Spiritual Discernment

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38 TNIV.

Greetings of peace and joy for the Christmas Season and throughout the New Year! May we like Mary seek to live in God’s will for us from a posture of humility. This simple prayer of Mary is a prayer of full surrender to the will of God. Jesus prayed similarly in the Garden when he said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42 TNIV. Some refer to these as the prayer of indifference meaning I am indifferent to anything other than the will of God. In other words the only thing that really matters to me is discerning and following the will of God.

Sometimes before I can pray this prayer of indifference I must pray for the gift of indifference. So I pray, “Lord make me willing to be indifferent” or “Give me the gift of indifference”.

Often following the will of God goes against our human nature. That is my ego, sin nature or false self (mean the same) has desires and longings that incline me to go against the will of God. I am inclined to gratify my false self. Therefore God’s will feels undesirable because it goes against my sinful nature. When I listen to my soul or my true self, I long for God, his love and will for me. Deep inside me God’s will gives peace and seems right. Choosing to listen to my soul is essential in discerning the will of God.

My prayer for each of us is that we will create quiet space for God to enter into our being more and more so that “. . . you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2 TNIV. May God give you hope and courage through the miracle of Christmas for the New Year and may you be confident that Jesus who came to live among us will give us “hope and a future”. Jeremiah 29:11 TNIV

Copyright © 2011 Stanley J Troyer & CRM

Shake The Dust Off

I live with seasonal allergies. These allergies are irritated by dust especially from the earth. Even mowing the lawn triggers an allergic reaction of a "runny" nose and itching eyes.

How does dust affect you? Jesus told his disciples to get rid of dust.

Jesus Teaching

8"These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." Mark 6:8-11 TNIV Emphasis added.

What is this dust Jesus is speaking of? What does it mean to shake the dust off?

Jesus teaching about dust is given to his disciples as he sends them out to do ministry. Shaking the dust off is to be done in response to "any place that will not welcome or listen to you".

Relational Dust

It seems that these instructions are to be applied when the disciples experience the hurt of rejection and nonacceptance from those they are ministering to. Jesus knew that rejection and relational pain would collect like dust in their soul unless rooted out by forgiveness. This dust would keep them tied to their past relational failures and choke out their ability to rest in God, to live and minister fully surrendered to God's will in the situation.

Shake Off

How do I shake off this dust? Confession, forgiveness and surrender are the remedies. Letting go and letting God is a familiar phrase. For me this is much easier said than practiced.

How do I move forward without carrying hurts from my past? Do I allow this dust to insulate me from intimate relationships now and in the future? Shaking off the dust means forgiving and confidently trusting the past and the future to God. Someone told me recently that it is important to prepare for the future but let go of anticipating the future.

Recently I was reminded of a broken relationship in my past. I continue to pray for healing of this relationship. Is there more I can do to restore this relationship? Probably, yet at the same time I need to release, let go, shake the dust off and move on.

Consider

Reread the scripture again and ask yourself:

1. What dust am I carrying from the past that God would like me to shake off?
2. What is the role of forgiveness and surrender in shaking off this dust?
3. Listen and write down anything you need to remember.

Remember

I believe "shaking off the dust" is how we keep bitterness from taking root in our hearts. See to...that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Hebrews 12:15 TNIV

Bitterness causes us to live in the past and the future but robs us of the joy of living in the moment-basking in God's love and forgiveness.

Copyright © 2011 Stanley J Troyer & CRM