For the Joy of the Journey

The Presence of God (6)

George March 12, 2024 The Presence of God 0 Comments

OMNI

The three “omni” attributes of God characterize him as all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present. ¹

Embracing a reality that God is present everywhere all the time — God’s presence, constant communion with Him—must define the journey. ²

Reading and discussing “Practicing the Presence of God” evolved into an examination belief that God is present everywhere, all the time.
Prior to that experience had I been asked, “Do you believe God is omnipresent?” I, as most Christians, would answer without reservation, “Yes, of course!” In my mind the question was: “Do you believe it is true that God is omnipresent?”. Now, as then, the answer is:”Of course!”
“Is it true?” is an essential question, but it is not sufficient. Until we ask “Is it real?” and answer “Of course!” belief can remain superficial—true but not real.

A picture of the Chicago skyline taken almost 60 miles away, is actually a mirage.

It is possible for belief to be a mirage, true but unreal. The Chicago skylines are real. but the mirage is an illusion. Mirage, an illusion of something that is real… true but unreal.. superficial and ineffectual.
Another helpful description is mental assent.

Mental assent means intellectually accepting the Word of God as true – admiring it and agreeing with it-but not allowing it to have an impact on you, so that it doesn’t do any good in your life. In essence, mental assent agrees with God but does not believe in God.
A variation of mental assent is “sense knowledge.” This is the attitude that says, “If I cannot see it, then it is not real. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Sense knowledge is the biggest obstacle to faith because; in many cultures we are trained and conditioned to live by our five senses alone. If we cannot analyze something and empirically conclude that it actually works, then we do not believe it is real. God says He has promised is already reality. Yet it won’t become manifested reality in our lives until we believe it is real before we see it-
https://allankakinda.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/mental-assent-vs-faith-in-the-almighty-god/

Such belief is consistent with living in “a two story universe”
“We live here on earth, the first floor, where things are simply things and everything operates according to normal, natural laws, while God lives in heaven, upstairs, and is largely removed from the story in which we live. To effect anything here, God must interrupt the laws of nature and perform a miracle.” For us to see or hear from God, God has to come downstairs to visit us. But most of the time, it’s just us alone on the first floor. God is absent, upstairs and minding his own business.
FR Stephen Freeman

Contrary to bifurcated illusions of God’s presence in a “two story universe; the “really real” presence of God, is experienced in “a one story universe”.

God present everywhere all the time is the reality of a one story universe, where “..”in Him we move and have our being”. God is with us and has come to abide in us, and that makes the world we live in “the story”.
In a “one story universe” we no longer divide the world into ordinary and extraordinary; into usual and unusual, into sacred and secular. It is only then that we will have the possibility of knowing , much less living the Christian life.

Only in knowing him will we see the world and ourselves truly and understand the gates to paradise have been opened to us.Whenever Christians allow the Gospel to be shoved upstairs, we have allowed ourselves to be disregarded and the Gospel to be marginalized. ³

Next — living in a one story universe VS living in a two story universe.

STILL ON THE JOURNEY

So Much To Think About

George March 9, 2024 Notes Anthology 1 Comment

Most of us think we are our thinking, yet almost all thinking is compulsive, repetitive, and habitual. Rohr

Sunday Morning

Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
Psalm 143:7-10 NIV

Mental assent

Mental assent means intellectually accepting the Word of God as true – admiring it and agreeing with it-but not allowing it to have an impact on you, so that it doesn’t do any good in your life. In essence, mental assent agrees with God but does not believe in God.

Cherokee Parable

A grandfather is talking with his grandson. The grandfather says, “In life, there are two wolves inside of us which are always at battle. One is a good wolf which represents things like kindness, bravery, and love. The other is a bad wolf which represents things like greed, hatred, and fear.”
The grandson stops and thinks about it for a second then he looks up at his grandfather and says, “Grandfather, which one wins?”
The grandfather replies, “The one you feed.”

Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Lying

It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction.

Frankfurt

Immigrants

“Our nation is a nation of immigrants. More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands.”

Ronald Regan

Lament

Opening ourselves to God when we’re in need says that we trust God and want God to accompany us, support us, and befriend us in every way.

We trust those we love most with our deepest fears, doubts, emptiness, and disillusionment. So we love God when we share those vulnerable aspects of our lives with God. Just as a little child in the middle of a temper tantrum can shout “I hate you, Mommy!” only because he knows his outburst will not end their relationship, we can express to God our deep doubts, anger, or frustrations only because we possess an even deeper trust in God’s love…. The fact that we share this pain with God rather than withhold it turns out to be an expression of love.

Brian McLaren

Eros

Modern usage has corrupted the meaning of “erotic” to only mean sexual desire – but it is a profound word, without substitute in the language of the Church.

By eros we mean the love that makes us forget ourselves entirely and run towards the other without any regard for ourselves. Allan Bloom described eros as “love’s mad self-forgetting.” (from Road to Emmaus, Vol. XV, No. 2, Spring, 2014).

Personal Impressions

…personal impressions are highly selective. I can only see the world out of my own eyes, but my view is bounded and limited by my experiences. My view is only the smallest of slices of what is going on in the world.

Richard Beck

Back from Florida

We returned from our annual 3 month snowbird retreat to Venice Florida on March 2. This year’s stay was exceptional in a couple of ways. The weather was most unusual as compared to previous visits. Temperatures over all were cooler, more wind and rain. It was not constant, so the warmer days were appreciated. Beach time was limited but Ann managed to get an appropriate tan. Any disappointment with the weather was resolved by looking at the weather in Wilmore.

Beyond the weather, we had wonderful visits, interactions, conversations and meals with friends and neighbors. The greatest attraction for us is community. We were able to experience community similar to our neighborhood in Wilmore. Without that we probably would not continue to spend 1/4 of our year in Florida.

We are committed to return next December…

STILL ON THE JOURNEY

A Word or Two

Steve Elliott February 25, 2024 A Word or Two 0 Comments

a guest post by Steve Elliott

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:3-11 NIV

We have saying in our house: you don’t get the life you find, you get the life you build. And if you are a follower of Jesus, you are under construction to be built to resemble him, to respond like him, and to be in this world as He was: fully present to this world’s brokenness and neediness, offering this world His love and compassion. He is no longer here physically to do that but we are. And as His Kingdom people, we are meant to be Kingdom salt and Kingdom light to this world. And what that looks like is found in Matthew 5 and the Beatitudes.

But we need to aware that the Beatitudes are descriptive not legislative … they are be-attitudes not be-haviors. Our ethics come from who we really are not who we try to be. Jesus is saying this is what “gospelized or kingdomized” humanity looks like. So if you bump a Christian Matthew 5 is what spills out of them. These are eight qualities of the same person not eight different options on a divine menu.

So these are not the rules we keep. They are the colors a Christian bleeds if you cut them. And it’s not about being perfectly complete in each one … as if you scored 10 out of 10 on each one. Nor is this about your salvation being at risk if you are behind on #3 or #6. It’s about the direction your life is headed. It’s about making forward progress in our spiritual growth and formation … leaving us with the question: “are you and I growing forward in our Kingdom life, not being perfect, but moving in the direction of Christ-likeness?