What else do you feed yourself?

Not only is it important that we actively and intentional seek to fill ourselves with wholesome truths from scripture like the promises and assurances that we from God.  It is also vital to the Christian Soul to actively and intentionally filter what he or she sees, hears or reads. Philippians 4:8 exhorts us to think on "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable--if there is any moral excellence, and if there is any praise--dwell on these things."  Yet so often in our world today, a world of the endless noise of mass media that bombards our senses most every waking hour, much of what we take in would not make it into the list above.
Recently I caught the first few minutes of a TV show, a a rare occurrence as I do not have a TV where I live.  This show happens to be the most popular comedy sitcom on TV.  The first four minutes, even before the opening credits, were pretty much filled with immorality.  Now I enjoy movies and television as much as the next guy.  It is now so commonplace to make light of immorality and display impurity in jest.  Violence, greed, sex, lust, adultery and the the manifold vices that our flesh is plagued with are glorified in stunning High Def in prime time.  Romans 12:2 Says that we should "not be conformed to this world," but this world beckons ceaselessly from every medium calling for our conformity.
Reading scripture and listening to messages from the Word are immeasurably necessary as has been mentioned.  But what about the other things that we take in?  The magazines, news, TV shows, movies and the incessant 24-7 mass media that surrounds us.  Are we as careful about what we allow ourselves to see, hear and read as many are about the food that they eat?  Subtly and not so subtly the noise that surrounds us is not without its effect.  Our Culture is increasingly being lulled into a indifferent stupor that is numb to this noise.  And with the statistics of divorce, drug use, depression being more or less the same between Christians and non-Christians it is clear that we have conformed.
The second part of Romans 12:2 tells us to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind."  We renew our mind by what we put into it, and what we thinking about.  Almost always what we think about depends on what we put into our minds to begin with.  So be careful little eyes what you seen, and be careful little ears what you hear...  We are called to be a people set apart and different, and our mission is to change the world, not be changed by it.

Dear Lord,

Help us o discern the things that we observe and

hear with wisdom, and give us the grace

to turn off the noise that surrounds us and to seek

things true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and commendable.

In Christs name,  Amen

What do you feed yourself?

There is an Old saying that most, if not all, will be very familiar with.  It is the mealtime mantra of mothers and the health conscious.  "You are what you eat."  Though this is very true and proven to be important for a health lifestyle and physical training, it is also true for food of a different sort. "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has a value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (I Timothy 4:8)  What we feed ourselves, that is what we listen to, read, and watch, from the quit whisperings of the enemy to the noisome bombardment of twenty first century twenty-four-seven multimedia has a profound effect on the spirit and the soul with far reaching effects into our life. 

Quite recently I came across an intriguing statement.  I am not sure if I read it or heard it from one of the many preachers I enjoy listening to on Moody Radio throughout the week, but the statement, more or less, was this.  “Our problem is that we spend more time listening to ourselves rather than talking to ourselves.”  As is often case, if one is careful enough in observation, profundity exists in the obvious.  This has certainly been a struggle for me through some of the harder seasons of my life.  A good friend and counselor of mine has often said “what you feel and what you think will lie to you.”  What is whispered to our self from our hearts and minds and our environment is frequently hijacked by the enemy, the “father of lies.”  Quietly, if we are not wary enough to perceive it, these whispers will breed a decay of the soul which leads to fear, doubt, loss of joy, loss of peace and to despair.  Think about the last trial you faced, or the one you are facing.  What did you hear from yourself?  For me it was often discouraging banter.  Lies such as, “this is a hole you will never get out of,” “You will never finish paying for this mistake,” “God is surely unhappy with you,” “you always fail, and always will,” are just a handful of the destructive whispers that I would hear while listening to myself.  What about you?  What whispers do you hear in trials, mistakes or difficulties?

The weapon against the discouraging lies we hear when listening to ourselves is speaking truth to ourselves.  A very wise woman that I know told me often when I was facing various trials that Truth needed to be spoken into my life.  But, to speak the truth into our lives we must first, of course, know that truth.  Lies hold us captive but “the truth will set [us] free.”  This truth is God, and is found in His word.  This is why it is vital to Christian survival to be in God’s word and be in it regularly.  It is there we discover the truth of God’s goodly nature and His promises to us.  These words are strong rocks to stand on, the strongest in fact (consider Matthew 8:24-27).  The scriptures are filled from Genesis to Revelation with promises God has made to His children and the truths of His nature.  Psalm 23, Isaiah 43, Psalm 27:13, John 16:33 and many other passages present these promises and truths. Indeed the whole of scripture is one grand promise whose fulfillment is found in the central character of Christ who redeemed us to Himself.

Knowing the truth is one thing. Regularly reading God's word and memorizing it is very healthy.  It feeds the spirit and nourishes the soul.  However, it must be believed and trusted, and it must be listened to.  Instead of listening to yourself, which is quite passive and easy and takes little effort, you have to actively work at speaking truth to yourself.  It takes a concerted effort and considerable discipline, whatever the situation or season you come to, to develop the practice of speaking truth to yourself.  It is a choice to turn away from lies and grab a hold on the truth moment to moment and day to day.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for your word, which is so vibrant with your "great

and precious promises" and your many truths.  I pray that all of us develop

the regular practice of speaking THE Truth, your truth into our lives.  There

will be hard times in this world, but you have overcome the world.  You walk with us

through every season.  May you give us eyes to see your presence, and ears to hear

your voice.

Amen  

The Fundamentals: Part two

Previously I posed “Fundamentals: Part One.”  If you have not yet read that post I suggest that you do before reading this one.  I would also like to briefly follow up that post with one further point about reading God’s word.  To simply read the words on the pages of your Bible is not “digging” into the word of God and does not have any great effect on the soul of the reader.  One can briefly skim over the words of scripture without encountering the divine.  It is not some item to be marked off our religious check list of holy activities.  Jesus spoke of those who have ears and hear but do not listen.  There is a similar distinction when approaching scripture.  One can read the words, memorize them even, but they do not take them in or to heart.  In Psalm 1:2; 119:15, 97 we are presented with the idea of “meditating” on God’s word.  This is reading with desire to know God (not about Him).   The second part to this is that we must “be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving [ourselves].  Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking for His own face in a mirror…  But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works—this person will be blessed in what he does  James 1:22-25 (HCSB).”  Suffice it to say that in reading God’s word I mean to say that one should intently study it and actively seek the voice of God.  This is accomplished through prayer.

Most are familiar with the term prayer.  It is central to the western religious traditions and many others.  Prayer ranges from the panic stricken cry to God in the midst of great strife or disaster to the deep cry of a broken spirit to the heights of praise and adoration of the divine.  But people, even Christians have varied ideas of what prayer is and what its purpose is.  This is what I hope to address here.

The old testament word that is most often translated as “pray” is פָּלַל or pālal, a derivative of this word תְּפִלָּה  The word פָּלַל is related to the verb “to judge,” but indicates the notion of entreating with or appealing to someone, most likely a superior.  In the new testament we have προσεύχομαι, or proseuchomai, which comes from two Greek words πρός, which is a stronger form of πρό and means “toward” or “with regards to” and εὔχομαι or euchomai, which is the word for a “wish”, “petition” and “request.”  Classically it is the technical term for calling on, or to, a deity.  It literally means to make a wish towards or petition towards.  In both the Old and New Testament the term prayer suggest the idea making a request to someone who has authority. 

So, first and foremost, prayer is an act of submission.  If one makes an appeal to a judge, a king or superior, he or she is in effect stating that he or she does not have the authority or power to bring about whatever it is that is being asked about.  This is very important to keep in mind when thinking about praying.  Prayer is an act of worship and praise because it gives God honor and glory by ascribing to him power and authority in our lives and submitting to that power and authority.  Whatever it is we do when we prayer performs this function if our prayers are the true prayer of a humble heart.  If God is thanked, then He is thanked for something that He did in and of himself, something that only He can do.  If He is praised, then that praise due to His nature in His own being.  If He is asked to perform some act, He is asked because He alone is sovereign, has the knowledge, wisdom and power to act.  What a wonderful gift this is to the children of God. 

A second aspect of prayer's purpose in our life is that it is a time where we quiet our mind, heart and soul and where God speaks to us, imparts wisdom and discernment.  The Holy spirit, which searches the deep things of God (I Corinthians 2:10) prompts and guides us.  Prayer is not just the act of submitting our requests to God, thought that is part of it.  It is a time when we get alone with God, as Jesus often did, and hear from him as he speaks to our hearts.  It is likely that no audible voice will be heard from heaven.  What will be heard is the patient loving voice of the creator that brings peace, comfort, love, and joy to the hearer as well as instruction and admonition.  It is the place we go to to align our hearts and minds to the will of our father who is in heaven.  So that we can better understand His word, this world and our place in His kingdom    

Ultimately we find that prayer changes us.  We go to God with our complaints, concerns and desires.  And through the process we humble ourselves before our maker, listen to His voice and find that we have been changed though whatever situation or issue we are praying about may remain the same.  We may pray through tough times and find those tough time remains, but what we also find is that God's grace is sufficient and he is as near as our next breath.

Happy New Year

Well it is the beginning of 2011, the first year of the second decade in this millennium.  So Happy New Year!  I decided to make no “resolutions” this year but rather to make goals.  Among those is to post a blog once a week.  This, as ever, is a work in progress and there is no telling what might show up, from poetry, thoughts on Life and God to academic pros.  Who knows what else?  I figured that I would waste little time getting the first of, hopefully, at least 52 posts in this year.

The New Year always seems to bring on a more reflective and introspective atmosphere.  It is a time when many look over the last twelve months and evaluate progress, changes, and often mistakes.  Many have lost someone close to them, while others have perhaps welcomed someone new into the world.  For my part 2010 was truly a dynamic year.  Usually I am very happy to welcome a new year with all its potential and promise, but this year I am happy to see 2010 go.   Will 2011 be better I wonder?  As I have pondered for myself the many events of the last year and gazed into the possible tomorrows a small voice whispers in my ear.  “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  How profound!  These few words at the end of Matthew Chapter Six are full of wisdom. 

What is central to this verse is the idea of being present.  So often we are either looking regretfully, in one way or another, to the past.  Perhaps a mistake was made or an undesired change took place.  So we look back and wish we could change things, write wrongs, take back harsh words, and step up where we didn’t and so on.  On the other hand we look toward the future with anticipation or fear or perhaps both.  On the one hand we look for better days.  We say when I achieve or get such-and-such then I will be happy.  The future is largely unknown, and so we often fear it as well.  Will my job last?  Will my finances remain in good shape?  And the list goes on.  They saying goes that eighty to ninety percent of the stuff we worry about never happens.  But we have to do something right?  All the time and energy we spend worrying over things causes great anxiety and distress.   But in the middle of this tempest the savior softy speaks.  “Why do you worry?”

The truth is that we serve a sovereign God who is defined by His goodness and love.  He desires the best for His children.  Yet often times this “best” does not seem good to us.  These are places where our wills and desires rub up against the Will of our Creator.  Why?  We don’t trust him.  When things start to go a direction that we don’t like we question his methods and perhaps his motives or maybe both.  Wisdom and experience, however, teach us that He is indeed good and loving.  All the bad ends I have experiences have led to better beginnings.  And, as a wise man I know says, God has always blessed me, what reason do I have to believe He will not continue to do so.  It takes strong will sometime not to despair and to rest in the loving arms of the Father.  But it is a safe and goodly place.  And we must hold on to the promise of God’s love and goodness with relentless tenacity whatever may come our way.

Times can be hard.  That is indeed true.  Remember God is for you!  He desires good things for you, the best things even if we cannot understand how.  So when the times are good, give thanks, and be present.  For every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.  And in those valleys that we are sure to wander in remember those good times when all was well.  Pray for strength, courage and greater faith in God’s love.  For these times will pass and you will look back and perhaps see the hand of God guiding you lovingly to green pastures and still waters. 

Blessed be your name

When the sun’s shining down on me

When the world’s all as it should be

Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there’s pain in the offering

Blessed be you name.

Joy and peace be with you in all your seasons.

Happy New Year