I have to admit that in this post I'm speculating, but I think that there might just be something to this speculation. I'd be interested in your opinions and experiences as well and I encourage any of you who would like to share to do so in the comments.
The question that I'd like to address is "What kind of physiological effect does the Holy Spirit have on our energy level?" I want to take a closer look at Romans 8:11 and get a better understanding of what Paul was saying here. Does the Holy Spirit effect us physically?
I've always considered the effect that the Holy Spirit has on us more psychological and not physiological, but now I question that. Sure, our psychology can have an effect on our physiology, I don't deny that. When we are depressed, that is often accompanied by lethargy and the opposite is also true, but I there isn't more of a direct effect and less of a psychosomatic effect.
I notice that Paul often speaks of the physical effects of the Spirit. He referrs to our mortal bodies in Romans, and when he is speaking to the Philippians, he says that he can do all things through Christ and to me that denotes action, not just how we feel or what we say (Phil 4:13). He told the Corinthians that the kingdom of God is more than just words and he Paul told the Ephesians that God has set his power working in us (1 Cor 4:20, Eph 3:20).
Why is it necessary for us to divorce the spiritual from the physical anyway? This strikes me as resembling Platonism and not proper Christian teaching. To go to far with separating the spiritual from the physical can lead to a poor understanding of doctrine. God created us as an amalgamated being and not separate parts.
One final thought, we very often seek for physical healing but hardly ever for spiritual healing. Is healing the exception, the only area where God physically effects us or is there something to physical blessings in other areas too? What do you think? Is there something else that I need to consider?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The Five Phases of Forgiveness
Seeking forgiveness is an integral part of our lives. It is important not only to the person who was hurt, but also to the person who did the hurting. Obtaining forgiveness can be hard though, and yet it is the path that we need to take to undo the hurt that we have caused.
1. Recognition. In order to be forgiven, the first thing that we must do is recognize that we have sinned (Rom 3:23). It all begins with the ability to be completely honest with ourselves. Sure, we realize that we all have issues, things that we need to correct, however it must be more than just a platitude when we take introspection seriously and identify the sin that lies within us. Nosce te ipsum! Know thyself! The path to being forgiven begins with the recognition that we need to be forgiven (John 3:17). Only this way can we begin to mend what is broken within ourselves.
2. Confession. It is said that confession is good for the soul. In our first step we have in essence confessed our sins to ourselves, however there is more to be done. We need to approach the person whom we have injured and apologize to them. In this step we reveal the sin that we have committed, making it apparent. This tears down the edifices that we have built upon that sin such as excuses, justification and deceit. Only when the underlying sin is laid bare can it be addressed.
3. Excision. When we stand in need of forgiveness, it is because we have sinned against someone. We will never deserve to be forgiven if we do not correct our error. We have to address the root of our offense and correct it, or we have not stopped offending yet. Confession can play a part in excision too as confessing your sin to an authority figure or perhaps a good friend who will hold you accountable will help you stay away from the sin that you have committed. Sometimes this can simply mean avoiding the sin in the future (I Thess 5:22).
4. Consequences. Paul said "Whatever a man sows he shall also reap" (Gal 6:7). There will always be consequences for the sin we commit even after we have recognized, confessed and excised that sin. Yes the wage of sin has been paid for us, but this does not obviate the repercussions of the sin that we have committed. It is a hard thing, but we have to accept this burden. The only way to not garner these consequences is to not commit the sin in the first place.
5. Restoration. You can never go back, but you can move forward. Things can never be the way they were, but they can can be better than they are. It's hard to mend broken hearts and trusts, but what is the alternative? Only shattered hearts and broken promises. It takes much more time to rebuild trust than it does to build it in the first place. This is the part of the process where you make things right. Only here is there any redemption and peace.
So far I've addressed forgiveness solely from the side of the one who needs to forgive, but there is also a promise given for those who forgive. Jesus said that God's willingness to forgive you correlates to your willingness to forgive others (Matt 6:14,15). Forgive proactively, don't hold things against people and don't wait for them to come to you before you forgive them. Whenever you are praying, forgiving others needs to be a part of your prayer or you are missing out one aspect of touching God. (Mark 11:25).
Be a generous forgiver and quick to seek forgiveness.
By the way, I apologize for the alliterative title. I hope you can forgive me.
1. Recognition. In order to be forgiven, the first thing that we must do is recognize that we have sinned (Rom 3:23). It all begins with the ability to be completely honest with ourselves. Sure, we realize that we all have issues, things that we need to correct, however it must be more than just a platitude when we take introspection seriously and identify the sin that lies within us. Nosce te ipsum! Know thyself! The path to being forgiven begins with the recognition that we need to be forgiven (John 3:17). Only this way can we begin to mend what is broken within ourselves.
2. Confession. It is said that confession is good for the soul. In our first step we have in essence confessed our sins to ourselves, however there is more to be done. We need to approach the person whom we have injured and apologize to them. In this step we reveal the sin that we have committed, making it apparent. This tears down the edifices that we have built upon that sin such as excuses, justification and deceit. Only when the underlying sin is laid bare can it be addressed.
3. Excision. When we stand in need of forgiveness, it is because we have sinned against someone. We will never deserve to be forgiven if we do not correct our error. We have to address the root of our offense and correct it, or we have not stopped offending yet. Confession can play a part in excision too as confessing your sin to an authority figure or perhaps a good friend who will hold you accountable will help you stay away from the sin that you have committed. Sometimes this can simply mean avoiding the sin in the future (I Thess 5:22).
4. Consequences. Paul said "Whatever a man sows he shall also reap" (Gal 6:7). There will always be consequences for the sin we commit even after we have recognized, confessed and excised that sin. Yes the wage of sin has been paid for us, but this does not obviate the repercussions of the sin that we have committed. It is a hard thing, but we have to accept this burden. The only way to not garner these consequences is to not commit the sin in the first place.
5. Restoration. You can never go back, but you can move forward. Things can never be the way they were, but they can can be better than they are. It's hard to mend broken hearts and trusts, but what is the alternative? Only shattered hearts and broken promises. It takes much more time to rebuild trust than it does to build it in the first place. This is the part of the process where you make things right. Only here is there any redemption and peace.
So far I've addressed forgiveness solely from the side of the one who needs to forgive, but there is also a promise given for those who forgive. Jesus said that God's willingness to forgive you correlates to your willingness to forgive others (Matt 6:14,15). Forgive proactively, don't hold things against people and don't wait for them to come to you before you forgive them. Whenever you are praying, forgiving others needs to be a part of your prayer or you are missing out one aspect of touching God. (Mark 11:25).
Be a generous forgiver and quick to seek forgiveness.
By the way, I apologize for the alliterative title. I hope you can forgive me.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Flip A Coin
It seems to me that we've embraced a very narrow view of how things are supposed to be. If we maintain too selective a focus, we can miss out on truth. Enter a coin.
Flip a coin, heads or tails; it's a two sided decision maker, or is it? Is a coin as simple as yes or no, right or wrong, good or evil, or any other example of a dichotomy that exists? Often we complicate things for ourselves, however just as bad is when we oversimplify. Often the truth lies between extremes and is not just as simple as yes or no.
A coin does not have two sides, it has three. The technical names for these three sides are obverse, reverse and edge. Yes the edge of a coin is one of it's three sides. What is significant about that you might ask? Well the edge, much like the truth, is often overlooked, quietly escaping our notice.
For example, in our group there is a very conservative element. If I were to speak out about conservatism, I would be quickly identified as a liberal, which actually I have [1]. If I were then to point out any inconsistencies that exist among the most liberal of us, I would be labeled as conservative, and then as inconsistent myself because I was neither conservative or liberal. Labels like conservative or liberal are just generalities that lend themselves misinterpretation, and are not an adequate method to determine the truth.
An excellent example of this can be found in Joshua. When the Children of Israel were near Jericho, an armed man stood in the way, so Joshua asked him whose side he was on (Josh 5:13). The man didn't choose sides, but instead declared that he was come as the Captain of the Lord's army (Josh 5:14). Joshua could only see two possible positions for the man, either for him or against him. The Captain's stance represented neither of these two possibilities.
When we as a group are discussing something, whether it be standards or anything else, we tend to take sides and then begin defending our position. While this is normal human behavior, we make an enormous error when we do this. We assume that we are right and those who oppose us are wrong and we don't ever consider that we might be wrong ourselves. Furthermore, it never enters into our minds that both sides might be wrong. The logic behind the thought that if one side is wrong the other side must be right is not only flawed, but is responsible for so much misunderstanding between people that it is abhorrent.
I am going to show my point with an simple exposition of dress code. One "side" says that the way we dress it is our holiness and that a dress standard should be rigidly held to with no exception. Another "side" says that the way we dress is only external and that God is working on our hearts and that is all that really matters and a rigid dress standard is really unnecessary. The truth of the matter is is that BOTH of these sides have good things to say, but that BOTH are not the truth on dress.
Just so you understand me, I'm not suggesting compromise either. It is not my intention to declare the the truth of this group's dress standard issue lies somewhere between these extremes either. I will go on record that the truth lies outside of either of these views, and if we were to search for that truth, we would see much of the bickering and consternation that has been so prevalent of late disappear. We must learn to discard the "one of us have to be right" mentality and really search for the truth. You can't find the truth when you're defending your position.
Reference:
[1] http://paulbdyal.blogspot.com/2009/10/root-of-problem-is.html
Flip a coin, heads or tails; it's a two sided decision maker, or is it? Is a coin as simple as yes or no, right or wrong, good or evil, or any other example of a dichotomy that exists? Often we complicate things for ourselves, however just as bad is when we oversimplify. Often the truth lies between extremes and is not just as simple as yes or no.
A coin does not have two sides, it has three. The technical names for these three sides are obverse, reverse and edge. Yes the edge of a coin is one of it's three sides. What is significant about that you might ask? Well the edge, much like the truth, is often overlooked, quietly escaping our notice.
For example, in our group there is a very conservative element. If I were to speak out about conservatism, I would be quickly identified as a liberal, which actually I have [1]. If I were then to point out any inconsistencies that exist among the most liberal of us, I would be labeled as conservative, and then as inconsistent myself because I was neither conservative or liberal. Labels like conservative or liberal are just generalities that lend themselves misinterpretation, and are not an adequate method to determine the truth.
An excellent example of this can be found in Joshua. When the Children of Israel were near Jericho, an armed man stood in the way, so Joshua asked him whose side he was on (Josh 5:13). The man didn't choose sides, but instead declared that he was come as the Captain of the Lord's army (Josh 5:14). Joshua could only see two possible positions for the man, either for him or against him. The Captain's stance represented neither of these two possibilities.
When we as a group are discussing something, whether it be standards or anything else, we tend to take sides and then begin defending our position. While this is normal human behavior, we make an enormous error when we do this. We assume that we are right and those who oppose us are wrong and we don't ever consider that we might be wrong ourselves. Furthermore, it never enters into our minds that both sides might be wrong. The logic behind the thought that if one side is wrong the other side must be right is not only flawed, but is responsible for so much misunderstanding between people that it is abhorrent.
I am going to show my point with an simple exposition of dress code. One "side" says that the way we dress it is our holiness and that a dress standard should be rigidly held to with no exception. Another "side" says that the way we dress is only external and that God is working on our hearts and that is all that really matters and a rigid dress standard is really unnecessary. The truth of the matter is is that BOTH of these sides have good things to say, but that BOTH are not the truth on dress.
Just so you understand me, I'm not suggesting compromise either. It is not my intention to declare the the truth of this group's dress standard issue lies somewhere between these extremes either. I will go on record that the truth lies outside of either of these views, and if we were to search for that truth, we would see much of the bickering and consternation that has been so prevalent of late disappear. We must learn to discard the "one of us have to be right" mentality and really search for the truth. You can't find the truth when you're defending your position.
Reference:
[1] http://paulbdyal.blogspot.com/2009/10/root-of-problem-is.html
Sunday, May 30, 2010
New Tools Update
Just thought I'd showcase a few new Web tools that I think are pretty awesome. The first one is a website called LibriVox. While not actually a Bible webpage, LibriVox is a collection of audio recordings of books that are in the public domain. This includes all the books of the Bible as well as many other things. I've embedded the book of Lamentations as an example and just to show some of the other books, I've also embedded 1 Maccabees from the Apocrypha.
Lamentations
1 Maccabees
The second tool that I'm going to list is the Interwoven Gospels provided by Biblos.com. The Interwoven Gospels is a chronological presentation of all four of the Gospels. It weaves together, hence the name, passages from all four Gospels and lays them out in an outline that represents chronological order. While I don't think this is a substitute for the Gospels themselves, it can function as an excellent study aid when it comes to understanding the Gospels.
Just a brief word about Biblos.com. It has a host of different study aids and Bible translations available from it's website so I'm giving it a shout out as a good reference website too.
Finally the last site I want to mention is Net Hymnal. This site is an online database of the lyrics of many old hymns and is quickly searchable. The website interface is a little old school, but it gets the job done, and I find that when you are trying to wrap your head around a concept, or how to say something most likely some song writer has already found a way to say it in a way that sounds good to my ears.
Well, that's it for now.
Lamentations
1 Maccabees
The second tool that I'm going to list is the Interwoven Gospels provided by Biblos.com. The Interwoven Gospels is a chronological presentation of all four of the Gospels. It weaves together, hence the name, passages from all four Gospels and lays them out in an outline that represents chronological order. While I don't think this is a substitute for the Gospels themselves, it can function as an excellent study aid when it comes to understanding the Gospels.
Just a brief word about Biblos.com. It has a host of different study aids and Bible translations available from it's website so I'm giving it a shout out as a good reference website too.
Finally the last site I want to mention is Net Hymnal. This site is an online database of the lyrics of many old hymns and is quickly searchable. The website interface is a little old school, but it gets the job done, and I find that when you are trying to wrap your head around a concept, or how to say something most likely some song writer has already found a way to say it in a way that sounds good to my ears.
Well, that's it for now.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
WWJHMD
I remember in the 90's that the acronym WWJD became very popular. It stands for the question "what would Jesus do?" and is based loosely upon a concept from the book In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon. In this book a congregation makes a vow to ask themselves what Jesus would do before they took any action. An entire fashion fad began when bracelets with the monogram WWJD began showing up on wrists everywhere. You don't hear about WWJD all that much anymore even though the principle behind it was excellent.
What would Jesus do? Do you ever ask yourself that question? Would you do the same things and make the same decisions that you do now if you asked yourself this question? The same effect can be produced if you imagine that Jesus is right there next to when you do something. This works exceptionally well when you realize that He is.
However excellent this principle is, there is another level to our Christian walk that can't be captured just by applying WWJD in you daily life. This is the reason for my post today. This other facet can be defined by the acronym WWJHMD which stands for what would Jesus have me do?
What's the difference you ask? In all actuality they are very similar concepts and they sound the same, but there is an element of leading that is missing in the concept WWJD. If all you ever do is ask yourself what would Jesus do if He was in the situation you are in right now, you ignore whether or not you should be in that situation at all in the first place. When you ask yourself what would Jesus have me do you open yourself up to being led by Christ. What will happen is that you will find yourself not only making good decisions, but also in the situations you should be in.
There's also one more little issue with WWJD; you're not Jesus. I don't discount that it is important to make inspired choices in your life, but at the same time you can't live a productive life solely trying to imitate Jesus because if you do, that's all you'll be, an imitation. Please don't misunderstand me, I think emulation of Jesus Christ is a very laudable goal, but the real life application of this is limited. He made choices that you and I are not capable of making. We are limited, He is not. Whether you apply your own limitations to Jesus, or His lack of limitations to yourself, it is a foolhardy thing to do. Instead, a mature Christian is able to recognize their own limitations and will not only be better for it, but also open to the leading of the Lord and His working in their life.
Paul himself asked the Lord "What wilt thou have me do?" (Acts 9:6). It would be better to emulate Paul than Jesus in this case and ask Jesus what He wants you to do. At least that would be comparing apples to apples as the old saying goes. Understand though, I'm not venerating Paul; I've no WWPD in mind. I do however respect the example that he set for us, although he had to come to the end of his rope to ask it.
There is a song that the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sings that describes what is missing from WWJD and what is added to WWJHMD, so as a close I'll just include the lyrics for the chorus:
Lead me Lord, I will follow,
Lead me Lord, I will go.
You have called me, I will answer,
Lead me Lord, I will go.
What would Jesus do? Do you ever ask yourself that question? Would you do the same things and make the same decisions that you do now if you asked yourself this question? The same effect can be produced if you imagine that Jesus is right there next to when you do something. This works exceptionally well when you realize that He is.
However excellent this principle is, there is another level to our Christian walk that can't be captured just by applying WWJD in you daily life. This is the reason for my post today. This other facet can be defined by the acronym WWJHMD which stands for what would Jesus have me do?
What's the difference you ask? In all actuality they are very similar concepts and they sound the same, but there is an element of leading that is missing in the concept WWJD. If all you ever do is ask yourself what would Jesus do if He was in the situation you are in right now, you ignore whether or not you should be in that situation at all in the first place. When you ask yourself what would Jesus have me do you open yourself up to being led by Christ. What will happen is that you will find yourself not only making good decisions, but also in the situations you should be in.
There's also one more little issue with WWJD; you're not Jesus. I don't discount that it is important to make inspired choices in your life, but at the same time you can't live a productive life solely trying to imitate Jesus because if you do, that's all you'll be, an imitation. Please don't misunderstand me, I think emulation of Jesus Christ is a very laudable goal, but the real life application of this is limited. He made choices that you and I are not capable of making. We are limited, He is not. Whether you apply your own limitations to Jesus, or His lack of limitations to yourself, it is a foolhardy thing to do. Instead, a mature Christian is able to recognize their own limitations and will not only be better for it, but also open to the leading of the Lord and His working in their life.
Paul himself asked the Lord "What wilt thou have me do?" (Acts 9:6). It would be better to emulate Paul than Jesus in this case and ask Jesus what He wants you to do. At least that would be comparing apples to apples as the old saying goes. Understand though, I'm not venerating Paul; I've no WWPD in mind. I do however respect the example that he set for us, although he had to come to the end of his rope to ask it.
There is a song that the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sings that describes what is missing from WWJD and what is added to WWJHMD, so as a close I'll just include the lyrics for the chorus:
Lead me Lord, I will follow,
Lead me Lord, I will go.
You have called me, I will answer,
Lead me Lord, I will go.
Friday, May 21, 2010
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