The Jesus Prayer - Three Things to Help us - 2

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

Dear all, in the previous session we covered two of the three things that would help us in the recitation of the Jesus Prayer. By the grace of God, let us now continue onto the last method.

PRAYING WITH EACH BREATH

To reinforce our offering of the Jesus Prayer, we should coordinate the rhythm of the Prayer with the tempo of our breathing. St Gregory of Nazianzus said, "Remember God more often than you breathe". If we synchronise the words of the Prayer with the act of inhalation and exhalation, this will render the invocation more constant and continuous. The simplest way of doing this is to recite the first part of the Prayer, " Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God", as we breathe in, and the second part, "have mercy upon me, a sinner", as we breathe out. At the same time, the speed of our breathing should be slowed down.

The practice of controlling the person's breathing can be found in the Hindu Yoga and among the Sufis of Islam. It has many parallels but we should not overlook the distinctively Christian character of the Jesus Prayer. It is not simply a rhythmic mantra, designed to enhanced concentration, but a personal invocation addressed specifically to the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, that is, to the one who was born in Bethlehem, who died on the cross and rose from the dead, and whose second coming we await. What matters is not just HOW we pray but TO WHOM.

In any case, the breathing technique is no more than external aids, useful to some but in no way obligatory upon all. They do not constitute the essence of the Jesus Prayer. For the true and full practice of the invocation of the Holy Name, no other technique is needed except a living faith in Jesus Christ as Son of God and Saviour, and an active love for his ever-present Person.

These two things, faith and love, are indeed indispensable. There is sacramental grace present in the Holy Name, but the Jesus Prayer is not a magic talisman. "A mere repetition of the words does not signify anything" said St Theophan the Recluse. Jesus warned us against the use of "vain repetitions" in prayer, against the heaping up of empty phrases (Mat. 6:7).

But the Jesus Prayer is not a "vain repetition", if it is recited, as it should be, with fear of God, and with faith and love.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

Reference: The Jesus Prayer - Bishop Kallistos Ware

The Jesus Prayer - Three Things to Help us - 1

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

As we started this journey to understand the Jesus Prayer, by the grace of God, we first completed the four strands of the Jesus Prayer and then followed it with understanding the two ways of praying the Jesus Prayer - the free use and the fixed use. We understood that it is important to persist with a concentrated effort in the actual recitation of the Jesus Prayer.

There are a few things that can assist us in the recitation of the Jesus Prayer. We will be discussing only three of them, of which the first is more personal and the rest are more external.

A 'SOUL' FRIEND

In the first place, it is highly recommended to find a 'soul friend' - a spiritual father or mother, an elder (geronta - in Greek, starts - in Russian), who can advice us in the practice of the Prayer. Such a person need not necessarily be a priest. S/he may also be a lay monk or a nun, or someone in the 'world', man or woman. What is important is that the 'soul friend' should possess personal experience. We can simply take an example of a mountaineer. If a person is climbing a particular mountain for the first time, he would do well if he ascends the mountain with someone who has been up that mountain before and who knows the way. So it is with the ascent of prayer.

What if we cannot find a spiritual guide? Does that mean we should not use the Jesus Prayer? Absolutely not. Even without guidance, there is no danger in adopting the Jesus Prayer, so long as we say it simply, humbly, and for limited periods of time. But it is much better to have a 'soul friend'. If we search, God will give us the support that we need.

THE PRAYER ROPE

On a somewhat different level, we may be assisted in saying the Jesus Prayer by using a prayer rope. This is a circle or chaplet, usually made of wool or twine, with perhaps a hundred knots, but the number may vary. One Jesus Prayer is said at each knot. The prayer rope can be made of leather, or it may consist beads, in which case it might resemble the Catholic Rosary, except that it accompanies the invocation of Jesus, not the Hail Mary.

While the prayer rope can be used to measure the number of times that we say the Jesus Prayer, this is not it's only function. It should be understood that mere quantity is not of primary importance while reciting the Jesus Prayer. In the words of St. Isaac the Syrian, "I do not want to count the milestones, but to enter the bridal chamber." The main purpose of the prayer rope is not to act as a measurement rod, but to assist us to concentrate. It is a fact of experience that if, when praying, we involve the body, giving our hands something to do, this will steady and centre us. The act of passing the knots of the prayer through our fingers will stop us from fidgeting and will establish a regular rhythm in our invocation

To be continued...

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

Reference: The Jesus Prayer - Bishop Kallistos Ware

The Jesus Prayer - Create Silence

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

In the previous session we understood about the 'free use' of the Jesus Prayer, such that the Prayer gradually pervades every part of our daily life, enabling each activity and each personal encounter to be Spirit-filled. So now in the second place, what is the function of the 'fixed' use of the Jesus Prayer?

In today's time, when we are assailed by mobile offices and music in our ears, we might be advised to create silence in our lives. Silence - the universal language, as described by Fr. Lawrence Freeman, is one of the primary sources of our personhood, and without it we are not authentically human. In the words of Friedrich von Hugel, "Man is what he does with his silence."

Yet what do we mean by silence? In it's deep spiritual sense, silence is not negative but positive, not an emptiness or void but a fullness. "Silence is a presence," said Georges Bernanos, "at the heart of it is God." In Psalms, we are told, "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 45:10). The Psalmist does not merely enjoin  us to refrain from speech, but in positive terms urges us to be aware of the Divine: "Know that I am God." Silence in the religious sense signifies God-awareness. What matters in silence is not our external situation but our inner disposition. It is a matter, not of keeping our mouth shut, but of opening our heart to God.

Silence, then, properly understood, implies not isolation but relationship. In the context of worship, it denotes not rejection of the Other but acceptance. It is an attitude of receptivity and, shove all, of listening. Like the child Samuel in the temple, the one who seeks silence is appealing to God: "Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears" (1 Sam 3:9-10). Silence implies 'being with', in an alert manner: a losing and finding of oneself in the Other.

The key to prayer is listening. If we look at the icons written of our Holy Mother Mary, we see the person gazing up to heaven in prayer. The one who is silent - the hesychast (to use the correct Orthodox term) - is on par in excellence with the one who listens, who waits expectantly upon the Spirit.

Yet, when we pray, how can we manage to stop talking and to start listening? This is a crucial difficulty faced by many who seek to acquire inner prayer; and it is here that the Jesus Prayer helps us. Many a times when we try to be still, we are assaulted by a stream of distracting thoughts. The thoughts may not necessarily be impure or evil, but they are aimless and futile, irrelevant to the work of prayer. What are we to do? The solution is to satisfy our every active mind by assigning to it a simple and unifying task - the repeated invocation of the Holy Name of Jesus. St Theophan the Recluse said, "You must bind the mind with one thought, or the thought of the One only."

The Jesus Prayer is a prayer in words, yet it is also a prayer of listening, a contemplative prayer that enables us to wait on the Spirit. When we invoke the Holy Name, our attitude is the same as that of icon drawn of Mother Mary, with her hands raised to heaven. Because the words of the prayer are few and straight forward, and because they are regularly repeated, it is a prayer that leads us through words into silence; or, more exactly, that enables us to discover the silence hidden at the heart of the words.

Sometimes, when saying the Jesus Prayer, we will be moved to stop repeating the words and merely to dwell in God's presence, quiet and recollected. Our best moments of prayer often take that form. On such occasions, let us then suspend the Prayer for a time, until we find that our mind is wandering astray; and then we can once more resume the invocation "Lord Jesus...". However, it is important to persist with a concentrated effort in the actual recitation of the words of the Jesus Prayer. St John Climacus rightly insisted, " Contain your mind within the words of prayer. "

Unless we are great saints, it is but natural to find our ourselves suffering with distracting thoughts. What we have to do, every time our thoughts have wandered, is to being them back to the work of prayer. This we must do again and again, without being discouraged. This is where Jesus Prayer helps us - we have only to take up one more the regular invocation of the Holy Name.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

Reference: The Jesus Prayer - Bishop Kallistos Ware

The Jesus Prayer - Finding Christ Everywhere

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me  sinner.

The Jesus Prayer may be practiced in two ways. There is what can be called the 'free' use, when it is said once or many times as we go about our familiar occupations, during all the passing moments of the day that might otherwise be wasted. Then there is the 'fixed' use, when we repeat the Jesus Prayer as part of our appointed times for prayer, when our whole attention is concentrated on the act of praying. We can choose to follow either of the two without necessarily adopting the other. In this session, let us understand the 'free' use of the Jesus Prayer.

The purpose of the 'free' use can be summed up in the words ' Find Christ everywhere'. The Prayer in it's 'free' use may be practiced at any time and in any place. We can repeat it in our room, while at work, as we walk about in the street. We can say it at the bus stop, in our car while waiting for the green light, in the church when we arrive before the beginning of the service. It can be our first thought as we wake in the morning, and our last thought before we go to sleep at night. It can be easily taught to children also.

The Jesus Prayer can be used in situations where a more complex form of prayer would be impossible. We can repeat it when unable to sleep, when subject to physical pain or mental distress, or at moments of temptation and sudden crisis. It is a prayer for all seasons, especially suitable for our contemporary age of anxiety, living as we do in a time-starved society. The Jesus Prayer is never out of place.

The effect, then, of the 'free use' of the Jesus Prayer is to integrate our prayer time and our work time, to turn our work itself into prayer, and so as to make the secular sacred. In the words of St. Theophan the Recluse, "The hands at work, the mind and heart with God."

The Russian-American, Fr. Alexander Schmemann said, "A Christian is the one who, wherever he or she looks, finds everywhere Christ, and rejoices in Him." This is exactly what the Jesus Prayer helps us to do. Through the invocation of the Holy Name, all persons and all things around us become transparent. We begin to see all things in Christ, and Christ in all things.

In one of the agrapha or 'unwritten sayings' - words of Jesus that circulated among the early Christians but are not included in the New Testament - it is said: "Lift the stone, and you will find Me; cut the wood in two, and there am I." Such is the result of the 'free' use.

If we are to being prayer into each passing moment, into every familiar occupation, then we need a form of praying that is immediately at hand, directly accessible without elaborate reflection. The Jesus Prayer is precisely that form of praying. When recited regularly in a 'free' way, it comes to our mind and lips spontaneously, without any deliberate effort on our part. So it gradually pervades every part of our daily life, enabling each activity and each personal encounter to be Spirit-filled.

While the 'free' use of the Jesus Prayer can be practiced during the empty moments or when carrying out routine tasks, it is less appropriate when engaged in some absorbing activity that requires full concentration. It is unwise to do two things at once, for then in all probability we shall do both things badly. St James in his Epistle warned us not to be dipsychos - double minded or divided in our psyche (James 1:8). A surgeon performing a delicate surgery in which the slightest mistake might price fatal, would scarcely be well advised to keep breaking off from the task at hand in order to say prayers. But he might certainly wish to say the Jesus Prayer before embarking on the operation and after it is finished.

"Pray without ceasing" said St Paul (1 Thess. 5:17). Some Christian groups, such as the 4th-century Messalians, interpreted this to mean that we are to say prayers ask the time. But thus is literally not possible. Prayer, however, understood in a more extended sense, is not limited to the enunciation of words, but it signifies what St Gregory of Nyssa termed as 'sense of presence'. The aim of the Jesus Prayer is to establish within us this 'sense of presence', which will continue to exist at a deep level of our being even after we have stopped repeating the actual words of the Prayer.

That surely is what St Paul meant by unceasing prayer: an implicit state rather than a series of explicit acts. Yet, in order that this implicit state may genuinely exist within us, it requires to be sustained by outward prayers, frequently repeated. In this way, the regular use of the Jesus Prayer initiates us into the first beginnings of continual prayer.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

Reference: The Jesus Prayer - Bishop Kallistos Ware

The Jesus Prayer - Part 4

In the name of the Holy Father and the Holy Son and the Holy Spirit, One True God. Amen

In the previous three sessions, we covered two of the four elements of the Jesus Prayer - the cry for mercy and the discipline of repetition. We understood that the Jesus Prayer is not to be seen as dark and sombre, but on the contrary should be seen as a prayer full of light and hope. Then we also understood that the discipline of repetition is an intense and powerful method of recollection, practiced since ancient times and confirmed by contemporary psychologists.

Let us now continue onwards, by the Grace of the Almighty God onto the third element/strand -

THE QUEST FOR STILLNESS

One of the leading monks of the 4th century, Evagrius of Pontus writes, "When you pray, do not shape within yourself any image of the Deity, and do not let your intellect be stamped with the impress of any form... Prayer is a putting away of thoughts." He did not, of course, intend this as a description of all forms of prayer. He was simply recommending, along with liturgical worship and the study of the Scriptures, a particular type of prayer that may be called 'non-iconic'. But there was no particular method has been mentioned for attaining 'non-iconic' prayer.

However, in the 5th century, St. Diadochus of Photike proposed the 'remembrance' or invocation of Jesus as precisely a way of entry into the prayer of inner stillness:

"The intellect requires of us imperatively some task that will satisfy it's need for activity. For the complete fulfillment of it's purpose we should give it nothing but the prayer LORD JESUS... Let the intellect continually concentrate on these words within it's inner shrine with such intensity that it is not turned aside to any mental images."

In this was, St. Diadochus linked two of our four stands - the discipline of repetition and the quest for hesychia (stillness). Repetition will assist us in stilling our ever active mind, and so will enable us to acquire prayer of inner silence.

The Jesus Prayer is not a prayer meant to mediate on the specific incidents in the life of Christ. When using the Prayer, we should seek to still our imagination. Instead of calling to mind incidents from the life of Christ, we are to dwell upon his total and immediate presence. When visual images occur, we set them aside. We should not engage in chains of reasoning or a string of resolutions. We think solely of Jesus Himself.

Many people find it hard to set aside all thoughts and images. They try to do this but find it very difficult and decide that it lies beyond their power. In such a situation, it is advisable to adopt a more positive approach. Instead of emphasizing what we want to get rid off, let us concentrate rather on what we hope to acquire. Let us think of the Saviour Jesus with living tenderness. What we seek is not so much a mind stripped of image as a heart full of love.

Images and thoughts will constantly rise up within us. Let them recede into the background. In the foreground, place Jesus.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

Reference: The Jesus Prayer - Bishop Kallistos Ware

The Jesus Prayer - Part 5

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

In the previous sessions, we understood the first three elements of the Jesus Prayer. We understood that the prayer is a cry for mercy, with a discipline of repetition of saying the Holy Name of Jesus in our quest for stillness. Let us now come to last strand of the Jesus Prayer-

THE VENERATION OF THE HOLY NAME

The last element is without doubt the most decisive and significant of the four strands. The theology of the Divine Name has distant roots. So strong was the awe inspired by God's name, that the four consonants comprising the name 'Yahweh', 'Lord' was usually not pronounced aloud in Judaism.

The Jewish exaltation of the Holy Name continued in the New Testament. In the prayer to God the Father that Jesus taught to His disciples, He included that clause "Hallowed be Thy name". At the Last Supper He went further, teaching them to pray not only in the name of the Father but likewise in His own name (Jn. 16:23-24). St Peter, in his confession of faith before the Sanhedrin immediately after Pentecost, spoke of the healing virtue possessed by " the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth", insisting that "there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:10, 12).

The literal meaning of the name 'Jesus' is precisely 'Saviour'. When we use the Jesus prayer, we are thus putting our trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. In the same spirit, St Paul regarded the name of Jesus as a focus of adoration: "At the name of Jesus every knee should bow" (Phil 2:10).

Heir to both the Old and New Testament, the early Church reaffirmed this devotion to the Divine Name. In the words of Hermas, a 2nd-century author, "The name of the Son of God is great and boundless, and it upholds the whole world." St. Nilus of Ancyra writes, "Sufficient for our defence against our enemies is the name of Jesus Christ the most high God." St John of Gaza said, "To rebuke the demons is possible only for the great ones who possess authority... But all that is possible for us who are weak is to take refuge in the name of Jesus". A similar love for the Holy Name was expressed in the medieval West. The Yorkshireman, Richard Rolle, hermit of Hampole exclaims: " Ah! Ah! That wonderful name! Ah! That delectable name! This is the name that is above all name... Verily the name of Jesus is in my mind a joyous song, and heavenly music in mine ear, and in my mouth a honeyed sweetness."

This belief in the intrensic sanctity and numinous force of the Holy Name of Jesus is fundamental to the spirituality of the Jesus Prayer. We shall not even begin to appreciate the meaning of the Jesus Prayer unless we recognise how the name of Jesus is felt to contain within itself grace and power. There is an integral connection between the name and the one who is named. Origen said, "A name brings before us the  character of what is named."

To call upon a person by name is to render that person dynamically present, and that is especially true when we call by name upon Jesus. The Holy Name is endowed with sacramental force. It is an effective sign, an outward and visible token of an inner and spiritual grace.

Dear all, with this we come to a finish of the four elements of the Jesus Prayer. From the next session, we will understand on how to practice the Jesus Prayer. I humbly request you to keep this sinful brother in your prayers. Your views and thoughts are welcome on your understanding of the four elements.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

Reference: The Jesus Prayer, Bishop Kallistos Ware

The Jesus Prayer - 3

Glory to the Holy and Triune God, The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In the previous two sessions, we first understood a brief about the Jesus Prayer and then we started understanding the four elements imbedded within the Jesus Prayer. Yesterday, we understood the first element - the cry for mercy. Today, let us understand the second element -

The Discipline of Repetition

The discipline of repetition was first found in an explicit form among the Desert Fathers of Egypt in the 4th century. Their daily work was of a very simple nature, such as basket making and plaiting of rush mats, making of candle sticks and so on. How was a monk to occupy his mind, as he undertook such uniform and monotonous task? How could he fulfill St. Paul's injunction, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17)?

The solution adopted by the Desert Fathers was to practice 'monologic prayer', that is a the repetition of a single word or phrase. They found that thus discipline of repetition helped to simplify the mind, bringing it from many disoriented thoughts to a unified thought.

Many Scriptural and non-Scriptural phrases were used by the Fathers of Egypt. Abba Apollo often burdened by the sin of his youth would repeat, "As man, I have sinned; as God, do You forgive." St. Macarius suggests the prayer, "I beseech You, I beseech You, O Lord." Other monologic prayer used by many Christians today, though not found among the Desert Fathers are, "Lord, remember me in Your kingdom" (Lk 23:42), and "Glory to You, O God, glory to You" (an invocation occurring at the start on most Orthodox services).

Saying the Holy Name

In the 4th-century, among the Desert Fathers there existed a variety of short prayers suitable for frequent repetition and some of the 'monologic prayers' contained the name of Jesus. But there was no special predominance of including the Holy Name of Jesus, so it was not yet possible to speak of a 'Jesus-centered' spirituality. That comes only in the 5th century and subsequently.

In this manner the Jesus Prayer emerged initially as one among many such 'monologic' prayers. What led it to prevail - although it never possessed an exclusive monopoly - was the presence within it of the Holy Name of Jesus.

As the Desert Fathers recognised, and as contemporary psychologists confirm, the discipline of repetition is an intense and powerful method of recollection. It needs to be used with discretion.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

Reference: The Jesus Prayer - Bishop Kallistos Ware

The Jesus Prayer - Part 2

In the Name of the Almighty Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit - One True God

Yesterday we learnt the introduction of the Jesus Prayer, as an 'arrow prayer' which is centered on the Holy Name of Jesus and when used specifically cab help us to just sit and look at God. There are two versions to the Jesus Prayer - Greek and Russian. Both versions are correct, but for this series we will use the Greek version - "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." The Russian version adds the words 'a sinner' at the end of the prayer. Both versions are remarkably complete. Within this one short sentence we Matt find combined four 'strands' or important elements:

1. The cry for mercy;
2. The discipline of repetition;
3. The quest for stillness;
4. The veneration of the Holy Name.

What is the origin of these four elements, and how did they come together to form the Jesus Prayer? Let us look at each one of these elements individually.

1. The cry for mercy - "Lord, have mercy"

"Kyrie eleison" or "Kurielaison" is found in the liturgical worship from at least the 4th century and it's use in Christian prayer may well be ancient. To ask for divine mercy is not to be seen as something gloomy and exclusively penitential. While the cry for mercy certainly involves sorrow for sin, it speaks also of divine forgiveness. It affirms that God's loving kindness and compassion are greater than my brokenness and guilt.

Sometimes our Holy Fathers of old connect the word 'eleos' - mercy, with 'elaion' meaning olive oil. This is a very good theology where 'mercy' signifies precisely the love of God, poured out to heal and restore.

The Jesus Prayer is a prayer full of light and hope. St. Hesychius of Sinai in the 8th century (?) summed up its true spirit by saying, "If we unceasingly call upon Jesus with a keen yearning that is full of sweetness and joy, then the air of our heart is filled with rejoicing and peace."

In the next session, we will try and understand the second element - The discipline of repetition.
Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon me a sinner.

Reference: The Jesus Prayer - Bishop Kallistos Ware

The Jesus Prayer

Glory to the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One True God.

What is The Jesus Prayer?

In the Gospel of St. Luke we read the apostles asking Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray". And the Lord at that time taught them The Lord's Prayer.

In our time today, we increasingly find ourselves asking the Lord, just like the Apostles to teach us to pray. Especially in the busy life we lead, we find it increasingly difficult to concentrate our minds on the Lord during our prayers. How are we to enter the mystery of living prayer? How can we advance from prayer repeated by our lips- from prayer as an external act- to prayer that is a part of our inner being, a true union of our mind and heart with the Holy Trinity? How can we make prayer not merely something that we do, but rather something that we are? For that is what the world needs: not persons who SAY prayers from time to time, but persons who ARE prayer all the time.

When I was a young child, I has heard a story from one of our priests, which I found very touching. Once there was an old man who spent several hours each day in church. " What are you doing there" his friends enquired. "I'm praying", he replied. " Praying" they exclaimed. "There must be a great many things you want to ask from God." With some indignation the old man responded, "I'm but asking God for anything." "What are you doing, then?" they said. And the old man replied, "I just sit and look at God, and God sits and looks at me."

Even now I think that is an admirable description of prayer. But how are we to acquire prayer in this deep sense, prayer of simple gazing, prayer in which there is a personal encounter between us and God? How shall we begin?

Approaching Christ, the teacher of prayer

The answer to the appeal of the disciples given by our Lord - The Lord's Prayer, indeed the model for all our praying. Yet, next to the Lord's Prayer, there is a further way of praying that is particularly commended within the Orthodox Church to all who seek living, inner prayer; and that is the Jesus Prayer. This is a short invocation, frequently repeated, most commonly in the form "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."

St. Augustine writes concerning the early monks, "The brethren of Egypt offer frequent prayers that are very brief and suddenly shot forth."

The Jesus Prayer is precisely an 'arrow prayer'. Another 'arrow prayer', used, for example, in the movement of Fr John Main, is the phrase Maranatha, "Our Lord, come" (1 Co 16:22). The Jesus Prayer differs from this in being centered specifically on the Holy Name 'Jesus', and therein lies it's distinctive value. Used faithfully, as a regular part of our life in Christ, the Jesus Prayer can indeed bring us to the sense of the Divine Presence of which the old man spoke: "I just sit and look at God..."

This was a brief introduction regarding the Jesus Prayer. I pray and hope to continue thus series. In the next session we will discuss on The Four Strands in the Jesus Prayer and its origin.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.

References:
The Jesus Prayer - Bishop Kallistos Ware

Christian Liberty and the World of Entertainment - 1

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus

Wishing one and all of my beloved readers a very Happy and Merry Christmas. May the love which God the Father gave us, be emulated in our lives daily.

As we start a new year, I would like to address a question that does nag us in the back of our minds but we do not seem to ask about it. We all know that it is wrong to cheat, steal, lie, commit murder, commit adultery or covet. We are also clear on whether a Christian should read the Bible, pray, worship, love, or tell others about the salvation in Jesus Christ.But, there is one category of questions that is there nagging behind the mind of everyone and it is with regards to issues or activities that are not specifically addressed in the Scriptures, and thus obviously fall somewhere between what is obviously right and obviously wrong. These aspects of Christian freedom fall into what has been dubbed as "the gray areas". What entertainment is acceptable? What kind of music is okay? What about what you wear, where you go, or how you spend your free time? How does the Bible speak to those issues?

Some would say that as the Bible doesn't address them, we can do what we want to do. Your are free in Christ! Though it is true that the Bible does not specifically mention every possible decision you might make in life, it does address all choices with general principles and parameters that govern Christian freedom.

I will be trying to share a grid of seven biblical principles, drawn primarily from the book of 1 Corinthians, on which you may base your choices in the gray areas of your life. I trust and pray that you will find both clarity and true freedom to live your life to God's glory.

Principles for Living to God's Glory

• The Edification Principle: Will this activity produce spiritual benefit?
  

In 1 Corinthians 10:23, St. Paul explained that "all things are lawful but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." Just like the people of Corinth in the first century, people now a days exercise their Christian liberty without any regard for the spiritual good of others, or even the good of themselves. St. Paul corrected that thinking by reminding them that, unless something is spiritually profitable, it's not worth doing. Something that is profitable is useful, helpful, or advantageous; and that which edifies builds up spiritually. So based on this verse, we should ask ourselves - "Will doing this activity enhance my spiritual life and the spiritual life of others? Will it cultivate godliness in me and in them? Will it build us up spiritually?"

There are many ways in which we can build up others in the faith, and in which we ourselves can "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). But at a foundational level, edification comes from studying the Word of God and listening to it being taught (Acts. 20:32; Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 3:16-17); from showing true love to fellow believers as you fellowship with them (1 Cor. 8:1; Heb. 10:24); and from obediently serving within the context of the local church (Eph. 4:12).

When it comes to the gray areas of life, we should begin by asking if the choice we are about to make is spiritually profitable, both for ourselves and for those around us.

• The Enslavement Principle: Will this activity lead to spiritual bondage?

In 1 Corinthians 6:12, St. Paul tells his readers, "all things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything." Again St. Paul emphasizes that he wanted to do only those things that are spiritually profitable. Part of that entails avoiding those temptations or activities that might result in personal enslavement. St. Paul knew that his only Master was Jesus Christ; thus he would not allow himself to be mastered by anything or anyone else.

If we look at the context in 1 Cor. 6, it refers to sexual sin, which is uniquely enslaving. However, the principle extends beyond sensuality to any habit or behavior that might be life-dominating or Spirit-quenching. In Ephesians 5:18, speaking of alcoholism, St. Paul commanded, "Do not get drunk with wine... but be filled with the Spirit." Though the context is different, the idea is similar.

Don't allow yourself to become addicted or enslaved to that which is sinful or even just potentially destructive. If what you are considering can be habit-forming, why pursue it? Don't allow yourself to be in bondage to anything or anyone. YOU ARE A SLAVE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND HIM ALONE.

Stay tuned for more...

Your brother in Christ Jesus