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Posts Tagged ‘way of Jesus’

Slave to Confession

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 8, 2010| 1 Comment »

Our culture recoils at the word “slave.” Our corporate guilt over the many peoples we have enslaved compels us to resist. As a result, we overlook our own “state of enslavement.”

Romans 6:16
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? [NKJV]

As much as I don’t want to admit it, I am still a slave to the wrong voice in my heart. I listen more often than I should to the voice that says, “Oh, what the heck! Why not?” or “Might as well… ” or “Who will know?” This voice gives me permission to indulge myself by eating too much or wasting time in front of the television or daydreaming myself into discontentment about my life. This voice would encourage me to have an affair or get a divorce. This voice is sarcastic and mocking. This voice is relentless.

The slavery begins when I listen. The slavery intensifies when I act. The slavery becomes a yoke around my neck over time.

But the Spirit carries the sword of truth and can slash through that yoke. The Spirit of Christ is my champion. There is only one hitch: the Spirit is also a Master, a benevolent Master, if I choose to follow, believe and confess.

“Obedience” is really a form of confession. To be a slave to confession is a powerful and transformative process. I am not very good at obeying because I keep making mistakes. But anyone can be good at confessing and as the breath of forgiveness and grace blows over me, I grow strong enough to step away from sin, to close my inner ear to that other voice, to turn toward the light.

I can be a slave to confession.

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Body Parts

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 7, 2010| 1 Comment »

As soon as the Bible mentions “body parts,” everyone’s mind goes right to sex. And yes, there is a lot to be said about sex and its abuses. But there are other misused body parts that do equal damage to the soul. . .

Romans 6:13
Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

The tongue is the number one culprit in my life. This is the body part that is constantly leaning toward wickedness and does much damage. If I could keep my words corralled and dedicated to God, what a difference it would make. Instead, my mouth goes into 3rd gear while my mind is still in “park.” I have actually warned people that I think out loud. I hear my out loud thoughts and then massage the ideas. In a brainstorming session, I can be a true asset: Blurt Out Brown.

But this type of talking can do harm when it turns into gossip. I can’t even say it’s always malicious gossip. It’s the constant telling and retelling of a story where I might have been on the short end. And unconsciously, every time I tell that story, the perpetrator gets more stupid and I am more wrongly maligned. The listener nods and “tsk-tsks” and I feel vindicated to tell the story again. Oh shame.

There are other abuses of the tongue: cattiness, sarcasm, complaint, crudeness, name-calling, and lies (to name a few).

As I think about it more, it’s clear the tongue is but a slave to another, more secret master: the mind. It is the mind that fans the flame and directs the tongue to speak, to answer, or to attack. The mind is the “first responder.”

I love the fact that I have an active mind. I am relatively smart and I can process a lot of data. I am creative and I am facile. But this same mind that has served me well has also spent a lot of time on the “dark side.” It’s time to flood my mind with the light.

I confess my sinful tongue and ask forgiveness for the damage it has done. Oh Lord, Guard my mouth this day. Show me how to offer my words to you before they leave my mouth.

Sensitize my mind to the sacred other that I might not inflict my wounds. Hold my judging thoughts and sift them before they can take root. Take the memories I have used to justify my resentments or anger toward others.

Take my life and let it be consecrated to you.

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Small Deaths

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 6, 2010| 1 Comment »

As a believer, I am promised a new life when I accept Christ’s sacrifice (his death) as the propitiation (satisfactory compensation) for my sin. Although the sacrifice is enough, my ability to embrace the truth of it in daily life is wanting.

Romans 6:3, 5
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? . . . If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

I firmly believe the faith walk is a process. And although our beloved Messiah did everything necessary to repair the separation between God and us, I am still learning how to walk the new path (the Way). I struggle with the paradox: death = life. I tend to hold onto what is familiar instead of letting those parts of me die.

I understand in my head that I must be more like the seed that dies before the plant will grow. Instead, I keep trying to be the best seed I can be. I’m missing out on the real transformation.

But God is patient. My old nature, my old self, is in various partitions and states of renewal. Gradually, sections do die. And with each small death, new life finds root. This is sanctification, my rite of passage from death to life.

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Road to Hope

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2010| 2 Comments »

I actually selected this verse on suffering and hope yesterday but couldn’t bring myself to write about it. I don’t go easily into the realm of suffering and pain.

Romans 5:3b-4
. . . we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

I suppose I’m doing better. For years, my mantra was “avoid pain at all cost!” And as a result, I would run away from challenges and opportunities. I was afraid. Primarily, it was emotional pain that kept kept nipping at my trail, trauma from my past. I suspected, if I acknowledged the pain in any way, I would be overwhelmed. At one point, I though my body would explode. I had pushed down so much sorrow, disappointment, resentment, and fear, that the pressure on my soul was severe; it was like a geyser preparing to erupt. That’s chaos. It is not the road to hope.

What is suffering then? We recognize it most easily by example. Surely, the people of Haiti are suffering after the great earthquake. So many have lost everything including loved ones. They are sick, malnourished, exposed to the elements, and grieving all at the same time. And yet, we also know, that recovery from such a horrendous ordeal, can only be done through perseverance and hope.

Perseverance is the human piece of the equation. To get to hope, we must choose to press on. As soon as we decide that we will not give up, then hope can find purchase in the soul.

This is the story of Haiti as well. How else could a young woman survive beneath the rubble for 15 days and come out alive.

Hope, by its very nature, is hope in God to intervene. Since hope is about the unseen, the future, the unknown, only God operates freely there.

Why does God allow so much suffering? I don’t know. It’s a mystery. But God has provided a way out of suffering, step by step. Every time a person can make a choice toward healing, perseverance grows in strength. And as perseverance grows, that person’s character is formed and built on the backbone of faith.

In the past two years, two of my colleagues from work have died of colon cancer. Both walked the journey of suffering and although they died, their struggle was a testimony to the survivors who saw perseverance and character and hope never falter. They are the heroes. They are my teachers.

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Peace with God

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Why is peace so elusive? Positionally, I should be good. And I certainly have faith in God. But peace of heart and mind eludes me more often than not.

Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . . .

What challenges my peace? I think it’s my over committed mind. I fill my days with so much activity, how can I expect to experience peace with God? I’m so good at “doing” while I’m terrible at “not doing.” I mean purposefully choosing to be quiet, to be still, to commune with the Holy Spirit.

I used to go away for a long weekend to All Saints Convent, just to be still. But I confess, the first day, I usually slept most of the time. My mind tends to be like a light switch: on or off. And when it’s off, I crash.

Oh I know that “peace with God” is not just being still. It has to do with relationship. That I am not in an adversarial relationship with God because of my faith in Jesus who opened the door to the inner sanctuary. But, all the same, how often do I really walk deeply into that sanctuary?

Having access to a place is one thing but actually using the ticket to go in is another.

It’s like going to the health club … or rather, not going. I paid the money up front and I was given cart blanche to use the facilities anytime. And I started out great but eventually, I lost my momentum. Other new activities take away my time. And soon, I’ve disconnected from both the routine and the desire to go.

Theoretical “peace with God” is useless. It’s experiential “peace with God” that can enhance my daily life. Oh heart, seek peace and dwell there.

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God Calls What is Not . . . into Being

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2010| 2 Comments »

This kind of faith could turn the world upside down: to truly hear and believe God’s promises. To believe that God, the creator, can speak and the impossible be made possible.

Romans 4:17b
He [Abraham] is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

There are hints and glimpses throughout the New Testament that we, as human offspring to such a God, could do the same. Jesus references moving mountains through faith [Matthew 17:20] and receiving anything we ask for in faith [Matthew 21:22]. Plus, the disciples, themselves, brokered healings and miracles both while Jesus was still with them and after he resurrected. But, as time went on, the miracles became fewer and fewer.

By the time we get to our own century, there are a few people who have appeared to operate in this miraculous realm: Kathryn Kuhlman, Aimee Semple McPherson, John Wimber, John Osteen, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, and Smith Wiggles Worth to name a few. But most of these people either died in disgrace or were exposed as charlatans. This certainly doesn’t encourage me to ask for “miracle-working” faith.

There are more meaningful (and fantastic) stories from the mission fields where no one becomes famous or well known, where no one is interviewed or tested for authenticity. And yet, the stories continue of blind people receiving sight, limbs growing where there were none, the dead coming alive, tumors disappearing, and so forth. But even here, in these mission fields, we don’t hear of mountains moving, fresh water gushing from a rock, or food growing in the desert sands.

What is lacking? Somehow, we have failed to identify and respect the source of all that power. As soon as power manifests, we humans appear to be changed by it.

One of my favorite (non-Christian) films about miracles is Resurrection with Ellen Burstyn (1980). The main character, Edna, becomes a healer inexplicably, but soon, she is feared, manipulated, tested, and shot. She survives, but chooses the life of a recluse instead of broadcasting her “talents.” There, in the desert, she continues to heal, but secretly.

We live in an age where miracles are suspect, at the least, and generally, considered impossible. Magic is only a trick. Healings are anomalies.

All believers are children of Abraham, the one who believed that his 100 year old body and is 98-year old wife would be come the “father of nations.” He had nothing but the Word of God to believe. There was nothing in his world to make him think it was possible. Was it the simplicity of their lives that gave them the ability to believe God in the face of overwhelming circumstances?

I don’t know the answer. But I do know, we’re missing out. Surely, if every believer had but a mere fraction of Abraham’s faith in God to change the world, we would see the healing of the earth. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be able to agree on what the healed earth should look like.

Healing miracles require unity of spirit. Instead, we’re like kids at a football game, with both sides praying for a win.

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Inheritance by Grace

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Am I finally getting it? Every promise of God is possible because of grace. If my inheritance depended on my ability to obey the law, all would be lost. There is no sinless life and I am no different.

Romans 4:16a
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring . . .

Why does it all feel so difficult then? Why can’t I enjoy the full freedom that grace affords? Certainly I’m doing better in this aspect, but I still battle with the traditional culture of “shoulds” and “should haves” and “shouldn’t haves.” You know, you “shouldn’t” read that kind of book, you “should have” gone to church today, you “shouldn’t have” wine with dinner. But the court room cannot be in my own head or my perceptions of what “others” think. There is only one Judge that matters.

My historic difficulties have been wrapped around trying too hard: trying to be a “concept” Christian. I have tried to live the “idea” of being a Christian by doing “this” but not “that,” by embracing the unspoken rules of Christian behavior, by wearing a “believer’s” mask.

My focus this year must be on confession. Freedom and grace come through acts of confession. Authenticity of the heart begins with a transparent relationship with God. I long for true fellowship with other people of faith (koinonia), but I cannot expect to achieve this if I shutter myself from God, much less my family, friends, acquaintances, and fellow believers.

True obedience to the “law” comes from the heart and the heart is only prepared to obey when it is clear and whole. This holiness (wholeness) comes forth through the gate of confession.

Can I extend my understanding of grace to other people? Can I shed my tendency to judge others by pouring out the same oil of grace upon them that God is pouring out on me? Do I have the courage to invite them to remove their masks with the promise that I will not turn away? And what about the people who have grown tired of wearing a mask, who no longer have the energy to put one on anymore, who appear to be content in their darkness, can I be the light of grace for them?

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