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Kevin Bennie

Dec 29, 2023 10:40 AM

Re-collect your true self

👇💥 FULL DEVO BELOW💥👇 We're all broken and twisted by sin in different ways. And in my yearly reflections I start to get a little heartsick - the things I did wrong, the wrongs done against me, the things I missed out on, my struggles and my flaws. But then, as if by some slow magnetic force I am sucked into the wormhole: these things sit in my soul and my memory and I begin to dwell on them, as though somehow holding onto the pain will heal me; as though somehow feeling the pain will pay the price for my release from it; as though holding onto the hurt will give me the ability to heal myself... Both pleasure and pain, says Screwtape, are “unmistakably real, and therefore . . . they give the man who feels them a touchstone of reality.” Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis What am I attached to? Am I attached to the pain of the past? Or the pleasure of Christ? I realize that it is often not this straightforward, the dynamics are a lot more complex, but it often plays out like this. I want to attach only to Christ. But often I operate as though the maladaptive, dysfunctional part of me will save me. Or, at least, that I love them more than I love Christ. "Lose your life for me and the sake of the gospel, and you will find it." But seek to save your life, and you will lose it. (Mark 8:35) Yes, Jesus wants all of us, even the maladaptive, dysfunctional parts of us. And some would say ESPECIALLY these parts of us! But often these are the areas of our life that we are the MOST attached to, because they have helped us get along in life, get our needs met, or just plain gone unaddressed, for a long time. What are these areas in your life? Can you see the parts of your life that you know are not functioning like they ought to? The prayer of recollection has much to teach us and is an invaluable guide in praying to detach from all our dysfunction and attaching to the true identity giver. If you have the time and space, or when you do, spend at least 5 minutes with each of these steps: Steps 1. Present yourself to the Lord 1. Offer your whole self to him, every part of you. The good and transformed parts, the maladaptive, broken, twisted parts. 2. Consider all things as lost (Philippians 3:1-11) 1. Paul considered all parts of his earthly life as a loss compared to knowing Christ. 2. Speak the truth about these areas of your life...they are nothing compared to knowing him. 3. Affirm your true identity in Christ (John 1:12) 1. Perhaps there is a favorite scripture passage here, read it over yourself! Be defined by him first and foremost, above all other things. 4. Resolve to be attentive be to Christ (John 15:5) 1. Commit in your heart to be his first. 5. Hear the word. 1. This can be any scripture passage, but take time to sit in the word of God. Perhaps it is the passage from step 3. Or use Psalm 42 below: 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:1-2 He is what we truly long for and what we truly need. May you find him and be known by him as you step into this New Year.

Christian Living

Encouragement

Repentance

Hey guys, I don't know about you, but when we get to this part of the year, between Christmas and New Year's Day, I start getting all kinds of nostalgic. I think about all the things that happened in this past year, and I think about all the things that happened, or that might happen in the future, and I can get a little bit heart sick in not a good way, in kind of a broken, crippled kind of way. I, by some magnetic force, get sucked into this wormhole where I sit in my memories and I think about all of the things that I did wrong, all the wrongs that were done to me, the things I missed out on, my struggles, my flaws, right? It's just this spiral that's just not good. I feel like, whether it's real or not, I feel like holding onto the pain will somehow help me heal, or if feeling the pain pays the price that will allow me to be free from it, or holding onto the hurt will give me the ability to heal myself, which really couldn't be further from the truth. C.S. Lewis says in the Screwtape Letters that both pleasure and pain are unmistakably real, and therefore they give the man that feels them a touchstone of reality. What am I attached to? Am I attached to the pain of the past or the pleasure of Christ? And most often I find myself in this season attaching myself to the pain of the past. I realize that it's not always this straightforward for everyone, but what I need, what I truly need is to attach to Christ. But I operate as though these maladaptive, dysfunctional ways of dealing with things is somehow better than the pleasure of Christ. Why? Well, I've learned how to get along this way, this has worked for me in one way or another, but Jesus says, lose your life for me and for the sake of the gospel and you will find it. But seek to save your life and you will lose it. We all have choices to make, and I want to choose to attach to Jesus, and he wants every part of us, our whole life, even the maladaptive, dysfunctional parts, maybe especially those, and I think that the prayer of recollection has a lot to teach us here, and I want to walk through this with you very briefly, and it'll be posted below, and I want you to sit for a good chunk of time in this prayer. So the prayer of recollection goes like this, first you present yourself or offer yourself to God, then you consider all things as a loss. All things, like Paul does in Philippians 3, you can go check it out, 1-11. Then affirm your true identity in Christ, who Jesus says you are, resolve to be attentive to these things alone, and then sit, sit in his presence in the word, and let it soak into your soul. I pray that as you take the time and the intention to be with Christ, that he begins to transform these parts of your life as he is doing so with mine. God bless you.

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