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Posts Tagged ‘faith’

Beguiled

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There is a dramatic difference between the one who has been beguiled and the one doing the beguiling. Historically, I have used this word for its second meaning (to pass time pleasantly) and assumed its first meaning had a lighthearted coyness to it. Not so. It’s betrayal . . . and it’s intentional.

II Corinthians 11:3
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived [beguiled in Amplified] by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

I don’t believe our children (whether they are sixteen or twenty-six) know they are being beguiled away from the faith. I see the world ensnaring them (and others) into believing they need all the “stuff.” They are bombarded with extremely convincing advertising that insists they are less because they need more: electronics, apps, screens, gadgets, clothing that advertises the store where it was purchased, ever-changing styles that make last year’s apparel uncool, high-powered jobs and income, and so on.

In order to compete, the “church” tries to lure these generations by using the same tools and tricks of the culture. Is that a good thing? I don’t know. Maybe. If young people begin to examine within and look for greater meaning, that has merit. Can it still be a bad thing? Does the end justify the means? I really don’t have an answer, I just have questions. It’s only the individual’s heart and soul that matter. The inner life, that inner discovery happens alone. No accoutrement is needed.

Betrayal is one of the deepest hurts of all. I have been hurt by people of the church.

We must be careful how we “woo” people to the Lord. A person should not be beguiled into the faith, as though following Christ is like taking a happy pill. It’s not.

The journey with Christ is not easier, it’s different, under girded with hope, assurance, and traditionally, with fellowship (other people who care and love). The end of the journey is known, but the path itself is still laden with challenges.

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My Sphere

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Everyone has a sphere of influence. This is taught in leadership workshops, assumed in management sessions, and encouraged in networking seminars. It is no different for the sphere of faith. I have one too. But do I relate to those who populate my sphere honestly?

II Cor 10:13
We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us—a sphere which especially includes you.

Who is in my sphere of faith? Anyone and everyone within my ken. It can be a fleeting walk-through or a long relationship. Everyone has similar inner circles of family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. But in today’s world, the spheres are much bigger and wider; the circles more broadly concentric than they were in the time of Christ. Some of our circular province coils beyond our physical perception and even into the virtual realm. The limits of our spheres cannot be so easily drawn. It can be a little daunting.

For this reason, I know I must be strong in my understanding of self. I must stand with all that is Christ in the center of my sphere, in the center of the many spokes that fan out from my middle, the center of my storm.

When I venture outside of this center without an anchor, I am whipped around in someone else’s vortex. I lose who I am.

I confess, sometimes I close my eyes when things are moving around me too fast. It’s not the answer. I can’t shrink inside, to nurture the inner core only, to be a recluse. I am to engage with the world’s orbits. I am to touch, see, sense, hear and embrace. As long as my core is solid and my roots established, I should be able to stretch pretty far.

It’s still too much about theory and not enough about practice. Thanks be to God that the Christ Spirit can draw me back when I become overly confident and founder around in another sphere with only the flimsiest of tethers.

It’s still about authenticity and transparency. It’s about revealing my dependence on Christ. But it’s also about impacting the whole with my “mustard seed” of faith. This is how mountains move–when spheres move from an authentic center.

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Divine Weapons

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The metaphors of war and weapons are not my favorites and yet I do believe I have access to tools within, where the Christ Spirit dwells, to help me resist my ongoing bad habits and harsh judgments I make against others. The power is all there. I just don’t tap into it.

II Corinthians 10:3-4a
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.

The 3-D world in which I walk and live has its own rules and recommendations for change. There’s a lot about “doing” and “pulling up of boot straps” and “taking charge.” But the way of Christ is different. It’s the opposite of what we think. It’s the rule of paradox. It’s “being” and not always doing. It’s letting go of “my way” and going the way of Jesus. It’s mindfulness about others.

The divine weapons don’t manifest while I’m using my own weapons. Divine power waits until I have expended all of my “personal power” and efforts.

This truth is one of the reasons why Alcoholics Anonymous and similar 12-step programs are so successful. The person must come to the end of self. There is a step, even a leap, across the threshold into the arms of a higher power. God never misses.

I cannot wield divine weapons. I can only submit to them. This is the essence of faith.

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Circle of Generosity

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 18, 2010| 3 Comments »

Generosity is an expression of thanks to God. When I give to someone in need, that act of giving, in itself, is thanking God — for my having enough to give. And if this is true, what I am I saying when I don’t give?

II Corinthians 9:12
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

I have put too much focus on the traditional acts of thanksgiving: saying prayers at meals, lifting my hands in church, saying the Lord’s prayer each day, giving thanks when I have a close call in a car. But I haven’t considered my actions as a form of thanks. I haven’t thought of loving others as a form of thanks.

There is a description of our relationships being like a cross, the vertical is our relationship with God and the horizontal is our relationship with others. And although I have seen and know that my vertical relationship with God enhances my ability to love others. But I had never considered the opposite. My outpouring of self into others touches God by confirming my trust and faith in His ability to keep me full.

That’s the idea of it anyway.

Instead, I see my fears block my giving. I’m not just talking about money either. Of course, this is included. And I do fear the loss of security that money provides. But I am placing my hope for security in the wrong place. It’s a habit from my own poverty growing up in the inner city.

I am grateful for my comforts. I do thank God verbally each day for the abundance in which we live. And yet, today, I am confronted with a greater truth: give thanks by letting go. Build faith. Build trust. Give out of the abundance.

And, in the circle of generosity, it all comes back again.

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Godly Sorrow

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 5, 2010| 2 Comments »

Godly sorrow is different from the mouth saying “I’m sorry;” it’s from the heart. How can we tell which is which? We can’t tell by words alone. Only actions express sincere contrition.

II Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

I remember a friend of mine who had been devastated by her husband’s infidelity. He had expressed sorrow for his poor judgment and betrayal. She never believed him. He asked for total forgiveness. She could not give it. She confessed to me that she wanted him to suffer (as she had suffered). But what was she really saying? I believe she never saw “Godly sorrow.”

But I wonder, would she have recognized Godly sorrow in his behavior? If actions are the reflection of authentic regret, it’s important to know which actions would speak that truth. What does repentance look like after someone has hurt you?

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How I Look at Others

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

What criteria do I use when I look at other people? I’m sure it’s still that “worldly view.” I’m assessing weight, demeanor, stride, clothing, work, and even neighborhood. Am I looking for the “new creation?” I don’t think so.

II Corinthians 5:16a, 17
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. . . Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

For years, this “new creation” verse has been used to give hope to the believer that he/she has been changed by faith in Christ. We are no longer bound to our old ways, we are transformed. That is true.

But here’s what I never understood before. As the observer, I am supposed to look with new eyes on others. I am charged to look for their new creation. I am to let go of my old way, my “worldly way” of scrutinizing people around me, and affirm their metamorphosis.

So often as people work on themselves, work to change old habits, it’s often the friends and acquaintances around them who sabotage their efforts. Someone goes on a diet and we bring in donuts for the break room. Someone stops drinking alcohol and we offer “just one.” Even in our households, a family member looks to begin a new routine of prayer or walking or study, but there are constant interruptions, the process discounted as authentic or necessary.

Have I sabotaged those around me trying to change? Have I kept looking for grey when they started wearing red?

God forgive me. I am so focused on my own issues, I forget to endorse the efforts of others. I say I am an agent for change but I am insensitive to the small adjustments, the baby steps that others are taking first.

Heighten my mindfulness this day.

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Compelled to Follow

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There are times in a person’s life that he/she feels compelled, for the sake of faith, to act. I don’t think we can know when that moment will come, but we cannot help but recognize it in hindsight.


II Corinthians 5:14
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

The first compelling moment of this kind comes at the Christ recognition moment: to accept or not to accept the truth of Him. At least for me, it wasn’t a casual decision. I simply had to choose, as though Jesus was sitting beside me saying, “But what about you?” . . . “Who do you say I am?” [Mark 8:29a] The question had been lingering at the back of my mind as I read through the New Testament. There was so much in that read-through I found unbelievable, frustrating, and even misogynist, but the identity of Jesus, that was becoming more and more plausible, not less. I could not deny Him.

After that day, there were more times I had to “fess up” to believing in that Jesus of Nazareth as the long-awaited Messiah. “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” [Romans 10:10] Some of my friends were shocked, some were belligerent, some were curious, but few were compelled to do what I did, to make that leap of faith. I didn’t understand.

My immediate family saw my new found Christ-consciousness as a passing fad. Unlike legwarmers over jeans, rat tail hair, and the “Where’s the Beef?’ commercial, my faith did not go away. I am still compelled to follow after thirty years.

It’s taken me a long time to realize I cannot compel another person to believe in the Messiah. There are no rules, no “four spiritual laws,” no “evangelism explosion,” no memorized verses, no descriptions of hell and damnation that will “do the trick.” I can only share my story.

Along the way, my faith has taken me down a number of unexpected paths: I married a man after a three-day whirlwind; I created two scripture-based performance pieces I toured over many years, I adopted three children with my husband of twenty-five years, I traveled to Africa in mission, I have taught and spoken to both small groups and crowds on the ways of God, I have led in a variety of para-church organizations, I continue to read extensively, I have been a mentor, a bible teacher, and a Sunday School teacher, I have been a worship leader, a counselor, and a prayer partner, I have fasted, been on silent retreats, and clowned for Christ in white face. I have danced, cried, laughed, and fallen over in the spirit. I have spoken in tongues, sung in the spirit, and prayed for healings.

I am compelled to seek the deeper way. I am compelled to know the Christ within. And my life continues to evolve. My journey is far from over. There will be more. I give thanks.

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