Tuesday, March 29, 2011

As a Christian, are you an astronomer or an astronaut?

This is a classic question about how people approach life. Are you an observer or an explorer? Do you “experience” the world through television, books and the Internet? Or do you walk out your door and engage with it? Do you spend all of your time at home, work, church, your kids' sporting events, your favorite restaurants, etc. Or do you venture out of your comfort zone, engaging with strangers in unfamiliar places?

I would apply the same types of questions to Christian faith, in two different ways.

First, your inner journey: do you simply follow the weekly worship and study of your church? Or do you go deeper into your own hidden questions? Do you seek a deeper understanding of God's vision for you?

Second, your outer journey: do you spend most of your fellowship time with friends and family, in safe settings? Or do you reach out to strangers? Do you serve in your community, or beyond? Do you take risks with your faith?

I'm not suggesting that you should walk up to strangers and ask if they are saved. That's annoying. But I do think that once in a while, we should all be astronauts and take leaps of faith.

The first step is to simply ask God to send you. Then keep your eyes and heart open. He has plenty of missions that need to be accomplished, both large and small. What He lacks are astronaut volunteers.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Can we live inspired lives?

Patanjali, the ancient yoga sage, described Inspiration like this, “Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” I feel that this is a great way to describe our relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.

God created each of us with great possibilities. He wants us to be the best we can be. He wants us to expand and flourish, so that we can serve each other, preserve our world and experience joy and contentment. But we can't fully do that by ourselves, with just our own ideas, grit and determination. We need to be inspired, or in-spirit. The good news is, by allowing the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts, we can unleash those dormant forces, faculties and talents that God created within us. And, in turn, discover our true selves.

Unfortunately, modern society hinders our ability to experience inspired lives. Instead of being filled with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we see what society considers success and status and become filled with desires. And we imitate those who have achieved what we desire. We follow their paths, not our own. I have met far too many people who have fulfilled many desires, yet are still unfulfilled. They yearn to be inspired.

To live inspired lives, we must 'throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” (see Hebrews 12:1) Instead of being conformed to this world, we must be transformed by renewing our minds. (see Romans 12:2) This means that in order for our dormant forces, faculties and talents to become alive, we must let go of our world-influenced parameters and perspectives. Because they cloud, distract and distort.

I'm not talking about detaching from the world. Christians are called to engage the world. I'm talking about not living according to the material expectations of the world, detaching from the social construct so that we are not hindered or entangled.

To live inspired lives, we must first empty ourselves, not in order to be empty, but in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be inspired. Only then will we discover and release the greater person within, God's true creation.






Tuesday, March 22, 2011

We see our self-portrait clearly, but our mirror is often fogged.

Ever wonder if a jerk knows he's a jerk? Well, the answer is, probably not. We tend to paint pretty nice self-portraits in our minds. This idealized version is clear to us, because we invented it, built it and spend our lives enhancing and protecting it. Unfortunately, how we see ourselves is typically quite different than how we really are. Or how the world sees us.

What kind of self-portrait have you painted? How does it compare to the true reflection of yourself?

One of the desires of a New Age Christian is to wrestle the paintbrush out of the hands of the ego and give it to our inner spirit. Then through prayer, meditation and other disciplines, we allow the Creator to inspire and guide us to restore our portrait. As we strip away the layers of paint that the ego has piled on, we reveal God's original intention for us. Eventually, both the portrait and mirror have a new luster. And the same image.


Thursday, March 17, 2011

Faith and the Law of Attraction

What is the Law of Attraction?
The Law basically states that you attract the things you think most about. If you think, “Life is so abundant. I get everything I need,” then you will attract abundance. Conversely, if you think, “I don't have enough money” you will continue to attract not having enough money.

There is a three-step process to the Law of Attraction. Step 1: Ask. Step 2: Believe. Step 3: Receive. This process is actually borrowed from the Bible. (Mark 11:24)

Asking is easy, perhaps even effortless. You have desires that naturally come to mind. And you have little control over thinking about or feeling your desires. But some desires occupy a lot more of your thoughts than others. You focus on them. At some point, you may consciously wish for something. “I wish I had more money.” “I wish I had a boyfriend.” “I want a better job.” Then, if you decide to practice the Law of Attraction, you focus on a specific desire. In essence, you ask for it.

Believing is next. Once you have asked for something, you don't have to ask for it again and again. You immediately switch over to believing that you will get what you asked for. You remove all doubt from your heart and mind. You don't try to figure out how you will get what you want. Instead, you detach from the outcome and go about the business of daily life. And you are patient, not holding the universe (or in our case, God) to any sort of timetable.

Finally, you enter into a state of Receiving. You pretend that you have already received your desire. If you want to be rich, you pretend that you are rich. You cultivate feelings associated with being rich, feelings of abundance, joy and security. You expect that money will be pouring in, or something is bound to happen that will lead to wealth. You adjust your perspective from that of needing money to that of having all the money you need.

Also, teachers of the LOA talk about being on the same vibrational frequency or wavelength with what you desire in order to receive it. The LOA states that whatever energy you are emitting has specific wavelengths, and these wavelengths that leave your body allow energy of similar wavelengths to arrive at your body. If you are emitting positive energy, it is easier for positive energy to come to you and more difficult for negative energy to come to you. So the teachers suggest that if you tune your emotions to a positive frequency, you will receive positive energy back.

Personally, I know that the more positive I am, the more good things happen. The more negative I am, the more negative things happen. And if I am filled with positive energy, I seem to receive positive energy from the world around me. I'm not sure how this happens, but this is my experience. And that's one of the things that intrigues me about the LOA philosophy.

Okay, that's the gist of the Law of Attraction. You can read more about it in books like The Secret or The Power of Positive Thinking. I find both books very helpful, and treat them as insightful perspectives that have actually helped me explore ways to apply lessons from Christian Scripture to my daily life.

So how does the LOA relate to faith?
The method taught by the LOA is a good way to describe how you practice faith. The big difference is that, with faith, you are putting your trust in God. He will provide for your desires. But God is not a cosmic vending machine. He is not a means to an end. Do not treat Him as such.

Remember, God is your parent, who loves you with all His heart. Every good parent wants to give their children what they need and what will make them happy. But at the same time, a good parent does not spoil a child. A good parent wants to raise a child of good character, a child who is appreciative, loving, strong and trustworthy.

So when you ask God for something, keep that in mind. Maybe instead of asking Him to help you win the lottery, just ask for a feeling of financial security. Instead of telling Him you need a boyfriend that looks like Brad Pitt, ask Him to lead you to true love. Instead of asking Him for a promotion, ask Him for more professional fulfillment.

Then after you ask, thank Him. Don't hope He will respond. Expect that He will. Know that He will. Believe that God will provide for your needs, and He knows best how to do so. Have no doubt in your mind. Act as if you already have what you asked for and feel wonderful about it. Only then will you have demonstrated true faith.


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Idolatry begins with I.

I want...
I need...

Everyone has dreams, goals and desires – material possessions, status, career success, relationships, activities and experiences. And certainly there's nothing wrong with good jobs, relationships or nice things. If God has blessed you, that's great! The problem arises when those things transform from blessings into idols.

Do you ever feel such a strong need for a thing or a situation that your life won't be complete without it? Do you find yourself saying, “If only...”?

Do you constantly feel angry, anxious, frustrated, depressed or helpless? This may indicate that there is something you want, and you cannot find peace until you have it.

When you see people with things you want, do you say negative things about them? Do you think they must be greedy.

Do you feel an emptiness within you? Do you try to fill it by becoming a workaholic, shopaholic, golfaholic, pornoholic, promiscuous, a party animal, adrenaline junkie, etc. Or do you spend a lot of time living vicariously through your children, sports team, pop culture, politics, etc?

These are all indications of idolatry. We either need things to boost our egos, or we are too focused on attaining various forms of satisfaction.

If we are self-centered and egocentric, we become our own idols. We desire to glorify ourselves.

If we are dissatisfied with our lives, we feel vulnerable. This makes us much more susceptible to temptation. We may engage in shallow activities that provide temporary gratification. Or we may make critical life decisions that we believe will lead to satisfaction.

These forms of idolatry turn life into an illusion. Our perspective may be filled, but our heart will not be. Only God can give us the kind of deep spiritual satisfaction that we crave. Only God can give us the power and strength we need to eliminate vulnerability. By connecting to God and allowing ourselves to be a conduit for the Holy Spirit, we become part of His infinite presence.

Once we are filled with Spirit (inspired), we can engage in the pleasures of the world and simply rejoice in the experiences, instead of needing the experiences to somehow satisfy us. Instead of taking energy from the world and the people in our lives, we can provide energy. We can enjoy material possessions without feeling a need for them. This is true freedom. (John 8:31 – 32) It's the freedom from a life of sin and illusion that Jesus spoke about. Freedom from the need to engage in idolatry.