Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. -Pr. 3:5-6
A narrow path to guide me is a comfort and a place to contemplate and pray. To give consideration over distances long or short. Whether alone or with people in conversation or silence.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Ps. 51:10-12
Seated in these places—still and quiet for long hours—I contemplate their nature and their purpose. In these moments, I am nourished and made whole. It is the Lord’s enduring kindness and His indwelling Spirit that sustains me.
At birth, every human being possesses three essential components: body, soul, and spirit. These form the substance of our nature and the condition of our humanity. The body serves with its senses, appetites, and physical functions. The soul encompasses our desires, intellect, personality, and emotions. But the spirit—though present from the beginning—is disconnected from God. It lies dormant, inaccessible, and unresponsive to divine life.
Yet it is by the spirit that life truly flows. Just as a mirror reflects the appearance of the body, so the Word of God perfectly reflects the nature of the spirit. When one is born from above—born of the Most High, in Christ—a decisive transformation occurs. The former spirit, alienated from God, is put away. It dies and is no more.
The very power of God that formed the cosmos is the power that pierces between soul and spirit. When the new birth takes place, a new spirit is created within. The body remains as it was; the soul, too, remains unchanged in its faculties. But the spirit is made new—instantly, irrevocably. In that moment, the Spirit of Christ is imparted to you. Your spirit is perfected, made whole, and brought into union with God.
Even when the body and soul stumble or resist, the truth remains: in Christ, you are a new creation—holy, righteous, and pure. Following this rebirth, a gradual sanctifying process begins. The body and soul are awakened, made sensitive to divine reality, and increasingly responsive to God’s presence.
As it is written, “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 1:6). This acknowledgment—believing what God has accomplished—initiates and sustains the renewal and transformation of the soul.
This is why I am drawn to the wilderness: to behold the works of God and to witness His glory in creation. In those places, my spirit communes with God. Just as the rivers, rocks, forests, and mountains proclaim His majesty and beauty, I too offer a quiet voice in echo. Through this gift of faith, I believe—and in believing, I give thanks, deeply and completely.
Many years ago at night, it was out on an open deck at this Castle Mittersill that I asked God in prayer to serve Him. Whatever I was supposed to do to fulfill a purpose He intends and not of my own wishes. Even while I get in the way at times.
Today, before my work out and cardio, I read through Exodus 28. About how Aaron and his sons were made ready and adorned for the life of service in the holiest of places.
“For Aaron’s sons, you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty. And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.“
I’ve been spending a lot of time with astronomy and topics surrounding theoretical physics. So I got to thinking. Is it possible that the creation event wasn’t a one-time occurrence? That it continues on as driven within the framework of energy and matter?
In descending order:
Molecules-> Atoms -> Electrons -> Quarks -> Leptons & Gluons -> “Strings” (super symmetry; 11 dimensional space)
As open and closed types of string forces move in and out of existence from other dimensions, they’re driven by a type of source that has remained in perpetuity. Meaning, there is a constant or eternal source independent of time in order for matter and energy to remain together or structured as they are.
Universal objects which took millions of light-years to get to here are a completely different time reference which no longer exist as they were. Atoms with components that orbit a central nucleus are of the same type of model as galaxies and solar systems (i.e. quantum & universal). Relatively speaking, the scale between the two is immense, but with a design that is roughly common.
As the universe continues to expand, it accelerates. However, from a point of reference that originates energy and matter, its position still relatively insignificant as compared to other dimensions that exist also.
What God put into existence has a natural and ongoing bearing on how we understand reality is formed. I suspect that what’s behind Strings in other dimensions is God’s eternal intent that sets and keeps particles we measure in place regardless of scale. The difference between the physical, the spirit and the soul for example. Speculatively, as all reside as one within a range of moment slices (time), but two are eternal (i.e. independent of time) and not subject to decay or entropy as that which is within space and time.
When God ‘spoke’ creation into existence (to speak implies a physical effort), it wasn’t a one-time occurrence that lasts. What was spoken is still spoken and continues to propagate as that source of energy or spirit. Not as God spoke (past-tense), but that I AM’s spoken creation is sustained from a ‘place’ of continued tense independent of time. From our perspective, we are still in ‘day’ 5 of the creation narrative as given in Genesis.
Could it be that where the tripartite spirit, soul, and body exists in a more pertinent reality as compared to our physical being? We live among counter-parts of ourselves which we can’t see. Much like what energy source exists that serves as the structure behind strings that reach into other dimensions.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” – Nm 6:24-26
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” – 1 John 1:5-10
Here’s an upcoming teaching method to become immersed in and get from it all you can. It’s an inspiring way to better and more fully understand selected snippets of text. While I’ve memorized this verse long ago, I never really knew that each point is interconnected in linear succession as ‘teaching’, ‘reproof,’ ‘correction,’ and ‘training.’ I earlier understood them as separate outcomes, but that just isn’t so. Here is the video walk-through.
Meaning, scripture is God-breathed and profitable for specific purposes. Time and effort in scripture are what lead to righteousness. One step after another concerning matter by matter, it comes. With Teaching from John Piper, at the desiringGod.org site. Here’s a preview of what’s to come.
To he who has an ear, let him hear. 2 Tim 3:14-17
Last night was a full immersion in page after page of those Holy words again. Written to say what it does and not to appear as ink on pages and pixels in view. I went very late and lost track of time, but it didn’t matter—principles upon principles and definitions. Phrases in Greek read, spoken, and enunciated. These were parallel meanings and close antonyms.
Saints and who they were and what they believed. What they did and did not do. Apostle Paul’s relationships and hardships, his offenses, and what he was committed to. His passion for the kingdom for the sake of the elect. By happenstance came upon the words ‘reign’ and ‘rebuke’ again and again—no idea why.
And today, while out and about it dawned on me that the reason I felt so alive and renewed was because of what came from that time spent—fully delved in meaning for the renewal. There were words I saw and felt that served as nourishment.
So I was reminded that what Jesus said is that the reborn shall not live by bread alone but by his Words. So very literally true, but that wasn’t what was so incredibly awakening. That evidence of the reborn is by what sustains it. It’s those words and meanings that were needed. They were craved then, and I don’t think that will ever go away. It was a promise made clear in an unexpected way.
So today was a different kind of energy. A gift of strength inside that comes for just long enough in the moment. Just long enough for the day. Long enough for eternity.
Made visible by the ‘random’ verse of the day on my phone. First in sight upon awakening. “Good morning, Lord.”
“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” – 2 Thes. 3:3
To come back to the verse throughout the day as a reminder. A promise trusted and a promise kept.
There was a book I read some while back entitled the “Resurrection Factor.” The author sets up all possible or likely what-if scenarios to dismiss or prove against the resurrection of Jesus. It was also in that I learned much more about the process of crucifixion and how the body breaks down under that form of torture.
One of the topics in passing centered upon how the stakes driven into Jesus were not likely through the palm of his hands, but through his wrists. Primarily because ropes around his arms and steaks through his hands wouldn’t support his weight while vertically positioned. Stakes through the wrist with supported arms tied to planks would likely support his weight more effectively.
It’s also during crucifixion that victims suffocate. They don’t normally die right off from the punctures, bleed-out, exposure, or vertical prostration. While that’s a form of torture, sufferers support themselves from footrests on the vertical upright plank while standing and staked. It’s when sufferers have their legs broken during the ordeal that they begin to suffocate. Without enough support or strength to push up and continue vertical body support, the lungs become over-stressed, where normal breathing becomes impossible. The struggle continues until eventual death by an inability to breathe.
By historical account, Christ’s legs were not broken during the process. He was impaled by spear after death but before burial. However, the physical damage in numerous areas took place nonetheless. Whipping, stabbing, beating, head punctures, and crucifixion all to take the life of Jesus. The life He gave for us.
While watching session 2 of David Platt’s lessons on “Follow Me” (www.followmebook.org), I took notes on a 3×5 index card. To follow along and pay careful attention. Play, rewind, pause, replay, and so on. I have to go through all of these and keep reading his book. And with urgency, because I have to know.
Here are some of the notes etched on this card, with Christ at the center of a concentric circle that illustrates the biblical framework for a follower.
First and foremost, confessing Christ changes everything about us.
Rom 12:1; And to take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ.
To know God deeply is to love God wholeheartedly. – Matt 7:23.
Our will is grounded in our thoughts and desires. We act and live as Jesus does based on what we believe.
Sharing and fellowship to encourage and renew.
John 15:5; Bear Fruit.
So how do we know one is a follower?
1.) To abide in Christ, let his words remain in me.
His words. God’s word cleanses us.
2.) To remain in his love, by doing what he says.
God’s words empower us.
God’s words compel us.
God’s words satisfy us.
God’s words bring joy, and our joy becomes complete.
Proclaim His words no matter how much it costs us.
This brings peace.
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