MIND OF TRUTH

Our spiritual enemy, the great deceiver, the accuser of the brethren, likes to make us think the wrong way is the right way. His oldest and probably most effective trick is to use our pride against us. I've noticed so many people in our culture who do not want to be offended or have their rights, and their way challenged. If they refuse to be emptied, they can never be filled. They stand in front of God with their meager treasures and ideas clinched tightly in their fists while Jesus spreads his arms wide offering them eternal rewards far beyond our comprehension and without end. Yeah, that's deception alright!

I am so far behind on blogging. I'm back dating these posts. I got busy and missed a few weeks. Not sure if I can finish the year now with 365 posts as I planned, but I'm going to try. I don't want to give up on my goal. I've found it is very easy to get lost on the way to accomplishing your goals. It's part of life. For me the key is to just not give up. We all get lost along the way. It's important to re-evaluate, make adjustments, and take a break when needed, but at some point, you just need to do the work and find your way back.

Talking about moving forward in our spiritual life can be a little scary. We like staying in the past or present that we know rather than moving forward into the unknown. The thing is that the future is not unknown when we have a relationship with God. We can have confidence that he is there and has gone before us. The Holy Spirit reminds us of what God has done in the past and we know he will be there again. Then we feel his peace and move forward with hope in our hearts.

Where does a healthy spiritual life begin? It begins with Jesus command to love God and love others. That sounds like a big impossible task, but it's easy to start small.  Selfless is the key. Make one small choice for God rather than yourself. Do one small thing for someone else. Do that and your on your way to better spiritual health.

I was listening to a podcast yesterday and a woman was talking about how she has tried to avoid Christianity because it comes with too much baggage. Maybe she is right in some respects. She went on to say that one of the most meaningful things in her life has been opportunities to share love with people in need. She talked about the importance of and strength of community in her life. Those things sound Christian to me. Thats because the way of the kingdom works. We know that love and kindness work in this world. But we are just scratching the surface if we do these things without answering the invitation to follow Christ. Without that relationship at the core of our human experience, life ultimately misses the point.

I'll be honest, it's hard to form good habits. I've succeeded in some areas and not in others. Blogging every day in 2024 was one habit I hoped to build into my life. It's been difficult to carve out the time every day. Not that I don't have the time. There is always time. It's just what you chose or not chose to do with your time. Now I'm almost a month behind. I'm backdating these posts in the hopes that I'll catch up before 12/31/2024. Making an effort to form good habits can be overwhelming. It's good to just focus on one thing you can accomplish, one habit you can add to your life that is doable, measurable, and reasonable. Of course, that one thing for me right now is my blog. I was thinking today about doing something different for that one thing, but that is just deflection. We like to deflect and jump from one unsuccessful attempt to another and another. This will effectively redefine trying and failing as success. Our minds are good at ...

Erwin McManus encourages us to " Always give more that you take. " It seems counterintuitive, but that how God designed the world to work. That's how the gospel works. As I've said before, "It's not just the thing to do that's right, it's the thing to do that works." This is something you can test. Find someone to give to. It's not always money. It's also your time, your knowledge, and your abilities. It's a willingness and give what you have received with joy. Give kindness, forgiveness, grace, and above all - love. 

The enemy of God wants to keep humanity from the restoration available to us through Jesus Christ. He wants to disrupt and de-construct the plan God has had from the beginning for each and every human. That plan is to bring us into relationship with himself where we are made into his own image and likeness. As John 10:10 says, he wants to steal, kill, and destroy that process in our lives and take from God the worship he is due. One of the tactics of the enemy is to present man with a counterfeit. This is nothing new. He tempted Adam and Eve with an alternative way to God, a counterfeit relationship and purpose of their own making.  It seems like this tactic is more effective now more than ever. It's obvious when spiritual leaders in our country speak about defending the weak and helpless, standing up for the children of the world, and advocating for our neighbors, yet they speak with hate and unkindness. Where is their outrage for the millions of unborn children in our nation? Whe...

I'm reading the Introduction to J. Phillip Newell's book Echo of the Soul and finding more insight on humanities creation in the Imago Dei (The image of God). Newell says, " The starting point for spirituality in both Jewish and Christian practice is the Genesis 1 description of humanity made in the 'image' of God. This is the foundation text of our scriptural inheritance. Everything else that is said about us in the Scriptures needs to be read in relation to this truth. The image of God has been woven into the fabric of our being. " That's good stuff! This should remind us of how vital it is that we keep coming back to knowing God and learning what it means to live as a spiritual being created in his image. Our free will choice of anything that does not reflect God's image is what we call sin. Its missing the mark God has set for us. Restoration is turning back to his way and dying to our own way.  What a revelation to realize our approach to the who...

The world seems to be going crazy, especially in America and especially in an insane election year. There are a lot of big problems and a lot of people who think they have the answer. Well, I do have the answer. Put others first. There's a reason why Jesus greatest commandment is to love God and love others. Otherness will help struggling families, build stronger more connected communities, and shift more churches to an outward focus. Otherness means those in political positions go back to serving the people not themselves. They would seek to empower others and not themselves. It seems like a dream that will never be realized, but we can all make it happen one other-centered choice at a time.

I recently came acrost the Celtic scholar John Philip Newell. I'm reading through the first chapter of his book, The Rebirthing of God: Christianity's Struggle for New Beginnings . Much of his work at first glance may be dismissed by the more evangelical tribes, but I would encourage people to look past the surface. Newell offers great insight into the nature of our spiritual life and gives us much to think about. In chapter 1, Reconnecting with the Earth , Newell reminds us that we have been made in the image and likeness of God. I think the gravity of this truth from Gen. 1:26 gets lost in the fallacy that man is inherently evil and our obsession over man's sin nature. The first glimpse we get of humanity is the Trinity expressing their desire to create man like themselves, with the capacity to love, to give, and to receive. Newell says, " Everything else written about us in our scriptural inheritance needs to be read in light of this foundation truth: that within us...

Are you living your life out loud? It's important that we live our real identity so that others can see truth through us. Yes, that will put pressure on you to be real and live authentically. Yes, that means you need open your own life to God. Living out loud is a risk, but when we remove barriers between us and the Holy Spirit, we open every part of our life to his help. This is the kingdom way!

Erwin McManus says, " To understand forgiveness as a strength is one of the most powerful mind shifts we will ever make. " One aspect of forgiveness is setting yourself free from trying to control someone else's actions or emotions. We hold on to our feeling about our interactions with other people and put our hope in a preferred future with them. Part of forgiveness is letting go of the need to control that person. Are you trying to manipulate or change that person in anyway? Will you only respond positively if they admit they were wrong or wronged you in some way? Are you holding on to your preferred version of that person? No one can fully life up to another person's expectations for their lives. I was thinking about how Jesus related to his disciples or how he relates to us. He certainly has a preferred path for our life, but he does not change how he feels about us when we fail or fall short again and again. The Holy Spirit does not try to manipulate us into doin...

" Jesus came to show us who we are " I heard Rob Bell share this profound statement. I know Jesus has made a place for me. I know in him I have the promise of eternal life. Thats all great and one day I will be set free to explore that new existence. But right now, I think the most important question I can ask is who am I?  Jesus didn't come just to tell us we were lost. He came to tell us we were once lost, but now were found! He came to rescue us, to make a way for us, and to show us who we are as human beings created in God's image. He shows me that I am an adopted son in his own family, that I am invited in and welcome in his kingdom. He shows me that I am loved and seen and valued beyond measure. He shows me what it means to be free and to experience his goodness and live the life he intended for me from before time began. In him, through him, and because of him I know who I am!

What is the difference between doubt and unbelief? Doubt can be a pathway to belief. Doubt is when we have not yet reached a place of belief. Belief is not a place of certainly, but a place of ascent to the truth or a choice to accept and receive a truth. Doubt means we're still in process or still seeking. Doubt is a constructive process that can help build a foundation for belief. Unbelief is the opposite of belief. Unbelief is when we make a conscious choice to reject truth after knowing and understanding that truth the best we can. Unbelief is knowing truth but choosing a counterfeit version of truth that serves our interests better.  Unbelief is a sin that will continue to separate us from truth. Doubt is a process that can draw us closer to truth through an honest assessment of an idea.

How do we share our spiritual truth with others? Are we hoping to convince them our faith or world view is right? Are we working to persuade people to come to church and believe our truth?  Or are we willing the simply walk with someone, to seek truth together, and take a journey with them? That journey may last days, years, a lifetime, or it may be just one conversation. Fo those divinely appointed moments together, we must both be seeking truth with an open heart and mind. We must both be willing to be wrong, willing to receive, and willing to change as we go where the truth leads us.

The proper approach to spiritual disciplines is key in building a healthy Spiritual life. Spiritual disciplines are tools, not rules. There is nothing wrong with reading your Bible every day. I would encourage you to do that. Ask yourself if you are doing it out of obligation or relationship. If your honest answer is obligation, then you might want to make some adjustments to your spiritual life.

Being human means, we need to continually build and re-build our life of faith. De-construction is valuable tool to get the right life of faith built on the right foundation. Self has a way of influencing the building process. When the Holy Spirit brings conviction, we need to unbuild and follow his instructions to build with a kingdom blueprint. 

What is God's plan for humanity? Has God put us on this earth in this human form for us to just do our best, be a faithful Christian, then die and go to Heaven? Is that the plan? Is that what I'm working towards when I consider the purpose of spiritual growth and discipleship? The new Heaven and new Earth which God's word promises will one day come, is a part of God's plan. God's plan from the very beginning has always been to create man in his own image. His plan included making a way through Jesus Christ to see humanity restored to its original purpose. He intends for us to know the fullness of humanity, to live in relationship with God, and to glorify him forever.