Series: Renewal
2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ESV
Ephesians 4:22-23 ESV
Ephesians 4:22-24 GNT
Over time, many of us who many been on the planet a long while have come to realize that there are times when we try too hard at this thing called life.
We’ve come to know even though we try we are not capable of doing everything “right”
We’ve learned we really are human.
We recognize that God is God and we are not.
Years ago I was introduced to an ancient practice known as the Sacrament of the Present Moment.
It’s a simple practice…so simple that when I read about it I was struck by its simplicity.
In 2 Corinthians 4:16 the Apostle Paul wrote about a moment where we can feel overwhelmed by life, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
So…how is our inner self being renewed and how are we aware of that?
The Sacrament of the Present Moment can help.
When we lose heart we stop, breathe intentionally so that you are aware of your own breath, and think of God IN you.
Realize that it is a holy thing to have God in you.
Realize God in you makes that moment sacred and holy.
Stay in that moment for as long as you can.
Realize that what is happening is what Paul described in Ephesians 4:22-23, “get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to—the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God's likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.”
What occurs in that sacred present moment is that you become aware of your new self.
Your new self has been there since the day when you first realized you desire God and you opened your heart so God could step in. Some believe there are intentional steps we must take speaking specific words. Some like words but actually no words are needed. By turning to God and opening yourself to the reality of a God’s love for you, God enters. The Holy Spirit enters.
In the moment before you turn, you experience your need for God. You desire God.
Paul describes that in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
We realize our affliction…our need for God.
That realization of our need is our desire for the unseen…the eternal.
Too many times in this life we do not experience the present moment with God because we are so busy and so “numb” from life that we forget to live.
We think of all the responsibilities we have and we can often live in fear.
We have too many things on our “to do” list.
We are carrying too much.
We are afraid to stop because what we fear is being swallowed up by life.
In truth, that is a facade. Fear isn’t real. We think it’s real but it isn’t.
When we stop and turn to God and we release the fear into God’s capable hands, we begin the moment where life gets really real.
We begin eternity.
Remember…this life is temporary.
Eternity is forever.
All the problems and decisions we make on earth are temporary. By realizing your desire for God, you enter a new age.
My “saying” for this age (or stage of realization) of life has truly become, God IS God and I am not.
That first present moment can be experienced as many times as we need throughout our life. Whenever you feel overwhelmed or alone in life, when you stop and realize Holy God is in you, the Holy moment, the sacrament of the present moment becomes a reminder of Eternal God.
Eternity awaits, but even in this life we can get a glimpse of it as often as we need it.
Spiritual Practice: Present Moment
Turn to God and receive the holy moment of eternity.
In God, Deborah
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