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Is Yoga Bad for a Christian? Is Yoga Dangerous?

Matthew Schoenherr
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Is Yoga Bad for a Christian? Is Yoga Dangerous?

Years ago, I was on my way to finding Jesus, but hadn’t arrived yet. As I was starting to turn my head away from all of my business activities and the years of building my own kingdom, I knew I needed more of Him. Certainly, there was a spiritual quickening happening in me. There was regeneration happening in me even before I claimed Jesus as Lord and Savior.

But, I was finding Christian teaching, and yet I wasn’t seeing the power. When I looked in the scriptures, I saw Jesus’s words about, “You who believe will do these things and greater” and I was looking at the Church and I was saying, “Well I don’t see anybody really working in these things and greater, so where is the power?”

That launched me into a journey. As I put those questions to the Christians I knew were further along in their spiritual journeys than I was, they would shrug and say, “Yeah, well, we don’t know, either.”

So, I felt left to my own in that space.

But as I looked at Jesus, I’m like, “Deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Me.” Well, I didn’t know quite what “deny myself” meant yet. And picking up my cross? I didn’t know what that meant yet either.

But “Follow me.” Jesus said, “Follow Me.”

Jesus meditated. Now, there’s a difference here. He meditated on His Father. He meditated on the Word because He was the Word. He knew Scripture inside and out. I didn’t know Scripture yet, and so what I was doing was I was taking Scripture (I was essentially proof-texting) and then trying to run with it, which was good (kinda); I had a lot of zeal (but not a lot of knowledge.) I still have a lot of zeal, but it’s more targeted now. (As you can plainly see, it wasn’t so targeted in the beginning.)

One of my errant shots during this season was kriya yoga.

Jesus meditated. I figured I needed to learn how to meditate. So, what did I do? I went to YouTube and I typed in “free guided meditation” which brought me to Sadhguru, an Eastern guru out of India. While he projects wisdom, not everything he says is accurate.

However, the first few videos I watched seemed to speak truth. (There is a way that seems right to a person.) And so, I entered his marketing funnel with this free guided meditation which then leads you to Inner Engineering, which is his introductory course. (Maybe there was some money associated with Inner Engineering, like a hundred bucks or something. The notion here is to get rid of the tire-kickers. You want folks who are truly interested in taking this path.)

My wife and I went through Inner Engineering. We thought it was a pretty good course. It taught us more about things that were going on inside us, from an Eastern perspective. At the end of the course, Isha made the pitch to go to the next level, which at the time, was the Shambhavi meditation. Sadhguru would go and lead these Shambhavi workshops around the world. There was one coming up in a few months in Chicago. I really wanted my wife and I to go. I was on a spiritual journey and I thought this was absolutely the next step. I turned to my wife and said, “We gotta do it!”

She said, “No way! It’s 250 dollars.”

I really wanted to go. She didn’t want to go. I sat with it for a little while. Finally, I said to myself, “Man, I gotta go.” So, we fought about it a little bit, and she finally said, “Just go.”

So I went! I bought my ticket. $250 on something like this for us at that time with our four little ones, was a little bit of a financial burden.

I was so zealous, however, I slept in my car the entire weekend on top of the hotel garage, which, turns out to be real close to the local airport, so the entire time I was in the flight path. No problem.

Anyway, got to the Shambhavi event which hosted upwards of 500 or 600 people. Sadhguru was up front on his wooden throne. He would instruct for a while, and then his younger acolytes would model the Shambhavi movements as he described the steps. Then you would try it. Sometimes you’d partner up with people near you and they would do the moves and you’d correct it, and vice versa. He had other advanced students walking around to help make corrections to form, etc.

Through this meditative practice, I began to see the the human body do things that I didn’t know it could do. The breath got bigger than just the lungs. Some metaphysical experiences came through this time.

During all of this, I was absolutely praying, “Lord, if I’m on the wrong path, please yank me off the path.” But I would look around and, “Okay, I’m still okay to be on this path, so I’m gonna keep going.”

By this point, I’m practicing Shambhavi at home now, twice a day, once in the morning before the family wakes up and then again in the evening. I’m doing the mantras, the breathing techniques, the stretches–the whole thing.

Early on, I had a sister in Christ tell me, “You know, Matthew, you should track your journey and you should capture it in video” so I had captured some of this on video. Fast-forward and now I’m sharing some of these videos.

After a while, someone approached me on Facebook and says, “Hey, Matthew, you say you’re a Christian, but you’re following Sadhguru. Something’s off here.”

At the time, I defended my position. I said, “Well, I’m seeing things go in a different direction and I’m experiencing the universe in a larger way. It must be good! This must be the right path.”

I had two Pauls in my life. One was encouraging me on the yogic path. The other was this Facebook Paul comes out of the woodwork to say, “Well, this path doesn’t lead to life.” I refuted him a couple times, but then he sent me some other YouTube videos of folks who were experiencing Kundalini rising in them and they were seeing different manifestations that didn’t look like anything like Holy Spirit.

I did more research. I occasionally found old students of Sadhguru’s who said, “Yeah, I got high up in the rankings.” They had gone through Inner Engineering. They had gone through Shambhavi. They had gone through whatever the next steps were. They eventually came to a place where they were experiencing demonic manifestations. They experienced things that were dark, not light and bright and ooey and gooey and love and bliss. Then they would cry out, “Jesus!” and there’d be this dramatic conversion in their life. They would feel love. They would feel safety. There would be light. All of a sudden, they’d feel this intense release, and now they’re a born-again Christian.

So, they were having these dramatic conversions while they were in this yogic arc. These yoga students were pointing back to, “Wow. I was on the wrong path. Jesus came into my life. I realized I was heading down an unhealthy set of stairs and it was leading into dark places.” I couldn’t refute those videos.

One of the other things that cinched it for me, I noticed that further on down the Isha Foundation path (Isha is the name of Sadhguru’s foundation) you see people bowing before idols, big metal obelisks or phalluses. This is idolatry. I recognized it when I saw it. I at least knew that much Scripture to recognize this is not paying any glory to Yahweh God. This is not paying any glory to Jesus. There’s no glory here for Holy Spirit. This is idolatry; straight-up Old Testament nonsense.

That’s what took me out of yoga.

Now, granted, kriya yoga is real yoga compared to what we’ve done with yoga here in the west. Here in the west, we’ve focused on balance, flexibility, and some strength-building, maybe. But in the east where yoga originated from, there is plenty that is still true to form.

And it’s not Jesus.

Isha also had local chapters where you could go and practice Shambhavi with other students and I was all about community. When I arrived at the center, up at the front is a picture of Sadhguru. They would play a teaching that he had done recently. Then they play a recorded meditation he’s leading, where he teaches you to focus on the moon or go through some mental journey. On this recording, he’ll usually being to sing or chant. But I kept hearing the name “Shiva.”

I was troubled. As a follower of Christ, (who obviously didn’t know what he was doing) I’m in this guided meditation and I’m hearing the name Shiva chanted over and over.

I’m like, “Wait a minute. We’re talking about the moon as if ‘she’s’ alive.” The rest of it’s in Hindi. I don’t know what was being said, which is dangerous in and of itself. What are you agreeing to, right?

So, I finally went to one of the senior students and I said to her, “I’ve got some concerns.” As I relayed them to her, she was nodding and she did a great job of listening to me.

And then she said: “I had those concerns at one time, too. You know, when I took those concerns to the upline, they kind of said, ‘Oh, it’s okay. You can just swap out whatever name you want. You can put in, if the meditation leads you to Sadhguru and he’s the guru that you come to in this room in the house in the forest that he just led you to in the guided meditation. If it’s not Sadhguru, you can put Jesus in there and it’s fine.'”

And she told me this, and I was like, “Oh, ah, I don’t think this is right.”

That’s where I stopped going.

And during that time, I was studying, all right, well, if it’s not guided meditation through an eastern guru, certainly there has to be some sort of meditative journey to the Christian.

And that’s when I discovered the Desert Fathers, Teresa of Avila, Jeanne Guyon, Brother Lawrence, some of these early Christian mystics who walked with the Lord and walked with the Lord well. So much so that those around them collected their notes, collected their journals, and asked them to write letters on their own journeys.

Right around this time, the Lord–who’s so faithful–He put two more folks in my life. One became my assistant at my office, an ex-pastor, and one was a guy from my church. We didn’t know we went to the same church.

As for the second guy, I had sold him some gym equipment and he needed help putting it together. I went over to his place and asked him, “Hey, on your voicemail, you talked about Inner City Missionaries. What is that?” He lit up and started talking to me about his street-side evangelism. He eventually asked me about my journey. I mentioned I was raised Catholic, had been trying to follow Jesus through eastern meditation, but now was turning to contemplative prayer and studying Teresa of Avila and Jeanne Guyon.

At that point, he gasped. “You’re the first Christian in eight years that I’ve heard who even knows anything about Teresa of Avila!”

He’s a lifelong brother at this point. Love him.

Yes, the Lord is faithful. Totally faithful.

And granted, it took a season. Maybe it took me a year to navigate all of this. As I began to lay down my kingdom and pick up the Lord’s, I was still going through this weird spiral of my own syncretism, my own mixing with the world and mixing with the kingdom of God. Slowly, gently (oh, He’s so gentle,) God was pulling the world out of me. This was one of the worldly expressions to be removed, this yogic path.

Anyways, this was not a formal instruction on yoga. This was just me sounding off on my own personal journey into yoga and out of yoga. I was a climbing the wall to God that did not go through the narrow gate of Jesus Christ. Even though there were moments in my studies and in my research where I was seeking Jesus, I was finding New Age error. Thankfully, the Lord has set me free of that. I quickly glommed onto the Holy Spirit and He has set me free of a lot of things. The journey has been really good. Thank you, Lord!

So that’s my journey through yoga.

My recommendation? Steer clear.

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The Weakness of God

Bill Alderson
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The Weakness of God

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness [asthenos – without strength, powerless] of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:20-25)

In the above passage, Paul tries to get the Corinthians to understand that the avenue to comprehending the highest priorities of God does not take one through the wisdom of the world. In fact, he says that salvation has been removed from the plane of man’s ability to think on his own and instead established on the foundation of faith in something or someone outside himself (verse 21). In verse 22, “but we preach Christ crucified,” that it was His life crucified as an offering that should be the object of that faith. The emphasis is on plan of the Father executed by the Son on behalf of those, both Jews and Greeks, who would place their confidence in the fulfillment of that plan by a crucified Christ.  Man’s ability or efforts are not part of the equation. In fact, “God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong (verse 27).

Despised and Forsaken

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so, He did not open His mouth. (Isaiah 53:2-7)

Although the Old Testament predicted a coming Messiah who would rule as a king with full authority, there are also numerous passages, particularly from Isaiah, that characterize another coming of Messiah as a suffering servant. The most recognizable of these is found in the above passage and illustrates the weakness of the Messiah at His first coming, as a lamb led to the slaughter. He was rejected by His people (John 1:11), “He was despised, and we did not esteem Him”, “yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted”. He accepted the divine judgement from His Father, including physical beatings, as a substitute for each one of us. In addition, He chose to stay quiet in spite of the false claims against Him. He demonstrated complete weakness.

A Bondservant

The Apostle Paul characterizes this weakness in Philippians 2 as emptying Himself of His deity in order to accept the role as a bondservant (doulos – a slave, one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other – Zhodiates). It demonstrated a humility that Paul recognized as a necessary mindset to experience the fullness of God (verse 3-5). In verse 9, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name, which is above every name”.  The greatness of the work of Jesus Christ at His first coming is characterized by His willing weakness to accept the perfect plan of the Father on behalf of the world.

“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

The Gospel

Paul, the five-star general of the New Testament age, gives us insight into how each one of us can connect to this weakness in the above passage. He recognized that his ability to have an effective ministry was to manifest the power of the Holy Spirit and that would only take place in weakness. In this way, “my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God”. The source of that weakness can be found in verse 2, where he makes a determination, a judicial judgment that the weakness of Christ (Christ crucified) and the message of the gospel, that He had accomplished full redemption (John 19:30) for everyone and can be received on the basis of faith alone.

Moses acknowledged his weakness before God in Exodus 4 when he testified that, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” (verse 10). How would he be God’s spokesman before Pharaoh with such a weakness. The Lord’s answer was that Moses’ weakness would be God’s Avenue to allow Him to do the speaking. In verse 12, “Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” In fact. The Lord had earlier illustrated how that would take place in verses 1-5:

Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.'” The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.” Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So, he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail” — so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand — “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

Wait for the Lord

The fact is that the Lord is more than capable of managing His plan. In Acts 5, the Christian leaders were commanded not to proselytize, but they did. Complaints were brought to the Jewish leadership that action needed to be taken. Gamaliel, a highly respected teacher of the Law testified that it was not necessary to take any action since “if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God” verse 39). He also cited a false teacher named Theudas who had four hundred followers, yet when Theudas was killed, the movement died on its own.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

Success in serving God is not dependent on natural or acquired ability, but rather it is the willingness to wait on God. The manifestation of God’s weakness is clearly seen in man’s willingness to be weak so that God can be strong in us (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). He is aware of the need and is able to meet the need in His timing and manner. It represents the simple life.

The Simpleton & the Sophisticate

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the famous 18th-century Ukrainian teacher, shared many stories as a form of teaching biblical concepts. One of his more famous tales is called “The Simpleton and the Sophisticate.” The story compares the lives of two different men – one simple and one sophisticated.

The simple man doesn’t have much and isn’t one of the best in his trade. Yet, he is always happy and satisfied with what he has. He is honest and straight as an arrow in all his dealings with others. He is also confident and peaceful with who he is and has no need to pretend to be anyone or anything different.

The sophisticated man on the other hand is knowledgeable, well-traveled, and worldly. He excels in many areas and is clever about how to make more money and do things better. Yet, he is never satisfied with himself or with what he has. He has this nagging feeling that he should be more and have more. Ultimately, his depression and sense of failure leads to a bitter life. Conversely, the simple man rises to prominence on account of his reliability and reputation for integrity.

The moral of the story? The simple life is the best life.

Does God Exist? The Kalam Cosmological Argument

Guest Contributor
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Does God Exist? The Kalam Cosmological Argument

Wish we could say this one was ours, but this brilliant and beautifully done video on the Kalam Cosmological Argument takes another step toward answering the age-old question, “Does God exist? Or is the material universe all that ever has been and will be?” Otherwise known as the Cosmological Argument, this explanation can be summed up like this:

  1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
  2. The universe began to exist.
  3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.

Summary: Since the universe can’t have caused itself, its cause must be beyond the space-time universe. It must be spaceless, timeless, immaterial, uncaused, and unimaginably powerful. Much like… God.

The Cosmological Argument proves it is quite reasonable to believe that God exists.

(Watch the video for the whole argument.)

Thank you to Dr. William Lane Craig and the Reasonable Faith crew for this well-crafted addition to Christian apologetics. Reasonable Faith aims to provide in the public arena an intelligent, articulate, and uncompromising yet gracious Christian perspective on the most important issues concerning the truth of the Christian faith today. More of their work may be found at https://www.reasonablefaith.org/.

The Foolishness of God

Bill Alderson
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The Foolishness of God

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness [moeros – silly, stupid, foolish] of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:20-25)

In the above passage, Paul tries to get the Corinthians to understand that the avenue to comprehending the highest priorities of God does not take one through the wisdom of the world. In fact, he says that salvation has been removed from the plane of man’s ability to think on his own and instead established on the foundation of faith in something or someone outside himself (verse 21). In verse 22, “but we preach Christ crucified,” that it was His life crucified as an offering that should be the object of that faith. The emphasis is on plan of the Father executed by the Son on behalf of those, both Jews and Greeks, who would place their confidence in the fulfillment of that plan by a crucified Christ. Man’s ability or efforts are not part of the equation. In fact, “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise (verse 27).

Blow the Trumpets

Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. “You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. “Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. “It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead.” (Joshua 6:1-5)

It was the Lord’s intention that the Jews would begin to take control and possess their promised land city by city, beginning with Jericho. In taking Jericho, God’s plan was to demonstrate how much the people needed to trust in God’s plan, no matter how foolish it might seem. As the above passage states, God gives specific instructions to march around the walls of the city each day for six days, with seven priests carrying seven trumpets. On the seventh day, the people would march around the city seven times, then the priests would blow the trumpets and the walls would fall down flat. I’m sure this plan was not related to any known military strategies for winning any military battle; this plan was teaching a willingness to completely trust in God, no matter how foolish it may seem.

Outnumbered

There are similar events in Scripture where God commanded the Jews facing an adversarial enemy to do something contrary to wise military counsel. This is the basis of real faith, trusting God when it appears there can be no victory in any situation, no matter how grave it may be. Another example is found in 2 Chronicles 20 where the Jews were facing the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. In verse 20, King Jehoshaphat says, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” The Lord’s commandment was for the king to choose singers who would go before the army to sing praises to God in holy attire and give thanks for the upcoming victory. Foolishness to man, yet it was God’s perfect plan. Verses 22-23 says that “When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.” Their enemies destroyed each other without any military effort from the army.

Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’ “Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.'” So, 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore, it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” So, he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.” Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so, let all the other people go, each man to his home.” So, the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. (Judges 7:1-8)

Gideon’s 300 Men

Another example is found in the account of Gideon above. The Lord explains that His purpose is to keep the people from becoming boastful, thus taking credit for the victory that will only be attributable to God. God told Gideon that the 32,000 troops assembled to fight the Midianite army were too many, even though greatly outnumbered. As a result, 22,000 people returned, leaving 10,000 to fight. As it turns out, even 10,000 was too many for the Lord, so He devises a test to determine which of the remaining would be worthy of this fight. In verse 5, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.” Only 300 men qualified while the rest kneeled to drink. It appears that only those who were watchful would be useful.

God instructed Gideon to break the men into three groups of 100 each and would carry trumpets and empty jars with torches inside as their weapons while the Lord would fulfill His promise to “give the Midianites into your hands.” The three groups would be night watchmen, each group taking a different shift and were told, When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” (verse 20). This commotion demonstrated their trust in the Lord while creating confusion within the Midianite army and they fled.

A Contemporary Illustration

Here’s a story from Israel’s not-so-distant past. In spring 2003, Israel was fighting a war against terrorism. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were fairly successful, but a few battles were hard to win. One such fight took place in Jenin, a Palestinian stronghold. The Israeli fighters described an incident where the morale was very low. Many soldiers had already lost their lives, and as a last resort, an Israeli general had threatened over the loudspeaker to send in F-16 fighter jets. It was an empty threat that neither the soldiers nor the terrorists took seriously.

That is until a loud booming sound was heard moments later. At first, the soldiers were confused, but then they realized the sound was thunder, even though it was spring and in Israel, it almost never rains in the spring. The terrorists were not as wise. They immediately surrendered. When asked why, they said, “We heard the sound of fighter jets and knew we were defeated.” God’s thunder won the battle. A modern-day miracle!

Ultimately, the Lord is always teaching His people to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). It is about learning how to trust in the promises of God, no matter what.

How to Quit a Porn Addiction

Matthew Schoenherr
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How to Quit a Porn Addiction

Are you finding yourself in a cycle of sin? Are you struggling to gain victory over your vices? Are you wondering how you can quit pornography, overeating, drinking, smoking or some other vice?

This video was developed in response to a viewer comment to my last video on unforgiveness titled How to Forgive Yourself for Something Unforgivable. For my full response, watch the video.

Beating yourself up when you fall into sin repeatedly won’t yield good fruit, but as you’re experiencing, revisiting sin over and over won’t yield great fruit either. Have you meditated on how much He’s forgiven you? Meditate on Jesus’ crucifixion. Read the passages. He went through our punishment so we would be set free.

addicted to porn

Be encouraged! There was probably a time when you eagerly stepped into pornography or smoking or gluttony or drinking or drugs (insert your sin of choice here) and didn’t think a thing about it. The fact that your heart is so convicted is actually a really healthy sign the Holy Spirit is working in you! Thank the Lord He is setting you free from your addiction! Revisit the script in this video over and over (https://youtu.be/pHouZtAst5c). Grab it from the description. Give your lust, gluttony or addiction over to the Holy Spirit. Thank Him for burning it off you! Submit to the Lord and the enemy must flee.

How are your spiritual disciplines? Are you spending time in the Word? Are you setting aside time to pray and commune with your Father? Are you fasting? Are you stepping into private worship? Are you attending church weekly? Are you part of a community or small group that meets weekly? Without dedicated times and connections in your life, you will be ill-equipped to subdue the flesh; in fact, you would be spiritually-anemic. Without anchors like these, backsliding will certainly result.

Finally, what is your diet like? I don’t mean food (well, maybe,) but what media are you consuming throughout the week? If your music is carnal, if your television, movies and videos are carnal, you’re 1) feeding your flesh and walking into temptation more frequently and 2) you’re undermining any spiritual lift you might achieve through the disciplines I just mentioned.

P.S. If you’re not used to fasting, maybe start by fasting from screens for a week. (Fasting doesn’t always have to be food-centered.) Whenever you feel more agitated, impatient, judgmental, lusty, snacky, etc., it’s a good indication you’re due for a fast. Fasting is a weapon, just like prayer and worship and Scripture. Remember, we are called to subdue the earth (which includes our flesh); not to be subdued by it.

Practicing the Presence of the Lord

Bill Alderson
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Practicing the Presence of the Lord

You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psalm 16:11)

An important book that addresses a Christian’s daily relationship with God was written more than 300 years ago by a man we have come to know as Brother Lawrence. The book was written posthumously and captured the essence of his pursuit of a joyous walk with God. That book was “The Practice of the Presence of the Lord – The Best Rule of Holy Life” and that relationship centered on the recognition of God’s personal love for him.

He began life as Nicholas Herman, born to peasant parents in Lorraine, France (1611-1691). As a young man, his poverty forced him into joining the army, and thus he was guaranteed meals and a small stipend. During this period, Herman had an experience that set him on a unique spiritual journey; it wasn’t, characteristically, a supernatural vision, but a supernatural clarity into a common sight.

In the deep of winter, Herman looked at a barren tree, stripped of leaves and fruit, waiting silently and patiently for the sure hope of summer abundance. Gazing at the tree, Herman grasped for the first time the extravagance of God’s grace and the unfailing sovereignty of divine providence. Like the tree, he himself was seemingly dead, but God had life waiting for him, and the turn of seasons would bring fullness. At that moment, he said, that leafless tree “first flashed in upon my soul the fact of God,” and a love for God that never after ceased to burn. Sometime later, an injury forced his retirement from the army, and after a stint as a footman, he sought a place where he could suffer for his failures. He thus entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Paris as Brother Lawrence.

I began to live as if there were no one save God and me in the world.

Lawrence cultivated a simple way of communing with God in his everyday duties of cooking, cleaning pots and pans, and whatever else he was called upon to do, which he termed “practicing the presence of God.” Everything he did, whether it was spiritual devotions, church worship, running errands, counseling and listening to people, no matter how mundane or tedious, Lawrence saw it as a way of expressing God’s love.

That since that time he had passed his life in perfect liberty and continual joy. That he placed his sins betwixt him and GOD, as it were, to tell Him that he did not deserve His favours, but that GOD still continued to bestow them in abundance.

Lawrence began to view every little detail of his life as vitally important in his relationship with God. His exuberance, genuine humility, inner joy, and peace attracted people from near and far. Both leaders of the church and common folk sought Lawrence for spiritual guidance and prayer. Lawrence understood that the attitude and motivation of the heart were keys to experiencing the fullness of God’s presence at all times.

That as he knew his obligation to love GOD in all things, and as he endeavored so to do, he had no need of a director to advise him, but that he needed much a confessor to absolve him. That he was very sensible of his faults, but not discouraged by them; that he confessed them to GOD and did not plead against Him to excuse them. When he had so done, he peaceably resumed his usual practice of love and adoration.

That in his trouble of mind, he had consulted nobody, but knowing only by the light of faith that GOD was present, he contented himself with directing all his actions to Him, i.e., doing them with a desire to please Him, let what would come of it.

Man has a natural tendency to hide from God after failing as is the testimony of Adam and Eve given in Genesis 3:8: They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Their first son, Cain was banished from the presence of the Lord for his act of murder against his brother (Genesis 4:16). It takes courage to face failure and to trust God for His willingness to accept man in spite of his weaknesses.

God would address this matter in Numbers 15:37-41 by introducing tassels to be added to the corners of the peoples’ garments as a reminder to keep their focus on God and His Word. In verses 39-40, “It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God.” They were a reminder of both their wicked hearts as well as the victory that comes from keeping His commandments so as to be holy to your God.

That useless thoughts spoil all: that the mischief began there; but that we ought to reject them, as soon as we perceived their impertinence to the matter in hand, or our salvation; and return to our communion with GOD.

That in order to form a habit of conversing with GOD continually and referring all we do to Him; we must at first apply to Him with some diligence: but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty.

Jesus taught the masses at the Sermon on the Mount that “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). This purity of heart is all about honesty and transparency, nothing withheld. According to Brother Lawrence, “that we ought to act with GOD in the greatest simplicity, speaking to Him frankly and plainly, and imploring His assistance in our affairs, just as they happen. That GOD never failed to grant it, as he had often experienced.”

King David recognized the value of living in God’s presence, in His sanctuary as a place of not only worship, but also sweet fellowship around His Word and wonder. In Psalm 27:4-5, “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent, He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.” This place is his secret place and his place of protection.

We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.

Men invent means and methods of coming at God’s love, they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God’s presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him?

Psalm 17:3-15

3 You have tried my heart; You have visited me by night; You have tested me, and You find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. 4 As for the deeds of men, by the word of Your lips I have kept from the paths of the violent. 5 My steps have held fast to Your paths. My feet have not slipped. 6 I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech. 7 Wondrously show Your lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand from those who rise up against them. 8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings 9 From the wicked who despoil me, my deadly enemies who surround me. 10 They have closed their unfeeling heart; with their mouth they speak proudly. 11 They have now surrounded us in our steps; they set their eyes to cast us down to the ground. 12 He is like a lion that is eager to tear, and as a young lion lurking in hiding places. 13 Arise, O Lord, confront him, bring him low; deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword, 14 From men with Your hand, O Lord, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life, and whose belly You fill with Your treasure; they are satisfied with children, and leave their abundance to their babes. 15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.

David uttered this prayer in the midst of some present danger as a means of thankfulness to God’s testings to establish and confirm David’s integrity. He says it is his own willingness to purpose to avoid transgressions and to “hold fast to Your paths” that gave him his confidence. When he called upon the Lord, He would answer and show Himself faithful. Practicing the presence of God produced in David the sense that he was the apple of God’s eye and that he was hid in God’s shadow. In Colossians 3:3-4, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory”. As David declares in verse 15 above, “As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake”.

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