Heart Capacity and Writing

The heart that has once tasted the love of Christ, cries out continually for a deeper draught, and as you impart, you will receive in richer and more abundant measure. Every revelation of God to the soul increases the capacity to know and to love. (SD 32)

Only the Holy Spirit of God can quicken the perceptive faculties.

Only to those who wait humbly upon God, who watch for His guidance and grace, is the Spirit given. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its train. It is given according to the riches of the grace of Christ, and He is ready to supply every soul according to the capacity to receive. (SD 33)

As I read these statements over the past few days it occurred to me that what is going to happen at the point in time referred to as the “close of probation” is actually a time when people have so hardened their hearts that they have lost all capacity to receive the Holy Spirit. This loss of capacity is what some refer to as the locked heart syndrome. It can be locked by irreparable damage (by refusing repair) or by suffocation from an overbearing left-brain religion. Hearts of stone have no ability to expand in capacity like hearts of flesh.

On the other hand, God's plan for us is to be continually increasing our capacity by the exercise of joy in community and with Him. The latest brain science has discovered that joy (someone delighted and desiring to be with us) dramatically increases the capacity of the most important part of the brain and is what the brain craves the most. The whole plan of salvation is designed to restore our capacity so we can again mirror the face of God in our lives.

I have also been pondering the very act of writing itself, that is, writing about what one believes in particular. Writing locks ideas to a fixed point in perspective and does not allow for growth in understanding or shift in time and circumstances. In contrast, living in God's presence enables one to always live in the present allowing His wisdom to always be up to date.

Writing by its very nature also reduces the content of the thoughts and feelings of the heart in the very process of being condensed and filtered by the left brain to get the feelings and concepts small enough to express in language familiar to others. The left brain does not have near the capacity that the right brain possesses for expression but the left brain is where our means of language is based – another good reason to live from the heart. The heart – that I currently believe is primarily rooted in the right brain – is the only part of us equipped with large enough capacity to live life as we are designed to live it in vital connection with God's heart.

The right brain is the only soil suited to properly grow the seed of God implanted into us. The left brain is more like the hard ground or rocky ground where seeds are analyzed and displayed, stolen or left to flounder with very little emotion and passion available for the roots to grow into or from which to receive nourishment. The weedy ground person may be living more from a heart orientation but allows many other distractions to consume all its resources so very little is left for the image of God embedded in His word within us to flourish. (see Matt. 13:18-23)

Writing is useful to convey expressions of identity from a fixed point in our experience. But it must be remembered that those descriptions are neither complete or reflective of subsequent growth. To the extent that writing reflects the thoughts inspired by the Holy Spirit it can reveal valuable insights that can inspire others. But one must be careful to listen with the heart while reading someone's writings and focus on discerning the heart of God that inspired that person more than focusing on the agent who expressed those insights that are now frozen in words while their heart continued to move on in expansion of capacity through new experience.

This involves the issue of judging as well. When we make a settled opinion about someone's character based on their expressions without allowing for unknown evidence and growth since that expression, we judge their heart and often attempt to force them into a static mold based on our judgment. This creates an atmosphere conducive to hardening of the heart. This is the concept of judgment that we have typically assumed God will do at the close of probation. We sometimes think He will simply harden everyone's heart at an arbitrary point in time and they will be forever stuck with the character that they were caught in at that moment. That point in time, though never spoken about in this manner, is often assumed to be likely at a time when God finally runs out of patience with us and decides to change tactics with this rebellious planet to get on to the next phase of bringing an end to the Great Controversy. But this is another one of those damning lies about God that keeps us away from Him in our hearts.

Relearning Identity

A realization hit me last night. I guess it sounds sort of obvious when it is stated, but sometimes things feel like a new revelation when a left-brain fact suddenly sinks into the right brain. It is about the principle that you reap what you sow.

When I think and speak critically I create an atmosphere that encourages others to think critically of me. When I feel negatively toward the church and pastor they will tend to feel the same way toward me. That does not lead to unified efforts or reconciliation.

If I want a church to accept changes in their ways of thinking and embrace new ideas and attitudes, then I have to demonstrate those changes in myself by adopting a positive attitude and relating to all of them with grace and forgiveness and compassion no matter how they act or treat me. My spirit in my interactions with those who disagree with me plants the seed that will lead to creating the atmosphere that eventually I will reap. This is so hard to perceive with my spirit. Sure, its easy to outline it intellectually, but when it comes to actual practice I usually default to the natural tendencies of the flesh.

Craig Hill teaches that the most crucial time to plant new seeds is right after a failure. The ideas about yourself that you internalize at that moment are the seeds that are planted to be reaped in the future. For instance, if I berate myself for being so stupid, such an idiot, brainless etc. right after I make a mistake, my soul hears those messages and they become implanted to quickly sprout and bear like fruit the next time I find myself in a similar situation. I will more strongly perceive my identity as a stupid idiot who can't ever do anything right and somehow subconsciously I will more accurately live up to those expectations which will further reinforce those beliefs about myself, seemingly affirming my analysis. This is a most familiar scenario for most of us.

However, the same principle of sowing and reaping works just as effectively if used to plant good seed from the Spirit of God. When we choose to believe in an identity revealed to us about the heart Jesus has implanted in us and speak forth that identity in the face of what appears to be the opposite based on our recent behavior, we plant seeds that also can sprout and take root in our soul and began to crowd out the negative plants so predominant in our lives.

This at first feels like hypocrisy or positive thinking therapy. But it is not hypocrisy. And although positive thinking techniques draw heavily on these basic principles they often don't go far enough to tap into the real power Source of God's revelation of our true identity that we need for transformation. But when we choose, particularly right after a failure where we have once again disappointed ourselves and fallen for some temptation or indulged in some weakness, when we choose at that very moment to take our attention away from the failure and defeat and fix our attention firmly on the qualities of our true heart that God designed within us, we will breath life into those attributes and allow them to begin to flourish and thrive and come into fruition.

How much am I doing this? Very little so far. But it looks like a dynamite way to blow apart much of my old patterns of self-defeating behaviors and habits of failure. Of course it would be nice to have people around me reminding me of who I am in these moments as well. It would be just as wonderful if I would use the eyes of heaven to see the true identity and hearts of those around me and remind them of who they really are and their true value when they can't see themselves that way too. That's what real community is all about – reminding one another of who we really are when we forget to act like ourselves and our people.

Thoughts on Blessing

My wife and I had a discussion with Linda a few days ago about birthdays and how to relate to them. She had written a piece on her blog about it and I expressed some of my misgivings about the traditions and expectations that surround the event.

I have often wondered why we make such a big deal out of birthdays anyway. I'm not saying we should or shouldn't, I just wonder why, what the underlying motives are. It even seems more logical that we should celebrate the day of conception more than the birthday. After all, birth is simple a transition from one environment to another. Conception is when one actually comes into existence. It seems that is far more eventfully important than simple a change of position. Of course, times of conception are not only usually difficult to trace back to but are also surrounded with circumstances that almost no one wants to talk about especially in public. So maybe that is one reason it is more convenient to focus on the day of birth.

Birthdays are also usually much more prominent in the mind of women than they are for men. I suspect that is partly so because mothers are so intimately and painfully involved in the process that culminates nine months of very close companionship. It tends to make a much deeper impression and memory for them than it does for most men. That may be why mothers have little trouble remembering birthdays.

We have been learning that there are at least seven very significant times in a persons life when they need to receive a blessing. A lot of time needs to be spent elaborating and explaining what that word even means. One of the best resources I know right now is Family Foundations (found in my resource page). In short, blessing means empowerment to prosper and an impartation of identity. This identity is the unique one God created for this person and reinforced by important people in their lives. Cursing, the opposite of blessing, is of course the exact opposite. It is imparting a negative identity, messages of worthlessness and shame that discourage, dishearten and disempower one for life.

When this is understood it is clear what God's desire is for every one of us. Jesus stated unequivocally, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy (curse). I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (bless). (John 10:10) Our role as parents, friends and even siblings is to reaffirm and remind each other of the identity that God wants to draw out of us that will reveal His glory. This is how we bless each other. And this is also how we can bless God.

The first time of blessing in life is at conception. When two people come together in harmony with the Spirit of God in themselves and celebrate the intimacy that God designed for them to share in marriage and conceive a child in the image of both God and themselves, the new life is infused with a blessing that will make a radical difference for the rest of life.

The second important time of blessing is at birth. It is at this time that the child joins not only his parents in person but all the community of family and friends. Everyone celebrates the visible addition to the joyful community that makes up families. Each person brings their unique perspective of blessing to the child and to the parents empowering the family to thrive and strengthening them for the struggles ahead. Again, identity is imparted in a powerful way to the child and an unseen energy and strength is imparted into the soul of that individual.

To understand just a little of the effect of blessing, just consider the Jews as a culture. They have been practicing blessing in their families for thousands of years. It is no accident that on the whole Jewish people are generally more prosperous and influential than any other group of people in history. It is because they have followed the ancient principles that God built into human design and they are enjoying the benefits. But blessing is not restricted to Jews anymore than being a fully alive human is restricted to Jews.

In my ponderings about birthdays I have wondered if a person might be better served if they used this day to bless others in various ways. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. I guess I haven't come to any hard conclusions or profound insights on this idea. But the traditions of expecting gifts, cake and parties and the total obsession of wanting all the attention certainly has produced a lot of selfishness on the part of many children that is similar to the self-obsession surrounding Christmas. That is a whole other topic that I certainly don't want to get started on right now.

So I sat down this morning and opened the devotional book and was startled to read the scripture for today. “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” (Isaiah 11:2) It reminded me strongly of the specific blessing given to me both times that I attended an Ancient Paths I seminar. “And the spirit of the Lord will come on you with power, and you will be acting like a prophet with them, and will be changed into another man. And when these signs come to you, see that you take the chance which is offered you; for God is with you.” (1 Samuel 10:6-7 BBE) The Lord impressed me both times that this was His word, His blessing that in some way reveals something about my true identity and my future. When I first glanced at the text in the devotional I had to look again because it was so similar to the second. And what added to the significance was that this is my birthday.

It was like the Lord wanted to give me an affirmation and a reminder of who I really am to counteract the constant assault of lies from the enemy and from the world around me. As I have read further in the book Wild At Heart this struggle is becoming much more exposed. I am receiving many very important insights from this book and recommend it to anyone who wants to perceive more clearly what is really going on within and around us.

So what will my birthday be like today? How will I relate to it? I don't know yet – ask me at the end of the day and I will know better. I think I will choose today to listen carefully for words of blessing from Jesus. I would hope to hear affirmations and positive identity messages from those who can see me from a different perspective than mine – which of course is anyone outside my skin. But I doubt I will go fishing for them. I hope they are more than just words of “happy birthday”, that they are specific reminders of attachments and value and connections. I hope that God will use me as a channel today to impart blessing and life in specific ways and times to others who are dying for lack of blessing. Because I am realizing more and more that when I am a conduit of blessing I myself am blessed and strengthened myself. Today my wish and deep desire is to experience joy (being glad to be together with people who really love me) in community in very tangible ways. Somehow I think that is what we all want. And that is God's desire as well.

Driving Lesson

This morning as I was driving to work I had one of those experiences that I usually only hear in a sermon. I found myself following a line of four or five cars going below the speed limit on a two lane road – you get the picture. It looked like the car in front was afraid to go any faster though the road conditions were not that bad. Of course there was no good chance to pass the whole line of cars so I engaged in internal dialog and discussed the situation with the Holy Spirit.

My natural instinct was to feel frustrated and impatient, but then I thought about all the instructions I have received over the past few years about such situations and how I should relate to others, even if I don't know them. I checked inside to analyze the condition of my spirit and unravel what was driving this natural compulsion. I realized that it was a desire for the person in the front car to go faster so I would not be inconvenienced. Looking deeper, I recognized that there was probably an addiction to force at work underlying this desire. It was time to adopt a new way of thinking at this point.

I decided that what I needed to do in place of indulging in complaining and impatience was ask for a spirit of peace. That would be facilitated by adopting an attitude of forgiveness for the slow drivers. This was a choice that I could make, to relax and remain in a non-judgmental mode. But it was a choice I had to make repeatedly as the urge to become impatient kept returning.

As I drove on down the road continuing this internal conversation, suddenly the whole line of cars slowed down and began to pull off onto the shoulder. I had to brake hard and quickly looked around to see if there was some serious problem up ahead that I hadn't noticed yet but I saw nothing unusual. Then I saw the answer. The line of cars was pulling into a cemetery where there was a tent set up for a burial.

As I went on down the road now unhindered by slow traffic I could almost see God's face, but He did not need to say a thing. I simply said, “I hear you, I think the point is obvious”. I then thought back over the last few minutes in self-analysis to see what I could learn. I realized I did not make all the wrong choices that I could have made. What I did remember was that knowing the circumstances is not important in choosing how to relate to others in situations like this. My attitude should not be based on knowing whether or not someone deserves my sympathy or consideration. I need to remain in peace and in connection with God irregardless of external irritations.

This may seem like a silly little incident. But life is made up of little lessons learned daily that go into building character and habits. So this was one more little lesson for me. And it reminded me of......

Salvation Revisted

We have long thought that salvation is about getting us to heaven so we can rest and be out of range of evil. Then we will be able to coast along in perfection because there won't be anyone there to cause us to do wrong. We will no longer need grace because we will not have any evil desires or impulses to resist. But for now, we have to strive hard to hang on to God's strength and by His power resist and overcome evil both within and without until we are safe on that distant shore. We have to fill our minds with lots of truth that will outweigh or expose all the wrong information that may still be in our minds. Or, if we have been in the church long enough some people actually have the audacity to believe that the only job left for them is to convince others of the truths of doctrine so they can come into line with what we know to be true. Since there is very little truth that we haven't heard repeatedly from the pulpit or in our writings, then our emphasis shifts from learning to teaching (or arguing) to spread the “gospel” to all the world. Pretty much the outline of the good, solid left-brain religion I was brought up in.

As I read My Utmost yesterday morning the realization began to deepen that our dependence on God will not cease when we get to heaven as we have subtly assumed but not necessarily taught. In fact, salvation is the relationship itself of learning constant dependence and enjoying continuous intimacy with our Creator and Lover. Our preparation for heaven is not achieving perfection of behavior and outward conformity or even a perfectly disciplined imagination. We are not using the plan of salvation just to get us out of the mess of sin so we can be independently wealthy and happy in the new earth in fellowship with other like-minded saints. Salvation is the experience of living in a vital connection with the Source of life which results in the symptoms of life growing naturally out of our lives. This process is called Salvation and the condition itself is called eternal life. That's why Jesus said we would enter into life eternal NOW when we believed in Him. (see John 6:54 & 17:3) Our intimate relationship with Jesus, our continual surrender to be governed by an outside Source of authority in that relationship is the essence of eternal life. It begins to reconnect us to the Tree of Life that we have been deprived of for millenia. And the same relationship that we experience and enter into here is the one that will continue for all of eternity while strengthening in deeper and deeper surrender, being swallowed up in the identity of God Himself.

All throughout the Bible there are indications that the people of God are being formed into a united “dwelling” place, a building, a sanctuary for God to dwell in. Salvation is not turning us into gods who will take over heaven. Salvation restores us into eternal life which is being swallowed up into the body of Christ that God is assembling to be fully revealed at the great wedding day at the end of the millenium. (see the Great Controversy overview)