Meeting God [1]

Christian faith travels a continuum. It goes from believing about, to believing in, to believing together. Sometimes this “believing together” is spoken of in the Scriptures in two ways: meeting God and covenant faithfulness.

            In the Old Testament Moses goes up into the mountain to meet God. In that meeting Moses is given the Ten Commandments. Joshua tells the entire congregation of Israel to get ready to meet God the next day to worship Him.

            Probably the most well known expression of this is found in the Psalms.

Psalm 42:2

“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

        God created each one of us to have a deep thirst for Him. Only the Living Waters from the Living God can quench the thirst of my living soul. The Psalmist is so sensitive and aware of this inner reality that he asks the question regarding the next time he can go and meet with God?

            Traditionally, in the history of Christian thought this question has been answered by recognizing the various ways we can meet God. They are listed as follows:

1.     Meeting God in Prayer

2.     Meeting God in Service

3.     Meeting God in the Assembly of Worship

4.     Meeting God in the Created Order

5.     Meeting God in Scripture

6.     Meeting God in the Community of Faith

7.     Meeting God in Everyday Life

8.     Meeting God in Mystical Moments

We will begin a series of postings to look at each of these 8 ways to meet God. How have you answered this question lately: “when can I go and meet with God?”

In Christian love, Curtis

Tuesdays with Morrie (3): I Promised to Keep in Touch

 

              Mitch Albom confesses that for 17 years he lost contact with his former professor. At his graduation he promised his teacher, Morrie Swartz, that he would stay in touch. He did not. He laments,

 

“In fact, I lost contact with most of the people I knew in college…The years after graduation hardened me into someone quite different from the strutting graduate who left campus that day headed for New York City, ready to offer the world his talent.”

                How many of us have been guilty of the same thing? We promise to stay in touch with people we think we should at the time. But, life’s circumstances and the demands of job, home, school, etc. drive a wedge between our good intentions and the fulfilling of our promises.

                Why is this so important?

                Keeping promises eliminates guilt. We all have done this. Whenever you think of a person, you know you need to communicate with them, but you put it off. Guilt has a strange way of operating off of compound interest: guilt ignored produces more guilt. We find out that when we fail to stay in touch, good memories are replaced with a burdened conscience that feels like a backpack full of rocks.

                Staying in touch validates relationships. Nothing is more important in the world than people. Think about what Christ died for: not programs, but people. Not money, but people. Not power, prowess or prestige, but people. When we keep our word and stay in touch with people, it validates those relationships. There are wonderful blessings and benefits that accrue both ways between friends when relationships are tended to!

                Staying in contact keeps priorities straight. Mitch reveals in his own life that the demands of chasing his dreams, and the demands of deadline-oriented career made him forget some very important people in his life. Once we are caught up in the web of “the tyranny of the urgent,” we are spun into a cocoon  of our own making that becomes a straightjacket binding us to a selfish existence. We forget about others, and our priorities in view of others and eternity gets all messed up.

                Have we followed up on our own promises of staying in touch?

In Christian love, Curtis

Tuesdays with Morrie (2): Stunned by the Normalcy of the Day

Right after Morrie Swartz was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), he went through the mental gymnastics of trying to make sense of it all. He entertained all of the normal, swirling questions regarding family, finances, future, etc. But Mitch Albom records one significant thought that Morrie did not anticipate.

                Mitch writes, “My old professor was stunned by the normalcy of the day around him. Shouldn’t the world stop? Don’t they know what has happened to me?”

                Tragic news has a way of stopping our world.  When some unbidden misfortune breaks and shatters our daily routine, it is odd to see others going on as if nothing has happened. I remember feeling this exact thing when my own father died.

                The world did not stop. It seemed sort of “irreverent” to me that the world did not stop to acknowledge my loss. This is what happened to Morrie.

                Stunned by the normalcy of the day around him…this reminds us of several things so deeply vital and important to our daily Christian life.

                First, our own “bad news” (whatever form it may take) will not have the same effect on others. Even though we expect others to understand, if they have not experienced the same thing, they cannot understand.

                Second, news of terminal illness or experiences of death redefine what is normal for us. We are thrust into a new world not of our own making. This lack of control can be responsible for fear spinning out of control. It is at this point that a person is looking for anything to hold onto. The Christian can lend a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on when someone is having to adjust to the news of a new normal.

                Third, our challenge every day is to try to know and understand what has happened to other people when devastating news is received. Depending on what stage of the process we interact with someone, different reactions will be strong and “normal.” Numbness, disbelief, anger, bargaining with God, anguish, withdrawal, etc. are all various symptoms of attempting to cope with the unthinkable.

                Morrie did a remarkable thing. He did not want to see his diagnosis of death render him “useless.” Instead, he offered his own life as a bridge to death for others to join  him on the journey.Let us all, with hearts of Christian compassion, be ready to be used by God when someone’s personal tragedy puts them in a position to be “stunned by the normalcy of the day.”

In Christian love, Curtis

Tuesdays with Morrie

It seems that every year during vacation I pick out a book to read. This year it was Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. Mitch is a famous sports writer with the Detroit Free Press. Morrie was Mitch’s college professor and mentor. They both connected back up after 16 years absence when Mitch found out that Ted Koppel on Nightline was having an interview with Morrie because he was slowly dying of ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. This book is the weekly visits on Tuesday that Mitch had with his old professor.

This book was originally published in 1997. I have the 2007 edition with Mitch’s Afterward in it. Nancy and I both read it to each other while traveling in the car during our vacation. Mitch presents his weekly conversations as a final test, a final thesis, to be turned in and the lessons learned during the intense and emotional conversations.

The book is at once easy to read and hard to read. Easy—because snapshots of the past are woven into present narrative and conversation. Hard—because heart, personal memories and fears, are all drawn out for each reader with their raw edge of harsh reality.

Over the next few weeks I want to draw ideas and quotes from this best seller. I will reflect on them with relevant observations.

To get us started, I want to reflect on part of the title. The book is entitled…Tuesdays with Morrie: An old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lessons. It is published by Broadway Books out of New York.

“Life’s greatest lessons.” If you could take time and share with someone younger than yourself about life’s greatest lessons, what would you share? When you begin talking about life’s greatest lessons, several dynamics come into play.

First, life’s greatest lessons are hard won and blood bought, so to speak. The reason they are lessons is because they come at a price. It is from the University of Hard Knocks that one receives his or her degree. Those hard knocks are the harsh reality of life that cannot be ignored.

Second, life’s greatest lessons are akin to the Wisdom Literature of the Bible. They speak of practical wisdom,  understanding God’s providential hand in the learning process. Wisdom gained from life shapes and molds one’s character, which is God’s divine intent for each human being.

Third, some of life’s hardest lessons  become part of the process of divine discipline. The big question here is, “Am I willing to learn from life’s experiences, and allow my heart, mind and soul to be shaped into a Christ-like character?”

Find you a copy and join me in this journey over the next few weeks!

In Christian love, Curtis

Salt is Good

            In what way is salt good, or desirable? It can preserve and provide taste. In the ancient world, prisoners tended to be the ones who mined the salt from the earth. It was a difficult and dangerous job. Also, there tended to be more salt usage among the more financially successful than the poor.

             In the gospel of Luke (14:34) Jesus pronounces that salt is considered good and desirable. In his gospel Luke refers to the fruit of one’s life, a   measure being pressed down, shaken and running over,   a person and his heart, soil that receives the word of God, Peter’s assessment to Jesus of their being present during the Transfiguration,  and the beautiful stones that adorned the temple with the adjective “good.” All of these things are good and desireable.

            Salt is good. One’s influence in life is good and desirable.  But if salt loses its flavor and power, how can it be restored? Once salt has lost its potency, it cannot be restored. It is not fit for anything. It is so useless that it is thrown away into a landfill.

            He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

            Sit up and take notice about this stuff related to salt.  Our influence, Christian character, and condition of our inner being and heart needs to be “good.” Such goodness comes from Jesus and is patterned after his life.   If I lose my influence and character, how can it be restored? Most of the time it is hard. Sometimes it may even be impossible.

            Metaphorically, I am that box of salt that God picks up and uses for His divine purposes in the world. But if I have lost my “saltiness,” how can God use me in the world? Out of the saltshaker, and into the world…but only if I have retained my saltiness!

In Christian love, Curtis                                       

Spiritual Formation in the New Testament (4)

This will be the last installment at this point regarding spiritual formation in the New Testament letters. It dawned on me this morning that all 27 books of the New Testament canon would have a different and unique perspective on growing spiritually.

We have already looked at Matthew somewhat, which would be representative of the Synoptics. John’s gospel provides a unique look at this. For example, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (6:35).  Feasting and drinking as Jesus offers himself is key to the entire idea of spiritual formation. It is knowing to whom we must go, and for what we must go that defines the journey of growth.

A good example of a book’s unique angle is also seen in Acts. For example, we read, “Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers” (Acts 9:31). All through the book of Acts emphasis is placed upon the fact that spiritual growth is in a body-of-believers context. The Holy Spirit causes this growth, and its power and effect is seen in interpersonal relationships and their quality. Peace is enjoyed and everyone is built up and encouraged. Additionally, the element of reverential awe for the work of God and basking in the comfort of the Holy Spirit defines the blessings enjoyed. When the Spirit works this way, the body increases.

Space and time limits what we can do with this topic. But think of how Romans, Galatians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and  Philemon all treat this subject. Especially think of how the non-Pauline books of the rest of the New Testament add their own flavor to spiritual growth: Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1-2-3 John, Jude and Revelation.

As you can readily see, the definition, experience, metaphors, perspectives and observations on spiritual growth are myriad in the New Testament. I challenge all of us in our daily readings to be open to what we learn about growing more and more like Jesus Christ to the glory of the Father for the sake of others!

In Christian love, Curtis

Spiritual Formation in the New Testament (2)

You may recall last week that we launched this topic of “spiritual formation” off of an article that James W. Thompson (who teaches at Abilene Christian University) wrote entitled “Paul and Spiritual Formation.”

          Thompson points out that “formation” is a unique word used by Paul. But the idea is not unique to Paul. Formation has to do with being shaped and formed spiritually into the image of Christ by the power of the Spirit. I would argue strongly that each book of the New Testament addresses the issue of spiritual formation. It may be that each writer uses unique or special terminology, but the idea is consistent throughout the New Testament.

          Last week we mentioned that  in the first temptation Jesus responds to the devil by saying, “It is written, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). For Matthew, the concept of “living on words that come from God’s mouth” is the sustenance of spiritual growth and formation.

          In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus challenges the audience to ask, seek, and knock. This will be rewarded with answer given, search rewarded and the door opened. Though Jesus does not elaborate on this, it appears to describe a spiritual movement of one’s heart, mind and soul in pursuing God. As a result of the pursuit, God blesses with divine growth and spiritual formation.

         

          I suppose for each of us, the daily challenge is to keep asking, seeking and knocking. That process alone is formative and molds us more and more into the image of Christ. As God’s children we ask from the One who loves and responds. As God’s lost and confused children we seek His direction. As God’s children who seek refuge and safety, we knock at the door of His very Presence. Let us persevere in this process of spiritual formation!

To God be the glory!

           

In Christian love, Curtis

Spiritual Formation in the New Testament

             In a recent journal article James W. Thompson (who teaches at ACU) wrote an article on “Paul and Spiritual Formation” [(2010). Christian Studies. 24: 7-19.] I want to take some of the broad ideas he presented and apply them to the larger context of the New Testament.

            Why has the phrase “spiritual formation” become a fad? My first acquaintance with this terminology was in the late 1980’s. I was sort of officially introduced to this by reading Richard Foster’s book, The Celebration of Discipline. From that point forward, an entirely new world of the Christian faith opened up to me, both its history and its practice of spiritual formation.

            From July 2000 to April 2002, I attended and participated in The Academy for Spiritual Formation, Academy #14. From that 2-year formative experience my Christian life was forever changed. My breadth and exposure to the history of Christian thought and the practice of the spiritual disciplines enriched and deepened my own Christian walk far beyond what I even dreamed was possible. God  has used that experience to keep me growing in my faith.

            Thompson points out that “formation” is a unique word used by Paul. But the idea is not unique to Paul. Formation has to do with being shaped and formed spiritually into the image of Christ by the power of the Spirit. I would argue strongly that each book of the New Testament addresses the issue of spiritual formation. It may be that each writer uses unique or special terminology, but the idea is consistent throughout the New Testament.

            For example, in the first temptation Jesus responds to the devil by saying, “It is written, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). For Matthew, the concept of “living on words that come from God’s mouth” is the sustenance of spiritual growth and formation.

            In the gospel of Matthew God’s living words sustain us. Just as bread is eaten everyday to sustain our bodies, God’s “bread” is taken daily in order for us to grow and be formed into the image of Christ. Next week will continue this thought.

In Christian love, Curtis

THEY ARE JUST LIKE US!

             When studying of the book of Hebrews, it is important to keep the bigger picture in mind.  One thing that is rather enlightening is to become aware of the situation of the original hearers/readers, and get an insight into the pastoral care of the writer.

            It seems right at the start that the intended audience of this “word of exhortation” (the book of Hebrews) have a wrong or incorrect view of Jesus. More than ever, in my own life and Christian journey, I have come to the realization that my view and perspective of Jesus drives my attitudes, actions and behavior.

            Apparently, these original readers were worshiping and venerating angels above Jesus. We find out that our forefathers, prophets and angels all had a part in disseminating the will of God to his people. “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:2).

            This “speaking” by the Son is in two simultaneous ways: first, by his very life speaking the will of God, and, his teachings offered during his earthly ministry. The direction of his life and his self-understanding of his mission spoke volumes about God’s will to the human race. And, his verbal teachings encapsulated God’s desire for human beings, reconciliation and renewal.

            They are just like us! The original hearers of this exhortation began to neglect and replace the central figure of the risen Christ in their life. We are just like them! We, too, can begin to neglect the central figure of the risen Christ in our own lives and forget that God continues to speak to us through His Son.

            The message of God is incarnational. The message of God came through a person. The message of God came through a person identified as God’s Son.

            In the opening Prologue to the book of Hebrews (1:1-4) the writer goes into a little detail as to the character of this Son. That is for another time for us to explore. Here and now I want to point out the dynamic of God speaking through his Son.

            Every generation of Christians has struggled with discerning the voice of God. Probably the best place to begin is to hear what God is saying to us through the life and words of Jesus, the Son.

            Prophets, forefathers and angels cannot take his place, nor supersede his role of speaking on behalf of God. He has spoken to us.

            It is in the gospels that we hear God speaking to us through His Son, Jesus. We are privileged to have all 4 gospels. Each one tells the story of Jesus, speaking on behalf of God, from a little different perspective.

            Matthew in 1:21 lays out the terrain of Jesus’ life journey—from son (of Mary & Joseph) to Savior and back to Son again! This incarnational journey speaks volumes. God identifies with us through Jesus. Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, and speaks on behalf of God regarding that kind of empathy and care. Praise God that he has spoken to us by His Son!

In Christian love, Curtis

MANY OTHER EXHORTATIONS

              The picture we have in our minds of John the Baptist is a wild-eyed prophet, with a  long, white flowing beard. It is obvious that the picture drawn of him by the Evangelists is not one of a normal person.  His camel’s hair clothing was not of GQ quality. The leather belt around his waist obviously was not diamond studded. His meal was simple: locusts and wild honey. I suppose fresh honey makes anything taste good!

                Luke, the evangelist, tells us at the end of his portrait of John the Baptist, “So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people” (Luke 3:18).

                The recorded exhortations by Luke are rather instructive:

• Bear fruits that befit repentance
• Don’t say to yourselves we have Abraham
• If you have two coats, share
• If you have extra food, share
• Collect no more taxes than is required by law (he said this tax collectors)
• Rob no one by violence   (he said this to soldiers)
• Do not be involved in false accusation  (he said this to soldiers)
• Be content with your wages   (he said this to soldiers)
• Final warning of chaff being burned with unquenchable fire, and that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

               Given the above instructions and message that John gave, it makes one wonder what the “many other exhortations” were! No doubt continuing insistence was placed upon more particulars of the fruit of repentance, more indictments relative to resting on their religious history, more urging to share one’s goods with those who have none, more honesty in every area of business transactions and interpersonal dealings, and no abusing of people’s rights and properties, and capped off with a life of contentment.

Do you think we need these kind of exhortations today?

In Christian love, Curtis