I have been reviewing lately some of one of my favorite mentor's words on prayer. Andrew Murray's book, With Christ In the School of Prayer remains one of the best I have ever encountered. I have read it over and over again, and I think I am actually beginning to catch the gist of what this wise lover of God was saying!
Perhaps two of the most important things that Andrew Murray says about prayer are his convictions that a) prayer must begin with an awareness of God as the loving Father and, b) prayer is essentially joining with Jesus in His continual intercession before the Father.
We can pray as Jesus prays only as we "get" that first point. Consider the following quotes from our mentor (and please forgive the dated language!). "The first thing in closet-prayer is to meet the Father. The light that shines in the closet must be the light of the Father's countenance. The atmosphere in which we breathe and pray is God's Father-love, God's infinite Fatherliness." (chapter 3). "The knowledge of God's Father-love is the first and simplest, but also the last and highest lesson in the school of prayer." (chapter 4).
So what does this look like, at least in my life? Well, in the past I would find myself praying without a conscious awareness of God's presence and Father-love, and my prayers sometimes sounded more like begging and whining than confident asking! And even when that wasn't the case, praying with confident trust and expectancy was hard to come by, especially when the needs before me were large and imposing. But now, as I am learning to allow Holy Spirit to lead me into Father's presence, I find that prayer rises from my heart as gentle listening, expectant asking and peaceful petitioning. The difference is remarkable: faith becomes as natural as breathing in the presence of the One who is love. Now the two pictures of prayer God gave me a while ago make wonderful sense.
I may have shared these before. If so, please forgive me. But these pictures are expressions of praying as Jesus prayed with the deep awareness of Father's love and manifest presence. The first picture God gave me was of a small round table, with Him on one side and me on the other, close enough so that we could clasp hands if we desired. Between us I place the concerns of others for whom I am praying and we discuss them as I look into Father's eyes--wow! In the second picture, I am standing in the wonderful, warm and powerful River of God's kindness and life and power. As I stand there I direct the flow of a little piece of the River towards the one for whom I am praying. Again, wow!
And yes, it does take time, sometimes more of it than at other times, for the awareness of God's presence to come (stillness is essential and not always immediately accessible). But I am finding that when I practice what our mentor, Andrew Murray, teaches us, then prayer becomes the peaceful but powerful instrument of God's war on the enemy and God's rich blessing of people that scripture describes.
Learning to pray...
Tom, one Abba's children
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Learning to treasure others
Hmmm. I am hesitant to share what I think God wants me to share this week because of the danger that you will think more highly of me than you ought! I believe that God wants me to share a note I sent to my wife a while ago about our probable move out of our current house. I am sharing this partly because someone recently asked Jettie and me if I am as kind and encouraging to her as I usually am with others. Jettie answered "Yes," (whew!), but it was not always so and still isn't that way all the time. But God has changed me deeply over the years and especially the last five years have changed me more than I could have imagined (with more still happening!). And...in my March 4 blog I wrote, "Those closest to us should be the primary recipients of all the good that God is doing in us, not the recipients of 'leftovers.'” So...there should be evidence in my life that I am living this out, right?
I am also sharing this because I sense that there are some husbands out there who need to read what I wrote and catch the heart of it. If we are indeed called to treasure others as God treasures them, then it seems to me that our spouses should be the most treasured of all. I offer this little note as one way Father recently invited me to treasure my bride of almost 40 years.
This morning I spent part of my Secret Place time in our master bedroom. As I sat there quietly in Papa’s presence, I began to look around the room and see the precious little special touches that you have added to the room to make it our “nest.” There were the stuffed animals neatly arranged in a herd of fluffiness on top of the blanket chest. There was another small herd of them over the door to the bathroom and there was your Willow Tree angels on your dresser. Everything in our home speaks of neatness, order, stability, care and peace! Then I started weeping. And I wept and wept as I realized how disruptive it is for you to have this very peaceful and personal nest called our home changed yet one more time. I realized more than I ever have before how God has wired you in such a wonderful way. You were created to be a “nester” and to arrange and order your nest with incredible care and skill and then open that nest to others. You were created to settle in, with a remarkable, innate ability to make a home special to you and to those you love. Yet, in the past, I along with others haven’t appreciated or treasured you or this special ability in you. Instead, I have tended to view it more as an obstacle or an annoyance rather than the precious expression of the stability of God that is so much a part of who you are. Forgive me/us for that, please. It will not be that way from me in the future!
I also realize now, more than ever, how much we broken human beings try to make others into our image instead of allowing God to express His infinite uniqueness in a one-of-a-kind way through each person. We do that, I suppose, because we are ourselves unaware of our own special and highly valuable uniqueness and because we are afraid that God can’t be trusted to handle other people! That last remark looks silly as I write it, but it’s true, I think.
But now, having wept many tears on your behalf, although I hear Father reminding me never to live in regret, I also hear Him inviting me to share your pain. I hear Him gently telling me that I have in the past been calloused towards the deep invasion of who you were created to be that a disrupted nest brings to you. And I am appalled at how many times your nest has been disrupted without my having even a clue as to how this violates who you are. By God’s grace, I will not allow this to be so in the future, and I am asking Him even now to help me enter into your pain.
Yes, we both know that we can rebuild the nest again as needed, and we both know that we will grow in our trust in Him through any and every disruption, but I hope never to view the shaking of your nest in the same way that I have in the past. I see now how much "good nesting" and stability are very special gifts and a remarkable expression of how Father has made you, and I therefore also see what a deep and painful shaking it really has been for you to have your nest dismantled so very many times. I will weep, then, as I look at the little herds of fur and at the treasured memories arranged so carefully around the room…
SHMIRLY
Dear ones, please, please ask God for grace to treasure others... (also, SHMIRLY is short for "See How Much I Really Love You--I figured someone would ask!).
Learning to love as I live loved.
Tom, one of Abba's little boys
I am also sharing this because I sense that there are some husbands out there who need to read what I wrote and catch the heart of it. If we are indeed called to treasure others as God treasures them, then it seems to me that our spouses should be the most treasured of all. I offer this little note as one way Father recently invited me to treasure my bride of almost 40 years.
This morning I spent part of my Secret Place time in our master bedroom. As I sat there quietly in Papa’s presence, I began to look around the room and see the precious little special touches that you have added to the room to make it our “nest.” There were the stuffed animals neatly arranged in a herd of fluffiness on top of the blanket chest. There was another small herd of them over the door to the bathroom and there was your Willow Tree angels on your dresser. Everything in our home speaks of neatness, order, stability, care and peace! Then I started weeping. And I wept and wept as I realized how disruptive it is for you to have this very peaceful and personal nest called our home changed yet one more time. I realized more than I ever have before how God has wired you in such a wonderful way. You were created to be a “nester” and to arrange and order your nest with incredible care and skill and then open that nest to others. You were created to settle in, with a remarkable, innate ability to make a home special to you and to those you love. Yet, in the past, I along with others haven’t appreciated or treasured you or this special ability in you. Instead, I have tended to view it more as an obstacle or an annoyance rather than the precious expression of the stability of God that is so much a part of who you are. Forgive me/us for that, please. It will not be that way from me in the future!
I also realize now, more than ever, how much we broken human beings try to make others into our image instead of allowing God to express His infinite uniqueness in a one-of-a-kind way through each person. We do that, I suppose, because we are ourselves unaware of our own special and highly valuable uniqueness and because we are afraid that God can’t be trusted to handle other people! That last remark looks silly as I write it, but it’s true, I think.
But now, having wept many tears on your behalf, although I hear Father reminding me never to live in regret, I also hear Him inviting me to share your pain. I hear Him gently telling me that I have in the past been calloused towards the deep invasion of who you were created to be that a disrupted nest brings to you. And I am appalled at how many times your nest has been disrupted without my having even a clue as to how this violates who you are. By God’s grace, I will not allow this to be so in the future, and I am asking Him even now to help me enter into your pain.
Yes, we both know that we can rebuild the nest again as needed, and we both know that we will grow in our trust in Him through any and every disruption, but I hope never to view the shaking of your nest in the same way that I have in the past. I see now how much "good nesting" and stability are very special gifts and a remarkable expression of how Father has made you, and I therefore also see what a deep and painful shaking it really has been for you to have your nest dismantled so very many times. I will weep, then, as I look at the little herds of fur and at the treasured memories arranged so carefully around the room…
SHMIRLY
Dear ones, please, please ask God for grace to treasure others... (also, SHMIRLY is short for "See How Much I Really Love You--I figured someone would ask!).
Learning to love as I live loved.
Tom, one of Abba's little boys
Friday, June 19, 2009
A few more thoughts on faith
I am on the road and on vacation, so I am not sure how coherent this will be, but my blog is one thing that I like to continue even while I am resting. I want to write at least one more entry on faith. I am going to review a bit before I talk about “faith and hearing,” so bear with me, please.
Learning to listen to the One who listens most carefully to us,
Tom, one of Abba's little boys
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A few more thoughts on faith
Hmmm, I keep getting more things on faith as it is biblically defined, so I will keep writing on it for at least one more entry, possibly more. Perhaps I am writing so much about this because Jettie and I are privileged to be in the "school of trust" right now! Okay, here goes some rambling thoughts.
Faith and fear. Because faith is something that grows as our relationship with the other person grows, it means that it grows only by "being needed." We learn that God is faithful when we see Him prove Himself faithful in our lives when we respond to our fears by turning to Him. This helps us to see that fear, in and of itself, is not bad nor an indication of "weak faith." Fear when it first arrives is simply an invitation to consider where my trust will be placed!
So it's what we do with fear once we realize its presence that will determine whether or not our trust will grow. David, writing during a truly frightening situation said, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You." (Psalm 56:3 NKJV). Then, in the next verse he says, "In God I have put my trust; I will not fear."
So living in faith doesn’t mean that we are never afraid. It means that we know to whom to turn when we sense fear/anxiety coming. Yes, over time our trust can grow into a deeper and deeper trust that results in almost unshakeable peace, as I have previously written about, but because faith by its nature must grow, there will often be things that challenge our peace, no matter how deep it is. The difference is that with maturing faith, the fear will become merely an invitation to run to our Refuge and to re-surrender conrtol rather than the dominating factor in our life. (Is this making sense? I hope so!).
Also, since faith/trust grows only as it becomes necessary, it doesn’t come first or automatically. That’s why filling our minds with Scripture, although helpful, will not automatically build faith. No, faith becomes biblical faith (trust) only when it leads to a decision which leads to "action" (even if the action is to "stand still and wait for God). So even though the revelation of God’s character in His word, the testimonies of other people, the reminders of His work in our lives up to this point--all of these--help us make the decision, they aren’t the decision! By the way, on a related note, my experience is that the "decision" is most often a series of repeated decisions (whenever I am afraid, I will decide again...").
Now the good news here is that God never requires more trust than what is possible for us at the moment, but it will usually “feel” like it’s more than we have because that’s the nature of faith. The struggle we face at those times is one of surrender and release of control. It is at those times that His word and the record of His faithfulness in our life up to that point become helpful reminders that increase the volume of the Holy Spirit's invitation to collapse again into the River of God's sovereign, loving faithfulness.
Now why have I written so extensively about fear and faith? Because I know so many folks who beat themselves up for being afraid. (And sometimes other join in on the party and beat them up as well. Ironically, the only time anyone else "beats up on another" because of their "lack of faith" is because the one doing the beating is him/herself afraid!). But fear is a natural, expected first response to things. It's what we do with the fear that will determine how trust develops in our lives. "Whenever I am afraid, even if it's a hundred times a day, I will decide again to collapse in trusting surrender into Your loving arms!" Remember, dear ones, that God wants you trust Him for your own good, not because He has some kind of need to be trusted or need to control you. He wants you to enjoy the great level of easy trust that exists within the Godhead itself, a trust that is rich with infinite love and immeasurable peace. So beating up on yourself is neither helpful nor required! :-)
Hmmm, this is long enough. I guess next week I will write about the connection between "faith and hearing." Stay tuned...
Living in peace, learning to trust whenever I am afraid...
Tom, one of Abba's little boys
Faith and fear. Because faith is something that grows as our relationship with the other person grows, it means that it grows only by "being needed." We learn that God is faithful when we see Him prove Himself faithful in our lives when we respond to our fears by turning to Him. This helps us to see that fear, in and of itself, is not bad nor an indication of "weak faith." Fear when it first arrives is simply an invitation to consider where my trust will be placed!
So it's what we do with fear once we realize its presence that will determine whether or not our trust will grow. David, writing during a truly frightening situation said, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You." (Psalm 56:3 NKJV). Then, in the next verse he says, "In God I have put my trust; I will not fear."
So living in faith doesn’t mean that we are never afraid. It means that we know to whom to turn when we sense fear/anxiety coming. Yes, over time our trust can grow into a deeper and deeper trust that results in almost unshakeable peace, as I have previously written about, but because faith by its nature must grow, there will often be things that challenge our peace, no matter how deep it is. The difference is that with maturing faith, the fear will become merely an invitation to run to our Refuge and to re-surrender conrtol rather than the dominating factor in our life. (Is this making sense? I hope so!).
Also, since faith/trust grows only as it becomes necessary, it doesn’t come first or automatically. That’s why filling our minds with Scripture, although helpful, will not automatically build faith. No, faith becomes biblical faith (trust) only when it leads to a decision which leads to "action" (even if the action is to "stand still and wait for God). So even though the revelation of God’s character in His word, the testimonies of other people, the reminders of His work in our lives up to this point--all of these--help us make the decision, they aren’t the decision! By the way, on a related note, my experience is that the "decision" is most often a series of repeated decisions (whenever I am afraid, I will decide again...").
Now the good news here is that God never requires more trust than what is possible for us at the moment, but it will usually “feel” like it’s more than we have because that’s the nature of faith. The struggle we face at those times is one of surrender and release of control. It is at those times that His word and the record of His faithfulness in our life up to that point become helpful reminders that increase the volume of the Holy Spirit's invitation to collapse again into the River of God's sovereign, loving faithfulness.
Now why have I written so extensively about fear and faith? Because I know so many folks who beat themselves up for being afraid. (And sometimes other join in on the party and beat them up as well. Ironically, the only time anyone else "beats up on another" because of their "lack of faith" is because the one doing the beating is him/herself afraid!). But fear is a natural, expected first response to things. It's what we do with the fear that will determine how trust develops in our lives. "Whenever I am afraid, even if it's a hundred times a day, I will decide again to collapse in trusting surrender into Your loving arms!" Remember, dear ones, that God wants you trust Him for your own good, not because He has some kind of need to be trusted or need to control you. He wants you to enjoy the great level of easy trust that exists within the Godhead itself, a trust that is rich with infinite love and immeasurable peace. So beating up on yourself is neither helpful nor required! :-)
Hmmm, this is long enough. I guess next week I will write about the connection between "faith and hearing." Stay tuned...
Living in peace, learning to trust whenever I am afraid...
Tom, one of Abba's little boys
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Faithfulness to the Skies!
"I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself." (Psalm 89:1-2)
"For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies." (Psalm 108:4)
I have been rather overwhelmed by God's faithfulness of late. In fact, if I am honest, I pretty much remain overwhelmed by His faithfulness. Like Ethan (the author of Psalm 89), I am compelled to make God's faithfulness known and like David describes in Psalm 108, my experience is that God's love and faithfulness stretch to the skies and beyond. (Interesting, isn't it, how God's love and faithfulness often appear together--I am sure you can guess why!).
It is God's faithfulness which is an expression of His love that invites us into a truly biblical understanding of faith. As you may know, faith is a relational term in the Bible. It is the growing trust that develops as two people get to know one another better and better.
Why is this important to grasp? I think it's particularly important for those of us in the western world to redefine faith from something that it mostly a head thing into the beautifully relational heart expression of trust that God invites us into. Much of what people have described as faith is more a reactionary attempt to believe God's promises than the heart response of trust in an infinitely loving and faithful (trustworthy!) God. Thus when sickness would come to someone, I would find them "trying to build their faith" rather than responding with confident expectancy from a deep trust that was already in them because of their knowledge of God in all His love and power. It seems to me that if we understand that this whole God journey is a relationship then "building my faith" becomes irrelevant--indeed, counterproductive--because our trust is growing deeper and stronger as we get to know the One whose faithfulness stretches to the skies. Just a thought...
Wow, I wish I could fully express what is in my heart right now! I so sense Papa God inviting us to allow Him to express His faithfulness to us so that we can walk with Him in confident expectancy all the time (like a trusting little child--sound familiar?).
I ran across a quote by Andrew Murray recently that expresses what I am saying in a nutshell. It's from his book, Divine Healing. “Remember that faith is not a logical reasoning that obliges God to act according to His promises. It is, rather, the confident attitude of a child who honors his Father and counts on his love. He knows His Father fulfills His promises and is faithful to communicate the new strength that flows from redemption to the body as well as to the soul, until the moment of departure comes.” Wow, there is so much there! Faith is not something that I "use to get God to behave," but rather the trusting expectancy of a child who knows his/her Father!
And then there's this amazing conversation in The Shack (p. 127).
"The real underlying flaw in your life, Mackenzie, is that you don't think that I am good. If you knew that I was good and that everything--the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives--is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what I am doing, you would trust me..."
"Mackenzie, you cannot produce trust just like you cannot 'do' humility. It either is or is not. Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Because you do not know that I love you, you cannot trust me."
Hmmm, so that brings us back to Ethan and David's declarations that link God's love and faithfulness. We cannot, of course, create trust by wishing it so. Rather, as the conversation in The Shack goes on to point out, we can only go on in an ever more surrendered relationship with Papa, Jesus and Holy Spirit, learning to depend on love and faithfulness that reach to the skies!
Now here's a couple of suggestions for you, if you want to try them. First, do a search on faithfulness and ponder what you discover! Second, to help combat the westernized version of "faith," take every place in the NT where you read "believe" and translate it "trust." You will be amazed at how this one little adjustment changes things!
Marveling at His faithfulness, trusting in His love...
Tom, Abba's little boy
"For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies." (Psalm 108:4)
I have been rather overwhelmed by God's faithfulness of late. In fact, if I am honest, I pretty much remain overwhelmed by His faithfulness. Like Ethan (the author of Psalm 89), I am compelled to make God's faithfulness known and like David describes in Psalm 108, my experience is that God's love and faithfulness stretch to the skies and beyond. (Interesting, isn't it, how God's love and faithfulness often appear together--I am sure you can guess why!).
It is God's faithfulness which is an expression of His love that invites us into a truly biblical understanding of faith. As you may know, faith is a relational term in the Bible. It is the growing trust that develops as two people get to know one another better and better.
Why is this important to grasp? I think it's particularly important for those of us in the western world to redefine faith from something that it mostly a head thing into the beautifully relational heart expression of trust that God invites us into. Much of what people have described as faith is more a reactionary attempt to believe God's promises than the heart response of trust in an infinitely loving and faithful (trustworthy!) God. Thus when sickness would come to someone, I would find them "trying to build their faith" rather than responding with confident expectancy from a deep trust that was already in them because of their knowledge of God in all His love and power. It seems to me that if we understand that this whole God journey is a relationship then "building my faith" becomes irrelevant--indeed, counterproductive--because our trust is growing deeper and stronger as we get to know the One whose faithfulness stretches to the skies. Just a thought...
Wow, I wish I could fully express what is in my heart right now! I so sense Papa God inviting us to allow Him to express His faithfulness to us so that we can walk with Him in confident expectancy all the time (like a trusting little child--sound familiar?).
I ran across a quote by Andrew Murray recently that expresses what I am saying in a nutshell. It's from his book, Divine Healing. “Remember that faith is not a logical reasoning that obliges God to act according to His promises. It is, rather, the confident attitude of a child who honors his Father and counts on his love. He knows His Father fulfills His promises and is faithful to communicate the new strength that flows from redemption to the body as well as to the soul, until the moment of departure comes.” Wow, there is so much there! Faith is not something that I "use to get God to behave," but rather the trusting expectancy of a child who knows his/her Father!
And then there's this amazing conversation in The Shack (p. 127).
"The real underlying flaw in your life, Mackenzie, is that you don't think that I am good. If you knew that I was good and that everything--the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives--is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what I am doing, you would trust me..."
"Mackenzie, you cannot produce trust just like you cannot 'do' humility. It either is or is not. Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Because you do not know that I love you, you cannot trust me."
Hmmm, so that brings us back to Ethan and David's declarations that link God's love and faithfulness. We cannot, of course, create trust by wishing it so. Rather, as the conversation in The Shack goes on to point out, we can only go on in an ever more surrendered relationship with Papa, Jesus and Holy Spirit, learning to depend on love and faithfulness that reach to the skies!
Now here's a couple of suggestions for you, if you want to try them. First, do a search on faithfulness and ponder what you discover! Second, to help combat the westernized version of "faith," take every place in the NT where you read "believe" and translate it "trust." You will be amazed at how this one little adjustment changes things!
Marveling at His faithfulness, trusting in His love...
Tom, Abba's little boy
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Simple Thoughts About Following Jesus
Well, here I am at my denominational convention. I am, of course, an odd duck at these sorts of events for several reasons: my convictions about simple church, my advocacy of a seriously supernatural lifestyle, my urging intimacy with Jesus as the goal and means of everything...the list could go on, I guess. So I was going to write about why I am and am not a simple/house church "purist." But Papa had other plans. I am too tired to think clearly to do that topic justice. Instead I need to write something from my heart, so here goes.
My post last week elicited a lot of comments about living this life in Jesus, living the Spirit led life. So from my heart I wanted to share a few things first about my life and then what I see as the true evidences that someone is indeed led by the Spirit.
I don't think I have ever recorded this on my blog (but if I have forgive the repetition), but those who know me know that I frequently ask God to make me one of the kindest (or most loving), most joyful, most peaceful, most dangerous-to-the-devil people on the planet. I first started praying this kind of prayer when I heard Graham Cooke mention that he asks God to make him one of the most peaceful persons on the planet. I was captured by that thought and quickly added it to my heart's cry to God. As I did so, I gradually expanded it to include all three of the first triad in the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace) and the rather bold fourth request to emulate Jesus (who went around destroying the works of the devil).
Now I don't pray this in some sort of competitive way--I am not trying to exceed anyone else's level of love, joy or peace, etc. Rather I am saying to God: "This is how serious I am about this!" And I would that all of God's people would pray such a prayer and then allow Father to do whatever it takes to make it a reality in their lives.
But what does this have to be with being led by the Spirit? Simply this: that those who are led by the Spirit will reflect the attributes of genuine love and respect for others. Those led by the Spirit will be noticeably humble, gentle and kind. There will be a sense when you are around them that you are deeply important to them and to God and that they consider you better than they are (Philippians 2:3). They will exude a sort of other-centeredness that is exceedingly rare in our culture and will be continually maturing in the area of relational and emotional health. If you are wondering where one might find this sort of description of a Spirit-led person, I recommend a look at the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and at the characteristics of love as found in 1 Corinthians 13 as good starting places. Then you will want to add the characteristics of Jesus as He is revealed in the four Gospels. It is, of course, the Holy Spirit's role to create in us the nature of Jesus.
Now I have no idea how I am doing in the above traits. Like the Apostle Paul, I choose not to judge myself, but rather I will continue my little four-part prayer, and seek to live ever more aware of God's love and ever more inundated by His Spirit. And like Paul, I also know that I have not attained all of this but instead press on and press in, joyfully surrendering even self-evaluation, along with all control, into the hands of the One who loves me most.
Finally, I remind all who read this that we are never meant to journey alone in this walk with Jesus. If you are wondering why I would need someone like Peter Scazzero to speak into my life, my answer is that I need brothers and sisters like Peter and Dr. John White and Dallas Willard and a host of others to walk with me because I, like the apostles before me, know that the Spirit-filled, Spirit led life is only lived out in community, and can be fruitful only by my humbly receiving into my life the instruction and example of others.
Nuff said for this time. I am quite brain dead, but I trust this makes some sense!
Stay lost in Papa's love, drowned in His power.
Tom, one of Abba's little boys
My post last week elicited a lot of comments about living this life in Jesus, living the Spirit led life. So from my heart I wanted to share a few things first about my life and then what I see as the true evidences that someone is indeed led by the Spirit.
I don't think I have ever recorded this on my blog (but if I have forgive the repetition), but those who know me know that I frequently ask God to make me one of the kindest (or most loving), most joyful, most peaceful, most dangerous-to-the-devil people on the planet. I first started praying this kind of prayer when I heard Graham Cooke mention that he asks God to make him one of the most peaceful persons on the planet. I was captured by that thought and quickly added it to my heart's cry to God. As I did so, I gradually expanded it to include all three of the first triad in the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace) and the rather bold fourth request to emulate Jesus (who went around destroying the works of the devil).
Now I don't pray this in some sort of competitive way--I am not trying to exceed anyone else's level of love, joy or peace, etc. Rather I am saying to God: "This is how serious I am about this!" And I would that all of God's people would pray such a prayer and then allow Father to do whatever it takes to make it a reality in their lives.
But what does this have to be with being led by the Spirit? Simply this: that those who are led by the Spirit will reflect the attributes of genuine love and respect for others. Those led by the Spirit will be noticeably humble, gentle and kind. There will be a sense when you are around them that you are deeply important to them and to God and that they consider you better than they are (Philippians 2:3). They will exude a sort of other-centeredness that is exceedingly rare in our culture and will be continually maturing in the area of relational and emotional health. If you are wondering where one might find this sort of description of a Spirit-led person, I recommend a look at the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and at the characteristics of love as found in 1 Corinthians 13 as good starting places. Then you will want to add the characteristics of Jesus as He is revealed in the four Gospels. It is, of course, the Holy Spirit's role to create in us the nature of Jesus.
Now I have no idea how I am doing in the above traits. Like the Apostle Paul, I choose not to judge myself, but rather I will continue my little four-part prayer, and seek to live ever more aware of God's love and ever more inundated by His Spirit. And like Paul, I also know that I have not attained all of this but instead press on and press in, joyfully surrendering even self-evaluation, along with all control, into the hands of the One who loves me most.
Finally, I remind all who read this that we are never meant to journey alone in this walk with Jesus. If you are wondering why I would need someone like Peter Scazzero to speak into my life, my answer is that I need brothers and sisters like Peter and Dr. John White and Dallas Willard and a host of others to walk with me because I, like the apostles before me, know that the Spirit-filled, Spirit led life is only lived out in community, and can be fruitful only by my humbly receiving into my life the instruction and example of others.
Nuff said for this time. I am quite brain dead, but I trust this makes some sense!
Stay lost in Papa's love, drowned in His power.
Tom, one of Abba's little boys
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The Place and Power of Rhythm
This week I am more or less continuing the theme from last week of bearing fruit by "maintaining a living communion" with Jesus. In spite of my affirmation last week that I am seeing more consistency in the "practice of the Presence of God," I am also acutely aware that far too often by the end of the day I have once again seized control of my life to some extent and am once again back to "working for God." But today Father reminded me of something so foundational to this journey that I knew I had to share it with you.
First, I take you to an entry from my journal from January 5 of this year. I hear you repeating to me what you said to me on July 5 of last year, Abba. It is a real key to all of this: “See, little one? You must always wait until full awareness of my presence comes before doing anything, even praying. And you must return immediately when you lose it.”
Ah, Father! At least I can at last “see” this. It is possible to live this out! Anytime that my sense of your presence leaves (usually due to a willful choice on my part, but other things can cause it as well) I can and must turn immediately back to you. There is a way to live life totally dependent upon your grace as Brother Lawrence describes, yet in a way that requires us to be mature and interactive in our relationship with you. I see it, and that gives me hope that I will live it! “Show me your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.”
Okay, so as I am pondering this little review from Papa God and realize that I still struggle at times to live this out, I ask Him for help. And He graciously responds by taking me back to one of the books I recommend most highly and most often, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero, particularly the section where Pete writes about the Daily Office (taking time at points in the day to refocus on God). And the lights come on for me in a way they never have before: there is a power to living with rhythms in our lives that we in our western culture have almost entirely lost. As I ponder this, I realize that several times in the past couple of years, Father has told me that I need to be intentional about taking time throughout the day to purposefully re-center on Him. In other words, He was telling me that as someone made in His image, there is place for rhythm in my life.
As I have continued to reflect on this today (taking time to re-focus), I have come to realize that for thousands of years, God's people have had rhythms in their lives. Moses established the rhythm of the Sabbath, and Jesus and his contemporaries practiced the rhythm of set times of prayer throughout the day, etc.
Why is the place of rhythm so important in our lives? I am not sure. I am sure that there is a difference between routine and rhythm, though, and that the difference is found in how we view the regular part of a rhythm. I won't fall into routine if I remember that it's about building relationship with the One who loves me most. And allowing Him to lead during the times, adapting it to my own unique "wiring" keeps things fresh. My wife and I enjoy a date night every Friday night--and some of it is similar--but it's always good and fresh because of the dynamic part of being in relationship with one another. How much more true is this when we are with the One who is the most creative Being in the Universe!
I close with a few quotes from Peter Scazzero, so that you will want to get this book if you haven't already. I think these quotes will help you catch both the power and the freedom found in this rhythm. (Note: I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this book, at least in my journey. I am convinced that if people "really get it," everything will change!).
"At the heart of the Daily Office and the Sabbath is stopping to surrender to God in trust. Failure to do so is the very essence of the sin in the Garden of Eden." (p. 156)
"The root of the Daily Office is not so much turning to God to get something but to be with Someone." (p. 157)
"God has built us each differently. What works for one person will not for another. Geri and I approach our Daily Office very differently. I prefer more structure...Geri utilizes a variety of tools...and enjoys great flexibility to what she does in her time with God." (p. 159)
"The purpose of the Daily Office is to remember God and commune with him through all our days. Keep that clearly in mind as you (TW note: I would say, He) develops structures and habits that fit you." (p. 162)
So what will this look like in my life? I am hearing Papa invite me to two specific changes in how I approach my life. First, I am planning to add brief times around noon and in the evenings to refocus (stop, re-center, still my heart, ponder Scripture). Second, I am asking Holy Spirit to make me even more sensitive when my peace leaves and to call me back--at that moment--to a "mini-Daily Office." I am sure I will have some things to report as this unfolds in my life. (And I have now made myself accountable to my entire blogging audience--what was I thinking????
Pressing in to find the rhythms that Father has for me. I invite you to do the same.
Tom, one of Abba's little boys.
First, I take you to an entry from my journal from January 5 of this year. I hear you repeating to me what you said to me on July 5 of last year, Abba. It is a real key to all of this: “See, little one? You must always wait until full awareness of my presence comes before doing anything, even praying. And you must return immediately when you lose it.”
Ah, Father! At least I can at last “see” this. It is possible to live this out! Anytime that my sense of your presence leaves (usually due to a willful choice on my part, but other things can cause it as well) I can and must turn immediately back to you. There is a way to live life totally dependent upon your grace as Brother Lawrence describes, yet in a way that requires us to be mature and interactive in our relationship with you. I see it, and that gives me hope that I will live it! “Show me your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.”
Okay, so as I am pondering this little review from Papa God and realize that I still struggle at times to live this out, I ask Him for help. And He graciously responds by taking me back to one of the books I recommend most highly and most often, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero, particularly the section where Pete writes about the Daily Office (taking time at points in the day to refocus on God). And the lights come on for me in a way they never have before: there is a power to living with rhythms in our lives that we in our western culture have almost entirely lost. As I ponder this, I realize that several times in the past couple of years, Father has told me that I need to be intentional about taking time throughout the day to purposefully re-center on Him. In other words, He was telling me that as someone made in His image, there is place for rhythm in my life.
As I have continued to reflect on this today (taking time to re-focus), I have come to realize that for thousands of years, God's people have had rhythms in their lives. Moses established the rhythm of the Sabbath, and Jesus and his contemporaries practiced the rhythm of set times of prayer throughout the day, etc.
Why is the place of rhythm so important in our lives? I am not sure. I am sure that there is a difference between routine and rhythm, though, and that the difference is found in how we view the regular part of a rhythm. I won't fall into routine if I remember that it's about building relationship with the One who loves me most. And allowing Him to lead during the times, adapting it to my own unique "wiring" keeps things fresh. My wife and I enjoy a date night every Friday night--and some of it is similar--but it's always good and fresh because of the dynamic part of being in relationship with one another. How much more true is this when we are with the One who is the most creative Being in the Universe!
I close with a few quotes from Peter Scazzero, so that you will want to get this book if you haven't already. I think these quotes will help you catch both the power and the freedom found in this rhythm. (Note: I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this book, at least in my journey. I am convinced that if people "really get it," everything will change!).
"At the heart of the Daily Office and the Sabbath is stopping to surrender to God in trust. Failure to do so is the very essence of the sin in the Garden of Eden." (p. 156)
"The root of the Daily Office is not so much turning to God to get something but to be with Someone." (p. 157)
"God has built us each differently. What works for one person will not for another. Geri and I approach our Daily Office very differently. I prefer more structure...Geri utilizes a variety of tools...and enjoys great flexibility to what she does in her time with God." (p. 159)
"The purpose of the Daily Office is to remember God and commune with him through all our days. Keep that clearly in mind as you (TW note: I would say, He) develops structures and habits that fit you." (p. 162)
So what will this look like in my life? I am hearing Papa invite me to two specific changes in how I approach my life. First, I am planning to add brief times around noon and in the evenings to refocus (stop, re-center, still my heart, ponder Scripture). Second, I am asking Holy Spirit to make me even more sensitive when my peace leaves and to call me back--at that moment--to a "mini-Daily Office." I am sure I will have some things to report as this unfolds in my life. (And I have now made myself accountable to my entire blogging audience--what was I thinking????
Pressing in to find the rhythms that Father has for me. I invite you to do the same.
Tom, one of Abba's little boys.
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