Jesus’ Last Week and the Spiritual Discipline of Befuddlement

March 21, 2016

We’re in a situation. We aren’t in charge of things, yet there is a lot going on. Meetings. Whispered conversations. An increasing aura of tension in the atmosphere. We are looking for an anchor. Something stable and permanent within the pending changes.

It’s like the week we now call Holy Week.

Jesus and his friends travel to Jerusalem for the Jewish festival even though everyone warns Jesus not to go. They know there is danger from the establishment.

But Jesus seems more intense than usual. He drops hints about the coming days, but they make no sense. He implies that it should all be clear to them. That he’s already explained everything.

It is not clear. Nothing is clear. Why are we there? What’s going to happen? What is this queasy feeling in the gut that just doesn’t seem to go away?

But the week begins in the suburbs at the house of good friends. That is comforting.

Of course, there is no spiritual discipline called “befuddlement.”

But this word describes how we feel at times. Don’t we sometimes feel that way trying to understand Jesus? He was a man, yet God. Huh? Doesn’t make logical sense.

He taught with stories that left people confused–at least at first. He made people (who cared enough) think about his teaching. Sometimes for months.

I wonder why John devotes about half of his Gospel to the last week. He wrote his account last.  He knew there were plenty of stories of Jesus’ life and teaching. He wrote about what affected him the most deeply.

I think he was there. His family was “connected.” He knew the high priest and most of the leaders. He could have gotten in to the areas. The story reads like a first-hand account. Even though he’s called the most “spiritual” of the disciples and pictured as softer, I see him as a physically strong. He was a commercial fisherman. Not a pale, soft student found in libraries reading all the time.

This week greatly impacted his life. It probably took him years to digest the story in full. Then he shared it with his community and eventually the world.

He took us from befuddlement to the Light of the World.

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The Body As The Temple of the Soul

March 18, 2016

The apostle Paul loved sports metaphors. He often discussed training using the example of athletes.

He also talked about the body as a temple.

We need to take care of our bodies. We need to maintain the best health we can and be in the best shape we can. We’re not all going to be body builders or anything, but we can be fit within our limits, healthy within our limits.

It is hard to concentrate on prayer or study or to be of service to others if we are always tired. If our concentration is lacking due to poor nutrition. If we can’t sit up straight due to weak abs.

Check out leaders. Often they have plenty of energy and fitness.

I’ve been reading a lot lately on nutrition. Just finished a book that began as a great report and survey of science regarding how bad simple carbohydrates are for our bodies. We consume way too much sugar. High fructose corn syrup, a sugar substitute in processed foods and drinks, goes straight to fat. White flour–not good.

The author of the book warned readers in the beginning that his conclusion would be controversial. I thought, with this great science, how could that be.

Well, he left science behind. His transition was a page or so discussing the glycemic index.

That’s a measure of how fast carbs are digested. The slower, the better. Whole grains are better than processed simple carbs. He mentioned the science of this briefly. Then jumped immediately into non-science.

He said someone asked a paleontologist what our first ancestors ate thousands of years ago. He said, meat. Lots of meat, and then maybe whatever plants they could pull off and eat.

Voila–the paleo diet. Supposedly this is what our genes are built to thrive on.

But, wait a minute. There’s no science in this. It ignores the science of glycemic index. It also ignores our ancestors who learned to cultivate grains, built civilizations and cities, practiced art and engineering, and lived longer and healthier lives.

Mostly in America we eat way too much. The dual problems are too much sugar (which is in everything) and too much food.

Train like an athlete. Eat lean protein, complex carbs, plenty of water (maybe some with coffee brewed in it ;-), lots of vegetables. Get plenty of appropriate exercise–walking, running, weight lifting, Yoga or Pilates, etc.

Your energy will go up. Miscellaneous health issues will disappear–although unfortunately maybe not the bigger ones. But you’ll still feel better.

Take care of the temple of the soul. It will help your spiritual discipline. It will help your leadership.

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Why Practice Spiritual Disciplines of Abstinence

March 17, 2016

Remember the old Southwest Airlines commercial “Wanna get away”? For my international readers–Someone would be pictured in a position, for example, a football referee before a big match for the coin toss and he forgot to bring a coin, who wanted to get away. It resonated no doubt because we all want to escape at times.

The Desert Fathers were men who sought deep spiritual experiences and encounters with God. They thought that by going off alone into the deserts of Egypt, Sinai, Syria, they could get away from society and focus with every second of their being on God.

The movement began in the mid-200s and lasted into the 400s–but in some sense still exists in the monastic traditions.

They practiced the spiritual disciplines of abstinence–solitude, silence, simplicity, sacrifice, fasting–almost too well. The monastic movement struggled for centuries against excesses of this practice.

The disciplines of abstinence are meant to prepare us to encounter and engage with God. Jesus, for example, went into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days following his baptism. Then he encountered temptation. It wasn’t because he was weak from lack of food that he had the experiences. It was actually because he was now at his strongest so that he could deal with The Tempter.

Spiritual literature loves the metaphor of the jar.

You have something you need to store. You search for an empty container. There are many containers in your cupboard filled with now-useless stuff. But you have no container for your precious stuff. You empty a jar of its useless contents, and now it is ready to accept the new.

Just so is your mind and soul. When it is full of thoughts, worries, plans, and more, it has no room for God.

Now we intentionally pursue disciplines of abstinence to pour out the extraneous stuff of our lives. Only then is there room in our soul for God.

Dallas Willard puts it this way, “Abstinence then makes way for engagement. A proper abstinence actually breaks the hold of improper engagements  so that the soul can be properly engaged by God.”

That’s why following silence with study is so powerful.

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Oh What a Relief It Is

March 16, 2016

We voted in Ohio today. Probably the most important vote I had was for a school levy. There is always hope that we can educate the next generation to seek facts and be more rational than their elders.

Well, it was a good idea, anyway.

In the end, I decided to go with the young people and feel the bern, even though that assures he’ll lose. I seldom vote for winners.

We only had a week or so of the blitz. Since I seldom watch TV, I missed any political ads that might have aired. I’m not sorry.

I know from Facebook that I needed to vote for one candidate because I’m a Christian. No, wait, another candidate is really the Christian. Er, maybe the third one. It’s all so confusing. Heck, there were Christians voting for non-Christians in the name of voting for a Christian. How does anyone keep it all straight?

They have come and gone. I hope they left a lot of money behind to help our economy.

Maybe we can leave the hate and emotions and negativity behind and go back to being Jesus-followers again. The simple stuff that’s hard to do–love your “racist” neighbor, help those in need-even if they voted Democrat, soothe an injured soul emotionally beat up by a fervent politico.

You won’t read much about all this in the New Testament. Rome didn’t operate this way. We actually have seen some progress as humans in 2,000 years. But life is still difficult. Jesus tells us little. He was concerned with our heart. I fear that many of us injured our hearts in the campaign. Maybe it’s time to consult the Supreme Cardiologist.

Paul simply says that God put governments here to preserve order. And that’s a good thing. Ask anyone who comes from a country with no rule by law.

Let’s count our gratitude–and gird our loins for the coming general election hype. Remember that Jesus isn’t voting for one or the other. He’s hoping that we have our hearts in the right place no matter how we vote.

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The Art and Rhetoric of Silence

March 15, 2016

Politicians have to talk. That’s what they do. (To borrow from the current Geico commercials.)

Today’s newspaper carried what journalists like to call an analysis–that things presidential front runners (newspapers also love that term-they turn political contests into long term horse races to maintain our interest and readership) have said in the past are coming back to bite them.

I could make that analysis with a “Well, duh…”

Yesterday I pondered the phenomenon where you can talk, and the more you talk the more you work yourself up, until you reach some sort of height of anger.

The thoughts came because of some study and thinking on the spiritual discipline of silence.

Scientists have pointed out that children learn more from how we act than from what we tell them.

Dallas Willard wrote, “In witnessing, the role of talking is frequently overemphasized.”

Sometimes how we act screams “Liar” as we try to tell people something–especially about things such as love, joy, peace.

Sometimes just being with someone in silence is better than talking.

Being of service to others is a stronger witness than telling people to be servants.

People watch us talk about others and wonder, “Gee, I wonder what they say about me when I’m not around.”

When I was an adolescent, I was quiet. People thought I was smart. I never opened my mouth enough to prove them wrong.

Sitting in silence for an hour or spending a day in silence is a challenge greater than public speaking for most. Try it sometime. Maybe regularly. Let your actions speak. See what happens both in your soul and in others.

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Speaking That Leads To Anger

March 14, 2016

He would say something about another person. That would lead to something else. Another thought would pop into his mind and out of his mouth with no filter in between. His face would get red. He’d grow agitated in movement. More, and worse, stuff would flow from his mouth.

The apostle James (1:19) tells us to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

I never connected the speak –> anger continuum until I read this thought and then remembered a guy I knew.

How often we get ourselves wound up. And the more we go, the louder we get. The louder we become, the more violent our language.

I still remember with much shame the last time it happened to me. It was years ago. I knew it was happening. I couldn’t stop. I can advise others; I can’t do it myself.

News reporters continue to talk about how presidential candidate Donald Trump uses inflammatory speech that appeals to the “angry white man” foundation to his campaign. I don’t know how true it is, but it makes sense. I know many “angry white men”. Not all will vote for Trump, but all are sympathetic.

Now I read about how violence among supporters and detractors breaks out at his campaign appearances. It works from the outside, too. One person getting more and more belligerent incites others to become more belligerent.

James is right about our words. It is useful in life to be careful what we say. Words reflect emotions. Then they incite emotions. Then we get angry. Anger leads to regret.

Most people need to be listened to. Be swift to hear, James says. Help other people feel worth something. After all, they are all God’s children, too.

Be swift to hear. Learn what bothers them. What brings them joy. Why they are in sorrow. Just listen. Most of the time there’s no need to commentary or advice–especially advice. Just look them in the eyes and nod your head.

James was wise. Follow his advice, and you’ll fool people into thinking you also are wise.

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What’s An Evangelical And Why Are We So Popular?

March 11, 2016

Evangelicals must be an important group of people, whoever they are. Not from a religious point of view. Not even from a spiritual point of view. I guess more from a “traditional family values” point of view (therefore many who voted for a Mormon for president thinking they were voting for a Christian).

I bring up that voting thing, because we don’t read story after story every day in the news about evangelicals changing lives. We read about evangelicals as a voting bloc.

I guess all evangelicals vote for the same candidates. Well, er, not exactly if this year’s Republican race to the Presidential election is an indication. Evangelicals love Cruz. Except when they love Trump. Well, maybe they like Rubio. Or Carson (oops, he’s dropped out).

I was raised in the Methodist Church. If you are British, especially English, that may have more meaning than in the US. John Wesley and his friends (who followed spiritual disciplines methodically–get it?) decided to take the church outside the walls and preach and teach to where the people were.

The article about evangelicals in Wikipedia credits Wesley as one of the founders of the movement. The article estimates that about 13% of Christians are evangelicals. It tries to define evangelical, ultimately ending in confusion. But it begins by saying evangelicals believe in salvation by grace through faith in the resurrection of Jesus. Hmm, I figured that would define all Christians. Guess I’m wrong?

In the early 70s, I was trying to figure out what it meant to be evangelical. At that time, evangelicals did not participate in politics (remember those days?). I found a group called Evangelicals for Social Action. Christian evangelicals working for peace and justice for all people.

Sometime in the mid 70s to be evangelical meant being white. And building schools where white people could send their white kids so that they wouldn’t have to go to school with black kids. And I came fresh from the movement of Christian people working for civil rights–for black people. What’s an evangelical?

In the end, I am saddened that society thinks of evangelicals as a voting bloc to be manipulated.

I wish that we were back to the roots of the word where articles about evangelicals reported on how we change lives of hurting people through teaching, preaching, feeding them and bringing them into a life-changing community of worshipers and servants.

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What Happens When We’ve Lost Our Savor

March 10, 2016

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its savor (taste)…it is no longer good for anything. — Matthew 5

I’m reading yet another book on nutrition. Someday, maybe, I’ll stop reading and start eating properly.

Anyway, this author talked about telling everyone in Chapter 2 what the book was about. He’d just read a book where the author said at the end what the “word of the book” was.

I thought, the word of this book is “energy.” This author exhibits a deep energy and optimistic outlook on life. In fact, he’s the type of person who would drive an introvert crazy.

What if he lost that energy? He’d be dead, even while still breathing.

Jesus was addressing that problem. Maybe you’ve heard it said of someone, “The light’s on, but no one is home.”

Maybe you know an organization like that. I’ve seen it in business, civic organizations, churches. The lights are on, but no one’s home.

Had a conversation this morning about a couple of churches. I said, the Spirit’s not moving. My friend said, “The spirit is always here.” “But,” I retorted, “sometimes is just seems like the spirit is not moving, not alive in the people.”

There are people still there. But they just go out of habit or tradition. Or just too lazy to seek out anything different. Or comfortable and don’t want to be moved.

They’ve lost their savor.

People who have lost their savor are no fun to be around. Too many, and an entire organization may go into decline.

How do we keep from losing our savor?

We do it by developing certain habits. The number one best habit is to decide to spend at least 15 minutes in your favorite chair, preferably early in the morning, reading either the Bible or other spiritual guide (Henri Nouwen, Oswald Chambers, for example). That starts the day off well.

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It Begins With a Decision

March 9, 2016

My wife introduced me to the Baptist culture. Every good Baptist sermon in the day ended with a call to decision. Maybe they sang all 155 verses of “Just As I Am” (OK, I exaggerate) until someone comes forward who has made a decision.

Even today I am around many people who talk about making a decision “to be saved.” And they talk about other people–“he’s been saved”; “I don’t think she’s saved”; “we need to get them to be  saved.”

Rebel that I am, I’d frequently ask, “Then what?”

I had to ask, because so many people seem to think that the “salvation decision”  is all you need. Been saved, done that, got the T-shirt.

But nothing changes in your life.

There are people with addictive personalities who simple switch addictions. That’s good on one plane, but perhaps not spiritually healthy. Or they were obnoxious before, now obnoxious with a different message. Or weak in relationships before, and now still weak in relationships. No joy, still not much joy.

One of my favorite old songs goes, “I have decided to follow Jesus.”

What’s the decision? To become a follower. A student of the teacher. A person who models my behaviour on one person–Jesus.

Therefore the importance of spiritual discipline or otherwise called spiritual practices.

They also start with a decision. “Today, I will spend 15 minutes early in the morning reading from the Bible.”

Repeat that a few times, and it becomes a habit. Best of all, it is a habit intentionally cultivated designed to bring me closer to God.

Most of the early believers were attracted to the movement not because of dynamic preaching (remember to story of the young man who went to sleep while Paul was preaching, fell from an upper window, died, and had to be brought back to life by Paul, who continued to preach?). They were attracted by what the new believers had and by how they lived.

They organized their lives differently around prayer, study, service. They had a deep happiness and optimism. They were a community.

And they grew more followers. And it began with a decision.

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Conquering Fear

March 8, 2016

Paranoia strikes deep

Into your life it will creep

It starts when you’re always afraid

You step out of line, the man come and take you away–

Buffalo Springfield

Why is it that every time there is an encounter with God or a messenger of God, the first words are, “Don’t be afraid”?

I wrote yesterday about conquering emotions. We really need to recognize them and come to grips with them. Psychologists will tell us not to bury them acting as if they don’t exist. If you do, then you will be visited with even worse conditions.

Many writers and analysts believe that the emotion of our time is anger. Therefore the attraction of Trump and Sanders. Each is playing to very real emotions of “common people” who believe that the political establishments have let them down. It’s hard to believe the numbers about the economy growing when we aren’t making as much money and the world is exploding  worse than the 60s.

This is not to discuss politics. I studied that in graduate school–and left it behind to go into engineering, computers, and manufacturing. Something more understandable!

But the mood of the times is important. It’s important to know how many of the people around us feel. It’s important to know how we feel inside. It’s important to recognize and then deal constructively.

Fear leads to anger? “It starts when you’re always afraid.” The writers of the song nailed it.

How do we cope?

There are many ways, of course, but let’s turn to Jesus, who as a teacher leading us into living a better life now as well as in the future, always caught just the right edge.

Try Luke chapter 12.

“I tell you my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.”

“Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food….”

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for you Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

Meditate on those. For where we fix our minds, so shall our thoughts and emotions follow. We have the power to choose.

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