Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Spiritual Formation (Spiritual Guidance part 3)

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He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, Revelation 2:11a).

Now then, my sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house, or you will give your vigor to others and your years to the cruel one; And strangers will be filled with your strength and your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; and you groan at your final end, when your flesh and your body are consumed; and you say, “How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! “I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to my instructors! “I was almost in utter ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation.” (Ibid. Proverbs 5:7-14)

Of course, no one likes to be told what they are doing wrong. In such times, we may feel attacked and that will make us move to the defensive. However, if you are going to engage in Spiritual Guidance, then there may be times that your spiritual life will be scrutinized. Therefore, trust is necessary in the relationship. That trust is also a two-way street, because if you’re going to be open to receiving you feedback, then you’re also going to need to act upon it.

Perhaps, you’re familiar with the saying, “Can’t see the forest through the trees.” Many of us experience the idea expressed in this phrase and know there are times that we can’t see the big picture. It takes someone else expressing things from their perspective for us to see the big picture. This story bears repeating and may explain it better.[1] In some town, there was an only railroad bridge that passed over the main street. One time a truck didn’t have enough clearance when it tried to go under that bridge and it became stuck. There was a little boy who lived nearby, and he came out to watch the commotion. They tried to back the truck out, but it was stuck good. They tried to raise the bridge using jacks, but that didn’t work either. The whole town was in a hubbub, with some people saying they’ll need to cut part of the bridge out. Others were saying they’ll need to cut part of the truck off. Then, the little boy said, “Why not let some of the air out of the tires? That will lower the truck and then it can drive out from the bridge.”

This story is an excellent example of what a spiritual guidance can be. You may describe how your truck is stuck under one of life’s bridges and although you’ve tried and tried, it just won’t get unstuck. A guide can listen, and in a mode of prayer, also listens for the Holy Spirit to bring Scriptures to mind or thoughts from their spiritual journey. If your guide has a strong Biblical background, understands grace and love, then from their perspective, they may be able to ask questions or make suggestions on how you may continue to grow spiritually.

Written by Pastor Ozzy

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Works Cited

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

[1] Whatever the source of this story, I've long forgotten where I first heard or read it. It's not mine and probably needs a citation.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Spiritual Formation (Spiritual Guidance part 1)

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To Timothy, My true child in the faith… (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1 Timothy 1:2)

Samuel [the Prophet] said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly… now your kingdom shall not endure…” (Idib. 1 Samuel 13:13-14)

Nathan [the Prophet] then said to David … “Why have you despised the word of the Lord… Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house…” (Ibid. 2 Samuel 12:7-10)

Spiritual Friendship and Spiritual Guidance are similar in ways, because both rely on a relationship between two people and are tools for spiritual growth. Hierarchy can be a tricky topic when it relates to these relationships. In the broad sense, there is more of a hierarchical structure in Spiritual Guidance, however, I feel this can be best explained using a ladder. Imagine a ladder that is flat on the ground, you can see that the third rung is farther from the start than the first rung, but since the ladder is flat on the ground, the third is no higher than the first (Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls, Kindle Location 1088). As I understand it, Spiritual Formation is similar to this flat ladder. There are people who have had more time and opportunity to move up the rungs of the ladder and are therefore farther along; however, not higher, the way a regional manager is over a store manager, who is over a department manager and so forth.

What makes for a good spiritual guide? Let me tell you about two spiritual leaders that I have personally encountered. The first was not a mentor and the second was. I don’t know if the first loved his neighbor as he loved himself; however, I saw the second love his neighbor as he loved himself. The first once mistakenly said the Babylonian captivity lasted 80 years and when I pointed out that it was 70 years, he was gruff and abrasive that I would correct him. The second once confused the words dispensationalism and cessationism, but was accepting and grateful to be corrected.

Remember the episode where a Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner (Luke 7:36-50), and a woman with the reputation of being a sinner made her way to the dinner also. There she wept on Jesus’ feet and dried them with her hair. This made the Pharisee doubt Jesus’ holiness because He accepted the sinful woman. Jesus then told the story of a money lender and two debtors, both of whom were unable to repay their debts. In the story, the money lender forgave both debts, then Jesus asked the Pharisee, “which will then love the money lender more?” The Pharisee was right to point out the one that was forgiven the greater debt. Jesus used that to illustrate the relationship between grace and a person being changed.

That change, the kind brought about by God’s love and His grace, as opposed to a change brought by a higher religiosity, is vital in a Spiritual Guide. Because, they have be changed by God and by themselves.