Reflection

Enabling the Father to Heal Us

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(From the Henri Nouwen Society)

Second Week of Lent - March 22, 2011

"Hear the word of the Lord...'Wash, make yourselves clean...cease to do evil, learn to do good, search for justice, help the oppressed, be just to the orphan, plead for the widow.'" (Isaiah 1)

Discipline follows from being a disciple. It is our effort to do as our Master does. Jesus gave space for the Father to give him what he needed. When you and I are fearful and anxious, we want to take control of our lives...When we follow Jesus we practice a discipline that gives space to let the Father touch us, forgive us and receive us.

Paradox: The way down is the way up

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The Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,

More than the Flavor of the Moment

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If God is not first in your thoughts and efforts in the morning, he will be in the last place the remainder of the day. - E.M. Bounds

How do I enable God to be more than my flavor of the moment? How do I keep the Lord of the universe numero uno in my life? The only means for me to maintain space in my life for God is to forego anything else that could become pre-eminent to Him. It must be a volitional act, a willful choice. It takes discipline, day in and day out, to maintain the focus for God in my life.

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Transformation

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Do we really want to be transformed by God? In the passage (below) from Isaiah, not only a person is transformed but an entire nation, a makeover of both the spiritual and ecological elements. God’s transformation not only lays low evil doers and cynics, it is God’s heart recognizing those who were willing to turn toward Him. The biblical transformation Isaiah prophecies is rooted in a rejuvenation for those people who have turned—willingly—their faces to see Him, and submit to Him alone. He takes the things and people that are “wasted”, “deaf”, “blind”, the “castoffs”, “the down and outs”, and returns them into reflections of His glory.

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Struggling with God's Discipline

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No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11

At time’s God’s discipline seems like a lonely, unending trek through a desert. The barrenness covers day after day and there seems to be nothing to quench my thirst. Yet, if I maintain my focus on his word and his voice through Bible study and prayer, regardless of the desolateness of my days or weeks, I will find the most wonderfully sweet water for my Spirit, and a cool, moist cloud to comfort my weary heart. He is able to harvest water from cloudless skies and create a shelter from the air itself.

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