House Church Talk - Visualizing Christ

[Scott Dowlen]

Hi, Phillip.

Your email hit right at the moment I decided to take a short break, so it
must be a sign that I need to respond!! ;-)

First, thanks for passing along the advice. I am finding more and more that
such advice would sure keep my own foot out of my mouth.

I know that part of the problem was the hot-button word 'visualization'. Can
I share a bit of my story, because I think it's relevant. Since you can't
answer, I'll go ahead and tell my tale...

<Begin Story>
I grew up in a denomination that had very strongly held beliefs - not a bad
thing necessarily but our group was (still is) wound a bit too tight, if you
get my meaning. They had "Book, Chapter, and Verse" for almost every single
belief, or so they thought. We thought our understanding was so right, that
we had ceased to be (or never had been) a denomination, but were the true
and pure Bride, waiting for the return of the Groom.  That view included the
cessation of spiritual gifts, and pretty much anything related to the Holy
Spirit was put aside. We had so many hot-button issues that one of our great
traditions was debate. We took pride in our knowledge of scripture, and our
ability to pound anybody into a bloody pulp with it. It was more important
to be right than to be loving. It was more important to have conformity of
belief than uniformity of heart. And all those folks out in 'the
denominations' were going to hell because they wanted to shop for a
comfortable Jesus instead of listening to "The Truth (tm)" of which we were
the sole possessors and guardians. We liked being right, even when we
weren't. And our zeal was so maniacal that we couldn't even see the
possibility that we might be wrong - because being wrong meant being damned
to hell.
<End Story>

By making the Holy Spirit and His ministry and gifts a hot-button topic, we
missed out on so much of what Father had planned for us. We missed a lot of
the joy and peace. We missed healing. We missed energy and spontaneity. We
never really understood the rest of full forgiveness. Only after leaving
that group did I start to experience those things. And now I have a new
sense of Father's love. It isn't about _what_ I know - It's _who_ I know,
and who I trust to get me home. I finally got to the point that I didn't
have convulsions and spasms when somebody started talking about speaking in
tongues, or being healed. When I quit trying to "prove" my point, God was
able to make His. I stopped feeling like I had a personal stake in being
right, and proving everybody else wrong. Now, error in others is something
to be healed instead of a reason to hack them into pieces. Error in myself
is something I can forgive, too. If our Daddy can forgive, and patiently
love, and continually woo us, why do we have so much trouble doing that with
each other?  It's because our flesh would rather be right than happy. It
stops being about Father and starts being about me. If you are different,
you must be wrong, because I know I'm right. And anybody who's wrong is not
in The Family.

How hard it is to follow scripture -- When you see someone in error
_restore_ them in _love_.  Wow, how much would change in the community of
faith if we could just keep that one scripture. That is the vision I want to
hold before me and strive to attain.

And that, I think, is the difference between 'vision' and 'visualization' --
vision is a result of an expectant hope, while visualization (as used by
cults and many self-help groups) is an escape mechanism.  Visualizing the
outcome of living who I really am in Christ can help me see what is in my
life right now that interferes with the truth of who I am. Visualizing some
escapist scene, or some warm-fuzzy un-reality of what I want to be won't
accomplish much. The vision of a Godly man informs his steps and helps him
choose the good and discard the evil. Christ had a vision of joys that would
result from His suffering that helped Him in some way. At least that's how I
understand the scripture. Without that kind of vision, what do we hold on to
when suffering starts? How can we keep hope alive, or endure, if we don't
have a vision and a hope that is more real to us than the suffering we are
going through?



OK, my break is gone and I've not yet done what my break was for... I must
need to stop now...


Love to you all!

Scott



> -----Original Message-----
> From: House Church Talk -bounces at housechurch.org
> [mailto:House Church Talk -bounces at housechurch.org]On Behalf Of Phillip Cohen
> Sent: Thursday, 29 July, 2004 9:58 AM
> To: House Church Talk  at housechurch.org
> Subject: House Church Talk -  Visualizing Christ
>
>
> Everyone please read this. Thanks.
>
> Some of the best advice I've received in the past couple of
> years is to contribute to discussions I agree with, and take
> a gentle, laid back attitude toward discussions I don't
> agree with. That is, unless there's gross error. Sometimes,
> by taking a passive back seat for a season, we'll see the
> heart of where the person's going.
>
> It would be nice if discussions would proceed like that on
> this list.
>
> Somehow, we're finding that grace in the fellowship I attend.
>
> A lot more could be gained by discussing (not debating) other
> aspects of visualization. For example:
>
>         Visualizing Bible events as though they happened today.
>         Visualizing various ways a Bible passage could be
>             applied to practical, everyday life.
>         Visualizing myself walking in higher perfection in
>             Christ.
>         Visualizing my lost friends and relatives, saved and
>             enjoying Christ.
>         Visualizing my family coming into deeper relationship
>             with God and each other.
>         Visualizing myself an old grandfather who's children and
>             grandchildren are all living faithful, fulfilled
>             Christian lives.
>         Visualizing my wife and I, 90 years old, sitting on the
>             porch, holding hands, watching the sun set.
>
> With no vision, we perish. Vision propels us forward with hope.
> Vision gives us higher goals than merely surviving through the day.
> Sure, we live one day at a time, and commit the future to God. But
> we still build and plan and dream. And somewhere along the upward
> road, God will take us home.
>
> Resting,
> Phillip
> spiritfilledhome at juno.com
> In quietness and confidence shall be your strength. Isaiah 30:15
>