Walk By Faith

God is righteous because of whom he is. God’s righteousness is inside; ours is outside.  Remember when God declared all that he created was good, yes, very good. Righteous. Somewhere along about Genesis 3, Adam and Eve – we – take upon ourselves the knowledge of good and evil. What did we do? We think if we listen to lies and deceit, we will become like God. God, I Am Who I Am, has created us in His image, made with all the right stuff. We are who we are, but by disobedience, we get un-right. We are no longer that who we were.

When God calls to us in the garden, we have hidden because we are exposed. Righteousness is no longer internal. We have become afraid of whom we have become. We try to make ourselves right. We sew fig leaves together; we try to hide the unrighteous shame.  We think maybe if we hide, God will not note we are no longer right when he finds us. We make excuses, thinking if we introduce the blame game, we can distract God from the wrongness. Instead, God sends us out to understand who we were. To discover who we are. Did anyone notice? Not in fig leaves. Not in shame. No, God covers us. If we would but see, he has given us a Robe of Righteousness. The flaming sword of His creative Word becomes the first law. We cannot return. We separated ourselves from God. He gives us the Law and the Prophets. He sends his only Son. God gives us everything we need to become who we were.

From time to time, we remember. Cain saw the carefully stored garments, but dies because his brother does not know. Abel banished and Seth born. Their sons hear the stories. We realize that even though we are unrighteous, we can proclaim God’s righteousness.  From generation to generation, the story can be told. The robe of righteousness can be passed. Often it is carefully unpacked. We learn to sing and dance. We call it prayer and praise. Then we carefully conceal it so it will not give out.

Along comes a great, great, ever so great grandchild. Enoch becomes a father. Enoch took the cloak out of moth balls and wore it – all the time. Then Enoch walked with God. He understood. He got it. Enoch’s grandson told that story. It is possible to recover one’s righteousness. All we have to do is put on the robe, and not take it off. Noah got it. When God finally got fed up with the pack-it-up, put-it-in-moth-balls, take-it-out, put-it-back. In all this time, two men – only two – figured it out, Enoch and Noah.

God chooses to start again, not from the beginning, but from the point of understanding. He made His instructions clear and unambiguous. Noah wears the Robe of Righteousness onto the ark.

Paul, a whole testament later, tells us the story. He gives us a roll call of the heroes who unpacked the mantle and wore it as they walked with God. He finds in in the Prophets, packed carefully away, the path of righteousness: wear the robe, live by faith, walk with God. The course he thought he knew until he learned on a road leading to Damascus. The path Jesus walked to Gethsemane.

One cannot go back beyond the flashing sword, but one can walk on by faith. The trust that Jesus God, true and righteous, took the sword of unrighteousness into his side. The story told by John, the beloved disciple, who took up the Cup of Salvation and heard Jesus say “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit. Thomas put your hand into my side. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.”  Wear the robe. Carry the cup. Receive His Spirit.  Walk by faith. Not from but to, Amen and amen.

Genesis 3-6, Habakkuk 2, Hebrews 11, John 20

To Be or Not To Be Attitudes

An Interactive Study of the Beatitudes as recorded in Matthew 5:1-12

Developed for Kappa Phi by Jorja Davis

jorja.davis@gmail.com

Purposes:  To encourage aspiration and adherence to the new standards of the New Covenant as Christ exclaimed them to His disciples.  To encourage reflection and action based on a deeper understanding of the qualities of character evident in Christ-centered, Spirit-filled living as exclaimed by Christ and perceived by Paul.

Background Statement:

Blessedness is not something that we can seek directly; rather it is a by-product of a certain quality of life.  The Beatitudes give us a compendium of those qualities.  We must remember though that the acquisition of these characteristics, while important in living out our faith, is not a means of salvation.  Salvation remains a free gift based on belief not on works of any kind.  However, the Beatitudes are the essence of Christ's teaching to the inner circle of His disciples that they might work intelligently and effectively.  With the attainment of these characteristics, through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we will find, with the disciples, true blessedness:  the joyous thrill and radiant gladness of the Christian life.  That joy and gladness, that bliss, is serene and untouchable.  It is independent of all the chances and changes of life, and comes only from walking up the mountainside and sitting at the feet of the Savior to hear from him the triumphant shouts of congratulations for what we are and encouragement for what we are to be.

Gathering Time:

As participants arrive, give each person one or several of the following scriptures to read with instructions to define the word "blessed" on a chalkboard or large piece of paper.  Psalm 1:1;  32:1;  40:4;  41:1;  65:4;  89:15;  112:1;  Isaiah 32:20;  Matthew 11:6;  Luke 6:22;  11:28; 12:37;  John 20:29;  James 1:12;  Revelation 14:13;  19:9;  22:7

The Be Attitudes:

Divide into small groups.  Divide some or all of the 8 Beatitudes among the groups.  Give each group the some or all of the appropriate groupings of scripture to help them choose a word or phrase which best defines the behaviors Christ is asking of His disciples.

v.3     Proverbs 16:19; Isaiah 66:2; Psalm 34:6; Psalm 9:18; Psalm 35:10; Psalm 68:10; Psalm 107:41; Psalm 132:15

v.4     Genesis 37:34; Psalm 51:17; I Samuel 16:1;  Nehemiah 8:9; Ecclesiastes 3:4; Isaiah 3:26; Jeremiah 4:28; Matthew 9:15; Luke 6:25; James 4:9

v.5     Psalm 22:26; Psalm 25:9; Psalm 37:11; Psalm 111:6; Psalm 149:4; Isaiah 29:19; Numbers 12:3; Proverbs 16:32

v.6     Luke 1:53; Isaiah 55:1; Luke 15:17; Romans 10:10; Luke 6:25; Deuteronomy 32:24

v.7     James 2:13;  Matthew 18:35; Matthew 6:12-15;  Genesis 19:16; Deuteronomy 4:31; Psalm 86:5; Proverbs 3:3; Micah 6:8; Luke 6:36

v.8     Psalm 24:4; Proverbs 22:11; Isaiah 1:16 Psalm 19:12; I John 3:3; Jeremiah 4:14; II Timothy 2:21; James 4:8

v.9     Romans 15:33; II Corinthians 13:11; I Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:20;  Proverbs 12:20; Romans 14:19; Mark 9:50 Titus 1:6

v.10-12  I John 3:7; I Peter 4:14; Hebrews 11:32-40; Matthew 5:12; Matthew 6:1; Daniel 12:3; I Corinthians 3:14; Daniel 3:19-25

The Not To Be Attitudes:

Brainstorm words or phrases with the opposite meanings of "blessed" and each of the 8 Be Attitudes.

The Measuring Stick:

Through discussion compare and contrast the 8 Be Attitudes and/or the 8 Not To Be Attitudes with the Rosary of Graces or the Fruits of the Spirit as recorded in Galatians 5:22.

Application: 

Provide paper and envelope or blank card and envelope for each individual.  Each individual should write themselves a letter of encouragement and accountability using the following or similar statements depending on the options used, seal it in the envelope and address the envelope to themselves.  In three months mail the envelops to each individual.

To adhere to Christ's words I

To me "blessed" means

I aspire to a life of blessedness and

The Be Attitude Jesus is congratulating me for

The Be Attitudes are most evident when

The Be Attitude Jesus is encouraging me to work on

I challenge myself to

The Not To Be Attitude Jesus is encouraging me to discard

The Not To Be Attitudes are most evident when

The Fruit(s) of the Spirit

I challenge myself to

Closing Hymn:  The United Methodist Hymnal #585 - This Little Light of Mine

Closing Prayer:  The United Methodist Hymnal #392 - Prayer for a New Heart

Healthy Thinking: Praying

A study by the Californian cardiologist Randolf Byrd helped inspire Larry Dossey to get involved in the healing power of prayer. In 1988 Byrd studied 393 heart patients. They were randomly divided into two groups using a double-blind technique, which means that neither the patients, nor the doctors or nurses knew to which group the patients belonged. Catholic and protestant prayer groups were given the names and health conditions of patients from the first control group and every day they directed their prayer to someone from that group. No prayers were said for the patients from the second control group. The group for which prayers were said needed five times fewer antibiotics than the other group, had three times less lung edema and no one needed intubation to help them breathe, as opposed to 12 people in the other control group.

Dr. Larry Dossey

Larry Dossey has since become an authority in the area of “medicine at a distance.” He is more than convinced that prayer works:

Dr. Dossey says “Studies have irrefutably proven that people on a spiritual path – whereby meditation or prayer play a role – live an average of 7-13 years longer than those who are not. Moreover, cancer and heart disease are significantly less prevalent among those who pray or meditate. Prayer has an effect on nearly every living organism it has been tried on: people, various cells and tissue, animals, plants and organisms such as bacteria, fungi and yeast. At least 130 controlled laboratory experiments have been done.

“Prayer is communicating with the creative powers of the universe, with the extrasensory. There are different types of prayer: the appeal for something for yourself, the meditation in which you ask something for someone else, veneration, plea… In every case we go beyond our mind, which tends to think that it can solve everything by itself.”

Prayer to Dr. Dossey is not something holy that is only reserved to pious churchgoers: “Everyone can pray, even if you don’t believe in God. A friend of mine prays to ‘To whom it may concern.’ Research clearly indicates that the intention of the prayer is important to the result. When you pray, do so with your whole heart, like a child, from a place of wonder, innocence and sincerity.”

One more tip: “There is not just one good way to pray. You can pray for something specific, give thanks or simply ask for help. When facing something difficult, for instance: ‘Come on God, help me out here.’ It works! Try to find your own way to pray. If your wording becomes too formal, it often loses its power.”

Dr. Dossey remembers once sitting in a room during a lecture by a theologian. Someone asked: “How exactly should you pray?’” Her answer: “It’s very simple, ask God.”

Dr. Larry Dossey, M.D. is a doctor, writer and inspired thinker who is helping clear the way to a new approach to medicine, where the ‘non-local’ conscious also plays a significant role. He has won numerous awards for his work in Integrative Medicine. Dr. Dossey is the former executive editor of Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, a peer reviewed journal which covers the fields of integrative medicine, environmental health, spirituality, and consciousness-related health issues.

Dr. Dossey’s Vision: I long thought that we must choose between science and reason on the one hand, and spirituality on the other. Now I understand that this is a deceptive choice. They can go very well together, not only in the academic world, but also in daily life.

Dr. Dossey’s Books: The Power of Premonitions (2009);The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things (2005);Healing Beyond the Body (2001); Reinventing Medicine (1999); Be Careful What You Pray For (1997); Prayer is Good Medicine (1996); Healing Words (1993); Meaning & Medicine (1991); Recovering the Soul (1989); Beyond Illness (1984); Space, Time and Medicine (1982)

Ode is a print and online publication about positive news, about the people and ideas that are changing our world for the better. In print and online, Ode's aim is to bring a new reality into view, to explore opportunities for positive change in our daily lives and our daily minds.

This article is shared by permission of Dr. Larry Dossey and Ode Magazine. It first appeared in Ode Magazine: #5.