Seeking Jesus at Any Cost

I've known Jesus Christ for most of my life. Correction: I've known about Jesus Christ for most of my life. Christ Jesus never really made personal sense until the age of 17 when I had what I refer to as my first spiritual revival. My first baptism had occurred at the age of 11. All my friends had been baptized a year or months before I finally made my decision. It makes me wonder how the pastor could have baptized me when I answered his question this way: I want to be baptized because I want to go to heaven. He smiled and said I can't remember what, but since I had shown up at the pre-Baptism classes Sabbath after Sabbath, he thought it would do no harm to baptize me. I can't say I understood what baptism really meant. All I can remember is how I shivered in my wet baptismal gown as the air-condition blasted the changing room where all the other men, teens and young boys changed into warm, dry clothes. I seemed to be paralyzed with wonder and awe as I sat immobile in that makeshift dressing room which was the scene of perhaps the largest baptism I have ever been a witness to.

My seventeenth summer and its new-found consecration to Christ started what was to be a life-saving span of years for me when I really did become a new person. Nevertheless, personal problems took their toll and five years later I slid into the slipstream of young adulthood with catastrophic results.

Two years later the hedonism of New York City's underground clubs and above-ground temptations left me cold and I headed back to church and my second major revival replete with my first rebaptism. This time I really had something to repent of instead of the vague mini-sins of early childhood and its simple reasons for seeking baptism. In spite of being reintegrated into the fold of believers I never felt that I was an accepted member of the family of Christ. Some church members made me welcome, others did not. Nevertheless, I persisted as I had nowhere else to go.

Five years later, I had found a new maturity as an adult and had found a more rational approach to living my life which unfortunately led me further and further away from the Christian faith though not entirely. I could not ever risk not praying or asking for the gift of the Holy Spirit. My prayers were probably not heart felt, but they comforted me with the realization that I kept on saying them and that they helped me in some way. When troubles more acute than any I had ever experienced threatened to literally end my life, it was God's favor and mercy and the words of Psalms I had learned as a child that kept me from going insane and losing all hope.

Twenty years later I mercifully experienced my third spiritual revival and--yes, my second rebaptism. I had been told that one rebaptism was a serious thing, indeed, and that it seldom was necessary or should be entered into with great purpose or need, but a third rebatism was almost unheard of though I'm told that there are others who have been rebaptized more times than they have changed the make and model of their car. As five years came and went I felt relieved that this time the third time was for good.

Impatience with unfulfilled expectations threw me into experimental and foolish attempts at empowerment five years later. Five years later is where I am right now. Through all the challenging and perplexing changes I have been experiencing for most of this year, I am grateful and amazed that I continue to read my Bible every morning and most evenings along with the Spirit of Prophecy. In spite of old and new temptations jumping in and out of my life for half a year now, I still continue praying, waiting, holding on for dear life, and trying to make sense of the complicated Christian I have been for most of my self-aware life. The very fact that I have a desire to document all three major spiritual revivals and intervening crises of my life, is a miracle. You see I was supposed to have died at 17 on a twisting, wet and dark highway where the friend I was sitting next to died at 14.

God must have a mysterious purpose for my kaleidoscopic life. I am still waiting to find out what that elusive purpose might be.

How to Find a Near-Perfect Spiritual Group Experience

Imagine a group where everyone feels part of the group even when they are not. It is the main purpose of the group to welcome each new and continuing member. Every effort is made to address each participant's needs. Some may think it is too intrusive for the Adventist Futurism Fellowship to be so concerned with every need a member or visitor might have. For these individuals this concern about too much intrusiveness is also perceived as a valid need.

The first time one enters through the doors into an Adventist Futurist Fellowship seminar one wonders why no one had ever alerted him or her before to the outstanding cornucopia of benefits that one finds when one is welcomed into this unique group. Some find this somewhat elusive knowledge of the group as having a quasi-Gnostic quality in that knowledge of this group seems like--though is not in reality--an awareness or perception that is only available to the initiated or chosen few. That is not the case at all. What then is the source of this esoteric quality that renders this group almost invisible to the public-at-large?

The fellowship of the Adventist Futurists, or the initiation into Adventist Futurism and all its tantalizing benefits is that no one--or very few at any rate--can find information about the Adventist Futurists as one would when searching for similar groups. Some claim that they have found easy entry into the society of Adventist Futurists when what they stumble upon is one of the illusory doors that are meant to keep out the merely curious.

Only those who are dead-set on finding this once-in-a-lifetime experience and fellowship will ever find it. It is not understood by some why entry into the almost esoteric society is made so difficult. If the benefits of the Adventist Futurists are as valuable as are reported by those who have once participated, but for some reason, did not remain, then why the difficulty in gaining access into this quintessential group?

The answer may never be completely known. However, it appears that the commitment that each member of the Adventist Futurists has for each of his brothers and sisters is so complete--if one can classify the endeavor to fulfill each participant's every need as an attempt to confer completeness in this life--is taken so seriously, that only the true devotee can ever find and enter into this exquisite group of people.

I myself was serendipitously welcomed into the camaraderie of the Adventist Futurists some time in the recent past, but took a wrong step once inside and thought it preferable to venture outside the group and find my own way in the world. It is my earnest desire to once again--if they will accept me--gain entry into the beneficent care of the Friends of Adventist Futurism.

It is my hope that you too will somehow find your way into the indescribable society where each need is almost anticipated before it is fully expressed.

Redefining God

If God is sometimes perceived by some unbelievers, as well as believers, as not being as good as we'd like him to be, then we have to be as good as we think he should be. Sometimes we attribute to God partial blame for the unpleasant experiences we see all around us, e.g., suffering, death, hunger, poverty, etc. While it is true that he doesn't cause these terrible things, he allows them since he could prevent them if he wanted to. Or he could have avoided all of them by not creating the world and humanity in the first place.

I wouldn't save the entire human population--the good with the evil--if I were God, but I'd give them a million life times to make a decision in my favor. If after a million life times they still would not want to love me, I'd give them a million more chances. At some point they would tire out of having to do it all over again, and they would throw up their hands and say, "Okay, you win, I'm on your side, as well." 

On the other hand, I'd be unfeeling, in a sense, to allow someone who made some truly horrific mistakes in his or her lifetime, e.g., Hitler, Stalin, Nero, etc., to live again and again, with the possibility that they might well make the same kind of mistakes time after time. Perhaps there is some benevolence after all in letting individuals only live once and make a choice for good or evil.

On the other hand, I would never destroy what I have created. It would be an admission that I had made a mistake in creating mankind in the first place. And, of course, we know that God does not make mistakes. Otherwise he would not be God.

Or perhaps there are other explanations like the traditional Great Controversy theme that Joseph Bates developed and Ellen White wrote about in the book of the same name. In that explanation as to why there exists good and evil in this world, it boils down to man possessing freedom of choice. 

Another factor put forth in the Great Controversy theme is that the other created intelligences in heaven and other worlds need to know that God is a God of love and who will not destroy those he's created in his image. He provided a way out for those who rebelled against him by coming and suffering in their place the death that should have been theirs at a great risk to himself. God, in the person of Jesus Christ, could have failed in his mission to live a sinless life in place of sinful humanity. Had he failed it would have been an imaginable disaster on a cosmic scale:  the very creator of the universe doomed to eternal oblivion for violating his own moral law. Few mention this unthinkable potential result of Christ's sacrifice in becoming God with Us.

Other explanations as to why we live in an imperfect world have, no doubt, been put forward by philosophers, theologians and scientists, and by other individuals who are perplexed by the inconsistencies of life as we see it.

In spite of these observations, I still choose to live my life with a desire to know God and to seek his face. It's better than looking at reality through totally humanistic eyes.

Why a Dose of Legalism Insures Church Growth

--Legalism is good for the Adventist soul. --

During Seventh-Day Adventism's earliest decades legalism was a prominent force in attracting new converts to the church. At the 1888 General Conference the message of Righteousness (Justification) by Faith was introduced to the Seventh-Day Adventist church by E.J. Waggoner and A.T. Jones with great resistance from leaders and the rank and file. Ellen White backed up Waggoner and Jones, as well as W.W. Prescott. Nevertheless, it was not Christ Our Righteousness that became a catch phrase from then until the 1970s when it started catching on, but rather, it was Elder G.I. Butler's Obey and Live catch phrase that won out.

In Western Seventh-Day Adventist congregations of the United States, Europe and Australia, Righteousness by Faith is the dominant catch phrase for the most part, while in the Emerging World, and among ethnic or racial minorities in these Westernized congregations previously mentioned, Obey and Live with a hint of Christ our Righteousness insures that church growth continues steadily. Why is this? In spite of Righteousness by Faith being a wonderful approach to Christianity, in some mainstream Western churches, especially in so-called Progressive churches, there has been a trend for some time to allow more secular elements to integrate themselves into the church. This secularism sometimes leads to less adherence to traditional Adventist mores and regulations. Some of these might include, at times: lesser attention to strict sabbath observance; freer approach to sex outside of marriage as long as it remains monogamous; liberal use of jewelry; use of caffeine and/or wine with meals; accepting evolution as explaining, in part, how we got here, supporting same sex causes, etc.

Of course, mainstream Christian churches in the United States are experiencing wonderful mega growth, with the enticements of Justification by Faith, Pop Rock or Pop Rhythm & Blues music in their worship services, plus the ease of Sunday services and no need to keep the entire Sunday holy as do those who keep the seventh-day sabbath such as Jewish believers and Seventh-Day christian observers, e.g., Adventists and a few other groups. In addition, you have the Prosperity Gospel movement at some congregations which fuel mass churches and world-wide following via multi-media formats and the Internet.

Legalism appeals to new converts in countries or communities of the emerging world due to the fact that one is, to some degree, earning one's salvation by keeping the Sabbath, paying tithe, refraining from intoxicants, unclean meat, worldly amusements and sex before marriage. Of course, legalism can also be attractive to people who live in the so-called First World. While some mainstream christian congregations also refrain from some of these vices, it is easier to become a member in good standing in one of the mainstream Christian churches than it is to do so in a traditional, mainstream Seventh-Day Adventist church.

Of course, some mainstream non-ethnic and non-minority Adventist churches contain members who genuinely love the Christ Our Righteousness message and through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit are able, for the most part, to adhere to the constraints of the Adventist lifestyle. Among these are sincere members who claim that they don't feel constrained at all. By the grace of God, they claim, the constraints don't seem unpleasant at all, or at least, most of the time. However, members in these white or mixed churches are leaving faster than new converts are coming in. It is equally true that in the emerging world you have some members, new or long-tern, that in spite of having a more legalistic element in their midst, also love Christ and through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit are able, for the most part, to adhere to the constraints of the Adventist lifestyle. In both groups, it goes without saying, there are folk who genuinely benefit from their particular type of congregation and its concomitant approach to Seventh-Day Adventism.

It is not likely that the Obey and Live message of the pre-1888 pioneers will ever be the norm in the mainstream or progressive churches of Seventh-Day Adventism's western churches. For that to occur would be regression, or some might call it, reformation or revival. Of course, anything is possible. In a way, it is almost shameful that the legalistic element is sometimes routinely promoted in the emerging world or among ethnic or minority congregations in the West. The justification for doing this is that unless you infuse legalism with just a touch of Christ our righteousness, or vice-versa, some feel that you might as well sound the death knell for Adventism worldwide. Better to be a living and partially legalistic church than to focus on righteousness by faith only and be a dying church.

Yes, it sounds like an oxymoron to equate death and dying with an Adventist church that focuses on Righteousness by Faith only. The observable truth, however, is that legalism is good for the Adventist soul. So it was in the beginning. Thus it will be to the end of time.

Then again, maybe there is another very obvious alternative that still needs to be spelled out.

Alternate title: Seventh-Day Adventism is becoming a hard sell in the West

--To be continued--

Living in the Material World

As much as I would like to live only in a spiritual realm I find that there is more to life than reading the bible and praying. I've often asked God to enable me to "pray without ceasing" as Paul counsels us to do. I imagined that praying al the time--within reason--would solve most of my problems, both spiritual and material. There will always be some problems that linger on since we live in an imperfect and material world. There have been days or weeks in the past five years when I was literally hanging on by a prayer. I'm grateful to God for his care.

During the past five years I've ignored imperfections in my life that others do not. For most of my life I've had to ignore imperfections and I think that's one of the reasons I'm still here. Some of my companions and friends can't say the same, both the privileged and the underprivileged. Only I carry on without them. It's true when they say that one should never envy anyone because one does not always have all the facts about a particular person. Many of those I envied are no longer here to be envied. I'm thankful that I'm still here to say so.

Lately, however, I've started to pay more attention to the imperfections in my life and trying to take action, more or less. Notwithstanding, I continue to seek God each day as is my custom via bible study and prayer. Things are gradually changing around me, but I still go through the spiritual exercises because I am a creature of habit. I know that God will bless me; he always has. Others may not recognize me as I change and adapt and more realistically deal with the challenges in my life. Nevertheless, I continue to seek the best of all possible worlds in this life and in the next.

It is my prayer that you also find what you are looking for this year.

Strangled Animals, Idol's Meat and Sexually Immoral Christians

Sexual immorality is what bothers Christian leaders more than anything else. As far back as the Book of Acts and the problems between Jewish Christians and their newer Gentile Christian brothers, immorality of the sexual variety, was what tended to set them apart.

It's odd to imagine that those early gentile Christians and their obsessive interest in sexual immorality, were, nevertheless, Christians. They obviously wanted to be Christians in good standing, otherwise why the big fuss about the problematic differences regarding meat sacrificed to idols, the eating of blood (in blood pies, or blood sausages, or other blood-based foods that were popular at the time), and eating the meat of strangled animals.

Some modern liberal Christians I've met through the years were very much Christians in that they showed an unnatural zeal for things Christians. Simultaneously though, they also demonstrated an interest in either sex outside of marriage with one partner, or in other cases, sex outside of marriage with someone of their own sex. Both are condemned by conservative interpreters of the Bible. These modern liberal-leaning Christians are in good company, nevertheless, with some of the gentile Christians described in the book of Acts who along with the meat and blood food stuffs already mentioned, also had a preference for sexual immorality.

Today, very few Christians bother with meat sacrificed to idols, meat of strangled animals or blood-based foods. If some do happen to eat any of these, however, it doesn't offend anyone except perhaps animal rights activists, and devout vegetarians. The free-sex penchant is still very much frowned upon, however.

One important point I need to make is that these stripped-down guidelines that were put forward to keep the peace between Jewish Christians and gentile Christians make avoiding sexual immorality, and the dietary prohibitions, more important--at least in this situation--than the more important considerations of practical Christianity and sharing your bread--or meat--with your hungry brother. But perhaps that was best left for another chapter in early Christianity. See the epistle of James or the parables of Christ for references to doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, and not just wishing them a nice day while they were deprived of bread, clothing or shelter.

It boggles the mind--to overstate the case--that some gentile Christians who may or may not have possessed all of the fruit of the Spirit, e.g., love, hope, faith, etc., but not self-control, obviously, were also wont to engage in activities that Jewish Christians found to be sexually immoral. What might some of these have been? Sex with prostitutes? Yes, especially since Paul counsels Christians against uniting their bodies with that of a prostitute in counsels to Christian churches of the time. Sex with family relations? Yes, there was the infamous case of a church member who apparently was in good standing--until Paul censured him--who was having sex with his wife's mother. Sex with temple prostitutes? Again, yes, especially by newly converted Christians. I'm referring to Paul's statement containing the words, "and such were some of you."

What am I getting at here anyway? That some--or perhaps many--early gentile Christians had a more relaxed attitude toward sex outside of marriage than Jewish Christians? That sounds very contemporary to these ears. Yes, sex outside of marriage has its problems: disease, hurt feelings, rejection when the attraction fades, unwanted pregnancies, angry spouses of the unfaithful partner. The list can go on and on.

I mention these somewhat tawdry references because texts like those in Acts 15:19-21, 28-29 are sometimes glossed over and ignored or, if they are not, then only the sexual immorality reference is played up, while the meat and blood prohibitions are ignored. Yet the latter prohibitions were obvisously very seriously considered at the time, so much so, that the counsel of the Holy Spirit is mentioned in stipulating that blood-based foods be avoided.

Nevertheless, when all is said and done what else can I say, in closing, but to quote the concluding words of these excerpts: "you will do well to avoid these things. Farewell."

Waiting for God to Bless You

When things don't go right you have to hold on until times of refreshing return. The bible can be of help as well as singing Christian hymns and other spiritual songs. Praying can benefit you in times of need, as well. Nevertheless, when all has been done, you can't continue to read your bible all day, or pray all day, or even sing all day. You have to get on with the challenge of living your life no matter if it may not be as smooth as you would like it to be. You then have to hunker down, as best as  you can, and wait for God to act mercifully in your life. A friend may call and that will pass the time, but, again, you can't talk to your friend all day long. The time to deal with life and its imperfections comes to us all. May God have mercy on us all and shorten the wait time.

John Lennon's Crucifixion Obsession

At the time John Lennon wrote the lyrics to The Ballad of John and Yoko which he recorded with the Beatles, he was criticized for referring to Christ's crucifixion in a rock song or for alluding to it in a secular context. It was especially displeasing to Christians that Lennon, an apparent atheist or agnostic, and one who was infamous for his "The Beatles are more popular than Jesus" statement, would then turn around and say that "the way things are going, they're trying to crucify me." To be quiet honest I have never liked his song very much, and quite recently, skip it when it comes up in the CD album sequence on my imaginary Ipod. I never cared for this song until today and the experience I had that gave me a first hand example of being crucified by others.

I started a new job about a month ago and though I've given it my all to the point of becoming physically sick by the rigors of the job, I, nevertheless, continued to be as helpful and as respectful of all I work with, both supervisors and those I supervise.

All this, I found out today, was in vain, apparently. My good intentions were mistaken for bad intentions. My going the extra mile was mistaken for cutting corners. My attention to detail was mistaken for bad judgment. My friendliness was mistaken for wasting time with needless pleasantries. My requests for information were mistaken for needless questioning of department policies. My adherence to department guidelines were mistaken for lack of flexibility. My confident assertiveness in the face of discourtesy by a subordinate was mistaken for intolerance toward someone who was trying to show me a better way to get the job done. In other words, I could do no right when trying to do so, and when I did right I was accused of not doing right in the first place.

At long last I felt, first hand, what it feels like when people try to crucify you. So to John Lennon's memory I apologize for thinking him insensitive to Christians for speaking of people trying to crucify you.

On a good note--all such cleansing revelations should have some positive lesson to learn--I realized that only Christ can take out the nails that others have tried all week long to drive into my hand, my feet, my bleeding side, as the hymn states. [When I Survey the Wondrous Cross on Which the Prince of Glory Died]. I always toyed with the mental image of being crucified with Christ, well, now I've got what I asked for. I know what it is to be crucified first hand.

May God bless you as well, as you ask him to take from out of your hands the nails that others--whether work associates, spouses, friends, family or strangers have driven into your hands. May Christ relieve your pain and may he cleanse you with his healing favor.

Is the Bible Dangerous? Yes, thank God.

Reading the Spectrum blog really requires more and more faith in God to keep on believing in spite of all of these enlightened opinions. Sometimes I have to laugh a little at how outrageous some of the enlightened statements come out sounding. Sometimes the bottom line seems to counsel readers not to bother to take much of the Bible seriously since it's full of so much apparent error, fable, good old fashioned myth, and horrible tales of incest, rape, pillage and nationalistic crusades. It's no wonder Adventism in North America is fading year after year. Much of the educated class does not believe in much of what the Bible, esp., the Old Testament says. If this intellectualizing of the Bible grows year after year, some day there will only be two or three readers of progressive journals who will throw up their hands and wonder how the numbers got to be so puny. God help us to find some kind of middle ground. Don't get me wrong, I'm just as guilty of putting a different spin on parts of the bible as the next person. In the meantime, let me check out what the Adventist Review/Adventist World folk are saying this week. Cheers. Posted by: Raul Batista (not verified) 30 September 2009 at 3:25

Well, Raul, we're sorry to try to engage with the Bible. We know we should accept its claims and commands--however contradictory or problematic--unquestioningly as faithful Mormons and Muslims do their writings and prophets. But given this failing of ours, how would you, Raul, understand and apply the book of Numbers? In particular, how do you feel or what do you think of Moses' command to keep the virgins but kill the rest? Or what about God's command to kill the stick-gatherer on Sabbath? Posted by: glennspring 30 September 2009 at 6:21

Glennspring, I feel uncomfortable with the cases you mention: "Moses' command to keep the virgins but kill the rest? Or what about God's command to kill the stick-gatherer on Sabbath?" I feel as uncomfortable with them as I do with the incidents of September 11, 2001, and the Holocaust. I choose, however, to continue to believe in the God of the Bible as I’m more comfortable with living my live with him—warts and all—than without him. Perhaps the agnostic’s path is more honest, but I am not, nor can I ever be, a member of that club. Life with a slightly mysterious God is better than one without him. Thanks for taking the time to comment.Posted by: Raul Batista (not verified) 30 September 2009 at 8:06

Thanks, Raul. But I don't think most of the people here, certainly not I, would suggest we abandon the God of the Bible or its essential narratives. That is, I don't think anyone here is an agnostic. Maybe our doubts seem a bit much for some people. But at least for some of us, we can come to know God better through a process of challenging and engaging with the texts. Like you, I recognize the "warts and all" of scripture, but continue to accept what I think are the essential truths of its stories and people. I think I might actually relate to the Bible more precisely because of them. Anyway, through the Bible we can continue to engage with God and with each other. Those of us here may do that a bit differently than others, but our reliance on the Biblical record continues to be central. Posted by: glennspring 30 September 2009 at 9:18

Hello Raul,
Are you attempting to claim that the Bible is NOT "full of so much apparent error, fable, good old fashioned myth, and horrible tales of incest, rape, pillage and nationalistic crusades"? If so, I suggest you try to read it again with unbiased eyes...Posted by: Jag (not verified) 01 October 2009 at 3:28

Jag, hello. Some unpleasant material is in the Bible, but why dwell on it and make it one's crusade. That unpleasant task already has many adherents in the "God is dead or never was" movement. People of faith--if they wish to convince others that they should become people of faith, as well--need to focus on the nuggets the Old Testament has to offer. "Love your neighbor as yourself" and "Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul and strength" are just two gems that need to be rescued from the mire of horrible tales of incest, rape, pillage and nationalistic crusades.

When I read about the man who was stoned for breaking the Sabbath I'm saddened, but I'm grateful we no longer carry on that tradition, otherwise I myself--and other Sabbath keepers--would have been done for ages ago.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. It is much appreciated.Posted by: Raul Batista (not verified) 01 October 2009 at 4:24

Hi Raul,
Thank you for your view.
It's not really about dwelling on the unpleasant materials in the Bible. It's about finding why it's there. It's about the search for the truth. Because such material certainly proves that the Bible is neither inerrant nor infallible. Quite the opposite in fact. And only once we acknowledge that can we liberate God from the human imperfection of the Bible's human authors. The only alternative you have is to pick and choose what you like in the Bible and discard what you don't, which does not appear to me to be an honest attitude and smells of censorship.
I never suggest we abandon God. I merely suggest that we re-discover God for our own generation, that we do not freeze God in outdated human concepts, and that we do not treat the Bible as if it had fallen from heaven.Posted by: Jag (not verified) 02 October 2009 at 3:18

Please see the following link for the original post in Spectrum magazine's site that elicited the above comments and reactions:

Numbers—an Introduction

Mysteries of God Revealed: Christ Lives in His Word

What if the words of the bible are not just mere words. What if the words actually contain the transcendent presence and power of Christ? Of course, not everyone experiences this; it has to be conferred upon you before the real power of the hidden Christ manifests itself.

Did Christ not say ". . . the words I have spoken to you are Spirit [or spirit] and they are life" John 6:63 (NIV)? He also said "for my flesh [word] is real food and my blood is real drink" John 6:55 (NIV)

It is astounding that you can experience God himself as you eat and drink the spiritual liquid and food found in his Word. How will you know you are really tapping into something supernatural? When you long to sit at the master's feet because you know how good the spiritual meal was the day before, you know you are not just reading words and nothing more. You are becoming one with Christ. It is his doing. It is certainly not yours.

One approach to lead you to experience this for yourself is to ask God to grant you the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is given: "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:13 (NIV). The next step is to apply the words of the gospel in the present tense. The above verse about spirit and life can be appropriated into your inner self by stating "Christ's words are spirit and they are life to me. In Jesus' name." You may very well repeat these words slowly and meditate on them as long as you feel a need. If you are not able to make the connection right away. Keep on trying. Perhaps you might want to move to the next or previous text in the gospel account.

My favorite chapters in the gospels are John 14-17. I read the chapters straight through in one sitting. Next I start with John 14:1 which says " Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me [Christ]." I then make this text real to me by saying to myself--silently or audibly--"I am not letting my heart be troubled. I am trusting in God; I am also trusting in Christ. In Jesus' name." By focusing on these words I enter a dimension that takes me deeper into the God realm than I have ever been. When my 45 minutes of study and meditation come to an end I wish I had just begun.

I then kneel for 15 minutes and either refer to the verses I have been meditating on or make my requests for spiritual and material needs known to God. I sometimes ask, believe and thank God for the gift he has promised in his Word. At other times I simply state the promises in the present tense very much as I do with the texts I've been meditating on. I always end each request with "in Jesus' name" and not just at the end of the prayer session. At times I have my watch by my side so I don't get lost in the transcendent dimension and run out of time before I need to leave for work.

If you want to live in a timeless state of life and inner peace, I urge you to give this early morning spiritual exercise a try. It will alter your quality of life in ways that you can't begin to understand until it starts happening to you.

In closing I share a text that I have permanently recorded in my subconscious mind.

"Peace I [Christ] leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 (NIV)