Monday, October 10, 2011

THINK ON THESE THINGS - MONDAY

CP, TM AND OM 


NOTE: (CP, TM and OM are not an Acrostic of a Law Firm or the initials of the Three Stooges.....read on......)!!!


In troubled times, people seek comfort in many ways. 

Some look deep inside themselves for the answers.  In fact, many of the great self-help gurus of the past few decades became multi-millionaires selling just that concept. From the loud navel-gazing of Tony Robbins to the teachings of eastern mysticism, all have a form of godliness...but it is the god of this world.

Some look to the sky, without knowing how to ask. In a country where almost 91% of adults have NO Biblical worldview, this is easy to grasp.

Now comes a new thing...actually a New Age thing, which more and more people inside the christian church are getting caught up in. It is the wrong kind of meditation and something called Contemplative Prayer (CP). In some circles, it is called Centering Prayer.

But is it Biblical Prayer? Is it what Jesus called for when He said "...when you pray.." three times in a row in Matthew 6:6? The conclusion is - no way!

But what are the differences? Here are some of my thoughts in brief, as I attempt to get us to think about the simplicity and clarity of True Christian prayer.

Concerning CP and Christ-based Praying:

One is based on eastern mysticism, the other, not. One is based on self-realization through looking inside yourself, the other is not. One is based on emptying your mind and letting in universal "truths" in, the other is not....and on and on. One is even promoted by certain christian 'teachers' and speakers like Beth Moore, the other is not.

If you are ever invited to meditate with someone or are tempted to look into it, be very wary and extremely careful how you react. To follow this philosophy will put you in real and immediate spiritual danger!

But you ask "It sounds sooooo good! What could be wrong with meditation?"

Nothing! Psalm 1:1-2 leads us into an exhortation to meditate on the Lord "day and night". But if you look at the true meaning of the word "meditate", it means to 'speak, utter, proclaim, study and ponder' the Word of God! This is the LITERAL meaning. The reason we are supposed to do this to get the know the WORD better, which John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1 tells us - is Christ!

Joshua 1 says in verse 8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success".

This means we are to speak the Word of God! This includes prayer where we read the Word of God back to Him in praise and worship! 


This also means we are to actively walk the talk by walking out the elements of the Faith of Christ minute by minute for the rest of our lives!

This does not mean sitting down in some weird lotus position and starting to breathe deeply before you proceed to "empty your mind".

This does not mean you then "center" yourself by focusing on some one word of passage from your favorite mystic writer or even the Bible and then go beyond the Thoughts of God.

This does not mean now, with an empty mind, opening up your spirit to what you perceive to be 'closeness with God'!!!!

This does mean you are on a path you may never recover from, because of it is Self-realization you want, God will give it to you...and I guarantee you won't like it!

Psalm 46:10

Many proponents of CP quote Psalm 46:10 as their biblical basis. In fact, there are so many websites promoting "Christian Meditation" that it is so easy for seekers to be led astray! Almost ALL of them - to a man - quote Psalm 46:10 which most translations say definitively to "Be still and know that I am God".


The ACTUAL literal translation of Psalm 46:10 is from the New American Standard Bible: " Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 


This means just that - quit trying to do things your way. Quit trying to be like those who built the Tower of Babel to show themselves just as wise as God. Quit trying to do reach God using man's ways rather than God's....literally God means "quit striving or 'raphah' (Hebrew) leave it alone to ME - GOD. I am all about Praise, Glory and Worship"!!!!


Does this sound like eastern mystic centering prayer to you??!! This is why knowing the True meaning of the Word is so important and why listening to men turn it into allegory is so dangerous!

TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION & OM


What the gurus of CP are really practicing is just an anglicized or westernized version of the hindu-based Transcendental Meditation (TM)! This is the same cult to which the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and others (like the Beatles) from the 1960's drug culture belonged!


The TM official website themselves describe TM as a "technique is based on the ancient Vedic tradition of enlightenment in India. This knowledge has been handed down by Vedic masters from generation to generation for thousands of years. About 50 years ago, Maharishi — the representative in our age of the Vedic tradition — introduced Transcendental Meditation to the world, restoring the knowledge and experience of higher states of consciousness at this critical time for humanity. When we teach the Transcendental Meditation technique today, we maintain the same procedures used by teachers thousands of years ago for maximum effectiveness".


TM uses a sanskrit symbol for OM-   as its chief mantra chant. I am not even going to explain what this means. It will make no sense to try and describe what all the "vibes" they get from chanting this thing. What Biblical Christians should understand before they even contemplate being a part of this heresy are the Word of Jesus about all this chanting and Centering Prayer and such here from Matthew 6:7 " "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words." 


In other words, the Creator of the Universe has just smacked down those who practice this gibberish, which worshiping their animal gods like cows and dogs, by saying "their prayers will never be heard"! Jesus was referring to the Egyptians, Moabites and other religions around Jerusalem...but today, it can refer to just about anything, worldwide, which practices the same!


Is this what people what? Their "prayers" and meditation reach only as high as the ceiling....because I guarantee you, this is where all that stuff will get them!


HOW TO PRAY THE JESUS WAY:


Over the "no-matter-how-long-it-takes" time, I will dissect phrase by phrase, the LORD'S PRAYER.  Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer not to chant, but as the Guidebook to KNOW how to pray to the Father. 


As a Prayer Warrior and leader in the Prayer Movement, I can testify to the Power of such an exercise and how it can really improve you Christian prayer life. If this exercise is done by a soul, which  has been regenerated by Holy Spirit and is tuned into the Pure and Holy Heart of God, it will lead to what Psalm 1:1-2 is encouraging - meditating on the Word, day and night!

Amen!


"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30)


(Image by Google)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

God bless you -- but you've completely got Transcendental Meditation all wrong. TM is a good thing. I know your intentions are good (I assume so, anyway), but you don't understand TM at all or how it relates to Christ or spirituality.

TM does not use the "Om" sound or the HIndu symbol you present. You might want to learn a little bit about it so you can speak intelligently on the subject, even if it still ends up being something you believe you should oppose. For a more accurate account, I recommend www.MeditationAsheville.org.

TM is the exact opposite of a "cult" and is totally compatible with Christianity. It is a secular practice that people of all religions can benefit from. I pray to Jesus that you get your facts straight and stop trying to create confusion about something that is helping so many people -- actually saving lives by reducing heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and other serious stress-related illnesses -- check out the NIH/AMA research. There is no other mind-body practice that has been found by scientific research to produce TM's positive range of effects. If something is good then it's good -- and Christ cannot be opposed to something that is good.

Thank you for being fair and allowing me to clarify.

Jimmy Goodman

The Bernie Lutchman Blog said...

Thanks for the input, Mr. Goodman and God bless you and yours as well!! Unlike some people who delete me from their groups...or call me names, am grateful for your civil discourse and comments here.

Am happy to be not a part of the TM movement, which has Hindu origins. If it works for you and many others, well, that's for you to sort out, sir!

The Simplicity and Wonder of Christ is enough for me...MORE than enough for me and I bless His Holy Name for that!! :-))

Drop by anytime. Am sure there are many who disagree with me who will benefit from your comments. I choose to be One Way...and one way only. God bless!!

Shalom