Screwtape Chapter 2

Chapter 2 opens with good news. The tempter’s charge has become a Christian which changes everything. Wormwood, the tempter, is instructed to change his strategies; he is told to leverage the church against the patient’s faith!

What does this mean? How can the church be used against us? Screwtape, the mentor, describes the church as “spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners.” He goes on to state that it “… is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. but fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans.”

All we see is a snapshot. In that snapshot, we see the current state of the church with all its weaknesses, strengths, and flaws. We see a building that is filled with our neighbors; the same neighbors who don’t mow their lawn often enough. This is how Wormwood is supposed to use the church against his charge’s faith!

Screwtape tells him to direct the mans focus to what his fellow church goers are wearing, what they do for a living, their vices, their race, their opinions, and anything else that will stop him from seeing the truth. I think we are all guilty of falling into this trap, at least I know I am. Lewis points out the truth though. If we, being as we are can claim to be Christians, why do we criticise our fellow Christians and say they are hypocrites (albeit we all are) and aren’t the “real deal.”

Lewis states through his narrative that we as humans are prone to become disenchanted with our endeavours after a time and give up. This occurs in all things whether it be a new car or the start of a new saga in our life. The perfect example is love and relationships.

When a relationship begins it starts with infatuation or ‘puppy love’. It continues in this fashion for a time until the infatuation fades away. At this time, many relationships end because it takes work to make them persist. Love is nothing short of conscious decision to want the highest good for another person and to work towards that goal but it is not easy. Hence, when the infatuation ends and it becomes difficult for the relationship to persist, we give up and break it off.

This is what Screwtape wants Wormwood to pursue; to distract his charge until he becomes disenchanted with Christianity.

Once again, the key is distraction. If we can keep our eyes pointed in the right direction, on the truth behind the glamor, we will never be disappointed. Instead, we will find ultimate satisfaction. Going to church and getting the “feel goods” pales in comparison to really throwing yourself at God’s throne, to abandoning your life into His hands for His will. In that moment when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will feel a euphoria that is unmatched.

If salvation is anything like that euphoric feeling, than you can sign me up. I am all in.

Screwtape Chapter 1

Chapter 1 serves the dual role of setting up the theme of the text as well as delivering Lewis’ first message. For those not familiar, the book is a collection of letters written from a senior demon in hell to a younger apprentice demon who is tempting a resident of WWII London.

The first paragraph deals with philosophies. Lewis states through his writing that people today tend to evaluate philosophies based on qualities such as being conventional, contemporary, practical, academic, ruthless, outdated, etc. but never commit to a philosophy as true or false. He states that in the past, people recognized that a philosophy was true when it was proven so and were willing to adopt it and mold their lives around it, but that today, people simply evaluate them from an intellectual standpoint, never committing to one or the other. This provides Satan an in.

This is a form of distraction, a theme Lewis addresses directly in the next paragraph. He instructs his apprentice to be sure the man stays fixed on the events going on around him instead of those going on within; on the worldly experiences instead of the spiritual. Romans 8: 7 – 8 (NIV): ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. “

By keeping our minds focused on worldly issues, whether that be what the new and ‘hip’ philosophy and its value to society or whether or not Justin Bieber will have a new cd out this year, allows Satan an avenue into our hearts, our minds, and ultimately our souls and we are powerless to fight back until we realize that the root of issue is that our mind is on the material instead of the spiritual!

I have been there many times. I have been so focused on work, on school, on friends, on video games, on books, on gaining knowledge, on food, on fitness, on many other things and I have slipped in my faith and wondered why! The first step to getting closer to God is getting your head in the game! A quarterback who is thinking of cheeseburger instead of the game will never win the game and if we are focused on material life, we can never achieve salvation.

God can not work in you when you are focused on the world.

Long Hiatus

I started this blog 2 years ago… Crazy how time flies. I can not say why I abandonded it, but I can say it was not due to a falling from God. In fact, for a solid year after I stopped posting to this blog, I continued to grow in my faith and find God in new and amazing ways.

In the intervening time, I have been on two mission trips. One was to New Orleans and the other to the north side of Chicago. Both trips brought me closer to God and prepared me for my future life in ways I never imagined.

Regrettably, my faith has waxed and waned in the past year and I have reached a turning point. I’ll just sum it all up and say that I was not prepared for life like I thought I was. Now, I am getting back to my roots. I am going to rebuild my faith from ground zero like I did shortly before starting this blog. God is with me, I feel Him burning within me.

The first step is to re read the book that changed my faith forever, “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis.

I don’t know if anyone is subscribed to this blog or if anyone will ever see it, but this is an outlet for me to document my ongoing faith excercise. I plan on putting up a short summary/analysis/reflection of one chapter per day. Hopefully God will use this blog to reach others, but at the very least, it gives me a medium to organize my thoughts.

For Today: Nicodemus the Seeker

I listen to a lot of different kinds of music. Some Christian, some not. I have found I have to be careful though, because if I spend too much time listening to songs with a negative message (i.e. sex, drugs, alcohol) my thinking patterns begin to shift away from God.

This song below, “Nicodemus the Seeker”, is by a Christian metal band called For Today. If you have no tolerance for metal music then at least read the lyrics. This is by far the most influential group of musicians in my life today. I had the chance to see them play live in September, and it was by far one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Their lyrics are filled with the message of God!

The line that particularly strikes me from this song is: “I’ll give you my life, if you’ll hold it in your truth, because truth is the pursuit that captivates my soul. And, teacher, to be honest, I am very afraid.” This is so true in my life! I can not count how many times the right choice has been obvious to me, but I have run away in fear. But when I truly turn to God, to truth, I find my very being captivated by Him. My only desire is learn more, to be closer to Him, and to live his word. That is, until I let fear win out. It is a constant battle that we all face! We see it evident anytime that God asks us to do something to further his kingdom that might be against the social norm and might make people look at us differently. Why are we afraid of the judgement of humans who are powerless when compared with God the Almighty Father!

I digress though. Here are the lyrics and the song from YouTube

Lyrics to Nicodemus (The Seeker) :
Grace is my destiny, but pride is my home. Your words have called me from my comfort. I’ll give you my life, if you’ll hold it in your truth, because truth is the pursuit that captivates my soul. And, teacher, to be honest, I am very afraid.

This is all I have. I come before you broken. This is all I have. Tell me there is more than this.

Jesus, I’d give my life for a truth that could never be shaken.And, then you came to offer me everything that I’d been looking for. So now, I am the reborn, into a life of purpose. I am the renewed; born of the Spirit, and sent forth to walk in truth.

I will walk in truth; in all the truth of your miraculous power. I will walk in truth. And expect your healing hands to work in me.

You are all I have. I stand before you redeemed. You are all I have. I could never want more than this

Constant Prayer

I was at church today, and the sermon was about constant prayer. I found it to be extremely helpful, so I thought I would pass the message on. When you hear the term “constant prayer”, you probably think of a monk or similar person constantly kneeling and praying. That is not what I am trying to get across to you. What I mean by the use of that term is more that we need to always have God in mind.

Prayer is not always us talking, it is also us listening. And sometimes it is simply being. Much like a man and his wife can just sit and be with each other with no verbal communication, we can simply be in communion with God. Living a Christian lifestyle is so much easier if you can keep yourself in constant union with God. Even if you are not necessarily talking and maybe God doesn’t have anything you need to hear at ever given moment it is important to be open to Him. God speaks to us in many ways and if you are constantly open to Him, you are constantly ready to hear him.

You might be saying, how in the world can I keep God on my mind 24/7? Simple. Give thanks to Him every time you do something. Give thanks to Him when you eat, when you wake up, when your car starts, and when you are able to get to work on time. Constantly be grateful for His blessings. Not only will this keep you open to God, it will strengthen your love for Him by making you aware of His many blessings.

Ask for help in everything you do. Ask God to help you get dressed, ask Him to help you wash the dishes, ask Him to help you work out, or ask Him to help you take a test. Ask God to allow you to do everything for His glory. This will insure that you are doing God’s work, for when we do things for God, we are in some way furthering His work. I think you will find yourself more and more willing to do His will because you will see His influence in your life and since you are striving towards constant communion, your ears will be open to hear His will.

I struggle with these simple tasks all the time. When I actively try, I see these strategies work wonders in my life and life my spirits up. However, I get lazy or distracted and that is when I feel myself slipping away. I strongly encourage you to work towards living in communion with God as it is the single most effective thing I have found in my life.

There is a small book entitled “The Practice of the Presence of God”. It is a series of conversations and letters from a monk named Brother Lawrence who lived the idea of constant prayer or communion with God to the max. It was the basis of His faith. If you eve get the chance, I encourage you to pick it up. It is a short read, but it explains what I tried to lay out here in a much better manner.

Once again, I hope this has been helpful. Comments welcome.

Romans 8: 5 – 8

Romans 8: 5 – 8 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law — indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Explanation:

The point of this verse, to me, is quite simple yet powerful. Paul is telling use we must keep our minds away from the flesh, but what is the flesh? The flesh is the earthly body that we have been given to house our soul, given to us by God. In a broader sense, the flesh is everything of this world that is not spiritual, so we can extend “things of the flesh” to mean any worldly thing.  The next question we must answer is what the things of the flesh are, that they are so dangerous to our relationship with God. Very simply, the things of the flesh Paul speaks of are sin. You may be saying to yourself, “Well hunger and thirst are things of the flesh, and those aren’t sins.” True, it is no sin to hunger; however, it is a sin to set your mind only on food for than hunger turns to gluttony. It is not a sin to take care of your body, it is a sin to focus only on those things to the point where they become obsessions.

So why are these needs so dangerous to our relationship with God? Let us first think of some other “things of the flesh” besides gluttony. We have lust, greed,  materialism, and substance addiction. When one is full of lust, they are concerned only with satisfying their sexual desire. They turn to porn, sleeping around, and in extreme cases sexual crimes. When one becomes greedy, the focus only on having more. More money, more cars, more houses, and more of just about anything. This applies to jealousy and materialism as well. People who suffer from addiction to substances, whether it be drugs or alcohol, focus only on getting their next “high”, or “low” in the case of depressants like alcohol. They use these substances as a coping mechanism.

The common theme here is that people become obsessed with the world, and not with God. They try to find happiness in places other than God. Loving God is a choice, and is so because of the gift of free will. Because of this gift, we cannot submit to God unless we choose Him and he can not fully work in us until we invite Him in. Until we cast aside the world, we can not bring in God. Until we bring in God, we cannot please Him and if we cannot please Him we cannot be truly happy.

Application:

I personally have seen the truth of this verse very frequently in my life. Anytime I have gotten wrapped up in some sort of obsession, such as video games or a new hobby, I find myself living a less Christ like life. It is because when I make room for my new obsession, the first thing to go is God. My life starts to enter a downward spiral and I pick up more obsessions and I drift farther and farther from God. All it takes for me to fix this problem, is to take a step back and invite God back into my life.

I am not saying that having hobbies or interests in the things of this world are sinful. This world, and all that is in it, is a gift from God. It is when we focus only on the gift and not on the giver that we have a problem. So go forth, enjoy the world that God has put forth but remember, He made it and He must be praised and He must be thanked.

Book: C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters”

Amazing book by C.S. Lewis

I feel like my first few posts were really serious. Don’t get me wrong, I take my faith very seriously but I love to have fun. Living a life of Christ should be full of joy, not full of uptightness (That may or may not be a word).

I like to spend a lot of time reading books. I mean A LOT. I have honestly spent whole weekends just sitting reading. When J.K. Rowling would release new Harry Potter books, I would pre-order them so they would be at my house the day of release. The whole week leading up to that day was spent re reading the whole series up to that point, then I would wake up, get the book out of the mailbox, sit down and read. I would read until it was done.

I have since expanded my horizon beyond reading for sheer entertainment. At some pressure from a close friend, I decided to pick up “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis. I had read “The Chronicles of Narnia” and enjoyed them very much, but was hesitant to read anything that was not written for pure entertainment value. I would note that this was also a time when I was not fully engaged in strengthening my faith.

I took the book home that night and read the first chapter. HOLY COW! The writing style blew me away first of all. In my quest to read every book that interests me, I have often come across some poor writers. C.S. Lewis has an amazing grasp on the workings of the English language and his the power of his intellect bleeds through the pages. He wrote the book as a series of letters from a senior devil to a novice tempter. In this way, C.S. Lewis approaches the weakness in humans from an outside perspective and allows the reader to do so as well. If the reader is at all open to what Lewis has to say, he will find himself examining his own mental processes and correcting .

It is for this reason I recommend anyone who reads this book, reads it one or two chapters a day. By taking Lewis’ point and using introspection, the reader will be able to identify their own weak points and strengthen their faith in God. My reason for saying to read it one or two chapters a day is simple. If you read a chapter in the morning, you can then spend the rest of the day trying to apply what you read. Then the next day you add another idea and so on. If you read the book over a couple days, which would be an easy feat, you would not be able to get the most out of it. The author approaches such topics as love, worshiping God for God’s sake, gluttony, and faith in general. By no means is this an all encompassing list! Each reader is going to find this book speaks to them in different ways. I myself plan on eventually re reading it several times.

This book is one of the most influential books in my life! Lewis makes sense! He does not simply spout off ideas, but speaks directly to the soul! O.k. I exaggerate, only God can speak directly to our soul but I think you get the point! Once again, this book opens up the reader and makes them look inward at their own faults instead of outward at the faults of others.

I HIGHLY recommend you read this book. Read it several times in fact!

When I myself get around to re-reading the book, I think I will do a daily post on what I pull from each chapter.

On Being Selfless

When Christ was crucified, he did so without a fight despite the fact there was no legal reason for his crucifixion. Granted, yes there was a spiritual need for it too happen, that reason being the salvation of humanity, he broke no law. This was an entirely selfless act. On the flip side, the pharisees and other high priests were being selfish because they feared Jesus would strip them of their power.

It is this example set forth by Christ that has led me to find it in myself to be selfless. Oftentimes we find ourselves persecuted for the wrong reasons and in us lies a desire to correct this wrong. In order to do this we often argue, yell, tear others down, and focus on the sins of others rather than our own.

Luke 6: 42 “Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” We as humans, due to the sin of pride, tend to ignore our own issues.

Now, when we argue and insult others, are we being Christ like? When someone selfishly demands something of us, do we fight and argue to prove their sinfulness, or do submit as servants in order to prevent our own sinfulness? As followers of Christ, we are called to lead others to his love. If we try to fight back, we are not living that life ourselves and how can we hope to bring others to a life of Christ when we do not follow his example? It is far better to submit out of love for them and for Christ and thus set an example of selflessness that they may hopefully see and show towards others.

If you complain, if you gripe, if you argue whilst attempting to be selfless, you are no longer being selfless. In order to be selfless, you must do the action one hundred percent willingly and without complaint, as Jesus did when He died on the cross. It can be hard, especially when every fiber of your being except your love for God is screaming that it is wrong.

It is here I feel I must clarify something. If what is being asked of you is sinful, then by no means do it. If someone demands you to steal, lie, kill, or commit adultery then do not do it. The things I speak of are not of sinful nature. For example, when the early Christians were imprisoned and martyred, they did not fight it even though there was no just reason for their persecution. Prime examples of selflessness for the Love of God. By all worldly standards they should have fought back and secured their freedom by force, but Christians seek not to live by worldly standards, but by the spiritual standards of God. When things are unjustly demanded or forced upon us, we must forgive those that do so and exhibit selflessness for the Love of God.

When we seek to show them their error, we do not admit our own errors because of pride. I am sure that at first your desire to show them their error stems from a desire to see them improve their lives, but it soon will develop into simply a desire to be right and for them to know you were right. In this way, we build ourselves up in our own minds and that is pride. You must relinquish the worldly desire to always be right ,and others to know you are right, in order to seek the love of God.

Once you submit selflessly, you must be careful not to become boastful. When you rub your actions in their face, or use it as blackmail (i.e. I did A for you, so you need to do B for me) you are being boastful. This cancels out all the good that came of your action because when you do this, you are doing it for your own sake and not the sake of God. That is being selfish and is completely the opposite of what you wished to accomplish.

One must also remember that we perform selfless actions out of love. Not only must the action be done for no personal gain and only the gain of others, it must also be done out of love. Love is caring for someone, seeking their highest good, even when they don’t deserve or reciprocate it. Love, by nature, is selfless. Therefore, when we truly love someone, selfless actions for that person, and for God, should be an easy feat.

The Beginning: An Explanation of my Mission

The purpose of this blog is simple. It is my attempt to share with the world the important lessons I have learned during my walk with Christ. For the longest time, I was very closed off when it came to sharing my faith with others, and this caused my growth to be stifled because of fear. I finally managed to break that shell, and I now find great joy in discussing my faith with others. I eventually developed a desire to give lessons, lectures, lead Bible studies, etc. What I found was a desire to reach out to as many people as I could, which led to the start of this blog.

I realized that I could reach an almost infinite number of people simply by starting a blog, and it appealed to me greatly. I have always had a fondness for computer technology and people always told me that I needed to utilize my talents and interests to further God’s plan. Well that is just what I am doing!

What I hope to accomplish is to share with all of you the glory of God and ways you can grow in his love. The various ideas which I am throwing around in addition to lessons are book reviews, music reviews, and Bible verse analysis. I hope you will all find what I am trying to do both helpful and entertaining.

Just to clarify a few things. By no means am I ever claiming to be perfect. I am a sinner just like every member of humanity and I believe that because of this we are all equal. If it were not for the grace of Jesus Christ, I would be lost and there would be no purpose to my life. By no means am I saying that what I have to say is 100% right. As a human being, I am fallible. I only try to present to you my own interpretations and experiences so that they may help you. Together, I hope that we can all grow towards the truth that shall some day be fully revealed to us.

Until that day, God Bless!