Spiritual Subsistence or Spiritual Riches?

When we grow up in a church, we hardly suspect there is anything more than "going to church."  We are living in spiritual subsistence, barely ekeing out spiritual survival from week to week.  Sunday observance has little or no relationship to the rest of the week.

But God is not a God of Sundays only; from the beginning, He wanted to walk with us, accompany us throughout life, sharing in all things (for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health).  We have kept Him out of our lives by not desiring His Presence. 

The Spirit of God is a gentleman; He does not go where He is not wanted; He does not intrude on lives that are doing "just fine" without His guidance.  If we want to go our own way, so be it.  Henry David Thoreau put it this way;

The work we do for God,

God blesses;

The work we call our own,

God leaves alone.

When we come to the end of our own resources and strength, however, there is One Who is waiting for us, One Who has never given up hoping that we are ready for His companionship and support.  One Who has promised to open the windows of heaven and pour out His resources into our lives. 

Jesus promised "rivers of living water" to those who are thirsty.  But here's the catch: we have to be thirsty.  We have to yearn for the promised water in order to receive it.  Our hungering and thirsting for the Spirit is the necessary condition for receiving Him.  God does not give His gifts lightly.

Without the Gift of the Holy Spirit, we do not have:

• Personal awareness of God's love
• Conviction of who Christ is
• A message of real help to others
• The right words to speak in times of stress
• Comprehension of scripture
• Help in our weakness
• Freedom from slavery to sin and harmful habits
• The gifts of the Spirit
• The fruits of the Spirit
• Joy
• Renewal
• Guidance from God
• Spiritual healing
• The ability to set our minds or to love the things of God
• Help with our prayer
• The pledge of eternal life

Jesus said in Luke 11 to ask and to keep on asking, and it shall be given to you;

seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door shall be opened to you.

In the Greek, all the verbs ask, seek, and knock denote continuing action---like continuing to knock until our knuckles are bleeding.   So the first thing to ask for is a real hunger and thirst that won't give up until the Spirit is poured out into our hearts and lives.

Now the confidence we have in him is this, that he listens to us whenever we ask anything in accordance with his will; and if we know that he listens to whatever we ask, we know we obtain the requests we have made to him (I Jn. 5:14).

(The following is excerpted from Katherine Marshall's prayer:) 

Yet, Lord, I know that the gift of the Spirit is not for my joy alone; rather He is given as power for service.  You alone can kindle in my heart the deep, fervent desire to be used like that.  Take from me lukewarmness.  Give me Your own holy passion.  Thank you, Lord. Amen.



New Pentecosts

Whenever the church of God becomes stagnant, lethargic, dying---a new wind of Renewal and energy is sent---a new Pentecost, a new Awakening. 

2000 years ago, we would have said that the sending of the Spirit was a one-time event that changed the world.  Now, with 2000 years of history to review, we can realize that God has never stopped renewing His church, sending the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

In the 12th century, St. Francis of Assisi rekindled the fire, which burned for 40 years throughout all of Italy.

In the 1500's, when the Catholic church had lost its way, a tiny spark from Martin Luther lit the fire of the Protestant Reformation.

In the 18th century, America saw the Great Awakening at the same time as John and Charles Wesley were leading a re-awakening in Europe.

In 1900, the American Pentecostal movement began in Kansas and spread to Los Angeles.  In South Wales during the same years, there was a revival led by 26-year-old Evan Roberts.

In the early 1960's, the Jesus Movement arose among the young people, the Neo-Pentecostal Movement appeared in the mainline Protestant churches, and the Catholic Charismatic Movement began at Duquesne U. with about 7 students.

Within 10 years, 400,000 mainline Protestants and 300,000 Catholics were actively involved in the Charismatic Movement. 

In 1977, a worldwide Conference on the Renewal in Kansas City saw 50,000 Catholics, 6,200 Protestants from mainline churches, 17,000 non-denominational Christians, 2,000 Pentecostals, and 400 Messianic Jews come together for praise, worship, and teaching.

Every time the Spirit moves in a powerful way across many peoples, there is the same phenomenon:

• it begins outside of the established church, with common people, usually drawing suspicion if not hostility from the establishment;
• it is characterized by a return to the simple gospel and a devotion to Jesus Christ;
• there is always a great outpouring of love and joy, bringing people together from different parts of the world and different cultures;
• music always plays a large part, with much singing and creativity in new songs and hymns;
• it deeply affects the lives of those involved , energizing them to become engaged in changing the church and culture around them.

The prophet Ezekiel foretold the phenonmenon many centuries ago: 

A new spirit will I put within you....I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh (11:19).

Who would have guessed that God's plan was to continually pour out the Gift of the Holy Spirit in each new age, with each new generation as the church itself grows cold?

Why Praise God?

Taking a break today from The Helper-though we have many chapters yet to go.

It is clear from the Book of Romans, as throughout the Bible, that God wants us to praise Him.  He does not need our praise, but we need to praise Him, as I discovered this morning waking from a muddled, busy dream and still talking to myself about it.  I couldn't get my head out of the mess of the dream----until I started to praise God.  Immediately, the silly dream left me, and my mind became peaceful and full of wonderful ideas.

Praise of God is for us, not for God, although He does delight in---and inhabit---the praises of His people (I'd have to look up the references for that).  When we praise God, His Presence is with us, and in His Presence is joy (Ps. 16).

When we praise God, we recall with gratitude all that He has done.  And that immediately takes our minds off whatever anxiety, fear, or concern is haunting our minds at the moment.  And our whole body reacts with relaxation and security as we praise.

If praise does not come naturally to us, it helps to begin with one of the Psalms, reading it slowly and truly praying it to God, Who is present to us in our prayer and thanksgiving.  Psalm 16 is a good one to begin with, as is Psalm 139.

Praise does not change God; it changes us.  Sadness, confusion, fear cannot dwell in the same space with praise and thanksgiving.  If we are not accustomed to praise, it might at first feel "fake," but it does take hold of us eventually and become "real."  And then it changes our reality as it changes us:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requsts to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable---if anything is excellent or praiseworthy---think about such things....And the God of peace will be with you (Phil. 4:6-8).

Peace is the result of praise.

Transformation from Inside Out

In the Age of the Holy Spirit, the resurrection life of Jesus Himself progressively transforms us from the inside out.  That is why He could say that He came to "fulfill the law," not just in Himself, but in us. 

The Apostle John put it this way:

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work [in the world and in us].  No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's sperm remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God (1 Jn. 3:9).

In the Old Testament, God promised through Jeremiah:

I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts (Jer. 31:33).

If we notice the "law of God" working through us from the inside out, we can be sure the Holy Spirit is at work.  There is a difference between Jesus walking beside us and His working within us.

As a mother with three young children and almost no sleep, I was on edge most of the time.  Fortunately, that was the exact moment The Helper arrived in my life.  Both my doctor and then a young girl prayed for me to receive the Holy Spirit---and I began to notice definite changes from within:

First, I had a hunger for Scripture that I had never had before.  I could not stop reading the Bible, and after a major operation, I had recuperation time to read it.  (God's timing is soooooo amazing!)

Second, with the annointing of the Holy Spirit came a support group of friends who had experienced the same phenomenon in their own lives---I don't know how that happened; I only know they were there as I began to discover the Spirit at work.  As I learned day by day from the Holy Spirit, I had someone to share it with, someone who knew what I was talking about and who could affirm the experience.

Third, I noticed that my "natural" tendency to anger and frustration was slowly receding into the background.  One day, as I came out of the laundry room and saw that the children had found a bag of sugar and emptied it onto the kitchen floor, I started yelling at them, only to realize that I was not really angry inside; I was just acting out of old habits.  Where did the anger and frustration go?  I could not believe that it had been replaced with something like calmness.  That got my attention!  Something was happening in me from the inside out---not the other way around, where we try and try to control ourselves, but still are seething within.

Jesus said that it would be to our advantage that He went away, because then He would send the Holy Spirit.  We have brushed aside the meaning of His words--the Holy Spirit working within us would be more wonderful than the physical presence of Jesus Himself standing beside us!

Jesus Himself will "take up all the causes of my life" (Lamentations 3) and will work out in me the will of God for my life.  What?!?    Can anything be better than this?  How Much Better than my trying to follow the law and do the right thing all my life!  How tired I would get with that!  How soon would I give up the struggle! 

Knowing my weakness, He Himself said He would do it----and He does!   YES!

A New Era in History

And when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."  (Is. 30:21)

During Jesus' earthly ministry, He was to the crowds a Rabbi, a Teacher, a Healer.  To His companions, however, He was a companion, a guide, a provacateur, a friend, and exciting teacher, revealing hidden truths in the parables and in daily life.  When Peter made a mistake in thinking or in action, Jesus but had to speak or to reach out His hand to deliver Peter.

As Jesus began to speak more and more about leaving them, He also promised that He would not leave them as orphans, but would manifest Himself to them.  "Why to us and not to the world?" they asked.

To the world, Jesus remains a historical figure like Napoleon, like Abraham, like Peter the Great.  He does not manifest Himself to the world as companion, as rescuer, as guide, as friend, as exciting teacher.  He is not present to them as He was to the Apostles.  But having once broken into history as Emmanuel---God with us---do you think He was going to become a "hear-say" God again ---not really present, but at a distance?

We do not need to look back to the time of Jesus.  He is here with us now, as Friend, as Companion, as Healer, as Rescuer, as Teacher, as Provacateur---constantly revealing God With Us night and day, standing by, ready for every moment and every emergency.

Amazing comradeship!

In the first age, God the Father spoke through a few prophets, priests, and kings.  He made known His way and His will through the law and the commandments, and He annointed a few people as rescuers of the people in times of trouble.

In the second age, God spoke to us directly through His Son, Who rescued the poor and sick and poured out His love on all around Him.

In the third age, the same Son remains present to us through the Spirit.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow:  He heals, He teaches; He comforts; He guides and corrects; He rescues and guides; He communicates the Father's love and will.  He is God with us!

If we treat Jesus as a historic person, we are missing the reason He came---not just to interpret the Law, to teach, and to heal a few people for 30 years---but to be fully present with us today.  All communication of the Presence of Jesus is through the Holy Spirit; all "law" (read "instruction") is given to us today through the Holy Spirit.  All rescue of those in trouble is done through the Holy Spirit.

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter said this:

This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

In the last days...I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

We are not "on our own," trying hard to obey the law today.  There is in us the Spirit of Jesus, fulfilling the law perfectly, even though in ourselves we are still broken vessels (or cracked pots) holding the Spirit.  The work He has begun in us, He will complete.  We just have to patch up the cracks as well as we can so as not to let the Spirit of Jesus leak out of us.

Traces of the Holy Spirit

John the Baptist was the last of the OT prophets.  With him closed the era of men "trying" to be "good" by obeying the law and by toeing the line.  The law was like a tutor in Roman times, correcting behavior, showing the right path, effecting discipline---but lacking the power to change character or to overcome the "law of sin and death" that wars within us.

Jesus said of John: Truly I tell you that ...he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  John was a great man; Jesus said of him that among those born of woman there was no one greater.  But man's best efforts were at an end.  With the new inbreathing of the Spirit of God given by the resurrected Christ, from now on, it would be the Spirit in us doing the work.

Maybe I've always gravitated toward this lesson because early on in life, I saw the impossibility of my own "best" (read "inconstant") efforts.  I distinctly remember the first time I saw and learned the meaning of the word dilettante--meaning amateur, browser, dabbler.  Learning the meaning of this word immediately set off alarm bells in my head; I was afraid that the word described my life---and would continue to describe it forever!  I was still in high school, and yet I determined not to be a dilettante; I was going to buckle down and seriously pursue things and stick to them---yet, there was always an underlying fear that I could never really do what I had determined to do.  And indeed, my fear proved true.

That is why, when someone first prayed for me to receive the Holy Spirit, and I began to see the effects of that prayer, I immediately began to fear that I would eventually "lose interest" and pursue other interests.  I went back to the person who had first prayed for me:  All my life, I said, I've gotten excited about this and that and eventually lost interest.  I don't want to lose this through laziness or indifference.

My doctor (the one who had prayed for me in my time of trouble) laughed:  You don't "have' the Holy Spirit, he told me; He has you---and He's not letting go.  Even if you walk away, He will walk with you and bring you back.  I received this Gift 14 years ago, and it just keeps getting better all the time.  [Thanks, Dr. Seese---may God forever bless you!]

His words proved to be more true than I could have then imagined.  The year was 1977--34 years ago---and the Spirit has not yet let go of me! [Thank you, Holy Spirit!]

So, what is the evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives?  Where do we find traces of His Presence?

• He makes Jesus more real to us as a Person
• Scripture comes alive for us and is written on our hearts as "our" story, not just as "a" story
• We begin to hear the inner Voice of the Spirit, prompting us in major and in small, daily, decisions.
• We begin to see in ourselves a new kind of love for other people---even people we don't know, even those we would not ordinarily choose as friends.
• We begin to experience help in the sticky and tricky areas of communication---sometimes, people will later tell us we said just the right thing at the right time, and we don't even remember saying that particular thing.
• We begin to see people around us soften and become more open to the Spirit's influence.

Last week, the deacon in our church said this:  Live in such a way that people who don't know God but who know you will come to know God because they know you!  Believe me, that can happen only when the Spirit of God Himself is indwelling us and acting through us.  Most of us want to be moral, upright, and just; we want men to think well of us; we want to do the right thing.  (This is what "the Baptism of John" is all about.) 

But John himself said, There comes one after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.  He will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Spirit. 

Later, Jesus was to say, I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and what would I but that it be kindled? 

If we have received the Baptism of John, we need to go on from there and seek the Baptism of the Holy Spirit from the hands of Jesus Himself.  He obviously wants to kindle a fire in our hearts that will never be extinguished!

Why Do I Need the Helper?

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you...(Acts 1:8).

Jesus embarked on His earthly ministry only after "the Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove" as He was undergoing baptism at the hand of his cousin John.

The apostles huddled together in a locked room for nine days after Jesus ascended; when the Holy Spirit came in the form of fire, they were set on fire themselves and openly witnessed to all they had seen and heard in Jesus of Nazareth.

As "good" as we are in ourselves, when we attempt any good thing---any church work, any ministry, any truth-telling---solely through our own devices, talent, organizational structure, etc., we are like those building the Tower of Babel.  We have the "power" only to confuse the issue.  When the wind and flame of the Holy Spirit drive us, though we speak in "foreign tongues," people understand, as on the Day of Pentecost.

Dwight Moody, the great evangelist of the 1800's in Chicago, described himself as a "great hustler," naturally talented at drawing crowds.  But two women used to sit on the front row of his meetings and pray during his talks.  Finally, he asked them about it:  "We are praying for you," they replied.  "For me?" he asked, a little annoyed.  "You need the power of the Spirit," they answered.  He couldn't believe it, but weeks later, he asked them to explain what they meant.  They told him about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and prayed with him for power to minister.

At first, all he noticed was a growing hunger for this "power for service."  Then, one day on Wall Street in the midst of bustling crowds, the power of God fell on him so strongly that he knew he had to get off the street and be alone for awhile.  Afterwards, he stopped "hustling" and began to follow the Spirit.  He says he did not preach anything different, but people were converted by the hundreds.  He lived another 28 years after that, and his work lives on today.

                      (summarized from Marshall: The Helper, Chapter 2)

All of us want something badly.  Moses wanted to free his people from the harshness and cruelty of their Egyptian masters.  Abraham wanted a child to inherit his name and his wealth.  The prophets wanted the leaders of Israel to stop accepting bribes and running over the poor. 

The desire God has placed within us for justice and righteousness fails to achieve when we do it on our own---in our own strength, power of persuasion, etc.  The Apostles may have wanted to tell people about Jesus, but seeing what had happened to Him, they were understandably afraid.  When the Holy Spirit comes, you shall receive [the] power [to accomplish your deepest desires].

Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers ...against spiritual forces in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).

No wonder we have no strength, intelligence, talent, or power to overcome "the powers of this dark world" on our own.  If anyone wants true ministry--deliverance---for those they love, they need the power given only by the Holy Spirit. 

The Apostles waited in prayer with Mary and others for nine days.  Can we not set ourselves apart for prayer too, for the power given by the Spirit?

The Helper

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper...that He may remain with you forever.

...you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you (Jn. 14:16,17).

Jesus called the Holy Spirit "The Helper" in Aramaic, translated in Greek as the Paraclete, in Latin as The Advocate.  All three of these terms, meaning the same thing, carry slightly different intonations to us.  Advocate, from the Latin, comes from the prefix "ad" (for) and from the root "vocare" (speak).  It is a legal term meaning Lawyer---one who speaks for us in a court of law, when we are accused of a crime.  I think the British still use the term "Advocate" today for their lawyers. 

The Holy Spirit helps us by speaking to us and for us.  As He spoke to the prophets long ago, and to those who wrote Scripture, so He speaks today within us.  He is the Voice of God to us, in us, and for us.  One way to listen to His voice is to keep a journal.  Not everything we write will be the voice of God, but eventually, if we are listening, we will hear God speak to us.  It was said of Samuel that he did not let [God's] words fall to the ground.  I wonder how many times the Advocate has spoken to us and we have let His words fall to the ground.  Keeping a journal is a way to listen to what God is saying to us.

Paraclete---from the Greek para (alongside of) and caleo (called).  The Paraclete is the One Called to be Alongside of us constantly and forever. Jesus promised that He would never leave or abandon us.  The way He remains with us is by pouring out in us and on us His own Spirit of Truth.  You will know Him and recognize Him because He will be in you (but not in the world.)

We have inside us a voice, a prompt, that recognizes Truth, that tells us when someone or something rings false. Our minds may not be able to discern the lie, but the Spirit inside us warns us, checks our steps, makes us hesitate.  The Spirit of Truth does not reside in the world; it is hard for "the world" to recognize Truth, so they chase after every lie and falsehood.  If we are tuned to the Spirit of Truth, we will often get a "funny feeling" that something is not right, although we may not be able to figure out exactly what's wrong.  That's often a good time to get alone with a journal, opening our hearts to the Spirit speaking within us.

One of the ways the Spirit operates in us is to make the Person of Jesus Christ live in us.  He turns the spotlight on the Scriptures and makes them real to us, allowing the Person of the Christ to emerge. 

The "fruit" or result of listening to the Spirit, the Helper, the Paraclete, the Advocate is peace and joy.  No longer are we tossed about with every wind and wave but our little boat remains steady and calm.  There is One given to us by Jesus Himself that breathes in us and speaks in us, Who says, Be not afraid; I am here.  What a Gift, the Helper!

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Many years ago, a book called The Helper by Katherine Marshall fell into my hands through a good friend.  The book, probably now out of print, was about the Holy Spirit and all the ways He "helps" us.  Marshall had spent an entire summer researching her topic, spending an hour a day just looking up biblical references --Old Testament and New---to the Holy Spirit and taking notes. 

Marshall's book opened my eyes to all the ways the Holy Spirit ministers to us on a daily basis, even when we are not aware of His Presence.  It was such a gift to hear and see the Spirit at work, and it made me more willing to pray to Him about the little things that make up living.  And being willing to consult Him about the little things made me even more aware of how present He is---and how active He is---at all times.  We are not alone!  Ever!

On our own, we would not dare to ask or to expect the Spirit's help minute -to -minute.  Somehow, we think that we are supposed to help ourselves as far as we can, and then when we are desperate and helpless, ask for God's intervention.  What I have discovered is that we do not have to wait until we have exhausted all of our own resources.  If we walk with the Spirit from the beginning of each task, seeking his direction in the small things, we do not have to reach the point of desperation.  And having a Helper along the way is like a marriage, where we are free to ask for help even in the little things----will you pour the beer while I finish the steaks?  No one thinks that he/she should call for help from one's spouse only the ladder has fallen and we are hanging from the roof!  But that's the way we treat the Holy Spirit.

Anyway, even though you might still be able to purchase Marshall's book online, I would like to make available her insights, maybe with some examples from my own life---as she did from hers.  My greatest desire is that everyone I know would have the courage to cultivate a day-to-day relationship with the Holy Spirit, asking for His help in everything, in every little thing, and would thereby come to know His continuing Presence as The Helper.

This morning, for example, as I sat down with a cup of hot coffee, the Spirit immediately began to bring to my mind a couple of things that I wanted or needed to do today.  I picked up a notepad to jot down the list so that I wouldn't get distracted during the day and forget---which I am wont to do.  As I wrote each item, though, I found that another one would pop into my mind.  Suddenly, I realized that the Spirit was directing my day, rather than allowing me to roam around aimlessly with regret that I was not doing the things that needed doing.  Does anyone know what a gift this is to a scatter-brained person like myself?

Jesus told the woman at the well, If you knew the Gift of God [the Holy Spirit], you would ask, and I would give you, Living Water. 

Tomorrow I will begin to unfold some of what Katherine Marshall discovered about the Holy Spirit.  I am sure she will not mind my doing so, because she wrote the book "out of [her] own spiritual need to speak to those who share [her] longing for thirst-quenching quaffs of the Living Water." 

The Gift of the Holy Spirit is so great that I cannot keep it to myself; I want the same Gift to overflow into the lives of all those I love.

At Your Word

He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore.  Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."  Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything.  But because you say so [at Your word], I will let down the nets (Luke 5:3-5).

We all know the end of the story---the apostles caught so many fish that their boats began to sink---and they were afraid.

There is such a difference between doing things on our own initiative and doing them at the direction of the Lord---we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything.  God intends success for us, so at His direction, even though we "know better" [that is, we've already tried that and it didn't work], we need to go ahead and do whatever He tells us.  And success does not always look like "success" to us; sometimes, it may even look like failure.  After all, Paul was beaten with rods how many times?  and arrested....and jailed....and eventually killed, as were Peter and most of the other apostles. 

When we pray, most often, it seems as if nothing happens--nada--but we keep on praying, believing that the Father hears us, and if He hears, He answers in ways we cannot now see.  But if the Spirit of God directs us to pray in a certain way or at a certain time, we know that what we pray is at His Word, His Command--and will produce the results we are seeking.

The Word of God is the seed that grows in fertile soil and produces 70 or 100-fold.  It cannot return void and unproductive.  We cannot manufacture the "Word" of God to us; we can only receive it and obey it, leaving the results to the Lord.

The Spirit Within

And Yahweh Elohim formed adam/man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.

What is it with all the zombie craze now?  Everyone wants to be a zombie, it seems---to dress up (or down), to stumble around without purpose, to have a glazed look---like a house without an inhabitant:  to be men without indwelling spirits.

What is sad is not the kids having fun "playing dead," but the numbers of people for whom "zombiehood" is a reality---the walking dead, those who are going through the motions without spiritual life, those whose eyes are truly glazed over to protect themselves from further pain and disappointment.

The spirit God breathed into us has to serve two functions:

First, it has to energize us, motivate us, move us forward.  We say people are "spirited," energized, enthusiastic when they approach life with zest and joy.  That is the spirit within.  In fact, the word "enthusiastic" is a literal translation of the phrase God (theos) within.  Man is a "living being" only when he is spirited, purposeful, joyful; otherwise, he moves through life like a zombie.

The second function of the spirit within is to "hold together," or integrate all the aspects of our lives.  If we tried to hold in our hands and arms symbols of all the things we "hold" in our hearts and minds, we could not do it without dropping things right and left.  Each one of us is the center of a small universe of loves and concerns---families, jobs, personal care, outreach to others, etc. 

If we think of a high school student, for example, that student must meet the demands of 5-6 teachers each day, in addition to at least one sport or extra-curricular activity, family responsibilities, friends---not to mention the demands that modern technology and media make on all of us. 

Again, the working mother of a family must meet the multiple demands and responsibilities of the workplace and then come home to nurture and care for a number of people in the family, each one with his/her own universe of cares and concerns.  How do we keep from being pulled apart at the center?  What is it that keeps us "centered" and sane? 

The spirit, or breath of God within us, is able to integrate and eventually balance all the aspects of our lives, maybe not initially, but gradually teaching us what we can let go of and what we need to hold more tightly.

It is so important for us to be able to nurture and feed the spirit within; it is important not only to us as individuals, to but all around us.  When our own spirit is starving, we tend to eat everyone else.  When our own spirit is content and at peace, we tend to feed everyone else.

Even Jesus had to go off by Himself early each morning to feed His spirit by communion with the Father.  If that was true of Him, how much more necessary for us to drink spiritual water and to eat spiritual food to nourish our souls?

What is it that fills us up spiritually?

Jeanne de Chantal

We all need role models and mentors so that we can see "how it's done."  Examples and models are so much more powerful than explanations and lessons.  And our role models need to be non-judgmental toward us as we fumble along, making our mistakes along the way.

Now that I am taking my first painting class, I sometimes find it frustrating that I cannot achieve the same effects as my role-model, the instructor.  "The best time for a tight-rope walker to make a mistake," he told me yesterday, with a twinkle in his eye, "is when he's on the ground, just learning."

Today, I read that Jeanne de Chantal, the mother of seven children and a widow at an early age, wrote this:  No matter what happens, be gentle with yourself.

Sometimes put yourself very simply before God, certain of His presence everywhere, and without any effort, whisper very softly to His sacred heart whatever your own heart prompts you to say.

Great, simple advice from a role model in the spiritual life.  If she, a great mother, administrator, saint could say "Be gentle with yourself," I think we have to assume that her wisdom comes from God Himself.

The Eyes and Ears of our Souls

We are made in the image and likeness of God---but we cannot imagine God having a physical body like ours.  Still, we can work our way back through what we do know about ourselves to reach some knowledge about God.

We know that our minds and emotions have "eyes" and "ears" that go beyond what we take in with our physical bodies.  We "see" and "hear" things in the psychological realm that we cannot know from the physical realm.  Although it is clear that seeing and hearing things from another world may be a sign of a mental breakdown at times, I also think that all of us have some sort of normal, natural intuition or even visceral reactions to things we grasp with the eyes and ears of our psyche, things we "know," but do not know how we know.

In the same way, we have been given spiritual eyes and ears.  Jesus often said, Let him who has ears to hear, hear.  And to Nicodemus, He said this:  Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  After the Resurrection, the disciples traveling to Emmaus reported that in the breaking of bread, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus.

In 2 Corinthians 3:14, we read this:

But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read.  It has not been removed, for only in Christ is it taken away.  Even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.  But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Our spirits do have eyes and ears, but they have been dulled by "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4), so that we cannot see spiritual truth.  We believe we are seeing clearly, but what we "see" is from physical and rational experience.  The kingdom of God cannot be apprehended either by physical or mental eyes and ears.  Some "see" God always at work in circumstances; others see nothing of the kind.  Nor can we reason ourselves to faith---always, it eludes the mind.  The reason we must be born again is so that the "second Adam," the spirit-man can begin to see and hear what the natural man cannot grasp.

Like the blind man in the Gospel, every one of us needs to pray, "Lord, open my eyes that I may see!"



Cornelius--the God-fearing Italian

Cornelius--the "God-fearing" Roman centurian who was "respected by all the Jewish people," was the first non-Jew to receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit, along with his entire household.  As we read the story in Acts 10, it is amazing to observe how many times God spoke directly (through an angel) to Cornelius and to Peter (through the Spirit).  Peter had a vision, and then "the Spirit said to him, 'Simon, three men are looking for you.....'"

There is much to wonder at in this story, not the least of which is the obvious familiarity with which the Spirit speaks to Peter---and Peter does not blink at this kind of revelation from the Spirit.  He actually seems to take it for granted that the Spirit of God would speak to him.  He is more taken aback by what the Spirit is telling him to do than the fact that the Spirit is directing him.

Another amazing element of this story is the revelation of how directly the Spirit of God is orchestrating events for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus to the Gentile world.  Peter and the other apostles would not have dared venture into Gentile homes were they not prepared by God Himself through the Holy Spirit.  But the events recorded in Acts clearly turn the Jewish world "upside down," much to the dismay and confusion of the Jewish officials.

The experience of Cornelius and his household, who received the Gift of the Father just as did the Apostles, went a long way to eliminating the need for all converts to Christianity to be first converts to Judiasm.  While the early church could debate theology and philosophy, they could not debate the experience of Cornelius, who obviously had received the Holy Spirit---and that by the express plan and purpose of God.

Someone once said that the Acts of the Apostles should have been titled the Acts of the Holy Spirit, because it is clear that the Holy Spirit was directing the Apostles in everything they did.  Occasionally throughout history from that time forward, we clearly see similar "acts of the Holy Spirit" directing a group of believers with power and grace.  Always, these great movements from the Holy Spirit come to people who are praying---as happened to both Cornelius and to Peter. 

Maybe the lesson for all of us, as for the church in general, is that we need to pray and to seek the direction of God.  His plans and purposes can scarcely be guessed at until He reveals them to us through the Holy Spirit.

Who is God to you?---Part 2

If this were an interactive website, I would just ask the question, "Who is God to you?" and let people begin to answer ---- although we usually take an initial stab at the answer and then mull it over until we find another dimension.  It takes a lifetime.

Still, the initial step is worth the effort.  Scripture says, Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.  Thinking about who He is to us is one way of "drawing near" to Him.

Since there is no way I can begin to answer that question for you, I will leave you to ponder the answer.

God is Not in a Hurry

Revelation, both in history and in our own lives, is so gradual that we tend to think it does not exist at all.  On the other hand, because it is so gradual, we also tend to think that we have the whole picture once we have a part of it.

Many years ago, when the eyes and ears of my soul first began to open to the revelation of God in my own life, I thought I understood everything.  Historically, both the Jews and later the Christians also thought they understood everything when they were just beginning to receive revelation.

It is the human condition to think we "know it all."  From the teen who believes his knowledge is far superior to that of his parents to the Pharisee who has studied and therefore "knows," we all want to believe we've "got it."

I once had a very clear image of a retarded child, a girl, who stood in the midst of the whole heavenly court as Jesus patiently began to teach her the first step of a dance.  As she practiced the step, He stood and waited until she got it.  Excitedly, she did the one step before the whole assembly, again and again.  "I've got it!" she cried; "I've got it!"  She truly believed she had learned the whole dance---but then, she was retarded.  Then, smilingly, He called her back to Him and began to teach her the next step.  "I've got it!  I've got it!" she cried again and began repeating the step over and over, adding it to the first one. 

I did get it:  I was the retarded child who thought she knew the whole dance because she had learned the first step. 

Today I read this from The World of Prayer by Adrienne von Speyr:

It is one of the laws of love that the lover cannot completely fathom the essence of the beloved.  No human being can calculate or possess another's reactions in advance, or count on them as if they were not the expression of a free personal nature.  If anyone could do this, the other person would instantly cease to be a spiritual being.  Love is built up on the incalculability of the beloved.  He must always disclose and surrender himself afresh, continually surprising and overwhelming the lover.  If ever this movement were to stop, to be replaced by a conclusive knowledge of each other, love would come to an end.  

No wonder God took 2000 years to reveal Himself to the Jews (the Old Testament) and another 2000 years to reveal Himself to the Christian church (the New Testament and beyond).  If we think we've "got it," we still have much to learn.  If we have stopped seeing and hearing revelation afresh each day, we have stopped dancing with the Lord and are just showing off in front of the assembly.

The Cry of Cain

The Lord then said: "What have you done?

Listen: Your brother's blood cries out to me from the soil!

Therefore you shall be banned from the soil that opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 

If you till the soil, it shall no longer give you its produce.

You shall become a restless wanderer on the earth."

Cain said to the Lord: "My punishment is too great to bear!

Since you have now banished me from the soil, and I must avoid your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, anyone may kill me at sight

(Gen. 5:10 ff).

From the time of Adam, whose name is connected to the Hebrew adamah, meaning "soil, ground, earth, field," the soul of mankind has been connected to the ground.  The blessings of the earth seem to flow from the soul of Adam.  All of the references in the early chapters of Genesis emphasize the close connection of "Adam" and "adamah."  After the first disobedience, or alienation from the Spirit of God, Adam, whose task it was to "tend the garden," could produce crops, but the earth would also produce thorns and thistles, making his work more toilsome and difficult.  By the time of the next generation, the earth will refuse to yield at all to Cain.

The Hebrew words for "blessing" (berakhah) and for "spring of water" or "reservoir"(berekah) (at which camels kneel as a resting place) are also very closely connected in sound and in spelling.

In Genesis, we discover the the earth, soil, ground without the "blessing" or pools of water, springs, does not produce.  That is why Jacob needed both the birthright (bekhorah) and the blessing (berakhah) from Isaac.  The birthright without the blessing would have been worthless.

I think maybe we as Americans have forgotten a valuable lesson contained in Genesis.  In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people as they stand at the edge of the Promised Land:

The Lord will affirm his blessing upon you, on your barns and on all your undertakings, blessing you in the land that the Lord, your God, gives you...so that, when all the nations of the earth see you bearing the name of the Lord, they will stand in awe of you.  The Lord will increase in more than goodly measure the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil, in the land which he swore to your fathers he would give you.

The Lord will open up for you his rich treasure house of the heavens, to give your land rain in due season, blessing all your undertakings, so that you will lend to many nations and borrow from none.  The Lord will make you the head, not the tail, and you will always mount higher and not decline, as long as you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God...not turning aside to the right or to the left from any of the commandments which I now give you, in order to follow other gods and serve them (Deut. 28: 7-14).

We have tried by our own efforts to make the land produce without the blessings (springs, pools of water) given by God---and now we see the results.  Maybe it is time to go back to an earlier, simpler approach, seeking, in the words of our nation's forefathers, "the blessings of God on ourselves and our posterity."

Unity in Faith

Jesus prayed that we might all be one, as He and the Father are one. 

So what is the source of our unity?  It is not our philosophy, nor the ways we express our beliefs--for words mean different things to different people.  Even the same words carry different meanings, depending on the experience we bring to those words.  For most people, the words "peanut butter" convey almost inexpressible delight; for those of us who are allergic to peanut butter, even the words themselves can occasion a slight turning of the stomach.

When we speak of "God," all of us have different experiences of what that word means.  For some, "God" means all that is good, holy, and beneficient.  For others, "God" means the vengeful, punishing ruler of the world.

Jesus said to the woman at the well, "You people (the Samaritans) worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth" (Jn. 4:22-23).

When we truly worship God, not argue about beliefs, nor rely on our thoughts and ways of expressing our thoughts, we enter into unity with God and with one another.  Jesus said the hour is now here when we are able to do that--because He is the One sent to give us access to the Father, to true worship.

When we kneel before the Father of Life, He bends toward us, breathing into us His Spirit.  Our receiving of the Spirit of God is what unifies us in our different ways of seeing and expressing ourselves.  Though we come from different backgrounds and experiences, the Spirit makes all things balance in harmony.

One who has experienced worship in Spirit and in truth is drawn to others who worship in Spirit and in truth, no matter what background or expressions they use to describe their experience.  It has been said that believers can recognize one another, and I believe that is true.  There is something beyond all differences and denominations that unites us.

Paul says in the Book of Ephesians:  There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism...if so be that you have heard him, and been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus...(chapter 4).
 
What unites us is not what we think, but we have heard and been taught by Jesus through the Spirit.  And the only way to "hear and be taught" by Jesus is to worship Him.  It is only what we receive that will ultimately unite us as believers; if we learn anything from the Tower of Babel story, it is that when we are all trying our "best" to build what seems good in our own eyes, the project will ultimately fall apart. 

At the Last Supper, when Jesus prayed for unity, He said to the Father:  I have given them Your Name (I have revealed to them Who You Are) and I will [continue to] make it known....I gave them Your Word....

In order to know the truth, we need to receive the Truth.  Those who worship -- ie, kneel, wait, enter into communion with---the Father will receive the Son, Who will send into our hearts the Spirit of Truth, Who can neither deceive nor be deceived.  In that worship, we grow in truth and in the spirit of unity.

What is Faith?

Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6).

Under the shadow of your wings I seek shelter

until harm passes by (Ps. 57:2).

What, then, is the faith that pleases God?  Is it a kind of courage or bravado?  Is it trying to believe things that we are not yet sure about?  Is it a hope that in the end, everything will be okay?

Faith is really none of these things, but instead a quiet confidence that God "has our back"  --- always.  That He cannot fail us in any circumstance....that we can seek shelter under the shadow of His wings until the disaster has passed by.

Faith is confidence.  And how do we acquire this confidence?  It is not manufactured out of nothing, but has a background and a basis.  It grows in relationship and in conversation.  It comes from experience, from "walking with God" all the days of our life, in good times and in bad. 

We cannot wait until we need faith to develop it; it must be growing today if we are to eat its fruit tomorrow.  Today, we plant the seed by turning to God in the smallest things of our lives.  Tomorrow, we cultivate the plot, driving away the birds and beasts that would devour the seed, by once again bringing to the Lord every event of our lives---Good is the Lord to one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks him (Lamentations 3:25).

One way to develop faith, or to watch it grow, is to keep a journal of the events we bring to the Lord.  Most of us pray and then forget what we prayed when the disaster has passed us by.  But if we keep track of our prayers, we soon begin to discover the subtleties of the Lord's action on our behalf.  What we think of as "coincidence" we begin to see as the Lord's answer to our specific cries.  If we forget we cried out, we do not understand that the Lord heard us.

Nothing is too hard for God.  In the Book of Isaiah, He says, Is my arm too short, that I cannot save?  Everything is within His reach, within the scope of His action.  But we must pray with confidence that (1) He hears us, and (2) that He cares. 

I have heard people say, "I sure God doesn't care whether we find a parking space."  Here's my question:  "Do you care?"  "Does someone you love care?"  If the answer is yes, then I think that God cares too.  Why don't we just ask and find out?  If we think He doesn't care, we won't ask.  If we think He doesn't hear, we won't ask.  But if we have the confidence to ask, we will receive.

No Prayer=No Light

...although they knew God, they did not think it worthwhile acknowledging Him or giving Him thanks....and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper.  They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite...They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless (Romans 1:20-31).

Paul's list of degradation that follows a refusal to acknowledge God was written to the Roman Christians living in a pagan culture.  All around them were the very things that Paul writes about in the first chapter of Romans.

In the Old Testament, Psalm 106 has a similar list of degradations more fitting to desert nomads---but having the same exact cause: a refusal to acknowledge what God had done and to thank Him:

• [The Israelites] soon forgot all he had done
• In the desert, they gave way to their cravings...
• challenged Moses....
• fashioned a calf...
• worshipped a metal statue...
• forgot the God who saved them...
• despised the beautiful land...
• did not believe the promise...
• in their tents they complained...
• they joined in the rites of the Baal of Peor...
• ate food sacrificed to dead gods...
• so embittered Moses that rash words crossed his lips...
• mingled with the nations and imitated their ways...
• worshipped their idols...
• sacrificed to the gods their own sons and daughters, shedding innocent blood....
• desecrating the land with bloodshed....
• became adulterers....
• Many times did [God] rescue them, but they kept rebelling and scheming and were brought low by their own guilt.

Both the Old and the New Testaments trace the descent into immorality to a refusal to acknowledge God and to thank Him.  It would follow, then, that the road out of degradation would be praise and thanksgiving, beginning with the works of Creation, the work of His hands.  Prayer may be difficult at first for those who are not used to prayer, but thanksgiving for Creation would almost be a natural response to anyone who looks out of the window...

...who regards the sky and clouds, the sunrise and the sunset;

...who observes the waves of the sea and the birds that dive for fish;

...who sees the colors of the rainbow and the soft blush of a rose;

...who sits still under the shade of a great tree and who feels the caress of a soft breeze;

...who walks barefoot in the yielding grass;

...who watches children at play;

...who sees the effects of love at home and abroad.

If we bow our heads and close our eyes before God, we see everything.  In beginning to give thanks for the works of His hands, we begin to walk in justice and in truth, leaving behind the works of darkness.





The Center of our Being

The spirit that God has placed in us is beyond the mind and emotions--the psychological realm, if we use the Greek "psyche" to indicate that part of human nature.  The spirit embraces what the mind cannot yet grasp---but if the spirit embraces it, the mind and emotions will catch up, understanding and loving what the spirit has already embraced.

Someone once described the spirit as the hook or the anchor used by mountain climbers--I know there is a name for it----the thing that climbers use to hook into a crevice above them.  Then they use the rope to climb upwards toward the hook anchored in the rock.  So the spirit in us goes ahead of our minds and emotions, anchoring in a rock somewhere above us.  Eventually, the mind clears; the emotions grow peaceful, and we understand and rest in what we have already grasped.

That is why the faith of children is so pure; they grasp on a spiritual level what their minds do not yet understand.  They "know" what they do not yet know intellectually.  Jesus warned us how terrible it would be to lead astray a little child; he said it would be better to have a millstone tied around one's neck and thrown into the sea than to cause scandal to a child.

The knowledge of our inner man grasps what the mind is slow to understand.  That is why the faith of the "little ones," the poor and lowly, often goes beyond the faith of the learned and the scholarly.  Many of us will believe only that which we understand.  Unfortunately, the understanding follows the spirit deep in the center of our being.  We tend to understand only later what we believe (trust).

The Spirit of Wisdom dwells in and communicates to the center of our being, in our spirit.  As our inner man rests in the Holy Spirit, our minds too, like our bodies, become enlightened----their eyes were opened, and they recognized him (Luke 24:31).

Whatever happens in our inner being overflows to our minds, our emotions, and even to our bodies.  This is why Jesus needed to say first to the paralytic: Your sins are forgiven!  Until the inner man is cleansed, and the center of our being is healed, the mind, the emotions, and the body are all blocked and dulled.  We cannot see; we cannot hear; we cannot understand anything.

It is hard to get the mind to stop "talking" long enough to allow the spirit/Spirit to speak.  Those who have the Gift of Tongues---not for others, but for themselves, as a way to pray---have been given a great gift: that of allowing the mind to be still while the spirit has a chance to emerge.  Maybe the Rosary has the same effect of occupying the language center of the brain while the spirit has a chance to come forth. 

Ultimately, though, Jesus said this:  This is the work of God: to believe in the One He has sent (Jn. 6:28).  He did not say that we had to understand, but only that we had to "believe," or trust, in Him.  Then the eyes of our minds will be opened to understand.

Feast of the Transfiguration

Man was made to receive the breath/Spirit of God, the Spirit that "governs all things well"(Ws. 8:1), "the aura of the might of God, and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty" (Ws. 7:25).  By the breath/Spirit/ruah in us, we become "living souls." 

But sin blocks the energy of the Almighty in us.  God said to Adam in the Garden, "on that day (that you eat the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil), dying, you will die."

Science is beginning to discover now that our memories are stored not in the brain, but at the cellular level---in our cells.  That is why we react to things viscerally in a way that our minds tell us is not rational.  Once we have had a traumatic experience, our bodies remember and react to similar situations.  And, even more interesting, these cellular memories are passed down from one generation to another.  Then our cells are blocked from receiving nutrients and disposing of wastes because we are using that energy to deal with memories and trauma.  Indeed, "dying, we are dying."

If anything speaks of the necessity of Mary being conceived without sin, it seems to me that this new science does so.  The Spirit of God who conceived Jesus in the flesh had to be received wholly and entirely, without blockage of any kind.  The Book of Wisdom says that nothing impure enters into the Spirit of God.  Mary could not pass on generational sins that block the Spirit to the Son of God.

And so Jesus, though His glory was veiled on earth, was the Perfect Respository of the Spirit of God, "the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness" (Ws.26).

For one moment during His earthly existence, He let slip the veil and revealed His glory to Peter, James, and John.  He told them to tell no one "until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."  His reference, Son of Man, was to the Book of Daniel:

As the visions during the night continued, I saw

One like a Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven;

When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him,

The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;

All peoples, nations, and languages serve him (Dan. 7:13-14).

August 6 is the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus.  He called Himself "the Son of Man" throughout His earthly life, a title that had to be offensive to the Scribes and Pharisees who understood the reference to Daniel's vision.  But to those who would receive Him, His light would shine in their hearts to "bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God" (2 Cor. 4:6).





Jews, Gentiles, and Unbelievers

The early church was divided right from the beginning as to whether new Christians had to be circumcised---first become Jewish---to be Christian.  St. Peter and St. Paul led the debates as the Christian church sought to resolve the controversy.  The church came into existence on the Day of Pentecost, when 3000 were baptized, people from all over the known world.  Most were Jews, in Jerusalem for the celebration---but the same Holy Spirit quickly began to be "poured out" on "devout" Gentiles. 

It fell to Peter and to Paul to reconcile the believers with one another---the Jews still adhered to their customs, but the Gentiles did not (understandably). 

In the letter to the Romans, Paul wrote this:

Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.  [Today, we might substitute the word "Baptism" for "circumcision."]  If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?  The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.  No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.

In the Book of Acts, Paul also says that God has given the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him.  It seems to me that we can apply the same principles to the current controversy about non-Christians.  Those 'unbaptized" persons who obey the laws of God show themselves to be "baptized" by the Spirit of God.  The grace of God is a great mystery, not to be apprehended by the minds of natural mankind.  I think we can trust that the plans and purposes of God are greater than any we can imagine.

In the meantime, as Paul goes on to point out in Romans, there is great advantage in being a Jew, for "they have been entrusted with the very words of God" (3:2).  And they have the law, a guide to righteousness, integrity, and truth.  There is great advantage to being a Jew; there is great advantage to being a Christian---but only if we are "inwardly" Jewish and Christian.  Those who are not formally circumcised/ baptised may yet condemn those who are.

What is "Eternal Life?"

Most of us might consider "Eternal life" what happens to us after we die---we continue to live somewhere "eternally."  But the Greeks, thank God, seemed to have a more precise language--at least for the philosophical realm---than we do in English.  The New Testament makes a distinction between zoe (eternal life) and bios (physical life).

The night before his death, Jesus told his disciples:  Because I live, you will live also.  Clearly, He was not speaking about physical life, but about the essence of life---life itself, the life that death cannot harm or destroy.  The early Christians, before they were called "Christian," called themselves "the living" (hoi zontes in Greek.)  They had found indestructible life, life eternal.

Jesus even told us, in His last prayer, how we might grasp "eternal life:"

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (Jn. 17:3).

"Knowing" in biblical terms, means not head knowledge, but heart knowledge, even physical union:  Adam "knew" Eve, and she conceived a son.  "Knowing" means clinging to, being united to, embracing.....

We "have" eternal life because we are united to, clinging to, holding onto the One Who alone IS zoe, Life itself.  That does not necessarily mean we are "good Christians" and deserve eternal life, but only that we are poor shipwrecked people clinging to a Rock.  If we cling to Him, He is faithful to help us.  If we embrace His feet, as did Mary Magdalene, He is compassionate toward our helplessness.  If we refuse to let go of Him, He will bring us to where He is.

Jesus told Martha:  anyone who believes/trusts in Me shall never die---even if he dies, he will live.   The darkness cannot overcome eternal Light; death cannot overcome eternal Life.  And we can embrace this Life even before we physically die, if we "know" the One Whom God has sent.