What Binds, Drives and Isolates

According to Malcolm Muggeridge, three things that bind [enslave] us, drive us and isolate us are:

1. "excessive desire to possess things"
2. "devotedness to the gratification of the bodily appetites; free indulgence in carnal or sensual pleasures; luxuriousness; voluptuousness; lewdness"
3. "belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others"

He uses the words cupidity, sensuality and vanity--words that aren't used much these days, so I went to hunt for their meanings. Who knew that cupidity has to do with greed and not love? When I searched for the meaning of sensuality, many wanted to equate the word with sex but, while sex is one of the bodily appetites, it is only one.

I think, of the three, sensuality is the one that catches me the most. I like comfort and do as much as I can to avoid discomfort. I like luxuries and indulge in the ones I can afford. I like to feel good and do what I can to ensure I do. It never occurred to me that this could be wrong. Is it? I can see how devotedness to lewdness ("preoccupation with sex and sexual desire," lust, obscenity and indecency) is wrong but simple luxuries and comforts? It's something I'm going to have to think about.

What are your thoughts?

Malcolm Muggeridge in Jesus Rediscovered as quoted in Learning from Jesus: A Spiritual Formation Guide by Renvaré, page 29.

Definition of "cupidity" from http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/inf

Definition of "sensuality" from http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Sensuality/

Definition of "vanity" from http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/vanity?view=uk

Definition of "lewdness" from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lewdness

It Was a Wonderful Week!

Greetings, friends!

Tom and I returned home from camp late yesterday afternoon. I had a wonderful, restful time and am glad he urged me to go. My time of socializing and mixing with others, vs. alone time was a good mix, I think. I attended sessions and had a good time chatting over meals but, for the most part, I spent the other time at our cabin--outside on the deck when the weather was good and inside in a comfortable leather recliner looking through large windows to the lake and trees when the weather was cold and/or raining.

I had hoped to catch up on the book reviews I want to do, but managed only two or three, which I plan to post here soon. It is difficult to review a book when it's been a number of weeks or even months since I've read it, so I may give up on reviewing the books I've read since April, simply list them and hopefully be more able to write soon after reading books from now on.

It's good to be home, though I thoroughly enjoyed myself at camp, and enjoyed the connections and reconnections with the people there. There is much in this house that needs attending too, so as God gives me the energy, I intend to do what I can about it. There is so much I'm eager to share with you all, but I'm feeling compelled to do some housework so I'll write more later.

Thank you to all who were praying for me and us.

Away for a Week

Tom and I are heading out to a lakeside camp for the week. I had a meltdown Thursday, Friday and Saturday and wasn't going to go, but Tom convinced me, so off I go. Please pray that this time together will be a healing time for me personally and for us as a couple.

Blessings to you all.

Wounds and Reconciliation

The last thirty hours have been very difficult for me. This evening I took a gander through some of the long-neglected blogs to which I am subscribed and found one that spoke very closely to where I am: Back on...reconciliation by Kenny Warkentin. The entire post is worth reading but I want to quote what specifically hit me:

...when someone wrongs us, or we hold all the offenses in until one day it explodes and we put a boundary down and say, you hurt me and so you are unsafe. We spend so much time with the issue in our head, and never talk about it...and then we think it easier to just cut the person out of our lives, rather than realize that we too are in the wrong.

I'm not quick to cut people out of my life--in fact I'm loathe to do it--but I have labelled at least one person as unsafe because of sustained wrongs that have hurt me.

Recently I heard some great teaching on how David walked this out in his own life. Walking in meekness in the face of injustice. How often do we walk with meekness when we face injustice? When do we give it over to God to be our advocate...our help...our friend?

How do we walk "in meekness in the face of injustice?"

It got me thinking of my own life, and how I am prone to not speak out of [because of] passivity, out of [because of] the thought that the other person may not like me anymore. I am being challenged to step out of that and speak truth... I want to ask the Holy Spirit to search me...so that I can work out my sin. I am not happy to stay stuck or in the same place, and I value people enough to want reconciliation, restoration, repair.

Search me, O Lord, and know my heart today.

Try me O Saviour, know my thoughts I pray.

See if there be some wicked way in me.

Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free!

--James E. Orr, 1936

Canada Day Outdoors

The overhanging trees darken the patio where I sit, despite the still-not-black sky above. It's 10:30 on the evening of Canada Day but it's still too light in the sky for the promised fireworks. Here against the back of my house, however, all is dark except for the citronella votive candle burning beside me (and doing little to keep mosquitoes away), the glow of my laptop screen and the embers of a fading fire Tom lit for me before going to bed.

I've been sitting here for the last four or five hours, enjoying the quiet absence of family and neighbours, the shade of the trees above me and the perfect weather for sitting outdoors. Most people in the city will have been to one or more of the various festive events throughout the city. Tom was at Assiniboine Park to watch the taiko drumming, Erik was in Osborne Village where this major thoroughfare is closed for the occassion and Mikael spent the day with friends at Grand Beach. I suspect that the Forks is where the biggest crowd will have been--it's a popular place to be if you don't mind cycling or walking there from some distant parking place. Indeed, each venue has the same problem--so popular that parking is impossible.

When I was younger, I would rally the family, dress the boys and myself in red and white and arrive at the City Park long before everyone else. This ensured easy parking and, with a picnic tucked away for later, it meant a long but fun day for all of us. These days, I'd rather avoid the crowds. I never used to understand that about others, especially those who were older. What could be better than to celebrate the day in a crowd of people? Here I am, "older," and prefering the comfortable solitude of my back yard--though not the mosquitoes who brazenly make it past my defensives against them.

I feel blessed. Tom has worked hard to weed my gardens for me and plant the flowers I bought--I haven't had the energy--and has made this a pleasant place to sit. Whole summers have gone past in previous years when the only time I was in the back yard was to move from house to car and back again. Summers are too short in Winnipeg to spend inside and so I intend to be out here more often this year. (Ah! The sound of the fireworks is booming into my neighbourhood.) I avoid the sun but the back of our house faces east so I have shade once the hottest part of the day begins.

I've enjoyed the squirrels' incessant chattering, the robin who graced me with his appearance and the sparrows that came to visit--especially the one that fought with a large caterpillar before flying away with its catch. The pile of books I thought I might spend the evening reviewing have gone untouched. The phones haven't rung. My family have come by at various times to observe the oddity of Mom sitting outside, though none have joined me for more than a few minutes.

And now as the sky darkens and the unseen fireworks punctuate the silence also broken by nearby traffic and squabbling squirrels, I feel at rest. Welcome, Summer! Happy Canada Day!

Which is Worse?

The following gave me a measure of amusement when I read it:

"If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he next comes to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination."

Thomas de Quincey (English author)

Normally we think the progression happens in the other direction, but I think de Quincey has a point. We think of murder and theft as big sins and procrastination and invicivility as minor offenses, hardly to be considered (I think I'm queen of procrastination), but maybe they're not. The average murderer murders once but how often is the average person uncivil or procrastinating?

What do you think?

Rick Warren and the Islamic Society

Rick Warren, author of the wildly popular Purpose-Driven Life will be speaking at the Islamic Society's annual convention this weekend. It seems an odd thing for a Baptist pastor to do, but he won't be alone. Rabbi Burton Visotzky, a leader of Conservative Judaism will also be a featured speaker.

How is it that Christians and Jews are showing support for the Islamic Society, or indeed any Islamic group, by their high-profiled presence? What kind of support does their presence indicate? Surely Warren is not suggesting that Islam is a religion worth pursuing, so what is he saying? Is it reasonable to expect Judaism, Islam and Christianity to live at peace with each other? Is it desirable? Is Warren's presence at the convention similar to Paul speaking at the Areopagus in Athens or more like the alliances Judah sought to make with Egypt? Where do we draw the line between living at peace with and acknowledging the right of others to choose other than Jesus, and embracing other religions as equally valid? Is there any difference between this and a Buddhist leader speaking at a major Christian event?

What are your thoughts?

Words--What Power?

“‘In the beginning was the Word (Logos),’ hearkens back to memories of God speaking the universe into being, God calling Abraham to leave his homeland, or Isaac uttering a blessing over Jacob instead of Esau. As these examples indicate, words had great meaning in the Jewish world. Once a word was spoken, the event was happening. Words couldn’t be taken back.”¹

Few have this view of words today. There was a time when a man’s word was as good as a signed contract. In those days, the idea of words not able to be taken back was understood. Today, it seems like words have little power—often because there is little meaning behind them. Yet I have no trouble understanding the power of words that affirm or reject—especially when directed at me. Far too easily, they make my day or ruin my week.

What power do my words have? Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we could tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea and it would. I can’t imagine my words ever having such power, yet God told Moses to speak to a certain rock and command water to come from it. Moses disobeyed, but God obviously had the expectation that Moses’ words could accomplish this task. Peter’s words had power when he told the lame man at the gate to get up and walk. Paul spoke and Elymas’ eyes became blind.

Jesus told his disciples, "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18 NIV) How was this binding and loosening accomplished if not through words?

So what is the power of words? Can I say anything and expect it to happen? That hasn’t been my experience. Besides, what if the person beside me says the opposite? Whose words have power at that moment?

Jesus is the Word and he has all power and authority,² which he has chosen to share with his followers,³ so we know we aren’t powerless. At the same time, our words are not magic so whatever we say comes to pass.

Somewhere there is a balance. Where that balance is, I don’t know. I do know I must pay attention to my words—both as a Christian and a writer. There may be more power in what I say than I realize.

Lord, I want all my words to glorify and honour you. Please remove all power from any words I speak or write that might diminish who you are.

In what ways have you seen the power of words—positive or negative, yours or someone else’s?

1. Learning from Jesus: A Spiritual Formation Guide by Renovaré. p.16
2. Matthew 28:18, 19
3. Luke 10:17-19

Breathing the Spirit

A week after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples, commissioned them to go as God the Father had sent him, and then "breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" John 20:20-22 NIV As I looked at that passage yesterday, I wondered: What happened when he did that? So today I went hunting.

The word "breathed" in Greek is emfusao, which means "to blow or breathe upon." It is used only here in the New Testament and, according to "The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon," is used only once in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament used in Jesus' day) and that in Genesis 2:7 where God "breathed into [Adam's] nostrils the breath of life."

God emfusao into Adam's nostrils the breath of life.

Jesus emfusao on his disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

John would have known the use of emfusao to describe that first breath from God into man and intentionally chose it instead of a more common word to describe what Jesus did in that locked room. Why? Did the disciples feel something new and different happening to them? Did it feel like they had suddenly been filled with life?

"Spirit" in Greek is pneuma, which has several meanings and is used 380 times in the New Testament. It is the word used for the Spirit--he who is God--but note that the word "holy," hagios is used to describe the kind of pneuma: that which is most holy (which is a whole other study for this word hagios is also used to mean "saints," something we, as believers, are said to be). Pneuma is also the word for that spirit in us that is life ("i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated."), for angels and demons and for wind and the movement of air including the act of breathing.

Jesus breathed breath, life, spirit into his disciples but not just any breath, life or spirit, but that most holy of spirits, God. In essence, he, being God, breathed part of himself, God, into them.

Augustine in On the Trinity and in reference to this passage writes:

For that bodily breathing, proceeding from the body with the feeling of bodily touching, was not the substance of the Holy Spirit, but a declaration by a fitting sign, that the Holy Spirit proceeds not only from the Father, but also from the Son. For the veriest of madmen would not say, that it was one Spirit which He gave when he breathed on them, and another which He sent after his ascension (Acts ii.1-4). For the Spirit of God is one, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, the Holy Spirit, who worketh all in all.

I have no problem with the second half of this quote but I wonder: Was Jesus' breathing on his disciples just a sign or promise of what was to come at Pentecost as Augustine suggests (and with whom most commentators agree) or did something substantial occur? If so, why did John compare it to God's first breath into Adam? And if something substantial did occur, what was it and how did it differ from the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost? Any thoughts?

I Am on the Cross

One year in (Christian) high school, our class was sent into the neighbouring town to knock on people's doors, hand them a tract and initiate discussion about Jesus. The one couple I found most interested in discussion was Jehovah's Witness and after we had talked at length, they invited me to return and continue our conversation. I was young and naive and so confident about my faith and biblical knowledge that I had genuine hope of converting them. They, older and wiser, had the same design on me and were better equipped. After meeting weekly for some time, they successfully planted a kernel of doubt regarding Jesus' divinity--a doubt that continues to haunt me.

Yesterday's study time focused on this. In an attempt to wrap my mind around three paragraphs from Augustine's On the Trinity I did some googling and came across the following statement:

“... there would have been no cross without Jesus’ claim to be equal with God the Father...”*

Is this true? I wondered. Since my time with the Jehovah's Witnesses, I have found many passages that leave no doubt that Jesus is God but I would like to look at that quote in light of John 8. The Jews were asking Jesus who he was. After a lengthy discourse with them in the temple, Jesus said, "before Abraham was born, I am!" The Jews were so incensed at this statement, they picked up stones with the intention of killing him but he snuck away. Why was this sentence of his so incendiary?

When Moses asked God at the burning bush who he should say sent him, God answered, "This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I am has sent me to you.'" [Exodus 3:14] "I am" is the name God gave to himself. When Jesus used it to describe himself, the Jews recognized his statement as a claim to being God. This was blasphemous and the law had only one instruction about blasphemy: Kill the blasphemer!

This is why they were ready to stone him; this is why, in the end, they insisted he be crucified: He claimed to be God. Dare we believe otherwise?

*Allen Ross in "The Son of God, Begotten, Not Made." http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=166