Personal Responsiblity

13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. James 1:13-15 (HCSB)

Why are we as humans so adverse to personal responsibility? It would seem that we tend to blame everything under the sun for our moral shortcomings. Christians will do this to greater or lesser degree than any other non-believer. That leads me to believe that it is embedded in the human psyche.

Path to Peace

Returning back to my posts on anger, I previously posted on the ring of anger.  The ring of anger keeps anger going without resolution.  Just avoiding the things that are unproductive and unhealthy with anger does not resolve the feeling of anger.  I would even go further and say that unless you do something with the anger you are likely "stuffing it." 

The path of peace is a better way to handle the feelings of anger.  Remember it is not anger that is good or bad it is the way you handle it that makes it good or bad.  The four ways that are the path to peace are Show it positive (express it), Shape it, Sort it out, and/or Surrender it. 

Show It Positive (Express It)

Since you put away lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger, and don't give the Devil an opportunity.
Ephesians 4:25-27 (HCSB)

One of the signs of emotional maturity is the ability to express feelings in a healthy manner.  Expressing anger in a mature, clear, and healthy way is very difficult.  Part of the reason is that when you are angry the thinking/planning/organizing/rationalizing part of your brain is slowed way down.  The other part of your brain is sending the signal "punch this guy" or "run away."  The rational part of your brain is lucky to guide that into a verbal response which usually results in a verbal attack or quiet seething.  While the verbal response is desirable to a physical attack it is lacking in emotional maturity. 

Expressing emotions like anger in a mature manner involves several steps.  First you have to be aware that you are angry.  That might seem funny to you, but most people that struggle with anger are not aware of their anger until after they have said or done something that they regret or hurt another person.  You may have said or been told in a loud angry tone, "I AM NOT ANGRY!"  It is the contradiction that demonstrates a lack of awareness.  The second step is understanding why you are angry.  "What is the trigger?"  "What do I believe about the situation?"  "Do I understand why I am feeling this way?"  After you are aware of and understand your anger, then it is time to put it into words.  The typical suggestion is "When" (Fill in the trigger) "happens I feel angry."  There are many words that describe the feeling of anger that can be applied to different types of anger as well as different intensities of anger.  Find the right word.  It might be helpful to learn a vocabulary of anger (more in a future post).

Shape It

A ruler can be persuaded through patience, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
Proverbs 25:15 (HCSB)

In 1980 13-year-old Cari Lightner was killed by a drunk driver.  Candy Lightner was  devastated by the loss, as any parent would be.  She learned that the man that had killed her daughter would not spend much (if any) time in jail.  She felt enraged and helpless. Candy her mother promised herself that she would not let her daughter's death be meaningless.  Later that same year Candy formed Mother's Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) on September 5, 1980 (Cari's Birthday). 

Anger is a powerful force.  Undirected it is destructive to the victim and the perpetrator.  But if that force can be channeled it becomes an unstoppable movement for positive change.  How does one woman's anger become an international movement?  It is in the quality of shaping your anger to a positive outcome.  Now you may not start a national movement (or maybe you might), but you can use that same force to accomplish some good in your life and the life of others.  It takes support from friends and family. A willingness to let go of the destructive side of anger, and an unwavering commitment to see that anger motivate you to greater action.  It will take greater effort and thoughtfulness, but the wonderful thing about anger is how incredibly motivating it is.  Use that motivation or energy to do something positive.  It could be as simple as using it for an intense physical workout at the gym or as dramatic as starting a movement that radically changes your world.  Whatever it is channel it into something good!

Sort It Out

But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Fool!' will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, 'You moron!' will be subject to hellfire. So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you're on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.
Matthew 5:22-25 (HCSB)

Once a person has understood there anger it is beneficial to do something to sort it out.  Sorting it out will often involve going to the person that you have offended or who has offended you.  If you desire to sort it it out you have to approach the situation with a sincere desire to make things right.  It will not work if you go with the intent of justifying hurtful, harsh, or demanding manner then it will not likely work.  But if you go with grace, leniency, and a desire for reconciliation then you can have hope of sorting it out.  The process of sorting things out can be very complicated and difficult.  It can also be very time consuming.  Often it is not immediate so patience is a must.  What is more is sorting things out with another assumes that the other person is in a place to want to do the same.  Demanding that a person who is not ready to sort things out with you cooperate with your effort and "good will" is a sure recipe for frustration and increased anger.  This will further strain the relationship.  Just remember this:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone's eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.
Romans 12:17-18 (HCSB)

If it is not possible or if it is not practical to sort it out with another person sometimes you can sort out your anger by your self or with a trusted person than can listen to you and give honest feedback.  The goal of sorting it out on your own is to take your understanding and awareness to a deeper level.  Greater understanding will help you then to identify the things that you can change in yourself or in your environment to avoid triggers or resolve the anger that you experience.  Sorting it out will often lead to some level of acceptance for the way things are.  Not that you have to judge the situation as just, fair, or good, but that you accept it.  Once you are able to accept it then you can move to the next stage on the path to peace. 

Surrender It

I view surrendering anger from a spiritual view point.  It is hard for me to imagine surrendering anger from any other perspective.  I see surrender as different than forgetfulness or not bringing it back up.  Forgetfulness (if such a thing is possible) is unmindful.  It is a type of self-denial.  You have to forget being hurt and constantly work a releasing the hurt over and over and over again.  This may not be so hard for minor offences, but when someone has deeply hurt you this constant state of trying to release the hurt is in itself hurtful.  You have to deny you hurt, but how do you deny what you feel.  You have to deny yourself.  Self-transcendence is an extremely difficult road to take.  Few (if any) ever arrive.  When you fail at this self-denial then you are likely to beat up your self or have others beat you up emotionally by saying, "Why can you just get over it."  Not bringing it back up is also a type of self-denial.  Forgetfulness denies how you feel.  Not bringing it back up denies what you think.  You are reminded of the thing that made you angry and think on it, but do not express it.  You try to push it away from your awareness.  What I think happens is that the thought that is put away in an effort to not bring it up lies in our sub-conscious waiting until some other event reawakens our awareness of the thought.  Often this repeated awakening of the angry thought intensifies every time and eventually leads to resentment and/or forceful expression of the angry thought in some future discussion. 

So what then if denying how you think or feel does not lead to resolution then how does one take this path to peace?  Surrender is the key. 

sur-ren-der:	to yield (something) to the possession or power of another
	to give oneself up, as into the power of another; submit or yield

I use surrender in both senses of giving an object up as well as giving one's self up.  The object that you surrender is anger.  You yield or turn over the anger to the power of another.  To whom or what do you surrender the anger to?  Well I am convinced that spiritually speaking no one can receive someone else's anger by way of surrender.  It can only be received by another person through force, retaliation, or retribution.  I believe that only God can receive our anger by way of surrender.  Consider that surrendering anger to God is being obedient.

Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord.
Romans 12:19 (HCSB)

What is more surrendering your anger to God is a statement that you trust Him to work it out for the best.  When I try to avenge my anger I am just as likely to be angry in an unjustified or extreme way.  God on the other hand will execute justice in perfection.  What is more if the person is repentant it gives you a path toward restored relationship.  If you do not surrender your anger then even if the other person comes to you and says, "I am sorry" you will not have freedom to reconcile until you surrender your anger. 

Surrendering involves self-surrender.  First you submit to God.

But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:6-7 (HCSB)

Then you submit to others.

Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3-4 (HCSB)

Even submit to those that are against you. 

But I tell you, don't resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.
Matthew 5:39-41 (HCSB)
You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:43-45 (HCSB)

But this is too hard you say.  I agree.  I think apart from a relationship with God through Christ this type of submission is impossible.  It requires that you have honor toward Christ, relating to God, and filled by the Spirit.

... but be filled by the Spirit... submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.
Ephesians 5:18 and 21 (HCSB)

The scope of submitting is far beyond what can be summed up in this brief post.  What I have done is given you a path.  A Path to Peace.  Now whether you choose to walk this path is up to you.  I pray that you find it and that the Spirit of God so fill you that you arrive safely in God's peace. 

God Bless You

Meditation: Longing to Be Clothed in Life

Passage
1 Corinthians 5:2-3

Context
Paul is providing his insight as to way he does not fear death and suffering.

Key Words
Groaning, Desiring, Dwelling, Heaven

Message
What can I say.  Oh to be home with the Lord.  It seems that this type of thinking could lead to greater suffering if the though leads us to reject what is our present circumstance.  However it can be a great source of comfort if we recognize that this groaning produces an eternal good.  Not long from now (from eternities perspective) we will be home.  Mortality will be swallowed up in life (1 Corinthians 5:4).  Now in this life God has given us this moment to live.  And live it we must.  To its fullest potential even as we groan naked longing to be clothed in eternities garb.  One thing we do have.  The Holy Spirit of God given as a promise and a taste of eternities light (1 Corinthians 5:5).  So I long for the next and aim to please in this my moment given by God to accomplish his purpose in this world. 

Bless You

Meditation: Repentance

I do not have a specific verse for this mornings meditation.  I have more of what God has shown me through His word, though observation of others, and through personal experience. 

Repentance is not...

Wanting to change	thinking about change
hoping for change	feeling bad about something
guilt	remorse
sadness	changing behavior
trying harder	praying more
reading the Bible more	going forward in church
saying "I'm sorry"	promising to do better

To be sure all these things may be involved in repentance, but in and of themselves they are not repentance. 

Psalm 51:4

In order for repentance to occur one must be first aware that repentance is needed.  There is change that is most definitely needed in the life of a person.  Others may see the need for change, but until the person themselves is aware they cannot repent.  What is more often we push this awareness away from our conscious mind.  The recognition that a change is needed is too painful and so we push that awareness away.  We can also deny that a change is needed in the face of insurmountable evidence to the contrary.  It is amazing to me the level of denial that a human mind can come up with when all else points him/her in a different direction.  This denial keeps a person away from repentance.  Whether through ignorance, avoidance, or denial a lack of awareness that one needs to repent will keep one from repenting.  Awareness that a change is needed is not the same as repentance.  It is simply the first step in making a change.

How does one become aware that a change is needed?

  It is clear to me that God's word and his Holy Spirit are needed to make one aware of sin. 

Paul explains it this way,  "...sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure (Romans 7:13)."  God's word helps us to recognize when we have missed the mark.  Sin is just that "missing the mark."  We are imperfect and have many flaws leading us to miss the mark.  If a person says they do not sin then they are ignorant (1 Corinthians 15:34) or they are lying (1 John 1:8).   God's word removes ignorance and forces out of self deception.  When sin is in a person's life often a devotion to God's word is the first casualty. 

The Holy Spirit plays a role in making one aware of sin (John 16:8-9).  The Holy Spirit convicts regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment.  Without the calling of the Holy Spirit our natural inclinations would be to go astray (Galatians 5:16-18).    In fact no one is drawn to the Father (God) except by the work of the Holy Spirit (John 6:63-65) and the Spirit does this at the bidding of the Father.

At this point the person is at a crisis of faith.  He/She either believes the Word of God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit or she/he denies the need of repentance.  It is a sorry thing when a person refuses to repent.  The immediate consequence is a removal of the peace that God desires to give.  The long term consequence is the removal of God's blessing and protection.  The eternal consequence for the unbeliever is separation from God.

All this to say that recognition of the need for change is a prerequisite to repentance. 

Change of Will

Once a person has this recognition they have to take the next step which is a change of will.  To repent you have desire the change.  Being aware that a change is needed is well and good, but if you do not desire to change then your repentance will be short lived.  There has to be a change of desire that occurs in the innermost part of your being.  This desire is a restoration of hungering and thirsting for righteousness. 

For consider how much diligence this very thing-this grieving as God wills-has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you showed yourselves to be pure in this matter.
2 Corinthians 7:11 (HCSB)

Desire to clear, indignation, fear, deep longing, zeal, and justice.  Those are powerful words.  Meditate on them.  Let them sink into your soul.  Let them spark spiritual life into your mind, body, and action.  These things grant inward repentance.  Transformation that is inside out. 

Change in Direction

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other.
Isaiah 45:22 (HCSB)

Repentance is a change in direction.  It is a change from worthless things to God (Acts 14:15).  It is a change from self-centeredness to God (Proverbs 18:1).  It is a change from "I got to have it" attitude to God (James 3:16).  Repentance is a change from a passive attitude about sin to a recognition of sin as God sees it (James 4:8-10).  Repentance is seeking God's Glory over the glory of men (John 5:44).  In short repentance is an about face from all the selfish desire and attractions of this worlds to a forward facing devotion to God and his kingdom (Matthew 6:33).

Change in Fruit

Repentance is a change in actions.  The actions in and of themselves hold no real power to repentance.  They are merely evidence of the change that has already occurred on the inside.  Often people will seek to do great works as a way to undo or compensate for the wrong that they have done.  This type of change is not repentance, but rather is works based religion.  The fruit of repentance is cultivating those things in your life that lead to genuine spiritual growth. 

In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.
Matthew 7:17-18 (HCSB)

What is this fruit?  Here is a good list:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 (HCSB)

A person growing in these with consistency demonstrates the Spirit of God working in him/her.  A change of fruit demonstrates the change of heart.  That is repentance.  

Have a blessed day!

Making the Most of the Time

Image by Caucas' via Flickr

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk not as unwise people but as wise making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don't be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit
Ephesians 5:15-18 (HCSB)

This passages immediately proceeds the passage on marriage (Eph 5:22-32).  This morning I am reflecting on my own need to make the most of time.  It seems that it is easy for me to fall into the chaotic life of busyness and in the process become less effective and eventually neglect the things that are important and that are really worthy of my time.

In this passage we see God's time management system.  First we are called to pay attention.  So often we mindlessly go through our day without a thought of what we are doing.  We do it simply because something has demanded our attention, out of habit, or just because. 

Once we have paid attention then God calls us to walk wisely.  To be honest with you I continually have to work at this one (as I am sure most of us do).  The beginning of Wisdom is fear of the Lord (Prov 9:10).  When respect God as our sovereign Lord then we are on the right path in our walk.  Perhaps that is why days that I start with a time of meditation on His word, prayer, and/or reflection on God are much more satisfying than those days that I neglect these. 

Continuing on this road God calls us to make the most of the time.  So many things compete for my attention.  I also struggle with being a bit ADD.  So I get the added bonus that my mind tend to follow the rabbit trails of life to the point that I forget what I was doing in the first place.  The idea of making the most of time is that we are "buying back our time."  It seems that our time is a commodity that is sold, bought, and traded.  All to often I sell my time to some other cause, effort, purpose than the one that God has put on my heart.  This does not seem like a bad thing on the surface.  After all I am helping others most of the time.  However, it leads me to neglect.  I think also how many hours I have traded for mindless distraction and pursuit of things that do not bring my Lord honor.  Again some of them very worthy sounding on the surface, but none the less traded away. 

God Calls us to buy back (redeem) our time.  An action I can think of is redeeming a mail in rebate.  The form that the rebate has very little value until we get the the things together needed for the rebate (receipts, upc codes), fill out the form, and mail it in.  It also has an expiration at which the rebate becomes worthless if not acted on.  In the same way our time only has value when we get our things together and act according to what is needed.  If we don't act then time has very little value in and of itself.  Time also expires and becomes worthless when it is not acted on. 

God tells us to do this because the days are evil.  This seems confusing until you realize that the default is evil because time wasted is time lost.  Evil in the sense that they are decaying away and will never be again.  Evil in the sense that we are closer to meeting our maker.  Evil in the sense that we can no longer use a day gone by to do something that God has called us to.  Evil in the sense that our days can naturally be filled with hurtful, wasteful, unwholesome, hardship, difficult, and painful things.  It is only by redeeming time that we can turn these evils into something good.  God uses us to redeem time. 

This continues with two don'ts and two do's:
Don't be foolish
Don't get drunk
Do understand God's will
Do be filled with the Spirit

So how are you doing in redeeming the time? 

I think I need to work more effectively in this area.  Will you pray with me that God would lead us to redeem the time?

God Bless You!

Spiritual Intimacy

Image by ToniVC via Flickr

This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.
Genesis 2:24-25 (HCSB)

Genesis 2:24-25 expresses the spiritual ideal for marriage. 

Leaving the family of origin

It is important to understand the meaning of this leaving.  Some would take this to mean that we must cut off our family of origin.  I have met with couples who take this stance.  They do this to there detriment at times in light of:

Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12 (HCSB)

Some would say that this command is only for children.  However Jesus plainly tells an adult that he is to honor his mother and father in Matthew 19:16-19.  So as you can see either we have a contradiction or the intent of Genesis 2:24 is not to communicate the idea of cutting off.  The idea captured by the word leave is that we are leaving something behind.  It is releasing some object.  Often those objects are a barrier that keeps us from being all that God wants us to be.  In this case holding on to intimacy with your family of origin will get in the way of full intimacy with your spouse.  Take a look at what Adam has just said in this passage:

And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called "woman," for she was taken from man.
Genesis 2:23 (HCSB)

Adam could not find a suitable helper from all of God's Creation.  First it should be recognized that man had a need.  We are incomplete in one sense without our helpmate. "This one" There is only one and not more than one, but "this one" is from me and with me.  There is hardly a more intimate bond that can be expressed than in the marriage relationship.  However not leaving the intimacy of your family of origin is detrimental to intimacy with your spouse. 

Not wanting to be misunderstood, let me plainly say that we need to honor our parents.  This would include listening to them, caring for them, seeking their wisdom, cherishing them, loving them, and respecting them.  This passage has no effect on this part of the relationship with our parents.  However, one must make a spiritual break from his or her parents if they are to experience oneness with his or her spouse. 

Bonding

Bonding is the intimacy that occurs in a relationship that draw two together into one relationship.  Ideally the highest bond is our relationship with God.  Next in order would be our relationship with our spouse.  We bond to our spouse by approaching and holding.  This bond in consummated in the act of sexual intercourse (more on sexual intimacy in a future post).  Often in our free culture with regard to sexual morality we have weakened the bond by reducing the spiritual nature of sexuality into a mere act of gratification and procreation.  Bonding is a process that occurs as the couple meets, get's to know each other, develop trust, become physical, then sexually involved as well as Spiritually intimate.  Ideally the last part occurs in the safety and security of marriage bonds.  When people trade the bonding process for sex (the act not intimacy) then then tend to bond with whatever object is used for sexual gratification (more on this in the Sexual intimacy post). 

Becoming One

It is a great mystery of how two individuals can become one.  It is a spiritual connection that ties them together at the depth of the soul.  This oneness is expressed in all manner of actions and yet the actions themselves do not make a couple one.  For example oneness is expressed in devotion to one another.  However devotion is not a way to achieve oneness.  There is an expression that the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts.  In this case becoming one is greater than the acts that express that oneness.  Magnetic attraction is a useful illustration:

This is two magnets aligned to repel each other.  Note how the magnetic fields do not connect and radiate away from each other.
This one the magnets are still aligned to repel, but are forced together.  It makes a nice flower shape, but still the fields radiate away from each other.
In this one the magnets are separated but aligned to attract each other.  You can see that even though there are two different fields they still are connected.
In this picture the magnets are aligned to attract and are connected.  Notice there is one single new magnetic field that is created.
What is more is that it looks like the magnetic field of a single magnet. "The two shall become one"

Images use with permission Hoadley, Rick.  "Magnet Man".  http://www.coolmagnetman.com  1998-2010

These illustrate spiritual intimacy in this way. If a couple is not aligned spiritually no amount of forcing them together (even with religious doctrine) is going to make them one.  What is more the spirituality of the other is likely going to repel the other away from them.  For example this happens often when a spouse looks at the other and says he/she is not acting according to God's word while not examining whether they are loving or honoring their spouse in the way that God desires them to.   On the other hand, If a couple is aligned spiritually then separation will result in an attraction that pulls the couple back together.  What is more when they come together they become one.   The attraction or repulsion is evidenced by the effect on the two individuals, but the spiritual field is invisible to the naked eye. 

They Were Naked

Spiritual intimacy involves vulnerability at its deepest level.  Believe it or not being comfortable with each other while naked is a good measure of spiritual intimacy in my estimation.  If there is a lack of comfort then it indicates that the spouse has some insecurity that has not been overcome by spiritual intimacy.  That is not to say that you go around naked all the time.  But in those intimate moments there is a deep love and devotion toward each other that transcends nakedness.  There also is a purity spiritually speaking as well.  Note it was not until after sin entered the world that the first couple realized they were naked and they rushed to cover up at that point (see Genesis 3:7).  When sin enters a relationship spiritual intimacy breaks down. 

Feeling No Shame

Negative feelings are destructive to Spiritual Intimacy none more destructive than shame.  Shame seeks a way out, run away, cover up, escape, fight back, blame, close off, avoid, push away, and ultimately cut off.  Being able to come together and experience no shame is a spiritual event in the life of a couple.  It is a feeling of all is right in the world as long as we are together.  Without shame marriage is a place to honor, celebrate, admire, exult, prize your spouse.

Setting Your Mind on the Spirit

For those of you who have been following this I must apologize for the delay in getting this post out.  I have had many things to attend to that seem to be now resolved to a certain extent.  So I am now able to return to writing. 

Romans 8 is one of the most powerful chapters in proclaiming our spiritual victory found in Christ.  In Chapter 7 Paul discusses the futility of willing yourself into victory.  Willpower does not save.  If willpower was all that was needed then the message of the Cross is pointless.  When the will is set on the Spirit (Spirit mindedness) then the Spirit's power is set forth to do it's work in the life of a believer. 

After repentance (Dying to self and turning to Christ) then one must accept the truth that there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.  So often we tend to get our spiritual cleaning and then go back to the works of the law.  Or continue to beat ourselves for past sin.  The removal of guilt is complete.  That is not to say that you will not experience consequences of sin (sometimes life long).  But it does mean that you are free spiritually.  Your freedom is an accomplished work that Christ did for you on the Cross. 

At this moment of spiritual freedom you have some choices on what you are going to focus on.  Walking in the Spirit, living in accord with the Spirit, mindset on the Spirit, Crying out in the Spirit, groaning in the Spirit, Hoping in the Spirit, Waiting in the Spirit, and praying in the Spirit are all disciplines that lead to greater and greater Spirit mindedness.  There is considerable overlap between these disciplines. 

What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin's domain, and as a sin offering, in order that the law's requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit.
Romans 8:3-5 (HCSB)

"Walking according the the Spirit" and "living according the the Spirit" is an intentional change from doing what feels good (in the moment) to falling under the direction of God's Holy Spirit.  This is not the same as willing to be obedient to God's Law, but rather it is choosing to follow His Spirit to be in accord with God's plan for your life.   There is a slang expression "I am down with that."  In some sense we as Christians are to be "down with the Holy Spirit."  We (with our will) are in agreement with His direction for us.  That is walking according the the Spirit.  Our walking and our lives are with the Holy Spirit!

For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God's law, for it is unable to do so.
Romans 8:6-7 (HCSB)

Part of the act of the will in being in accord with the Sprit has to do with where your mind is set.  There is a contrast between a person that has their mind set on the flesh and their mind set on the Spirit.  This is a very important distinction.  I am convinced that as long as a person continues to think about sin either in terms of avoiding it or indulging it the mind continues to be set on the flesh.  Did you catch that?  You can be desiring a good thing (avoiding some particular sin) and still have a mind set on the flesh (remember Romans 7).  There is a need to set our minds on the Spirit of God.  Our ultimate life and peace come from this act.  Think over the times of spiritual victory in your life and you will find that they did not come from working harder to avoid sin, but rather when you were able to set your mind on the things of God.  The opposite is also true.  Think about the times of spiritual defeat.  You were no matter how hard you tired not to unable to beat the sin because it was on your mind.  Having the right mind-set is vital to a Spirit filled life.  Where is your mind set?

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father!"
Romans 8:15 (HCSB)

When we come to Christ as our savior then we receive the Holy Spirit as evidence that we have been "adopted" into God's family.  It is by this Spirit that we are able to call God our daddy and father.  There are times in life that we just need a daddy to get us through the moment.  To pick us up dust of our pants and let us know He is right there with us holding us up with His strong arms.  It is through Spirit mindedness that we can experience this spiritual hug from God.  Go ahead cry out to Him.  He loves to hug His children!

And not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits -we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:23 (HCSB)

In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings.
Romans 8:26 (HCSB)

There are times when all that we can let out is a groan.  For the Christian there is a groan of desperation and hopelessness (Groaning in the flesh?) and there is a groaning in and by the Spirit.  The groaning in the Spirit come from the realization that this is not our final resting place.  We long to be with God in total.  We desire the day when we will be able to shed this sinful flesh and be fully redeemed and with God.  There also is a groaning that is done by the Spirit Himself.  He groans a prayer over our groaning of weakness.  This type of groaning is actually a prayer.  Praying in the Spirit is a prayer of speechlessness for ourselves, but the words of the Spirit are powerful.  If you have never prayed according the the Spirit in this way I encourage you to get quiet before the Lord acknowledge your weakness and let the Spirit do the rest.  The key is that it is the Spirit's work because of our weakness and not something that you do in yourself!  The prayer in the Spirit is powerful.  Prayer without the Spirit is just a list of things that you want God to do.  God always answers the first prayer, but the latter He may or may not.  These verses explain was praying in the Spirit is answered.

And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit's mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Romans 8:27 (HCSB)

When we pray in the Spirit and the Spirit groans on our behalf then we get a perfect prayer that is according to the will of God.  This takes discipline and it certainly takes sensitivity to the Spirit's leading, but it can transform your life of prayer. 

There are many more disciplines that lead to Spirit Mindedness, but I believe that this is a good start.  One thing before a end this post.  My worst fear is that you would take my words to be something.  In reality they are nothing.  They are less than nothing compared to the surpassing value of God's word.  I ask you with the greatest of urgency and sincerity to examine His word.  In this case specifically Romans 8.  Before during and after your reading of Romans 8 ask that God would give you Spiritual understanding and wisdom.  It does not come from me nor can I replace His Spirit.  May the God of all creation and savior of our souls grant you the wisdom of the ages!

God Bless You!

Dying to Sin

Spirit Mindedness begins with a fundamental change in the way that you live life or rather die to life.  It seems that the paradox within the Christian tradition is that one lives when one dies.  Romans 6 summarizes this kind of living (dying). 

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life.
Romans 6:1-4 (HCSB)

There is a problem of sin within the Church.  We like the idea of being saved in spite of our sins, but we do not take the next step of being saved out of our sin.  Jesus did not come so that we could continue to live the same sinful life with the assurance that we could make it to heaven.  One has to wonder if living in this way is even remotely close to a genuine faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.  You see living for Christ involves dying to the former way of life.  Which is what this passage deals with.  When we come to Christ we are "baptized into his death."  But more than that we are raised to a new life.  It is a life that is dependent on the Holy Spirit of God. 

For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin's dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin's claims.
Romans 6:6-7 (HCSB)

One of the reasons that dying to the old self is so important is that it releases us from being enslaved to sin.  Sin is missing the mark that God has given us.  When we miss the mark then the Holy Spirit is grieved.  Sin hinders the Holy Spirit from working in your life.  In fact sin produces bad fruit in your life.  When sin is present then it is evidence that God is not in control of your life.  We have to die to sin.  

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over Him. For in light of the fact that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in light of the fact that He lives, He lives to God.
Romans 6:8-10 (HCSB)

Not only do we die to sin, but we are raised to live to God.  We are called to live our lives every moment to God and His righteousness.  When we live to God then we have hope of freedom from falling back into sin. 

How to die to Sin

Step 1:

So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:11 (HCSB)

Step 2:

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. Romans 6:12-13 (HCSB)

Step 3:

But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.
Romans 6:13 (HCSB)

Step 4:  Meditate upon this truth until it becomes embedded in your mind:

For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:14 (HCSB)

A word of warning.  It is easy to consider this as a act of religious devotion or exercise of commitment.  This is not the case.  It is a work of the Holy Spirit in you.  It is trusting the Holy Spirit to accomplish this work in you.  The point is that you have to be willing to do it ("Consider yourselves...").  We will explore this further in the next few posts. 

Have a Blessed Day!

Spirit Mindedness

As I draw near to the end of this series of posts on the topic of Christian mindfulness, I am drawn to a distinction within the tradition of Christianity.  Christians believe (and experience) God's Holy Spirit indwelling them.  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit though is not an automatic pathway to spiritual awareness.  I would say the possibility of spiritual awareness is there, but there is a specific discipline that is required in order to achieve what I would call "Spirit mindedness." 

If I were to draw a parallel with the eastern tradition I would say that Nirvana or higher Bodhi (the highest spiritual goals) are similar, but also very different from Spirit Mindedness.  The transcendence of lusts, desires, obsessions, fixations,  negative affective states, suffering and the like are the goal of Nirvana and end of delusion in Bodhi.  In eastern tradition there is a dilemma that no matter what there is a dualism that exist between the mind and reality.  The mind suffers from varying degrees of delusion in that an unenlightened mind can never perceive things as they really are.  The end of delusion is when a person is able to move beyond this dualism into a state where what is perceived and what is real are one (so called one with also called enlightenment).  These are similar to Christian Spirit mindedness in that death of lust desires, obsessions, fixations, negative affective states, suffering are the goal. 

There are some definite distinctions between Spirit Mindedness and eastern enlightenment that make Christian spirituality unique.  There is a dilemma of dualism in Christian tradition.  In this case though there is the reality of God's law and impossibility (because of sin) of the mind to will the person to behave in accordance to the Law.  In Christian tradition this dualism is resolved when the believer moves from desiring to keep the law in the flesh to setting oneself on the Spirit (i.e. setting the mind on the Spirit). There is a oneness as well in Spirit mindedness, but rather than one with reality the the Christian is one with God and fellow believers.  In the eastern thinking the individual is lost in the oneness with all things.  In Spirit Mindedness the individually is retained as a person takes their place in God's order of things.  In eastern tradition the goal is transcendence of will.  In Spirit mindedness the goal is setting the will. 

Consider a tree.  In Eastern tradition the goal is to become so intimately aware of the the tree that the leaf recognizes that it is the tree or that the tree is in it (i.e. one with).  In Christian tradition on the other hand the leaf is connected to the the tree and recognizes is dependence one the rest of the tree (branches, trunk roots) and accepts its very important role of producing the energy for growth and fruitfulness of the tree. 

Stated another way, enlightenment is a state of oneness will all things.  Christian Mindfulness is awareness of the unity of God and His people and accepting your part within the whole and according to God's plan.  In this way these concepts are very unique. 

I believe that Romans 6, 7, and 8 present the best description of Spirit Mindedness that I have found.  I would encourage you to read it.  My next few posts will deal with these chapters.  Generally 6 summarizes death to sin, 7 presents the dilemma of simply willing/desiring/working to do good without the Spirit, and Chapter 8 describes how one goes about setting the mind on the Spirit. 

Peace of God

I typically get up very early to start my day.  Today I got up at 3:30 AM.  There are three reasons for me to get up this early.  First is habit.  Once I start getting up at a certain time I have a hard time sleeping past that time.  Second is to spend time with God.  Third, it is the most quiet time in my house.  With four children there is no peace when they are awake. 

Peace and Quiet is a common expression.  As near as I can tell the idiom originated in the mid 1800's according to American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms.  Interesting to think about when you consider the changes that the western world was going through at the time.  The Second Great Awakening, Rise and fall of empires, Latin America's struggle for freedom from imperial rule, rise and fall of Napoleon, Many other wars on every continent of the world, the industrial revolution, Communist manifesto published, revolutions of 1948,  California gold rush, Origin of Species published, American Civil war, the end of slavery in most all major empires, Lincoln Assonated, The second industrial revolution and so on.  Interestingly by the mid 1800s the noise from machinery alone may have driven one to say in exasperation, "All I want is a little peace and quiet." 

Now we have more noise than ever.  It is informational, technological, political, commercial, legal, spiritual, mechanical, medical, and I am sure that I missed some.  In the midst of the cacophony we to long for a bit of "peace and quiet."  Even in this quiet moment I still hear cars outside, machines at a plant about half a mile away, clock ticking, the hum of the refrigerator, the whoosh of central air, and the whir of the computer.  So even in my quiet I continue to be bombarded by noise.

In some respects we have become accustom to our noise.  In some ways it is actually comforting.  Have you ever been at home when the power goes out?  The phrase eerie quiet comes to mind.  Eerie?  Really?  How about natural quiet.  A quiet that comes from an absence of man's noise.  How about a peace "not as the world gives," but as the Lord gives. 

Let's contrast "peace of the world" with "peace of God."  Peace of the world is conditional.  Peace of God is given freely to them that would receive it.  Peace of the world is maintained by agreement and/or enforcement.  Peace of God is maintained by covenant and seeking.  Peace of the world is temporary (fictional perhaps, no time without war).  Peace of God is eternal (though remaining incomplete in this life).  Peace of the world is externally controlled by the circumstances and relationships in life.  Peace of God is internally controlled by relationship with God's Spirit and transcends circumstances in life. 

Jesus Said:

The Counselor, the Holy Spirit -the Father will send Him in My name-will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.

Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.  John 14:26-27 (HCSB)

I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.  John 16:32-33 (HCSB)

Peace of God is connected to our relationship with Him.  We have peace toward God through our relationship with Jesus Christ.  We receive God's Holy Spirit who give us peace through trouble, frightening times, and suffering.  Peace of God is cultivated through being peaceable, lenient, compliant, bulging with mercy and good fruits,  and avoiding favoritism and hypocrisy.  Peace of God comes from fellowship with other believers.  Finally Peace of God is deeply connected to Holiness.  Without repentance from evil and pursuing that which is good Peace of God is unreachable. 

Go now and pursue peace.  Not the peace the world offers, but the peace of Christ that is found in setting you mind on the Holy Spirit of God. 

Blessings and Peace

Are you Hungry? (mindless fool or mindful righteousness)

Hunger is a state of longing to be filled.  This is a basic drive for all human beings.  If you have ever tried fasting you quickly become aware of how intense this drive can be.

Jesus said:

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, for they will be filled. Matt 5:6 (HCSB)

Continuing on the subject of filling and wholeness I want to post a question to you.  What is it that you are Spiritually Hungry for?  This may be a difficult post for some.  It was not the direction that I had anticipated, but God has proven to me over and over that He desires for us to take things to the next level of awareness and today this is what He is showing me.

After a good meal there is a general sense of well-being that come over you.  I the expression is often, "that was a good meal."  That feeling of well being is the result of a desire fulfilled.  We can have that feeling about many things, but according to Christ to be filled spiritually we need to desire righteousness.  Being filled with righteousness will lead to a sense of well-being that is greater than that felt after a good meal. 

There is a difference between filled with self-righteousness and filled with God's righteousness.  Self-righteousness is often only concerned about outward appearances.  This is one thing that Christ was so adamantly against.  Why?  I believe that self-righteousness keeps us trapped.  Let me describe what I mean.  If a person believes they are righteous (but in reality are just self-righteous) then this becomes the core of their identity.  Every action they take is built on confirming their own righteousness.  Jesus gave this example:

The Pharisee took his stand and was praying like this: 'God, I thank You that I'm not like other people -greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.' Luke 18:11-12 (HCSB)

The Pharisee's very identity was based on the fact that he was not unrighteous.  His self-righteousness blinded him to the fact that he was not perfect (old-world sense).  He was still missing something.  As long as someone continues in self-righteous acts they will continue to be unmindful of who they really are.  Their awareness is only on what they do which serves to distract them from what God is trying to show them.  The self-righteous see that no change is needed. 

There is a concept in psychology about the change process called "precontemplation."   Those that are in this stage are not even aware that they have a problem.  This lack of awareness can be either through ignorance or through denial.  The Pharisees were the most learned spiritual leaders of Jesus' time.  They could not claim ignorance.   That would leave denial as the only option.  So they denied the need of a savior.  That is why Jesus confronted them.  Interestingly in the protocol for counselors working with a person in precontemplation is to get the person to reconsider their opinions, get them to be more self-aware, and point out the consequences of them continuing down the path they are headed.  This is exactly what Jesus was doing with the Pharisees of His day.  Hmmm... Jesus used motivational interviewing (maybe a future post). 

Self-righteousness ends in external hyper-religious unmindfulness (now there is a mouthful).  The cure is to humble yourself before God and allow His Holy Spirit to work on your heart and show you how to be filled.  Self-righteousness is starvation while feeling (or believing you are) full.  Now that is unmindful.

At the other end of the spectrum is casting off righteousness (the fool).  There are people that would just rather that there were not morals to follow.  Their ideal world would be one that suits their pleasure and engaged in the pleasuring of others so that we could have a utopia of pleasure.  Unfortunately such a place does not exist.  The result of such a pursuit is the darkening of one's mind. 

For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. Romans 1:21-23 (HCSB)

Note that God has made Himself evident!  But they were not mindful of it and they did not seek His Righteousness so their thinking became nonsense (according to the wisdom of God).  Mindlessness begets mindlessness.  Foolishness begets foolishness.  As this process continues God gives them over to the darkness of their mind (Romans 1:26).  They become completely unaware of God (The fool says in his heart, "God does not exist. ;Psalms 14:1) or His righteousness.   Being a fool is starving while being unaware that the thing you are throwing away is food.  That last sentence should adequately illustrate the the lack of mindfulness in this state.   

Now having established what mindless hungering looks like let's look at what mindful hungering looks like? 

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, 'God, turn Your wrath from me -a sinner!'  I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.  Luke 18:13-14 (HCSB)

First, you have to be aware of yourself as God sees you.  That may seem like a difficult thing.  It is impossible apart from the Holy Spirit.   The good news is that God's Holy Spirit's ministry is to do just that.

When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment... John 16:8 (HCSB)

Notice the tax collector's awareness: "God" (righteousness), "Turn your wrath" (judgment), "a sinner" (sin).  This awareness is the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  You have to be open to this process.  If you are not open then you risk quenching the Holy Spirit.  The root of this awareness is based in fear.  This is unpopular in our day and age.  We want to focus on Love of God (no doubt He is love), but the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov 1:7)", "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10)", "fear of the Lord prolongs life (Prov 10:27)", "In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence (Prov 14:26)", "fear of the Lord is a fountain of life (Prov 14:27)", and "one turns from evil by the fear of the Lord. (Prov 16:6)"

Notice that fear of the Lord leads to escape mindless hungering.  For the self-righteous there is in a moment an awareness of the righteousness of God and how "all our righteous acts are like a polluted  garment (Literally menstrual cloth; Isaiah 64:6)."  That kills the desire for self-righteousness and leads one into hungering for God's Righteousness.  For the fool there is an awareness of certain judgment if his/her state does not change (ie leading to repentance). 

Our tax collector had "fear of the Lord" and confessing his sin to God "went down to his house justified."  You see by cultivating a healthy fear (reverence, awe, respect) of God our attention is drawn to His Righteousness and we begin to hunger and thirst for it. 

Mindful hungering begins with fearful awareness of self as God sees you, reverent awareness of the righteousness of God, respectful awareness of God's judgment, leading to humbling and repentance, which then leads to hungering and thirsting for righteousness.  In short, "God, turn Your wrath from me -a sinner!"  With this in place then the promise, "for they will be filled" can be fulfilled in your life. 

Lord we long to be mindful of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  We hunger and thirst for your righteousness.  Put the fear of the Lord in our hearts that we might not stray from Your path.  Envelop us with Your Love as You fill us with the righteousness of God.  Lead us into mindful awareness of You.  In Jesus Name AMEN

Completed Joy

9 "As the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Remain in My love. 10 If you keep My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commands and remain in His love.  11 "I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. 12 This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you."  John 15:9-12 (HCSB)

At some point along the way the pursuit of happiness became the pursuit of pleasure.  Now an unfulfilled desire is the cornerstone of suffering in America.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

You may have heard the expression "it was mindless fun."  I am not against having a good time.  Nor do I expect that all fun has to have a purpose beyond having fun.  What I take exception to is the mindless. part.  We escape into our fun factories and fail to live the life that God has called us to.  Yesterday I posted on the trip my family took.  It was "mindful fun" if you will.  I created memories this last weekend that I will carry with me the rest of my life.  That is the problem with mindless fun is that it is lost as quickly as it is experienced. 

The distinction between the mindless fun and mindful fun has to do with the word "Joy."  Happiness comes and goes.  It is like a mist or vapor.  Here and then gone.   We try to hold on to it, but it slips out of our grasp.  Then we put all sorts of energy into getting it back.  As we become more and more desperate we slip into a pursuit of pleasure.  The pursuit of happiness is the concept that if I work hard to make myself better or better my circumstances that I will be happy.  Not many people want to work that hard so they settle for pursuit of pleasure.  Pursuit of pleasure is pure hedonism.  If it feels good do it more.  If it feels bad avoid doing it at all cost.  The pursuit of pleasure is a vicious endeavor.  We seek to increase the good feelings avoid pain and in the process make it worse.  In the pursuit of pleasure we are pierced with many griefs. 

I wonder if the founding fathers had this in mind when they penned these words (they changed it from property to pursuit of happiness).  Most of this pleasure seeking is rooted in the desire for material gain.  It is an unmindful discontent.  Any time that your focus is on something that you are not it is unmindful.  It is a matter of priorities.

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. 1 Tim 6:9-10 (HCSB)

Having an inordinate desire (selfish love, lust) for any material thing (sex, power, money,...) is a sure path for ruin, destruction, and many pains.  No I do not have a problem with fun, but mindless pursuit of pleasure is destructive and robs you of the Joy that God wants you to have. 

So what is the solution...

"...that your joy may be complete."  Well based on the passage at the time our solution is based in love (Here is one of my posts on love).  Secondly it is becoming accepting of whatever God gives you or whatever the trials of life come your way. 

Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4 (HCSB)

Note the words "complete (perfect)," "mature," "complete (whole)," and "lacking nothing."  Let those words ring in your soul and resonate in your spirit.  Why?  Those words perfect (old world type), mature, wholeness, and lacking nothing should inspire us to pay attention to the first part.  We need to be mindful of the whole passage and not just desire the outcome.   We have to accept the whole process and not just the blessing. 

"Consider it a great joy..."  No problem here anything that God wants to do I will consider a joy.  With God all things are possible.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.  When we focus on the feel good passages of the Bible we become unmindful of our faith.  In a very real sense we become "Christian Hedonist" seeking that next spiritual fix (high). 

"Consider it great joy, my brothers when you experience various trials..."  If you think joy and trials ought not be in the same sentence then dear friend you are a Christian Hedonist.  That may sound harsh, but God is clear in this passage.  Please note, I am not suggesting that God desires for us to live lives of misery.  He does not!  However, if our pursuit of pleasure (even a spiritual pursuit) is more important than what God is doing in our lives then we are most certainly Christian Hedonists.  Again as I said before it is about priorities.  When our priorities line up then we will be made perfect, mature, whole, and will lack nothing that which is needed. 

How do we consider it a joy then?

I believe that mindfulness will help in this regard.  Remember that Christian mindfulness is contemplative awareness by God's Holy Spirit.   When you face an painful or unpleasant circumstance we must resist the urge to escape into mindlessness.  We have to be aware.  We have to note the pain, acknowledge the pain, and accept the pain.  Fighting pain at this point will only prolong suffering.  Fighting pain does not make it go away any more than escaping into mindlessness.  Then we must invite the Spirit of God to join us in our pain (Read this). 

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever...the Counselor, the Holy Spirit -the Father will send Him in My name-will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. John 14:16 & 26(HCSB)

I will get more in depth in the Spirit's role in mindfulness in a later post, but let me point out two things.  The Spirit is given as a comfort to be with you through all things.  When we ignore (grieve) the ministry of the Holy Spirit we prolong suffering and discontent.  Invite Him into the moment of pain (and happiness) to be your counselor.   It is the Spirit's ministry to you.  Second the Spirit is a source of knowledge when we forget and when we don't know what to do or say.  We can depend on the Spirit for spiritual wisdom.  Don't ignore this wisdom and thereby quench the Spirit.  Obedience is key as you navigate this difficult time. 

...knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance!

Thank you Lord for sending your Spirit to be our Counselor.  Allow us to receive trials as an opportunity for growing in perfection, maturity, and wholeness.  Help us to increase our awareness of You and Your Holy Spirit in our lives.  Let us contemplate our day and seek Your will in it.  Guide us to love one another that our joy may be complete in You.  Help us to find that place in our walk with you where we are lacking in nothing.  In Jesus Name AMEN

A Mindful Weekend

I did not post over the weekend because it was very busy.  I spent it with my family and we had a lot of fun.  But it also was a chance for me to slow down a bit and take in life.  I started with the drive. 

Most people believe that Washington State is filled with trees and is all green.  This is not true for the eastern side of the state.   In fact it is mostly sagebrush and cheat grass for miles and miles.  There is some green by the rivers and in lands that have irrigation.  But without a source of water it is very yellow. 

 

 

As I was driving I was trying to take it in.  I have traveled this trek before and decided in the past that it was quite tedious.  I wanted to be more mindful in thought as I drove.  I saw it!  The beauty of the drive.  There were wild flowers here and there along the way.  One of the most stunning sights was several patches of sunflowers that were in the median of the Highway.  Like splashes of sun along the dead yellow grass.  It was quite stunning even at 70 MPH.  I also noted the many rock outcrops that are scattered along the way.  They call it the "scablands" of Washington.  Such an unflattering name.  They were not scablands for me on that day.  It was a beautiful drive and I praised God for his creation along the way.  I am not sure that anyone noticed, but that is OK it was my private moment with God. 

When we arrived we shuttled the kids into the Silverwood Theme Park.  We spent much of the first part of the day in the water park and the later part on the the rides.  I took an attitude of acceptance and awareness through the experience.  I must admit that there were a couple of moments where what I wanted did not match up with what was happening or needed at the moment (unmindfulness brings up feelings of irritability for me).  However the Spirit of God reminded me of the importance of receiving the day as it came to me rather than being frustrated with what I wanted.  Noticing this I turned my mind to enjoy what I had rather than to focus on what I did not.  I spent time with my children and that was what was important.  In fact at one point my wife asked if I wanted to go on the rollercoaster's (long lines kept me from riding them on this trip).  The great thing was that I was content to ride the Farris Wheel with my five year old son, because he wanted to.  I am so glad I did (even the 45 minute wait did not seem all that bad).  To be there with my kids and enjoy their enjoyment.  It was quite a special experience. 

On the way home while it was dark I thought of how lucky I was to have a loving wife and four beautiful kids.  A few moments of shut eye, quiet conversation with my wife, and holding her hand was the perfect end to the day.  I did not even mind the tired fussiness that interrupted this moment.  In a way it was a special reminder of the energy we had spent at having fun.  It also gave me a chance to reflect on how lucky my kids are to have their mother as she climbed into the back to comfort a tired soul. 

Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. Prov 22:6 (NASB)

Thank You Lord for the wonderful day.  I praise you for the Glory and for the special moments with my kids.  In Jesus Name Amen

It was a mindful day ;-)

Wholeness and Filling

I have already mentioned that one of the key differences between Eastern Mindfulness and Christian Mindfulness is emptiness versus filling.  There are some definite similarities between these concepts and then some stark contrasts. 

One similarity that is worth looking at is the tendency of the human mind to develop preconceived ideas and notions.  This is a universal phenomena and can be readily observed.  One problem though is that these are more easily seen by others (or in others), not in examining yourself.  Most of these tendencies for preconceptions and notions tend to operate at the level of our subconscious (ie outside of our awareness).  Eastern Mindfulness and Christian mindfulness agree then that these fixed beliefs created by the human mind are a source of misperception, misunderstanding, self-deception, misbehavior, and errors in thinking.  In Christian faith this is called sin.  It is interesting to note that the most common meaning of the word sin (in Hebrew and Greek) is to miss the mark!  So Eastern and Christian thought agree that there is a natural tendency to miss in the human mind and played out in human behavior.  The key difference in how to resolve this tendency to miss (sin). 

One of the core teachings in Buddhism is emptiness (Sunyata).  Buddhists teach that the things that happen around us really do not have permanence.  Stated another way "once it happens it will never happen again."  When we hold on to our conceptions we are holding on to this emptiness as if it were real and tangible.  We become more insightful as we release these conceptions (I think this is where the term emptying the mind comes in) and allow the observable world (and our thoughts about this world) to come into our awareness and then pass like a stream.  By practicing this type of meditation it is proposed that a person gains greater insight into his/her life as well as the world around them.  This realization of the emptiness leads to the ability to transcend suffering, antagonism, fear, etc.  Further awareness of this emptiness leads a person to enlightenment (Nirvana).  I am by no means an expert in Buddhism.  If I have misrepresented please feel free to comment below.

In the Christian practice resolving the missing takes a decidedly different direction.  Throughout the Scriptures (Old and New Testaments) is the concept of filling and wholeness.  Being filled and receiving wholeness from God is the solution to sin (missing) and the key  to fulfillment.  The first three commandments of the Bible are, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth (Gen 1:28)."  To be fruitful requires maturity which is a from of wholeness (more on this in another post).  Multiplication (ie reproduction) is required to have filling.  For example you cannot fill a grain elevator unless there is seed to reproduce itself.  This is God's way.  Filling is an ongoing process and not a goal to be achieved.  Filling is continuous action of filling up and overflowing.  

Consider these two perspectives to further draw the contrast between Buddhist and Christian mindfulness.

Zen: A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted. "You are like this cup," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."

Christian: "Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure-pressed down, shaken together, and running over-will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." Luke 6:38 (HCSB); Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe [in Him] so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (HCSB); For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows. 2 Cor 1:5 (HCSB)

Another similarity and difference has to do with the role of self.  Both Buddhists and Christians agree that the self (often Soul, Mind or Flesh in new testament teaching) is the barrier to greater spiritual insight and growth.  In Buddhist teaching self is diminished through liturgy (chants, mantras, meditations, and the like) self-transcendence and/or self-denial practices (middle way).    In Christian teaching self is diminished through exercising self-control, Reckon "Old self" dead, Putting off old self and put on new self by renewing the mind.  The contrast then is in Buddhism the goal is transcendence of self (escaping rebirth ie nirvana) and Christian thought is renewal (rebirth) of self (leading to escaping divine wrath). 

You see God desires that we be filled.  Being emptied does not accomplish filling.  The problem with the Zen teaching is it is limited.  I can only receive that which I have the capacity to receive.  For the Christian on the other hand God gives out of His infinite abundance if we are willing to receive it.  No emptiness required just a willing heart to turn from sin (missing), die to self(rebirth), and trust in Him (our fullness). 

I will be going into more detail about Wholeness and fullness in future posts.