"Love is the three legged stool"

Our command to love God and love our neighbor occurs at least five times in the New Testament.  We will not be able to obey love from our heart without profound trust in God. When we seek the good of others at our own expense it will allow us to be hurt or disappointed. This does not mean we are to endure physical or emotional abuse without protecting ourselves or others from evil, because love does not "enable" other people in sinful harmful patterns of behavior. Parents and authorities call this "tough love" that allows people to experience the consequences of their choices. Admonishing someone in love opens us up to rejection and misunderstanding. Therefore, to humbly and patiently correct someone is another way we abandon our own self-protection. So don't try to always cover or make excuses for someone who is causing hurt to themselves or others. 

How will we know when and how to confront a brother or sister whose sinful choices are harming themselves and others? When we sit on the "Three-legged-stool" of the Scripture, the Holy Spirit and submission to the church, then we will know what love requires. It is neither wise nor helpful to judge another while sitting on a stool with only one or even two legs. Submit to authority, meditate on the context of Scripture (not just isolate a few verses here and there) and make sure you are in the same spirit as Jesus and the Father (not a bad spirit). Then God will give you wisdom and grace to "as much as possible live in peace with all men."

1 Cor 13:4-7  Love is patient and kind. Love is not proud, rude, or demanding its own way. Love is not irritable and keeps no record of wrongs. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance."

"God is love." "Let love be sincere." "Don't let your love grow cold."

-PD

Desire Much, Pray Much, but Demand Nothing

"Sometimes I get what I think want then it turns out I don't want it." (The pleasure in sin for a while-Hebrews 11:25)

"Sometimes I work hard to stop doing what is wrong and that I don't want to do, but I don't get what I really want." (see Romans 7).

We usually don't willfully break God's outward commands, which is good but that doesn't mean we have recognized and dealt with sin in our hearts.  (Matt 23:26 "first clean the inside of the cup.")

Both obvious and subtle relational sins violate God's command to love. What does loving our neighbor look like? (See Mt 23:23 neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness).

The "common people” heard Jesus gladly, and He was called "friend of sinners." He ate with tax collectors and spoke with adulteresses and allowed a prostitute to touch him. He set us an example by not protecting himself from death and dishonor let alone inconvenience. "He was acquainted with sorrow." "He set us an example how to suffer."

Self-protection is a sin when our legitimate thirst for receiving love and feeling valued creates a demand to not be hurt that overrides a commitment to lovingly involve ourselves with others.

Our demand to avoid pain is a set up for offense and can lead to even more unhealthy patterns of withdrawal or manipulation. This isolation can lead to outward sins as we seek to satisfy our thirst or numb the pain.

Where are the answers? Are solutions "out there somewhere" or do we need to face our fears and wounds and sins and demands and unmet expectations and take all to Jesus? When we come to Him at the cross we find our sins and pain are in his wounds. When we risk being vulnerable with trusted friends about how we feel and what we need or even want, then we open a door into the grace and mercy and faithfulness of God's love. We can do that for one another - be a safe place. And by becoming more real (like the Velveteen Rabbit in the children's story) we will feel more pain but also more love. We will become more loving and less self-protective.

Perhaps a good place to begin is to trust Jesus more and repent of my frustrating expectations on others and myself-maybe even of God. Then I won't have so many demands of avoiding pain from others, and God.

Job was a good and righteous man but he did have a "demanding spirit" (Job 23:4-7). Later on Job faced God and realized his demanding spirit was rooted in self-justification instead of humble faith and trust in God (Job 40:8).

Maybe a good mantra would be, "Desire much, pray much, but demand nothing." (Job 42:3, 5-6)

(For more insights read Larry Crabb's book Real Change is Possible if you're willing to start from the Inside Out.)

Dwight 

Being with Jesus as Friend: seek Union with His Heart

This week is the most beautiful and the most important of the Church’s year. It is the drama of our salvation and our life and also a week of profound renewal. We renew our baptismal life because we see again the battle that God in Christ wins against all the powers of darkness and destruction in our world and in our lives. We know that our baptism makes us participators in his victory and so we have the courage to follow him on his journey and to contemplate the mystery of his love for us.  Through this week, and especially as it breaks into the new life and light of Easter, we also renew our faith in Christ. We see that God’s way is not our way or the ways of our world. His power is not exercised through force or coercion or through ‘shock and awe’. His way is entirely different; it refuses to get caught up in all our traps and illusions. God’s way of saving us was the way we least expected; a shocking way – the way of weakness and humility; the way of powerlessness and foolishness; the way that is least comprehensible for us. The best way of praying this week is simply to follow it. All we have to do in our prayer is be open and receptive, content to follow and to receive what God chooses to give us. In this way our prayer enters into the way Christ lives it. He allows himself to be taken on a journey by the Father – ‘thy will be done.’ So, let scripture take you on this road. Be attentive to it; notice its details, entrust yourself to it. Don’t fill up your prayer with too many words or thoughts or petitions, ‘For your heavenly Father knows all that you need.’ Let each period of prayer begin simply by asking for the grace of this week: to be close to Christ as he does the will of the Father; to touch something of the mystery of his life and love. Try and get some sense of that as we hear this weekend’s Gospel Reading from Mark.

“Contemplation”

On Palm Sunday the crowd clamored for David’s Son, Messiah, to save them from Roman oppression and restore their kingdom. Place yourself in the story. Would you be caught up in the way the world thinks? Would you identify with self-righteous religious experts of the law but who lacked union with God’s heart? Or would you be seeking simply to be with Him-to know Him-to surrender all to Him-to love Him and follow Him?

What question would you ask him if alone? How does He answer?

Plan silent moments to give Him-be with Him-receive His love:

His last hours with friends: John chapters 12-17; Mt 26:47-68; Mt 27:32-50

Helps and Hindrances:
 

Helps: Give thanks daily and ask the grace to be with Him.

• You might meditate on Hymns like “Were You There” or “O Sacred Head Now Wounded,” When I Survey Wondrous Cross”…
• Watch one of the “Jesus Movies,” attend a special service, write a poem or contemplation to give Him; 
• Offer to Him weakness and disappointments… 
• Pray in the Spirit and spend time in wordless prayer of the heart.      
  

Hindrances: Examine, identify and exchange at the cross

• Exchange offenses at God or others with forgiveness
• Exchange busyness with quiet stillness
• Exchange anxiety and hurry with His peace and perspective
• Exchange unbelief or hard hearts and heads with a new heart.

FEEDBACK: Has there been any profit for you who did these meditations or groups to some degree?  Write down what you feel or experience. Share with others (and me). If you have received some help through the last six weeks of prayer meditations please let me know.

If there is anything you will carry forward-any new or renewed habit, or any fresh desire to know and love and be united in likeness to Christ…

If there is a new desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit and be His witness with love and the power of the Holy Spirit…

If there is a growing compassion and mercy to minister to those who are the most forgotten or neglected (instead of “blessing the blessed and serving the saved or just praying for the privileged)…

Please let me know how Christ is helping you become “joyful for a change.”

Small groups will not meet on Resurrection morning but come early for donuts and coffee fellowship. You are invited to meet at Dwight and Barbara’s  Wednesday evening, 7 PM. 


-PD



 

Week Five for March 22-28 leads us toward the final week of Lent - Holy Week

Preparation to be with Christ in his suffering  

Daily Prayer: I ask God that You open my mind and heart to know and to feel a deeply felt knowledge of the Lord Jesus made human for me. Help me move beyond my familiarity with the stories and be present with Jesus. Help me feel what He felt that I might know, love and follow Him more closely. Help me to see more clearly what is important to Him and observe his habits and the way He relates to others in humility, mercy, courage, trust and obedience to God.

Day One: A prophet without honor Read these passages and try to be present with Jesus-how did he feel? What was it like?

John 1:10-11 Jesus came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.

John 6:66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”

Mt 16:13-17:13 Jesus asked his closest followers, “Who do men say that I am?” then he asked them, “Who do you say that am?” Could Jesus have been looking for support from them? Following Peter’s pronouncement that He was Messiah, God’s Son, Jesus told them that He was about to suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders leading priests and teachers and that He would be killed but rise on the third day. Peter rebuked him and the disciples did not understand what Jesus was talking about.

DAY TWO

Reread whichever verses stand out to you in these passages and try to be present with Jesus but this time ask yourself how you feel? What action or response will you have?

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DAY THREE

The crowds mostly follow him because he multiplies food, heals them, works miracles, casts out demons, teaches them in stories they can relate to and authority that is different than the Pharisees, treats them with mercy, and He walks and lives among them just like them-poor, meek, lowly in heart.

All of us have felt rejection or loneliness. Some of us have been abused or feared for our lives. Jesus not only experienced all our temptations but also our human weakness and pain.

Hebrews 4:15 he faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. Heb 5:7 While on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud voice cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death… 8 though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.

Are you drawn to him in his loneliness as He prepares for his passion and realize you share in his suffering? Can you realize he has shared your pain your whole life long. What is it like for you to identify with his humanity and suffering?

Day Four: HELPS AND HINDRANCES

Over the past five weeks we have listed both helps and hindrances to meditating on our union with Christ.

If you have a list review hindrances (too busy, lack of desire, anger at God or unbelief that God will speak to you or work in you as you meditate, unconfessed sin or holding onto resentment or unforgiveness, etc)

Have you asked God for grace to help recognize when your heart is not responding to God?

What helps have you employed (like praying in the spirit, asking for help, starting a new holy habit of set time/place each morning and/or evening)?

Finish your week looking at these eleven times Jesus tried to prepare his friends for his coming passion (suffering). Remember that this coming Sunday is Palm Sunday (March 29 Holy Week).

Mt 16:21-23; Mk 8:31-33; Lk 9:22

Mt 17:22-23; Mk 9:30-32; Lk 9:44-45

Mark 10:32-34; Mt 20:17-19; Lk 18:31-34

Jn 3:13-17 (The Son of Man must be lifted up… God so loved the world… 

Looking ahead to Palm Sunday Jn 12:12-19;

Jn:23-33 Whoever loses their life for my sake shall find it…Now My soul is deeply troubled… when I am lifted up I will draw all men to myself.

How did the disciples respond? Imagine how you might have felt and responded?

Peter told Jesus, “No, Lord!” What question might you ask Jesus if you had been there? What response do you imagine He would have?

Lent has one more week after this week. The more grace we receive to know and love Jesus them more we will be impacted by his love as we approach Good Friday.

And the greater will be our celebration on Resurrection Day. The more we identify with his death the more we will share in his Life.

Consider these ways to know him better and identify with him this week and Holy Week:

• Pray with fasting of food and or media or other earthly comfort.
• Give to the poor by sharing your resources of time, talent or treasure.
• Repent of hindrances to his love, his word and his heart being in union with yours.
• Meditation in his word (and contemplation if God will give you this gift of your mind and heart being joined to his even for a brief time

What have you done that has helped you respond to Jesus? What will you do?

-PD