Monday, October 29, 2018

Spiritual Formation (Spiritual Reading part 2)

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[preface: Spiritual reading is not confined to authors from a specific denominational background.  Last week we looked at the works of Gregoryof Nyssa, an ancient Christian writer of the Catholic Church.  In the future, we’ll examine Bernard of Clairvaux, Brother Lawrence, Thomas Merton, and Henri Nouwen, all of who were also Catholics.  This week we are looking at some writings of Martin Luther, writings that are of Spiritual Formation in nature.  In this case, Luther’s works can aid a person’s Spiritual Formation.  Luther also wrote things of an anti-Semitic nature, writings that will not assist Spiritual Formation.  The point is, finding spiritual benefit from Christian literature, not agreement with everything an author ever wrote.]



But [Jesus] answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on Bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, Matthew 4:4)


            This coming Wednesday is October 31st, and it will be 501 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95-theses to the church door in Wittenberg, an act that many call the spark of the Protestant Reformation.  However, the act was not rebellion, it was an invitation to debate [that’s how you did it back then, long before Twitter].  And the theses were not a breakup letter with 95 points. Take, for example, the 25th theses, “The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like that power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way within his own diocese or parish” (Luther, kindle location 657).  It was a 1519 debate and the publishing of his 1520 tracts that led to his excommunication in 1521.


            However, today we’ll focus on one of Luther’s thoughts related to repentance and how that affects our formation.  Luther brought up the subject with a former teacher that he refers to as a dear Father in the Augustinian Order (Ibid. 775).  He wrote that love of God is the start of repentance, and this may be different from a modern view.  Do we begin our repentance with the knowledge that God loves us, or do we want to repent of our sins because of our love for God?  This is an essential thought because it brings up our relationship with sin and with God.  The goal of our formation is to be conformed to the image of the Son.  When Jesus was tempted by the devil, one of His clear motivating factors was His love for the Father.  It is this love that Luther is talking about when we consider our sins, and are moved to repentance.  Moreover, that repentance is directly tied to the change of our hearts and mind when we come to our senses in realizing our errors (Ibid. 782-3).


Written by Pastor Ozzy

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Works Cited 
1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.
Luther, Martin. 2018. The Collected Works of Martin Luther. Prague: e-artnow.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Spiritual Formation (Spiritual Reading part 1)

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♫ I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God, He calls me friend  (Houghton 2004)

“… encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,”… (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, Hebrews 3:13)

            For close to 1,985 years there have been Christians trying to follow Jesus.  Throughout those years, many Christians have left their writings, telling of their Spiritual Formation; although we may not agree on some issues, their writing can still inspire and instruct our lives today.  Without neglecting the nourishment that comes from personal time in the word of God, let us explore some of the writings that have come down to us from these Christians.  Many of them never knew what a car or an airplane was, some of them would not understand the internet; but they knew what it was to try to live their lives for God.

            Gregory of Nyssa was a Christian who lived during the fourth-century AD, and was known for his work, The life of Moses.  In this he wrote that Moses was God’s friend and serves as an example for us to copy (Gregory of Nyssa, 136).  Consider this passage:

… it is time for you, noble friend, to look to that example and, by transferring to your own life what is contemplated through spiritual interpretation of the things spoken literally, to be known by God and to become his friend.  This is true perfection: not to avoid a wicked life because like slaves we servilely fear punishment, nor to do good because we hope for rewards, as if chasing in on virtuous life by some business-like and contractual arrangement.  On the contrary, disregarding all those things for which we hope and which heave been reserved by promise, we regard falling from God’s friendship as the only thing dreadful and we consider becoming God’s friend the only thing worthy of honor and desire (Ibid. 137).

Although specifically Gregory was focused on Moses’ friendship with God (Exodus 33:11), we also hear Jesus’ words, “You are my friend, if you do what I command you” (John 15:14).  Motivation is a powerful tool and Gregory points out that there can be wrong motivations regarding our friendship with God.  The scriptures say that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7), but Gregory did not think that fear of punishment was an adequate motivator for seeking God’s friendship.  Instead, friendship with God was the only thing worth seeking and this not merely motivated by hope of gain, but because it can lead to what Gregory called the perfect life.
            
            Perhaps, you can reflect on this thought of God’s friendship as you also reflect on “[God] who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, 2 Timothy 1:9). Consider reading the Life of Moses by Gregory of Nyssa and next week, we’ll look at another Christian’s writings.

Written by Pastor Ozzy

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Works Cited

1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.

Houghton, Israel. 2004. "Friend of God." Live from Another Level.

Nyssa, Gregory Bishop of. 1978. Gregory of Nyssa. New York: Paulist Press.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Spiritual Formation (Prayer Life Part 6 Unanswered) Final


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But now, O Lord, You are our Father,
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all of us are the work of Your hand. (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, Isaiah 64:8)

In the United States, you can go to a bank or other lending institution and apply for a loan.  If the institution rejects your application, they are required to give some indication as to why they rejected your application.  God on the other hand, is not required to give any reason why one of your prayer requests was denied.  How many parents in world history have said no to something their child has asked for?  If you’re a parent, have you always given a full and detailed reason to your child?  If you’re a child or have been a child and had a parent deny your requests, did you always understand why?  Moreover, if they did explain why, were you always satisfied with their answers?

            As was pointed out in Part 3, one of the most common illustrations of our relationship with God found in scripture is the father-child relationship.  In fact, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus uses this illustration regarding prayer, “…[W]hat man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? … If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him”(Matthew 7:9 & 11 NASB).  Jesus’ words paint a picture of God as a good and loving Father who wants to provide for His children.  So, again, why does it seem that some prayers go unanswered?

            We’ve seen from Biblical passages, that prayers may be unanswered because we pray with wrong motives.  Also, sins and lack of repentance separates us from God, so much so, He’s even said that He won’t listen to some people’s prayers.  Some passages portray prayer as a struggle and like other spiritual disciplines (fasting, scriptural meditation, sitting quietly with God, etc.) there is purpose in the struggle.  Moreover, prayer is not an Aladdin’s lamp and God is not a genie just waiting for wish requests.  In His Gethsemane prayers, Jesus submitted His requests to the will of God; that is, He did not demand His own way, but accepted the will of His Father.  From this, we should also see that our prayers should always be submitted to the will of God.

            Therefore, perhaps, we experience unfruitfulness in our prayers for one or more of these reasons.  Examining our prayers based on scripture is one way for us to submit our minds, our desires and our lives to God.  If Spiritual Formation (Christ being formed in us) is our goal, then as difficult as it may be, unanswered prayers can be how God is reaching into our inner selves.  Keep praying.  Examine your prayers in the light of scriptures.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.*


Written by Pastor Ozzy

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1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.

* There are other scriptures that we did not cover, such as 1 Pet. 3:7 that suggests the way a man treats his wife may hinder his prayers.  And Daniel 10:12-14, where something, likely a satanic force impeded the response to Daniel's prayers.  Therefore, we must not forget, we have an enemy of our souls, who is not flesh and blood and his goal is the kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10).

Monday, October 8, 2018

Spiritual Formation (Prayer Life Part 5 Unanswered)

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[Jesus said] “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you” (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, Mark 11:24)


          Some passages in the New Testament, like the one cited above, can make prayer sound like carte blanche; however, the context of this passage explains its meaning.  Jesus makes this statement on the Tuesday morning after the Triumphal Entry.  On Monday morning, Jesus and the disciples were walking from Bethany to Jerusalem and on the way, Jesus cursed a fig tree that He found to be without fruit.  When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus saw the corruption of the religious system and in reaction, He drove out the people selling animals inside the temple.  In His zeal, He shouted passages from the prophets, saying that the temple was meant to be a ministry to all the nations, but the ruling religious system had changed it into a den of robbers.  It is the next day, when Jesus and the disciples are making the journey again, that Peter notices the fig tree had withered.

           These events have led to this scene, and Jesus’s statement is made in that context.  The religious system, that had been instituted by God, had failed to reach out to the nations.  John the Baptist had cried out to Israel to make ready the path of the Lord, fill in the ravines and lower the hills and mountains (Luke 3:4 & 5).  The religious system had become a mountain in the path of the Lord.  Because of that, Jesus tells the disciples that by prayer, mountains can be moved.  The disciples, 12 men from the middle of nowhere, with no political connections and no money, cannot undo the religious system.  It’s possible that 11 of the men Jesus is talking to are under 20 years old [only Jesus and Peter paid the temple tax in Matthew 17:27] and the Pharisees/Sadducees have been ruling in second-temple Judaism since late Hasmonean period.  In other words, this mountain is well established, and the disciples are nobodies, with no power to move a mountain themselves.

           In that context, Jesus is telling them that prayer can move mountains standing in God’s way.  This mountain needed to be moved.  It was blocking the Abrahamic promise of blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:3c).  Therefore, prayers offered in accordance with God’s purposes can be prayed with confidence[1].  This understanding is in harmony with John’s explanation, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him” (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1 John 5:14-15).

Growth through unanswered prayers 



Written by Pastor Ozzy

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1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.




[1] Mark 11:25-26 goes on to discuss a person’s prayer and their relationship to forgiving others.

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Spiritual Formation (Prayer Life Part 4 Unanswered)


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Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, Colossians 4:12) [emphases added]

         For as secular as our society has become, in the public arena we may still hear from time to time someone make a statement like, “Our prayers go out to …” or “Our thoughts and prayers are with …”.  Yesterday during a televised sporting event, the score was tied and the camera found one fan kissing something on his necklace, and if you had read his lips, he was praying for his team to score.  Have you ever wondered if the person who said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims,” actually prayed in any tangible way, or if that phrase is just our cliché when there’s nothing else to say?  Some ancient thought expressed in the Mishnah (part of the Jewish Talmud) considered it trivial to pray for birds (Zahavy, Kerakhot 5:3). How much more then for sporting events?  If these are accurate pictures of prayer in our public arena, how much has this influenced our perspectives on prayer?


         In the above-cited passage from Paul, the word he uses translated laboring earnestly is the same word from which we get our English word agonize.  Paul’s companion Epaphras is said to agonize in his prayer for his friends.  Although people who have developed a deep prayer life may be able to relate to this idea, if we were to do a word association exercise, is agonize the first word that comes to your mind when you hear the word prayer?  Perhaps you’ll find it interesting that in Luke, this same word, translated strive, is used by Jesus to tell His followers to enter in the narrow gate (13:24).  In that context, we can see a dichotomy between the path that leads to destruction and the other that leads to life.

          How then do we understand striving to enter by the narrow gate?  Why is the broad road to destruction so appealing?  By exploring those questions, do you see how prayer can be a struggle?  In considering this, we are also reminded how challenges make us better.  Therefore, this earnest labor in our unanswered prayers can be the character-building struggle we need in our spiritual development.  If prayer is as laissez-faire as in the examples highlighted at the beginning of this blog, what kind of character development would be possible?  On the other hand, when we engage in prayer as in wrestling, working, or striving, then we enter into the mystery that is our communication with God.  Perhaps this is why in some cases we experience unanswered prayers.

Did Jesus give carte blanche to prayers?

Written by Pastor Ozzy

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Works Cited

1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.
Zahavy, Tzvee. 1987. The Mishnaic Law of Blessings and Prayers: Tractate Berakhot. Scholars Press.