Session One, Exercise
1:
Three Major Holiness
Encounters
Background:
Central
to Christian faith and teachings is the knowledge that Jesus Christ is God who
entered creation by dwelling in a human body (i.e. Incarnation). The reason the
Lord came in this manner says Athanasius (~325 AD) was to “heal and to teach the way, and not merely to dwell here, but to put
Himself at the disposal of those who needed Him, and to be manifested according
as they could bear it, not impairing the value of the Divine appearing by
exceeding their capacity to receive it.” In other words, God’s divine
presence has been momentarily veiled for our benefit and necessity otherwise His
purpose to heal and teach would be ineffective to our own detriment. Like a
light slowly brightening in a dark room, our eyes are being allowed to adjust to
avoid being rendered useless by blindness. (Perhaps practicing holiness in the
present age is the means to keep our eyes open to let His light in and be ready
at the great unveiling)
The Book
of Hebrews says we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be
thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is
a consuming fire”
Sören
Kierkegaard says that “the Bible is very
easy to understand. But... we pretend to be unable to understand it because we
know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly…
Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even
dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.”
Instruction:
Plan to
spend some time this week and look upon the beauty of God, His holiness through
the Word. In particular, you can read the suggested three passages below that
describe some ‘enlightening’ holiness encounters between God and man.
For each
of these passages (compare and contrast them):
How is
God presented? Consider the various senses (sight, hearing, touch, even smell)?
How is God positioned or shown in relation to His people (temple, disciples,
church)?
How is
man pictured? What is his reaction to the situation at hand?
How did
God mediate the situation (or reconcile the difference between the man and God)?
What was
the purpose (or task) given to the man (or men) as part of this encounter?
What
other things do you see similar or different about these encounters? Is there
relevance to each of their particular point in time of history?
Session One,
Exercise 2:
Personal Practices
As this
class gets started consider one or both of the following exercises to help
prepare your heart and direct your intentions.
This week and even future weeks, keep a journal of your
thoughts. Consider this week what your thoughts are in regards to surrendering
your life to God. What are some reasons you fear this, what are some areas that
you are reluctant to surrender, and where have you experienced heavy burdens in
trying to remain in control of your life?
CS Lewis says surrendering your life begins the very
moment you wake up each morning. Where your wishes and hopes for the day rush
at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning is to shove them all
back by listening to that other voice, the one that brings a life flowing in
that is larger, stronger, and calmer. He
adds this practice starts like paint laid on the surface, but regular practice
makes it into a dye or stain that soaks right through us.
Place cards next to your bed or on the bathroom mirror
asking “To whom am I listening?” or “Who is in control” which allows you to
make conscious effort to push back the clamoring of your natural self as soon
as you awaken, instead give ear to God, let Him guide and direct your thoughts
and words.
NOTE: These two exercises in exercise 2 are based on
Renovare’s spiritual training; check this course’s bibliography for more
information and more exercises about Renovare.