He restores my soul. Psalm 23:3a

INTRO: About five years ago, someone told Barbara and Ithat we needed to see The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

It is a foreign film with English subtitles
– Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor of Elle magazine suffered a stroke in his brain stem that left his body paralyzed
• his brain was still fully intact – inside, he was still himself — “Locked-in Syndrome”
– the only part of his body he could control was his left eyelid
• by blinking once for yes and twice for no, he would go through the alphabet to spell words
– he spent the last summer of his life writing a book through this painstaking process of communication
• reading it, you discover the vast, rich, active inner-world of his mind
• all of it hidden from others except through the fluttering eyelid

There are lots of reasons to appreciate the movie (and book)
– e.g., inspire gratitude or admire his fight when had every reason to give up, etc.
– but also because it tells us something about ourselves: we all have locked-in syndrome
• I am this invisible inner self – full of stories, ideas, memories
• there is no way to get this out where others can see it except through my body
– when we try to reveal the person within, only a trickle manages to get out Continue reading →

He leads me beside quiet waters. Psalm 23:2b

INTRO: We are making our way through Psalm 23, noticing how it is the essence of contemplative prayer

Sometimes we come across well-meaning yet misguided Christians who criticize contemplative prayer
– some criticize it for being “Roman Catholic” – as if that in itself were a mark against contemplative prayer
• but it is and it isn’t Roman Catholic

The reformer, John Calvin, argued that Christians need a knowledge of God not as speculation that “flits in the brain” but “takes root in the heart” and “Consequently, we know the most perfect way of seeking God, and the most suitable order, is not fo us to attempt with bold curiosity to penetrate to the investigation of his essence, which we ought more to adore than meticulously to search out, but for us to contemplate him in his works whereby he renders himself near and familiar to us, and in some manner communicates himself.” Institutes of the Christian Religion

– other critics have confused contemplative prayer with new age meditation — it isn’t

Many of the critics are old school, among whom a favorite preacher is Charles H. Spurgeon (19th Century London)
– regarding our verse this morning, Psalm 23:2, Spurgeon said:

“What are these ‘still waters’ but the influences and graces of his blessed Spirit?
‘In sacred silence of the mind
My heaven, and there my God I find.’
That silence is golden indeed in which the Holy Spirit meets with the souls of his saints.”

Continue reading →

He makes me lie down in green pastures . . . Psalm 23:2a

INTRO: A while back, book on prayer was released that became wildly popular

The author focused on one particular prayer in scripture and from it created a formula
– the implication was, people could use the formula to get their prayers to work
– books like this feed our inner desire to use prayer to get what we want

What if prayer is not for getting what we want?
– what if it’s for getting what God wants – what he wants from us, what he wants in the world

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 Jn. 5:14)

What if  “His will” is to use prayer to transform us rather than our circumstances?

When we pray, what is primary in our minds?
– I can be concerned about myself, thinking of others, preoccupied with the world, or focused on God Continue reading →

The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

INTRO: In 2004, one of the largest churches in America launched a research project

Its leaders wanted to determine whether their programs were doing what they were designed to do
– that is, promote the spiritual growth of their members
– what they learned from 15,000 people interviewed, was that the answer was No

An assumption many pastors and church leaders make, is that the more a person is involved in church activities, the more they will experience spiritual growth

I met with a couple from New Zealand this week  who told me that the evangelistic strategies of the last generation were no longer working
– because people are not being inspired by churches or evangelistic organizations, Christianity is dying in their country
– furthermore, the churches they had attended failed to meet their spiritual needs

This situation is not unique to New Zealand Continue reading →

Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. John 20:19-20 (read verses 19-23)

INTRO: The day after Easter 2004, I had an impression as if God were speaking to me

Church attendance swells on Easter–more than any other day of the year
– so there was always a lot of preparation for Easter weekend and we treated Easter Day as a big event
– then, like all big events, the day after we would experience an emotional let down
• but that year, I felt that God was saying, “Don’t draw an ‘X’ through that box on calendar–Easter isn’t over”

The following weekend I visited the Camadoli hermitage near Big Sur for first time
– there I met Fr. Romuald, and through his love and wisdom I discovered a new level of intimacy with God
– one morning that same weekend, while meditating in scripture, I received another impression, as though God was saying, “I am bringing something new to birth in you”
– this coincided with Easter, which they celebrate, not for a day, but all through April and May Continue reading →

As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting:
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” Luke 19:37-40

INTRO: Almost everyone says they feel closer to God in nature

So why don’t we go into country, desert, forest, or walk by the ocean more often?
– beside having schedules that are overbooked, we add to them unnecessary responsibilities

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, some Pharisees told him to restrain his disciples
– but as it was, the voice of the people was restraining the rocks — all nature was ready to breakout in praise

Religion is supposed to prepare us for life on this planet, but instead it sometimes declares war on nature
– for example, a practice of silence and solitude can be spiritually refreshing and make us better listeners, etc.
– but to never speak or interact with others goes against both nature and scripture
Ecc. 3:7, there’s “a time to be silent and a time to speak” Continue reading →

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:5 (read vv. 1-17)

INTRO: In the last six weeks, we’ve gone over the body in scripture from head to toe and from the outside in

We have been exploring the role their bodies (and parts) played in their spiritual understanding
– we have seen that men and women in the Bible listened to their bodies, searching for deeper meanings to what they felt and experienced

For example, when Rebekah was pregnant with twins and they jostled each other in her womb, she asked, “‘If it is so, then why am I this way?’ So she went to inquire of the LORD” (Ge. 25:26). It was then that God revealed to her the destiny of her two sons. The point is that she believed that what went on inside of her had a meaning that only God could make clear.

Continue reading →

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (read vv. 12-20)

INTRO: The question most frequently put to youth pastors, “Is it alright for a Christian to go to parties?”

It sounds like the teenager is asking, “How close can we get to the edge and still be Christian?”
– but what really lies behind the question is more like, “Is there anything fun about this Christian life? Anything interesting or exciting? Anything that compares with the social life of an active teen?”
– when preachers spell out the life of faith, their descriptions oftentimes sound dreary and like a lot of work
– it is as if we were at war with pleasure – at war with our bodies

The the impression we get when reading about the first Christian monks
– known for their “asceticism” – rigid self-discipline — they intentionally deprived themselves of food, sleep, and comfort
Karl Rahner, “. . . asceticism was considered almost exclusively a substitute for martyrdom.” Continue reading →

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your sight [lit. “eyes”];
Keep them in the midst of your heart. Proverbs 4:20-22 (read vv. 20-27)

INTRO: Simone Weil was born into an affluent family, but always felt drawn to poor

Wanting to better understand the hardships of the working class, she went to work in a factory
– there she learned not only the harsh conditions in which many people labored, but also about their afflictions, both great and small
– one observation she made reflects on minor injuries in the workplace:

“When an apprentice gets hurt or complains of fatigue, workmen and peasants have this fine expression: ‘It’s the trade getting into his body.’ Whenever we have some pain to endure, we can say to ourselves that it is the universe, the order and beauty of the world, and the obedience of creation to God which are entering our body.”

Acquiring a skill changes our bodies
– first blisters form and then become callouses, muscles that are sore at first become strong, and the movements that are awkward starting out we later perform with agility and grace

In our current study, we are learning to let God’s grace enter our bodies Continue reading →

How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace
And brings good news of happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 (read vv. 7-12)

INTRO: Some of you know of Walter Martin

He popularized Christian apologetics in his book, Kingdom of the Cults
– Walter Martin lived here in San Juan Capistrano and occasionally I would run into him around town
– he suffered from diabetes and nearly lost his feet to the disease
– in one of our encounters, he told me about a masseuse who worked on, “She saved my feet,” he said

Few of us were ever taught importance of taking care of our feet
– we abuse them with shoes that are too tight or worn out and also with bad posture
– this can create muscle tension and over compensation that results in pain in our legs, back,  and neck
– we pay for abusing our feet as we age – mangled feet can misalign the body and diminish its ability to balance, causing us to lose stability
If you are ever tempted to say, “My feet are killing me,” it is probably because you are killing them Continue reading →