I was driving today and was passed by a beautiful black Corvette. The low rumble of its engine, the sheen of its paint which seemed inches thick, the lines of its body, and in particular the cat-like ease with which it rounded the corner onto the entrance ramp beside me, obviously caught my attention. I have always loved fast cars, but have never been able to afford one, and so seeing these cars pass, especially as I get a little older, has become a little painful. Today, however, was different.
As I have begun this "experiment" (for lack of a better word) of "setting my mind on things above," I have experienced a liberating shift in my emotional life. I am content. I have recognized that, in the spiritual realm, where I truly exist, I have everything I could ever hope or dream of and much more. I am learning to take stock of my life according to the circumstances of my spirit, which is already present with Jesus in Heaven at the right hand of the Throne of God, according to Colossians 3, and to realize that what I see with my natural eyes simply does not count.
No, I do not have a new Corvette, but I also don't have a Corvette payment or insurance. I don't have to worry about where I park to avoid someone door-dinging me or something crapping on my gorgeous paint job. But, do you know that feeling you imagine you would have if you finally got that luscious car or dream house or perfect job, spouse, body, or whatever? ...I have that.
"But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment."
identity-reminding you who you are
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
"Seems to be working?..."
While I don't think it's correct to follow a question mark with an ellipsis, I do think it's appropriate to follow a statement like that with an explanation. "Working" is such an ambiguous description. I want to make it perfectly clear that what it does not mean is that having set my mind on things above, I have somehow suddenly been beset by loads of cash. What I have been beset with, however, is in my opinion much better than cash...peace.
That's the best thing of all, but it's not all. Ironically, once I decided to stop thinking about these issues, they very suddenly became very clear to me; and the paralyzing analysis has given way to some very simple, very effective action. It's as if fear and worry (things that for years I never thought I was even capable of) had formed a cloud around me. In a way, as I have "counted all things lost," the fear of losing is gone, and I can see clearly to do what needs to be done...so it seems to be working.
That's the best thing of all, but it's not all. Ironically, once I decided to stop thinking about these issues, they very suddenly became very clear to me; and the paralyzing analysis has given way to some very simple, very effective action. It's as if fear and worry (things that for years I never thought I was even capable of) had formed a cloud around me. In a way, as I have "counted all things lost," the fear of losing is gone, and I can see clearly to do what needs to be done...so it seems to be working.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Setting my mind on things above
Things got really tough this last year...mostly just financially, but if you've been there you know it eventually effects some pretty important things...if you let it. I kept hearing the Holy Spirit say to me, "Don't think about it..." and I thought, "But that's irresponsible, isn't it? This stuff needs my attention. I have to fix this, don't I?" Then I remembered Jesus' words, "Seek first...and all these things..." and Paul's words, "Set your minds on things above..." so I tried it. Know what? So far it seems to be working.
Monday, March 8, 2010
A Year since i've written???
March 18? Really? When I saw that the last publish date was March 18, 2009, I was floored! It's been quite a year. So busy I didn't have time to write, then lately, so stressed I had nothing to say, primarily because I am no longer so busy. I've never been one to worry, but wow! This is quite an interesting time.
Tonight I met a man in QT who said to me, "I teach men. I teach them two things: Who God is, and who they are. If you get those two things..." Then he just smiled.
That's something worth writing.
Tonight I met a man in QT who said to me, "I teach men. I teach them two things: Who God is, and who they are. If you get those two things..." Then he just smiled.
That's something worth writing.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Two trees...could it be that simple?
The classic struggle between good and evil captivates us in literature, movies, even in world events. We love to see good triumph over evil, to see justice prevail, to see the right win the day.
Curious that we as Christians are so prone to jump in and choose sides in this struggle, when the very thing that caused our initial downfall was a tree called "the knowledge of good and evil," not just the tree of evil. Are good and evil really polar opposites, or are they fraternal twins, opposite sides of the same counterfeit coin?
In his final book, "Ethics," written from a Nazi prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer points out that our real choice as humans is not between good and evil, but between relationship to God and submission to logical morality. He observed that the church of his era (1930's Nazi Germany) had been lulled into complacency by their culture of religious rationalization, leaving them void of the conviction as a whole to fight or even speak against the Nazi regime. He held that they, both individually and collectively, had learned to operate under the tree of the knowledge of good and evil rather than the tree of life, or relationship to God, and therefore had substituted their intellectual reasoning powers for the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.
Heavy example, but a good reminder. We are not on the side of good or right or justice per se, but rather on the side of life. Remember that it was the ultimate alliance of good and evil that crucified Jesus, and it was not evil that He conquered when He rose, but sin and death. How much more effective are we when we listen to God's voice, live out of love for Him, instead of trying to follow the rules, or worse, trying to get everyone else to?
Curious that we as Christians are so prone to jump in and choose sides in this struggle, when the very thing that caused our initial downfall was a tree called "the knowledge of good and evil," not just the tree of evil. Are good and evil really polar opposites, or are they fraternal twins, opposite sides of the same counterfeit coin?
In his final book, "Ethics," written from a Nazi prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer points out that our real choice as humans is not between good and evil, but between relationship to God and submission to logical morality. He observed that the church of his era (1930's Nazi Germany) had been lulled into complacency by their culture of religious rationalization, leaving them void of the conviction as a whole to fight or even speak against the Nazi regime. He held that they, both individually and collectively, had learned to operate under the tree of the knowledge of good and evil rather than the tree of life, or relationship to God, and therefore had substituted their intellectual reasoning powers for the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.
Heavy example, but a good reminder. We are not on the side of good or right or justice per se, but rather on the side of life. Remember that it was the ultimate alliance of good and evil that crucified Jesus, and it was not evil that He conquered when He rose, but sin and death. How much more effective are we when we listen to God's voice, live out of love for Him, instead of trying to follow the rules, or worse, trying to get everyone else to?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Infinite Uniqueness of Your Spirit
God doesn’t want you to conform to some mold and be a good little Christian boy scout. That’s just what religious people want you to do. God wants you to be more of an individual, more unique than you can even imagine. Jesus was a natural radical, a sincere rebel, an easy revolutionary, and He created you to be the same way.
Read More...
“But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.”
1st Corinthians 6:17 NIV
Paul says that when you become a Christian, you become one with God spiritually. Before you became a Christian, your spirit was dead because of sin, but now it is alive again. How did God make it alive again? By joining Himself with you so completely that you are now one with Him.
There is no dividing line, no space, no difference between your spirit and His. In fact, it is a complete misnomer to say “your spirit,” and “God’s Spirit” as if to make a distinction between the two. The scripture clearly says that they are no longer two, but one.
Notice also that he doesn’t say that God put His Spirit into you in place of your dead spirit. One verse in Colossians makes it sound that way (“For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Col 3:2), but Paul’s repeated reference to the new “self” indicates, along with this verse, that you have not been removed or replaced, but rather, regenerated.
God loved you and wanted to preserve all your individuality, every facet of your personality, and so He didn’t discard your true self, He joined Himself to you. All He discarded was the sin and brokenness that kept you in fear of revealing your true self; kept you afraid of being who He made you to be.
Why would God discard the very thing for which He paid the Sum of all His riches, Jesus? Why would He eradicate the one creation that contained His own image and glory? You are the crown of His creation and the treasure at the center of His plan of redemption and glory, the reward of His suffering and sacrifice.
You have not lost one ounce of individuality. In fact, the most exciting, unique, interesting, creative, bold, free-spirited people I know are people who know the stuff I’m teaching you. Since I began to see myself the way God sees me, I am so much more free to be myself than I ever was in my religious days.
God doesn’t want you to conform to some mold and be a good little Christian boy scout. That’s just what religious people want you to do. God wants you to be more of an individual, more unique than you can even imagine. Jesus was a natural radical, a sincere rebel, an easy revolutionary, and He created you to be the same way.
Read More...
“But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.”
1st Corinthians 6:17 NIV
Paul says that when you become a Christian, you become one with God spiritually. Before you became a Christian, your spirit was dead because of sin, but now it is alive again. How did God make it alive again? By joining Himself with you so completely that you are now one with Him.
There is no dividing line, no space, no difference between your spirit and His. In fact, it is a complete misnomer to say “your spirit,” and “God’s Spirit” as if to make a distinction between the two. The scripture clearly says that they are no longer two, but one.
Notice also that he doesn’t say that God put His Spirit into you in place of your dead spirit. One verse in Colossians makes it sound that way (“For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Col 3:2), but Paul’s repeated reference to the new “self” indicates, along with this verse, that you have not been removed or replaced, but rather, regenerated.
God loved you and wanted to preserve all your individuality, every facet of your personality, and so He didn’t discard your true self, He joined Himself to you. All He discarded was the sin and brokenness that kept you in fear of revealing your true self; kept you afraid of being who He made you to be.
Why would God discard the very thing for which He paid the Sum of all His riches, Jesus? Why would He eradicate the one creation that contained His own image and glory? You are the crown of His creation and the treasure at the center of His plan of redemption and glory, the reward of His suffering and sacrifice.
You have not lost one ounce of individuality. In fact, the most exciting, unique, interesting, creative, bold, free-spirited people I know are people who know the stuff I’m teaching you. Since I began to see myself the way God sees me, I am so much more free to be myself than I ever was in my religious days.
God doesn’t want you to conform to some mold and be a good little Christian boy scout. That’s just what religious people want you to do. God wants you to be more of an individual, more unique than you can even imagine. Jesus was a natural radical, a sincere rebel, an easy revolutionary, and He created you to be the same way.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
"Created in Christ"
Paul repeats this phrase or idea several times in his letters, and frankly, it's an idea I often think and talk and write about, and just as often puzzle over in times of prayer and meditation. I understand it, but it baffles me at the same time.
Recently I was asking the Lord again about this. "What does it mean...created in Christ?" I had this answer from Him, "When does this imply your creation took place?" The obvious answer thrills and puzzles me even more, as do many truths of scripture.
If we were created in Christ, it necessarily puts our creation at the time of His creation. It means that in creating Jesus, or at least Jesus the man, the Father was also creating us. When He made Jesus, He made us.
This is clarified in Romans, as Paul explains how sin passed to us through Adam and righteousness through Christ. How did we inherit sin? We inherited it in the basis of genetics. Genetically, all of us were actually, physically "in" Adam when he fell.
It is the same with righteousness. When Jesus lived, preached, healed, worked miracles, suffered, died, conquered hell and death, rose and ascended, we were there. This is not physical genetics, but Paul says it works the same way.
Our spiritual genetic material was already in Jesus from the moment of at least His human creation, although we may have to put it before the foundation of the world to consider the rest of scripture. Why is our inner self righteous, powerful, holy, loving, unchanging, wise, and always victorious? Because we were there every moment of Jesus' life, ministry, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.
I guess this is why Paul calls the gospel a revealed mystery. I get it...but I don't. God is good.
Recently I was asking the Lord again about this. "What does it mean...created in Christ?" I had this answer from Him, "When does this imply your creation took place?" The obvious answer thrills and puzzles me even more, as do many truths of scripture.
If we were created in Christ, it necessarily puts our creation at the time of His creation. It means that in creating Jesus, or at least Jesus the man, the Father was also creating us. When He made Jesus, He made us.
This is clarified in Romans, as Paul explains how sin passed to us through Adam and righteousness through Christ. How did we inherit sin? We inherited it in the basis of genetics. Genetically, all of us were actually, physically "in" Adam when he fell.
It is the same with righteousness. When Jesus lived, preached, healed, worked miracles, suffered, died, conquered hell and death, rose and ascended, we were there. This is not physical genetics, but Paul says it works the same way.
Our spiritual genetic material was already in Jesus from the moment of at least His human creation, although we may have to put it before the foundation of the world to consider the rest of scripture. Why is our inner self righteous, powerful, holy, loving, unchanging, wise, and always victorious? Because we were there every moment of Jesus' life, ministry, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.
I guess this is why Paul calls the gospel a revealed mystery. I get it...but I don't. God is good.
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