Persistence of Memmory

We are the sum total of our memories, so we seem to think. What has happened to us is what our consciousness is built around. But when we come to the task of spiritual interaction there is an eternal soul that is barely scratched by the time we have spent here in this life. Our creation by a perfect Creator to interact with Him in an absolutely unique way is usually not what comes to mind when we think of our past.

Some of us bear the tremendous scars of abuse, rejection, ridicule. Some have had incredible love, and fantastic wealth of friendship, happiness or an endeavor, and lost it. Some times we dwell on the most minuscule happening at some tender age imagining every other person on the planet sees this incident written all over us.

We dwell on these things. The stuff from our past comes floating in to our consciousness like little familiar ghosts at all manner of odd times. Whether good or bad it can consume an inordinate amount of time. Some dwell exclusively here and descend into self medication for relief.

If we come to worship we come to an eternal being, with the power to recreate us in less of an instant than it took Him to consider our original creation. One who has an infinite number of patterns available for our make-over. One who resides in the midst of only purity. If we come to Him at all, bearing scars from our past, he is pleased. If we come and ask for release from these impediments to comprehending the eternal destiny which we can enter into, He hears.

But we look to the past. If we bend backwards looking behind, from an upside down perspective, out of balance, we eventually fall over. We are simply not designed to be in that position.

God can release us from any level of past and allow us to look forward with increasing hope and expectation… if we ask. When these memories slip in to our worship we need to bring them to Him who has reconciled all of it, and count it our strength to have been tested.

What is in Your Worship?

essays and sculpture By Tj Aitken - SculptureByTj.com

Spanking Clean

You know the room, it has white carpet, and white furniture possibly even with plastic covers. The walls are immaculate with carefully selected decorations. Yes, everything is perfectly dust free and practically sanitized like an operating room. Oddly enough this space is labeled a living room but so seldom does anyone go there that it bears no evidence of ever being lived in. Yes indeed it is spanking clean, by design and upkeep.

We often believe we must have a place like this to receive guests properly. After all, what would the neighbors say? Have you ever mowed the lawn twice so the criss-cross pattern is perfect? Have you spent time putting the contents of a cupboard into order by size? Have you contributed more money to your hair stylist than to, say, a missionary? What happens when you want to receive the utmost of visitation? How can you prepare to receive the Holy Spirit of God and enter into worship in spirit and truth? The truth of the matter is, you will never scrub it clean enough, never get it straight and orderly enough, never ever produce an orderly organized self to God almighty! There is simply no cleanser no disinfectant that can provide a space appropriate for Him. Those who must chase dirt until the last molecule is purged do so in an endless futility. Prepare yourself for a visit from God? How? We cannot create a bubble of nice, when we live under a smokestack spewing soot all day. So we must just give in, come to the Christ who was provided for just this condition we hate. This state of unclean, that we can neither sponge or vacuum, replace or organize. It is simply tainted by the nature of our being here in this fallen world. Cleanliness is next to sinfulness, because the perfection of a loving God can not be approximated so, why try?
He has offered you a free coupon for a complete make-over, and frankly, you will never achieve it yourself. So take the deal. Give up your personal preparation, it’ll never be ready.
What’s in Your Worship?

High Flying Expectations

“Oh man, I can’t wait to get that thing! I barely slept last night just thinking about how great it is going to be! It will make me so happy, so complete. This is really it , I’ve wanted this for so long.”

Then we get it and within moments we begin to test the truth of those expectations. Then we note the first flaw, then another. If we encounter a major flaw too quickly the shock of disappointment strikes like a rock, pow. What! Oh Crap!

The aerodynamics of our expectations begin to wither. The spiral downward ensues, and as we pass the threshold of negativity our opinion of that object of our desire is shattered. The thud of a wasted mass of anticipation is heard hitting ground, softened by cold rain. The parade is over. And we begin the cycle again.
Maybe we learn from the roller coaster ride, maybe we don’t.
Maybe we grow skeptical that anything is achievable, that any object will be true to it’s expectation. Maybe we become so sour to anything new that we adopt a bit more vicious version of Eore's litany “It will never work, why bother.” No one wants to be the delusional twerp who believes in a hopeless cause and then fakes bits of outcome to bolster his lame mental construct.
Our Maker desires neither unreal fantasy nor skepticism from us. He wants us to come without any of this. Our physical world gives us so many conflicting lessons that we cannot reconcile with an all-powerful spiritual being. So we must approach empty. This is not an amusement ride. Forget the trestles and the launching devices. There are no seat- belts either, just Him and you and all that He is which is not comprehend-able to our mortal selves. The Highest of our expectations are specks of dust to him. And the greatest disappointments rectified by his mere glance in eternity.

What’s in Your worship?

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thanks
Tj