Claiming Your Heart

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. –Hebrews 3:12

Problems are common to mankind. Jesus Himself, having the body of a man, living in a man's world, and relating to others, makes an obvious statement, "In the world you have trouble." Yes, problems do exist. However, we must remain mindful that problems can never become our primary focus.

In Matthew 17:1-9, the writer relates to us that Jesus took with Him to the high mountain Peter, James, and John. When Moses and Elijah appeared, Peter exclaimed, "I will build three tabernacles!" Of course it made sense to Peter to build one for each of the three, for Moses represented the law, Elijah the prophets, and Jesus grace and the new covenant. Peter made the mistake of equating the three. Immediately a cloud overshadowed them and the voice proclaimed, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; hear Him!" The disciples fell on their faces, Jesus touched them, the cloud departed, and only Jesus remained.

The highest part of a man's being is his heart,made only for one to occupy, that one being Jesus! If Moses and Elijah were not allowed to tabernacle on an equal plane on the mountain with Jesus, then should He have to share space in our hearts with our failures, our past, our mates, our children, other church members, sickness, or our financial situation? Many suffer from a crowded mountaintop; too many things occupy the place that only Christ is to possess.  He is, in fact, King of the mountain, and once we give anything equal standing with Christ, no matter how good it appears or how great was its value in the past, a cloud will immediately overshadow our spirits. We will sense defeat, anger, frustration, and fear. The enemy will whisper that in order to get rid of the cloud, we must focus on all those things that bring the cloud; they must be resolved. However, the Holy Spirit whispers the opposite: Forget what brought the cloud, focus anew on Christ, and light and life will return. Not until we fall to our faces, yielding to the voice proclaiming, "This is my Son," will the cloud and our spirits lift.

- Mike Wells

Listen and Learn: A First Step Toward Reconciliation

Jesus Christ is not just the Lord, Savior and Messiah of the Jews: he is the Lord, Savior and Messiah of all people. Through Christ a kingdom is being established that tears down tribal walls between races and re-unites and reconciles people together in the love God.

Paul makes the point most forcefully. In Ephesians Paul writes that the Gentiles who were once outside the covenant of God “have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” He then continues,

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two [Jew and Gentile] one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through   the cross, by which he put to death their hostility (Eph 2:14-16).

This is a breathtaking teaching! The most fundamental ethnic divide in the ancient world, at least from a Jewish perspective, was the divide between Jews and Gentiles. But by his work on the cross, Paul is saying, Jesus has destroyed the “dividing wall of hostility” between these two groups—and by extension, all other hostile groups. Not only has Jesus brought peace to all previously hostile groups; he himself is the peace between all groups. For through his death Jesus has created “one new humanity.”

A key step in manifesting the “one new humanity” is for those in power to humbly acknowledge that they don’t know what they don’t know. In other words, the only way that whites can understand the systemic racism in our culture is to listen and learn from those who experience it. The only way that people like me can possibly learn about the privilege I experience as opposed to the lack of privilege that people of color experience is to actually listen to them.

So, for example, rather than normalizing our own (privileged) experience and thus denying that racial profiling exists—accusing all who claim otherwise of “playing the race card”—we who are white must humbly listen to and trust the experience of nonwhites whose experience suggest that it does.

We who are white need to cultivate relationships with nonwhites that are deep enough to allow us to “get on the inside” of a nonwhite experience of the world. Not only this, but where it is appropriate, we who are white need to submit to the leadership of nonwhites. Individuals, small groups, and predominately white churches must pursue these submitted relationships if we’re to make headway in manifesting “the one new humanity.”

This is frankly quite challenging for many whites, even for those who sincerely believe they want to be agents of reconciliation. Our privileged status has conditioned us to assume our perspectives are normative and to expect to have things our way. Because America was established by and for whites, nonwhites have to deal with our culture, but we don’t usually have to deal with theirs. The decision to listen, learn, and follow people of color requires whites to place themselves in a submitted position they aren’t accustomed to. But if the systematic racism that has characterized the American church throughout its history is going to be subverted, this is the first step that must be taken.

—Adapted from The Myth of a Christian Religion, pages 113-121 – Greg Boyd

What, Father, Do You Desire This Minute?

Frank Laubach, a 20th century missionary to Philippines, wrote about the challenge of being continually aware of the presence of God and learning to respond to God’s promptings. He wrote, “I feel simply carried along each hour, doing my part in a plan which is far beyond myself. This sense of cooperation with God in little things is what so astonishes me, for I never have felt it this way before.” Because of his conviction that God is present with him, Laubach trained himself to live in the question, What, Father, do you desire this minute?

A monk from the 17th century, Jean-Pierre de Caussade, wrote about being “responsive to the slightest promptings … almost imperceptible impulses.” Brother Lawrence, in his book Practicing the Presence, stated “My part is to live this hour in continuous inner conversation with God and in perfect responsiveness to his will, to make this hour gloriously rich.”

This is challenging for modern Western Christians, for we’ve been strongly influenced by a secular worldview that inclines us to live as though God was not present and as though he did not want to lead us each moment. We may intellectually believe God is present and wants to lead us, but it’s hard for us to actually experience this or live like this.

Not only this, but over the last hundred years we in the West have been conditioned by a naturalistic, psychotherapeutic culture that leads us to assume that everything that happens in our minds is our own doing. We’re thus inclined to automatically identify all thoughts and feelings as our own and thus habitually censor out anything that doesn’t line up with our own agendas. Most Western Christians aren’t aware that God is always speaking to us and trying to lead us.

We are sheep, but we rarely, if ever, actually hear the voice of the shepherd (John 10). We are his body, but we rarely, if ever, actually hear from the head (Eph 5:23, Col 1:18). Instead, we tend to live as functional atheists who are lords over our own life—despite our profession of faith that Jesus alone is Lord of our life.

To break this pattern, I encourage you to begin by following Laubach’s example and ask the Lord throughout each day, “What would you have me do?” At regular intervals face the palms of your hands toward heaven and open yourself up to whatever God may be trying to say to you in that moment. Remaining aware of his ever-present love, notice any promptings you sense within. If you sense something, don’t overanalyze it. As along as what you feel prompted to do is consistent with love, act on it.

Likely, the old way of thinking will cause you to wonder, “How do you know this is God and not just you?” I encourage you to simply observe the objection and then set it aside in order to act on your inner impression. The worst-case scenario is that you will end up performing a loving act that God didn’t specifically tell you to do. This, clearly, isn’t the worst thing that could happen. Conversely, if you restrain yourself from acting on an impression until you’re certain it’s from God, it’s unlikely you’ll ever cultivate a sensitivity to God’s voice that empowers you to obey God each moment.

To live in love as Christ loved us and gave his life for us requires that we become sensitive to what God wants to do moment by moment. When we are aware of God’s ever-present love and surrendered to God’s ever-present will, we will find opportunities to be used by God in those moments. Jesus said, that the “Father is always at his work,” (Jn 5:17) and he is inviting us to join him in what he is doing. —Adapted from Present Perfect, pages 142-145 -  Greg Boyd

Why Are We Always Against Something?

I am becoming increasingly aware of the fact that I do not want to be someone who is always against something. Seems so many christian people today speak out more about what they are against and who they are against.

Whatever that may be, against this sin or that sin, against particular lifestyles, against a particular denomination or Bible version, all the different subjects we Christians can think of that end up taking away our main focus….loving God and loving others. We will take the bible and twist interpretations and meanings or use verses out of context trying to prove our point.

WhatAreYouAgainst

Jesus told us in the New Covenant that His commands were to love God and love others. We do not have to agree with everyone to love them. We obviously all have our convictions of right and wrong and we are not going to agree on every one of them. We do not have to focus on those convictions or try to push our views on others. We are told to love others no matter what. We are not responsible for converting people, that is God’s job. We are told to love them.

When Jesus walked the earth He did not spend a lot of time with the religious people. He was out with the sick, poor, the neglected, and those the religious people did not want to be around.

I know I did it for a long time. I thought I was better than others because I went to church. I felt I had to stay away from those who did not believe because their sins would rub off on me. I would always hang out with my church friends and stay away from the “worldly” people.

I would spend more time trying to prove my points and my beliefs, telling people what was wrong and what to stay away from, rather than spend time with God and others.

Obviously God calls us to follow Him and that is going to be in different ways for each of us. Yet to spend more time arguing, condemning, trying to prove our views on the Bible, pointing out people’s mistakes and shortcomings does not do anything except turn people away from us.

When we begin to understand the freedom we have in Christ and start living through grace that Christ provided, we can be free to love and accept all those we come in contact with each day even in our differences. We can show the love of Christ to all by allowing the Spirit to live through us.

Do not worry so much about who is right and who is wrong. Do not always be against something. Be for Jesus. Be for love. Be for others. Follow Jesus and let him love through you. Let him be the central focus of your life and allow his love to flow out of you and touch those around you.

- Jim Gordon

Grandma’s Funeral

We’re lost. I think we took a wrong turn off I-95. We’re now in Norfolk instead of Richmond. But we should be there soon!” the hearse driver assured my mother on the phone. My mom hung up the phone, looked at her watch, and sighed, “I think we’re in for a long wait.”

We were standing at what was supposed to be my grandmother’s graveside service. For the last forty minutes, the minister, my relatives, and I had been standing around the grave, just sort of staring at each other, wondering what to do. None of us had ever been to a funeral without the casket!

After another hour of waiting, the minister was growing restless. He said he had to be somewhere else soon. “If the hearse doesn’t show up shortly, I’m not sure what we’re going to do.”

Rather than have a funeral without a casket or a minister, we decided to begin the service. The reverend made it all the way to the part where he was to commit my grandmother’s body to the grave. “Ashes to ashes . . . ,” he said, then stopped. “I can’t really go any further without her body actually being here!” he said. “I’m sorry.”

Just as he turned to leave, the hearse arrived. It screeched to a halt near the graveside, and out popped a bearded lady in a pin-striped, three-piece suit. It wasn’t a full beard, but it was the beginnings of a respectable one by any standard, complete with mustache.

“So sorry I’m late! I took a wrong turn and went north instead of south. But I’m ready to do the ceremony,” she said, brandishing a script she’d pulled from her coat pocket. “It’s my first time, but I’ve got notes here.”

“Do the ceremony?” my mother asked, her normally calm façade beginning to show a few cracks. “What are you talking about?”

The bearded lady looked puzzled. “That was part of the package—I transport the deceased, and I do the ceremony,” she insisted. “You’re going to have to pay for it anyway.”

My mother paused and struggled visibly for control. Then she informed the driver that our family would pay the fee but that my grandmother’s minister, who was standing right there, would be finishing the service.

The bearded lady hearse driver deflated a bit but delivered my grandmother’s casket to us and drove away.

And the funeral, from that point on, really went off without a hitch.

My grandmother had never been late a day of her life. But she was, as they say, late to her own funeral—literally. In the same way, many of us are late to our funerals. I’m not speaking of the physical, of course, but of the spiritual. Both Romans and Galatians tell us that we died with Christ:

grave

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. (Rom. 6:6–7)

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20)

Spiritually speaking, we participated in a funeral—our own. But we need to “attend” that funeral, to witness it and be aware of its implications.

So are you late to your own funeral?

- Andrew Farley

The Unexpecteds

Christ in you, the hope of glory. – Colossians 1:27

My husband and I have been married almost 13 years. We never had children — perhaps that was a mistake. I don’t know. Maybe having a baby would have drawn us closer together.

It hasn’t been a good marriage, but we’ve not argued or been hateful to each other. We’ve both worked. He’s had his life; I’ve had mine. Oh, we’d go out for a meal every so often, it’s just that we didn’t seem to have time for each other; and we didn’t especially have anything in common.

Saturday was generally our only day together. (That’s a strange word — together.) I’d fix breakfast and then work around the house while he did different things. We still weren’t together I guess.

Last Saturday I was in the kitchen fixing breakfast. I had just looked at the clock — it was 9:30. When he came in I noticed that he wasn’t in his casual Saturday clothes, but was dressed to go out.

He said, “Laurie, I have filed for divorce and there’s nothing to discuss. I know this will upset you, so I’m leaving for the day.”

At 9:29 A.M., I had a husband — I was fixing his breakfast, remember? At 9:30 A.M., he was gone.

And an unexpected circumstance has come into Laurie’s life over which she has no control, a person she cannot control. Devastating! Oh, yes, she still has her job, sympathetic friends, and some material possessions. And, after all, she and her husband weren’t really that compatible. But you don’t casually wipe thirteen years off the blackboard. She’ll be starting a new lifestyle — a lonely, insecure, demanding, stressful, scary lifestyle.

What to do? She might choose to take the route of anger or self-pity, feel insecure, be plagued by thoughts of “what did I do wrong” and feel guilty, believe herself to be unlovely and undesirable, and struggle with every moment of the day, asking, “What can I do? Where can I go? What does life hold for me now?”

Or she might go to her therapist and — after cutting through all the big-sounding psychological phrases — be advised to do the same thing you used to do when your dog died — get a new puppy. “Build a new life. Find a group of people with similar experiences and attach yourself to certain ones who seem to fill the void. Indulge yourself. Stay busy.”

Practical steps, but not what Laurie needs.

You see, we “life out” certain identities, getting our security from them. Laurie’s identity just walked out the kitchen door. But then, she still has friends and an identity at her office, doesn’t she? Yes, but those identities are fragile, too, just like her identity as Mark’s wife — and they could be gone just as quickly.

The emotional stress won’t go away — we can’t control those slippery emotions. But we can certainly keep them from controlling us! How? By setting our minds on the truths God has given us for just such unexpected tragedies that come into our lives.

What are those truths? Well, Laurie has an identity that can never be taken away and will never walk away — it was given to her when Christ burst forth from that dismal tomb. She is a new creature in Christ Jesus. She is loved beyond her wildest expectations. She is altogether lovely and lovable. She is righteous. She will never, ever be alone. And she is forgiven.

And then, Laurie has a power living inside of her which cannot be defeated, which is undaunted by the world and its pain and which meets every moment with head held high, shoulders back and chin up. It’s the Holy Spirit and He’s ready to take over anytime she says, “After you, Friend.”

You have the very same set-up for the unexpecteds that come into your life uninvited — you just agree with these truths, accept them as your own, and walk in them, head held high, shoulders back, and chin up with a smile on your face. You see, the unexpected can never destroy you if you are secure in your new, true identity and have turned your every day over to the Power that lives inside of you, Jesus Christ.

SCRIPTURES: THE UNEXPECTED

II Cor. 5:1

Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature –

I John 3:1

See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are –

Eph. 3: 17-19

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpassed knowledge, that you may be filed up to all the fullness of God.

II Cor. 5:21

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

II Peter 1:4

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature –

Deut. 31:8

And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you’ He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed.

Col. 2:13-14

And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

- Annabel Gillham

Ah Life!

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:45

Flora — the world of plants. There are myriad little blades of grasses and just as many plants! Their mission in life is to give — for nourishment, for strength, for comfort and for beauty. They make no demands — they exist for others. God created them for that purpose.

There are unnumbered wildflowers, giving forth beauty and sweetness and fragrance perhaps in places where no eye will ever see them — no onlooker ever appreciate them — ready to be trampled down and broken or to bloom their whole life without praise. They bloom where they are planted for the sheer joy of blooming.

Trees. They give without prejudice. They bear fruit. They shelter. They bring comfort and relief from the elements with their shade. They bring beauty to an otherwise barren earth. Could we say that they lift their “leafy” arms to praise God — living with purpose where He planted them? Giving as they were created to give?

Brooks, streams, waterfalls. They start at the heights and cascade carelessly, joyously down, ever going lower and lower, giving of themselves to refresh, to heal, to cause growth, to cleanse, to bring beauty.

Fauna — the world of animals. This is a higher form of life. They have the innate ability to respond to their world. God created them to portray His majesty, His creativity, His authority, and His love. Look at the dog. Oh, he does respond to love and has a fierce loyalty to his master. He loves unconditionally. He doesn’t care what his master looks like, his clothes, the color of his skin, or where he lives. He will protect his master and give his own life if necessary to stand between him and any evil. The greater the love that is given to that creature, the greater is his desire to give in return.

There is the sun. It sheds its light and its warmth freely on everyone — the just and the unjust — the evil and the good — lighting and warming dark places. It is the epitome of giving: Self-giving, self-sharing — in common bond with all who will open themselves to its light and warmth.

And then there is unregenerate man.

Where is the spontaneous self-giving of creation?

Where is the desire to bring loveliness to the world through giving?

Where are the unconditional love and the fierce loyalty that the dog gives?

Is it in there somewhere? Yes.

There is “regeneration” — the highest form of Life! And after the miracle of regeneration we begin to feel a stirring within, realizing that it is “so happy” to love, even if one is not loved in return. There is a loyalty that will suffer martyrdom. That Christ-love within the new man will express itself in compassion and giving just as He did when He walked the dirty paths of Galilee — giving, always giving. He gave of Himself to nourish, to comfort, to beautify for the joy of giving. He serves, unappreciated, with no praise, for the joy of serving. He exists to glorify God and has a common bond with all who will but receive — loving the just and the unjust, shedding light in the darkness.

As new creatures in Christ that self-giving Life is ours — it is within us! But we very often strangle that life — we tie the hands that want to reach out in love — we refuse to lift our arms to hug or to praise — we imprison Him in our selfish, lifeless clay cells — living in solitary confinement as we refuse to acknowledge His indwelling presence, His love, His power, and His compassion.

Lord, may we see that we exist to glorify You — we were created for that purpose — to glorify You!

Therefore, what will do that most effectively will be the path You will choose for me. It might be in unappreciated, unknown places, trampled on and broken or perhaps to bloom our entire life with no praise. May we give with no thought of return. May we make our part of the world lovely just because of Your presence living through us. Oh, but help us to remember, dear Lord, that You view our giving and You say, “You are doing a marvelous job, dear one. You are a wonderful servant.”

Servant (n): one employed by another; one devoted to another

- Annabel Gillham