ever seen has been whenever I see a Cross or Bible draped in a flag. I never knew why it bothered me so much, but now I have an inkling. It's been a long time since I've said the "Pledge of Allegiance" because it is swearing allegiance to a flag, an inanimate object. Again, I wasn't sure why it bothered me so much, but now...
Pax,
W
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Lurking in the Silences
So, I've been places, I've done things, and now I'm back. Hopefully that's good enough because I'm not a fan of making excuses and I really have gone and done so much, changed so very much, in ways that only a Living God could do in me. It will all come out in drips and drabs through the things I'll be relating now and in the future, I'm sure.
The beginning of all the changes came when the LORD brought me to a therapist a few months ago. I was stuck. I was in a depressive spiral that nothing could seem to pull me through or out of. I prayed and received my answer of 2 people, one who knows me intimately and one who didn't know me from Adam, saying "Yeah, you might want to talk to a professional about that." So, recognizing it for what it was, I submitted myself to His greater wisdom.
I've never really had a problem admitting when I need help. I've always been quick to read that marriage book, talk to the pastor or get a relationship counselor. It seems ridiculous to me to waste time not reaching out when help is available. My only concern on this one was money. Therapists, and good ones, are fairly notoriously expensive. Fortunately my insurance covered it (uh...actually Thanks, Obama...) and I was able to find an excellent Christian therapist. It took 8 or so visits for us to come to the real crux of the issue and it felt like a tree of bitterness had been pulled out by the roots... and then everything changed. It was, no joke, like the LORD leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Buckle up, buttercup," because over the next few weeks He went to work on me. I seriously had a friend who has some prophetic gifting message me and say, "Uh, I don't know why, but the Lord says to tell you to relax, let go, and whatever is going to happen is going to be good, no matter how scary it might look." They had no idea my situation at all and the timing was spot on.
I have grown in Christ more in the past two weeks than probably the past three years and, as things of the Spirit often are, it is very hard to describe. So much has changed. How I react to stressors, how I relate to my kids, my wife, the LORD Himself, and most surprising of all is how I feel about my writing has all changed.
There was a hole, as there usually is when a tree is uprooted, that I could sense in the Spirit. I knew that I needed to fill it in or another tree would take its place or even the same one as before. So, I asked around to the important people in my life who were also Christ followers what it was was that they do for their devotions. I needed to fill that hole left behind with a spiritual practice. I was already reading my Bible and praying but something else needed to be added.
My spiritual mentor told me about how she wakes early every day and listens for God. We spend so much of our Christian walk talking to/at God and hardly any time listening intently. So, I woke up at 5 am, told the LORD what I was up to and waited. What happened was almost indescribable. I guess the easiest way to say it is that I have a renewed sense of His constant presence. Most of that first session and some of those after (I have in fact been up at 5 every morning for this ever since) I'm pretty sure was the Holy Spirit rifling through my sub conscious going, "Don't need this...don't need this...this shouldn't have ever been here in the first place...I know I didn't put this here so out it goes..." And life has been so different. Peace. Joy. I was so the opposite of depressed that I put my therapy sessions on hold indefinitely. I'm react so much more readily with care and compassion. And the best part is I know that it's not because of me. When I studied Zen, Paganism, Kabbalah back in my wild youth it was all about my performance which led to pride and ego inflation and looking down at those "less spiritual" than I. This? He is doing the heavy lifting, making the changes, and causing the things within me to become more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ. I couldn't force this change if I tried.
Now, that is all setup for what I wanted to say in this entry: He is in the silences waiting for you.
We spend so much time watching movies, playing video games, filling our lives with entertainment, noise and distractions; so much so that we almost have to yell at each other just to be heard. And yes, from time to time God will "yell" at us. We get in the car turn on the radio, we have our eyes pulled away from the road and each other by notifications on our phone and we want to send the kids to this or that and then we've got to do drive thru on the way home and we are so wound up or are done with the kids that we put them in front of the TV while they eat and then we can't wait to get them to bed so we can have time with our spouse to watch that one show which we then binge too late into the night and we sleep 6 hours and then hit the snooze button too many times and then have to scramble to get the kids to school and ourselves to work, and then when we get done with work we get in the car, we turn on the radio...and then wonder "Why don't I hear anything from God in my life?? Why is He silent?!?!" (and just so we're clear...this was me, not me judging someone else)
What I have found is that the Lord is a lion lurking in the silences. He is a still small voice waiting to pounce and in modern society we give Him less and less opportunity. We have to make the opportunity. You have to carve out time with a machete if you want to hear Him, hack away at the idols in our own lives, and one of the hardest idols to slash is our self.
I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to wake up faithfully every day at 5 and if He hadn't actually led me there during a period of transition I don't know that I would have done it at all. I would be on the same vicious cycle of distracting myself and wondering if He was even listening at all when it was me who didn't care to listen.
The World will make the most of any opportunity to push back, to drop a crisis in our lap, to distract us with a phone notification, pull us into being emotionally explosive about some political thing done by people who don't even know or care that you actually exist but you care so greatly about though you have no effect, because if you have even 10 minutes of silence, 10 minutes to breathe, the Lord will pounce. I do not doubt that this is the reality one bit. (again...because this was me)
When we look at the Biblical vision of Sabbath it is with the intention of God's people having rest, quiet, peace. That is where I truly believe God really operates on people.
When do most major changes in people's lives happen? When a heart attack or something major malady puts them in the hospital and all they have is time to look, breathe, think, and reassess...or watch daytime TV which ultimately gets people to turn that off as well. He is there, lurking in the rest and in the silence, waiting for the opportunity to leap/pounce into the lives of His people.
The Bible is full of references to testing the Lord's promises, invitations to "taste and see", and that is one of the most life changing things you'll ever do...because when God basically says, "C'mon...I dare you..." (and believe me, that's what "taste and see" is...a Holy dare) He's always going to do exactly what He said He would do.
Pax,
W
The beginning of all the changes came when the LORD brought me to a therapist a few months ago. I was stuck. I was in a depressive spiral that nothing could seem to pull me through or out of. I prayed and received my answer of 2 people, one who knows me intimately and one who didn't know me from Adam, saying "Yeah, you might want to talk to a professional about that." So, recognizing it for what it was, I submitted myself to His greater wisdom.
I've never really had a problem admitting when I need help. I've always been quick to read that marriage book, talk to the pastor or get a relationship counselor. It seems ridiculous to me to waste time not reaching out when help is available. My only concern on this one was money. Therapists, and good ones, are fairly notoriously expensive. Fortunately my insurance covered it (uh...actually Thanks, Obama...) and I was able to find an excellent Christian therapist. It took 8 or so visits for us to come to the real crux of the issue and it felt like a tree of bitterness had been pulled out by the roots... and then everything changed. It was, no joke, like the LORD leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Buckle up, buttercup," because over the next few weeks He went to work on me. I seriously had a friend who has some prophetic gifting message me and say, "Uh, I don't know why, but the Lord says to tell you to relax, let go, and whatever is going to happen is going to be good, no matter how scary it might look." They had no idea my situation at all and the timing was spot on.
I have grown in Christ more in the past two weeks than probably the past three years and, as things of the Spirit often are, it is very hard to describe. So much has changed. How I react to stressors, how I relate to my kids, my wife, the LORD Himself, and most surprising of all is how I feel about my writing has all changed.
There was a hole, as there usually is when a tree is uprooted, that I could sense in the Spirit. I knew that I needed to fill it in or another tree would take its place or even the same one as before. So, I asked around to the important people in my life who were also Christ followers what it was was that they do for their devotions. I needed to fill that hole left behind with a spiritual practice. I was already reading my Bible and praying but something else needed to be added.
My spiritual mentor told me about how she wakes early every day and listens for God. We spend so much of our Christian walk talking to/at God and hardly any time listening intently. So, I woke up at 5 am, told the LORD what I was up to and waited. What happened was almost indescribable. I guess the easiest way to say it is that I have a renewed sense of His constant presence. Most of that first session and some of those after (I have in fact been up at 5 every morning for this ever since) I'm pretty sure was the Holy Spirit rifling through my sub conscious going, "Don't need this...don't need this...this shouldn't have ever been here in the first place...I know I didn't put this here so out it goes..." And life has been so different. Peace. Joy. I was so the opposite of depressed that I put my therapy sessions on hold indefinitely. I'm react so much more readily with care and compassion. And the best part is I know that it's not because of me. When I studied Zen, Paganism, Kabbalah back in my wild youth it was all about my performance which led to pride and ego inflation and looking down at those "less spiritual" than I. This? He is doing the heavy lifting, making the changes, and causing the things within me to become more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ. I couldn't force this change if I tried.
Now, that is all setup for what I wanted to say in this entry: He is in the silences waiting for you.
We spend so much time watching movies, playing video games, filling our lives with entertainment, noise and distractions; so much so that we almost have to yell at each other just to be heard. And yes, from time to time God will "yell" at us. We get in the car turn on the radio, we have our eyes pulled away from the road and each other by notifications on our phone and we want to send the kids to this or that and then we've got to do drive thru on the way home and we are so wound up or are done with the kids that we put them in front of the TV while they eat and then we can't wait to get them to bed so we can have time with our spouse to watch that one show which we then binge too late into the night and we sleep 6 hours and then hit the snooze button too many times and then have to scramble to get the kids to school and ourselves to work, and then when we get done with work we get in the car, we turn on the radio...and then wonder "Why don't I hear anything from God in my life?? Why is He silent?!?!" (and just so we're clear...this was me, not me judging someone else)
What I have found is that the Lord is a lion lurking in the silences. He is a still small voice waiting to pounce and in modern society we give Him less and less opportunity. We have to make the opportunity. You have to carve out time with a machete if you want to hear Him, hack away at the idols in our own lives, and one of the hardest idols to slash is our self.
I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to wake up faithfully every day at 5 and if He hadn't actually led me there during a period of transition I don't know that I would have done it at all. I would be on the same vicious cycle of distracting myself and wondering if He was even listening at all when it was me who didn't care to listen.
The World will make the most of any opportunity to push back, to drop a crisis in our lap, to distract us with a phone notification, pull us into being emotionally explosive about some political thing done by people who don't even know or care that you actually exist but you care so greatly about though you have no effect, because if you have even 10 minutes of silence, 10 minutes to breathe, the Lord will pounce. I do not doubt that this is the reality one bit. (again...because this was me)
When we look at the Biblical vision of Sabbath it is with the intention of God's people having rest, quiet, peace. That is where I truly believe God really operates on people.
When do most major changes in people's lives happen? When a heart attack or something major malady puts them in the hospital and all they have is time to look, breathe, think, and reassess...or watch daytime TV which ultimately gets people to turn that off as well. He is there, lurking in the rest and in the silence, waiting for the opportunity to leap/pounce into the lives of His people.
The Bible is full of references to testing the Lord's promises, invitations to "taste and see", and that is one of the most life changing things you'll ever do...because when God basically says, "C'mon...I dare you..." (and believe me, that's what "taste and see" is...a Holy dare) He's always going to do exactly what He said He would do.
Pax,
W
Friday, January 6, 2017
Memento Mori
In the grand Roman age a returning victorious general, or up and coming Caesar, would be treated to a massive celebration called a "Triumph". Coincidentally this is where we get the name for Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, the "Triumphal Entry". There are astounding and subversive parallels that I won't go into here. Essentially, Jesus' triumphal entry was a message directly to the Romans. I'll save it 'til Easter.
One of the sequences near the end of the celebration was to ascend the steps that led to the top of a sacred hill. Inside the temple at the top the general would metaphorically die and be "reborn", supposedly immortal. Before going up the hill the praised general or other candidate would be smacked across the face by a lowly slave and told, "Memento Mori". "Remember, you are mortal/you will die." It seems so incongruent. He is being lauded by all the people of Rome, about to achieve immortality, and yet this low born, stinking slave grounds him by telling him that he is still dust, no matter what anyone thinks or says of him later. Throughout our lives, if we are lucky, we have a few "Memento Mori" moments. Recently I had one.
I won't go into much in the way of details, but for a few days I was genuinely afraid of that I had cancer. I don't, thankfully. We got it checked out and all is well, just a bit of a scare, but I came away from it with something I didn't have before. I say that I was afraid, and I was, but I had a significant moment that I'd experienced only once before.
Years ago I worked the graveyard shift at a shipping dock where we unloaded trucks of their cargo, sorted them, and divided the pallets and crates into other trucks to go elsewhere. I was on my own for fifteen minutes or so and found that there was a thin crate as tall and nearly as long as the container that was the only thing left to unload. For some reason I believed that something that large and long had to be light. I unstrapped it and was immediately crushed beneath it. As it turns out the crate was 2,658 lbs.
I was trapped underneath the crate. Fortunately the containers you see trucks hauling around aren't exactly as wide as they are tall. The full weight wasn't crushing down on me, but it was enough to trap me and make it difficult to breathe. It was at that moment I had a fairly profound experience. I was at peace. The spirit part of me, the eternal bit of stuff inside us all, was perfectly calm. The animal part of me was freaking out and screaming its head off. Somehow I experienced that division between spirit and flesh and it changed my perspective of a lot of things.
Back to the present...ish. During my "Memento Mori" period a few days ago I felt the same thing. A small part of the time I was freaking out. I'd get this rush of anxiety, or I'd suddenly become irritable. At night I would wake up sitting bolt upright, my heart pounding in my chest, the animal/flesh part of me having a meltdown.
By stark contrast, the spirit part was at peace, and, in fact, growing as a result of the experience. I was looking at life differently. My whole perspective shifted. My wife's kisses were sweeter, my interactions with my kids was calmer, more sympathetic, and understanding. My desires shifted hard towards things that were actually eternal. I wasn't at all interested in petty conflicts and my pet peeves didn't matter quite as much anymore. When you are facing the potential of "oblivion" you start to reevaluate things. Suddenly what you could put off and get to later moves from the back burner to the front. Fortunately it has stayed with me in the days since.
I wonder if this is the reason that a lot of older people seem so calm, so at peace, so loving, patient, understanding, and kind. I've neglected their advice whenever they've told me, "Oh, sweetie, don't worry about that. Don't give it the time of day. It doesn't matter." In my youth and passion I believed every little thing mattered. Now I see the value of their advice so very clearly. When you know for a fact that you could die any moment, or that your health (when it comes down to if for real) is pretty much out of your hands, I think you have two choices; get bitter or get kind.
I don't know if we can actually make that kind of a change without the direct "Memento Mori" experience. I considered how the death of someone close to us can cause us to view things differently, but I think that might be a "light" version. Knowing your own mortality, coming face to face with your individual startling fragility is not something I imagine you can experience vicariously.
It does make me think about Jesus' moments in the Garden of Gethsemane. I wonder often about how intensely He must have been feeling His mortality, that it was the animal/fleshy bit begging the LORD for another way, sweating blood. Despite the fact that He knew how it would end, He still was going to feel every iota of pain and death.
I guess there isn't much of a point to this post, other than to say that I'm seeing these "Memento Mori" moments as a gift in a way; an undercover blessing. We pass from here so quickly, so easily like a vapor, and even into my very late 30's I still tend to think I'm invincible. We do well to be smacked by a slave and reminded that we are mortal, fading, and dust; that any day we live is essentially borrowed time. Naturally, you'll only understand this once you've experienced it. So...good luck with that. :)
Pax,
W
One of the sequences near the end of the celebration was to ascend the steps that led to the top of a sacred hill. Inside the temple at the top the general would metaphorically die and be "reborn", supposedly immortal. Before going up the hill the praised general or other candidate would be smacked across the face by a lowly slave and told, "Memento Mori". "Remember, you are mortal/you will die." It seems so incongruent. He is being lauded by all the people of Rome, about to achieve immortality, and yet this low born, stinking slave grounds him by telling him that he is still dust, no matter what anyone thinks or says of him later. Throughout our lives, if we are lucky, we have a few "Memento Mori" moments. Recently I had one.
I won't go into much in the way of details, but for a few days I was genuinely afraid of that I had cancer. I don't, thankfully. We got it checked out and all is well, just a bit of a scare, but I came away from it with something I didn't have before. I say that I was afraid, and I was, but I had a significant moment that I'd experienced only once before.
Years ago I worked the graveyard shift at a shipping dock where we unloaded trucks of their cargo, sorted them, and divided the pallets and crates into other trucks to go elsewhere. I was on my own for fifteen minutes or so and found that there was a thin crate as tall and nearly as long as the container that was the only thing left to unload. For some reason I believed that something that large and long had to be light. I unstrapped it and was immediately crushed beneath it. As it turns out the crate was 2,658 lbs.
I was trapped underneath the crate. Fortunately the containers you see trucks hauling around aren't exactly as wide as they are tall. The full weight wasn't crushing down on me, but it was enough to trap me and make it difficult to breathe. It was at that moment I had a fairly profound experience. I was at peace. The spirit part of me, the eternal bit of stuff inside us all, was perfectly calm. The animal part of me was freaking out and screaming its head off. Somehow I experienced that division between spirit and flesh and it changed my perspective of a lot of things.
Back to the present...ish. During my "Memento Mori" period a few days ago I felt the same thing. A small part of the time I was freaking out. I'd get this rush of anxiety, or I'd suddenly become irritable. At night I would wake up sitting bolt upright, my heart pounding in my chest, the animal/flesh part of me having a meltdown.
By stark contrast, the spirit part was at peace, and, in fact, growing as a result of the experience. I was looking at life differently. My whole perspective shifted. My wife's kisses were sweeter, my interactions with my kids was calmer, more sympathetic, and understanding. My desires shifted hard towards things that were actually eternal. I wasn't at all interested in petty conflicts and my pet peeves didn't matter quite as much anymore. When you are facing the potential of "oblivion" you start to reevaluate things. Suddenly what you could put off and get to later moves from the back burner to the front. Fortunately it has stayed with me in the days since.
I wonder if this is the reason that a lot of older people seem so calm, so at peace, so loving, patient, understanding, and kind. I've neglected their advice whenever they've told me, "Oh, sweetie, don't worry about that. Don't give it the time of day. It doesn't matter." In my youth and passion I believed every little thing mattered. Now I see the value of their advice so very clearly. When you know for a fact that you could die any moment, or that your health (when it comes down to if for real) is pretty much out of your hands, I think you have two choices; get bitter or get kind.
I don't know if we can actually make that kind of a change without the direct "Memento Mori" experience. I considered how the death of someone close to us can cause us to view things differently, but I think that might be a "light" version. Knowing your own mortality, coming face to face with your individual startling fragility is not something I imagine you can experience vicariously.
It does make me think about Jesus' moments in the Garden of Gethsemane. I wonder often about how intensely He must have been feeling His mortality, that it was the animal/fleshy bit begging the LORD for another way, sweating blood. Despite the fact that He knew how it would end, He still was going to feel every iota of pain and death.
I guess there isn't much of a point to this post, other than to say that I'm seeing these "Memento Mori" moments as a gift in a way; an undercover blessing. We pass from here so quickly, so easily like a vapor, and even into my very late 30's I still tend to think I'm invincible. We do well to be smacked by a slave and reminded that we are mortal, fading, and dust; that any day we live is essentially borrowed time. Naturally, you'll only understand this once you've experienced it. So...good luck with that. :)
Pax,
W
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Walking in the Spirit
Much in the same manner as a blog post on Idolatry that I am sitting on...I'm scared of posting this. My writing this post is me admitting that I know something, I believe something, and yet I don't put it into practice. I'd be a lot more nervous if I wasn't sure that I'm in pretty good company. However, by admitting that I know this, by declaring the Truth to be true...I'm going to have to change some things. Well, more accurately, I'm going have to change a lot of things...maybe even everything.
A month or two ago I had experience that shifted me into a different way of thinking. I won't go into details here, but all of the sudden I felt invited to "Walk in the Spirit". It's something that all believers are invited to do and encouraged to do in the scriptures. I'm not unique in that at all, but one of my things is that I tend to overthink, over-analyze, and not just walk or take action. I'm guilty of over-intellectualizing everything, including my relationship with Jesus. I don't claim to have some new revelation. Always be suspicious of those who do claim that. My claim, instead, is that I think I understand what has been obvious and in front of me this whole time.
What does it mean to "Walk in the Spirit"?
When the Scriptures talk about walking in the Spirit, just about every time it means a denial of the flesh or the denial of physical reality. Galatians 5:16 says that if we walk by the spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Why? Because these two things are locked in opposition with each other. Personally, I have noticed that every single time that I try to walk in the Spirit my flesh almost immediately rebels. 2 Corinthians 5:7 talks about walking by faith and not by sight. The scriptures also use the phrase "abiding in Him" which is very close to "walking in the Spirit", I believe.
I have long said, in friendly company, that there are 2 competing realities. The reality of the flesh is concerned with what we see, taste, hear, smell, etc. It is what non-believers and many fellow believers refer to as "reality". To my mind that reality only makes up 1% of a far greater reality that is God's reality, reality as the LORD himself sees it. HIS reality is the full 100%, the actual reality.
God's reality is a very peculiar reality to those of us who live, breathe, swim, mate, and exist primarily in the 1%. His reality is a place where the first shall be last and the last shall be first, where peace conquers violence, where lions lay down with lambs, where the biggest, most popular Church is rarely the most successful, where enduring abuse and persecution even to death is a privilege, where Holy God makes a way to connect to sinful man by coming Himself in the flesh as a carpenter's son. God's reality makes no sense to us if we are entrenched in the physical reality. I've heard it called the "Upside Down Kingdom" because according to the World's standards it is completely flipped.
There are a million things in the Bible that we pay lip service to on a daily (maybe weekly) basis that our flesh resists in fact. Miracles. Gifts of the Spirit. Resurrection of the dead. Those are big ones that we conveniently brush aside saying "that was for then" instead of a more obvious though painful answer. We struggle with even the simple, basic ones; Jesus' sacrifice was enough, God is good all the time no matter what, God wants what is best for me... I even have a hard time accepting that God likes me and wants to fellowship with me.
To walk in the Spirit is to walk (to live your life) radically believing that what God says is actually so. It is to move beyond the "Yeah, but..." and into only what He has already told us is real. "Why do you worry about what to eat...what to wear..." It is to agree with God what this life is and how it works.
I once heard someone tell me, "Everything is political". On the contrary, "Everything is spiritual".
We live in this delusion that what matters is what I can see, touch, feel (both emotionally and physically). What truly matters is what God says IS, how HE says things actually works and these things are often in direct conflict, hostile conflict on some points, with the way the Flesh works. As Christians we can't do things the way the World does them. James 4:4 comes straight out and calls us adulterers because, "Friendship with the World is emnity with God." When we find ourselves bound up and tied to the things of the World, when we do things the way the World does rather than the way Jesus says then we are choosing whom we are serving.
Now, naturally, the rational mind rebels and says, "Oh, so, what then? Are you advocating locking ourselves away on some mountain top in a convent?" No. Actually in many places the Bible says that's exactly what we are not to do. We are meant to be spiritual creatures in this physical world bringing the light of Jesus. Can we deny, however, that we are being "conformed to the patterns of this world" more than conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ? When we (at large) equivocate on parts of the Bible that others find offensive, when we sell our principles down the river for some sort of gain and salve it with "well, Jesus will forgive me and I'll pick right back up with him again", when we hold up political figures in such high regard that we get more excited about them than we ever have about Jesus, when the Church sees success as church held in a stadium, money flowing in, and franchising, when we spend more time in our "fandoms" than reading that which would edify us most, when we want to affect change in the world and yet don't even know our neighbor's first name or let alone how we can pray for them... And I'm just talking about me in all that.
Walking in the Spirit means seeing everything the way God does, through an eternal perspective. It means not just believing what is already there in our Bibles, but accepting and moving in that. Who are we if we don't actually believe how God says things actually are and actually work? Pretenders, at best, playing at make-believe.
How much would my life change if I actually walked in that perspective? The eternal nature of my children...the fact that they are literally a gift from God...that they aren't here to test my patience and tolerance...that God specifically made them, fashioned them in specific ways, and specifically chose to give them to my wife and I...that I am charged with their protection and loving development by a great and mighty God who has a plan for them...That He trusts me with all that?
How much would your life change if you held in your mind the fact that you were specifically placed in this time, in this space, in the lives of specific people, including that one person you find annoying to be around...that those people are people that God deeply loves and wants to love through you...that each of them are a soul that is going to end up one place or the other...that they all, especially the annoying one, are struggling on a constant basis, are battling something and your prayers for them could change everything if you actually had a prayer time...that, just like your children, they were uniquely made by God?
See, I don't want to think that way either. My spirit does, but my flesh just wants to get done with my day with minimum contact, minimum engagement so I can finish my day without having been disturbed, without having been rejected, without having been emotionally bothered or vulnerable so I can play my video games and watch The Office with my wife and go to bed. I'll have gained nothing and risked nothing. Status quo really works for me.
If we are honest, however, that isn't what any part of the Bible calls us to. In fact it calls us to exactly the opposite. Jesus Christ has spoken into our lives. Yes, Jesus has to do the work in us we can't do it ourselves. It's all Him....up to a point. And that point is called obedience. As we know Jesus healed a lot of people during His time on earth, but I'm always interested in those times where there was an obedience component. He healed a lame man and commanded him to take up his mat and walk. Sure, Jesus could have healed him and the man could have just laid there...like me...healed but not accepting the reality of what just happened. The taking up the mat and walking is literally walking in the reality of what Jesus has done. The obedience is crucial and it is our choice.
For the past week or so I've been trying to Walk in the Spirit, to see everything from that spiritual perspective. If you've ever seen a video of a newborn horse or deer wobbling around trying to walk, falling down, visibly panting from the effort of trying even once...yeah, I'm much worse than that. Normally I would beat myself up for failing as often as I am, but the Lord keeps reminding me that I've been doing things in the Flesh and after the Flesh for about 39 years. It's almost all I know. I'm going to fall, I'm going to fail, I'm going to end up crumpled on the floor panting like a marathon runner even though I only just tried to spend 10 minutes praying. I know Jesus is right there with some Gatorade and encouragement, like He always is. It's up to me to accept it, naturally, but it's worth it.
Pax,
W
What does it mean to "Walk in the Spirit"?
When the Scriptures talk about walking in the Spirit, just about every time it means a denial of the flesh or the denial of physical reality. Galatians 5:16 says that if we walk by the spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Why? Because these two things are locked in opposition with each other. Personally, I have noticed that every single time that I try to walk in the Spirit my flesh almost immediately rebels. 2 Corinthians 5:7 talks about walking by faith and not by sight. The scriptures also use the phrase "abiding in Him" which is very close to "walking in the Spirit", I believe.
I have long said, in friendly company, that there are 2 competing realities. The reality of the flesh is concerned with what we see, taste, hear, smell, etc. It is what non-believers and many fellow believers refer to as "reality". To my mind that reality only makes up 1% of a far greater reality that is God's reality, reality as the LORD himself sees it. HIS reality is the full 100%, the actual reality.
God's reality is a very peculiar reality to those of us who live, breathe, swim, mate, and exist primarily in the 1%. His reality is a place where the first shall be last and the last shall be first, where peace conquers violence, where lions lay down with lambs, where the biggest, most popular Church is rarely the most successful, where enduring abuse and persecution even to death is a privilege, where Holy God makes a way to connect to sinful man by coming Himself in the flesh as a carpenter's son. God's reality makes no sense to us if we are entrenched in the physical reality. I've heard it called the "Upside Down Kingdom" because according to the World's standards it is completely flipped.
There are a million things in the Bible that we pay lip service to on a daily (maybe weekly) basis that our flesh resists in fact. Miracles. Gifts of the Spirit. Resurrection of the dead. Those are big ones that we conveniently brush aside saying "that was for then" instead of a more obvious though painful answer. We struggle with even the simple, basic ones; Jesus' sacrifice was enough, God is good all the time no matter what, God wants what is best for me... I even have a hard time accepting that God likes me and wants to fellowship with me.
To walk in the Spirit is to walk (to live your life) radically believing that what God says is actually so. It is to move beyond the "Yeah, but..." and into only what He has already told us is real. "Why do you worry about what to eat...what to wear..." It is to agree with God what this life is and how it works.
I once heard someone tell me, "Everything is political". On the contrary, "Everything is spiritual".
We live in this delusion that what matters is what I can see, touch, feel (both emotionally and physically). What truly matters is what God says IS, how HE says things actually works and these things are often in direct conflict, hostile conflict on some points, with the way the Flesh works. As Christians we can't do things the way the World does them. James 4:4 comes straight out and calls us adulterers because, "Friendship with the World is emnity with God." When we find ourselves bound up and tied to the things of the World, when we do things the way the World does rather than the way Jesus says then we are choosing whom we are serving.
Now, naturally, the rational mind rebels and says, "Oh, so, what then? Are you advocating locking ourselves away on some mountain top in a convent?" No. Actually in many places the Bible says that's exactly what we are not to do. We are meant to be spiritual creatures in this physical world bringing the light of Jesus. Can we deny, however, that we are being "conformed to the patterns of this world" more than conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ? When we (at large) equivocate on parts of the Bible that others find offensive, when we sell our principles down the river for some sort of gain and salve it with "well, Jesus will forgive me and I'll pick right back up with him again", when we hold up political figures in such high regard that we get more excited about them than we ever have about Jesus, when the Church sees success as church held in a stadium, money flowing in, and franchising, when we spend more time in our "fandoms" than reading that which would edify us most, when we want to affect change in the world and yet don't even know our neighbor's first name or let alone how we can pray for them... And I'm just talking about me in all that.
Walking in the Spirit means seeing everything the way God does, through an eternal perspective. It means not just believing what is already there in our Bibles, but accepting and moving in that. Who are we if we don't actually believe how God says things actually are and actually work? Pretenders, at best, playing at make-believe.
How much would my life change if I actually walked in that perspective? The eternal nature of my children...the fact that they are literally a gift from God...that they aren't here to test my patience and tolerance...that God specifically made them, fashioned them in specific ways, and specifically chose to give them to my wife and I...that I am charged with their protection and loving development by a great and mighty God who has a plan for them...That He trusts me with all that?
How much would your life change if you held in your mind the fact that you were specifically placed in this time, in this space, in the lives of specific people, including that one person you find annoying to be around...that those people are people that God deeply loves and wants to love through you...that each of them are a soul that is going to end up one place or the other...that they all, especially the annoying one, are struggling on a constant basis, are battling something and your prayers for them could change everything if you actually had a prayer time...that, just like your children, they were uniquely made by God?
See, I don't want to think that way either. My spirit does, but my flesh just wants to get done with my day with minimum contact, minimum engagement so I can finish my day without having been disturbed, without having been rejected, without having been emotionally bothered or vulnerable so I can play my video games and watch The Office with my wife and go to bed. I'll have gained nothing and risked nothing. Status quo really works for me.
If we are honest, however, that isn't what any part of the Bible calls us to. In fact it calls us to exactly the opposite. Jesus Christ has spoken into our lives. Yes, Jesus has to do the work in us we can't do it ourselves. It's all Him....up to a point. And that point is called obedience. As we know Jesus healed a lot of people during His time on earth, but I'm always interested in those times where there was an obedience component. He healed a lame man and commanded him to take up his mat and walk. Sure, Jesus could have healed him and the man could have just laid there...like me...healed but not accepting the reality of what just happened. The taking up the mat and walking is literally walking in the reality of what Jesus has done. The obedience is crucial and it is our choice.
For the past week or so I've been trying to Walk in the Spirit, to see everything from that spiritual perspective. If you've ever seen a video of a newborn horse or deer wobbling around trying to walk, falling down, visibly panting from the effort of trying even once...yeah, I'm much worse than that. Normally I would beat myself up for failing as often as I am, but the Lord keeps reminding me that I've been doing things in the Flesh and after the Flesh for about 39 years. It's almost all I know. I'm going to fall, I'm going to fail, I'm going to end up crumpled on the floor panting like a marathon runner even though I only just tried to spend 10 minutes praying. I know Jesus is right there with some Gatorade and encouragement, like He always is. It's up to me to accept it, naturally, but it's worth it.
Pax,
W
Friday, September 16, 2016
My Struggle (On Political Rebellion)
Today I posted something on Facebook to help me deal with the part of scripture that I struggle with the most, Romans 13:1-7.
There are a LOT of scriptures that are difficult for me; things that call me towards Christ likeness yet cause my flesh to throw temper tantrums. There are things that I recognize as true about the world that I don't want to be true. And then there's Romans 13:1-7.
Deep in my heart there is a wall I've drawn around my principles and values. Many of them are immovable as a result. I will not budge on X, Y, or Z because I know these things to be true and if I violate them then I violate my soul. There's a traitor in their midst. I recognize the sovereignty of God and His scripture, his very words to us. And so I have troubles.
Here it is:
Romans 13:1-5
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from the fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
(6 and 7 are on taxes and what is owed people)
What does this mean to those under a cruel and oppressive government? At what point are we, as Christians, allowed or permitted to rebel...violently?
The more I read of the Bible, the more I think that the Amish and Quakers may have the right of it. In the face of abuse, intolerance, oppression, war, you do the good works that God has told you to do. You do not respond with rebellion. You give honor, respect, and anything asked of you even to a tyrant.
It grates against me. I don't like it. Even now as I write this there is rebellion in my heart to the concept. It hurts, but I know that feeling for what it is. It's a dark root that I have yet to pull out.
Look, I'm not telling you what to believe. I don't necessarily have any answers. I just coined on Facebook a saying I'm sure to repeat til my dying day. "I don't have answers unless it's to questions regarding the random trivia in my head. Other than that I have questions. Lots of questions." I would love for someone to come along and tell me why I'm wrong on this.
As I look at the scriptures, however, I don't see a single place (yet) that endorses rebellion against any form of government, tyrannical or not. I think of the Old Testament where the Children of Israel are in bondage to Egypt. I'm sure there were bloody uprisings every now and then because...well...they were humans. Was a bloody uprising what freed them? No. It was in God's timing and God's way. We've got the Medes, the Persians, the Babylonians who all come and dominate Israel. God even has a prophet who tells the people, "Just accept it! This is God's judgement!". Were their bloody uprisings? I'm sure there were..because...humans. But, again, was that that what freed them? Never. It was in God's timing and God's way.
My mind naturally turns next to the Revolutionary War and, given Romans 13:1-7, were the revolutionaries right in overthrowing the British empire? By God's standard, available for all to read, was it right? The British King was in authority and they rebelled against that authority. They rebelled against the authority God had established, because God establishes all authorities. And I recognize that I'm taking the tack of many Loyalists at the time who felt that it was exactly that. I value our American heritage and history more than most people realize. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Henry, Hancock, Adams, so many of them are basically protestant versions of saints in my head, but I have to question this. Are we better off? Sure. However, were we right biblically?
Jesus never preached rebellion and the Romans were significant oppressors at the time. Within 20 years after his death, if I remember correctly, they destroyed the temple. Constantly we are told to just do good, help the weak, the poor, the stranger, and the widow but never called to take up the sword. Turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, give a man who demands your cloak your outer garment as well, do as the Samaritan; all of these are references to doing good to an oppressor. We are called to pray for and bless those in authority. The Bible instructs us, if we are slaves, to not try to escape but work all the more diligently for our master as we would the Lord himself.
I'm conflicted and need opinions on this, especially those which are grounded in scripture. It's easy to get off on "Well, surely God doesn't expect us to submit to THIS" and not deal with the call to submission itself.
I'm teachable. I'm willing to hear even that which disagrees with me, in fact I welcome it.
Pax,
W
There are a LOT of scriptures that are difficult for me; things that call me towards Christ likeness yet cause my flesh to throw temper tantrums. There are things that I recognize as true about the world that I don't want to be true. And then there's Romans 13:1-7.
Deep in my heart there is a wall I've drawn around my principles and values. Many of them are immovable as a result. I will not budge on X, Y, or Z because I know these things to be true and if I violate them then I violate my soul. There's a traitor in their midst. I recognize the sovereignty of God and His scripture, his very words to us. And so I have troubles.
Here it is:
Romans 13:1-5
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from the fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
(6 and 7 are on taxes and what is owed people)
What does this mean to those under a cruel and oppressive government? At what point are we, as Christians, allowed or permitted to rebel...violently?
The more I read of the Bible, the more I think that the Amish and Quakers may have the right of it. In the face of abuse, intolerance, oppression, war, you do the good works that God has told you to do. You do not respond with rebellion. You give honor, respect, and anything asked of you even to a tyrant.
It grates against me. I don't like it. Even now as I write this there is rebellion in my heart to the concept. It hurts, but I know that feeling for what it is. It's a dark root that I have yet to pull out.
Look, I'm not telling you what to believe. I don't necessarily have any answers. I just coined on Facebook a saying I'm sure to repeat til my dying day. "I don't have answers unless it's to questions regarding the random trivia in my head. Other than that I have questions. Lots of questions." I would love for someone to come along and tell me why I'm wrong on this.
As I look at the scriptures, however, I don't see a single place (yet) that endorses rebellion against any form of government, tyrannical or not. I think of the Old Testament where the Children of Israel are in bondage to Egypt. I'm sure there were bloody uprisings every now and then because...well...they were humans. Was a bloody uprising what freed them? No. It was in God's timing and God's way. We've got the Medes, the Persians, the Babylonians who all come and dominate Israel. God even has a prophet who tells the people, "Just accept it! This is God's judgement!". Were their bloody uprisings? I'm sure there were..because...humans. But, again, was that that what freed them? Never. It was in God's timing and God's way.
My mind naturally turns next to the Revolutionary War and, given Romans 13:1-7, were the revolutionaries right in overthrowing the British empire? By God's standard, available for all to read, was it right? The British King was in authority and they rebelled against that authority. They rebelled against the authority God had established, because God establishes all authorities. And I recognize that I'm taking the tack of many Loyalists at the time who felt that it was exactly that. I value our American heritage and history more than most people realize. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Henry, Hancock, Adams, so many of them are basically protestant versions of saints in my head, but I have to question this. Are we better off? Sure. However, were we right biblically?
Jesus never preached rebellion and the Romans were significant oppressors at the time. Within 20 years after his death, if I remember correctly, they destroyed the temple. Constantly we are told to just do good, help the weak, the poor, the stranger, and the widow but never called to take up the sword. Turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, give a man who demands your cloak your outer garment as well, do as the Samaritan; all of these are references to doing good to an oppressor. We are called to pray for and bless those in authority. The Bible instructs us, if we are slaves, to not try to escape but work all the more diligently for our master as we would the Lord himself.
I'm conflicted and need opinions on this, especially those which are grounded in scripture. It's easy to get off on "Well, surely God doesn't expect us to submit to THIS" and not deal with the call to submission itself.
I'm teachable. I'm willing to hear even that which disagrees with me, in fact I welcome it.
Pax,
W
Friday, September 9, 2016
Roman Coinage (bit of a tid)
While catching up on my TableTalk devotional reading I came across this in reference to Mark 12:13-17. It's the famous tax paying confrontation.
"A second bit of irony is seen in the pharisees' and Herodians' giving Jesus a denarius when He asked for one. First-century Jews, for the most part, did not embrace Roman rule enthusiastically. In fact, many considered the payment of Roman taxes to be a form of idolatry, particularly since the Roman Coinage in which taxes were paid featured the image of the Emperor and his title, which gave him the status of deity. The Pharisees and Herodians knew that if Jesus were to openly teach people to pay this tax, the Jewish citizens would be upset and would even stop listening to Him. But note that Jesus did not have the detested Roman coin on His person; His opponents, Jewish leaders who were supposed to be adamantly against idolatry, did. If paying the Roman taxes was inherently idolatrous, the Jewish authorities were complicit, not Jesus."
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