This post is part of a series about an illustration of balance in your life by using a Triangle, with each corner of the triangle representing UP, IN and OUT. I started it a few weeks ago (here) by "talking" through the goal of living a balanced, integrated life - represented by all 3 corners of the triangle. This post is focused on the "UP".
If "UP" represents my relationship with God, then I have personally been lacking in that department in the past few months (as I've stated previously on this site). I don't mean that to say I have lost that relationship (not sure if that can actually happen) but, I haven't been holding up my end of the bargain.
The principle of having a healthy "UP" relationship with God is hard, yet simple ...
If "UP" represents my relationship with God, then I have personally been lacking in that department in the past few months (as I've stated previously on this site). I don't mean that to say I have lost that relationship (not sure if that can actually happen) but, I haven't been holding up my end of the bargain.
The principle of having a healthy "UP" relationship with God is hard, yet simple ...
... I mean, he's always there, wanting a relationship with us, right? It's probably kind of rude and self-centered to just ignore Him and not converse with Him, as Jesus modeled in Luke 6. If we are to be effective and "produce fruit" in our lives, it is necessary to have a strong UP in place, there is no other way. We may think there is for awhile, but ultimately our puny solo efforts end up broken, without the UP in place.
God desires for us to be in relationship with Him and take Him up on the offer to impart His wisdom, power and love on our lives. It's our choice on whether we engage with Him in that way ... in an UPward fashion. There is SO much peace, joy, power, and direction there (in the UP) that I can't imagine a life without it.
But, I have a lot of friends and people in my life that aren't regularly connected in an UP relationship. I would say that they are not so much rejecting Christ and the UP relationship that awaits them, I'd say they are suspicious of "the Church" and all of the perceived negative things (i.e. judgement, guilt, etc) that come with it.
When it comes down to it, a summary of "UP" would be: hearing from God and responding. It's an active two-way relationship, one that you actually put some "boots on the ground" with.
How do I "hear" from God? I typically connect with God early in the mornings (and, hopefully throughout the day as well). I'm up before the rest of the family with a hot coffee and the fire "burning" (it's one of those fakey/cool electric ones so it doesn't actually burn ... but, it's warm and it feels real) in my office. As part of this time, I pray and try to read some Bible. I also try to be "quiet" and "listen" for promptings or whispers. Another form of hearing from God (assuming that God's Spirit is "breathed" into all of us as part of the creation process) is to surround myself with like-minded Christ followers to listen and learn from them. I stated earlier in this post that my UP had been lacking lately ... that is due, in part, to my lack of a Bible reading plan. I have some work to do on that and I'll share it in a subsequent post.
So, what do you think about this? How's your UP? What are you doing to make it better? How are you listening?
God desires for us to be in relationship with Him and take Him up on the offer to impart His wisdom, power and love on our lives. It's our choice on whether we engage with Him in that way ... in an UPward fashion. There is SO much peace, joy, power, and direction there (in the UP) that I can't imagine a life without it.
But, I have a lot of friends and people in my life that aren't regularly connected in an UP relationship. I would say that they are not so much rejecting Christ and the UP relationship that awaits them, I'd say they are suspicious of "the Church" and all of the perceived negative things (i.e. judgement, guilt, etc) that come with it.
When it comes down to it, a summary of "UP" would be: hearing from God and responding. It's an active two-way relationship, one that you actually put some "boots on the ground" with.
How do I "hear" from God? I typically connect with God early in the mornings (and, hopefully throughout the day as well). I'm up before the rest of the family with a hot coffee and the fire "burning" (it's one of those fakey/cool electric ones so it doesn't actually burn ... but, it's warm and it feels real) in my office. As part of this time, I pray and try to read some Bible. I also try to be "quiet" and "listen" for promptings or whispers. Another form of hearing from God (assuming that God's Spirit is "breathed" into all of us as part of the creation process) is to surround myself with like-minded Christ followers to listen and learn from them. I stated earlier in this post that my UP had been lacking lately ... that is due, in part, to my lack of a Bible reading plan. I have some work to do on that and I'll share it in a subsequent post.
So, what do you think about this? How's your UP? What are you doing to make it better? How are you listening?