Tag: christian life

Colossians 4:2-5 – Devoted to Prayer

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Lord's Prayer

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. (NIV)

I’ve always been fascinated with circular breathing ever since I first picked up a musical instrument.  It’s a technique used by the instrumentalist or singer to produce a continuous tone without interruption. In other words, you can keep blowing or singing without doing the traditional stopping to inhale.  By breathing in through the nose while simultaneously pushing air out through the mouth using air stored in the cheeks, the person can maintain the sound.  Circular breathing is not so much difficult; it just takes lots of practice.  The hard part is unlearning how you typically breathe.  I have done it a few times in my life.  I’ve made the personal observation that it doesn’t happen unless you can be very relaxed while feeling very connected to your body and grounded in what you’re doing.

I imagine that we all sometimes feel like admonitions to devote ourselves to prayer, pray continually, and never give up praying are something like circular breathing.  Maybe best left to the experts and the professionals, we think.  Yet, the Apostle Paul encouraged the entire Colossian church to keep up the praying, both leaders and laity.

“Never give up praying,” (Colossians 4:2, CEV) might sound unattainable.  It isn’t.  However, the catch is that you’ll need to unlearn a few things before devotion to prayer is realized.  The ancient Colossians had fallen into the wrongheaded belief that Christianity could be reduced to a nice neat packaged formula of do’s and don’ts.  Do the right things.  Say the right things.  Don’t do the list of the terrible ten or the nasty nine, or whatever checklist you are using to live by your form of “Christianity.”  Paul was telling the Colossians to completely jettison such an approach to the Christian life.  Instead, persevere in prayer without knowing the outcome.  Pray relying on God and the mystery of Christ.  Pray with uncertainty instead of continually believing you need sure answers to everything for everyone.

The Christian life cannot be made into some geeky algorithm so that we can avoid suffering, know all the right things to say in a conversation, and always keep God happy.  God is not some algebra equation to figure out.  He is not a gumball machine to put a quarter in and get what you want.  He is not Santa God.  Christianity requires living in the tension of not knowing everything and yet having cogent answers for others who inquire about our faith.  It is a dynamic relationship in which we continually interact in prayer to God as we largely improvise our lives, spontaneously applying what understanding we have for each situation we face.  Breathing in and breathing out at the same time.

Paul wanted to keep the church vigilant in prayer with an ongoing dialogue with the God who answers in his own good time, according to his own good will.  He wanted a kind of circular praying whereby Christians make good use of the time God has given through choosing our words wisely as we simultaneously carry on a silent prayer conversation with God.  This is Christianity that’s far above rules and laws and checklists.  It is Christianity as it’s meant to be lived, depending on Jesus, and relaxed in the Spirit.

This takes practice, practice, practice.  Failure is both inevitable and expected.  And that’s okay.  We’re not living by lists and human contrived rules.  We’re living a new life in the power of Christ’s resurrection.

God of Mystery, the One who conceals and reveals, forgive me for my attempts at reducing faith to a few spiritual rules to keep.  Help me to speak in ways which are gracious, loving, and redemptive.  May the person and work of Jesus come tumbling out of my mouth while I inhale the breath of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer is perhaps the best prayer you could be praying.  It is sung here by Andrea Bocelli.

And if you have not heard Bocelli’s gift of singing to the world on Easter Sunday, here is a link to it: Amazing Grace

Colossians 3:12-17 – A New Set of Clothes

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

White Shirts

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (NIV)

Easter is to live forever in our hearts.  The great message of the Resurrection is: We now have opportunity to experience new life, free from sin, death, and hell.  Oh, it isn’t that we never need to deal with evil; we very much do.  The difference is that we now have a new awareness of our spirituality.  And with awareness comes choices.  If we aren’t aware of our feelings, our spirit, and/or old nature, well, then, it’s as if we operate on auto-pilot – losing altitude in an immanent descent into tragedy.  When we are aware of our inner selves, then we mindfully ascend through the clouds to join Christ.

We can make choices about what to wear.  With awareness, we look in the mirror and see that the grave clothes need to come off.  The old raggedy garments of pride and hubris, greed and immorality, selfish lust, jealous envy, spiritual gluttony, unholy anger, and complacency get taken off and tossed in the garbage.  We then go to God’s expansive walk-in closet and choose the bright raiment of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and grab the beautiful coat of love which covers it all with such dignity and honor.

It would be super weird to try and put the new clothes over the old raggedy grave clothes.  That’s not only gross, it’s downright wrongheaded.  Practical Christianity always involves two actions: taking-off and putting-on.  Human willpower and/or ingenuity tries to live a virtuous life while ignoring the vices.  This will not do for the Christian.  The endearing qualities we so desire to possess cannot be obtained without first dealing with the crud of sin which clings to us like so many stinky dirty clothes.  To put this in theological terms: the cross and resurrection go together.  Sin must be put to death before a victorious life is put on.

Once we have acknowledged sin, let Christ take it all off, and put on the new clothes.  Then we’re ready to hit the town in style.  We walk out the door with a tremendous sense of peace, knowing God in Christ has cleaned us up.  We stroll into the world with lips whistling and a song in our hearts – singing with gratitude for what the risen Christ has accomplished on our behalf.  After all, we just put on very expensive clothes and it didn’t cost us a dime.  In fact, we’re so darned thankful that we don’t just talk to others, we sing our words to them – even though we can’t carry a tune.  It doesn’t matter.  Our coat of love compels us.  Easter is bursting forth from the tomb.

Almighty and everlasting God, you willed that our Savior should take upon him our clothing of death upon the cross so that all humanity would have the privilege of wearing humility, gratitude, and love.  Mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of Christ’s life, and, also be made aware of our participation in his glorious resurrection, in the power of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Click Easter Song which was written by Annie Herring in 1974 and made famous by Keith Green a few years later.  The California Baptist University choir and orchestra perform this version.  May your Easter blessings multiply.

A Spiritual Pilgrimage

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

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It seems strange sitting here in my home with no anticipation of being around children waving palm leaves.  It feels awkward facing the beginning of Holy Week with the prospect of no physical gatherings of Christian believers.  Perhaps with the exception of this year, every year on Palm Sunday thousands of Christians, from all over the world, gather in the small town of Bethphage, located just two miles outside of Jerusalem – to walk to Jerusalem like Jesus did in his triumphal entry on a donkey.  Many of those pilgrims carry palm and olive branches.  All the people sing hymns as they walk up the Mount of Olives, down into the Kidron Valley, and then up Mount Moriah into the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a worship experience filled with gratitude. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 118:1)

Every year there are others along the pilgrim path appearing out of place for such a joyous journey.  Spread out along the way are Israeli military soldiers wearing full combat gear, carrying automatic weapons over their shoulders and gazing on the spectacle of worshiping Christians before them. Other Israeli Jews look on with a mix of indifference or concern.  Maybe we can imagine that Jesus encountered a similar experience with people laying palm branches along his path; Roman soldiers all around; and, Jews looking on with curiosity.  It might have been easy for Jesus to avoid Jerusalem and not face the cross that he knew was coming at the end of the week.  It might be easy for us to avoid adversity and suffering. Yet, Jesus continued his journey into Jerusalem because of joy and gratitude. Psalm 118 ends like it begins: “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his love endures forever.”

Joy and gratitude can be our strength in times of adversity.  Yet, it will only come as we join the spiritual pilgrimage.

Psalm 118 is a liturgy for worshipers coming to Jerusalem and the temple from all parts of Israel in order to celebrate Passover.  Like the Christian pilgrims on Palm Sunday, the ancient Jewish worshipers ascended Jerusalem with great anticipation.  They sing of God’s love and remember the deliverance from Egypt and slavery into the freedom of the Promised Land.

The word for “love” throughout Psalm 118 is my favorite word in the Old Testament.  It is a rich word which is difficult to translate in English because the term is so dense with meaning.  The Hebrew word is “chesed” and the New International Version translates it in various ways:  grace, covenant loyalty, mercy, compassion, kindness, and consistently translated in Psalm 118 as “love.”  It is the kind of love that is graciously given despite whether a person deserves it or not.  It is a steadfast love that holds on and does not let go.

God is a God who consistently gives grace when we fall short; shows unflagging commitment where we are fickle; gives unbounded mercy when we are broken; provides constant compassion when we have been hurt; provides kindness even when we are unkind; and, dispenses enduring love which, for the Christian, finds its ultimate expression in the person of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who embodied “chesed” for us so that we might experience life to the full.  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

We may be under directives to stay at home, yet, we have the gracious opportunity to walk on a spiritual pilgrimage every day to the very heart of God and meet love face to face. How might you and I do that?

Labyrinth

One way is through walking a Labyrinth.  This is an ancient practice of the Church meant for spiritual centering, contemplation, and prayer. Entering the serpentine path of a labyrinth, one walks slowly while quieting the mind and focusing on a spiritual question or prayer.  A labyrinth is not a maze. It has only one winding path to the center and back out.  The wisdom of the Labyrinth is that it reflects life, that is, our lives are not about the destination – life is about the long circuitous journey.  The Christian life is consistently described in the New Testament as a road or a way.  We walk with Jesus.

Although many Labyrinths are typically found within churches, church grounds, or in park spaces (and many or most of these are currently closed) we can utilize “finger” Labyrinths.  Rather than physically walking, you can slowly trace the path with your finger.  You might also get creative and make your own homemade Labyrinth in a space of your home or yard.  Click The Labyrinth Society to get free printable Labyrinths, as well as take a virtual Labyrinth walk.

ChartresLabyrinth

The Labyrinth is not meant to be a race to the center; it only “works” if we move at a pace which enables us to meditatively pray, paying attention to what God is doing within us.  Generally, there are four stages to the walk:

  • Releasing on the way toward the center – letting go of all that weighs us down in the Christian life.  “Let’s throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, and fix our eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter.” (Hebrews 12:1-2, CEB)
  • Receiving in the center – accepting the love God has for you.  Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” (John 16:24, NRSV)
  • Returning through following the path back out – integrating what you have received for the life of the world.  “I will give them a heart to know me, God. They will be my people and I will be their God, for they will have returned to me with all their hearts.” (Jeremiah 24:7, The Message)
  • Responding to the love of God through gratitude – thus finding joy, even in the most troubling of circumstances.  “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 118:1, NRSV)

The penitent heart will resonate deeply with the psalms as worship liturgy.  This is because liturgical practices impress the spirit and bring spiritual freedom.  We will only find this odd if we have nothing to repent of.  Turning from sinful liturgies of life and turning to a new liturgy of following Jesus is like walking through a gate into a new reality and rejoicing with all the other redeemed pilgrims who are walking the road to Jerusalem to be with Jesus.  Our Lord himself said,

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  He will come in and go out and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:9-10, NIV).

In this time of virtual presence and electronic communication, I take comfort in the reality that we do not need to text or email God and hope he answers – we have the joyous opportunity of walking the pilgrim way and crawling into the lap of God.

Just like everything else, what you put into something is going to affect what you get out of it. If we go into the Labyrinth half-hearted, we will leave half-hearted. If we go into prayer or worship thinking only of the obligation, we will only fulfill the obligation. Yet, if we come ready to meet God, if we come ready to receive his grace, if we come expectantly – Who knows what God can do?

So, let us enter prayer, reading of Scripture, virtual fellowship, and the worship of God each day with the heart of a pilgrim. Let us enter with a song on our lips and joy in our hearts. Let us enter knowing that worship is the place where we connect with the love of God through the Son of God. Let us enter expecting to come out of worship changed, carrying in our hearts the anticipation of great things to happen.

On the Need for Metaphysicians

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

metaphysician

Hospitals and health clinics are probably not on your A-list of fun places to hang out.  But you go.  Maybe begrudgingly, and perhaps because your spouse or significant other insisted or even made threats.  You and I go because we recognize the need.  When there is a change in our health, or an emergency arises, or even because we understand its good to get an annual physical, we take the time out of our lives to go.  What’s more, we in the U.S. are blessed with some of the best healthcare in the world.  You know the importance and the need for competent physicians who have a good bedside manner.

All of that is for our bodies.  Yet, we are not one-dimensional blobs of protoplasm who walk around needing our cells fixed once-in-awhile.  We are living breathing human beings with as much need for doctors of the soul as we need doctors for the body.  To ignore that we need competent “metaphysicians” [more than just the physical] with a good bedside manner is to not recognize the high value of the unseen inner person.

In some ways I feel like the old country doctor you see in Westerns – patching up people who got shot in the street in a gunfight – and getting paid with a bushel of apples or a basket of eggs.  I admit I would much rather operate (pun intended) more like the modern-day family physician who insists on annual physicals, med checks, and makes good referrals to other competent professionals.

Imagine with me if you saw as much importance to go to your local pastor to get an adjustment for your soul as you did going to your local chiropractor for a back adjustment; if you believed there was value in scheduling an annual “metaphysical” on your calendar; and, if you were faithful to take some needed biblical medicine every day and come in every so often to your soul doctor for a check to see how it was all going.

I can hear some of your objections.  Yes, I know that there are a great many metaphysical quack pastors out there who only give unhelpful panaceas and have questionable educational credentials.  But that doesn’t take away from your need to find a good metaphysician and stick with him/her.  They are out there, and there are a lot of good ones.

Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body…” (Matthew 10:28).  It’s important and necessary to care for your body; to address disease; to do the things necessary to restore your health through medication, surgery, and/or therapy.  It is equally important to care for your soul; to address the sickness of your heart; and to do the things necessary to restore your spiritual health through metaphysical therapy.

You need to schedule an appointment – maybe with your physician – but also, and just as necessary with your metaphysician.  Even if you’re feeling fine.  Get that annual metaphysical and catch any warning signs of danger in the future of your spiritual health and well-being….  What are you waiting for?