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| (Maumee Bay State Park, Ohio) |
The prescient, prophetic,
praying follower of Jesus, Thomas Merton, wrote:
"We have a vocation not to
be disturbed by the turmoil and wreckage
of the great fabric of
illusions."
We have a vocation...
A calling.
We have a calling.
From God.
From God.
God calls us.
... not to be disturbed...
To not be agitated.
This is about the heart.
Washing machines have "agitators." They move back and forth, back and forth, with force. They are going nowhere. They make no forward progress.
Disturbances halt forward progress. Disturbances interrupt the calling.
Jesus said, "Let not your hearts be agitated."
ταράσσω,v \{tar-as'-so}
1) to agitate, trouble (a thing, by the movement of its parts to and fro) 1a) to cause one inward commotion, take away his calmness of mind, disturb his equanimity 1b) to disquiet, make restless 1c) to stir up 1d) to trouble 1d1) to strike one's spirit with fear and dread 1e) to render anxious or distressed 1f) to perplex the mind of one by suggesting scruples or doubts.
...by the turmoil...
Let not your hearts be agitated by the agitation. By the upheaval. By the irruptions. By the roiling waters.
Let not your hearts be arrested by the peace-thieves.
...by the wreckage...
Do not be captivated by the incessant effluence of cultural carnage.
Put a compress on the bleeding media.
...the great fabric of illusions.
The systematic sham that is "the world."
With all its pretension and arrogance.
Do not let this world interpret you.
We have a calling from God to remain in Christ where agitation and turmoil are not to be found and the great fabric of systemic spell-casting is broken.
**
My three books are:
Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God
Leading the Presence-Driven Church
Encounters with the Holy Spirit (co-edited with Janice Trigg)
I'm currently writing:
Transformation: How God Changes the Human Heart
Then, the Lord willing,
Technology and Spiritual Formation
Linda and I then intend to write our book on Relationships.
... not to be disturbed...
To not be agitated.
This is about the heart.
Washing machines have "agitators." They move back and forth, back and forth, with force. They are going nowhere. They make no forward progress.
Disturbances halt forward progress. Disturbances interrupt the calling.
Jesus said, "Let not your hearts be agitated."
ταράσσω,v \{tar-as'-so}
1) to agitate, trouble (a thing, by the movement of its parts to and fro) 1a) to cause one inward commotion, take away his calmness of mind, disturb his equanimity 1b) to disquiet, make restless 1c) to stir up 1d) to trouble 1d1) to strike one's spirit with fear and dread 1e) to render anxious or distressed 1f) to perplex the mind of one by suggesting scruples or doubts.
...by the turmoil...
Let not your hearts be agitated by the agitation. By the upheaval. By the irruptions. By the roiling waters.
Let not your hearts be arrested by the peace-thieves.
...by the wreckage...
Do not be captivated by the incessant effluence of cultural carnage.
Put a compress on the bleeding media.
...the great fabric of illusions.
The systematic sham that is "the world."
With all its pretension and arrogance.
Do not let this world interpret you.
We have a calling from God to remain in Christ where agitation and turmoil are not to be found and the great fabric of systemic spell-casting is broken.
**
My three books are:
Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God
Leading the Presence-Driven Church
Encounters with the Holy Spirit (co-edited with Janice Trigg)
I'm currently writing:
Transformation: How God Changes the Human Heart
Then, the Lord willing,
Technology and Spiritual Formation
Linda and I then intend to write our book on Relationships.
