Letter to a believer
You find before you a very high wall that you must and will clime. The other side of this wall you will find the spiritual Experience that changes everything. The things that torment you now you will find them to be the blessed cross. You've read many books on Europe before you went, but when you arrived you found that you had not fully understood the books. The same and more are true for the bible and spiritual books. We can not look at them with the same eyes as the writer until we have shared in the Experience that turns others into a mirage.
God's love for you does not change just your ability to see it. The Lord is expressing His love for you in the realm of reality and this is partially reflected in the physical realm. This physical reflection if viewed from the physical perspective looks deceptive. The physical eyes call this torment. The spiritual eyes call this a blessing. So this gives you an extraordinary situation, the blessed torment or blessed cross. This is how the torment and devastation will turn into a blessing.
I used to enjoy counseling and would often use the knowledge I learned to fix up my own life. I had become quite good at understanding how the mind worked so that I could work out the problems in my life. I learned how to fix some of my problems that were not Christian as the bible directs. But that is all a lie of the old nature.
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." LUKE 9:23-24
He says you must deny yourself not stop sinning. You must not try to fix (save) your life but rather set it aside (lose it). You can NOT deny or loose something that you are trying to fix.
So we are free from sin and the torment of the world only when that part is subject to torment is denied or lost. So were ever I'm stung by sin that part of me I must find and deny. The pain must not be justified with my time, but set aside for God.
The fight is not against sin and Evil but with our desire to fight sin and evil. The tree that Adam and Eve ate of was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Before the apple Adam did not know of evil so he could not know of his evil ways. He found out later that the things he was doing were wrong, he had no clothing! God had only said one thing in the garden was bad and that was the tree of knowledge. Why only this tree and not the other things. What was the first affect the tree had on Adam? The first thing is Adam saw his nakedness and wanted to be covered. Adam had the need to do good and this lead to him hiding from God. Our old nature wishes to do good not our new. God knew Atom had eaten of the tree when he was too ashamed of his "sin" to spend time with God. Genesis 3:10-11
I have seen that God's love has always been with me. I have started to also realize that I have been in union with God. I though I had to gain or earn this but found this not to be true. I have instead found that I have been on a journey to open my spiritual eyes.
Would You join me on this journey?
The Church Trance
It's amazing how many church goers turn there spirit and mind off during the sermon and become excepting of what they are given. I once was part of a very large charge, one of the fastest growing Baptist church at the time, when I went through my big awakening. I would find myself in shock by how absurd the pastor's statements were almost every Sunday. He would give a message that had a good conclusion and include a verse or two. The problem was often how the conclusion was reached was wrong, often it was obvious to any Sunday school teach who's mind was not asleep. My favorite example of this was one time when he needed an example of how a martyr for Christ can make a dramatic impact on the lives of others, so he used the story of the stoning of Christians in Acts and how it turn Paul around. The problem is Paul clearly wanted to hunt down more Christian after that and it was while he was traveling to Damascus that God changed his life. I looked at my friend setting next to me who had been going to church more years them I and they thought he was making a good point. I showed them the chapter that covers this and they were shocked. I got mixed reaction from those I showed this to most stop setting next to me and a few left the Church, as maybe I should have done. Sometimes he stepped into areas that are spiritually harmful, like the time he tried to help a deacon who read his prayer from notes. What he ended up concluding is that God is busy and we should organize our thoughts on paper as not to waist His time. The biggest problem with prayer is most peoples don't take the time to quite there mind down and hear God. The pastor was a grate motivational speaker but had no spiritual depth.
Most Churches that are growing and are thought of as successful are that way because they are a good social organization. They are not growing because of there spiritual depth. We do not get to know each other spiritually but only the social side that we wish to see. Oh we swap our wisdom on scriptures at times in Sunday school, but not spiritual interpretations. Sunday school is a mindly study of the bible that does not lend itself to spiritual depth. We need church to be an environment were we can guide each other to spiritually deeper relationship and not swap our knowledge of history. We may try to apply it to today, but even this is often stretched way out of context. We need to be teaching each other how to fellowship with God.
Now I know most pastors are not like the example. My point is the state of our Christian culture. Our culture is based on actions and knowledge of the Bible. The culture is based on the more knowledge of the Bible you have the closer you are to Him. The culture works against a deeper Christian life. You can find a few trying to fight the culture but it is very difficult and the numbers are few. It is Gods desire for the number to be few as a popular Christian movement takes the focus off of His purpose.
Most Churches that are growing and are thought of as successful are that way because they are a good social organization. They are not growing because of there spiritual depth. We do not get to know each other spiritually but only the social side that we wish to see. Oh we swap our wisdom on scriptures at times in Sunday school, but not spiritual interpretations. Sunday school is a mindly study of the bible that does not lend itself to spiritual depth. We need church to be an environment were we can guide each other to spiritually deeper relationship and not swap our knowledge of history. We may try to apply it to today, but even this is often stretched way out of context. We need to be teaching each other how to fellowship with God.
Now I know most pastors are not like the example. My point is the state of our Christian culture. Our culture is based on actions and knowledge of the Bible. The culture is based on the more knowledge of the Bible you have the closer you are to Him. The culture works against a deeper Christian life. You can find a few trying to fight the culture but it is very difficult and the numbers are few. It is Gods desire for the number to be few as a popular Christian movement takes the focus off of His purpose.
Spiritual Education
Spiritual education is not a study in theology. Becoming more spiritual and closer to God is more like a process of maturing. Reading the Bible is only helpful if read through spiritual eyes or better stated through Spiritual experience. You can’t explain to a 4 year old how to act like an adult. It can only be done through experience. Our whole society is based on kids learning through mistakes. But our Christian society is based on imitation like a 4 year old imitating an adult. Some think the current philosophy that most Christians have was born in 300AD when Christianity became popular and actors of the time became preachers. That the Christians prior to that time were just over whelmed by the flood of people seeking Christ and the teachings of Christ’s experience that they handed down to the next generation was lost. So I wonder why God let this happen. The only answer I can find is He was not interested in a popular movement. He wanted Christianity to be spread to the ends of the earth for verity not quantity of Saints. I think part of the required cross is that we be small in number and not have a cross support group in every town. It is not possible for me to explain how to obtain spiritual depth because I would be doomed to mislead you. I would be like a parent trying to explain to a 4 year old how to be an adult. Guidance and teachings from other saints is only helpful if accompanied by experience.
When I was trying to find my way to Christ, I had been reading for a few years about the deeper Christian life. But I knew there was a barer that I had been unable to cross. I was unable to decide what thought was from me and what was from God. I also felt that I needed to fix things in my life in order for the relationship to grow. I had to ask God to meet me were I was and not were I though I should be. I needed to work my way to God and my theology had become the law. Then He had to teach me how he communicates with me. He did this through a collage friend’s mother, who I was distain to share a deep spiritual bond with. She was being deeply challenged by God and was having everything that was not God ripped from her. The only thing I had to offer was money so I would ask God what to do and from time to time I would send her whatever amount of money I though God impressed me to give. It was not long before my friend had guessed who was sending her mom money and gave me the feedback I needed to know it was God. My friend would explain how each time the money was received it was just the right amount for a need at the time. Later her mom figured it out and would share with me that every time she received the money that ether it met a desperate need at the time or she new in a few days an unexpected bill would arrive that would match the amount received. This was the kind of hard proof I needed to continue to trust my relation was with God and not from my own mind. It was not that I did not trust God but I did not trust my ability to understand how he was directing me. Over the past ten years He reinforced this experience from time to time, but expecting me to grow my trust in his leading. The point is you have to go through an experience like this to progress in the relationship.
Time is marching to God’s grand purpose and we are pulled into it. He does not have the same plan for everyone and much of what happens to use is meeting Gods purpose from a broad perspective and it is often our choice if God takes trials and uses it for his purpose. If we internalize it or blame others God is cutout. This is the extent we have over God's purpose we can do it easy or hard but God will have his purpose. For some reason some level of pain and suffering is required but we can give it to God to turn it into a cross that has more of a purpose.
I like to think of time as a long big pipe that stretches from creation and ends at Gods purpose. All of man kind and our experience are moving toward the purpose. We have free will to fight the flow or hang on to the side for a bit, but all we really do is tier ourselves and create pain for ourselves and those we rub up against. But the journey through the pipe is required to make His purpose. It takes hundreds of generations to travel the pipe to reach the purpose. God walks back and forth the length of the pipe that represents time. He manipulates the pipe at different points in time to produce the purpose. That is why he can talk about the future as though it had happened because it already has. He is setting at the "purpose" and looking back. His perspective by which he views everything is from the completion. He is all forgiving because of his perspective. We have consequences and repercussions while in the pipe, but after our role is completed we are set free. We are free from life and guilt because we have God's perspective. The good and the bad are intertwined to reach his purpose and can not be untangled. The pipeline which brought the "purpose" is good because that is the instrument he used to make his purpose.
I see our problems broken down into three groups:
Those that are our making or are part of the journey;
Those that are due to those fighting the flow and we bump into there consequences;
Those dictated by God.
While two of the three are not God directed, all of it is under Gods controlled and he could choose to prevent it. It is important to know that hard times are not punishment. Problems are just worldly struggles until we turn it over to God for the working out of His purpose. We need to recognize our struggle is with God’s purpose and our will to control our life.
So what I am trying to say is spiritual education comes from maneuvering down the pipeline with God and the Bible and other spiritual book is very helpful but not the focus. The focus is on the relationship with Christ and the pipeline is His tools to improve that relationship.
When I was trying to find my way to Christ, I had been reading for a few years about the deeper Christian life. But I knew there was a barer that I had been unable to cross. I was unable to decide what thought was from me and what was from God. I also felt that I needed to fix things in my life in order for the relationship to grow. I had to ask God to meet me were I was and not were I though I should be. I needed to work my way to God and my theology had become the law. Then He had to teach me how he communicates with me. He did this through a collage friend’s mother, who I was distain to share a deep spiritual bond with. She was being deeply challenged by God and was having everything that was not God ripped from her. The only thing I had to offer was money so I would ask God what to do and from time to time I would send her whatever amount of money I though God impressed me to give. It was not long before my friend had guessed who was sending her mom money and gave me the feedback I needed to know it was God. My friend would explain how each time the money was received it was just the right amount for a need at the time. Later her mom figured it out and would share with me that every time she received the money that ether it met a desperate need at the time or she new in a few days an unexpected bill would arrive that would match the amount received. This was the kind of hard proof I needed to continue to trust my relation was with God and not from my own mind. It was not that I did not trust God but I did not trust my ability to understand how he was directing me. Over the past ten years He reinforced this experience from time to time, but expecting me to grow my trust in his leading. The point is you have to go through an experience like this to progress in the relationship.
Time is marching to God’s grand purpose and we are pulled into it. He does not have the same plan for everyone and much of what happens to use is meeting Gods purpose from a broad perspective and it is often our choice if God takes trials and uses it for his purpose. If we internalize it or blame others God is cutout. This is the extent we have over God's purpose we can do it easy or hard but God will have his purpose. For some reason some level of pain and suffering is required but we can give it to God to turn it into a cross that has more of a purpose.
I like to think of time as a long big pipe that stretches from creation and ends at Gods purpose. All of man kind and our experience are moving toward the purpose. We have free will to fight the flow or hang on to the side for a bit, but all we really do is tier ourselves and create pain for ourselves and those we rub up against. But the journey through the pipe is required to make His purpose. It takes hundreds of generations to travel the pipe to reach the purpose. God walks back and forth the length of the pipe that represents time. He manipulates the pipe at different points in time to produce the purpose. That is why he can talk about the future as though it had happened because it already has. He is setting at the "purpose" and looking back. His perspective by which he views everything is from the completion. He is all forgiving because of his perspective. We have consequences and repercussions while in the pipe, but after our role is completed we are set free. We are free from life and guilt because we have God's perspective. The good and the bad are intertwined to reach his purpose and can not be untangled. The pipeline which brought the "purpose" is good because that is the instrument he used to make his purpose.
I see our problems broken down into three groups:
Those that are our making or are part of the journey;
Those that are due to those fighting the flow and we bump into there consequences;
Those dictated by God.
While two of the three are not God directed, all of it is under Gods controlled and he could choose to prevent it. It is important to know that hard times are not punishment. Problems are just worldly struggles until we turn it over to God for the working out of His purpose. We need to recognize our struggle is with God’s purpose and our will to control our life.
So what I am trying to say is spiritual education comes from maneuvering down the pipeline with God and the Bible and other spiritual book is very helpful but not the focus. The focus is on the relationship with Christ and the pipeline is His tools to improve that relationship.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)