Meeting Plato & Shakespeare at Breakfast

I find the phrase “vocation is mission” satisfyingly descriptive. What it means is that which I do every day is my personal mission. 

We are continuously changing people in an ever-changing world and we draw on tried-and-true instruments to form new experiences and things for us, and for people around us. 

That’s the inventive/creative power we have. 

 

I love the creative work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

 

NT Wright said well, “Those in whom the Spirit comes to live are God’s new Temple. They are… places where heaven and earth meet.” -Simply Christian

The Holy Spirit works with us. He doesn’t come through our door with a signboard announcing his Presence, nor with a Tweet.

If you do a bit of spiritual self-care, rather like getting ready for the day for work. It may amaze you later on at creative God can be in your life.  

Perhaps you might surprise the person you see everyday. You show up and show them "another Shakespeare." - Not someone dressed in religious garb, but someone who lights up the universe by being who God already made them.

Plato has told you a truth; but Plato is dead. 
Shakespeare has startled you with an image; but Shakespeare will not startle you with any more. 

But, imagine what it would be to live with such men still living,
to know that Plato might break out with an original lecture tomorrow or
that at any moment Shakespeare might shatter everything with a single song. 

The man who lives in contact with what he believes to be a living Church
is a man always expecting to meet
Plato and Shakespeare tomorrow at breakfast.

 -   G K Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Compassion Universal

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

• Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

Leaky vessels, filling with God's love

CS Lewis speaking on Old Testament Scriptures:
“The human qualities of the raw materials show through [referring to the content of scriptures]. Naivety, errors, contradiction and even (as in the cursing Psalms) wickedness are not removed. The total result is not “the Word of God” in the sense that every passage, in itself gives impeccable science or history. It carries the Word of God, and we… receive that word from it not by using it as an encyclopedia or encyclical but by steeping ourselves in its tone and temper and so learning its overall message.
To a human mind this working-up (in a sense imperfectly), this sublimation (incomplete) of human material, seems no doubt, an untidy and leaky vehicle. We might have expected, we may think we should have preferred, an unrefracted light giving us ultimate truth in systematic form—something we could have tabulated and memorized and relied on like the multiplication table. One can respect, and [even] envy, both the Fundamentalist’s view of the Bible and the Roman Catholic’s view of the Church. But there is one argument which we should beware of for either position: God must have done what is best, this is best, therefore God has done this. For we are mortals and do not know what is best ofr us, and it is dangerous to prescribe what God must have done—especially when we cannot, for the life of us, see that He has after all done it.
   We may observe the that the teaching of Our Lord [Jesus Christ] Himself, in which there is no imperfection, is not given us in cut-and-dried, fool-proof, systematic fashion we might have expected or desired. He wrote no book. We have only reported sayings, most of them uttered in answer to questions, shaped by some degree by their context. And whne we have collected them all we cannot reduce them to a system. He preaches but He does not lecture. He uses paradox, proverb, exaggeration, parable, irony; even…the “wisecrack.” He utters maxims which, like popular proverbs, if rigorously taken, may seem to contradict one another. His teaching therefore cannot be grasped by the intellect alone, cannot be “got up” as if it were a “subject.” If we try to do that with it, we shall find Him the most elusive of teachers. He hardly ever gave a straight answer to a straight question. He will not be, in the way we want, “pinned down.” The attempt is...like trying to bottle a sunbeam.
…
It may be indispensible that Our Lord’s teaching, by that elusiveness (to our systematizing intellect) should demand a response from the whole man, should make it so clear that there is no question on learning a subject but of steeping ourselves in a Personality, acquiring a new outlook and temper, breathing a new atmosphere, allowing Him, in His own way, to rebuild in us the defaced image of Himself.
…
…it seems to me that from having had to reach what is really the Voice of God…in the cursing Psalms..through all …the distortions of the human medium, I have gained something I might not have gained from a flawless, ethical exposition. The shadows have indicated (at least to my heart) something more about the light.
…of course these conjectures as to why God does what He does are probably of no more value than my dog’s ideas of what I am up to when I sit and read.
…
[The final] reason for accepting the Old Testament [is] simpl[e] and… compulsive. We are committed to it in principle by Our Lord Himself.
[Still, it] is…idle to speak here of spirit and letter. There is almost no “letter” in the words of Jesus. Taken by a literalist, He will always prove the most elusive of teachers. Systems cannot keep up with that darting illumination. No net less wide than a man’s whole heart nor less fine of mesh than love, will hold the sacred Fish.”

• CS Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, pp.112-119

Simple Steps to an Exciting Life

God never wrought a miracle to convince atheism, because His ordinary works convince it. - Lord Bacon


The apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy, in the first century of the Christian church, giving him some simple instructions that are key in “taking ownership” of one’s spiritual life. Unless Christian individuals pay attention to the condition of their own self-care (spiritually-speaking), the Christian church (the body of believers) will become run-down.


“Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
… give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
Do not neglect the gift that is in you…
Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (I Timothy 4:12-16)


While this may seem overwhelming, it’s less onerous than it looks if it is contextualized within the framework of the living Spirit of God. That Spirit is continually at work, as long as we keep maintain our part of the bargain. 
According to the promise of Christ before his crucifixion and resurrection, the Spirit (or Helper) would be with us to help us become the kind of people who God had always sought for—people with a heart of flesh, and not stone. God cannot manufacture our will to conform to His, but He can send extraordinary, even miraculous, help by the Spirit when our wills are bent towards Him.


“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)
(“But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” – John 7:39
"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.” – John 15:26)


Imagine this, that Christ, the Son of the Living God and Father, Creator of the universe and beyond, has sent us what He was when He was physically walking the Earth: the Spirit. And imagine, also, that this Spirit is not here to confuse, confound or mystify, but to clarify, and to settle.
Once the Christian understands that Life in the Spirit is ongoing and continual, then, the Christian should come to expect a gradual unfolding of his own originality within a life of being a disciple (not a monk). Indeed, the Christian is to become so intimate with the Spirit, that he will see that there is infinite originality when God made humans-and it crops up over and over in his life.

“Plato has told you a truth; but Plato is dead.
Shakespeare has startled you with an image; but Shakespeare will not startle you with any more. But imagine what it would be to live with such men still living, to know that Plato might break out with an original lecture tomorrow, or that at any moment Shakespeare might shatter everything with a single song. The man who lives in contact with what he believes to be a living Church is a man always expecting to meet Plato and Shakespeare tomorrow at breakfast.”

• G K Chesterton in Orthodoxy

Would you prefer the truth or love?

Jesus has the first and last word on love:


A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34, 35)


This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15: 12, 13)


...when (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (John 16:8)


Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; (John 17:18, 20)


...for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. (John 17:19)


In God's Kingdom truth and love are one and the same.

Hope and Help in Darkness

"When mystery hides Thee from the sight of faith and hope: when pain turns even love to dust: when life is bitter to the taste and our song of joy dies down to silence, then Father, do for us that which is past our power to do for ourselves.
Break through our darkness with Your light. Show us Thyself through Jesus suffering on the tree, rising from the grave, and reigning from the throne, all with power and love for us unchanging.
So shall our fear be gone and our feet set on a radiant path."

Alistair MacLean in Hebridean Altars
(See also, "Just because I am happy doesn't mean I don't have problems..." posted on 26 November 2011, as it relates to help not residing in a 'binary' solution)

How Important Is Prayer?

Part Third. Of Prayer.

__________

(Martin Luther) On the value of praying The Lord's Prayer.

...it is most necessary first to exhort and incite people to prayer... (it) is our duty to pray because of God's commandment. (Some) think that it is all the same whether he pray or not...Why should I pray? Who knows whether God heeds or will hear my prayer? If I do not pray, some one else will. And (so) they fall into the habit of never praying, and frame a pretext (which is they say, they) reject false and hypocritical prayers.

But praying...is to call upon God in every need. Though ..the human heart by nature... always flees from God and imagines that He does not wish or desire our prayer. (But)...He will not cast us from Him nor chase us away...but rather draw us to Himself...

(What deters us from praying? Thoughts such) as: I am not holy or worthy enough; if I were...godly and holy...then I would pray. Yet...the same commandment to pray which applied to...the saints applies also to me… (And) ...(though a saint) is holier in his person, (still)....God does not regard prayer on account of the (person praying), but....His word and obedience (to it). Besides, I have just as great a need of it as those great saints--even a greater one than they. (God) will not (allow) our prayers to be in vain or lost. For if He did not intend to answer your prayer, He would not bid you pray....

In the second place, we should be the more incited to pray because God has also added a promise...as He says Ps. 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee. And Christ...in... Matthew 7:7: Ask, and it shall be given you. For every one that asketh receiveth. Such promises...encourage and kindle our hearts to pray with pleasure and delight.

He (says)...that our prayer is heartily pleasing to Him, (and) that it shall assuredly be heard and granted, in order that we may not despise it or think lightly of it, and pray at a venture. This you can hold up to Him and say: Here I come, dear Father, and pray, not of my own purpose nor upon my own worthiness, but at Your commandment and promise, which cannot fail or deceive me.

...where there is to be a true prayer there must be earnestness. Men must feel their distress, and such distress as presses them and compels them to call and cry out then prayer will be made spontaneously. God also requires that you...plead necessities and wants, not because He does not know them, but that you may kindle your heart to stronger and greater desires, and make wide and open your cloak to receive much. Whenever a godly Christian prays: Dear Father let Thy will be done, God speaks from on high and says: Yes, dear child, it shall be so, in spite of the devil and all the world.


Let this be...an exhortation, that men may learn... to esteem prayer as something great and precious, and to make a proper distinction between babbling and praying for something.

• Martin Luther on Prayer

Always With Us

"The Holy Spirit during the present time is in office on earth; and all spiritual presence and divine communion of the Trinity with men are through Him.
In other words, while the Father and the Son are visibly and personally in heaven, they are invisibly here in the body of the faithful by the indwelling of the Comforter. So that though we affirm that on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to dwell upon earth...we do not imply that He thereby ceased to be in heaven.
Not with God, as with finite man, does arrival in one place necessitate withdrawal from another. Jesus uttered as saying concerning Himself so mysterious and seemingly contradictory that many attempts have been made to explain away its literal and obvious meaning:   'And no man has ascended up to heaven but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man Who is in heaven'
~  Christ on earth, and yet in glory; here and there, at the same time, just as a thought which we embody in speech and send forth from the mind, yet remains in the mind as really and distinctly as before it was expressed."  ~

•  A. J. Gordon

Why Would We Lay Down Our Arms? Holy Spirit & Will (1st of 3)

How do we do this “laying down of arms” as described by CS Lewis – a surrender of our will without extinguishing our personhood?  I would suggest that looking more closely into the nature of the Holy Spirit and His interaction with man’s spirit (our humaness), for it helps flesh out the picture of what it means to be “surrendered.”
This does not, however, create the desire or want to be "filled with the Spirit." Romans clearly states our divided desires. The Scriptures continually call us back to reality-and away from impulsive behaviors and reactions to our our inner or outer problems.  Let's look at how we interpret what it means to "surrender" (lay down our arms) and is the impact of this on us.

Saints are so dubbed because they were more God-obsessed than average "Joe" as a result was the “filling of the Spirit” was we can  translate as a “filling” of their own spirits with the Holy Spirit.
Right here we seem to stumble-for I think we have the impression that we are more "us" when we assert our wills than when we conform to God's desires.
Is that true? Dallas Willard said people who think like that were probably taught by "mean people." I cannot see God's picture of the Forgiving Father as being mean or grudging, I suspect Willard might be right.


What advantage is there to walking by the Spirit? I liken walking by the Spirit to a balloon. In this analogy, the spirit of man is the balloon itself. In its natural state it has a form and there are many forms of balloons, but without inflation, they are all flat. But, the person who is filled with the Spirit keeps the shape but becomes more himself, and not less.
Think about it: God has created humans as the most interesting and, exclusively, a creative being, in the flesh. How much more creative and interesting is this man who surrendered his will to be filled up by the Holy Spirit?

When I say “Party, cake, balloons.” in your mind’s eye, you see filled balloons, not uninflated ones. One would hardly decorate the party room with uninflated balloons! It’s the filling that makes them festive (recall Pentecost: the statement beginning, “These men are not drunk…” was made because of the festivities they were enjoying). When we enter the party room we appreciate the effects of the filling, though not consciously.
Thanks to the Holy Spirit filling Christians, we are the body of Christ, just as my (human spirit) makes me-the living me-me. Once the living spirit has left, my dead body has no purpose in sitting around.

The “work” of the Church is accomplished by the Spirit filling the believers, In his interview, Packer alluded to Sanders’ quote in “Spiritual Maturity” when asked about the Trinity. He may have been quoting Sanders when he explained primary need for the Holy Spirit is this: as the executor of the Great Commission, as the administrator of the missionary enterprise (and, Sanders calls each Christian’s life, in his book on the Holy Spirit, a “redemptive enterprise” of the Holy Spirit). ”

It has been said that life in God, indeed all human existence, is more than a sum of its parts. This is in direct contrast with many aspects of daily living-many are programmatic, often routine and mechanical/technical in operation. The tools to which accomplish our ends are things such as schedules, routines, and calendars. While like a donkey, which took Paul on many a missionary journey, are merely aids to the organic Body of Christ-they ought never block or hinder the possibility that God would ‘transport’ one, as he did with Phillip to the eunuch.

• Charity Johnson
  

Holy Spirit introduces Christ to the world today (3rd of 3)

In the previous post, I claimed we are always in church-that every day and every breath we are influencing, care-taking, care-giving, or resting somehow on Christ, the Head of the Body.

However, God does not “park” us here in this abstraction. No.
In Ephesians 4, He extends this to our life on this globe. As God so often clarifies Himself in Scripture, when He unfolds more about the ways He works, we discover that His  commands are anchored in an the eternal Truth rather than a function or ritual to be carried out, as though it were “homework” handed out by a kind but stern teacher.  And in this matter, that of our life in the Body, the truth is that this is our calling, the vocation for which each member was born.

As I read this I am reminded that He has the core of my being wrapped in His eternal timeless present and omniscience.

God speaking:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship [poemia], created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 4:8-10)
Two things about this section.
Firstly, poemia has been interpreted into English variously as “workmanship” (KJV) as well as “masterpiece.” A beautiful result.
Secondly, the 1611 King James Version puts “prepared” as “ordained.” Knowing both of these interpretations helps us grasp the essence of the thought: who I am in Christ is not primarily mine to do: but rather something I am made as. God says, “Do as you are.” (De-contextualizing this disables this verse).
What happens when I don't? I find myself mimicking people around me-and it's like putting clothes on inside out and backwards...they cover me, but it's not right,  comfortable nor beneficial.
It comes down to a decision of the will: it is my choice is to become more – or less – who I actually am in Christ (which is in opposition to following my own will: in popular culture termed: “doing your own thing”).  And, lest this idea (of becoming more who I am, unique and His), bring to mind thoughts of randown thoughts of “unique snowflakes and rainbows,” you should recall that the most radical-and often-objectionable behavior is to live in love towards all. Clearly from Ephesians, this is the path to growth, but it not to be confused with the path of ease. (Christians are often tempted to perceive trouble and conflict as “signs” of sin. And, often feel guilty for making others uneasy for living in the light of truth. Christians need to consider Christ as our example for this.)
In summary, God’s appeals to us to understand our past (Christ’s sacrifice, our redemption from the spiritual powers of darkness and self, and current ongoing advocacy for our sins), as well as our present spiritual reality: oneness with Christ through the Holy Spirit, oneness with one another via the Spirit of Christ, the urgency of living in love, and the ever-present residing in ‘church,’ our future, which is now.
Paul captures many of these same truths: the Church of Christ, and Christ in me, our oneness, and our collective and individual “growth goal” in Colossians:
1:24b“…his body, that is, the church,…26 the mystery [secret] hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery [secret], which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.(Colossians 1:24b,26-29 ESV) (and)  ….2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge…. 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Col 2:2-3, 6,7 ESV)

I don’t know how to say it more to the point how the unity of the Church is captured in one beautiful phrase:
“…that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love…” (with the goal following this).
 The word here “knit” is notable if you 've ever knitted (or worn anything knitted?). You can pull apart a seam sewn together very easily, but in contrast, “unknitting” something results in the abolishment of the entire garment. This goes back to the “organic” nature of the Body of Christ.

It comes as no surprise then, that the working out of the practical aspects of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is underscored with love: all things to the edifying of the Body, as Paul states in Romans:
5 One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike [sacred]. Let everyone be fully convinced (satisfied) in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
7 None of us lives to himself [but to the Lord], and none of us dies to himself [but to the Lord, for]
8If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord.
9 For Christ died and lived again for this very purpose, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you criticize and pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you look down upon or despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.
11 For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God [acknowledge Him to His honor and to His praise].
12 And so each of us shall give an account of himself [give an answer in reference to judgment] to God.
13 Then let us no more criticize and blame and pass judgment on one another, but rather decide and endeavor never to put a stumbling block or an obstacle or a hindrance in the way of a brother.
14 I  know and am convinced (persuaded) as one in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is [forbidden as] essentially unclean (defiled and unholy in itself). But [none the less] it is unclean (defiled and unholy) to anyone who thinks it is unclean.
15 But if your brother is being pained or his feelings hurt or if he is being injured by what you eat, [then] you are no longer walking in love. [You have ceased to be living and conducting yourself by the standard of love toward him.] Do not let what you eat hurt or cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died!
16 Do not therefore let what seems good to you be considered an evil thing [by someone else]. [In other words, do not give occasion for others to criticize that which is justifiable for you.]
17 [After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18 He who serves Christ in this way is acceptable and pleasing to God and is approved by men.
19 So let us then definitely aim for and eagerly pursue what makes for harmony and for mutual upbuilding (edification and development) of one another.
20 You must not, for the sake of food, undo and break down and destroy the work of God! Everything is indeed [ceremonially] clean and pure, but it is wrong for anyone to hurt the conscience of others or to make them fall by what he eats.
21 The right thing is to eat no meat or drink no wine [at all], or [do anything else] if it makes your brother stumble or hurts his conscience or offends or weakens him.
22 Your personal convictions [on such matters]--exercise [them] as in God's presence, keeping them to yourself [striving only to know the truth and obey His will]. (Romans 14:5-22 Amplified Bible)

God the Father sent me the means, the opportunity and the motive for transformation (Romans 12:1,2). The entirety of my life is assurance, but also sanctity: I am in “church” everyday because I am continually dealing with God’s created humans.
This is not limited to the Church, nor is it restricted to the “unsaved.” In Ephesians and in John, God speaks of the entire human race as those whom He loves. By necessity, then, through the Holy Spirit, He wraps up my transformation in the care and redemptive enterprise He is working out in the lives of others whom He loves. I move beyond my self-centered oneness to other-centered unity in Christ, here and now.

• Charity Johnson
  

No Government Take-over Here

“I used to believe that a few men had a monopoly on the Holy Spirit. Now I know that the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on a few men.”

• James H. McConkey.
  

What? The Holy Spirit!?

Holy Spirit With Us
"...while the Father God and the Son are visibly and personally in heaven, they are invisibly here in the body of the faithful by the indwelling of the Comforter...(this does) not imply that he [Holy Spirit] ...ceased to be in heaven.
Not with God, as with finite man, does arrival in on place necessitate withdrawal from another.
Jesus uttered a saying concerning Himself, so mysterious and seemingly contradictory in the many attempts have been made to explain away its literal and obvious meaning.
"And no man has ascended up to heaven but He that came down from heaven, the Son of man Who is in Heaven.”
Christ on earth, and yet in glory; here but there, at the same time, just as a thought which we embody in speech and send forth from the mind, yet remains in the mind as really and distinctly as before it was expressed." -  A.J. Gordon

Spirit of Christ - Our Present Help in Times of Need:
"The Holy Spirit continually and permanently applying Christ's finished work historically from Calvary [where our legal redemption and bodily wholeness was regained through His perfect sacrifice],  contemporarily to every new generation of people living in this world." -  M.A.F. Wood

Why The Departure of Christ Was Necessary and Helpful:
"In His earthly life, Jesus was geographically limited by His body. He could not be in two places at once. ..In contrast., when the heavenly paraclete [or, Advocate, which is the Holy Spirit] was given, they [Christ's followers] ...exchange[d] Christ's physical presence for His omnipresence. "             

• J. Oswald Sanders, The Holy Spirit and His Gifts