The Problem with Prayer

I'm excited to announce that my latest article, "The Problem with Prayer", was written as a guest post for my friend Ryan Sidhom. Ryan and his wife Clarissa are both wonderful people, and Ryan has an excellent blog as well... http://ryansidhom.com. Check it out!

Check out the link to my new article by clicking the photo below!

The Real Bowman

Thoughts about Heaven

If there's no music up in heaven, then what is it for?

- Arcade Fire, "Here Comes the Night Time"

Heaven is one of those mysterious aspects of the afterlife of which we honestly know very little.

Yes, scripture gives some imagery of streets of gold, pearly gates, no more tears, etc.. But when it's all said and done, we don't really know exactly what Heaven will be like.

I'm going to be honest. I have never found the classic view of Heaven all that appealing. It seems stale, stiff, and devoid of life. And unfortunately, I feel that much of Christendom has devoted its energy into selling the idea of Heaven rather than sharing life in Christ.

I once heard a preacher say "If you don't like singing, then you had better get used to it, because in Heaven that is all you will be doing."

I don't know that I can believe this. It seems rather dreadful for God to create such complex, multiple-dimensional beings in his own image, yet restrict them to singing for all of eternity. While yes, we do see endless worship in heaven depicted in scripture, are we really to be stuck in an endless loop of song? This begs the questions: what constitutes worship? Scripture, after all, tell us that in "whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God."

While there is no definitive argument for this, I can't help but feel that in heaven we will be free from limitations to create. Being made in the image of a Creator God, would we not have an innate need to create things ourselves? And is it not worship to live up to our potential by God's ability? On earth we have severe limitations regarding this, such as failing health, the need to work and make a living, limit to our abilities, etc. What will the new heaven and earth be like though? Can you imagine a place unlimited with possibilities, an open canvas if you will to paint new and beautiful images of the character of God?

I think that we will build, we will create, we will invent; but without limitation.

I finally will be free to create music unlike anything else without pain that holds me back today.

And God will be glorified, since He is the originator if it all.

This is not self centered! No. By living and creating with the ability that God gave us, we will be worshipping him by using the many dimensions of our being that He himself created! By delighting ourselves in The Lord through our creativity and skills, He is glorified and pleased.

At the core to my issue with the traditional Heaven, however, is the emphasis on the place itself.

Why do we try to sell a destination rather than a perfect relationship? Yes, I am one of those "it's the journey, not the destination" guys, but I can't help but wonder- Why would ANYONE choose wealth alone over meaningful relationships. If the core to Christianity is a relationship, then the end goal is complete restoration and fulfillment of this.

I would rather Heaven be a trash heap, but have Jesus there with me; rather than be in the most perfect of places without Him. What is heaven, even if it is all we ever dreamed, if we don't have Christ there to share in that life?

It has been said that the reward of following Jesus is Jesus. Yes we get heaven, we get eternal life, and we get a big family. But what gain is that apart from having the deepest of relationships with the God that knows my innermost being?

I look forward to heaven.

I do.

But only because of the restoration of a relationship with God, only because I will get to enjoy and worship Him forever by expressing the pure form of the nature he gave me.

The Gift of Burden Bearing

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2 ESV)

Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]. (Galatians 6:2 AMP)

What does it mean to bear a burden? 

We often consider burden bearing to be a burden in itself, when it is actually a way to experience true life by sharing our experiences. Burden bearing does NOT mean to tolerate sin, nor does it mean that we somehow absorb the burdens of others into our own. The last thing that a person needs is the throbbing weight of many burdens upon his shoulders.

The key to unlocking this spiritual principle lies in the second part of this verse. "Fulfill the law of Christ."

What then is the law of Christ?

While there are many deep explanations and commentaries on this phrase, I would like to propose a far simpler and more overarching definition.

Love.

The law of Christ is love.

This is what 1 Corinthians 13 so eloquently explains. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT)

So what if I can speak in tongues, if I have faith to move mountains? Does it really matter if my ability to love is gone? If I have not experienced the αγαρη love of Jesus then it really doesn't matter what credentials I have to my name.

My ministry is worthless. 

My relationships are worthless.

My identity is worthless.

Only love can inject meaning into these aspects of life. Only this kind of selfless love can enable us to bear one another's burdens. Only αγαρη love can enable us to see beyond our own needs, our own wants, and into the hearts of those around us.

When we bear our brother's burden, we feel the weight of neither my own burden or his. Why? In a beautiful and deeply spiritual sense, when our eyes are focused outside of ourselves, then we are able to fully devote our whole attention on loving others... And when we spend our entire self loving others, then the power to do so no longer stems from my own ability, but rather the very spirit of Jesus that dwells within.

When I bear my brother's burden, Jesus himself is sharing the experience through me.

When my brother bears my burden, Jesus himself is ministering to me.

Suddenly, what was once a friendship has become a spiritual conduit for the Holy Spirit to enter into our lives in a real, tangible way.

Why would we not want to invite the person of Jesus into the deepest part of our being, the darkest corners of our lives? Why wouldn't we want to extend the hand of Christ to our neighbor, to our brother?

The beauty of this to me is that relationships are in the deepest sense a little picture of a restored relationship with God. As I wrote in my previous post, God is in his deepest form a relationship. By being made in His image, and being found in Christ, then suddenly I am entering into a sacred relationship by bearing my brother's burden. 

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17 NLT)

Sharing Life

I should be writing a funeral sermon right now.
Yet that sounds like death (pardon the lame joke).

I am too hyped up on my own thoughts about life, community, relationships, and God.
Every day that passes by I find myself cherishing my friends and family more and more, desiring to share the minute moments of my life with someone else. It is not enough to merely live life, but to share it with those around us. I am convinced that this mysterious connection between community, life, and faith is a biblical principle. After all, I would hate to be devoting so much time investing in other people if that was in fact not what I was meant to be doing with my life.

For me the principle is this:
God in his nature is relational, therefore, being created in His image, I also am relational. 

I know this seems simple, but think about it more deeply for a moment.
At the core of who God is, is a relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. COMMUNITY is as connected to His very nature as LOVE.
Before God created anything, he was in relationship with the other members of the Godhead, and by creating mankind, He thus wired us to desire and need this very thing.

So when I desire to share life with those I love the most, I am expressing a deep part of my being that understands who I am in Christ, and who I am meant to be by nature.

When Jesus said in John 10:10 that "I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly," He was indicating that that life was going to come only by a relationship with him.
True, Abundant, LIFE is impossible apart from Christ, but it is also impossible apart from a relationship. Yes, this is referring to a relationship with Jesus Christ, but my mind has been overwhelmed recently by a new understanding of HOW this is experienced and expressed on earth, as we wait for our God to restore all things to Himself.

Are you ready for it?

We experience Jesus today by those who are our brothers and sisters. Those in the church are not merely "other Christians." How dare we refer to these people as such!
No, because of the Holy Spirit, we experience the very presence of Jesus himself when we gather with those who know Him.
Mutually edified, our family in Christ is meant to not only encourage us and spur us along, but it is the means by which we physically experience Jesus on this earth (until we are reunited with Him).

When I share life with those closest to me, the Holy Spirit is working! He is growing us closer together to Himself as we grow closer to each other. Paul seems to have fully understood this concept, as he was constantly referring to how he "longed to be with" the churches, so that they might mutually edify one another.

When Paul urges us to speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and to spur one another on to love and good works; it is because he understands that Christ Himself is doing the work.
He understands how deep the truth is that those who know Jesus are literally "hidden in Christ."

So when you are speaking truth to a brother, praying for your family, texting your best friend, sharing moments with those closest to you; there is a deeper spiritual side to these life moments.

This is why the statement is true that you "can't live the Christian life alone." Not only is it difficult, it is devoid of "life" to begin with!

1 Corinthians 12:13 
"For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free- and all were made to drink of one Spirit."

Blinded

Blind I came, and blind I left 

although the blindness with which I left was of a different sort.

Perhaps the word blinded would be better. 

If being blind is a black hole, 

then being blinded is a searing white hot light. 

Blind, I saw nothing.

     My own hand in front of my face - vanished.

          My own panting all I was aware of.

               In the vacuum. In the nothing.

Blinded, I see everything.

     Light, illuminating all.

          Reaching tendrils, into the corners

               and coaxing forth the hidden things. 

All I can see is all that I can see.

     The hole. Filled. Light. Dispersed.

          Far reaching. Infinite. Moving.

               Blinding. Exposing. Grabbing.

                    Burning. Searing. Purifying. 

I scream.

This light blinds me. Now all I see is a giant white sheet, glazing over my eyes, becoming one with my sight.

All I can see is this.

     My hand in front of my eyes

          becomes enveloped, then vanishes. 

     Even my own voice is lost in the 

          pure intensity of the light.

I am lost and I am found.

I am blinded and now I must walk 

Into the light. 

Metamorphosis

Change.

We either embrace it or we fear it.

As we move into the fall season I can't help but reflect on the changing of seasons: both in nature and in our spirits. After all, it is a part of life for things to be born, for things to grow, for things to die. Spiritually, I grow, I change, I transform. 

What is it about change that causes such drastic responses among humans?

Change is a part of life that is intrinsically linked with renewal. Things must die so that new things may be born. There must be change for there to be life. It is in itself the very evidence of life, both in flesh and in spirit. 

If I'm not experiencing change as a person, then, could it be said that I am not truly living?

Renewal is the key.

We fear deep down that something in the process of transformation will go wrong. We fear that perhaps we will end up worse off. We doubt God himself.

Instead of taking this "risk", we stagnate. Content to remain in stasis, we simply exist.

But existing is not living.

I must embrace the change, and take a leap of faith in order to truly live. Letting go of what I've known I must trust that personal growth, personal transformation, and personal life all stem from allowing God to change me. It stems from allowing Him to transform my mind, which will transform my actions, which may lead me to a place that is "uncomfortable." 

But is it truly uncomfortable if I'm actually alive? Maybe I'm truly living for the first time.

Scripturally, change is crucial to experiencing life. At the most fundamental level, I must experience a complete change in identity to walk in the way of Love. Christ himself replaced my heart completely with his own for me to be able to love, to live.

It's not simply a matter of experiencing a change of situation, but a change of self. 

A metamorphosis. 

I must be transformed by the renewing is my mind. I must lose my life to find it. 

Living requires change.

Change requires sacrifice.

But once I experience this sacrifice, this change; THEN I may truly live. 

Confession: Worship

I have a confession.

I don't want to worship.

I am tired physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Yet, it is in this moment of defiance that I suddenly realize something crucial about myself and God.

I am to worship God whether I feel like it or not.

Worship in the 21st Century has become heavily associated with emotionalism, and at times we even equate an emotional response to a musical moment to the Holy Spirit working in our hearts.

Just as God HIMSELF is unchanging, His worthiness of worship remains unchanging.

"Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name." - Hebrews 13:15

Nowhere in scripture is it ever implied that our worship is to be dictated by our own condition. Worship is instead spiritual prostration. It is saying "You are God. I am not."
Worship is playing a song of praise even when the pain in your hands nearly cripples you. Worship is glorifying God even when I feel abandoned. Worship is denying myself.

Worship is evidenced by selflessness.

Worship is the attitude of Jesus. Worship is the realization that no matter what I am going through, GOD is still GOD. Worship acknowledges this.

When I think about it, I receive comfort when I am truly worshiping in a constantly changing life situation, because the object of my worship remains unchanged.

He is steadfast when my soul faints. He retains control even when my mind loses control. When my struggles overwhelm me, His victory over them on the Cross still stands. When my heart doubts, his constant love keeps a thread of hope alive in my soul.

When I feel I can offer nothing, and instead simply acknowledge the inadequacy of my desires and efforts; when I cease striving, THAT is when I am truly worshiping.

Do I want to worship all the time? No.
But that is ok.

It is what I choose to do next that is important. Do I cave in to my desires? Or acknowledge LIFE.
"To worship is to touch LIFE." - (Richard Foster)

It's in those moments of sacrificial worship that HE is glorified all the more.

A sacrifice of praise is a body presented as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual act of worship.

- Bowman
9/21/13