grey·world·spirituality

I observe my grandsons and granddaughter as they navigate their inevitable exposure to pop and world culture. Our world has made a turn. We are on a destination path, accentuated during the holiday season.

Cute (and sometimes bizarre), extravagant “floats” glide through New York streets. And as each story is told I notice that the little eyes around me are being treated to strategically placed ads as backdrops for the parade. It is not so much the capitalizing on the advertising op, but the odd configuration of people kissing, dressing, and doing all of those things people used to do without the wall-lessness of Facebook or You Tube.

How can we so systematically remove our Creator from everything we do and turn what is so black and white in the God Story to something so colorless and lifeless in our world view? Stories of gratefulness ring hollow as they are told in grey, emotion-tinged, obligatory tones. Everything appears to be for show. Expected. Choreographed for impact. Sanitized to manage our humanity.

 

Living in the grey·world appeases the senses but starves the soul.

Consider this excerpt from the God Story, in Acts 17:

“and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, although He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’”

I choose to step out of the grey world into the rivers of light. I choose to sing the ancient song of significance rather than going to such great lengths to cover my nakedness. I ask my Creator to speak softly to the little minds and hearts of my grand kids – even as they sleep.

 

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Free to Dance

I mentioned Sunday that while we were singing praises to the Living God I had a “vision.” I don’t know how else to describe it. It launched as small waves of gratefulness began to wash over me, and I recognized the familiar Presence Who has often visited me over the years. I have learned to neither resist, analyze, or control when this happens. It just – happens. Kind of like a gentle, blowing wind…so I gave my heart permission to sing along with my voice.

All of a sudden I had an extreme urge to dance, but of course, I would never do that in public (and rarely in private). When you have two left feet the idea of being swept away in an emotional frenzy is quite terrifying. Dave – get a grip. You are NOT going to start dancing.

By now I knew the Spirit was giving me one of those few and far between experiences of raw communion. I couldn’t control my tears – but I’ve gotten OK with that – so I let it flow (I’m actually not sure I could have stopped, really). This weird passage came to mind: “Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.  Exodus 24:9-11

I closed my eyes, and all of you began to dance. Wow! Not just like couples dance (although many of us were) but more like dancing souls. Each one of us (Scott and Inez/Dennis and Gretchen/many children – to name a few faces I could see) were all dancing around me. It wasn’t so much the dancing as the freedom that was everywhere. It really was quite spectacularly beautiful.

And all of a sudden we were all before His throne together, in the New City, and I had finally become emotionally free to dance. I felt like I was spinning through the air – and most of all – I felt free! Someone began to talk to me – asking me what was happening. I remember saying, “I am so sorry – there is no time to talk – it is time to dance!” All I could do was continue to dance. I was free to dance. And it was exhilarating to my Spirit – to be so free!

And then, there she was, a young woman in a white dress. The most beautiful dancer of us all. She was moving – flowing actually – weaving through the room. In and out and among our dear friends. I strained my mind to recognize her. Everyone else was familiar. She was new. Long brown hair. Graceful womanly face. Unfettered by the strain of bondage. Free. And then it hit me like a wonderful cut to my heart. It was my granddaughter Rebecca. Dancing effortlessly, without inhibition. Peaceful and preoccupied to her core with The Dance. It was her. As she glided past me (this felt awfully real) she didn’t look at me so much with recognition as with expectation. Her face revealed everything. It was all about The Dance.

That’s why I couldn’t say anything on Sunday. It was just too much. Even now as I put this down I am overcome and weeping at the image of what I saw. For all that my dear daughter Rachel and her husband Eric have lost – Rebecca is free. And waiting for us to join her. Waiting for us to be free to dance. Selah.

 

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I REALLY AM QUITE BLOWN AWAY (and irritated)

A comparison was made recently in the news that burning the bible and burning the koran are two different things – inasmuch as “it is widely accepted that the bible was written by men” and that the “koran was written by god.” This is really quite breath-taking, and apparently why the murderous reaction in the middle east to the lunatic pastor who burned the koran in the US is apparently best understood in this context.

It takes a certain kind of an intellect to make such a vacuous comparison. Apart from an eye-witness to either Yahweh or Allah physically writing their holy book in front of credible witnesses (preferably while being video-taped), such a statement is ludicrous. That being said – of course most “civilized people” want to deny supernatural construction of the scriptures because the last thing a free spirit wants is a nasty old Killjoy meddling in his or her life.

According to the scriptures the bible is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:21). It is quite irrelevant what any one man, group, religion, or culture concludes about the bible. It is literally “not a book one could write if he would – or would write if he could.” It is tasteless and useless (and even dangerous) to burn anyone’s “holy” book. But cut the crap on what is “from god” and what isn’t. When one speaks for Yahweh (and His Word) one really should get his or her facts straight.

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”  – Hebrews 1:1-4

 

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Hungry?

Hope your day is looking promising. Here are the next two things to read together: Psalm 63 (this reads really well with Psalm 42) Where are the paragraphs? How do they differ in content? Differ in tone? Sit back and read Psalm 63 while you listen to this video – I think you may enjoy it!

Oh – second thing – read the book of Colossians several times. What do you see?

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So this is really cool!

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.  – Hebrews 1:1-4

God is big enough to speak – and He HAS spoken. You can learn to hear God’s Voice!

Think about this for a minute. You can learn to hear God’s Voice. I am not talking merely about knowing more about God but discerning His Voice. Nor am I talking about some wild emotional response and speculation of the “spirit.”

Our Creator has poured out His heart in everything that He has made. He has delivered a clear “letter” of Truth through His God Story. He has painfully come face to face with you in the testimony of His Son. He wants to talk to His followers. He wishes to guide you, lead you, and empower you. Through the God Story you have everything you need to hear the Voice of the Lord God Almighty! God is waiting – ready to talk to you! THAT is cool.

 

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GNATS and CAMELS

I’d like to weigh in on whether or not President Obama is a Christian. But first, I think it is rather ironic that Jesus is so poorly represented in such pop conversation and speculation.

A Christian is a Christ-follower. He or she has abandoned the right to live for self. “He who wishes to find his life must lose it” is very penetrating and clear. Despite the often abysmal history of the “Christian” Church, there is a history recorded in heaven that differentiates spirituality of heart from external observance or religious fervor. There is no such thing as a “name only” Christian.

A Christian is not someone who embraces an ideology, he or she embraces a Person. Doctrines and dogmas are all dim representations of what it means to submit to Jesus Christ’s Lordship over everything and everyone who has ever been created. His reign over all has been promised to Him by His Father. There is nothing – no act or motive – that will prevent “all things being laid bare” before the Master of the earth.

A Christian is someone who “dies daily” to self and bows the knee to Creator. Those who embrace Him voluntarily renounce claim to our own lives. A Christian embraces the way of the cross: the way of humility. The arrogant and proud will not enter His Kingdom. He is opposed to the proud, whatever our political alignment. His true followers choose the way of suffering, content to be aliens and strangers upon the earth, hoping in the world to come.

Any person who puts on and takes off Jesus like a set of clothing will be very disappointed at the end of the age when every soul stands before the Judge of the earth.

Whether a President (or a king) in any seat of earthly power, or the poorest beggar in the most obscure location on planet earth, we will all be deemed acceptable to God not through what we have done, but upon Whom we have believed. Because both the king and the lowliest man go to the same place, and stand before the same Judge.

And that, you can take to the soul bank, my friend!

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THE TRAGEDY

There was something so dark about the recent slaughter of soldiers at Fort Hood. That any person can be so alienated and misguided as to perform such a horrific act is deeply troubling within itself. And now the “Christmas Bomber.” Willing to sacrifice his very life to take the lives of 300 others – all for the sake of his ideology – his “faith.”

But the true tragedy here is to watch how our leaders are responding in political correctness to something that should not be politicized. This is murder and attempted murder plain and simple. It is religious terrorism that should not be excused or coddled in any way.

To look for anything different here than what obviously IS – is sick in ideology and values. When we can longer identify murder – without looking for the extenuating circumstances to excuse it – we have simply lost our way.

I wrote this year in Curious Journey that I believe “political correctness” will be our downfall as a nation, These kinds of things are what I was referring to. And these gyrations extend well beyond murder to stealing, coveting, lying, and speaking words of double-talk and false-witness. We are becoming lawless because we are rejecting the Law-Giver.

The Living God alone is humanity’s faithful compass. He is our Life-Giver. He is our Redeemer. He is Friend to all of humanity.

I am deeply disturbed about what I am seeing from the other gods.

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GOOD NEWS AND VIOLENCE

“And yet here we are, children of the Renaissance run amuck. Emerging from Michelangelo’s hopeful marble – only to discover that our hearts are stone to the core.”

Premise challenged:
That mankind is basically good.

Truth presented in scripture:
That mankind is completely lost apart from divine intervention.

Corruption is all around us. Men oppress men. Women are abused and abuse. Children are violated. Political leaders and rulers confiscate money. Religious zealots kill our soldiers. There is evil in our world.

The Good News itself is based upon violence. For the Father to deliver His own Son to be killed in order to satisfy the requirement of His eternal Law is a sobering act. This is why Jesus said that we are “forcing” our way into the Kingdom (Luke 6:16). The Good News brings us to a place where we cannot go by mere human effort.

Yours and my spiritual awakening has become available through the initiative of God. It would be wonderful if I could trace my goodness back to anything inside of me. But this concept is vacant from scripture.

Try as I might, any human self-reformation will in the end, fall short. To admit my part in the violence done to His Son is the gateway to eternal life. To rest in His finished work is to find a Kingdom heart.

What do YOU think?
Is mankind basically good or completely lost?
How confident are you in human solutions to spiritual problems?
In what ways are you awake spiritually? Asleep?

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