As secularization assists in the spread of the principles of secularism and the dismissal of our spirituality as part of our humanity then we are also striped of our community.
The third vice, individualism, replaces community since science and technology are sought as the “Providence of man” thus freeing us from the bonds that once held us dear, the bonds of love. The Dalai Lama makes a similar observation by stating, “We find modern living organized so that it demands the least possible direct dependence on others.” (Dalai Lama 7) David Orr also notes that, referring to teenagers,“They mirror the larger self-indulgence of a society organized by machines, quick gratification and excessive individualism.” (Orr 174) This is a sad reality since with more knowledge there should be more compassion, and a stronger drive to use our knowledge to help people more, to take better care of our environment; not to degrade ourselves and abuse the environment. In the words of David Orr, “ It makes far better sense to reshape ourselves to fit a finite planet than to attempt to reshape the planet to fit our infinite wants.” (Orr 239) It is ironic that it is the people we deem intellectuals are the same ones that cause the most damage on planet earth. Palmer call this aspect “the failure of modern knowledge.”(Palmer 9)
Peter Maurin, author of Easy Essays,said “Education should not just reflect society but shape it” (Lecture 6/2) Unfortunately American education reflects society more than it shapes it. David Orr agrees with this observation by stating that, “educational institutions, more often than not, reward ...safe conformity to the prevailing standards. Educational institutions are not widely known for encouraging boat rockers....” (Orr 231) So as our culture deifies science and overlooks spirituality, the educational system follows suit and stresses objectivity and dismisses subjectivism instead of emphasizing a combination of the two. Palmer informs us that the root meaning of “objective” is to “put against, to oppose.” He warns, “This is the danger of objectivism: it is a way of knowing that places us in a adversary relation to the world...we are not required to change so that the whole community might flourish; instead, the world must change to meet our needs.” (Palmer 68)
West Jackson said that, “Education should be about the transmission of lasting values.” (Lecture 5/17) Values are spiritual (not physical/material). The Bible says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Gal. 5. 22-23) There is no law against such values, there is nothing in the constitution that condemn any of those values.
As Wendell Berry would say, “By choosing it what are we choosing against?” (Lecture 4/14) By choosing the secularized route and by adopting the vices of secularism and making them our values we are choosing against those dear values. By choosing to be materialistic we forget our spirituality and that is where true values such as love for our neighbors takes root and thrive. Secularization has stripped off the top soil that is needed for the “fruit of the spirit” to grow.
Practicals
So what can be done within the educational system to change this trend, to stop reflecting society and start shaping it?
As Palmer stresses, “We need “wholesight,” a vision of the world in which mind and heart unite...Only as we can see whole can we and our world be whole.” (Palmer xi)
A “spiritual revolution,”(Dalai Lama 17) needs to take place. So what does a spiritual revolution look like? What does “spiritual renewal” (Orr 59) entail?
->I think that this renewal first starts at the individual level. It starts by everyone taking responsibility for how each of us has contributed to the problems in our culture and in the vices that we have cherished; by admitting that we have neglected our spirituality which is just as much, if not more, a part of our humanity than our physical, material bodies.
->This revolution then proceeds by asking hard questions those questions that we avoid since we may be afraid of the truth that lies behind the question. We avoid asking ourselves hard questions for example, questions about spirituality, because the act of asking them is admitting ignorance,the same ignorance that we thought was cured by education and advances in science and technology. David Orr claimed that it is a “myth that ignorance is a solvable problem. Ignorance is not a solvable problem; it is rather an inescapable part of human condition. We cannot comprehend the world in its entirety.” (Orr 239)
->What's this spiritual revival thing about? And why is it so necessary?
The second principle of secularism states that “Science is the available Providence of man". So in this secularized society, Science is on the pedestal. In his book Ethics for the New Millennium, the Dalai Lama further explores this issue. He wrote that, “Many people, believing that science has “disproved religion,” make the further assumption that because there appears to be no final evidence for any spiritual authority, morality itself must be a matter of individual preference.”(Dalai Lama 10)
Paul Cozby, a Psychology professor at Calstate Fullerton, in his book, Methods in Behavioral Research, he explains the different methods of acquiring knowledge. These methods include: tenacity, intuition, authority, faith, rationalism, empiricism and the scientific method. (Cozby Chapter 1) He then goes on to say,“some beliefs cannot be tested hence are beyond the realm of science. In science, however, ideas must be evaluated on basis of available evidence that can used to support or refute ideas.” (Cozby 6) So even though all the various methods of acquiring knowledge listed above are different from each other and are all valid to some extent, science has been exalted while the other methods have been dismissed as “primitive" methods.
And as secularization, materialism and empiricism are increasingly emphasized and as science is deified we ignore what the Dalai Lama refers to as our “inner dimension,” our spirits. The secular ground that has been created, prevalent in most American classrooms, leaves no room for the spiritual being.
The term ‘spiritual’ means “relating to God and relating to a person’s beliefs as opposed to his or her physical or material needs.”(Oxford dictionaries) It also means having the nature of ‘spirit’ which is the non-physical part of a person that is the seat of emotions and character; the soul.” (Oxford dictionaries) Since the spirit is the seat of moral nature it is also the seat of ethics. As science and technology advances, the influence of religion is weakening in America and there is a decline in ethics.“Science has replaced religion as the final source of knowledge...yet it does not address issues of how to lead a life a moral life.” (Dalai Lama 10) David Orr also expresses disapproval and states that,“Science and technology cannot solve all our problems, but a “spiritual renewal” is also necessary.” (Orr 59)
Concluding thoughts:
Science and technology fails to satisfy.
There's something being excluded: Our spirits. Our spiritual side is left unattended.
(This has been a side dish in the series entitled: Reforming America, Reforming Education. There's more courses to come. Stay tuned...)
(Course 2 in "Reforming the American System, Reforming Education": Materialism)
Materialism is referenced in the first principle of secularism, “Improvement of this life by material means.” This vice has been indoctrinated through “The American dream” which is then passed down from generation to generation by most Americans and which attracts and is fervently sought after by many immigrants and prospective immigrants around the world.
The goal of education has become materialistic. Many students when asked why they are and should be in school have the same response: "To get the education they need to get into higher paying jobs so that they can make more money, and live a happy, comfortable life with their loved ones." As David Orr puts it, “Education has been whittled down to smaller purposes of passing tests and ensuring large “ lifetime earnings.”” (Orr 61) In short, the American dream tells us that Education is money-oriented since "money buys happiness". There is nothing wrong with pursuing happiness but this kind of view of education is fueled by greed. Instead, a better view of the goal of education should be, to gain wisdom and knowledge so that we can better serve each other and live in harmony with our environment as well. As Palmer puts it, “The goal of knowledge arising from love is the reunification and reconstruction of broken selves and world.” (Palmer 8)
In the Bible, we come across the story of King Solomon, one of Israel’s early kings. In the story God asks Solomon to ask him for whatever he wanted. Solomon asked for “a discerning heart to govern the people and to distinguish between right and wrong.”(New International Version, 1 Kings 3.9) God was pleased with his request and granted him not just the wisdom and discernment that he asked for but wealth, riches and honor as well. There is much to be learnt from that story. First, it reiterates the point at hand, that our quest for knowledge and wisdom should be driven by a desire to serve others and not just ourselves. Another lesson we can derive from Solomon’s story is that as we seek knowledge for the purpose of love and service to others, it is then that we shall be granted happiness for ourselves (*importance of priorities...It also says something about The Source and the ultimate Goal of Wisdom -upcoming post!)
Does Money Buy Happiness?- The Social Psychology of Materialism
The UCLA / American Council on Education conducts an annual
survey of nearly a quarter million entering collegians. In 1970, 39% of the incoming freshmen wanted to "be very well off financially" over " to develop a meaningful philosophy of life" and in 2009 that number went up to 78% !!! Myers observes that materialism is up and spirituality is down. He remarks, " Think of it as today's American Dream: life, liberty, and the purchase of happiness."
So does money really buy happiness? Are rich nations happier? Ronald Ingelhart finds that the income-happiness correlation is "surprisingly weak." Since
1957, Americans are now twice as rich but no happier. The divorce rate has doubled. Teen suicide rate has more than doubled, and more people than ever (especially teens and young adults) are depressed. David Myers, a social Psychologist, calls this "The American Paradox" -"soaring wealth and shrinking spirit." He states that: "More than ever, we have big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low morale, more comfortable cars and more road rage. We excel at making a living but we often fail at making a life. We celebrate our prosperity but yearn for purpose. We cherish our freedoms but long for connection. In an age of plenty we feel spiritual hunger." (Myers, 2009)
More social Psychologists confirm this finding that materialism fails to satisfy. That people who strive most for wealth tend to live with lower well-being.
"Seek extrinsic goals- wealth, beauty, popularity- and you may find anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic ills." (Eckersley, 2005; Sheldon & others, 2004)
"Those who strive for intrinsic goals such as intimacy, personal growth, and contribution to the community, experience a higher quality of life." (Tim Kasser, 2000,2002)
"People who identify themselves with expensive possessions experience fewer positive moods." (Emily Solberg, Ed Diener and Michael Robinson)
Need I say more? By the way I didn't search for this information in some "religious" publication. It's from the last chapter of my Exploring Social Psychology textbook (by David Myers). So if you don't want to hear this from me then take it from the "professionals."
"The challenge for wealthy nations, then is to foster improving standards of living without encouraging materialism and consumerism that displaces the deep need to belong." (David Myers) How??
If it's not all about the money, then what is it all about??? Stay tuned for the concluding course of the series. But first here's a side dish: Science on the Pedestal and the next course: Individualism.
(This was part of a research paper I wrote last Spring hence all the references)
“There is an illness in our culture; it arises from our rigid separation of the visible world from the powers that undergird and animate it.” (Palmer 10) Modern education embodies and perpetuates the chief vice of Western culture which is secularization, as well as the other vices such as materialism, and individualism.
These problematic values come into play within the educational system in form of objectivity, the deification of science and technology, a cultivation of competition over community and a decline in ethics in regard to how we treat each other and our environment. This essay seeks to especially expose the dangerous effects of objectivity (a form of compartmentalization) which is enforced in conventional education and to explore the necessity of a “spiritual revolution,”(Dalai Lama 17) not just as the solution to the ethical problem but also as a solution to the problem posed by the “objectivist education” (Palmer 40).
The overarching vice in Western culture that influences education is secularization. An important promoter of secularization is the “separation of church and state,” a phrase derived from Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury baptist association. The First ammendment of the constitution states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;...” (US const., amend. 1) The noble purpose of this amendment is evident and commendable. The American population
is diverse in many aspects including in religious beliefs hence it was in the best interest of accommodating this diversity that this wall of separation was erected. In other words, instead of having one religion established and the others disregarded or dissolved, this “neutral ground” was created as a compromise solution. However, does the interpretation and implementation of the first amendment match up to it original purpose? Was “neutral ground” created whereby no one religion is promoted nor any religious beliefs prohibited?
Within the school system the first amendment was meant to keep administrators and teachers from endorsing their own religious viewpoints to their students, and it was also meant to keep them from “inhibiting and denigrating any particular religion, religion in general or lack of religious belief.” (Anti-Defamation League website) On the contrary, there is a double standard in how it is implemented. The freedom from religion (the establishment clause of the first amendment) is emphasized more and is more readily implemented than the freedom of religion (the free exercise clause).
From my four years experience in an American public high school and university,most of the instances when the teacher talked about religion, it involved ridiculing it or those who practiced it. For a more specific example, my high school AP English teacher once joked about how her brother had found a lot of obscene things in the Bible. I found it offensive that she shared that story the way she did; first, because it encouraged students to also ridicule those who read and believed in the Bible. Second, she did not provide the context of those obscene things that her brother found. She left out whether the Bible promoting the obscene things or demoting them. Third, without realizing it, as a literature teacher she was being hypocritical in her method of criticizing the Bible. If it was another literary text, say Hamlet, and a student in her class did not read it but decides to give an analysis based on what her brother said, the student would receive a failing grade for not reading the text and making her own analysis. Yet the teacher goes unpunished for making a similar mistake. (Hey teacher, if you are reading this... I know you were only sharing your opinion. I didn't share mine back then so I'm making up for it now. But I have nothing against you personally. You were a great teacher!) This is one of many such incidences that made my fellow classmate decide to attend a private Christian university. She said, “ In public schools you are not free to be yourself. You are not free to be a Christian and to express your faith. So I am going to a Christian university where I will be free to do that.”
In essence, the wall of separation between church and state does not provide a
“neutral ground” in which no one religion is favored but instead,it favors "secular faith". This trend can also be observed at the university level where some professors proudly and freely talk about their disbelief in God or religions in their classrooms in a way that puts down students who believe otherwise. They manage to get away
with this by thinking that since they do not believe in the existence of God or other religious components, that they are not on the same level as everyone else who does. Hence that point of view puts them on the outsidewhere the first amendment “does not apply to them,”thus giving them the leeway to denigrate religion in the educational setting.
Another way that some professors elude not fully implementing the first amendment in the classroom is by defending themselves against terminologies that they may think do not apply to them such as “religion” and “beliefs” with those they hold onto such as “science” and “tolerance.”
For further clarification and emphasis, a few terms need to be defined. To begin with, according to the Oxford dictionary, religion is “a belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.” It is also defined as “a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.”(Oxford dictionary)Furthermore, in his article on the “True Definition of Belief”, Ty Bennet defines belief as an “inward conviction and a feeling of certainty about something.”
Like mentioned before, these professors who violate the first amendment, many of whom are atheist or agnostic, are able to do so without realizing it since their focus is usually on their “disbelief” which separates them from those who do “believe.” But I would like to emphasize, the second part of the definition of religion,“it is a pursuit or interest that someone ascribes supreme importance.” With that it can be
argued that atheism is not just a disbelief, a notion that is over-emphasized and results in the separation that exists, but also it is a belief of its own kind. A belief that a god or gods do not exist and that the material world is all there is. This view of atheism as a belief, brings it down to the same level as all the different kinds of beliefs that exist and that the first amendment applies to.
It should also be noted that secularization and secularism, though different, go hand-in-hand. “Secularization is a process... that gives way to ‘secularism’”(Cline, about.com) - which is an ideology, a philosophy. George Jacob Holyoake, the originator of the term "secularism," defined it most explicitly in his book English Secularism,
“Secularism is a code of duty pertaining to this life founded on considerations purely human, and intended mainly for those who find theology indefinite or inadequate, unreliable or unbelievable. Its essential principles are three:
1. The improvement of this life by material means.
2. That science is the available Providence of man.
3. That it is good to do good. Whether there be other good or not, the good of the present life is good, and it is good to seek that good." (Holyoake)
Since secularization, through the separation of church and state, led to the exclusion of religion in public life per say, (it did not leave a "vacuum" like it was intended to) “religion” was replaced by secularism . Secularization has fostered a decrease of the influence of religion on the American society, and as the influence of religion declined so did ethics.
What impact does this have within the educational system? C.S. Lewis testifies that “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.”(Lewis, The Abolition of Man) The ideal vacuum that was thought to have been created by the exclusion of religion in the public sector has actually been occupied by the subordinate vices: materialism and individualism. Stay tuned...
If you answered "no" to the question in the title maybe you are lying or just oblivious (like I was) to the fact that problems with trust/love is at the root of your issues, or maybe you are actually good at fully trusting and fully loving (good for you! read on anyway lol).
So God is a God of order and there is a specific order that He sets in place so that without it, true growth does not result. Check out these verses and try to see the order and their interrelationship.
"They (the early church) devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." (Acts 2:42)
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”(Matthew 22:37-40)
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:31-33)
Did you catch the order?In all of the above verses God is first and the rest follows.
Did you catch the relationship between the different items listed?
Let's revisit Acts 2:42..., if God and His Word ("the apostles teaching") are not put first, true fellowship cannot follow (if fellowship is not happening, that is a sign that people are not devoting themselves to God's Word), and if people are not sharing their lives together ( "breaking of bread"-communion), they will not want to share their spiritual lives with each other (being devoted to prayer).
*So with this post I'm gonna share what God has been teaching me about the number one thing on all those lists, that is, being devoted to God (His Word) aka trusting Him aka loving aka abiding in Him and in His love aka staying connected to the vine. Ok, enough of that, I'll be using John 15 as the main text.
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John 15
The Vine and the Branches
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
The passage above talks about "bearing fruit". It's a common misconception that bearing fruit in this passage means doing the work of an evangelist and winning people over to Christ. That's a misconception (of this particular passage) since it puts the focus on us and the work we do for God. But Jesus says, "apart from me you can do nothing." So the fruit that He is talking about is not based on work, He is actually talking about the fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control). And it is that fruit that the Holy Spirit bears in us that attracts people to Himself.
I have heard it mentioned and I think it's true that we don't have joy and peace (well I know it's true for myself). Most of us when we do meet up, we are usually complaining to each other (complaining is a sign that we're not at rest, not at peace).
"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)
But He calls us to work from a place of rest- (1.)rest in God's power (not ours) to transform lives and (2.)rest in the fact that we are His children and just that fact makes Him pleased with us.
1.)Example from Scripture of working while resting in God's Power
"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe." (1 Timothy 4:9-10)
2.)Resting in the fact that we are His children and that pleases Him :)
Let's look at the baptism of Jesus.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17)
So even before Jesus began His ministry (teaching, healing, making disciples etc) God tells Him that He is pleased with Him =)
So at a first glance, it looks like Jesus does nothing and God is pleased with that. But let's take a second glance,...Jesus actually does something!a)He lines Himself up with God's will-"The Kingdom Perspective",what is proper to God- even though it ran contrary to the earthly perspective, what seemed proper to John the baptist (not to baptize Jesus). So from this perspective, "doing nothing" (rest) is actually something since its acknowledging God's power and supreme will.
b)Jesus receives the Holy Spirit. And right after this passage, "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (Matt. 4:1)
So it is God's will for us to receive the Holy Spirit to guide us and to rid us of self-reliance (pruning) and to equip us for spiritual battle (Ephesians 6. Ex. Sword of the Spirit, Fruit of the Spirit, Pray in the Spirit) and to unify and to edify us (strengthen) the body of Christ so that we can be effective in ministry (the Gifts of the Spirit).
So from the Matt. 4:1, why does Jesus need affirmation from God that He is God's Son (He definitely knew that) and why did He need the Holy Spirit to lead him to be tempted by the devil????
This is because the devil was going to attack Jesus' identity as God's Son. Check it out for yourself! Each time the devil tempted Him He said, "If you are the Son of God, do this..."
So that's why Jesus needed to the Holy Spirit to lead Him and that's why we need the Holy Spirit to lead us as well since the devil is accusing us day and night (Revelation 12:10) and tries as hard as he can to blind us from our real identity. And he uses our weaknesses, our flesh to fight against us.
So let us not fall for the devil's lies. Let us hang on to the fact that we are sons and daughters of God.
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live."
"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." (Romans 8:12-17)
"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:1-10
2.Through Faith (Read all of Hebrews 4)
"Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,..." (Hebrews 4:1-3)
---> God wants us to believe Him and take Him at His Word. If we fail to do this, we are like the Israelites wandering around the desert (God let them wander around the desert until they learnt to trust Him. He wanted to them to have faith in Him and not to lean on their own understanding, their own plan for their life (Proverbs 3:5-6) but most of them were stubborn and didn't want to give up that control to God so by being stubborn, they were keeping themselves from entering God's rest (the promised land) and most of them died before they saw it or before they entered it (e.g Moses).
***> But God knows it's hard for us to trust Him. He is patient with us. And in the same chapter we learn of His mercy and grace:
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of gracewith confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4: 14-16)
So what does it look like to apply this message practically to our lives?
We need to be in God's Word- Take the time to read it.
We need to have faith. (Read Hebrews 11)What's faith again? (vs 1)
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
****Faith is super-important because it is the only way through which we can abide (remain/rest) in God's love and in His Word. WHY? (Ecclesiastes 3)
-- Because:
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
*We need to have faith because we go through different seasons and we can't depend on our emotions (what we feel like doing, for example, if we feel like praising God, if we feel His love) so all we'll have to hold onto is the FACTS, the TRUTH about God and His promises because they are unchanging. God doesn't change even though our emotions do.
* We think love is just an emotion, that is, if we don't feel it then it doesn't exist. That's not true, it's not just an emotion. Love is also a fact, a truth, a knowledge. God is love so His love is also unchanging. Yes there may be things in the way that keep us from experiencing His love (feeling it), maybe the season we are in, but that doesn't change the fact that He loves us. So abiding in His love means believing He loves us even when we don't feel it.
3. Praise God all the time. Especially when you don't feel like it-> its a weapon against the devil and his plan to keep you from worshiping God by bringing various trials and temptations (example: the life of Job-> the devil was trying to get him to curse God, to not praise God.)
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4)
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5: 1-5)
What's the big deal about this whole trusting God message??
Let's get to the GOAL ; God's goal for us = Finding Rest in Jesus (intimacy).
*First read Psalm 23.
1. He wants to lead us into deeper trust, into His rest ("quiet waters"), He wants us to "lack nothing", He wants to give us victory over our enemies, He wants to bless us (He wants to show us His "goodness" and "lovingkindness" "all the days of our lives"). Yeah He just wants to be with us, and intimacy has other perks :)
2. He wants us to keep bearing fruit no matter what season we are in.
So that even though we are in a season that circumstances or the devil keeps us from using our gifts or doing the good works God has called us to do, God will keep bearing fruit within us and He'll keep attracting birds (people who don't know Him) through us. So even though you are in a dry season, don't let the devil lie to you that you are useless to the body or to outreach, God is pruning you so that you can stand firm in your identity in Him and be of more use to His body. How neat is that?Isn't God awesome! Surely, the devil is defeated!
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the LORD. (Isaiah 54:17)
I'll close with this Scripture: (Jeremiah 17:7-8)
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
Be blessed! Let's help each other apply this message. Another practical idea I heard and that I want to try is: keeping the Sabbath. If you have more practical ideas, questions, comments, feel free to share =)
