Mechanics... Or Merely Mechanical?

There’s an area of unceasing talk in Christendom, an endless stream of gibbering present in every age, concerning what we might call ‘spiritual mechanics.’  Somebody, somewhere wants to know the ‘mechanics’ to this point or this principle or this passage.  “Give me some mechanics, show me how to do this!,” whatever ‘this’ happens to be.  Which is perfectly fine, in one sense, because there are some things we need to know in precisely this manner.  “How does this unfold?  What’s this going to look like?  How do I respond to this experientially?”  But my personal belief as a pastor is much of the laser-like focus on mechanics in the Body of Christ, just like much of our talk on the ‘how-tos,’ is not so much about walking with God and staying in step with His Spirit {i.e., living the Adventure of Faith from a place of intimacy}, as it is about a mechanical maneuvering to get what I want from God, or what I want out of His Word, with the least amount of disturbance to my self-protective life.

We want a formula for faith and there is no such thing.  “I want you to show me exactly three steps to this particular outcome, four steps to a favorable finish, a single prayer which guarantees health, wealth and wisdom.”  Are you getting the picture?  You following me?  Good.  Because if Life in the Kingdom of Christ ever becomes mechanical {defined by Webster’s as ‘machinelike; lacking spontaneity, expression, warmth, etc.’}, if it’s merely a matter of rote and ritual, then we have become post-modern Pharisees and our hearts are in big trouble.  As are the hearts of those we love.

The Way of Jesus— the Way of the Master and Messiah— is a Path of Prayer and Healing, a Path of purpose and power, and ultimately a Path of wholeness and holiness.  These two are flip sides of the same coin, by the way.  Jesus’ Path is one which for many of us, at different ages in Life, different stages of the Journey, varying levels of honesty and openness with God and with ourselves, takes every moment Abba has given us and encompasses them all.  The point of this Path is we keep coming back to Jesus, we keep walking in the Spirit’s Way, we let our heavenly Abba take another pass, another shot, another swipe at the hardness of our hearts, the brokenness of our lives, and the pain buried beneath the surface of our souls.  Like the unfolding of an onion, we let our Lord peel away the layers of suffering and selfishness which have held us captive.

The Journey begins with the simplest of prayers:

Abba, take me into my wound, into my brokenness— deeper than I have ever been.  I give You as my Father, Jesus as my Lord, the Spirit as my Guardian and Guide, permission… access to the deepest part of my soul and the deepest hurts of my heart.  Come and lead me into the darkness by the Light of Your Love.  Come and shepherd this lost little girl within me, this orphaned little boy within, tenderly and lovingly.  Let me be present in this place— fully awake to my wounded heart and fully aware of its phenomenal need.  Uncover my wounded soul, Father, and meet me there.  In Jesus’ holy and healing name ...Amen. 

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

Embracing the Possibility of Change.

“I do not recall another period when ‘faith’ was as popular as it is today.  ‘If only we believe hard enough, we’ll make it somehow.’  So goes the popular chant.  What you believe is not important.  Only believe....  What is overlooked in all this is that faith is good only when it engages Truth; when it is made to rest upon falsehood, it can and often does lead to eternal tragedy.  For it is not enough that we believe; we must believe the right thing about the right One.”— A.W. Tozer.

I absolutely love this quote from Tozer, a profoundly spiritual man, as passionate a seeker of the heart of God as any man in the 20^th century.  Most of us are acutely aware of just how dangerous post-modern life can be— at certain times and definitely in certain places: in Syria, St. Louis, the crosshairs of the NSA— thus most of us have no problem accepting the realism: Who you trust matters!  Along this same line, we should have no problem understanding, from an eternal perspective: What you believe matters!  Because what you believe is what you will live out of, plain and simple.  Be careful what you allow into your heart ...cause what you put into your heart {the centre of your soul} will come out in your life.  What we believe, have faith in, rest our trust upon, matters— immensely.  Especially concerning the possibility of change, the reshaping of our souls and remolding of our minds into the Master’s image.  And the reality of Jesus’ Resurrection Power to accomplish this end, the Spirit of the Risen Christ alive and well within us.

When we talk about embracing the possibility of change, and the radical reality of it, we’re not talking about the power of positive thinking.  We’re talking about looking to the living, breathing, abiding Word of God {Heb. 4:12}, letting it fill our hearts and minds with its wisdom, and choosing in the strength and authority of the Spirit of God, to act on it.  To live, to love, to forgive, to feel {yes feel} all those things we’ve been running from, hiding our heads under our pillows and hoping will go away, masking over with too much food and too much drink, with anger and arrogance and drugs and shopping and sex, with idol after idol.

The Love of God is a consuming fire, and a consuming fire is the only thing strong enough to destroy our idolatries and to heal our addictions.  The Love of God consumed our sin on the Cross; it can consume our shame if we will let it; it will consume the lies which have been eating away like a cancer in our souls, sabotaging us every step of the Way.  Finally, His Love consumes our hatred and our bitterness by the glory of His forgiveness.  The Cross is the soul-solution to the bitterness springing up from inside of us.

I love how Peterson puts Hebrews 12:28-29 in The Message.  “Do you see what we’ve got?  An unshakable Kingdom!  And do you see how thankful we must be?  Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God.  For God is not an indifferent bystander.  He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and He won’t quit until it’s all cleansed.  God Himself is Fire!” {Heb. 12:28-29}.  Amen and amen.  Come, Lord Jesus ...and purify us by the fire of Your Love! 

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

One More Thought For the Rocky Road Ahead.

Through faith in the finished Work of Jesus we have a relationship with His heavenly Father.  And we live in a world full of other creatures made in His image, which means we each have a relationship with the world around us.  So, we have a relationship to the God who saved us, and we have a relationship to the people around us.  Which brings us to the third thing we need to note for the year ahead.  This is something I picked up from a blog by Christian author Donald Miller, and it is utterly and absolutely revelatory.

You have a relationship with yourself— make it a healthy one.  People who respect themselves feel better, in general, and feel better specifically about their own lives.

Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.  You become like the people you surround yourself with.  You doubt the validity of this?  See what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:33.  I want to ask.  What influence do you have on them and what effect do they have on you?  Are you maturing into the man or woman Christ created you to be, flowering into the fullness of His image, or shrinking into the shadows of your acquaintances?

If you want to respect yourself, start making decisions worthy of self-respect: start behaving in respectable ways, not engaging in disrespectful conversations about others.

If you want to feel better about your body— and I have never met a woman who didn’t— make wiser decisions with regard to your diet.  Choose, with the brain, the will, and the faithful heart God gave you, to eat healthier foods.  And not eat half a sheet cake ...or a chocolate pie, or those God-forsaken donuts sitting out front in churches every Son-day.

If you want to feel better physically, and have more energy and endurance, you’ve got to get out and walk.  You’ve got to exercise in some form or fashion: bicycle, mountain-climb, jump rope.  You’ve got to put a body not in motion into motion!

The point is: Make your relationship with yourself a good one.  Change the way you view you; and change it into the way Jesus views you.  “I am a Child of God in whom Jesus dwells.  And I live in my Father’s Kingdom.  This is who I am and where I am regardless of what may be raging around me.”  This is my Eternal Identity: the Beloved of Abba.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously