This morning, I heard a flock of geese flying by, headed for winter south of here. Their honking brings a smile to my face -- I think geese are magnificent creatures -- but it makes me realize
what their honking means: Change is on the way!
Most of us would like to see real, meaningful, permanent change in our habits. We'd like to be free from fear, doubt and temptation. Good news! Our first real change has already been given to us, at no charge. Colossians 1 tells us that we are the blessed recipients of God's unilateral actions:
"For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. (v. 19-20) This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. (v. 21) Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body {not through our repentance, faith, baptism or obedience}. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault" (v. 22). What a huge change!! But can we change the way we act?
I've had the experience of being harnessed to a strong rope and tackling an obstacle course twenty or thirty feet up (a lot higher off the ground than I like to be!). Since I was completely secured by that rope, I was given the courage to climb, jump, and work my way over obstacles I never would have tackled alone. God's love gives us the same courage. Paul tells us here to "continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it" (v. 23) as a moment-by-moment part of life. Leaving our old habits behind feels foreign, and we can hesitate in fear. Knowing we are completely loved and eternally accepted by God, gives us the courage to change our ways: to live another day without the false promises of alcohol, pornography, anger, lust, food, unforgiveness, or any other method we use to feel in control of our lives.
I can tell you from experience, this much change won't happen from sheer force of will. It's time to believe what God says, that he we are "holy and blameless," and to choose to live in that truth. God will always hold us securely, and will help us develop new habits of thinking, feeling, speaking and living, whether we take it one step at a time or all at once. Why not start today? If you need another person to know what you're doing and pray for you, just ask.
Showing posts with label habits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label habits. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Spiritual Experiences vs A Spiritual Life
The curriculum at last week's summer camp, SEP Rockies, was "Rooted" and was beautifully delivered by our chapel speaker, Anthony Mullins. He talked about the life
cycle of a tree, starting with a seed that dies in the ground in order for the tree to sprout, the seedling struggling to push out of the ground to sunlight and then to push its roots deep in the soil to get nourishment and to hold on during storms; and finally to the point of maturity, which is bearing fruit and seed in order to start the cycle again.
I found a book called "Deep-Rooted in Christ: The Way of Spiritual Transformation" by Joshua Choonmin Kang, a Korean pastor in Los Angeles. It ties right in with that "Rooted" camp curriculum. I read these comments in chapter 5, and was reminded of the "mountaintop experiences" we have at our camps: "Spiritual experiences and spiritual disciplines are similar, but they have different outcomes...Spiritual formation isn't like a quickly spreading fire; it's like a tree with deeply descending roots, establishing a foundation for future growth and fruitfulness." (The book is $10 at christianbook.com, if you're interested).
Kang's point is important. Most of us like spiritual experiences, because they're exciting, they give us energy, and they're memorable. But like birthday cake, we can't make them our entire diet. Growth and health, both spiritual and physical, need intentional and balanced nutrition. When we feel spiritually weak, seeking yet another mountaintop experience won't deepen our contact with and our reliance on Jesus. A steady, day-by-day diet of spiritual habits will feed our understanding of God and of our own needs.
Here are some examples of habits we can use to deepen our spiritual lives: Self-examination, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, shows us how we fall short of God's best for us and can help us see a way toward peace. Silence and solitude (turning away from all our distractions so we can focus on God) gives God space to hold an extended conversation with us. Generosity helps us release our fervent hold on our possessions and remember they all belong to God anyway. Memorization of scripture -- several verses at a time -- nourishes our thinking and cooperates with the Holy Spirit as he teaches us (John 16:13).
How about trying one of these practices today, and see how it helps you? If it's helpful, why not make it a daily, weekly or monthly habit? These and many others will help you be "Rooted" in God's love and life.
cycle of a tree, starting with a seed that dies in the ground in order for the tree to sprout, the seedling struggling to push out of the ground to sunlight and then to push its roots deep in the soil to get nourishment and to hold on during storms; and finally to the point of maturity, which is bearing fruit and seed in order to start the cycle again.
I found a book called "Deep-Rooted in Christ: The Way of Spiritual Transformation" by Joshua Choonmin Kang, a Korean pastor in Los Angeles. It ties right in with that "Rooted" camp curriculum. I read these comments in chapter 5, and was reminded of the "mountaintop experiences" we have at our camps: "Spiritual experiences and spiritual disciplines are similar, but they have different outcomes...Spiritual formation isn't like a quickly spreading fire; it's like a tree with deeply descending roots, establishing a foundation for future growth and fruitfulness." (The book is $10 at christianbook.com, if you're interested).
Kang's point is important. Most of us like spiritual experiences, because they're exciting, they give us energy, and they're memorable. But like birthday cake, we can't make them our entire diet. Growth and health, both spiritual and physical, need intentional and balanced nutrition. When we feel spiritually weak, seeking yet another mountaintop experience won't deepen our contact with and our reliance on Jesus. A steady, day-by-day diet of spiritual habits will feed our understanding of God and of our own needs.
Here are some examples of habits we can use to deepen our spiritual lives: Self-examination, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, shows us how we fall short of God's best for us and can help us see a way toward peace. Silence and solitude (turning away from all our distractions so we can focus on God) gives God space to hold an extended conversation with us. Generosity helps us release our fervent hold on our possessions and remember they all belong to God anyway. Memorization of scripture -- several verses at a time -- nourishes our thinking and cooperates with the Holy Spirit as he teaches us (John 16:13).
How about trying one of these practices today, and see how it helps you? If it's helpful, why not make it a daily, weekly or monthly habit? These and many others will help you be "Rooted" in God's love and life.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Giving It Up
Our Western society is not known for self-denial. We have fast-food palaces practically everywhere, with 'dollar menus' set up to drain the last resources from our wallets. We're not accustomed to having to wait for food, or for that matter, anything else -- some people even watch movies and TV on their mobile phones instead of returning home or going to the cinema!
Youthworker.com posted an article on July 26 called "Going Techless" that told the story of a girl who went without her cellphone, radio, television and computer for a week (you can watch the full news segment, on NickNews, here.) At first she drove everyone crazy, then later in the week began talking instead of texting, and "began cooking, singing and playing the guitar." Who knew?
Jesus reminded us of the perils of our "stuff" when he said in Luke 12:15 “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” I looked that verse up in the Greek -- it says "all greed." Wow, all? Every type? What if I really, really like chocolate? Or books, even theology books? Or food? The Boss was telling us to not let anything get the upper hand on us that turns out to be a subtle form of outright idolatry -- having something else that is more important than God.
The Bible describes 'fasting' as a way to tell ourselves "no." Fasting typically refers to going without food, but truly, it could refer to anything that we use that threatens to become too important to us. People sometimes fast from television, a certain food, or some other part of life; and instead of moping around the house in despair from not having it, they use that extra time and energy to serve God instead of themselves.
But it takes courage and dedication to give up, even for awhile, something we are so tied to. It's a sacrifice! But those sacrifices can teach us a lot about ourselves: what's most important to us, and how much time we waste on what isn't really important. How about it? Is there something you would give up for God? What would it be? Why? For how long? When will you start? What will you do with the extra energy you get? It's worth asking yourself the questions, then getting started!
Youthworker.com posted an article on July 26 called "Going Techless" that told the story of a girl who went without her cellphone, radio, television and computer for a week (you can watch the full news segment, on NickNews, here.) At first she drove everyone crazy, then later in the week began talking instead of texting, and "began cooking, singing and playing the guitar." Who knew?
Jesus reminded us of the perils of our "stuff" when he said in Luke 12:15 “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” I looked that verse up in the Greek -- it says "all greed." Wow, all? Every type? What if I really, really like chocolate? Or books, even theology books? Or food? The Boss was telling us to not let anything get the upper hand on us that turns out to be a subtle form of outright idolatry -- having something else that is more important than God.
The Bible describes 'fasting' as a way to tell ourselves "no." Fasting typically refers to going without food, but truly, it could refer to anything that we use that threatens to become too important to us. People sometimes fast from television, a certain food, or some other part of life; and instead of moping around the house in despair from not having it, they use that extra time and energy to serve God instead of themselves.
But it takes courage and dedication to give up, even for awhile, something we are so tied to. It's a sacrifice! But those sacrifices can teach us a lot about ourselves: what's most important to us, and how much time we waste on what isn't really important. How about it? Is there something you would give up for God? What would it be? Why? For how long? When will you start? What will you do with the extra energy you get? It's worth asking yourself the questions, then getting started!
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