Tag: God

Reconciliation

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 18 – Entering the Dance

Reconciliation

[Bible references: Luke 19:11-27; John 13:34-35; 14:15-31; 16:7-15, 33; Romans 5:1-11]

Keeping in mind that we serve as Christ’s ambassadors to the world with the message of reconciliation, Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice have summarized ten aspects of that reconciliation:[1]

  • Reconciliation is God’s gift to the world. Healing of the world’s deep brokenness does not begin with us and our action, but with God and God’s gift of new creation.
  • Reconciliation is not a theory, achievement, technique, or event, It is a continuous process, a dance if you will, with our fellow image-bearers.
  • The end toward which the journey of reconciliation leads is the shalom of God’s new creation — a future not yet fully realized, but holistic in its transformation of the personal, social, and structural dimensions of life.
  • The journey of reconciliation requires the discipline of lament.
  • In a broken world God is always planting seeds of hope, though often not in the places we expect or even desire.
  • There is no reconciliation without memory, because there is no hope for a peaceful tomorrow that does not seriously engage both the pain of the past and the call to forgive.
  • Reconciliation needs the church, but not as just another social agency or NGO,
  • The ministry of reconciliation requires and calls forth a specific type of leadership that is able to unite a deep vision with the concrete skills, virtues, and habits necessary for the long and often lonesome journey of reconciliation.
  • There is no reconciliation without conversion, the constant journey with God into a future of new people and new loyalties.
  • Imagination and conversion are the very heart and soul of reconciliation.

The heart of reconciliation is love. When we love and reconcile one another with others in the body of Christ, that is, if we can love the people we don’t like and become reconciled, that becomes the visible grace of God that can even be recognized by those outside the church and draws them to that same love and grace of God. Our task from the beginning was to serve the earth. Jesus lived that out, not by growing crops but by healing the sick and loving the outcasts. We continue that task by “Dancing in the Kingdom,” expanding God’s flourishing glory as we respond to Jesus’ call to us to “occupy till I come.”

[1] Katongole, Emmanuel & Rice, Chris. Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace, and Healing Intervarsity Press, 2009

Observe

Read Romans 5:1-11. How do we prepare ourselves for the work of reconciliation?

Re-envisioning our inhabited environment

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 18 – Entering the Dance

Re-envisioning our inhabited environment

[Bible references: Exodus 25:1-9; 31:1-11; 35:30-36:7; Isaiah 65:17-25; Revelation 21:24-26]

Within our given environment, we create communities, culture, and institutions to support all that. Our homes, neighborhoods, towns, and cities reflect our potential to create either beauty or corruption. The power we have as bearers of God’s image which provides our God-given ability to transcend our environment, is the source of great good or great sin.

“And decades of persuasive experiments have shown that built environments can be a factor in shaping us in ways that have significant long-term implications, in educational or workplace performance, or our physical and mental health and wellness. The point is that architecture, an integral part of essentially all cultures, is one of many interacting cultural factors—like entertainment and marketing, politics, belief systems, or charismatic individuals, for example—that together, in large and small ways, are involved in shaping behavior and who we are over a lifetime.” [1]

“On the night of May 10, 1941, with one of the last bombs of the last serious raid, our House of Commons was destroyed by the violence of the enemy, and we have now to consider whether we should build it up again, and how, and when. We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.”[2]

We possess the abilities to create works of art, some of which are designed simply to be enjoyed or give us cause to think and some of which have practical uses such as buildings we live, work, or play in, the outdoor areas between those buildings that can serve to connect us together, the vehicles which transport us. These practical works of art also require feats of all sorts of engineering, technical and organizational skills.

It is also clear that those same abilities are regularly misused, and our constructions look less like works of art and more like works of neglect and corruption. Instead of works which build us up and add to the flourishing of all, our works sometimes are simply not as helpful as they can be and sometimes even outrightly abuse our environment as well as our fellow humans.[3] Poor building design sped up Covid spread.[4]

 A Christian architect, Dave Greusel, suggests that we should construct our buildings with the attitude that they serve as “gifts to the community,” purposely constructed to advance God’s Kingdom, expressing grace, beauty, justice, creativity.[5] There are many different ways in which we enhance the quality of life not only within the buildings we create, but also the environment around those buildings, designing our spaces with consideration for how we live not only in, but around our buildings.

In the U.S., planning our cityscape around automobiles has seemed natural because of the way that our automotive technology has allowed us to flexibly expand in the large space afforded by our country. Sadly, that type of planning has caused us to sometimes neglect the way that life is normally lived with the communities of the city. Sometimes, it has been after the fact that cities have paid attention to how to better design the city spaces for people to navigate on foot or bicycle and to live in community.

Enacted space is “activated by the people using it.” that is, it is not enough to design particular spaces, but to make them attractive so that people use them. [6]

Additional features that can be considered for our spaces are how we situate housing for people and where they work, how we create enclosed spaces that give a sense of protection and safety, monuments that provide particular spaces with meaning and the thresholds (doorways or openings) between the building interiors and the spaces outside.[7]

“Connectivity is measured by the number of intersections per square mile. One hundred fifty connections per square-mile is considered to be the minimum for a vibrant community.” [8]

[1] Hart, Robert Lamb. “How Buildings Shape Us” Common Edge commonedge.org/how-buildings-shape-us

[2]Churchill, Winston. Made in a speech in the House of Commons on October 28,1943 about replacing the bombed-out House of Commons chamber. Quote given Automated Buildings automatedbuildings.com/news/aug20/articles/lynxspring/200721102909lynxspring.html

[3] Rethinking the Future. “Some Examples of Bad Architecture Ideas” Rethinking the Future www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/article/some-examples-of-bad-architecture-ideas; Staczek, David. “Is Bad Architecture Harmful to Our Health” Architizer architizer.com/blog/inspiration/stories/bad-architecture-harmful-to-health; Husock, Howard. “How Public Housing Harms Cities” City Journal Winter 2003 www.city-journal.org/html/how-public-housing-harms-cities-12410.html

[4] Ing, Will. Architects’ Journal 3 Oct 2021; www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/poor-building-design-sped-up-covid-spread-says-academic 2021

[5] Greusel, Dave. “Architecture for Human Flourishing” Denver Institute for Faith and Work 15 Apr 2015 denverinstitute.org/david-greusel-architecture-for-human-flourishing-videos

[6] Jacobsen, Eric O. The Space Between  A Christian Engagement with the Built Environment” Baker Academic, 2012 (p. 17).

[7] Jacobsen, Eric O. The Space Between  A Christian Engagement with the Built Environment” Baker Academic, 2012 (Chapter 2)

[8] Jacobsen, Eric O. The Space Between  A Christian Engagement with the Built Environment” Baker Academic, 2012 (p. 43)

Reflect

As you consider the town or city you live in, what might be done better to make the places we live and work to be a gift to the entire community?

Observe

Read Isaiah 65:17-25. How can we build things that point to our future hope?

Re-envisioning our given environment

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 18 – Entering the Dance

Re-envisioning our given environment

[Bible references: Genesis 1-2]

“An important distinction exists between the concepts of nature and creation. There is no concept of nature in the Old Testament. Nature, derived from the Greek worldview, is by scientific definition a self-sustaining system replete with its own internal laws. Creation, a biblical-theological concept, recognizes that creation is not self-sustaining but is continually dependent on the presence of God.” [1]

In Genesis we explored how God had fashioned the cosmos to be a temple, a place where he would meet with his image-bearing creatures. This cosmos, and in particular, this world that we live in, ultimately belongs to him, for he built it with materials that he provided.

It was his intention, though, to not only share this temple with us, but to give us responsibilities within it. We know the story of how we rebelled against the responsibilities he gave us, and we know of the outpouring of patient love which he has endured and continues to endure as he works out his plan to restore our relationship with him. He still intends the cosmos to be his temple where he meets with us.

The theme of the temple began in the first chapters of the Bible with the temple dedication, the temple sanctuary in the Garden of Eden, and the charge he gave to his image-bearers to be the stewards of his temple and to fill the earth, expanding the sanctuary, the place he meets with us, to fill the entire earth.

The temple theme concludes in the last chapters of the Bible, revealing our intended destination, not just a primeval garden, but a garden with a city. It’s a city he built, for we, in and of ourselves, cannot build a city where there are no tears of sorrow, where there is no rebellion, where we can experience the entire fulness of shalom.

We don’t know when that time will come, but we do know the responsibility he gave us from the beginning, to be the stewards of what he has given us, to nurture, sustain, care for, and protect the world he provided.

[1] Bukus, Russell A. “The Stewardship of Creation” The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University, 2002 www.baylor.edu/ifl/christianreflection/CreationarticleButkus.pdf

Observe

Read Genesis 1:26-30; 2:1-15.  How do we best take care of the space Yahweh provided for us, with his intentions for its flourishing and with our role as stewards of this space?

Re-envisioning our culture

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 18 – Entering the Dance

Re-envisioning our culture

[Bible references: Isaiah 61:1-11; Ezekiel 16:1-19; 1 Peter 3:1-22]

In Culture Care,[1] Fujimura tries to get us to think holistically, in terms of restoring beauty as a means of invigorating culture so that people can thrive. This “Generative Thinking” looks beyond the resources right in front of us and recognizes the transcendence of God in our midst, which then allows us to think and behave generously and then also allows us to think beyond the immediate future and instead think in terms of generations to come. This contrasts with the attitude that resources are scarce and therefore must be handled in utilitarian and economic ways.

As creatures made in the image of our transcendent God, we have been given the capability to detect that transcendence in the form of beauty. As creatures made in the image of our creator God, we have been given the ability to create beautiful artifacts. Beauty is a characteristic that points beyond creation itself, for beauty has no utilitarian value. The beauty we see around us reflects the generous and gratuitous nature of God who intends that we do more than just survive, but rather to flourish in the abundance of His provision. Even more than that, Beauty is a characteristic that encompasses more than what we can look at or hear, but it is enfolded in the spiritual values of justice and morality.

Although, we all have the capacity to create beauty, there are those people who are called to focus on making works of art. Fujimuraviews those artists as the catalysts, leaders that challenge us to think less colloquially but more imaginatively, to look beyond ourselves and our local groups and rather to look to the whole of society. Artists are positioned to do this, because their dispositions usually place them at the fringes of society where they can serve as “border-walkers”[2] allowing them to at once look at their own social group from the fringes and also to connect to other social groups. Fujimura then challenges the rest of society to create an environment for these artists, these “border-walkers,” to be trained in their roles and to thrive. Part of the challenge is to recognize that, for society to flourish, we need the art economy, which by definition is a non-utilitarian economy. Towards this end, artists should be trained to be effective stewards of their gifts and society needs to learn how to be stewards of the artists, by creating environments for art, and Beauty, to flourish. Fujimura proposes that art can even help us create a healing environment in our current culture wars. Participants in culture wars employ language that reduces the enemy to a caricature. Instead, culture should not be handled as a territory to be won or lost but a resource we are called to steward and cultivate. Artists can become known as “citizen artists” who lead in society with their imagination and their work – creating opportunities for genesis moments in culture – moments in which dialogue can happen, caricatures can be discarded, and deeper concerns can be addressed. But for this to happen, we need vision, courage, and perseverance and a focused effort to pay attention to the care and cultivation of the soul.

[1] Fujimura, Makoto. Culture Care: Reconnecting with beauty for our common life.  Intervarsity Press 2014

[2] Also called “mearcstapas” in Beowulf, seventh century

Reflect

We may not all be artists, but we all have some creative capabilities as co-creators with God. We all have the capacity to create beauty: acts of generosity, bringing the life of the Spirit into a spiritually dark place, letting God’s love flow through you to another. How can you bring beauty into the world?

Observe

Read Ezekiel 16:1-19. It is probably not hard to envision the community outside the church as the “adulterous wife.” How can we “clothe” our community?

Reorienting our institutions

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 18 – Entering the Dance

Reorienting our institutions

[Bible references: Jeremiah 29:1-14]

It is normal to organize ourselves to do as a group what we cannot do, or at least do as well, as individuals. Families can undertake the task of running a farm or a ranch better than any one individual. Communities can better protect themselves or do things like barn-raisings to replace a barn that had been destroyed. Communities also allow for the possibility for people with specialized abilities to earn income from the specialty while allowing others to focus on their own businesses more successfully. Businesses are organized to create products or services that could not otherwise be produced. Civic organizations are organized to handle various problems within our society and cultural organizations help our society to flourish. Governments allow communities to pool resources, create infrastructure to support our society and to provide law enforcement to keep the peace within communities.

It is to God’s glory that his image-bearing creatures can create organizations that exemplify our reflections of God’s creativity and transcendence and allow us to do all the sorts of things that help fulfill his intention for us to fill the earth and steward its resources. However, in our fallen world, the very large and pervasive problem with any institution we create is that communities and organizations are made up of people and – we must remember – all people, including ourselves, are sinful.

It then becomes our sinful tendency to dislike organizations, institutions, in general. One of the unfortunate organizations many of us tend to dislike – is the organized church. So, before we address other organizations, we need to address our attitudes towards the institution we call the church.

Emily Rose Gum suggests that it is from the creation narrative that we can see that God wants us to thrive in a way that allows our personal good and the common good to reinforce one another. But we and the institutions we create are fallen and need to be re-oriented toward the common good. Sometimes we need to create new institutions but sometimes we need to reinvigorate and restore fractured ones, such as our public education schools which provide education to our poorest neighbors. [1]

In the larger picture of reclaiming our institutions, Vincent Bacote reminds us of our dependence on the Spirit. It was the Spirit “hovering over the face of the waters” bringing life into creation and it is the Spirit who enables us to carry out the mandates of God, including the building of institutions to carry out those mandates.[2]

“The mandate of creation is central to who Christians are before God. This mandate calls for obedience, yes, but this should not be viewed as a heavy burden. Indeed, in fulfilling this mandate Christian believers become more of who God intends them to be. Importantly, this is not a mandate for a few but for all—all are participants, all are enjoined to participate in ways framed by the revelation of God’s word in the creative and renewing work of world-making and remaking. And it is in the divine nature of this work that vocation is imbued with great dignity. It is, in part, the appeal to every person, regardless of stature, giftedness, achievement, wealth, power, or personality that makes the Gospel so radical. Every person is made in God’s image and every person is offered his grace and, in turn, the opportunity to labor together with God in the creation and recreation of the world.” [3]

As we look beyond the church itself, we see that God has designated other organizations for service as well. Even those of God’s image-bearers who are not of the church may respond to God’s call to all of us to tend to His creation, however they may understand it. And just as God’s own church has a mixed record of accomplishment, these other organizations/institutions will certainly have a mixed record as well. We cannot assume, that despite not completely understanding God’s creation mandate, that within these organizations outside the church there is no good intended by them, and that God is not able to use them.

These “outside” organizations may include government, civic, cultural, and social organizations and are part of the ways in which God’s image-bearers are fulfilling his purpose for his creation. Humans cannot create institutions without some basis in faith, even if they try to ignore it. What we can do as Christians is bring to those institutions the sensibilities that are based on our faith.[4] While we cannot make these institutions perfect (after all, even we are not yet perfect) we can help instill grace, mercy, and justice in whatever capacity we can.

Institutions sometimes try to re-organize their structure to make themselves better in some fashion, but structure cannot override the character of the people within the organization. In whatever capacity we have, if we are present in an organization, we can be the “salt” that preserves and adds spiritual taste to the organization.

[1] Gum, Emily Rose. “Recovering an Institutional Imagination” Comment Magazine comment.org/recovering-an-institutional-imagination p.28

[2] Bacote, Vincent. “The Spirit and Institution Building” Comment Magazine, Sept 2005, comment.org/the-spirit-and-institution-building

[3] Hunter, James Davison. To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World  Oxford University Press 2010

[4] Chaplin, Jonathan. “Loving Faithful Institutions: Building Blocks of a Just Global Society” The Other Journal 15 Mar 2010 theotherjournal.com/2010/04/15/loving-faithful-institutions-building-blocks-of-a-just-global-society/Chechowich

Observe

Read Jeremiah 29:1-14. How should we try to influence the organizations in which we work?

Beyond winsomeness

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 17 – Finding our place

Beyond winsomeness

[Bible references: Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Proverbs 21:22; Acts 3:22; 4:1-22; 12:1-19; 16:16-40; Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 6:11-13]

Oftentimes, our first impulse when confronting evil in the world is to resort to the world’s tactics. It can seem more expedient to respond to evil with physical force or displays of anger – and there are occasions when such responses are justified – but wisdom is called for. We need to remember that our real enemy is not our “flesh and blood” fellow image-bearer but the forces of darkness. We also need to discern between when it is time for God to act and for us to act.

After David was anointed to be the future king, he had to wait several years during which period King Saul pursued David intending to kill him. Even though there were a couple of occasions when David could have killed Saul, he did not think it was his to take – he waited for the kingship to be given to him. Ever since Moses, Israel had been waiting for “one like Moses”. But David’s refusal to “take” the kingship is likely part of the reason that David was called a “man after God’s own heart,” because unlike those who came before him, he did not (at least in this case) succumb to the impulse to “see, desire, take.”

God has established government to keep the peace. What is our role if the government carries out its duty, what action should we take in support of it? What is our role if the government abuses its duty, what action should we take in opposition to it? The apostles defied the authority of the Sanhedrin and the Roman government, with God even releasing Peter from prison on one occasion and Paul in another. But on another occasion, Paul submitted to the Roman government as a means to get to Rome to continue his work there. Is there ever cause for a Christian to participate in violence? There is a debate in the Christian community about these questions that calls us to seek wisdom in our different situations.

Observe

Read Ephesians 6:11-13. How might “putting on the armor of God” help us determine when to take action or to wait for God?

Flourishing community

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 17 – Finding our place

Flourishing community

[Bible references: Proverbs 17:17; 27:10; Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; Romans 12; Philippian 4:4-9; Hebrews 10:19-25; 13:2;1 Peter 1:12 22; 4:9; 2 Peter 1:3-11]

One mark of the Kingdom of God is the presence of communities that flourish. In this in-between time, these communities will not be any more perfect than the individuals within the community. But there are practices that we can engage in that will help our communities flourish. How we share our lives as individuals, congregations, or families will either draw people in or push them away. Within the culture that surrounds us, there are many practices that serve to isolate individuals, creating loneliness and emotional fragility. However, within the context of healthy congregations, there are various practices that serve not only to build us up within the church community but can also impact the communities around us. Christine Pohl has identified four characteristics that will sustain flourishing communities:[1]

  1. Gratefulness: As much as we are aware of how God has provided for us and we are secure in that knowledge, our gratitude can flourish. When we have gratitude, our lives will be enhanced by being more likely to notice what is good and beautiful around us. When our hearts are grateful, we are enabled to increase our ability to love and to offer grace to one another.

“Be thankful for the smallest blessing, and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest, and simple graces as especial favors. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God.” [2]

2. Making and keeping promises: We arrange much of our lives according to our expectations of others’ behavior and the promises they make. Broken promises lead to a sense of betrayal and disappointment to the loss of integrity of the promise maker. On the other hand, promises that are kept strengthen our commitment and love with one another and provides stability for the community.[3]

“The history of the human race, as well as the story of any one life, might be told in terms of commitments. . .  At the heart of this history . . . lies a sometimes hidden narrative of promises, pledges, oaths, compacts, committed beliefs, and projected visions.” [4]

3. Truth-filled lives:[5] Without expectations of truth, there can be no trust. One need only to look at the broken social and political environment that we have today and see the consequences of a society in which trust is broken.

4. Hospitality:[6] To be truly hospitable is to recognize each other’s common humanity, to set aside the priorities of efficiency and instead, to care for and nurture one another, to prioritize our needs for rest and renewal. According to a tradition in Africa, no one individual is a host but the rather it is the community that offers hospitality.

“Welcome is one of the signs that a community is alive. To invite others to live with us is a sign that we aren’t afraid, that we have a treasure of truth and of peace to share.;” Ogletree, Thomas. Hospitality to the Stranger (Fortress Press, 1985) “to be moral is to be hospitable to the stranger.” [7]

All the characteristics mentioned above should ideally be present in the Christian community. When we notice their absence from the communities around us, we can see the destruction created by their absence. A healthy church then has the opportunity to bring a healing influence into the communities around us. As Leslie Newbigin has stated, “the presence of a new reality will be made known by the acts that originate from it.”[8]

One of the challenges/opportunities for the church is to maintain those healthy characteristics across all the boundaries of the different groups within the church so that there is healthy interaction between married and single adults, between adults and children, between different ethnic groups. Paying attention to those interactions within the church will help to navigate those interactions with those outside the church.

Linked to the gift of hospitality is the gift of friendship. Because this gift is costly in the amount of time and energy that we devote to someone else, exercising this gift outside the bounds of the church will usually require significant intentionality,

[1] Pohl, Living into Community, Cultivating Practices that Sustain us William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 2012. eBook

[2] Kempis, Thomas à. The Imitation of Christ early 15th century (Chapter 35)

[3] Arendt, Hannah. The Human Condition University of Chicago Press, 1958, p.244

[4] Farley, Margaret A. Personal Commitments: Beginning, Keeping, Changing Harper & Row, 1986,pp. 12-13, 34, 38

[5] Aquinas, Thomas, Summa Theologica, Vol 2, Question109: “Of Truth”

[6] Vanier, Jean, Community and Growth 1979

[7] Turyomumazima, Bonaventure, “Africa Files – Christ in Africa: Stranger, Guest, Host” www.africafiles.org/printableversion.asp?id=14009 (no longer available); De Vries, Roland. Becoming a Guest: Christology and Ecclesiological Identity Erudit Volume 25, Numero 2, 2017 p. 165-184 www.erudit.org/fr/revues/theologi/2017-v25-n2-theologi04371/1056942ar (p. 165-184)

[8] Chilcote, Paul and Warner, Laceye” The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church. Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2008 Chapter Four, Leslie Newbigin. Evangelism in the context of secularization.

Reflect

Of the characteristics mentioned by Pohl, which are evident in your local church community? 

Observe

Read 2 Peter 1:3-11. What would a community look like if everyone was living out this passage?

Preparing to engage with those outside the Church

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 17 – Finding our place

Preparing to engage with those outside the church

[Bible references: Matthew 9:35-38; 13:1-30; 22:34-40; John 3:16]

When talking with someone for the first time, we never know what experiences the person has gone through in which the Spirit of God was already at work. If we take the time to listen, then we can share the Gospel more effectively. Some will be immediately ready to receive the Gospel, and some will need more caring for. In either case, if we remember that our primary directive is to love God and love our neighbor, we must be ready to bear the cost of that love.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son … (John 3:16, ESV)”

What costs are we prepared to bear for our neighbor? Are we prepared to bear the cost of loving those within the church so that we can provide a loving, united atmosphere to invite someone from the outside? Are we prepared to bear the cost of friendship with those outside the church so that they can witness what is means for us to have Jesus as our friend? Are we prepared to listen to the concerns of our neighbor so that we can model how God listens to us?

Reflect

What cost are you prepared to pay for the sake of loving your neighbor?

Observe

Read Matthew 13:1-30. How can we be “sowing seed” in all the different “fields” of our community?

Not yet, but Already

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 17 – Finding our place

Not Yet, But Already

[Bible references: Matthew 6; John 15:1-17; 1 Corinthians 3; Revelation 21-22]

Sincere prayer has a habit of changing us. When we commune with God as a friend, we learn his business and desire to join in His work; the work of God calling people to Himself in love and bringing them healing. We also know His desire to restore the earth so that is rejoined to heaven, making the whole earth a temple, a place where he will be with all His people. When He came the first time, He began that work of restoration and when He comes again, He will complete it. In the meantime, He has left us here as His stewards. There are some things that only He can do, but that does not mean there is nothing for us to do. In this time where He has not yet returned, He has already begun a work that He invites us to join with Him, calling people to Him and restoring the earth, bringing healing, wholeness, and hope to the world.

The gifts He has given us can not only be used to serve and build up those already within the church community, but as Christ’s ambassadors, we can bring tangible signs of love and hope into the world around us, to show God’s love and care that He has for not only the smallest things in our lives but for all of creation. As we live in the world as it now is, we can bring the love of God into our relationships, our vocations, our hobbies, etc. Our efforts will be incomplete because Christ has not yet returned. But the work that we do now can demonstrate the hope and confidence that we have because Christ has already come.

There is a call for those who can carry a prophetic message, going and preaching the gospel to those outside the church. For those who do that work, they need to remember that when Jesus called us to go the fields that are “white unto harvest,” he implied that some preparation had been done beforehand, the crops were already planted, fertilized, weeded, and supplied with sun and water. Much work had been done and therefore the crops were ready for harvesting. While not all of us have the gift of evangelism or prophecy, we should be open to what we are called to do.

Observe

Read Matthew 6. How are giving, prayer and generosity linked?

Created as parts of a body

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 17 – Finding our place

Created as parts of a body

[Bible references: Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:1-16]

We were created to be connected. We have individual identities and desires, but we were created for love by the God of love. As God’s image-bearers, we are intended to love one another just as love is shared between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor. We are told that the world will know us by our love.

Through a process we cannot understand, the Son of God, Jesus, the Christ, appeared in the flesh two thousand years ago. After His resurrection and He “returned to heaven,” He then sent the Holy Spirit who entered into His disciples. His disciples then, as Christ’s ambassadors, became His body, creatures filled with His very Spirit who were then His feet and hands, even His voice, on the earth. And it is through His body that we and others may come to know about Christ. Sometimes we come to know Christ directly through a member of His body or indirectly by what someone recorded for us. And when we respond to His call through the body of Christ, we also become part of that same great body.

We come to Christ in response to His Spirit connecting with our spirit. But the means of that connection is through the Body of Christ. As we understand how even the set of writings, we call the Bible, was written and compiled by that great body, we can grasp the dependence that we have on His body to even to come to Him. That dependence does not end after we respond to Him but enters us into an interdependence with each other: We are dependent on each other to more fully learn how to love God and love neighbor, we are dependent on each other to build each other up.

Reflect

How can you foster the need that the church has for us to be interdependent with each other?

Observe

Read 1 Corinthians 12. If someone tries to be a “part time” church member, how does that affect everyone else?

Relation to Self

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 17 – Finding our place

Relation to Self

[Bible references: Psalm 8:5; 104:27-30; Micah 6:8; Matthew 6:26; 10:29-31; Luke 12:24; 18:29-30; John 13:35; Ephesians 1:7; 5: 21-33; Philippinas 2:1-11]

The second greatest commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself” implies that we love ourselves. God loves us. He cares about us, even to the number of hairs on our head. We are His creatures. That makes us worth something. While the focus in the Greatest Commandments seems to be of us loving God and us loving our neighbor, we need to remember that the love we give flows out of the love we are given. We are neither loved more nor less than anyone else. This complementarity is woven together in Ephesians 5 where husbands are instructed to love their wives as much as they love their own bodies. In fact, we are best able to take care of others if we are healthy ourselves.

Our health includes all dimensions of our being: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual – If you will, our body, soul, and spirit. To be fully healthy, we need to pay attention to all these aspects of our lives. One problem area in the church as a whole is that it has commonly addressed all these aspects in an unbalanced way. It was due to that imbalance that a pastor, Peter Scazzero wrote, “Emotionally, Healthy Spirituality”[1] in response to the results of an unhealthily imbalance in his own life. Even within the field of medicine, there is a recognition of the connection of physical and spiritual health.[2]

Yahweh has created us with particular bodies in particular times and places, but our post-modern culture has added one more type of imbalance. When some of us experience a dysmorphic disorder, our culture encourages us to deny our embodied identity in Christ. Instead of grounding our being in the surety of our identity in Christ, we are encouraged to ground our being in an identity based on a broken self-perception.

This action replaces Yahweh’s authority with our own, centering our lives in our limited knowledge which is subject to fleeting emotions. This post-modern diminished focus on Yahweh’s authority strips the determination of truth from an all-knowing God and places the determination of truth on our incomplete (and sinfully corrupted) knowledge.[3] However, our primary identity should be based on our identity in Christ with all sub-identities being subject to that.

When we engage in other relationships both within and without the church, we need to be honest about who we are. None of us has it all figured out. We all fall short of what Yahweh intends for us to be. We all lack wisdom and knowledge and all of us are in rebellion. All of us, whether we claim we are children of Yahweh or not, are daily working our way to or from Yahweh. We all imperfectly “do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.” We all need forgiveness.

In the end, Yahweh will be the dispenser of wrath to those who remain in rebellion against him, but it is his love that draws us to Him, and it is by His love that people will know we belong to him. The love and mercy we receive from Yahweh may be unearned, but we are loved, and therefore, we need to learn to love ourselves as well. From the security of that love, the love which Christ had towards us when were unlovable, we can then reach out in love with those with whom we disagree or find offensive. As we learn to fully receive the love of God, we will strengthen our ability to love others.

[1] Scazzero, Peter. “Emotionally, Healthy Spirituality”  Zondervan, 2017

[2] Cook, Alison. “The Most Important Gift” Alisoncookphd.com www.alisoncookphd.com/the-most-important-gift and “Saying Yes To Yourself” 2 Dec 2020 www.alisoncookphd.com/saying-yes-to-yourself/

[3] Groothuis, Douglas. “Postmodernism on Race and Gender: An Evangelical Response” Asbury Seminary, place.asburyseminary.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1317&context=asburyjournal

Reflect

Various businesses use our various media to try to make us dissatisfied with our bodies to create desires to buy services or products to make our bodies “more acceptable.” Our social media enhances that effort. While It is good to be

Observe

Read Psalm 8:5; 104:27-30; Matthew 6:26; 10:29-31; 12:11-12; Luke 12:24. If God cares about your needs, how should you care for yourself?

New Jerusalem’s Urban Garden

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 16 – Fixing our eyes

New Jerusalem’s Urban Garden

[Bible references: Genesis 1-2; 1 Corinthians 12; 14;1 Peter 1, 4; Revelation 21-22]

In the now-broken earth, many people think of human civilization only as a corruption and pollution of the earth, that the earth was only meant to be pristine – as it supposedly was before humans started to mess it up. While we certainly have abused the earth in many ways, that does not mean all aspects of human civilization are inherently bad. When we use our God-given capabilities to join God in His kingdom building, that is good. Many of the things that we design, create and build are inherently good. The problem lies in our corruption and the world’s corruption that causes us to misuse every good thing.

When we were charged with filling and subduing the earth, it did not mean that we were to simply expand the Garden of Eden. God had given us many gifts to use, including tremendous creative abilities. We were given various spiritual gifts for the purpose of building one another up; we were given artistic gifts to make articles for the Tabernacle and Temple; we were given gifts of singing, making musical instruments and craftsmanship, hunting, trading, sailing – in general, making the things of civilization.

Those same gifts are available for current task of participating with God in the process of bringing His Kingdom to earth, a process that shall lead to ultimate uniting of heaven and earth, a process that leads not to the original Garden of Eden, but of an urban garden attached to the new Jerusalem.

It is undeniable that, despite the corruption we see, God has provided us an abundance of creative skills for displaying His transcendence and glory in our art, technology, engineering, and sciences. He has also given us social and political skills to create human public and private institutions that can organize our abilities to do good.

But it does not take much observation to also notice the corruption that has permeated our society. It can seem hard to determine if we have misused more than properly used the gifts and abilities God has given us. Nevertheless, as God’s co-regents we have been given a sacred obligation to nurture the place he gave us in anticipation of God’s final restoration of the earth.

Reflect

How can you use the gifts and skills that God has given you to help give people hope for the future?

Observe

Read 1 Peter 1. If our mind is set on seeing Christ soon, how shall we prepare?

Ministry of Reconciliation

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 16 – Fixing our eyes

Ministry of Reconciliation

[Bible references: Matthew 10; Mark 1:40-45; 5:1-20; Acts 2:42-47; 3:20-26; 17:16-34; Romans 8:18-39; 12; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 4:1-16; 6:18-20; Philippians 3:25-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:11-28; John 13:34-35; Revelation 21:1-2]

When Jesus came the first time, people were looking for a Messiah to overthrow the Roman government, but Jesus’ message was to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sin. That is the message we need to respond to and the message we need to bring to others. The gospel is the good news of forgiveness that we can receive if we respond by repentance. The gospel is the good news of God’s Kingdom come to earth to transform us as well as all of creation so that heaven and earth can be fully joined as God had intended from the beginning.

Once we have become transformed, we are able to invite others to repent and accept the grace of God in transforming their lives as well and then join us in the work of discipleship and restoring the world beginning with the call to reconciliation, that is to engage in the work of evangelism. Some people are better equipped to do evangelism than others, but that does not leave the rest of us with no part in the work.

Evangelism, like other aspects in the life of the church, is a work of the body of the church. It is also a work of the Spirit. Evangelism involves persuading, proclaiming, and teaching the gospel and is a call for others to come to Christ, His Body, and to discipleship. We do not convert people to Christ, which is the work of the Spirit; but we are called to join Spirit in His work in the world. The church is called to be the church and display the gospel at work; the gospel which calls us to be transformed, calls us unity with others in the body of Christ and calls us to join Christ’s work of reconciliation and restoration.

That means that we all have a part to play in the body of Christ, to help build one another up so that we may all become mature members of the body of Christ, displaying the love of the transcendent God towards each other. If we are each transformed by Christ, then we should be able to “give a reason for the hope” we have. A hope that we can hold onto even as we live amid a church that is transformed and yet broken by sin.

The call to discipleship is a call to reconcile all the parts of our lives to the Lordship of Christ. This includes not only all our relationships, particularly with those in the body of Christ, but all of our stewardship responsibilities for all of creation. The evangel, the good news, is not just that our personal relationship with God can be restored, but that all of creation will be restored.

It is for the sake of love that God suffered for us that he might redeem us. The greatest commandments that He gave to his image-bearers, were about love: loving God and loving our neighbor. The good news is about that love – a love that reaches out to us and through us amidst all our brokenness. a love expressed in word and deed.

The remaining parts of this book are about the breadth of expressing that love. Certainly, if we love someone who does has not heard the gospel, it would be loving to share that news with them. And if we are truly loving that other, the words of that news should be happening amid all we do to show that love in our deeds as well as in our words. It may be that the deeds of love will help open-up hearts to hear about that love; a love that reflects God’s prodigal love for each of us, a love that desires to take care of all that God has given us – God’s creation and God’s creatures, God’s image-bearers, and the gifts he has given each one of us. God’s extravagant love should be reflected in the way we love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and the way we love our neighbor as ourselves.

God’s image-bearers, the ones who call him Lord and Father, are God’s chosen vehicles to proclaim and demonstrate his love as his ambassadors. God’s proclamation and demonstration of love is not constrained by our different personalities and circumstances, for our limitations are not his limitations but rather our weaknesses are His strength, and our little demonstrations of love are the reflections of His powerful love to us and to the world.

Within ourselves, we may be small and insignificant, but we are not just isolated individuals. We are part of Christ’s body, physical manifestations of Christ

  • Past, present, and future
  • Around the world
  • In all our different ways with whatever resources Christ has given us
  • In whatever place and time he chose for us, with whatever strengths and weaknesses we have

We are the creatures whom God has empowered to rule the earth as his gardener-priests. That empowerment has not changed even though we are broken people living in a broken world. The charge he had given us still remains. Therefore, within our brokenness we need to take whatever Christ has given us and proclaim and demonstrate God’s unsurpassed, overwhelming love to the world, a love that not only wants to reconcile all people but literally all the world to Himself … to reunite heaven and earth.

 The challenge we have as God’s ambassadors, is for us to be proclaiming and living the gospel amid the cultures that are sometimes indifferent and sometimes hostile. Therefore, in our tasks, if we are to be effective ambassadors then we must be, “wise as serpents and innocent as doves,” as we try to discern how to effectively persuade others to follow Jesus. Of course, keeping in mind that it is not we who ultimately persuade others to follow Christ, rather that is the work of the Holy Spirit. But how can we participate with the Holy Spirit?

Different people are persuaded by different means. Sometimes, people are persuaded by logic as we could see in the life of the apostle Paul. Sometimes people are persuaded by personal relationships and are drawn by a personality that looks attractive as we could see in the lives of people who were drawn to Jesus. Sometimes people are persuaded by seeing something different in the life another.

With that in mind, then how do we put ourselves in the place where we are most effective? The answer is: the church. The church is the body of Christ whose members are called to build up one another and to demonstrate a love for one another such that others will recognize us as belonging to Christ. When the church gathers to worship and express it’s love to God, that same desire should lead to expressions of love to one another which pour out into love of neighbor as the church scatters during the week. That desire to love should then draw us to desire to learn how to love in the best way possible. Love leads to love. The love of God leads us to love, love of one another and a love of the world that God loves.

Exactly how that love will flow depends on the particulars of each individual in their particular circumstances. We are all born with different personalities and different bodies, and are equipped differently according to the Holy Spirit, and find ourselves in different cultures within the church and within our communities. Some individuals will find themselves in a very individual ministry and some will be called to a broader ministry to the world. Also, different church communities will even find different approaches in how they interact with the cultures around them.[1]

[1] Finn, Nathan A, Whitfield, Keith S. “Spirituality for the Sent” Chapter 5 Missional Spirituality and Cultural Engagement IVP Academic 2017

Reflect

Discipleship is a process of “being transformed” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Ultimately it is something that happens to us – but it is something we can co-operate with by engaging is spiritual disciplines. What kinds of changes need to happen in our lives that would make it natural to invite someone else into discipleship?

Observe

Read Romans 12. How do we help those around us to be reconciled to each other and to God?

Everything Belongs

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 16 – Fixing our eyes

Everything Belongs

[Bible references: Leviticus 27:30; Psalm 22:27-28; 2 Corinthians 4:1-18; Hebrews 12:1-29]

The gift that true contemplatives offer to themselves and society is that they know themselves as part of a much larger story … Only when we live and see through God can “everything belongs.” …All religious teachers have recognized that we human beings do not naturally see; we have to be taught how to see.[1]

In our last chapter, we looked at the spiritual disciplines which God can use to conform us more to His image. We saw that although those disciplines had an internal focus – they were meant to conform us as individuals. We saw that the disciplines have an external purpose – to enable us to build up others in the body of Christ. That prepares us now to extend our outward focus on God’s work in restoring His kingdom and the many ways in which we can participate with God in restoring the breadth and depth of His kingdom.

All of creation belongs to the Lord. All of creation was designed to be His temple – a place where God would be with His image-bearers. The care of all creation was given to His image-bearers because they themselves are temples of God in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and therefore able to be His stewards. Despite our rebellion, the responsibility given to us was not removed; even though both it and we are corrupted and even though we are unable to remove that corruption. Also, despite our rebellion, our Creator has not ceased to love us. In His inexhaustible compassion, he has not left us to ourselves but means to restore us, along with all of creation. He means to continue the project He began at the beginning of creation, the project of transforming us to become more like Him.

[1] Rohr, Richard. “Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer.” The Crossroad Publishing Company 2003

Observe

Read Leviticus 27:30; Psalm 22:27-28. Everything, including us, belongs to God. How does that affect how we treat everyone and everything around us?

Discipline of Worship/Celebration

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 15 – Reforming our Souls

Discipline of Worship/Celebration

[Bible references: Deuteronomy 12; Isaiah 6:1-13; Matthew 6:25-34; John 4:23-24; Psalm 29; 95:1-7; 102; Romans 12:1-2]

“Authentic worship will impel us to join in the Lamb’s war against demonic powers everywhere—on the personal level, on the social level, on the institutional level. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our Commander-in-Chief. We receive his orders for service and go …”[1]

 “The pervasive sinfulness of human beings becomes evident when contrasted with the radiant holiness of God. Our fickleness becomes apparent once we see God’s faithfulness. To understand his grace is to understand our guilt” [2]

God does so many things in our lives, and when we build up worship as a spiritual discipline, we learn to identify what He has done and honor him in appropriate ways. The first step it to give glory to God for all things in our lives. When we have privileges, they come from God. When we are bountiful, it comes from God. When we see something beautiful or good, we need to thank God for those things. God shows us His ways through others, and by giving Him the glory, we are worshiping him.

Another way to respond to God is to sacrifice. Sometimes honoring God means giving up things we think we’re enjoying but may not be edifying. We sacrifice our time by volunteering, and we sacrifice our money to help those in need, we sacrifice our ear to those who need us to listen. Sacrifice doesn’t always mean grand gestures. Sometimes it’s small sacrifices that allow us to worship God in our actions.

The spiritual discipline of worship can be beautiful and fun. The obvious form of worship, celebrating together and singing in church, can be a great time. Some people dance. Worshiping God can be both fun and serious. Laughter and celebration are ways to worship God.

As we practice the spiritual discipline of worship, we learn to experience God in His Glory. We easily identify His works in our lives. We seek out our time with God in prayer or conversation. We never feel alone because we always know God is right there with us. Worship is an ongoing experience and connection with God.

Worship is probably the most familiar of the Spiritual Disciplines. What does it mean to practice worship as a Spiritual Discipline? We all worship something; it’s only a question of what it will be. The number one topic of the Bible is our worship of God. The Israelites were constantly getting into trouble because of one thing — idolatry — the worship of something other than God. If we really believe that God is who he says he is then we will worship him, not out of a sense of duty, but because of who he is — then our worship will overflow into all other activities.

The celebration of worship is great when it just flows out of the moment we are in. The discipline of worship is necessary when we don’t feel the overflow but begin by forcing ourselves to begin to worship anyways. It might be that as we begin to worship our spirit will respond in earnestness. But even if our spirit does not seem to respond at the moment, we may continue the discipline because God is worthy despite how we feel.

[1] Foster, Richard. “Celebration of Discipline”  Harper & Row Publishers ©1978 p. 148

[2] Foster, Richard. “Celebration of Discipline”  Harper & Row Publishers ©1978 p. 160

Observe

Read Psalm 95; 102. These two Psalms begin from two different experiences. What do they have in common?

Bible-centric disciplines

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 15 – Reforming our Souls

Bible-centric disciplines

[Bible references: Genesis 24:63; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-2; 19:14; 119:11, 127; Isaiah 66:2; Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 10:27; John 14:15, 21; 17:3; Acts 5:29; 17:11; Romans 10:17; 1 Timothy 4:15-16; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17; Philippians 4:8; Titus 3:1; James 1:22; Revelations 1:3]

“If we are ignorant of God’s Word, we will always be ignorant of God’s will.” [1]

“Delighting in God’s Word leads us to delight in God, and delight in God drives away fear.”[2]

“The Scriptures teach us the best way of living, the noblest way of suffering, and the most comfortable way of dying.” [3]

“We discover the will of God by a sensitive application of Scripture to our own lives.”[4]

The Bible is not God, it is His word to us. The end point of Bible disciplines is not to know the Bible, it is to know the God who gave us the Bible. There are various techniques available to us to let the Word of God to lead us to the one who is The Word.

Discipline of Hearing the Word

The Bible was written before the time of the printing press, therefore before the time when widely printed copies of the Bible were available. So, reading the Word of God was not possible for most people, only the hearing of it. Yet, even today, although we can read, study, memorize and meditate on the Word, the goal is to hear the voice of our Lover, the one who gave us the Word. Our relationship is not with the Bible, our relationship is with the Living God. We long to hear the voice of His Spirit speaking to us.

Whether we are reading, studying, or meditating on the Bible, we can pause to listen. What is God trying to say … to you … at that moment … in your situation. We need to develop skills of listening. We should develop the same skills in listening to God as we do listening to the people around us. We should distinguish between “hearing” and “listening.” In passive “hearing,” we find ourselves wanting to respond, to assert ourselves, trusting in ourselves instead fully listening to the work of God in another’s life before we hear a whole message. Listening to others requires discipline coupled with faith and grace. Listening to God’s voice requires patience, restraining our ready-made answers and waiting for His voice.

Discipline of Reading the Word

The discipline of reading the Bible vs. studying the Bible is that reading is for breadth and studying is for depth. It is through Bible reading that we may do short devotionals during the day or do reading programs that allow us to read the Bible (either the entire Bible or in parts) in a specified length of time. It is reading that allows to become familiar with larger parts of the Bible and to see whole context of different books of the Bible. But even as we are reading for breadth, it is the opportunity for us to listen to His voice speaking to us. Reading is done without an agenda, not looking for a particular thing, but prepared to hear God’s voice as we read.

  • Read for breadth –read long passages in the Bible.
  • Read consistently – Make a habit of continual reading.
  • Read without agenda – come with questions, not answers you want to justify.
  • Read prepared to listen – give time to reflect and listen to God’s voice.

Discipline of Studying the Word

All the examples listed below should give you the idea that there are many approaches to studying the Bible – use whatever approach or combination of approaches is suitable for what you want to accomplish.

  • Bible study by books. Use either the inductive[5] or synthetic[6] methods.
  • Bible Study by chapter. Read the entire book to understand context (kind of book, author, etc.), outline the chapter (look for details: comparisons, contrasts, etc.), Begin the task of interpreting: (Define unusual or significant words, understand geographical settings, read in various translations, use cross-references).
  • Bible study by paragraphs. Determine main thought, Rewrite the text, Make an outline, Use a concordance.
  • Bible study by verses. Identify the verbs, Identify the people, Identify ideas, Verse mapping.
  • Bible Study by words. Trace use of word in chapter or book, Use a concordance, Word study in Hebrew or Greek
  • Bible Study by topics. Use a topical study guide or a concordance to examine how a topic is addressed throughout scripture.
  • Bible Study through biography. Use a biographical study guide or a concordance to study the life of a Biblical character.
  • Bible study through journaling. Create a journal that records your thoughts as you study scripture.
  • Bible study through scripture writing. Scripture Writing is a wonderful way to solidify God’s word into your heart. For some, reading isn’t enough. There’s something about taking that God breathed scripture, writing it down and reinforcing it in your heart in a way that will help you memorize and digest it.

Discipline of Memorizing the word[7]

“Bible memorization is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it is a fundamental way of filling our minds with what it needs. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. That’s where you need it! How does it get in your mouth? Memorization.”[8]

 “I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture … No other single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends! Your prayer life will be strengthened. Your witnessing will be sharper and much more effective. Your attitudes and outlook will begin to change. Your mind will become alert and observant. Your confidence and assurance will be enhanced. Your faith will be solidified.”[9]

Memorizing the Word allows us to meditate on it so that it can get more deeply into our hearts. We don’t all memorize equally well, but the goal is to get the Word in our heart whether it’s word for word out of a translation or not. Whether or not we memorize word for word, meditate on it so that it sinks into your heart so that it’s available in the moment of need. Here are some techniques for memorizing verses.

  • You can even turn verse into a prayer.
  • Memorize Verses in a Theme
  • Get a Partner to memorize with you
  • Write the Verses down and carry them with
  • Writing the verse in your own words.
  • Listen to the Verses through an audio Bible
  • Say Verses Out Loud
  • Use Music. Find verses that are set to music or create your own music
  • Break down the verse in shorter chunks and memorize a chunk at a time
  • Use physical motions to go with the verse.

Discipline of Meditating on the word

Christian meditation is the act of filling one’s mind with Scripture and dwelling on God and all that He offers to humanity. In the Bible, the words translated as “meditation” have a variety of definitions: mutter, speak quietly, and ponder, imagine, mourn, complain, study, talk, or utter. [10] You can see that meditation can take a variety of ways for us to interact with what we are reading or memorizing. It is this type of engagement with not just Scripture, but the God who gave us the Scripture that opens us up to transformation.

In Psalm 1, it is written that the ideal Bible reader is one who meditates on the Scripture day and night. In ancient Jewish culture, the followers of God would meditate on His word by speaking it to themselves over and over. They would dwell on the Scripture. As time went on, the definition of meditation changed slightly. During the times of the New Testament, both Jews and Gentiles were all coming to God. This is when meditation changed slightly because the word now had a Greek connotation and culture, rather than a Hebrew connotation and culture.

Apply your imagination and senses

Envision yourself personally engaged in the relationship or encounter or experience of which the text speaks. Hear the words as they are spoken. Feel the touch of Jesus on a diseased body. Taste and smell the fish and bread as they are served to the multitudes. See the truths that God has revealed by mentally recreating the scene with yourself present. There is nothing magical or mysterious in this. The purpose of the imagination is not, as some have argued, to create our own reality. Our imagination is a function of our minds whereby we experience more intimately and powerfully the reality God has created. As you are doing so, reflect on the truth of the Word; brood over the truth of the text; absorb it, soak in it, as you turn it over and over in your mind.

Forming our character

It is difficult to know when meditation moves into prayer. It isn’t really that important. But at some point, take the truth as the Holy Spirit has illumined it and pray it back to God, whether in petition, thanksgiving, or intercession. In other words, take Scripture and turn it into dialogue with God.

Where possible, and according to sound principles of biblical interpretation, replace proper names and personal pronouns with your own name. God never intended for his Word to float aimlessly in impersonal abstractions. He designed it for you and for me.

Then worship the Lord for who he is and what he has done and how it has been revealed in Scripture. Meditation ought always to lead us into adoration and celebration of God.

Finally, practice. Commit yourself to doing what the Word commands. The aim of meditation is moral transformation. The aim of contemplation is obedience. And in obedience is joy inexpressible and full of glory.

Discipline of Obeying the Word

“There will be no peace in any soul until it is willing to obey the voice of God.”[11]

“Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.”[12]

“God has no more precious gift to a church or an age than a man who lives as an embodiment of his will, and inspires those around him with the faith of what grace can do.”[13]

When we truly love someone, we desire the best for them and are willing to inconvenience ourselves for their sake. There is a sense in which their desires become our desires. In such a situation, we do not find ourselves doing just the minimum for them, but to do all we can. When the object of our love is God, we respond to the overflowing love He has for us by returning His love. We do not “obey commands” just because He has authority, but because we care about what He cares about, and that care includes us and our best interests. The goal of obeying the Word is not obedience, but to respond in love to God’s desires.

It would be a mistake to learn a lot of Bible but fail to apply it to our lives. If we learn about the God who loves us and the kingdom He is establishing even right now, our response should include our desire to participate in bringing the kingdom of God on earth. Here are some responses we can think about towards that end:

  • Pray about how God can make us more like Him.
  • Think about what we learn about God and what kind of difference that should make in our life.
  • Think about what doctrines, warnings, promises did we learned and what our response should be.
  • THE 4-P APPLICATION – Problem: Identify something in our life that needs to change. Passage: Identify what verse or verses point out the problem in our life. Plan: Create a plan to work on that change in our life. Progress: Create a routine to check on the effectiveness or carry-through of our plan..

[1] Graham, Billy. “How do I know God’s will for my life” billygraham.org 27 May 2019 billygraham.org/answer/how-do-i-know-gods-will-for-my-life

[2] Jeremiah, David. What Are You Afraid Of? Facing Down Your Fears with Faith.” Lifeway Christian Resources 2014

[3] Flavel, John.

[4] Ferguson, Sinclair B. Banner of Truth Magazine Issue 219 December 1981

[5] Got Questions “What is inductive Bible Study?” Got Questions gotquestions.org/inducitive-Bible-study.html

[6] Guthrie, George H. “How to Do a Synthetic Bible Study” Inglewood Baptist Church http://storage.cloversites.com/inglewoodbaptistchurch/documents/Synthetic_Study.pdf

[7] Mathis, David. “5 Tips for Bible Memorization.” Crossway 23 June 2018 www.crossway.org/articles/5-tips-for-bible-memorization

[8] Willard, Dallas. “Spiritual Formation in Christ for the Whole Life and Whole Person” Vocatio, Vol. 12, no. 2, Spring, 2001, p. 7.

[9] Swindoll, Chuck. “Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life” Zondervan, 1994, p.61

[10] Peña, Madeline. “Christian Meditation: Definition, Biblical Examples, & More” Just Disciple justdisciple.com/christian-meditation

[11] Moody, D.L. “Steps in the Downfall of Israel” Northfield Echoes 1897 (p. 317)

[12] Chambers, Oswald. “My Utmost for His Highest”  1924 eBook p. 64

[13] Murray, Andrew. Leadership Vol. 7 No. 4. Fall 1986

Observe

Read Psalm 1:1-3; 2 Timothy 3 :16-17; Revelation 1:3. What should be our attitude about the Bible?

Discipline of Distress

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 15 – Reforming our Souls

Discipline of Distress[1]

[Bible references: Psalm 11:1-7; 24:1-10; Acts 4:23-31]

“Whenever you are in a time of stress, you should go to the Psalms. They have a medicine for everything, they depict every situation that a human being can be in, and they’ve addressed every emotion you could ever have. They also tell you how to process that emotion or about that situation before God.” [2]

Often in times of difficulty we are prone to turn our focus on whatever it is that is bothering us. This spiritual discipline, sometimes known as “don’t waste an illness,” helps us to confront what has caused us distress, and then to use our distress as an opportunity to lean more fully on God. Instead of being preoccupied by a difficulty we can learn to become occupied with the presence of God.

There are three ways distress can affect us.

  • Distress tends to cause us to focus on the problem in front of us. Like Peter, when He saw Jesus walk on the water, tried to also walk on the water but he became distracted by the winds and waves and lost his focus on Jesus.
  • At other times, distress can make us lean into whatever means of control we have, but again, we focus on the means of control that are right in front of us, forgetting that we are not the ones really in control.
  • Also, as part of needing to control our circumstances, we may avoid acknowledging our suffering or our fears instead of being honest about them to God, which will allow those things to control us later.

When we are confronted by things that cause us distress, we can train ourselves to focus more on God than the situation immediately in front of us, to remember that the Lord is on the throne, that He knows our situation, that He is in control, and that He knows our fears and concerns, that He has a plan. In the future, we may be able to look back like Peter and Joseph and see God’s hand at work in times of distress.[3]

In difficult times, worrying may indicate that we are thinking that we know more than God about how things should be working, and we are worrying that He is not going to get it right. In fact, God may also be testing us, to help us come to grips with what is in our heart, to better understand ourselves, to grow in the faith and to examine our priorities.

[1] Keller, Tim. “Disciplines of Distress” Redeemer City to City 26 Mar 2020 redeemercitytocity.com/articles-stories/tim-keller-disciplines-of-distress

[2] Keller, Tim. “Disciplines of Distress” Redeemer City to City 26 Mar 2020 redeemercitytocity.com/articles-stories/tim-keller-disciplines-of-distress

[3] Peter is remembering that Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, and Israelites were anointed to do what God had already predestined them to do. Gen 5:20, Joseph is telling his brothers that the very things that they had intended to do evil, God was going to use it for the good.

Observe

Read Psalm 11:1-7; 24:1-10; Acts 4:23-31. In these passages, what did the people concentrate on in their distress?

Discipline of Lament

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 15 – Reforming our Souls

Discipline of Lament

[Bible references: 2 Samuel 1:1-2:7; Psalm 10:1-4; 17:20; Jeremiah 4:8; Lamentations 2:5; Micah 2:4; Acts 8:2; John 11:31-33]

Lament is not despair. It is not whining. It is not a cry into a void. Lament is a cry directed to God. It is the cry of those who see the truth of the world’s deep wounds and the cost of seeking peace. It is the prayer of those who are deeply disturbed by the way things are… The journey of reconciliation is grounded in the practice of lament.[1]

“Lament and praise must go hand in hand. …  My tears showed me a God who was still worthy of my praise in troubled times. Lament cries out for shalom. Shalom is active and engaged, going far beyond the mere absence of conflict.… it embraces the suffering other as an instrumental aspect of well-being. Shalom requires lament.[2]

The Bible is filled with lament. When the God’s people are faced with evil, injustice, oppression and turmoil, the Biblical response is often lament. Sometimes the lament is focused on ourselves, sometimes it is focused on others. Sometimes our suffering can reveal the needs we really lack, not necessarily what we do not feel nor see. In all of this we should remember that our lament is not to inform God about our needs or wants, God already knows them, but he wants us to lament and plead so that we may kindle our hearts to stronger and greater desires.

Growing in lament helps us to see the sinful, broken world more fully as God see it, to be more fully aware of how our own sins participate in that brokenness, and to become more aware of our need for God’s justice and grace.

Rest and Remember[3]

The goal of the discipline of lament is to learn to slow down, become more aware of our own emotion and pain as well as others, so that we can learn to cry with God about the pains of suffering and injustice. Resting in God gives us the time to remember and reflect, to consider all the many we and others in the world have been hurt and treated unjustly. As we remember, we may find it helpful to turn to the Psalms. Many of the psalms are psalms of lament, sometimes ending in a declaration that God will respond. In Ps 71, suffering is not seen as a problem as God acts to restore him. As we find ourselves, crying out to God, we can find ourselves wrapped in His goodness knowing that he cares about our pain, It is then we can develop a fuller picture of God and learn to praise him with renewed joy and hope.

Repentance 

In that remembering, fused with the hope of God, we can become more fully aware of the part we ourselves have played in the world’s injustice. Repenting, confessing our role in creating pain opens the way to our own healing as well as the healing of others.

Recompense and Restitution

Our repentance turns us towards God, but we may need to consider practical steps act on our repentance and make amends with those we’ve hurt.

[1] Katongole, Emmanuel. Rice, Chris. “Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing” Intervarsity Press, 2009

[2] Rah, Soong-Chan. “Prophetic Lament:  Call for Justice in Troubled Times” Intervarsity Press, 2015

[3] Price, Paula Francis. “Lament as a Spiritual Practice” ” Women in the Academy and Professions (intervarsity.org), February 09, 2017, thewell.intervarsity.org/spiritual-formation/lament-spiritual-practice The categories in this section are taken from this article

Observe

Read 2 Samuel 1:1-2:7. What did David do during his time of lament?

Discipline of Fasting

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 15 – Reforming our Souls

Discipline of Fasting

[Bible references: Isaiah 58:1-14; Ezra 8:21-23; Matthew 6:16-18]

By the help of the merciful Lord our God, the temptations of the world, the snares of the Devil, the suffering of the world, the enticement of the flesh, the surging waves of troubled times, and all corporal and spiritual adversities are to be overcome by almsgiving, fasting, and prayer.[1]

“More than any other Discipline fasting reveals the things that control us.” [2]

Fasting breaks up habits to let us see our lives in new ways or to enable us to pray at new times or in new ways. Because we are stopping something for a finite period of time, there’s an unfamiliarity and discomfort to it that can be very instructive, open up time for prayer, and draw us closer to God.”[3]

“In every culture and religion in history, fasting has been an instinctive and essential language in our communication with the Divine.”[4]

The pursuit of God can be described as in Psalm 37, to trust in, to delight in, to commit to, to wait on, and to be silent before the Lord; these are words of “giving up” of “going without” whatever the world offers and instead resting in God. The discipline of fasting then looks like learning to go without while learning to rest in, to fight through our appetites so that we can remain focused on the act of pursuing God and loving others, to push through our hunger pains so that we can discover we’re just fine on the other side of them, to look to God, to talk to him, to open ourselves to him in confession, to not so much as give up anything, but to commit to hearing the voice of God in our lives. The goal of fasting is to pursue God, to turn our hearts and our loves towards God and neighbor.

There are many reasons Christians are led by the Holy Spirit to the spiritual discipline of fasting, a few of them are: to strengthen one’s prayer life, to seek direction for one’s life, to express grief and loss, to seek deliverance and protection for life, to express repentance and reconciliation with God. to humble oneself, to express concern for the work of God, to minister to the needs of others, to overcome temptation and rededicate oneself to God, to express love, devotion, and worship of God, to establish rhythms between absence and abundance.

Simplicity and Gratitude can be precursors to fasting. Once we have determined how to order our lives then we are better equipped to identify those things that stand in our way and in the lives of those around us, not only the good vs. bad things, but the good things that detract us from the best things. The Gratitude for God and His provision can set our attitude in preparation for fasting.

[1] Sister Mary Sarah Muldowney The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation Writings of Saint Augustine Vol 17 Fathers of the Church 1959 Sermon 207 (p. 89)

[2] Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline.  Harper & Row Publishers ©1978 (p. 48)

[3] Baab, Lynne M. “The Surprise of Fasting” Lynnebaab.com www.lynnebaab.com/blog/the-surprise-of-fasting

[4] Ryan, Thomas. The Sacred Art of Fasting: Preparing to Practice Skylight Paths 2005

Observe

Read Isaiah 58:1-14; Ezra 8:21-23; Matthew 6:16-18. The benefit of fasting does not come just from deprivation. What should accompany fasting?

The Discipline of Simplicity/Stewardship

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 15 – Reforming our Souls

Discipline of Simplicity/Stewardship

[Bible references: Genesis 1:28; Psalm 33:5; Micah 6:8; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 25:35-40; Luke 16:13; John 13:34; 1 Corinthians 3:9; 4:2; 9:24-27; 2 Corinthians 1:12; 9:6-8; Galatians 6:6; Philippians 4: 4,8-13; 1 Timothy 5:8; 6:6-10, 17-19; Hebrews 3:5; 12:1-3; James 1:17; 1 Peter 4:10; 1 John 3:17]

The central point for the Discipline of simplicity is to seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness of His kingdom first – and then everything necessary will come in its proper order.[1]

There’s no point in simplifying your life if you are steering toward an end point that doesn’t matter to begin with.[2]

My schedule is far less about what I want to get done and far more about who I want to become.[3]

“We do not mean . . . that simplicity betrays itself in no visible signs, has not its own habits, its distinguishing tastes and ways; but this outward show, which may now and then be counterfeited, must not be confounded with its essence and its deep and wholly inward source. Simplicity is a state of mind. It dwells in the main intention of our lives. A man is simple when his chief care is the wish to be what he ought to be . . . And this is neither so easy nor so impossible as one might think. At bottom, it consists in putting our acts and aspirations in accordance with the law of our being, and consequently with the Eternal Intention which willed that we should be at all.”[4]

“If you want to have a spiritual life you must unify your life. A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for.”[5]

It is not enough to simply pare down one’s possessions or schedule, because they can become their own ends or become undone because we have not dealt with our habit of filling our time or possessions with something else. To successfully practice simplicity, we must have a clear center, a clear purpose. It is from that purpose that we can decide how to spend our time and resources so that our decisions can be based on how they fit our priorities. An indicator of whether you achieved your purpose can be if you feel fragmented and restless. Without a clear purpose, short-term distractions and pleasures can hijack our progress towards our long-term goals. Therefore, the goal of simplicity is to gain integrity of spirit, reduce temptations, distractions, and the need/desire for things so that we can better serve God.

Setting our priorities

To reach these goals, we must do less of some things but more of others. True simplicity is doing less of what matters least, and more of what matters most. You don’t just empty your life of the bad, you fill it with the good. Having a purpose allows you to discern whether a particular area of life should be constricted or expanded; purpose produces priorities. Once our priorities are set then we can make meaningful decisions about our activities. We may need to declutter our lives: we may have too many things in our home, or too many activities in our lives. What detracts our attention from our priorities? What things should we say “no” to? What habits do we have that move us from our goals?

The discipline of simplicity includes determining who we want to be and setting goals to achieve that, then setting our priorities, and then arranging our use of time, money, our spiritual gifts, and our relationships to meet those priorities. Simplicity is the essence of stewardship.

Stewarding our resources

Once we have centered ourselves and established our priorities then we can focus on how to manage the limited resources that we must accomplish the responsibilities God has given us. It is easy to get overwhelmed by all the needs we see around us in the world, it seems that there are not enough resources to meet the needs of the world. That is why we need to figure out what responsibilities God has to us individually. Then we need to trust God to provide what we need to for those responsibilities (Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.)

If we have set our priorities properly, then our priorities should be aligned with God’s priorities and desires. In Gen 1:28, we can see that stewardship is the first assignment God gave humans, so part of what we need to consider is what individual things that we, as individuals, have been given stewardship responsibilities over. We also need to consider God’s desires for how we carry out those responsibilities. We know that His desires are for us to love God and neighbor, act with justice and mercy, have a generous and overflowing love towards others (including our families, our fellow believers, and those in need) and to take care of the world he has provided for us.

As His stewards, we need to consider how to use the blessings God had given us, to serve in the way he would have us do so that we bring glory to Him in all that we do. We are not just a person with a vocation, or just a member of a family, or just a church member, etc. We are a who not a what. We are people created by God to be in relation with him and with others, and with multiple obligations.

[1] Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline Harper & Row Publishers ©1978 (p. 75)

[2] Hybels, Bill. Simplify: Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul.  Tyndale Momentum 2015

[3] Hybels, Bill. Simplify: Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul. Tyndale Momentum 2015

[4] Wagner, Charles. The Simple Life. McClure, Phillips & Co. 1901

[5] Merton, Thomas. Thoughts in Solitude.  Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 1999

Reflect

What habits in your life move you away from pursuing God?

Observe

Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. How would following the advice in this passage help us to be better stewards?