Imaginative Contemplation

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Many Christians are hesitant to engage the spiritual disciplines because they have allowed themselves to be convinced that only the spiritual giants are able to immerse their lives in the practices. Meditation is one of the disciplines that seems to be far out of the reach of the saints. We have a picture in our minds of one sitting cross-legged in a deep state of communion with the divine, completely disconnected from world around them and possessing a peace that you and I cannot seem to find. Looking at this picture we turn away, thinking that we would be unable to attain this state and surrender back to splashing around in the shallows of our life of faith.

Well, erase this image. You have every ability to integrate every one of the spiritual disciplines into your life, starting with meditation. One of the things we learn as we begin to explore meditation is that there are numerous avenues into the practice. One of the easiest ways to begin meditating and linking the mind and the heart is through your imagination. To use the imagination is not to engage in flights of whimsy, forming new stories of our relationship with God based upon our own desires. It is to use the power of your mind to place yourself immediately at the feet of the Master. It is to place yourself in the Upper Room as the Lord speaks to His disciples, you included. Feel how tight the space is filled with people, smell the bread and the wine, see the Lord’s face in the candlelight and watch the shadows dance about the plaster walls. Now, hear the words he speaks:

A new command I give you: Love one another. (John 13:34)

Your imagination will allow you to see his face as he mouths these words. You can look about and see how they strike each of the men present. Judas has gone—would he have recoiled at this statement? Do you? The images of your mind help you to be fully present to the Spirit as He moves the words from your mind into your heart. Have you loved others as the Lord loves you? Do the words pierce your heart or comfort you? Contemplate on the words as the Spirit communicates the truth to you in ways related to your life.

Meditation using the imagination troubles some people as they fear that this sense can be corrupted just as our others can. We have to live with this reality but the question to ask is this; if God can redeem other aspects of our life can He not redeem our imaginations as well? Trust in God and open your mind.

 

Image by OkaySamurai

Rockies Dodgers Showdown

rox A chance to pick up three games on the Trolley Dodgers and to be taken seriously. If they just play the same basic, aggressive ball they played in Oakland last weekend, this might be a wake up call to the boys in blue.

Update: Bummer. Head fake by Dodgers pitcher results in a balk on Ubaldo. I’m surprised the next pitch didn’t end up in his ear but thankfully, Jiminez is a class act. Maybe tonight.

Psalm 42 Have Mercy On Me

image The first collection of prayer poetry in the Psalter closes with David’s repeated plea for healing from a serious illness. He does not wait until the healing is complete before effusively praising Yahweh.

But you, O Lord, have mercy on me; raise me up, that I may repay them.

I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.

In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and Amen. (vv 10-13)

David has walked over this ground many times, penning a prayer for relief from whatever ailment was causing his distress. The preceding handful of psalms were similar pleas for mercy while acknowledging that his illness was directly related to his sin. Stepping outside of himself, he looks in through the eyes of those who are enjoying his travail.

I said, “O Lord, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die and his name perish?” (vv 4-5)

To whom are we going to give our attention? It is all too easy to allow the feelings and actions of others to influence our relationship with God. Their malice may even convince us that God has given up, that he has turned his eyes away from us. When we are in the midst of our battles, when our pit of despair seems to grow deeper by the day, when we may even feel as though all is lost…we must praise. We must flip to this psalm and raise our voices to the heavens and declare that despite current circumstance, we say “Praise to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.”

Amen and Amen.

 

Image Gio

Building A Contemplative Spirit

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The contemplative life of the Christian has nearly vanished within the Church. In many circles, the contemplative has become a person of church history or more dauntingly, has taken on mythical status. The Christian of 2009 involved in Sunday school, small groups, missions, VBS, midweek service and classes can scarcely imagine finding the unscheduled time for quiet meditation. We who shepherd the Church do little to remedy this situation because we have allowed her to become judged by the values of the world. In doing so, the Christian suffers, the Church grows weaker, and the kingdom mission goes unfulfilled.

Soul work starts quietly, learning to hear the voice of God. Meditation moves us from the superficialities of the world and the shallow Christian life into the deep waters of full communion with God. Meditation is the first discipline of change.

The purpose of meditation in the Christian life is to seek out a transformative encounter with the Living God. We meditate in order to hear His voice and, in reflecting on what we hear, to obey Him and His calling on our lives. The Bible clearly portrays God as desirous of our fellowship and the contemplative practices bring us into His loving embrace. As Thomas a Kempis describes it, we are growing into a “familiar friendship with Jesus.” Activity and busyness may make us feel as though we are participating in the Christian life but we are fooling ourselves. We are living our faith like a stone skipping across a lake; tap…tap…tap…splash! We dip our toes here and there and when challenged we have no internal strength to keep ourselves from sinking. Transformed souls come only from those willing to swim far, far out from shore.

Get ready to swim.

Image by Prahkar

I Want to be a Sportswriter

I mean, how hard could it be? These guys, who for the most part have never played the games that they write about, are the worst sorts of bandwagon jumpers. When the Rox were struggling in the early part of the season their daily screed was nothing but hypercritical statements of the obvious; the Rockies were not playing well. There were pontifications about who should be traded away, about how the Monfort brothers would never have a winning team, and calls for the dismissal of manager Clint Hurdle (which ultimately came to be.) It appears that all you have to do is jump off the bandwagon, write how bad the teams are ( including all of the sports teams here in town ) and publish.

But then, as soon as the team gets it turned around, their limbs somehow slither back onto the Rockies express. Take this piece today:

Respect for the Franchise Must Start Here

Hmmm, maybe he means it should start with him ( or Chief-Clown Woody Paige ). 

Soul Work

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“Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.” Tolstoy

The modern Church, by and large, has cast aside an emphasis on individual transformation in favor of the consumer model that tries to be everything to everyone. Deep relationship with God and the wrenching change that results are replaced with the busyness of classes, small groups, and activities. As a result, the people of God lack a substantial foundation on which to stand when challenges arise or the cross that the Christian is asked to bear becomes too heavy. It’s time for some serious soul work.

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

The life in full that the Bible speaks of is not about stuff, money, having it easy, or being free from struggle. The life that the Bible describes is one of change; internal change as directed by the Spirit and external change as you become a cooperative friend of God in His work in the world. Our primary calling is to be lifelong disciples, sitting at the feet of our Teacher and freeing up our souls to his transformation. Sometimes it will be easy and other times painful and difficult but we will always be different people as a result. We will be people more in tune with God’s mission, better dialed in to walk into the darkness, and committed to completing the race laid out for us to run.

The spiritual disciplines are the means by which we become more attendant to God and our relationship with Him. They are methods of intentionally bringing ourselves to the feet of the master. Hearing the pastor read a passage once per week or even just reading the Bible once per day are not going to transform us. It takes work – Soul Work – and dedication to muscle through the pain and to push aside the fear to become what God intends for us to be. Anything less than that and we’re just trying to do it on our own. How’s that working out for you?

Deep calls to deep… (Psalm 42:7)

 

Image by Christ Bartnik

Psalm 40 Many Will See and Fear

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Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.

Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll.

I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. (vv 6-8)

Before even opening the door to our prayer closets, the first thing we should do is evaluate the attitude that we have carried to that point. An idea that is repeated throughout the whole of scripture is the importance to God of our obedience over our offerings and actions. Sadly, the emphasis on holiness has lost out to the church of felt needs and community services. We have replaced obedience with activity.

It appears that two different prayers were concatenated within this psalm. In verses 1-10, the liturgist expresses contrition and recognition that the troubles we face are of our own making and the result of our sin. The voice of gratitude uses very familiar language to express thanks for the innumerable times that the Lord has pulled us from the pit.

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and hear my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. (vv 1-3)

The closing verses of the psalm are a plea for help once again. Though he recognizes his part in the creation of these troubles, the psalmist does not hesitate to reach out again (and again) for the help of the Lord. We need never question our trust in this deliverance but we should always turn back to the highlighted verses in our bibles (get your pen right now) in verses 6 through 8. Obedience is the core of the psalm and obedience is to be at the core of our lives.

 

 

Image by geoftheref