Religion and Spirituality

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Love & Hate

I am shocked! I think I have discovered one of the reasons there is such discord between Christ followers and unbelievers. We have wildly different definitions of words.

First this is how the words are defined to the world (from Merriam Webster):

Love

  • strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
  • attraction based on sexual desire :  affection and tenderness felt by lovers
  • affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests 
Hate
  • intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury
  • extreme dislike or antipathy
  • an object of hatred
 

And this is how I have always understood them to be defined:

Love, whether used of God or man, is an earnest and anxious desire for and an active and beneficent interest ins the well-being of the one loved.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.

Hatred: A feeling of strong antagonism and dislike, generally malevolent and prompting to injury (the opposite of love); sometimes born of moral resentment.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.

Please note the difference especially in the definition of Love. The world says if you love me, you must like me, and if I don’t like what you do, I must hate you because I fear you. The church says love wants what is best for you. So when we tell someone that what they are doing is, according to our understanding, harmful or detrimental to their spirit, then are we not being loving? Of, course we can say it in a way that demeans or disrespects and then we have stooped to hatred. But to just say what we believe to be true should not be taken as hatred.

But the question is often asked, ‘what right have I to criticize another’s actions?’ The right of a Brother living in the same Family.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.  Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1-2 (NIV)

That is assuming that I am truly interested in helping my brother and not just playing some game of ‘I’m right, He’s wrong’, or one-upmanship. Now when there are honest differences of opinion over what is right or wrong, we should carefully go to the source of our knowledge (the Bible) and make sure we are hearing from it what God is saying.

Another common question is ‘Doesn’t the Bible tell us to not judge?’ Let’s take a look at that.

 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  Matthew 7:1 (NIV)

The word translated Judge is also used elsewhere with the fuller meaning of condemn, as in pronounce eternal judgement. We are not to take the place of God and pass judgement on someone but we are to inspect each others’ lives and help them to be more Christlike.

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,  remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20 (NIV)

To those outside the Family I believe the first thing is to clearly show that we Love them and want what is best for them, then cogently lay out God’s salvation plan:

  • God loves each and everyone of us and wants to have a relationship with us.
  • Each of us has chosen our own way and spurned Him, thus killing any relationship with Him.
  • Jesus is the ONLY way back to a relationship with the Father.
  • All we have to do to have that relationship is to trust Him and believe.

After that the only thing we have to say is what Jesus said:

 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.  What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?  Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?  If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38 (NIV)

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Resolution or Covenant?

Today many people will be making promises to themselves to ‘do better’  this year. Whether it’s to lose weight, get in shape, get organized, or any number of other good things. We lightly call these resolutions. As we all know, these resolutions last, uhh, a short time! I too have made my share and very few, if any, were really followed for any length if time.

Instead of a resolution I am instead entering into a covenant with God.

What is the difference you ask? A resolution is a decision that I make and unilaterally implement. As such, anytime it becomes hard I can choose to reject that decision without any regret because, after all, it was just my own choice. A covenant involves two persons and is an agreement between them for a particular purpose and for a particular time. So, while I may still break the covenant, I know that I will be disappointing the other person if I do. This gives me accountability and gives me pause to consider should I want to abandon my decision.

I covenant before God:

  1. As He gives me the grace and power, and

  2. Until He gives me leave to stop,

  3. I will devote myself to fulfilling my life’s mission statement:

To know and be known by GOD through regular study and worship, and to make HIM known to family, friends, co-workers, and strangers in need, by speaking the truth in love, acts of service, and sharing GOD’s provision. Ever more consistent, honest and open, quick to forgive and ask forgiveness. Choosing to make evident the Fruit of the SPIRIT in my life, asking in all circumstances, “What Would Jesus Do?”

  • Practicing daily spiritual disciplines as He leads, and

  • Reviewing and refining my daily actions to conform to the goals laid out here:

Upward – My experience with GOD

Worship
Prayer
Study

Inward – Learning to live as He would have me

Chastity
Temperance
Simplicity

Outward – Relating to other people in His name

Charity
Meekness
Generosity

 

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Sacred Cab

Sacred Cab? Huh? How can the cab of truck be sacred?

As I have spent the last few weeks learning to listen to God and experience Him, this description seemed to apply very well.

Sacred Spaces evoke a feeling of a sacredness of space and time, where Heaven seems to touch Earth and we find ourselves aware of the Holy, and filled with the Spirit. A higher energy is resides in a sacred space, a power beyond human control which is part of the feeling of “awe”. To find ourselves in the midst of great natural beauty is an awakening into moments of heightened spiritual consciousnessThis feeling of “sacred” invokes a connectedness, a presence of the blessing of existence. It is “sacred” when it becomes for us a “window to the Kingdom of God” and a reminder of the sacredness of all space as space created by God.

Sacred spaces present creation to us as a window to this kingdom of God, a glimpse of heaven here in this lifetime. It’s an experience of the divine in life itself, in the very landscape of all things. We see all things as interdependent within an “inclusive community” and we experience a feeling of harmony as the process of having achieved balance.

This experience comes to us so clear, so inviting, and so welcoming, like good hospitality. At the same time shadows of unknown drift off in all directions. They remind us of the Unknown who is far more than we ever dreamed. We leave the sacred space with the new knowledge that life is far more than we dreamed. Our souls go deep into the rivers of the Spirit.

The glory of sacred spaces is not just in enjoyment of that which is created, but in seeing and feeling God’s very presence in creation. <see link here>

While I have spent the better part of 40 years as a believer in God, learning (and discussing <OK, arguing>) the finer points of theology, I have always found it difficult to connect my heart with Him. I have always thought that relating to God meant assent to certain principles and dogmas. What I am learning now is to hear His heart and just relax in His presence. By quieting my mind and stilling my thinking, I can reflect on who He is and What he has done and is doing.

He seems to be leading me into an exploration of the spiritual disciplines and how they can be used of Him to order and realign my heart and actions. I am drawn to the awareness that Salvation is much more than ‘Heaven when I die’, that He desires to remold my doing and thinking in the here and now.

One quote from this week, ‘How can we expect to answer the the question ‘What Would Jesus Do’ in the difficult times of life, if we are not walking like Jesus walked in the daily life?’. As an analogy, I have an acquaintance who is an amateur body builder (and quite good). He doesn’t sit around eating bonbons and watching TV then expect to win competitions. Instead, he goes to the gym and works out. He diets properly. He refuses things that he know won’t help him in his goal. So I must learn the things I must do to re-order my mind and then faithfully do them.

Stay tuned for more to come….

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Gods and Idols

While listening to Jeremiah the other day, I was struck by how often God said He was angry with Israel (both kingdoms) for prostituting themselves with other gods and burning incense to idols. I got to thinking how glad I am that don’t worship false gods or pay homage to false idols. But, then again…. If a god is anything that I believe in and trust to help me and an idol is anything I place an extremely high worth in, then maybe I do have some of those.

So what is the thing that I trust in to take of me? Me! My self, My abilities. My intelligence. And how’s that worked out for me so far? Pitifully bad I’m afraid. Oh, I do OK, I guess, but I not sure that I’d want to bet on me when push comes to shove…I tend to cut and run. What other things do I put on a pedestal? Or said another way, if I only had enough ____ I would be happy, set, content, etc. Money? Friends? Influence? Toys? All these and more. Of course it’s easy to see other peoples’ gods and idols. Fashion, sports, recreation and a hundred other things. But what about more cunning gods? Things like science, medicine, theology, philosophy.

I’m not saying any of these are bad or immoral, just that when I trust only in them to meet my needs or when I value them so high that they define me, then I have crossed into idolatry.

The true God will not share his throne with anyone. Either He is the source of my life and contentment or I’m on my own, I cant have a little of Him and a little of me.

 

“You shall have no other gods before me.  “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,  but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Exodus 20:3-6 (NIV)

“But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim  —for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—
Exodus 34:13-14 (NASB)