Spirit Gives Birth To Spirit

I have begun meditating daily. It's benefits have been immediate and far reaching in my thought life and it has brought me a lot of joy.  To prove it, I will relate a story. Yesterday I came home from work and was really in my head.  Running old tapes over and over about how I had screwed up at work.  My conclusions are always that I am unintelligent and I am doomed to make mistakes and doomed to the disapproval of others.  My wife noticed my state and suggested that I meditate again.  She said this because she knew how much it had affected me positively the day before.  I had meditated for the first time the day before and had found that I was filled with such joy and peace afterwards.  And it was not an unfounded, manic joy.. it was a soft, warm, peaceful joy.  I felt rooted in my identity as a child of God and happy with myself.      So I decided to take her suggestion and meditate again.. after all, I thought to myself, it only...

Based on my experience with directed prayer at church this weekend, I have decided to start meditating.  To make a point to me, God used a little serendipity: I was thinking about my experience this weekend (see previous blog post) and a news report came on.  It was about the Good Morning America anchor who had a panic attack on live TV.  He had resolved to do something about the stress in his life and found that meditation was the thing to do.  He even wrote a book on it called "10% Happier".  Here is a link to the news story.   http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/dan-harris-panic-attack-anchors-book-10-percent-22861100 To do this for yourself: 1. Sit comfortably with your hands in your lap.  I like to sit cross legged but that is not necessary.  But you should be sitting up straight. 2. Close your eyes and focus on your breath going in and out.  As thoughts come, simply refocus on your breath. 3. Take a phrase from scripture and repe...

At church today we were asked to meditate on the phrase, "do not be afraid, I am with you." I closed my eyes and fought back the feelings of failure at work, uncertainties in finances, and the death of a family member...  Always coming back to the phrase.  I began to have a vision.  I saw Jesus, standing in the middle of a dark room, holding a ball of light.  Bolts of lightning flew out from his hands and landed on the heads of a crowd of people standing in front of him.  I then noticed that it was me, standing there in Jesus' place and the bolts of lightning became soft rays of light, falling on people's foreheads. On reflecting on this, I think it means that Jesus prepares people with the beginning of the Gospel that reaches out to them and strikes them like lightning.  Then we are to shed light on those beginnings and illuminate the way forward, by giving human feet to the gospel message. Later I was comforted in my worries by the remembrance of tw...

"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."-Jesus Christ What is it in you that you can bring forth to share with the world? Is it love, patience, kindness for strangers? Are you a database administrator, lawyer, doctor? All these things can work together for the kingdom of God that is within you. And Jesus said that the kingdom is like a mustard seed... the smallest seed that grows into one of the largest trees. God will multiply your efforts and make you effective if you devote yourself to sharing the kingdom with those around you. I believe that it is a place in the heart where everyone gives up their vices as they are transformed into the creatures God intended for them to be. It is something that is within you that bleeds out into the world. The effects of the kingdom coming are not the world itself, for that is not the kingdom, but the ef...

If your Christianity is compromising your security, if the sacrifices you are making make you uncomfortable, remember that 10 of the 12 original disciples died as martyrs. Is your belief that radical? Do you believe you should gamble everything to bring God to this world, to bring peace, to bring justice? The exchange that takes place between you and God, I think, is that you give up more and more pieces of yourself, and for every piece that you give, he fills the void with love. And this love will lead you to do things that you would never have done in your old life. For every thing that you give up, God will fill you with furious desire to love this world and the people in it.  If you feel dead in your faith, if you feel unmoved by the gospel, look into your heart.  What have you given up to God lately?  What attitudes, resources, money, have you turned over to him?  

Moses had his burning bush. When he had fled out to a foreign land and left his life behind, he became a simple shepherd. In this time in his wilderness, he spent time away from the rush and bustle of the world. Then one day he led his flock far into the wilderness and came upon the mountain of Horeb (also called the Mountain Of God). There, he had a face to face encounter when God showed up in a burning bush. Moses was respectful of the awe inspiring and holy God, so he took his sandals off and bowed before Him. And he was humble when God told him to go back to Egypt and save the Isrealites from their Egyptian overlords. He said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” But God knew his worth and knew that he was capable of the task He had given Moses. So he gave Moses His name "I am who is," or "I am who sent you." and sent Moses on his way to an historic adventure that would save his people.  What is your ...

When I read my bible regularly I am at peace. When I am soaking in the presence of God on Sunday afternoon on my couch with some good music on, I am at peace. When I go about my day knowing there is a bigger reality out there than I can fathom in my little frantic life, then I am at peace. And greater than that I have love. Love is the supreme end of humanity. To live without love is to die. Peace leads to love and love leads to peace. It is a wheel on which we should all learn to dwell. Without it, we are just existing.