Community: Comm - unity Unity A song of ascents. Of David. Ps. 131 Please read the rest of this Psalm. 1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Leviticus 26:8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. Deuteronomy 32:30 …one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight Ecclesiastes 4: 9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.… Be longing: It takes a family The family is one of The Trinity’s best ideas. The Trinity intended the family to be the secure incubator in which spirits are reborn and souls are nurtured. However, because of our rebellion, the family is under attack from without and from within. Because of compounding brokenness, the generations have failed to fulfill the vision of the family. Each generation repeats the dysfunction of the last. But for the grace (undeserved favor) of the Trinity the family would be long extinct. Even though the Trinity has established many remedies for preserving the family, sometimes the family completely disintegrates. Trinity has family 2.0 waiting in the wings to nurture abandoned souls. In Psalms in the Bible we are told, “I will set the solitary into families.” The psalmist proclaimed, “When father and mother leave me, you, Lord (another name for the Trinity), will take me up.” This should not be surprising. The Trinity (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) has always existed as “family.” They exist as a mutual love society. The fact that three distinct persons can exist in such total harmony that they are one is one of the greatest mysteries. It is only by revelation that we are made aware that the Trinity exists and wants more beings with the capacity to choose to love with which to fellowship. The Trinity created humanity to be as much like it as possible. Humanity has the power to speak, to create, to choose, to love, and, will live forever. God the Father Again, earthly family s one of the Trinity’s great ideas. God the Father (one of the persons of the Trinity) is the prototype of fatherhood. His father character was demonstrated in Christ during his earth walk. None, I mean none, of us had or have perfect fathers. Tragically, we tend to view God the Father as we view our earthly fathers rather than the other way around. We project onto The Father the ways in which our earthly fathers hurt us by what they did that they should not have, and by what they should have done and they did not. Get to know the Father by studying the Son and by studying what the Father has revealed of Himself in the Bible. Brotherhood with Christ the Son Although, because of our self-centered rebellion, none of us measure up to The Trinity’s standard the Christ (another person of the Trinity) became human in the person of Jesus the Christ and took our rebellion upon Himself so that the Trinity could legally forgive us. This forgiveness is offered as a free gift because we could never pay the “fine” for breaking The Trinity’s intentions for us. The Trinity now invites us to become brothers and sisters with the Christ. What is our cost? Recognize and admit that we are not who we were created to be, and cannot become so by our own efforts. Then, ask the Trinity to apply the sacrifice of the Christ against our “fine” and then pledge, with their help, to cease our rebellion. Brotherhood through the Spirit of Christ When we ask for help from the Holy Spirit (another name for the Spirit of Christ), we grow more and more into the persons The Trinity birthed us to be. They accomplish this by inhabiting our core self with the Holy Spirit and by placing us in a growing environment. While they intended that the family be the primary, initial place for spiritual growth, to the extent that the family fails in this mission they have a back-up plan. The Trinity has placed in the heart of all human beings a longing for fellowship, connection, and belonging. However, because of the impact of sin, there is also a loathing, a fear of being known, of being truly intimate (into me I let you see). This dilemma is solved by unconditional love as manifested by Jesus the Christ and as exhibited by the ‘body of Christ,’ the authentic church. That love creates an atmosphere in which it is safe to risk rejection, to risk being truly known, while we are becoming. Sadly, AA is often more loving, accepting and forgiving than some churches. (Jerry Cook’s book “Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness” is an excellent treatise on what church ought to be.) In places where the congregation, a local expression of The Church, is too large for intimate sharing of our life in Christ small groups have been ordained to be the primary incubator of our spiritual development. Sometimes the small group is a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Or, it may be a small accountability group of fellow becomers. It may be a small home fellowship group. It is in these smaller relationships we find the nurturance, acceptance and mutual support we need to become. This understanding logically leads to a series of questions. Have you acknowledged your separation from the Trinity? Have you accepted the reality that you cannot, by yourself, fulfill the intentions of the Trinity? Will you allow the Christ to pay your “fine” for not measuring up? Will you find a local expression of the “family” where you can be nourished and give nourishment to others? If so, you will find that you truly become part of the “family.” If you have already done the above we are “family.” If you chose, now, to follow the above I would love to hear from you so we can encourage each other in belonging and becoming. Familylifeskills26@gmail 308 234-8403 The Power of We When a husband and wife face each other in unity, they project into the world something that was not there before. Together they project a “WE” somewhat like the hologram of Princess Lea that R2D2 projected into the dessert nothingness. This “We” is the salvation of earthly society and the “brooder house” for fledgling saints. When a couple fight and quarrel it is much more than just a problem between them, it is a problem for the Kingdom of God. I Peter 5:7 in the Bible says, “Husbands treat you wives properly so your prayers are not hindered.” Unless the woman has been severely wounded in her childhood, she is much more committed to relationship and unity than the man. So, God puts responsibility for keeping unity in the relationship squarely in the man’s lap. Because Satan fears unity he is viciously cunning in attacking the couple. He will try every trick in his bag, e.g. anger and jealousy or “just too busy” to stir up strife. He knows that even with the best of intentions we will fail to maintain unity consistently. When we fail, one of Satan’s favorite strategies is to blame us and try to shame us because we “failed.” The sure defense is to admit our failure, confess our breach to God and each other, and re-unite as quickly as possible. Don’t dawdle. “WE” creates a safe place for persons to be and to grow. Society longs for such safe places. When there is unity in your home, people - especially kids - will flock to it. Married couples will find you both threatening and inviting. They want what they see. “WE” accomplishes much more than either of you could individually. The Bible tells us “One shall chase 1000; two shall put 10,000 to flight.” By that standard, "WE" is five times more potent for the Kingdom of God than each of us working independently. Praying together is the power behind “We.” Unity must be worked at for there are a zillion things that assault unity because the Darkness hates and fears it. This is why unity can survive only by the empowerment of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. As each member in the couple strives diligently to yield to the indwelling Christ His lordship sustains their unity of mind and spirit. Why do you think it is that men can pray for and with others much more easily than they can pray for and with their wives? Could it be because she knows our foibles? Do not hide or shirk your responsibility as the spiritual leader in your home. Simply confess to God and your spouse what is true…and grow from there. If you want your family to be healthier, wealthier and more influential…build and maintain unity. Just as a man with one eye is king among blind men, so a family with a unified focus is king among families that are stumbling in the dark. And if you are single build a spiritually open and honest relationship with another person of faith, preferably of the same gender. Praying with an accountability partner can have much the same powerful, positive influence on society for the Kingdom of God as the “WE” of marriage. An illustration I use in counseling is: I say “My left arm did something I didn’t like” then I pound on my left arm with my right hand made into a fist. Then I ask “does that make sense?” the typical reply is “No, that is crazy.” Then I explain that when we are in relationship any time I injury the other party I unknowingly inflict pain on myself. The greater the emotional bond the more the pain is transmitted to me. In a larger context, since all of humanity is connected, I cannot offend another human being without reaping some loss myself. Accountability Prov. 27: 17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Psalm 133 Just as running every day is much easier to maintain if you have a running partner so it is with many of the challenges of growing spiritually. Find someone of like mind and give them permission to ask you the hard questions. Did you do what you set out to do? Did you avoid doing what you said you would not do? Giving another person permission to get into you stuff is an excellent way of getting out of being lord of your life. Self is so subtle. Ego (edging God out) will continually assert itself and must be rendered powerless by every means possible. Accountability is one of those ways. Transparency One of our deepest longings is to be fully known and deeply loved. Because of childhood wounds we may believe that we are unlovable. So, this longing is thwarted by fear of rejection. This is addressed in the section on abandonment wounds. The best antidote for fear of transparency is the model of someone who risks being transparent. Dr. Jack Hayford said….We fear being exposed but when I am transparent before my congregation something beautiful happens. They gather around. They embrace me. They cover me. Then, my transparency invites them to be transparent…and God heals broken hearts. James 5: Confess your faults…no pretenders in true fellowship. If you are pretending prayerfully seek out a place where you can be transparent. Or, become such a ‘place’ yourself. I John 1: 9 No self-delusion – walk in the power of open and continual confession. I like to render this verse as ‘to the extent that you confess your sins, God is faithful…’ The only limitation to walking guilt free is my me desire/ability to walk in open and continuous mindfulness of the Holy Spirit’s working in me. It takes practice. My Spanish teacher in High School was a Chinaman named Mr. Wang. He had been raised in Argentine and was poly-lingual. His favorite exhortation was “Practicar e practicar e practicar,” Practice, practice, practice. Transparency and Accountability work hand in hand. What is a practical ‘next step’ you can take here?
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:44:07 +0000
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