Out of Focus?

"Mindfulness" is getting a lot of press today. Basically it means "paying attention to what you're paying attention to." The idea, they say, is that you can be more productive, positive, and nearly every other good thing you can imagine, by being mindful. But of course, the real question is not just whether we're paying enough attention but what

Known and Loved by God?

Apparently there's a website out in internet-land that invites people to be unfaithful to their spouses. It matches them up with other unfaithful people (why would you want that?). The site attracted bazillions of users by peddling adultery like it was ice cream. The scandal is that some hackers got into their client base and published the list of names, and now those folks are feeling embarrassed. But of course, God knew it all along. Not only that, God loves all those unfaithful people, just like

The Leader Who Served

Jesus did something the night before his crucifixion that wrecked the disciples. He had told them over and over about serving others, and had served many, many times in their three years together, but they still didn't get it. One last time, he showed them what love is, and

Cleaning & Maintenance

The Lovely Joanne came home from a business trip, walked into our bedroom and started sneezing.  I knew she hadn't become allergic to me (and I'd had a shower that day) so it had to be something in that room.  Out came the vacuum, furniture cleaner and window cleaner, and the room got cleaned out. We found dust bunnies under the bed and behind the furniture, and a lot of dust from places we had forgotten we had.  But a week later, it was coming back, so we've had to do it again. And again. The lawn needs mowing, weeds keep growing, and the house needs different repairs -- it seems impossible to keep ahead of it all. 

Isn't it like that with our spiritual lives too?  We just get one thing under control -- so we think -- and something else pops up.  Like dandelions in green grass, we seem to have problems popping up one after another, and they sometimes get ahead of us.  Just when we think our anger is defeated, lust pops up, or envy or resentment.  And when we work on those, anger makes a comeback. 

David prayed in Psalm 51: "For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night."  He had learned what he was like, and he felt helpless against the power of sin in his life.  David's release from guilt was through repenting, throwing himself on God's mercy and leaving his guilt behind through the forgiveness God gives. 

But he also knew that sin would never leave him alone.  He prayed "How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults." (Psalm 19:12).  Part of David's spiritual life was maintenance work -- stopping to ask God to show him what he needed to know about himself, looking in the deeper corners of his thoughts and emotions, and asking for forgiveness from sins he hadn't recognized before. 

Prayer, study, meditation, fasting, solitude and silence, simplicity, service, confession, worship and other spiritual disciplines are the 'maintenance tools' of our spiritual lives.  Like the extension wand on the vacuum, they help us to get into the recesses, the little-seen parts of our lives that accumulate sin and bad habits.  Like window cleaner, they help us see better.  Like cleaning and oiling a bicycle, they help us function as we were designed to, walking alongside God and hearing from him all the time.  On the other hand, if we neglect these disciplines, then the dust and rust, and the sin and guilt and shame and pain build up in our lives, and we start falling apart.

A couple of highly useful books in this area are Richard Foster's "Celebration of Discipline" and Dallas Willard's "The Spirit of the Disciplines."  A daily devotional, either in book form or as an online tool coming to your phone or email inbox, can also help keep us in front of God.  (Biblegateway.com and Crosswalk.com are two of hundreds of online resources.)  Whatever way we do it, spiritual maintenance is a necessary, not optional, part of life with God.  So if you don't have such a plan, now is a good time to start one.  Need help designing one?  Just ask.