Image by Rennett Stowe via Flickr
Susan Shumsky
(from Miracle Prayer)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Today's Encouraging Word
Susan Shumsky
(from Miracle Prayer)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Today's Encouraging Word
Image via Wikipedia
James Allen
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Scriptural Reflections: Psalm 131
Image via Wikipedia
I have always had a marked tendency to over-complicate things – to over-think situations, ideas, and other things that most folks might not give a second thought. I, on the other hand, might give them a third thought, a fourth, and on and on ad infinitum.
I supposed like most things in life, this has been a both a blessing and a curse. On the positive side, by refusing to take certain things at face value, I have been able to see past the surface level of those things and gain a deeper, more transformational insight. I have also been able to avoid getting involved in some things that were best left alone.
On the darker side of this complicating tendency, I have ruminated and worried over issues that, in the overall scheme of things, were profoundly insignificant. This has led to a great deal of wasted time and unnecessary anxiety. On more than one occasion, it has led to disagreements that could have easily been avoided.
I am much better with all this nowadays and I can say without reservation that the practice that has helped most with this defect of character has been spending time in the Sacred Silence. By slowing down and practicing sitting quietly in the presence I have somehow learned to let go of unnecessary complications and ruminations. In addition, I have gained more peace and serenity.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have my bad days. I don’t always go around manifesting the countenance of Mahatma Gandhi or the quiet compassion of Mother Theresa. On some days I more resemble a trance channel for Yosemite Sam. Still, this practice of engaging the Sacred Silence has had a marked healing quality in my life.
If you are a person with a similar tendency to over-complicate simple things, I suggest that you prayerfully reflect on the words of Psalm 131:
O Lord, I am not proud;
I have no haughty looks.
I do not occupy myself with great matters, or with things that are too
hard for me.
But I still my soul and make it quiet, like a weaned child upon its mother’s breast;
My soul is quieted within me.
The psalmist has captured the essence of the power and the benefits of engaging Sacred Silence. A child that is weaned is a child that is no longer hungry but instead, is satisfied and content. Author Cynthia Bourgeault describes such a child and how this image reflects the final stages of the process of Lectio Divina:
A weaned child on its mother’s lap is no longer hungry; filled to satisfaction, it merely rests and allows digestion to take place. In exactly the same way, at this stage of lectio you suspend all mental and emotional activity and simply “rest” in the fullness of the feast. The digestive work goes on beneath the level of your conscious mind.
Being able to quietly and with trust, rest in the Sacred Silence is a skill that comes over time with disciplined practice. At least that is how it has played out in my life. With my marked tendency to over-think even the simplest issue, it is easy to understand how difficult it was for me to maintain the patience and presence of mind to be still before the Lord. With the help of the Holy Spirit, however, I was able to make progress and behold, over the years I have become much better at this most necessary of spiritual disciplines.
© L.D. Turner 2010/ All Rights Reserved
Saturday, August 7, 2010
The Divine Hologram: Christ's Cosmic Nature (Part One)
Image via Wikipedia
From time to time a passage of scripture, sometimes a single verse, will seem to leap of the page of my Bible filled with fresh meaning and personal application. I am sure this is a fairly common experience among those who take the time to form a more intimate relationship with scripture. In my own experience, it is as if the Bible is less paper and ink and more like a living organism.
I suspect I should not find this surprising. In the beginning, God breathed into Adam and he became a living being.
He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils and the man became a living person. (Genesis 2:7).
Later on, in 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul tells us that all scripture is “inspired” or “God-breathed.” Is it any wonder that the Bible has a tendency to become a living being when it is read with reverence, wonder, and in the Spirit.
Recently, one verse of scripture has been churning around in my mind and heart with regularity. It is one of those seemingly minor verses that we often tend to gloss over rather than spend time ruminating on. But recently, while reading Ephesians, this little verse got my attention and kept it. Like a speed bump in a parking lot, it slowed me down. In Ephesians 4:10 Paul, speaking of Christ says:
And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself. (NLT)
In this passage, Paul is making a statement that is actually quite profound. What he is saying is that after Christ left his heavenly abode, he descended to earth and once his mission down here was finished, he not only returned to heaven, but ascended higher than the heavens. And according to Paul, once Christ did this something was radically different in the entire universe. Everything in the universe, from the greatest galaxy to the smallest quark, was filled with Christ. Pause and let that sink in for a few moments.
What this means is that after Jesus’ earthly mission ended, everything changed. In some metaphysical manner that is beyond human understanding, every aspect of the universe was filled with a new vivifying, animating potential – and this potential was Christ in his cosmic incarnation. After the ascension of Christ, the very fabric of the universe and everything in it was altered. I am the first to admit that I don’t understand the physics of what took place, but it is helpful for me to think of it in terms of what in scripture is called the “Transfiguration.” Just as Christ’s body was altered in some fundamental way that night on the mountain as three of his disciples looked on, with his ascension the entire universe underwent a type of transfiguration.
In some new and life-giving way, humankind, after Christ, began to live in a renewed and participatory universe that is both alive and purposeful. By infusing himself into all things, Christ also infused all things with his life and his purpose.
It is usually right after saying such things that writers will now have to pause and waste time and words telling readers that he or she is not talking about pantheism. I am not going to waste much space doing that because anyone with half a brain can deduce that I am not speaking of pantheism here. If I had said, “All things are Christ,” that would be pantheistic. I am not even saying “all things are in Christ.” What I am saying is that “Christ is in all things.” If you disagree with that statement, don’t argue with me – argue with scripture because that is what it plainly says in Ephesians 4:10. This is not New Age metaphysics or mumbo jumbo. It is a fundamental biblical principle.
....to be continued.....
(c) L.D. Turner 2010/ All Rights Reserved
Saturday, July 31, 2010
A Primer on Affirmative Prayer
Image by ratterrell via Flickr
One of the most effective tools that we have in the process of following Paul’s injunction to renew our minds (see Romans 12:2) is “Affirmative Prayer.” My personal experience with this positive method of prayer, along with that of many clients over the years, has demonstrated to my satisfaction the effectiveness of affirmative prayer in bringing about remarkable gains in spiritual formation and personal change, provided it is carried out with commitment, consistency, and especially, simplicity.
Affirmative prayer is a fairly straight forward process but, as with many things, we humans have a marked tendency to complicate it. I know this from past experience because I have been as guilty of exhibiting this “genius for complexity” as anyone – probably more than most. It was with some degree of difficulty that I eventually learned that with most things it is best to keep it simple. With this truth in mind, let’s see if we can simplify the basics of affirmative prayer by stating the following:
When we use our affirmative thinking, put into the containers which we call words, and animate it speaking with living faith, we are able to manifest that which we desire, providing of course, that it is in alignment with God’s will.
There is really no need to mystify the process any more than that. Granted, the underlying laws and cosmic principles associated with affirmative prayer can seem a bit mysterious, but in actuality, even the laws are not all that complicated.
It is essential that we understand that this process begins with our thinking and moves forward from there. Everything that we see began somewhere as someone’s thought. Creation in all its glory began as God’s thought and came into being at God’s command, using His words. He literally called things into existence from the world of the unseen, into the world of the seen. On a smaller scale, this is how we manifest reality as well. Our thoughts begin the process and or faith-filled words empower and animate the process that results in the creation of the thing desire.
Two important factors are also involved in the process of bringing our desired outcome down out of the spirit world and into concrete manifestation. These are emotion and intention. Centuries of working with these principles has revealed that the more deeply you feel about your desired goal, the more readily it manifests in physical reality. I have found that this is precisely where imagination comes into play. When we clearly visualize what it is we desire we arouse our feeling nature, which is a natural part of our soul. We facilitate this by focusing not only on repetition of our positive prayer, but we also form a clear, concise image of the desired outcome and bring our attention to bear on that outcome. We allow the feelings that arise to become magnified and these feelings, along with our thought, image, and faith-filled words form a powerful magnetic force that will pull our desired outcome out of the spirit world, where it already exists, down into physical reality.
Intention is perhaps the most important component of affirmative prayer. Your intention is what gathers and focuses your cognitive energy in a specific direction. It is for this precise reason that your intention must be constructed carefully and spoken clearly. This is not some sort of cosmic, New Age mumbo jumbo, but instead, is a fundamental principle of positive cognition. Your words of intention accomplish several vital functions in the process of affirmative prayer. First, speaking your intention gives direction to your energy and gives firm direction to your prayer. Second, your intention lets your subconscious mind know exactly what it wants to bring down from the spirit realm and why. And finally, your spoken words contain the power necessary to animate the unfolding of the process of affirmative prayer. As stated before, your words, especially when joined to a vital foundation of faith, serve as a magnet to attract the very thing you desire.
So keep these two aspects of affirmative prayer before you at all times. Positive emotion amplifies the power of your prayer and positive intention supplies even more punch to the process. Without these two vital aspects of prayer, you may find your prayers unfocused, impotent, and ineffective.
Another key principle when using affirmative prayer can be expressed this way: use frequent repetition in present tense. Your patterns of negative thinking and behaving were not formed overnight. Instead, these unhealthy thoughts were repeated over and over again until they were firmly planted in your subconscious mind. Once that happened, these damaging thought patterns seemed to have developed a life of their own. This same principle of repetition, however, can also be utilized to your benefit. First, understand that positive thoughts are more powerful than negative thoughts. Formal research and well as the experience of countless pilgrims who have used these methods of cognitive reprogramming have confirmed the fact that one positive thought can counteract many negative ones, provided the positive thought is constructed in the present tense and is repeated many times.
The principles we have discussed here are basic but essential to the process of creating and using affirmative prayers. As stated at the outset, these principles are not overly complicated, unless of course we choose to make them so. My suggestion is that you study the relevant literature available on affirmative prayer, positive thinking, positive imaging, and the Law of Attraction. By doing so you can deepen your understanding of what is going on when you utilize affirmative prayer as a part of your spiritual path. However, don’t let your studies lead you into any unnecessary confusion or complexity. Above all:
Keep it simple!
© L.D. Turner 2010/ All Rights Reserved
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Today's Encouraging Word
Image via Wikipedia
Duane Vander Klok
(from Unleashing the Force of Favor)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Renewing the Kingdom Calling
Image by loswl via Flickr
Jesus opened his earthly mission with an announcement regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. He went on to speak of the kingdom repeatedly and let it be known in clear and concise ways that this whole notion of “kingdom” was the core of his mission. In addition, he passed on that mission to us. Just as Christ stressed the importance of the establishment of the kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven,” so too are we to do everything in our power to lay the foundations for his kingdom rule.
The overriding problem is this: We haven’t done a very good job at carrying out this mission.
As individual members of the Body of Christ, it is our duty to share the kingdom message at every opportunity. In doing so, however, we must take care to present Jesus’ kingdom manifesto in ways that are relative to today’s world. The concept of “kingdom” has little meaning to most people, especially in the West. Perhaps it is time to seek new metaphors for explaining kingdom concepts. Before we can do this, however, we must formulate more accurate and effective ways of defining and describing the gospel message. Moreover, we have to reintroduce Jesus to the world and to ourselves.
Further, as we go about reformulating our methods of presentation of the gospel and of Jesus, we will meet challenging obstacles and barriers. Some of these challenges come from the world, some from the enemy, and remarkably, some come from ourselves.
A critical factor in exposing our culture to the radical manifesto that Christ taught is to be straightforward about its content. For too long now, the Church, especially in America, has promoted a gospel stressing individual salvation as the highest priority, with social action coming in a distant second. There were, of course, notable exceptions to this trend. Groups like the Quakers and the early Methodists faced head on issues such as economic injustice, poverty, and slavery. Be that as it may, for the large part the Church in the West has served the existing status quo at the expense of hiding the true gospel that the Lord came to deliver. Over time, the Church seems to have even hidden Christ’s gospel from itself. What we ended up with was a domesticated Jesus that patted children on the head, held lambs in his arms, and, by extension, supported our culture’s view of justice.
One tragic consequence of the Church’s support of the status quo was a distortion of the meaning of “God’s justice.” Over time the Church came to view God’s justice as mostly related to humanity’s sinful nature. God’s justice was what we would have to deal with were it not for the sacrifice of Jesus. In essence, the Church said that God’s justice, if carried out, would turn us to toast unless we repented and brought Jesus on board as savior. While there may be a smattering of truth in all this, the line of thought adopted by and preached by the Church saw the opposite of God’s justice as humanity’s sin.
I don’t think this is what Jesus was getting at. I firmly believe that, for Jesus, the opposite of God’s justice was humanity’s injustice. His mission in preaching, teaching, and applying Kingdom principles was aimed at rectifying this situation by placing God’s justice at the heart of our world, instead of humanity’s injustice.
Jesus called for a new system that ran counter to that of the world, not only in his time, but in ours as well. He called for compassion, justice, caring, service, forgiveness, and a host of other themes that are both startling and challenging. As we go about sharing Jesus’ vision, we must also be honest about how the Church, for whatever reasons, has diluted, distorted, and at times deceived in its presentation of the real “gospel” of Christ.
As the Body of Christ, it is time for us to get honest with the world we are trying to reach and even more crucial, it is time to get honest with ourselves. The image we teach, preach, and exhibit to the world through our behavior is lacking in both scope and depth. Starting with our teaching and our preaching, it is imperative that we begin to allow Jesus to be who and what he was, and still is, instead of a malleable figure from an era long ago. Moreover, we need to get to know Jesus ourselves. It is time to stop watering down the gospel and it is especially time to stop fooling ourselves into believing that he supports our political persuasion, whatever that might be. The fact is, Jesus was a revolutionary, a radical, and a thorn in the side of the religious establishment of his day. If the Lord showed up today, I can envision him being an even greater irritant to those who claim to be his followers in this day and time. I think he would especially be a menace when he dealt with the leaders of today’s Christian movements, ministries, and organizations.
The fact is the Body of Christ as a whole has done a significant amount of damage both to its witness and its reputation over the past 25-30 years. I don’t want to enter into a political debate here; that is not my intention. Both political parties have more skeletons in their respective closets than can be counted. However, a few things must be faced if we are to go about restoring Christ’s church to a position of effectiveness in post-modern culture.
The first thing that has to be tossed unceremoniously on the trash heap is our faith’s unthinking and almost mechanical marriage to the Republican Party. Since 1980 and the rise of the Reagan era, the fundamentalist, conservative, and evangelical wings of our faith has increasingly become in lockstep with the Republicans. This has done untold damage to Christianity as a whole and, if we are to find any degree of restoration and social impact, this unholy marriage has to end. Rather than a relationship that is built on Christian principles, this alliance has been more of a pact with the Devil.
Over a period spanning four years (2004-2008) I kept an accurate count of the number of times this very issue has come up in conversation with genuine spiritual seekers who were increasingly desirous of becoming involved in Christianity. During this four-year time span, no less than 508 individuals, either in casual conversation, coaching sessions, or at workshops, lectures, and training programs, have made the following statement, or something very similar with an identical meaning.
“Well, I studied the teachings of Jesus and read the Bible almost every day. I visited a number of churches and actually found a few I liked and thought I might like to join. But I can’t make myself do that.”
“Why not? What’s stopping you?”
“Well, if I want to be a real Christian, I would have to be a Republican and I just can’t bring myself to do that to myself or my family.”
This sort of statement happened no less than 508 times. That’s 508 potential converts that never happened. That’s 508 real, genuine spiritual seekers who have not been able to find Christ due to an erroneous assumption. That’s 508 people who have never been able to get actively involved in the faith and discover how truly beautiful our faith can be. That’s 508 people that have not been able to utilize and share their spiritual gifts and talents for Christ in a positive, meaningful way.
That’s 508 people with eternal futures that are, at best, uncertain.
I think this misconception on the part of people occurs for several reasons. First, it occurs because our faith, as a whole, is overly identified with the Republicans. Secondly, it happens because the news media focuses just about all of its attention regarding matters of faith on the Religious Right, ignoring the reality that there exists a multitude of Christians who are either moderate or liberal in their political and religious persuasions. Lastly, it happens because too many members of the clergy attempt to control how their congregants vote. Take for example the moronic attempts a couple of years ago by a Baptist pastor in North Carolina to expel anyone in the church who voted for a Democrat.
Please, pardon me for getting on my soap box about this, but if we as a body of faith are to have any chance of healing our image, we have to become more politically discerning and independent.
One of the primary missions of the contemporary church is to reintroduce Jesus to the world. I say “reintroduce” because, over the course of time, the vision of Jesus painted in the pages of the gospels has been eroded. In order to effectively present a more accurate image of Christ to the world, we must first be reintroduced to Jesus ourselves. The image many of us carry in our hearts is often quaint, cuddly, and gentle. Most of us are familiar with the descriptions of the Lord as the good shepherd and “Jesus, meek and mild” that have been so much a part of portrait created by the church over the centuries. Granted, the Christ was all these things, but he was so much more.
He was, in a word, a rebel.
An honest appraisal of the character and mission of Jesus presented by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John bears witness to a more raw and earthy being, one who stood in open opposition to the established order and challenged religious authority whenever he thought it necessary.
He was, in a word, a revolutionary.
The teachings presented by Jesus not only ran counter to those of established Jewish tradition, but also were in stark contrast to the wisdom of the world. I find the following comments by Houston Smith, well known scholar of comparative religion, to be so accurate and succinct, I include them in their entirety:
“…we have heard Jesus’ teachings so often that their edges have been worn smooth, dulling their glaring subversiveness. If we could recover their original impact, we too would be startled. Their beauty would not paper over the fact that they are “hard sayings,” presenting a scheme of values so counter to the usual as to shake us like the seismic collision of tectonic plates…We are told that we are not to resist evil but to turn the other cheek. The world assumes that evil must be resisted by every means available. We are told to love our enemies and bless those who curse us. The world assumes that friends are to be loved and enemies hated. We are told that the sun rises on the just and the unjust alike. The world considers this to be indiscriminating; it would like to see dark clouds withholding sunshine from evil people. We are told that outcasts and harlots enter the kingdom of God before many who are perfunctorily righteous. Unfair, we protest; respectable people should head the procession. We are told that the gate to salvation is narrow. The world would prefer it to be wide. We are told to be as carefree as birds and flowers. The world counsels prudence. We are told that it is more difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom than for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye. The world honors wealth. We are told that the happy people are those who are meek, who weep, who are merciful and pure in heart. The world assumes that it is the rich, the powerful, and the wellborn who should be happy. In all, a wind of freedom blows through these teachings that frightens the world and makes us want to deflect their effect by postponement – not yet, not yet! H.G. Wells was evidently right: either there was something mad about this man, or our hearts are still too small for his message.”
Yes, I suspect that our hearts, like those Jewish leaders who first encountered this radical personality, were too small to contain the immensity of his message. Further, the threat posed by someone who carried such a message as this was enormous. Small wonder Pilate avoided dealing with him; small wonder the religious leaders took drastic action. Jesus was many things, but one thing he was not was a person to be ignored. Dorothy Sayers, that great lady of the faith, made the same point regarding the domestication of our Lord:
The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused Him of being a bore; on the contrary, they thought Him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround Him with an atmosphere of tedium.
As the Body of Christ we are now in a similar cultural milieu as existed at the time Jesus walked the earth. Granted, times are different, but the themes are much the same. Like it or not, the Church now lives in a post-Christian culture. America is Christian in name only, certainly not in practice. Over the past 50 years the dominant worldview and subsequent value system has undergone marked change. Post-modernism and situational ethics now hold sway. It is within this mix that the Church must now carry out the essentials of its mission. The question at hand is: How will we reintroduce Jesus to the world, given the realities of the culture we now live in?
Answering this overriding question is a complicated affair, certainly beyond the scope of this short article. Additionally, we, as the Body of Christ, need to reflect deeply on how we may best go about meeting this aspect of our calling. Much prayer is called for. One thing is certain, however. We must present a more realistic portrait of who this man Jesus was, and still is. When he enters a person’s life, things are not always meek and mild. In fact, taking on Christ often results in an inner revolution.
As we take Jesus on board we must recognize we are giving accommodation to what can be a dangerous entity; one capable of challenging our own conventions, our own preferences, our own habits, and ultimately, our own character. Jesus does not come into a person in order to affirm the status quo. Quite the opposite, this dangerous being takes up residence within your inner kingdom with the stated aim of revolution. Yet for most of us this inner revolt is sorely needed. It can, in fact, change us from wandering, confused, and empty vessels into vibrant, vital, world changers. David Foster gives us a glimpse of just what Jesus is up to:
Jesus is like air to the lungs and water to a desert dweller. He is not a religious artifact. He’s not dead. He is alive. He is engaged and engaging. He is here now, changing lives all over this world this very moment. When He walked on earth He changed everything for everyday, for all time. What started then continues today. It can’t be stopped though many have tried. Jesus is the rock of redemption and His church will prevail. He is here in this moment with you, doing what He always does, calling you to a higher place, calling you to break free from convention and stop going to church and start being the church everywhere you go. Let’s be “Jesus people” again. Let’s be men and women whose hearts are captured, redeemed, renewed, enlivened, ignited, set fee! Let’s return to the revolution to be the change we want to see in the world!
Listen closely. In your inner sanctuary, your heart of hearts, can you hear him calling you? Will you go with him, even if it means breaking free of convention and challenging the Christian establishment when it is in error? Will you follow him, even if it means you stop going to church and start being the church?
© L.D. Turner 2010/All Rights Reserved
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)