REFOCUS
This breath prayer is an affirmation of our source of contentment and peace. It is based on Psalm sixty-two, verse one. Repeat it several times. Each time, breath in deeply knowing that the Holy Spirit dwells in you. As you breath out, let go of stress and worry.
In You alone,
My soul finds rest.
READ
Matthew 5: 21-22, 27-28
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.”
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be liable to the hell[e] of fire…
27 You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.”
28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
REFLECT
What Are You Eating?
Most of us have heard the old saying “You are what you eat.” That piece of conventional wisdom is literally true. Every one of our cells is replaced about every seven years, and the food we take in is what those new cells are made from. When you sit down at your next meal, take a good look. What you see on your plate is about to become the future you.
But it’s not just food that forms your coming self. Our thoughts are shaped by the books we read, the tv we watch, they music we listen to, the social and the media we engage in.
Our mood is shaped by the conversations we engage in and the emotions that we are exposed to. Perhaps nothing forms us so profoundly as the people that we spend time with and let into our hearts. They will have a huge impact on shaping are personality, attitudes and actions. We are becoming what we are exposed to and what we consume.
All this brings us to the subject of choice. Did you know that research tell us that in a single day the average adult will make about 35,000 choices? Most of the decisions are made almost automatically. They are based on our prior experience. What we have done or felt or thought in the past has become part of what we do… and we do it without even thinking. Hopefully, those decisions are ones that help us because we are apt to repeat them over and over again.
That means that our actions begins far before we are actually called on to act. They precede temptation, willpower, and commitment. Our actions begin with what we have allowed ourselves to be exposed to and to consume.
Thankfully, God has given us help in making wise choices about what to “eat.” He continually reminds us of both our exposure and our consumption. Jesus counsels us to avoid lust before its fire burns the path to adultery. He warns us to watch what we say to others before the anger boils into rage and the rage explodes into violence. He instructs us against greed and covetousness prior to the temptation to theft or to overwork.
God even cautions us about the people we let into our lives. After providing a list of those whose lifestyles are condemned by God, Paul writes, “Do not become partners with them.” In shielding our exposure, he is protecting not only our present self but who we are becoming.
His care for building my future self is even deeper than avoiding the things that will harm me. When it comes to food, we know that a diet of junk food will not sustain health. But simply eliminating our consumption of unhealthy food will not produce health. So it is with all of life. Avoiding destructive influences must be continued with food that is good and nurturing.
In that light consider the teaching of Jesus as he describes himself as the “bread of life” and invites us to “feed” on him. Not only is he concerned that we not fill ourselves with those things that will not satisfy and eventually destroy us, but he also invites us to make Him our sustenance – what we turn to for our future selves to be strong, healthy, vibrant and full of life. In fact, he tells us that we must dine on him if we are even to live at all.
The word used by Jesus for “feed on” means to “chew on” or “gnaw on.” That means it is not simply an occasional drive-by snack but a continuing practice of taking him in as our source of life and strength. The word was used of a dog – happily enjoying a delicious bone and protecting it with his life.
For us it means exposing our minds to his Word and “inwardly digesting it” until His thoughts become ours. It means, sitting with Him in silence, contemplation and prayer until our emotions are shaped by His presence. It means placing ourselves among His people until we know ourselves as one of His children, belonging to His family. It means resisting temptation before it occurs by consuming and then being consumed by His life.
Then every part of who we have become — our very being — is constructed from our assimilating him into every area of our life. I needn’t wait for temptation to test my self-control. By dining on Him I am being made new – becoming more like Him each day. The self that would have been tempted simply doesn’t exist. In its place is a new man, made by and from Jesus himself.
RESPOND
Questions to Consider
- What is my favorite part of being a Christian – what activities “feed my soul?”
- What thoughts from my faith provide me with strength?
- What three words describe who I want to become?
- What do I need to avoid in order to become that person?
Prayer
This is a hymn that can be used as a prayer. If you know the tune, you can sing it. If not, you can just say it. It builds on the same thought that the breath prayer for today is centered on: Lead Me Lord Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness, make thy way plain before my face. For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord only, that makest me dwell in safety.
Blessings,
Rev. James R. Needham, PhD, MDiv