Sunday - Peace

On Sundays, three ideas come together in my spiritual practice: The seventh statement in the Lord's Prayer; The seventh Beatitude; The seventh day of creation:

- Everything belongs to God for forever
- I want to make peace
- God rests from his work and calls the day holy

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When I make peace, I partner with God

The ultimate goal is to partner with God - to do things in full alignment with Him. The definition of peace is not just lack of conflict, but a time of fruitfulness, rest and enjoyment. On the last day of the week, my will converges on to God's will. 

Looking back on the week, God wants me to recognize my chaos and come out of it, pursue doing good, and finally bring peace and rest to people. That peace isn't just for a single day, but lasts for eternity.

Today I just talk with God and enjoy his presence.

Saturday - Evil and Good

On Saturdays, three ideas come together in my spiritual practice: The six statement in the Lord's Prayer; The sixth Beatitude; The sixth day of creation:

- God, keep me away from tempation and evil
- I want to be pure in heart and see God
- God creates the land animals and mankind. He tells Adam and Eve to fill the earth and take care of it.

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My influence is good, and God will expand it

On the third day (three days ago), my thoughts were about how my influence fails - and today I consider how my influence succeeds and brings about good. For my influence and power to bring about good, I have to be pure in heart and not tempted into doing evil. I ask God to keep me away from the things that can derail me and then cause corruption.

In the creation story, God creates man and grants him power over the earth. The control man receives is to do good and provide care.

Today, I pray for the world.

Friday - Mercy and Forgiveness

On Fridays, three ideas come together in my spiritual practice: The fifth statement in the Lord's Prayer; The fifth Beatitude; The fifth day of creation:

- God forgive me as I forgive others
- I want to be merciful and receive mercy 
- God creates the fish and birds and gives his first blessing to them - the first relationship described in creation.

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My relationships are good, and God will build them up.

On the second day, the focus is on how my relationships are not right. Today, the fifth day, the focus is on how they are right, and how I can make them even better. In creation, yesterday God set up his first relationships, today He sets up His first friendships.

Forgiveness and mercy are critical to keeping my relationships in tact. I need to be close to God and feel like I can approach Him. If there is no forgiveness from Him, what am I left with? Nothing but distance, guilt and loss. He knows that and reaches out to me - and requires that I do the same to others.

I think forgiveness & mercy are not just about letting things go. These concepts are about building friendship and connection - in other words, blessing others. It's not passive, but involves actively seeking how to solidify my relationships.

Specifically, today I pray for my church and other organizations that are reaching out to others to extend God's love - both by doing good and sharing His message.

Thursday - Hunger and Filling

On Thursdays, three ideas come together in my spiritual practice: The fourth statement in the Lord's Prayer; The fourth Beatitude; The fourth day of creation:

- God please fill me with what I need
- I'm hungry for good, and will be filled
- God fills the sky (the void) with sun, moon and stars to mark time.

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My heart is hungry for good, and God will fill it.

After spending the first three days of the week considering how I'm in chaos, I now move to three days of being in a good state. I focus on growth and giving to others. I think the void in the creation story can signify the void I have inside of me. There are times I really want things to be right and good - especially with my kids.I get hungry for good to come - both in what I receive and what I can do.

Specifically, I pray for all those people I believe are not connected to God. I don't presume to know anything about someone's heart - I only know what I see. I also don't pray that they would "become like me", but rather that God would approach them and bless them.

Wednesday - Weakness and Power

On Wednesday, three ideas come together in my spiritual practice: The third statement in the Lord's Prayer; The third Beatitude; The third day of creation:

- God's in control, and I want that to continue
- I'm powerless, and in need of help
- God orders the earth

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My influence is in chaos, and God wants to set things right.

The first day is about my heart (the core). The second day is about relationships (the next level). The third day of the week is about power and influence (the final level). All three days focus on being in a state of chaos and want, where God shows up to help and take care of us.

This is a day to consider how I lack the power to make any real changes in my world. I'm "meek" with little influence over my surroundings. God, on the other hand has full power over the earth, and sets up the boundaries on the third day. He creates the "earth" that the "meek will inherit". So God promises that his good influence will eventually come - which I think is the intent of praying "your will be done". If I want to have real power, I need to align myself with his agenda.

Today I pray specifically for my close friends and extended family. I try to thank God for each of these people in my life and ask him to bless them - in whatever form that takes.

Tuesday - Separation and Connection

On Tuesdays, three ideas come together in my spiritual practice: The second statement in the Lord's Prayer; The second Beatitude; The second day of creation:

- God's kingdom is coming to bring us together
- I'm separated from God and others, and in need of help
- God separates out part of creation - the only day of creation He doesn't call good.

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My relationships are in chaos, and God wants to change them.

This is a day to be in the wilderness where I'm alone. I hope that I can be more connected to God, but I understand that sometimes he will be there, and other times not. The Bible is filled with stories where He is very close at times and then far away. I realize this isn't a popular belief, but I think an accurate, biblical one.

I desire to be connected to others, but I realize it often doesn't work out. I try to face the loss for things I have done wrong and failed to do right towards the people I know. There are some relationships I can work on to fix, and others where no change is possible. 

Even God seems to dislike like the concept of separation - but is willing to use it as part of the growth process, showing it on the second day of creation. This is the essence of Jesus coming to earth and being fully rejected by God to remedy the evil we have done. This is where my comfort comes from.

Specifically, I pray for my close family: my wife and kids. I ask God to forgive their sins and make them clean. I want their burdens of sin to be taken away, purely by God's grace. Should I ask God to forgive them like this? Is it appropriate?

Job was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters... Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life.

Monday - Darkness and Light

On Mondays, three ideas come together in my spiritual practice: The first statement in the Lord's Prayer; The first Beatitude; The first day of creation:

- God is in his kingdom and He is holy
- I'm in darkness and in need of help
- God enters into the darkness and announces, "Let there be light."

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My heart is in chaos, and God wants to change it.

Today is a day of focusing on God's greatness and my lack of it. This is about my heart and its condition. I split my thoughts into worshiping God for who he is, confessing my failings for who I am, and being thankful he reached out to me. I start my week trying (emphasis on trying) to be honest with God and myself.

For the past months I've been attempting to confess my sins - not that I'm a sinner, but the specifics of where I fail, why I fail and the impact it has.
- Thinking "I'm a sinner' is not very difficult. For me it's a cop-out.
- Saying my failings out loud, along with my motivations and how I think it's impacted others is a killer - and very effective.

Every Monday has it's moments of pain, but it's worth it. I love this practice, as I have never before felt honest in front of God. It's not as if he doesn't already know everything - this is an exercise in honesty and self-acceptance. I started this practice after listening to a series of sermons by Hassan Boyle on 1 John 1:9.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Sunday - Peace

re·li·gion

noun

1.

a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing amoral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

While is very popular in the evangelical world to say "I'm not into a religion, I'm into relationship with Jesus", I'm finding myself becoming more and more religious. I'm trying to create patterns and structures that help me focus on God. I'm also interested in ancient Christian practices that I think modern culture has erroneously thrown out.

This is part of my weekly pattern: Sunday is the day I focus on peace and thankfulness. Today ends the week's cycle: It's a day to just enjoy all I have and thank God for it. No thinking about taking any ground for the Kingdom or becoming a better whatever - only thinking about God himself.

I use the The Lord's Prayer and Beatitudes to establish my week, as they run a similar 7-step course. They converge on God ruling over all, and us joining him as His children.

For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory for every and ever.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 

An Absent God

I have been thinking a lot lately about how God works. I've been trying to understand how He achieves his purpose in a seemly chaotic world of free will. One of the elements he uses over and over again is a period of absence. I think it's to test us and drive us to a new understanding of ourselves.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

I was reading the Genesis creation story again, and thought a lot about the second day. It's the only day where God didn't look at what He's did and "saw that it was good". I think it's because it's the day that represents separation and loss of relationship. As part of his creative process, it will eventually become good (on the next day), but for that moment, He looks at it for what it is: something what was together that is now separated for a time.

Over an over again I hear stories from people where they felt separated and even abandoned by God. Once that period of time is over - if it does get over for them - they have a greater relationship to God. They basically come to their breaking point, then emerge into a new understanding of themselves and their destiny.

A side note: I'm glad I'm not a pastor or paid Christian worker. To admit separation from God, especially long-term separation, is obviously a very risky thing for them. I think the chances of getting booted out of a job are fairly high. If what I believe is true - that everyone and everything goes through periods of separation - I bet many of them are left pretty much alone to deal with it. I need to pray for all the ones I know and remember to reach out to them in friendship.

John 12:24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith