by RobertCummins | Aug 3, 2015 | 31. Quieting
Quieting – Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
Daniel (my son) and I had just floated “The Box” of the Henry’s Fork River which the locals know as the North Fork (of the Snake River). This stretch of river is famous for the numbers of fish it holds. (Idaho Fish and Game estimate 3500 hundred per mile.) The six hour float we took through The Box, making hundreds of casts, tended to confirm this as well as the fact that some of these fish are ginormous!
How did this come to be? Where does such an abundance of life begin? We decided to find out. We pulled out our map and began our search. What we discovered surprised us. This river did not begin as snow melt, cascading dramatically from thousands of feet above; no, it was coming from beneath our feet!
Our search led us, within a short drive, just a few miles upstream, to Big Spring. Here, without much fanfare, 150 million gallons a day of cold, crystal clear water bleed out from a fifty foot gash in the mountainside. From an overlook only a brief walk from our car we looked down to see Big Spring pumping its quiet torrent, first into an inviting pool of shear beauty then spilling out onto the descending rocky gradient which is the Henry’s Fork. It turns out this spring was the inconspicuous origin of the abundant life of which Daniel and I had partaken.
In the ecosystem of this flowing water, plant life had taken hold and had become in itself a perfect habitat to the crustaceans, leaches and insects which in turn become the feast of the hungry and awaiting trout downstream. To me, the earth was declaring the glory of her maker and preaching an unforgettable sermon.
Then (an angel) showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Revelation 22:1
If you read further in Revelation 22 you discover this river is also the origin of an ecosystem, one of eternal life that brings healing and abundance to all those downstream. Not only did the Henry’s Fork nourish the fish in the river and the birds that hunted it, it was also drawn upon to irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of rich farmland. This brings us to the grand miracle which, it seems only few discover; this spring is within us and would run through us, would we permit it.
Most of us know of the book by Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It and the movie that made it famous. Maclean leaves his readers with a deeply personal word, a synthesis of a life’s observations; “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it….. I am haunted by waters.” If the scriptures are true and the testimony of the saints who have tasted abundance is accurate, our story (that of the Church) should be titled; A River Runs Through Us, subtitled; We Are Inhabited By Waters.
As I read scripture it seems apparent that living water was meant to come from Christ who is the Big Spring deep within us. As we learn to live out of that stream, we become the rocky fork where life may propagate. Surely it was God’s intention that our hearts be that place where abundance is cultivated and eventually spills out to those downstream from us. How does this come to be? Where does such an abundance of life begin? We must each decide to find out and trace it back to the source. Those who will take the time will discover it is but a short distance to the Spring and that it is less conspicuous in presentation than we have perhaps been inclined to think.
Our theme this week “Quieting” is surely a pathway to personally discovering our Big Spring.
Father, may your life find its way within us. May the river which comes from your throne birth in our hearts sufficient abundance to nourish those you have placed nearest to us. May this eternal system of life even spill out and bring healing to the nations. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Aug 3, 2014 | 31. Quieting
Isaiah 30:15-18
The passage begins with God making a generous proposal to His chosen people;
In repentance and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.
But they turned it down. Instead they elected flight and even though they used the the swiftest horses their choice was in vain.
The result was a chaotic scene where a paranoid mob of a thousand are fleeing from a single enemy. Obviously this enemy had his bluff in and in response to whatever he has done or said, Judah is overreacting badly. It seems the end result of Israel’s response was being left alone and dangerously exposed.
We no longer use swords and spears and we may not be carried into battle on horseback but still there may be some characteristics of our battles that have not changed which this passage may speak to. When God made his offer to save using repentance, rest, quietness and trust, I am picturing a composed heart – a kind of grace-saturated inner-life that is oriented rightly to Truth. Do we consider our hearts all that important in our battle? Are we even aware we are in a battle? Is it possible that we too have turned God down his offer to save and redeem us on these terms?
We still have a diabolical enemy who would love to destroy us. As far as we know his chief weapon is deception. He is referred to as the prince of the power of the air. When I think of the war he is waging I picture the spiritual equivalent of that atmosphere where radio waves travel unseen through walls carrying their messages of advertising, news and entertainment. I see the prince of this age overseeing these unseen transmissions of carefully blended amounts of truth and lies that pass unseen (and usually unchallenged) through our hearts and minds. I picture a day, a glorious one to be sure, where Satan’s lies have been filtered out of the spiritual atmosphere. On that day I think we will be astounded that this singular master lier, by way of his custom-crafted deceit, had put us to flight and provoked so much bondage, misery, chaos and paranoia for so long. The passage concludes with;
Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.
It is not easy to wrap up, in the concluding paragraph of a devotional, how to compose our hearts for our war with the father of lies except to remind ourselves that light exterminates darkness. Ours is the Father of Lights and we are children of light. Our spirits were formatted for Truth and Light. The purpose of the Blue Book network was to help us in personally developing the best practices of watching over our hearts. The spirit of the Blue Book is all about the vital strength that can only be discovered in our experience with quietness, rest and trust.
Father, may it not be said of us that we rejected your means of saving and redeeming us. May we establish our secret places of retreat and prayer and fellowship with You. May we become adept in discerning spiritual reality; in distinguishing religion from relationship; in separating Truth from error. May you help us to cultivate longing where there is complacency. We long to see Your justice exercised against Your enemy and ours. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Aug 3, 2014 | 31. Quieting
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands.. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
I share from personal experiences because we have so much in common; our origin, our flaws, our joys and sorrows and so much more. I find myself constantly exploring how God’s creative and redemptive love plays out amidst our impure motives and messy lives. This being the case, our stories are valuable to each other. Your story will hold light and encouragement for me and I pray that mine might be that for you as well.
I mentioned on Thursday that this verse was one of two I had claimed for myself as a young Christian. Based on what I thought about myself at the age of 23 (which was not much), I just knew these verses fit my personality and would define my destiny. The other thought was from Psalm 131….
I do not involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me.
If you read Thursday’s installment you know that my motives for the selection of these verses were likely not 100% God-inspired. I know now that at least a part of my conscious motives (since I was a young teen) have been “flight” – to distance myself from the things that caused pain. For me this was our family’s business and its president (my Dad) which I had come to associate with the intolerable pain of rejection and the undesirable aspect of complexity. Complex things are not too inviting if you have come to believe that your intellect and social skills are substandard. As convoluted as my thinking was, there was still even more to my unhealthy motives and identity issues.
The even-more had to do with the stigma of wealth. As a young kid I started picking up on the attitudes my friends had toward those with money. I didn’t like what I was hearing about golden spoons and where they should be stored. I did everything I knew to hide my social status from others but, in my small town, it was a futile effort. What was innocent in grade school and junior high became more malicious in the high school years. It was during those years I learned that some even hated me for my father’s success. I literally dreaded stepping into any social setting where this attitude might be lurking. Alcohol (and eventually drugs) became my refuge. They very adequately numbed the short-term pain while compounding the long-term pain.
After the better part of a decade of mixing alcohol and drugs with (or for) the toxic things going on inside of me, I had exhausted all hope of a future. At 23, I was utterly lost and in a rapid descent into darkness. Enter Jesus. He made nothing less than a dramatic entrance into my life, immediately setting this prodigal son free from a bunch of nasty stuff and introducing me for the first time to hope, peace and joy. It was awesome! My new mission, at least in part, became how to sustain this new sense of well being or better yet, how do I get more of this?” The question became; “What do I need to do?”
Some of the believers I threw-in with as a young disciple and many of the authors I began reading seemed to advocate austerity as the narrow path we must follow where we shall come to know Christ and become one with him. So, with their lead, I began blending “religion” (compliance to external and internal standards) as a means of pleasing God into my already contaminated motivations. I had come to believe monetary success spelled doom for my soul. Therefore to sustain my new blessed condition I must flee wealth’s overpowering allure.
In my personal sense of insecurity and inferiority, I had what I thought was an intuitive sense of my depravity. God knows much of the preaching I heard reinforced the notion that I was, at the core of my identity, essentially a sinful creature with prideful motives who would be incapable of managing financial increase or prosperity in any form. So the plan that formed in the dimly lit space of my heart was: flee from that possibility and temptation; work with my hands; insure a lower middle class wage; work exceedingly hard, (which had been the religion of my father’s family); fear God; and perhaps if I perform well I will please Him and consequently sustain (and improve?) my relationship with him. There were a few ticklish questions along this path toward God. One big one was just how poor does one need to be to become holy? Or, stated differently, at what point of financial success does one become displeasing to God?
I know this may all sound crazy, but I would have crawled on glass for the balance of my days to avoid going back to the waste, the pain and the darkness of my life before Christ. For a person like this who was driven to pray Psalm 139: 23 & 24 (search and try my heart and expose wrong motives), mine was fertile ground for God to work in. Through time and God’s province I would eventually learn that there is a big difference between the legalistic flight of religion and the liberty of being drawn to Someone. Paul laid into the Galatians for this same error.
Much of my understanding of who God is has come from how I have perceived Him answering this prayer to superintend the affairs of my heart. (like he forgot?) Again the irony is rich; that I would choose verses for the wrong reason, and through His intimate awareness and care for me, would permit me to end up resting in His arms after a frantic search for Him (like I was ever lost?). Carnal sin was the yoke that Jesus delivered this young prodigal from at 23. Religion was the even heavier yoke that Jesus rescued this elder brother from at from at 57. I am stunned by His kindness. (By all means read Tim Keller’s book, The Prodigal God. It’s a treasure.)
Note: I believe religion is the more binding yoke because it looks so impressive with all its accumulated doing. Inherit within the religious spirit is the deception that their doings have established a credit balance in heaven while in fact something to the effect of the opposite is going on. The doings within religion offer a false salve to the conscience of the wounded insecure heart. The religious do not know they are lost. Most carnal sinners are keenly aware of it.
I think a book could easily be devoted to exploring how wounded, rejection-prone people get entangled with “religion” which I think of as the human heart’s endeavor to comply with perceived standards of approved attitudes and behavior with the illusion that they are improving their standing with God. Much of my story is about getting unentangled from “religion” and finding myself progressively at peace with God, increasingly at rest in His love, satisfied with His grace and secure in my identity as a saint.
It is all about discovering who we are in Christ and resting in him alone. It is about becoming the human beings that were originally created in his image. It about the irony that our efforts to do anything to preserve or create relationship with God is the undoing of enjoyment of something priceless that can only be received as a pure gift. Doing undermines being. It is the essence of religion. Right doing flows naturally from hearts at rest in Christ. I really do not know how to improve upon this deal.
Father, Help us to see where we have undermined Your grace through our entanglement with religion. Heal our hearts that we might truly enjoy You. Expose religion for what it is – a demonic ploy to distort our image of You, others, ourselves, and the Life of God that is embedded in our story. You are a good Father. Thank You. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Jul 31, 2014 | 31. Quieting
Psalm 131:1-3
“I do not involve myself in great matters or things too difficult for me“. Psalm 131:1
This verse create a flashback for me. It was one of three verses I had claimed for myself as a young believer. Another was …
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands“. 1 Thessalonians 4:11; ”
These verses fit me well I thought in my mid twenties. However, with hindsight I can see there were mixed motives in my choices of life-verses. Yes, I passionately wanted to know and follow this Jesus who had so radically altered my life but why had I also latched onto simplicity and manual labor as conditions to this relationship?
The truth is that at a younger age I had made some vows in order to avoid, at all costs, ever becoming involved in anything great or complex; more precisely, any greatness or complexity associated with my family’s businesses and their contetious relationships. I could not have articulated it as a child but now I know that those vows were made to insulate me from something I perceived would cause ongoing pain and loss.
Neither did I know, as one young in the faith, that my life-verses were serving toward the same end; to reinforce my heart’s own secret agenda; to live pain free. While my Dad’s vocation as a contractor provided material security it seemed to create (at least for me) relational insecurity. As a very young boy I overheard violent exchanges of words and oaths between my dad and his brothers (who were his business partners). It frightened me. I knew I could not involve myself in anything like that. I vowed that I would not.
The business also consumed my Dad’s time. During my junior and senior high days, my Dad would leave on Monday and return on Thursday or Friday. I did not fair well during those adolescent years. There is no need for details; suffice it to say, I was a troubled kid who was always in trouble. Sadly, I have no memory of a normal conversation with my Dad. I only recall words of correction and punishment, always delivered with frustration and disappointment. I was also negatively biased toward the family business because I watched a nasty ulcer (likely fueled by family stress) rob him of much sleep and quality of life. No, I could never, would never do the family business thing.
With my vows in the backdrop, exerting themselves both consciously and subconsciously, I had followed a vocational path that had led me to the verge of fulfilling my life verses (and the honoring of my vows – that originated with my secret heart motives). I never had to leave my young family like Dad did because my place of work was my home. My garage was a woodworking shop where I worked with my hands each day. My little cottage business was a sole proprietorship so I had no one to be at odds with. (that is, if we exclude God and my wife). In this cozy arrangement it seemed, at least to me, that God had set things up perfectly. Indeed He had; only, not at all as I had expected.
One day I will record the details of the Monarch Millcraft – Heirloom FlagChest venture but I will condense things here to say that on the verge of succeeding in my ambition for a simple lifestyle, the rug was suddenly from beneath me. From my theological vantage point God was either the agent of cause or, at the very least, a party of interest.
In the aftermath of this unwelcome and shocking turn of events, the violent oaths being screamed were not between my Dad and my uncles; they were between my heart and God. The demise of Monarch Millcraft (my most recent installment in a string of heartbreaks), was the final straw between God and myself. Final straw sounds like tough talk but I really did not have any energy left to fight with. Nor did I have any other place to go or plan to follow. In my heart I knew that ultimately it was with Him whom I had to do. In simple terms, I was being graciously and lovingly broken.
In that space in me that was to be full of worship and peace there was a war raging. My soul was not like a weaned child within me. Like Jacob, I was in a serious wrestling match with God. The only resolve I had left was simply to not, if at all possible, allow this season of chaos and strife (which I strongly suspected He was sponsoring) to pass without discovering just what it was He was trying to say to me. It turns out (without my awareness) that he was answering my most frequently prayed prayer; “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” This prayer from Psalm 139:23-24 was the third of my three key life verses.
Note; I will forever by grateful to Paul Billheimer for writing Don’t Waste Your Sorrows and Destined For The Throne. In these books he offered me a redemptive view of suffering, and how it plays into a believer’s destiny, all the while making room for God’s sovereignty and our free-will. Having some modest grasp of this mystery has been an encouragement to persevere at times when I might have otherwise adopted some fatalistic explanation for the way life plays out.
Since the time of these events I believe I have developed some understanding about what God’s point was (and is, for that matter). He does not like the hurtful vows we make (consciously or subconsciously) to insulate ourselves from pain because it ultimately cripples us in our capacity to love and be loved. He wants to be our healer and comforter. He does not want us depending on a particular lifestyle (or conditions of any type for that matter) which can potentially insulate us from our encounter with Him, and Him alone, as our full and abundant provision of Life. For those who are serious about following Him, I am convinced that He will shake and tear down the things we construct that are built upon faulty foundations (like hurtful vows). He loves us too much to leave us in our deception and instability.
Again, much condensing and fast-forwarding…. You may have guessed (or known) that I did end up joining our family’s business. It has not been particularly simple and I have not worked with my hands much. However in God’s infinite and amazing kindness (and I think humor) He has permitted me to more and more make the same claim as David did in this Psalm; that my soul is at peace and at rest in Him “as a contented child in His mother’s arms“. How amazing is God to permit me to adopt verses for the wrong reasons only to arrange for me to be the beneficiary of His kind intended and generous meanings. I too am dependent on God outmaneuvering me.
Note; In the years before my father passed, much healing took place in our relationship and through the divine orchestration of more events, my Heavenly Father saw to it that my earthly father would come to know Him. I am stunned at God’s patience and generosity toward my family and myself. Here is a humble and humorous man’s read on his life as he perceives it in God’s hands.
I’m easily fooled most of the time but nobody’s ever gonna dig too deep – We’re all in a hurry to somewhere else with distractions and too little sleep – Got a list of questions long as my arm and the only second chance I see, to live and die without permanent harm, is if God can outmaneuver me. (Verse 2 from Faithful, a song by Bob Bennett)
Father, help us to see Your loving providence and redemptive possibilities at work in our lives; especially in the places of our vows and deepest hurts. Help us to work out our salvation while leaning into You instead of running away from You (and each other) in our pain. Give us faith and courage to move forward in whatever trial we are facing, realizing that we are staring our greatest kingdom opportunity in the face. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Jul 29, 2014 | 31. Quieting
Mark 1:29-39
I would like to have heard Jesus preach. How do you think His message would be received today? He had no building, no public address system and I sure can’t picture him using notes. Stranger yet; His gospel did not directly contain Himself as one who had been crucified or raised from the dead. What were listeners supposed to do with Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom which did not mention Himself as One who should be invited into the heart? What was the “good” news that Jesus was preaching? Well, we know what those privileged to hear Him thought. My NAS translation says, “they were amazed….., for He was teaching them as one having authority…“. The Message translation puts it this way;
Everyone there was incredulous, buzzing with curiosity, What’s going on here? A new teaching that does what it says? He shuts up defiling, demonic spirits and sends them packing!
The saying (or preaching) and the doing were perfectly aligned in Christ’s life and the result was Jesus having the upper hand over demonic powers and illness. If they would have had print media, the headlines of the Galilean Times would have read; THE WORD HAS BECOME FLESH; Demons Silenced and Evicted in Jesus’ Presence”. So,..the sense of amazement was not just a response to His excellent sermons; it was their response to the powerful manifestations of God’s Life as it was being displayed before them.
We have great communicators and communication technology today that are assisting in the gains being made in our mission to preach what we have come to understand as the gospel. I have wondered though; if the earth today were exposed to Jesus’ version of “good news” would we be as dependent on media? Maybe, but the results-oriented gospel that Jesus preached was doing pretty well without the power of public relations. The scriptures tell us that, when Jesus ministered;
….immediately the news about Him (who He was in word and deed) went out everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.
Scripture tells us Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.” We may not know the exact content of all His messages but we do know, (because of His deeds), the kingdom of God was at hand. It was accessible and in it, there was a “now“-authority over the powers of darkness. I believe this is an element of the good news we have somehow lost. Without the now-ness of the kingdom, I fear we are left with only a then-ness. How much of the bad fruit of our apathy and indifference might be traced to this root? What a powerful demonic strategy; to get the called-ones to adopt a “then“-is-the-day-of-salvation“ attitude.
I know I have read the Bible with a “that was then, this is now” mindset. While I may confess with my lips a fuller, more powerful gospel, I too often live complacently as if the kingdom will be “then” at hand with a “then” authority rather than live responsively and responsibly toward the kingdom as a “now” reality. So today, as I hear Jesus say, “repent and believe in the good news“, I believe He is telling me to repent of my blasé attitudes about His “now” kingdom and His “now” authority and my fatalistic projections of where I perceive the trends of an evil society are taking us. Yes, the trends do seem obvious; hopelessness is in the air we breath but, scripturally speaking, where there is evil is not grace to abound all the more?
Did Jesus say it was better that the Holy Spirit come and indwell us just so that He could collectively affirm (by our absence of power) a dispensation of Christianity focused on buildings, programs, or on our knowledge of the Bible, or the further refinement of our character? Is the Holy Spirit contentedly residing quietly inside us, as we halfheartedly (or whole-heartedly) embrace a Christianity that is lean (or completely barren) of kingdom authority?
I can only explain the relative impotency of my Christianity (and that of my generation in the west) by considering that the demonic spirits have not yet been silenced nor have they been sent packing. They are still present. Here in western culture they may not be flinging as many of their writhing victims into fires but they have (in their current strategy) embedded their defiling lies in our culture, encouraging unbelief within and without the church. As to the effectiveness of Satan’s agenda, there is certainly evidence of much writhing within the collective soul of society. I suspect it will be a shock one day to discover just how accommodating we have actually been to the enemy’s lies.
Father, may the renewing of our minds include an upgrade in our perception of Your kingdom government which we know will continue to increase until You place all your enemies beneath Your feet as a footstool. Please impart to us a righteous indignation where the kingdom of darkness is outshining the kingdom of light. Amen.
A question. Is it possible that the restlessness that is being documented among churched-ones (which is usually interpreted by leaders as mutiny or rebellion) is actually life stirring within the cocoon? Note; If you are unaware of restlessness as a trend within Christendom, check out Revolution by George Barna. On Amazon, see the books that others bought who purchased Revolution. May I recommend a few authors (from different camps) whose own restlessness (and even scholarship) are driving them to now kingdom thinking and living: When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson, You Were Born For This by Bruce Wilkinson. I also hear a challenge from NT Wright to rethink what we have assumed to be normal Christianity. Note: These authors may not be speaking at the same conferences but they are brothers with kingdom DNA alive in their hearts.
by RobertCummins | Jul 28, 2014 | 31. Quieting
Learning to pray inwardly throughout the day * learning to gaze upon Christ with the eyes of the soul * to become acquainted with God in our own souls * to have order in our inner lives * to have increased sensitivity and compassion for others * to discover God as our healer, teacher and guide * to build and sustain an inner fire for God. Would you be interested in gaining any of these as qualities in your life? If so, may I encourage you to spend some time, quiet and alone, with God this week. I cannot tell you how many people have stumbled into this discovery with the Blue Book.
Many of you, who offer me Blue Book feedback, often remark about the depth of insight you see in the contributing author’s writings. You say, “These writers are amazing, where have these people been?!”. Well,. ..most of them have been off alone somewhere just being quiet before God – often in the midst of trying circumstances. The qualities I just mentioned belong to them and they attribute them in large part to having learned how to be still before God.
In behalf of unknown or little known authors. In a kingdom where we are told the path is narrow, are we wise to seek out the best selling authors as our sources of wisdom? In God’s counterintuitive, upside down value system where the last become the first, isn’t it plausible that our best mentors could be the lesser known authors? Note: The Blue Book will introduce you to a core of unsung heroes of our faith. But beware. They speak what at first will sound like a foreign language.
The reason you may not have heard of them is that they are mostly “be-ers” in a world where “do-ers” are the heroes. They are from a small tribe of Christ-followers who have learned to live more out of their hearts than their minds. They have valued His presence above production and intimacy above information. This is foreign terrain to most of us because this type of spirituality has not been modeled for us. You may even doubt that it a lifestyle worthy of modeling. I cannot really debate this but as a red-blooded American male, one with a bit of the “doer-producer” in him, I can offer my testimony.
Note; Our observations and experience regularly confirm that rewards accrue to us when we “do” things. These rewards may include profit, diplomas, titles, wins, visibility, prestige, influence and, last but certainly not least, a better handicap.
May I confess to you that few things have ever given me as much pleasure as performing well athletically. So, to say the least, it was gratifying to have been flirting with scratch golf at mid-life. For the aging, golf is one the final arenas where we can excel after we no longer have any vertical leap or bursts of speed left in us. I had to put down my clubs though, due to back problems. It seemed like a cruel blow to a guy whose yard borders the signature hole of his city’s finest golf course and who had envisioned his golden years honing his handicap.
Even though it has brought some pain and what I initially thought was loss, the back injury (as bizarre as it may seem) was a catalyst to a discovery that I will never regret; that there are things in us (at a foundational level) that are below all the “doing” that are driving the “performing” and as pleasurable as the rewards may be, the presence of these things render the foundation unstable and they prevent God from building the superstructure He has in mind.
The upside of the back problems is that the absence of golf has created some extra space and time in my life. The back pain also served as an incentive to meet God, preferably as my healer. While I am increasingly convinced that He is my healer, I have not yet met Him in that capacity (at least as it concerns my back). But in my seeking, I have had the privilige of rediscovering Him as Father after He addressed some of the foundational issues of my heart. These foundation repairs have made the absence of golf a non-issue.
However, I offer one last golf tip: You red-blooded big-swinging, golf-studs out there will cut five to ten strokes off your game if you slow your swing down. Granted, you sacrifice that testosterone high you get from flexing your big T-Box-muscles but the gain of finding yourself in the fairway with a real shot at the green (I found) was apt compensation for my loss. No extra charge.
Jim Branch’s motive behind the Blue Book (and I suspect, its contributing authors) was to present a God to us who is accessible and knowable and to show us a proven pathway. They are trying to say to us, “Be still and make the discovery in your own experience, that God is deeply involved and invested in you. By learning to be still, we get to unwrap a gift of inestimable value – a functional intimate relationship with God Himself. This is the Pearl of Great Price for those who can spiritually slow down their swing long enough to develop ears that hear. While waiting and being still are excruciatingly painful initially, (esepcially for “doers”), they will seem like a small price when we encounter Him.
Father, continue to pour light into the dark places of our hearts that doubt your intentions to reveal Yourself to us. Help us to make those adjustments, those investments of stillness. In Your presence, help us to convert our losses into gains and our sorrows into opportunities of discovery. If necessary, alter our swings (or remove them altogether) if they are in any way impediments in enjoying our inheritance in Christ. Amen.
