Journey: Into The Never-ending Way

Chapter 10: Dressing For The Elements

What are the elements that are talking and acting in your neighborhood? I'm sure you encounter positive and negative actors. The news papers and other media diligently report on both the good and the bad elements contributing to your every day experience of life's drama.There is also a sufficient amount of reporting about how people manage, or not, neighborhood theater.

The Father's children go to the never-ending way gym. There they find a variety of powerful equipment which uses their neighborhood's elements for building their grace-mode character. The best part is the Father's children don't exercise alone, hoping for injury free results. No. We have a personal trainer, Jesus. He and the Father pour their life into us, agape-love.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance,character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us,because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans5:2-5, NIV)

Paul wrote to the Ephesian church about this exercise equipment using the metaphor of the dress elements commonly observed when Roman soldiers were seen marching along their streets.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything,to stand. Stand firm...(Ephesians6:13, NIV)

When we commit to working out in the never-ending way, earthy neighborhood drama provides motivation for the push-back with which our personal trainer guides us. He provides the power that originates in his neighborhood and builds us up in ours. Agape-love performs a work in us that supports and refines our grace-mode skill for staying our course and participating in the flow of agape-love through us to others.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22-24, NIV)

His Holy Spirit is actively engaged with us (spirit, psyche-soul, and body-brain) replacing old mr. self with a new self that is rooted in the Father's agape-love pouring into and out of us.(Romans5:2-5, NIV)

Truth:(Ephesians 6:14)

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Galatians5:16, NIV)

When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.(John 16:13, NIV)

This is the Way in which I, Andrew, Stephanie, Nicole, Brad and Heidi have placed our commitment. We've all worked through challenges encountered in our earthy neighborhoods and used these exercises,with our trainer Jesus, to birth character actors which produce our new selves.

We've discovered the truth in this treasure hunt. There is another neighborhood where the Father's home is found. And, from this home he reaches into our neighborhoods showing us the wisdom and joy of agape-love desires. We are no longer limited by the desires of a material body-brain. Rather, we live forever in our Spirit-to-spirit encounter with Him. (See Romans 8)

...love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1Peter 1:22-23,NIV)

Righteousness:(Ephesians 6:14)

When people are living in self-centered (body-brain) earthy dramas, the acting out of their thinking is based on what they determine to be right for them. They are self righteous, which means they are able to tap their reasoning prowess for the purpose of making the thinking behind their behavior sound acceptable by all earthy standards of self-service.