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Posts Tagged ‘way of Jesus’

P.R. Paul

Posted in Advent, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I need to lighten up about the various gospel message venues that are outside my sense of propriety or taste. If St. Paul is not concerned about motive, then shouldn’t I have more confidence in the ultimate message? God doesn’t need me as a defense attorney.

Philippians 1:18
But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

I confess, I struggle with the propriety of those who promote Christ in conjunction with goofy sounding miracles like “gold dust” or body spasms or hysterical laughing. And yet, who am I to say this isn’t God too?
Maybe every miracle appears insubstantial or faked to one person or another.

But the point is that God can bring down the liars without my help. God chooses when to weed the garden, not me.

In my own church, there are people who are moved to tears and confession by the waving of flags, a procession of women in white dresses carrying gold crowns, or children carrying an array of palm branches or country flags. These symbols do not touch me but that doesn’t mean they don’t have value or power.

The conduct of worship or the method of preaching or the way of the witness will be and must be unique to the individuals who do it. The only true mistake is when others try to overlay these ideas on everyone as the best way, the only way, or the surefire way to bring people into the faith.

There is really only one surefire way: authenticity and love.

Paul was confident in his own faith and knew without a doubt that he was in the right place at the right time. God was with him and God was using him. Everything else was a by-product.

I can only know my own God arena. And all the rest is about grace.

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The Good Work

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

The good work is transformational. God initiates that good work and the Holy Spirit contributes to its continuance in partnership with me. The part that I play is my unique contribution. The light is pure while I am the nicked, scratched, yet functioning crystal prism.

Philippians 1:6
. . . being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

The good work is polishing the glass, repairing the damage, making my vessel a more accurate expression of what is within.

Sometimes I lose my confidence that God is still working within me to transform me. But then, in brilliant moments of clarity or flashes of understanding, I see Truth. My role is to embrace my life and all that has been given to me, the challenges as well as the joys, the hardships and the plenty, the health and the disease, all of them are my share of the good work.

As I hold fast to the unwavering inner light, that one and only Holy Spirit, I can give that hope (also called the blessed hope) to others. I have never been moved by the salvation message regarding some heaven or hell of the future, but I am sure of the power of God to fill a life today to stand against all things, from the tragedies of Job, to the ravages of war, or the blindness of greed and ambition.

This is the hope of glory: the Light within working goodness outward.

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Be Alert!

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 24, 2010| 5 Comments »

Paul exhorts the Ephesian believers to pray and to pray often. This is nothing new. What strikes me today is his additional caution to “be alert.” For what? There must be potential danger in the prayers of the spirit, those deeper prayers, the ones that emanate from the union of Holy Spirit and true me.

Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

I started my Christian journey way back in the seventies. This was the time of explosive faith when many believers began seeking the signs and wonders [Acts 2:43]. What started on Azusa Street in 1906 with ecstatic spiritual experiences and the birth of the pentecostal movement, found mainstream acceptance in the charismatic movement that crossed all denominational lines. In both cases, the most conspicuous sign was speaking in tongues, officially known as glossolalia.

No different than my other faith contemporaries, I was speaking in tongues like the rest of them. To speak in tongues for long periods is like chanting or meditating, it clears the mind and allows the spirit to roam freely within. There is a strong feeling of communion with God. I have nothing particularly negative to say about tongues except for some of the abuses that have come out of this phenomenon as well-meaning people have attempted to “interpret” or “translate” tongue messages proclaimed loudly in public [see I Corinthians 12:9-13]. I am less confident of an accurate interpretation that seems to always start the same way: “my children, my children . . . ” or something like. Anyway, how does one interpret things of the Spirit in our 3-D world? I think that’s tricky. But, that’s for another time to consider.

Here’s my point: I assumed this scripture reference to “pray in the spirit” meant we should pray in tongues (many people began referring to tongue speaking as “praying in the spirit,” a more accessible phrase for those who disdain tongues as authentic in any form). And yes, tongue speaking would be included in this exhortation. However, what about the second part of the admonition, “with all kinds of prayers and requests.” I take the word “all” to heart here and believe the Spirit is to under gird and author ALL prayers, whether they are written down, flashed in fear, supplicated petitions, or anything else.

A prayer without Spirit participation has no power and presents no danger to the “dark world.” [Ephesians 6:12] It is only when we engage the Holy Spirit and our own personal spirits in prayer that there is a need to “be alert.” This is where the true place of battle is raging, where the true enemy plays and where the evil of our world is birthed.

I’m thinking there is a particular call on believers who are living in relative comfort compared to the rest of the world. We cannot expect those who are faithful and yet starving and struggling for their daily unmet needs to enter into this type of warfare. We, the wealthy, who have warm homes, cars, food for holiday feasts, and designer clothes, have no excuse for standing on the sidelines of this kind of prayer. I have allowed my busy life to excuse me. This cannot continue.

I want to be “in the game” as they say in sports lingo. I want a reason in my life for Paul to warn me to “be alert” in prayer. (And I don’t mean staying awake.)

Today is the last day of my food fast. After eighteen days, I have also come to the end of the book of Ephesians and I see clearly my charge for this upcoming Advent season and beyond. I began this fast journey when I recognized for the first time how my words and behaviors were grieving the Holy Spirit. The solution is working together with the Spirit in prayer, from within, authentically radiating love and faith and God, supported by practicing the presence and breaking open the barriers that evil causes pain, suffering, and isolation in our world. Amen.

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How the Armor Works

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 22, 2010| 1 Comment »

The full armor of God is a metaphor. And we must remember it’s for standing (like a palm tree), not advancing into battle. And, in my mind, it works from the inside out. And for the armor to work 100%, it requires me to embrace the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 6:14-17
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The first three aspects of the armor are truth, righteousness and peace.

Like a belt, truth holds the whole thing together. This means my speaking and thinking truth as well as adopting God’s truth. When truth is bent, then the protection has chinks.

The breastplate (not commonly worn in modern times) protects the heart, one of the most vulnerable parts of the body. And how do we protect this heart? With right actions with fairness, honor, justness, and devotion to the One who embodies these traits. This typifies the sowing and reaping principle: we receive back what we give out. And the converse if true. I cannot expect my heart to be protected if I am grieving the Holy Spirit.

The third essential is “gospel of peace.” Why isn’t it just peace? Because it’s the message of peace itself that has the power. It is foundational (like feet) and carries great weight. Peace is an outgrowth (the promise) out of the mysterious work of the Christ. When I walk in peace, I bring peace with me.

The last three pieces of the armor are faith, salvation and the word of God.

Faith is called a shield for good reason, it is literally held up to withstand direct attacks. What’s interesting to me is the use of the verb “extinguish.” This means that faith can actually neutralize or put out fires. This, next to right living & behaviors, is my strongest defense.

Salvation is the description of a state of being. This state comes from my acceptance of Christ as the “head” of my life, the captain, the tactical center. Thus, the helmet is an apt description. Salvation is not about my “doing” anything. I am not to be about head-butting. It’s security.

And lastly, the sword which has been interpreted as the Bible itself and as a result, people have used this understanding as a case for aggressively cutting others with it. People memorize verses and apply them to as many situations as they can, ostensibly to cut through the circumstances. But, I think it can interpreted as the word within that comes directly from the presence of the Holy Spirit. The sword works together with the shield. The sword does not have to be an offensive weapon, it can block and extinguish as well. The word of God is knowledge and wisdom and truth. The circle is complete.

Remember: the goal here is to stand!

So, here I am Lord. Forgive me for lashing out with the sword before the rest of my armor is in place. May standing in truth, righteousness, and peace be my first priority today.

(FD 16)

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Stand Against the Dark World

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 21, 2010| 5 Comments »

We are asked to put on God’s armor in order to stand against spiritual forces from the dark world. Sounds like fantasy but there is a decision to be made here: truth or fiction? I’m leaning toward the truth side. And if true, the real battle has been waging on without me.

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

I have not been asked to advance against the enemy, merely to stand. And yet, I have not been moving forward or standing, not really. Instead, I have been buffeted about internally. My mind has been captured by the distractions of the world, my spirit veiled by self-absorption, and my heart hardened.

The greater fool, I, for trying so hard to do battle in this 3-D world. I’ve been totally caught up in my ambitions, my weight, my aging, my eyesight, my losses, my children’s successes or lack thereof, and so on. I’m not even on the right playing field.

Currently, I’m reading the Suzanne Collins trilogy, Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. These stories take place in a futuristic world where our country has been divided into districts, all serving the “Capitol.” Each district has a single industry. Once a year, each district must send two “tributes” (teenagers) to fight to the death, with only one victor. The victor’s district is then blessed with extra food etc. for that year. In the second book, because the lead characters foiled the Capitol in book one, the games take on a cruel turn. I won’t give that away, but a phrase has stayed with me that is relevant to my discussion here: “Remember who your enemy is.”

In our world, we have forgotten who the true enemy is as well. Instead, our countries fight wars, terrorists prevail, our sons and daughters die violently, people starve, and natural resources are despoiled. We continue to struggle with the symptoms instead of the root causes.

Photo by Angelo Juan Ramos

It all comes back to the Light and illuminating from within: living a life of love, submitted and thereby filled with the Holiest Spirit, who works in union with my personal spirit. And out of that life pours forth compassion, forgiveness, and beauty.

I can go about serving others, visiting the sick and dying, feeding the hungry, comforting the homeless, and giving from my livelihood. But if I do these things without the Light, they are band-aids.

It’s time to stop living as though it’s such a great mystery. The mystery has been revealed through the Christ and is a living, powerful presence in me through the Holy Spirit.

I want to stand today. I want to be counted as one standing. I want to shine.

(FD 15)

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Full Armor of God

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I have always thought of the armor as something from the outside in, as though I pick it up somewhere along the way and put it on like a coat. But now, I think the armor comes from within because it is built on and out of faith and trust.

Ephesians 6:10-11
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

A visual that comes to mind is passwords. A new trend is to have a little “effectiveness” bar next to my entry and depending on the sequence of letters or numbers I enter, I get a rating. The power of the password is judged as weak, medium, or strong. I create my own choice of password and the company is merely letting me know how effective it will be to withstand the machinations of Internet evil: hackers, identity thieves, and the like.

In life, it is the practice of my faith and trust that will determine my ability to use God’s armor effectively. There are some other words, along with practice, that come to mind: diligence, stubbornness, confidence, knowledge, and self-awareness. These are also needed to hold fast to faith.

Oftentimes the darts that come from the outside are small and annoying, but the accumulation of them can be debilitating. Think of poor Gulliver and Lilliputians when they initially tie him down with ropes and hold him fast, despite the fact they are only 1/12th the size of a regular human. We must give due diligence and engage God in all areas of life, even the little things.

Stubbornness may not be the right word, perhaps it’s determination or persistence, but in any case, it’s holding fast to the faith in the face of “oncoming traffic.” (Just be sure you’re not going the wrong way on a one-way street.) It’s swimming upstream. It’s engaging the paradox. It’s giving room for miracles.

Confidence because faith must be all in. That kind of confidence comes from a full commitment to an idea along with complete understanding. Now, I’m not talking about bravado that looks down on others or puts out a false impression of strength. Authentic confidence does not require loud talk or scare tactics or bullying. Confidence comes from knowing.

Which brings me to knowledge of God. As I build my knowledge of God, of God in Christ, of Christ and the Holy Spirit in me, then all the other things begin to fall into place.

I cannot put my head in the sand if I want to practice slipping into this armor. I have to be aware of who and where I am today and what is immediately ahead of me. I must connect, with an open heart, to the Spirit within. Like sweat that pours out of me on a hot day, to protect me, so does the armor of God emanate from the Spirit storehouse within.

(FD 14)

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Radiance = Holiness

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 16, 2010| 1 Comment »

Here was the plan: Jesus would come to Earth and do his best to explain/demonstrate the whole Spirit thing and then sacrifice himself to wrap up and seal the covenant. Promised result: the eyes of our hearts would be opened wide and we could live likewise. Actual result: we’re still discussing it.

Ephesians 5:25b, 27
. . . Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy. . . and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Here’s another word picture for all of this: the high rise window washer who puts himself in great danger to clean the windows so that light can be seen both in and out. But then we shut the drapes.

I have everything I need to enter the story life that God intends. I have the body, the circumstances, the family, the nation, the neighborhood, the friends, the talents, the washed windows . . . (all the layers of my drapes are on the inside of the windows).

The light is there. I made covenant with Christ thirty years ago. I am in the Body. I am loved by God.

During this time of fasting, I am slowly opening my drapes, one by one.

While the light of God might be more like the sun, shining brightly with heat and energy everywhere, the Holy Spirit is radiant and glows, permeating the dark spaces with steady but gentle light.

There is radiance and there is holiness within me. Like the last day of school before summer vacation, I want to open the doors and allow it all to pour out.

(FD 10)

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