Being A Pilgrim
I wish I had thought this up myself. But I must give credit to Andrew Paschen, who wrote this in his Infuze Magazine Blog: Brutally Honest.
“On Being a Pilgrim”
March 28, 2007 Wednesday, 11:15 AM
A while back I was thinking about how the Bible calls all believers "Strangers and aliens in a foreign land." You know, another good word for that is a "Pilgrim."
I got to thinking about being a pilgrim in a land we do not belong in and just what being a pilgrim entails. So, I came up with some ideas about the Pilgrim life.
Pilgrims are those who make their temporary home in a foreign land, while on their way to their final, true home (heaven).
This 'Way of the Pilgrim' guide is for those seeking to live their lives for the glory of God, while living on earth in preparation for their true home; heaven.
The 'Way of the Pilgrim' is not meant to be another set of legalistic laws to put us in bondage, or just another set of rules to memorize, but rather is a set of goals to work toward- a list of suggested principles to live by in order to give God glory by serving our fellow man.
The 'Way of the Pilgrim' is for a people who want to be a community of believers, and is given to all who would desire to follow Jesus and make a commitment to others in the Pilgrim community by living lives that honor God and encourage their brothers and sisters in their walk with God.
Here are the basic principles I would like to use as a guide for my life.
I. Life Purpose Statement:
The Purpose of my life is:
To bring glory to God alone by offering my life in pursuit of Him;
A. Through loving Him above all things, by seeking His will for my life and obeying it,
-And-
B. Through pointing others to God by loving and serving them through good works.
The Pilgrim life is lived with a two-fold focus.
1. Life with God.
2. Life among men.
1. Life with God.
A. I intend to live in such a way as to bring glory to God in all I do. If there is any question about whether or not I should do a given thing, I will ask myself, "Does this bring glory to God?"
B. I intend to strive toward never doing anything that I would be afraid to do if Jesus should personally appear at the moment. The truth is, Jesus is personally there and sees everything I am doing.
C. I intend to strive toward not doing anything I would be afraid to do should I be found doing so at the moment of my death.
D. I intend to strive to read God's Word, the Bible, on a regular basis. This may be as little as a few verses at a time, to whole books at one sitting, depending upon circumstances and available time.
E. I intend to practice spiritual reading. There are many good Christian books I may choose from.
F. I intend to daily carve out time for silence and retreat, in order to spend time alone with God. This may be a short 15 minute walk at lunch time, or a half hour in the evening, or longer. The point is that I will practice silence and meditation daily. It is a matter of setting priorities.
G. I intend to make time to pray every day. Preferable when I awake and when I lie down to sleep.
H. I intend to examine myself, every night at the close of the day, to see whether I have sinned and fallen short and to seek God's cleansing.
I. I intend to look for opportunities to express gratitude to God for His many provisions.
J. When I feel pain, I intend to think of the pain of martyrdom and hell. I intend to think soberly on the subject of martyrdom, knowing this could eventually be my lot, and upon the subject of hell in order to build compassion for those who are not saved.
K. I intend to avoid doing that which makes my conscience uneasy.
2. Life among Men.
A. I intend to recognize everyone I come across in a day as a divine appointment. Whether it is a family member, co-worker or stranger, God has placed them in my life today for a reason. It may be to teach me something or to use me to encourage them, but God has sent them my way.
B. I intend to strive to be honest and authentic in my relationships with people. God does not like the masks we wear.
C. I intend to have frequent contact with someone I recognize as a spiritual director, or mentor, who can help me and encourage me in my walk with God, even as I am available to do so for others.
D. I intend to avoid doing anything out of revenge.
E. I intend to avoid speaking evil of anyone, but only words that will build up. Where I cannot build up, I intend to keep silent.
F. I intend to strive toward living my life to match my words. Anything other than that shows me to be a hypocrite.
G. I intend to strive to keep what others tell me in confidence and not pass it along to others.
H. I intend to strive toward eliminating self-consciousness and timidity and to boldly tell others about my faith.
Once again, these are guidelines and are not meant to put a yoke of bondage upon us. As a friend has said recently, "A religious person is a person who is afraid of going to hell. A spiritual person is a person who has already been there and is now on their way home."
Our goal is not to complicate the Christian walk, but to simplify. Jesus was not complicated. He did not teach and practice deep theological theories about prayer. He just spoke to His father like speaking to anyone else.
These are by no means an exhaustive list of all we need to do as Christians. There will undoubtedly be many more on your own list of things God will lead you to intend to follow. But, this list is a good goal to begin with.
May God bless you as you live with intent. Special thanks to Jonathan Edwards and his many resolutions, some of which I gained great inspiration from.
_____________
Thank You Andy for your blog entry.
“On Being a Pilgrim”
March 28, 2007 Wednesday, 11:15 AM
A while back I was thinking about how the Bible calls all believers "Strangers and aliens in a foreign land." You know, another good word for that is a "Pilgrim."
I got to thinking about being a pilgrim in a land we do not belong in and just what being a pilgrim entails. So, I came up with some ideas about the Pilgrim life.
Pilgrims are those who make their temporary home in a foreign land, while on their way to their final, true home (heaven).
This 'Way of the Pilgrim' guide is for those seeking to live their lives for the glory of God, while living on earth in preparation for their true home; heaven.
The 'Way of the Pilgrim' is not meant to be another set of legalistic laws to put us in bondage, or just another set of rules to memorize, but rather is a set of goals to work toward- a list of suggested principles to live by in order to give God glory by serving our fellow man.
The 'Way of the Pilgrim' is for a people who want to be a community of believers, and is given to all who would desire to follow Jesus and make a commitment to others in the Pilgrim community by living lives that honor God and encourage their brothers and sisters in their walk with God.
Here are the basic principles I would like to use as a guide for my life.
I. Life Purpose Statement:
The Purpose of my life is:
To bring glory to God alone by offering my life in pursuit of Him;
A. Through loving Him above all things, by seeking His will for my life and obeying it,
-And-
B. Through pointing others to God by loving and serving them through good works.
The Pilgrim life is lived with a two-fold focus.
1. Life with God.
2. Life among men.
1. Life with God.
A. I intend to live in such a way as to bring glory to God in all I do. If there is any question about whether or not I should do a given thing, I will ask myself, "Does this bring glory to God?"
B. I intend to strive toward never doing anything that I would be afraid to do if Jesus should personally appear at the moment. The truth is, Jesus is personally there and sees everything I am doing.
C. I intend to strive toward not doing anything I would be afraid to do should I be found doing so at the moment of my death.
D. I intend to strive to read God's Word, the Bible, on a regular basis. This may be as little as a few verses at a time, to whole books at one sitting, depending upon circumstances and available time.
E. I intend to practice spiritual reading. There are many good Christian books I may choose from.
F. I intend to daily carve out time for silence and retreat, in order to spend time alone with God. This may be a short 15 minute walk at lunch time, or a half hour in the evening, or longer. The point is that I will practice silence and meditation daily. It is a matter of setting priorities.
G. I intend to make time to pray every day. Preferable when I awake and when I lie down to sleep.
H. I intend to examine myself, every night at the close of the day, to see whether I have sinned and fallen short and to seek God's cleansing.
I. I intend to look for opportunities to express gratitude to God for His many provisions.
J. When I feel pain, I intend to think of the pain of martyrdom and hell. I intend to think soberly on the subject of martyrdom, knowing this could eventually be my lot, and upon the subject of hell in order to build compassion for those who are not saved.
K. I intend to avoid doing that which makes my conscience uneasy.
2. Life among Men.
A. I intend to recognize everyone I come across in a day as a divine appointment. Whether it is a family member, co-worker or stranger, God has placed them in my life today for a reason. It may be to teach me something or to use me to encourage them, but God has sent them my way.
B. I intend to strive to be honest and authentic in my relationships with people. God does not like the masks we wear.
C. I intend to have frequent contact with someone I recognize as a spiritual director, or mentor, who can help me and encourage me in my walk with God, even as I am available to do so for others.
D. I intend to avoid doing anything out of revenge.
E. I intend to avoid speaking evil of anyone, but only words that will build up. Where I cannot build up, I intend to keep silent.
F. I intend to strive toward living my life to match my words. Anything other than that shows me to be a hypocrite.
G. I intend to strive to keep what others tell me in confidence and not pass it along to others.
H. I intend to strive toward eliminating self-consciousness and timidity and to boldly tell others about my faith.
Once again, these are guidelines and are not meant to put a yoke of bondage upon us. As a friend has said recently, "A religious person is a person who is afraid of going to hell. A spiritual person is a person who has already been there and is now on their way home."
Our goal is not to complicate the Christian walk, but to simplify. Jesus was not complicated. He did not teach and practice deep theological theories about prayer. He just spoke to His father like speaking to anyone else.
These are by no means an exhaustive list of all we need to do as Christians. There will undoubtedly be many more on your own list of things God will lead you to intend to follow. But, this list is a good goal to begin with.
May God bless you as you live with intent. Special thanks to Jonathan Edwards and his many resolutions, some of which I gained great inspiration from.
_____________
Thank You Andy for your blog entry.
posted by Sojourner at 11:04 AM
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