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Posts Tagged ‘Holy Spirit’

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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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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Make Room

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

In the end, there is only one person who can “make room” and that’s the individual herself. If someone else does it for you, it’s usually a violation of space. It’s no different with the heart.

II Corinthians 7:2a, 3
Make room for us in your hearts. . . . I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you.

I’ll never forget the time I moved down to Atlanta from Indianapolis. Mike and I were engaged and although we had hoped to find a temporary living arrangement for me, it turned out I had to move into his house. While packing up, I could tell there was a lot of stuff. I tried to warn him. He would have to “make room” for me and my belongings. It was a small three-bedroom house but I insisted he clean out one of the bedrooms for me.

But, like most men, he couldn’t foresee the amount of boxes I would bring or the chaos that would come from merging two adult households. Did he make room? He did not. So, the very next day, while he was at work, I cleaned out one of the rooms and put all of it in the TV room. I created space for myself.

Needless to say, he was not a happy camper. I thought he would be thrilled. I did all that work. I organized and moved and emptied almost all of the boxes from the living room and dining room and integrated my kitchen stuff into his (he only had 2 knives, 2 forks, and 2 spoons anyway). But I was “creating” room for me instead of allowing him to “make room.”

Friendships are the same way. There comes a point when we have to “make room” for another person in the heart. Sometimes, we have to open the doors and sweep out some of the old stuff to make room. We may have to get rid of things we’ve been holding onto for a long time.

When it comes to the things of God, it’s the same thing. We have to open up. We have to invite. God only takes up as much space in the heart as we allow. Unlike the dark side that creeps and steals and occupies wherever and whenever we’re not minding the space.

Help me today, oh God, to make room for more of You. Help me to make room for others. It’s time to clean house.

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I’ve got a Lawyer

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The whole idea of the “judgment seat” has always given me pause. Today, as I encountered this verse, I wondered again, would I be shuttled off to the “left side” with the goats? [Matthew 25:31] But then it occurred to me: Hey, I’ve got a lawyer.

II Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay] according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing]. [Amplified]

I think there will still be a conversation and revelations about this life of mine (in the body). I’ll understand my mistakes in a way that I have never understood them before. I’ll be able to see the right turns as well as the wrong turns. I’ll learn how my actions manifested in the lives of others. I’ll get the whole picture.

There will be confession and forgiveness. There will be joy and appreciation. There will be knowledge.

And although I’m sure there will be an great array of missteps and even rebellion, my advocate will step forward and the one choice I made to follow, as best I could, the Christ, will be my defense.

Thanks be to God.

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Deposit of the Holy Spirit

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2010| 1 Comment »

when I set up one of those new Paypal accounts, before I could use it, I had to allow them to make a very small deposit into my bank account. Then, I had to keep checking my account and once I recognized it, let them know. This verified the connection. That’s how the Holy Spirit starts too.

II Corinthians 5:5
Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

I think people expect the Holy Spirit to drop into their lives like a flood or a whirlwind. But truly, I think it’s just a mini-deposit. That is, until we get better at letting the Spirit have access and place in our hearts.

A true taste of the Holy Spirit is like a single bite of the most extraordinary dessert in the world. It’s sweet and multi-faceted. It’s has a taste that lasts. And most of all, it gives us a desire for more.

The mini-deposit of the Holy Spirit is a promise of what is possible, what is available, what is real.

Like the story of the mustard seed [Matthew 17:20], the things of God are so powerful that it only takes a little bit to have to great effect.

This is why one person can indeed make a difference in the world. One person among billions is no bigger than a mustard seed or a grain of sand.

I think I’ve been looking for the mega deposit, the swoosh of wind and the tongues of fire, when all along, the little mini-deposit has been sitting there, inside my heart, waiting to be acknowledged for all that it can do.

Burn brightly, sweet ember of the Lord.

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Fixing my Eyes on the Unseen

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There must be a trick: how do I look at something intently that I cannot see? It must be the reverse then. In other words, it’s not so much that I am to fix my eyes on the unseen as much as I am NOT to fix my eyes on the seen. It’s a little like the old mantra, “it’s only a movie, it’s only a movie.”

II Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This is not an easy task. The “seen” is all around me. Everyday life is constantly presenting itself to me in one form or another Circumstances are doing their best to surround me.

Tasks, responsibilities, jobs, lists, chores, and duties assail me every day. And what about the people: children, significant others, parents, grandparents, extended family, neighbors, co-workers, supervisors, subordinates, church friends, non-church friends, enemies, club friends, organization friends, acquaintances, and strangers. They all require my attention. They are all part of my “seen” world. Oh, and what about the state of world: the wars, the tragedies, the killings, the weather, corporate crime, drug lords, benevolent dictators, not so benevolent dictators, congress, criminals, statesmen, presidents and their wives and their children, and on and on and on. Should I mention the inanimate objects? I don’t think I can bear it.

And yet, the message is clear: these things are temporary. Jobs will change, people will die, governments will collapse, technology will fail. Like the seed that must die to bear a fruit, all of these things will die to produce the next generation . . . whether it’s people, ideas, or gizmos.

My eyes need to look elsewhere. My “eyes” need to look within. More often than not, this actually requires me to close my eyes. This is why we usually pray for eyes closed, to block out the “seen” and to give ourselves a chance to glimpse the unseen. I must choose.

The seen world is the one that causes anxiety and fear. The unseen world of the Holy Spirit is a world of peace and order and love. Forgiveness happens in the unseen world. Freedom too.

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