this musing was prompted by an
encounter with a stranger this morning.

my musings comprise a reflection on:

seeking direction
seeking answers
seeking peace

this afternoon, i have been seeking
to unpack what God was teaching
me through this encounter.

i believe that we are all searching for something,
with longings on all of our hearts and souls.

sometimes strangers may reveal to us what
they are seeking, and we may have an opportunity
to give them an answer, a direction, for their search.

seeking direction

this morning i decided to go on a really long walk:

to start my day,
to get some sunshine,
to regulate my Circadian rhythm,
to get a whole bunch of steps in,
to reward myself with some caffeine.

by long walk, i mean 45 minutes one way,
and 45 minutes the returning way.

when i was about 30 minutes into my walk,
i encountered an elderly man,
who was coming towards me.

i didn’t really register that he was lost,
but as i started to approach,
he waved at me to get my attention.

i had headphones on, and could not hear him,
so i took my headphones off and started to
learn where this man was trying to go.

he had a map from his hotel, and i slowly discovered
that he was heading in the complete opposite
direction to where he was meant to be going.

he was actually trying to head in the exact same
direction, and going to the same destination, as
where i was going, but i didn’t want to reveal that to him
(because strange danger is so engrained into me).

so i tried to course-correct him. we pulled up
Google Maps, and it turned out he had plugged
in the wrong address, and had set the route
to give directions for a car not pedestrian.

he ultimately was not following
either the physical or digital map.

his best efforts were leading him astray.

i tried to help him understand the direction of where
he had to go, but he was foreign, visiting the area.

i could tell he spoke German as his native tongue
due to his accent and pronunciation of words, and
found out subsequently that he was from Austria.

but the entire encounter felt symbolic to me.

he was going the wrong direction, he was lost;
he needed direction, guidance from being led astray.

even though i tried to give him the right directions, he had
never walked these streets before, and it meant that he
had no idea where i was actually instructing him to go.

he had no concept of the directions, because it
was a path that he had not yet walked before,
it was new terrain, a new journey.

it became apparent to me that the only way to help this man
find his path was for me to actually walk beside him, to walk with him,
so that he knew where he was going, and so he had assistance with
the directions, and was able to actually understand the path before him.

truly to me, the whole encounter was a picture
of what it’s like to follow and walk with Jesus.

we are all at risk of going astray, of mishearing directions,
of misapplying instructions, if we do not walk with Jesus.

even if we hear from God, and He places desires on our hearts,
directions for our longings, it doesn’t necessarily mean that
we understand how to walk in those longings, and how to walk
in those desires, and how to follow in His instruction for our lives.

we might receive direction and instruction from the Lord, from His Word,
but when it actually comes to then following them, we may not know
how to apply wisdom and head toward the destination that He has for us.

we need His constant guidance, assurance, and presence on our journey,
we need Him walking beside us, with us, because we will constantly need
to turn to Him for direction and confirmation that we are walking in the
right direction, and that we’re on the right path that He has for us.

the encounter was truly such a beautiful metaphor.

but it doesn’t end there.

God had more to teach me in this encounter with this man from Austria.

seeking an answer

i ended up spending 25 minutes with the man from Austria,
walking and talking as we headed toward our destination.

at first, i had just tried to give him directions and then go on
my own way, taking an alternate route to the same destination.

i was concocting scenarios in my head of how to escape the
situation, how to change routes so we didn’t overlap, without
coming across as obvious or being awkward by overlapping again.

but it became pretty clear to me in the first 5 minutes that the Lord
wanted me to walk with this man to the destination, and that i
needed to be obedient to that, even though i didn’t understand why.

something clicked when i realise that God was giving and presenting me
with an opportunity to lean into, to press into, to connect with Other.

so my mind started stirring with questions for God.

why this man?
what is this encounter for?
why is he here from Austria?

i wondered what the Lord wanted me to speak to this man.

why me, why him?
was there a reason for this overlapping of paths?

as we walked and talked i enquired as to why he was in Australia.

he mentioned that he was here for this conference, and he actually
gave me a business card for this event, which i will come back to.

he was here for the speaker, a man named Prem Rawat, who
the Austrian man had met when he was 20 years young.

essentially, the Austrian man had been following this leader, this speaker,
for 50 years of his life (!!). he literally travelled from Austria to Australia,
the other side of the world, to attend a 5 day conference to hear this man.

and i got the impression that he had done this before. that he had heard
Rawat speak at other events, around the world. the Austrian mentioned
that Rawat is often asked to present in many nations and at many events.

i was trying to digest and process all of this while also looking at what it
said on this little business card, which was headlined “words of peace”.

there was a quote on the back, which i tried to scan and read at the same
time as listening and walking with the man. as the gist of it registered in
my brain, it prompted my discernment, to think of Jesus’ words on peace.

but i wasn’t able to fully process the quote or words in the moment,
because i was trying to be attentive to the conversation and be present.

so as we kept on walking and talking, i wanted to ask him if there was a religious
underpinning to this conference, given the topic of peace and his mention of
“inner peace” and “meditation” and other practices in pursuit of “inner happiness”.

given the use of these terms, i sensed the conference was spiritual in nature.

so i was really curious, and it felt like that was the “in” that God had given me, to be able
to bring up my faith, to give an answer for the hope that i have, the peace that i have in Jesus.

the Austrian man had set the scene for that conversation to happen by mentioning
why he was here in Australia, which allowed me to ask clarifying questions.

so i asked about whether there was religious backing to it and he said, no.

but he said that Rawat says “if you’re a Christian, be a good Christian” “if you’re a Hindu, be a good Hindu”

my discernment bells were well and truly ringing at this.

it seemed to be that Prem Rawat was going for a non-religious angle, to try
and appeal to all religions, on a common ground of peace; this echoed
of a belief system that believes all world religions lead to one destination.

Rawat was naming and speaking to something that is commonly desired,
the notion of inner peace. peace is a core aspect of many religions, whether
in the form of a pursuit of peace or theology of peace. even national and global
beauty competitions can get behind this notion of promoting “world peace”.

so it got me thinking, how is Prem Rawat attracting such an audience?

for me, i believe that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, the source of Peace.
He is the only one who can truly bring peace to our hearts in a troubled world.

as i wondered about this, i also wondered about this Austrian man.

how do i broach this topic of faith with a stranger?
how do i bring up Jesus in this moment?

i prayed, asking God to give me the words, give me the wisdom.

how am i meant to address this?
how am i meant to witness?

a part of me felt in that moment
a real wrestle and tension within,
to just not mention Jesus at all.

but of course, even thinking that,
i started to feel really convicted.

i felt God press on my heart, that i was never going to see
this man again, and that this might be the only opportunity
that he has in his entire life for someone to bring up Jesus to him.

was i really going to ignore this opportunity,
for the sake of not wanting to feel awkward?

or was i actually going to lean in, be brave, bring it up, take a risk?

the Spirit truly gives us boldness, when we submit to God’s will, and when
we listen to the Spirit’s convictions stirring within, we receive wisdom.

in my mind, as i was walking and talking with the Austrian man, i was imagining
how he may react to the mention of Jesus. it helped me, to play out what the
worst case scenario might be. maybe he would get angry, or dismiss me.

this mental reasoning helped me see that i really had nothing to lose,
but that this man had everything to gain by knowing Jesus.

so who was i to disobey the opportunity that the Lord was entrusting to me?

i realise that what i was afraid of wasn’t a reason to hold back.

maybe the Enemy was really trying to persuade me
to just lean into my fears, my insecurity, to let anxiety win.

why was i worrying about how i would be perceived by an absolute stranger?

the entire wrestle and conversation, God was pressing on me,
that He was giving me an opportunity. and the question was:

was i going be obedient with what He was entrusting to me?

in our gospel community on Thursday night, we had been reading in 1 Peter 3,

“have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honour
Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence
to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” [14-15]

other translations phrase this as “be ready to give an answer” “be ready to explain”

it felt like God was giving me an opportunity to practice what we had learned,
in direct response to this teaching, to give a reason for the hope that i had.

i have been blessed throughout my life, to have had many
opportunities to bring up Jesus, to explain the hope that i have,
to answer when another asks after my faith and beliefs.

i reflected to my gospel community that each opportunity to share is unique.

i explained how each encounter and conversation needs to be tailored to the person,
getting a feel for their understanding, their curiosity, their heart, their beliefs.

this is also what Peter implies, that there is an openness required, an “ask”
from the Other, in order to provide an answer that will be received.

of course, we can give a reason for our hope, an explanation of our faith,
even without the “ask”, but this borders becoming forceful, or not received.

the heart of Other has to be open, willing, receptive, softened to hear.

it’s important to get a feel for the person, to understand what is going to be
the best way to approach the conversation, to explain with empathy.

there is a danger, that evangelism can lack common conversation etiquette.
that we miss the human, the heart, of the Other. that we come with our
own agenda, our own needs, instead of listening for the needs of Other.

i cringe when i see Christians bring up Jesus in a pushy way, a forceful way,
that sends Other into defensive mode, shutdown, unreceptive to the good news.

conversations are journeys, of their own right. each path, each tangent, may
be different from the last conversation. even if you try to have the same conversation
with two different people, those two conversations will never go the same way.

this is the beauty of conversation, of the journey into conversing with Other.

conversations with mutual asking and answering, seeking and understanding,
will naturally give way to opportunities to share from the heart, to share beliefs.

sharing Jesus can be done in a natural, organic way.

it is important that conversations lead both parties on a journey of trust,
of curiosity for the Other, of a desire to understand another’s heart.

it is also important to note that while matters of the heart and soul
may be broached by us – by our eloquent words, phrasing,
conversation – it is not us who can touch the hearts of Other.

God is the only one who can transform the heart,
who can ransom a soul in bondage to death into Life.

when we interact with Other, speak with Other, have opportunities like
i had with this Austrian man, it is God who is doing the inner work.

we may plant seeds, in conversations, but it is God who will tend to
to soil of another’s heart, in order that the seed may bear fruit.

it’s freeing, to think about this, as a partnership with God.
that our feeble attempts at providing an answer for our
hope are used by Him, to bring glory to His name.

seeking peace

in my conversation with the Austrian man, when i mentioned
that i was a Christian, he said that he was also a Christian.

i was actually was quite surprised by this, given the nature
of what i was reading on the business card, and what i had
understood of the conference from what he was telling me.

the teachings of Prem Rawat sounded very spiritual,
in a non-Christian sense, which made me concerned.

my discernment bells were ringing,
that the Austrian man was looking to Rawat
to be an authority on peace in his life:

giving him direction,
giving him a word on peace,
giving him practices like meditation.

i was concerned, because i wondered,

if this man is a Christian, why is he not looking to Christ?
why isn’t he looking to Jesus as his source of Peace?

i told the Austrian man that i found the conference topic of peace
very interesting, and pointed the quote on the back of the
business card that he had given me, and read it aloud to him:

“it is not the world that needs peace; it is people. when people
in the world are at peace within, the world will be at peace”

[Prem Rawat]

i told the Austrian man that the words sounds very similar
to Jesus’ words, and i then quoted to him the Scriptures:

“i have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. in the
world you will have trouble. but take heart, i have overcome the world”

[John 16:22]

that was the only opportunity i had, to mention to Jesus.

afterward, i felt confused, and wondered what God had been up to in that
conversation, when i felt that i was only able to give a small nugget of truth.

i reflected on the encounter with my gospel community chat, and noted that
initially, God was highlighting to me how my readiness and preparedness to give
an answer in that moment was very contingent on my memory of the Scriptures.

i told them that the more we commit God’s Word to our hearts, and memorise
Scripture, the more ready we can be for every topic or question brought up.

as i continued to reflect on the situation when walking home, i spoke to God,
“i feel like that was you, Lord. i feel like you gave me an opportunity there.”

but i was still a bit unsure about whether i actually made a difference
in this man’s life, and whether God really used me as a vessel,
when the Austrian man was already proclaiming to be a Christian

i might not ever understand what seed God was
asking me to sow in the soil of this man’s heart.

but a part of me has wondered whether my role was simply to give this man a gentle
nudge by way of discernment, to hold up the words of man against the word of God.

i hope and pray that maybe my mention of Jesus’ words over Rawat’s words,
has caused him to question the words, to plant a seed in his mind.

i was basically saying, here is the words of Rawat, a speaker you highly regard.
but here are the words of Jesus Christ, the man you confess to follow as a Christian.

i would love, and i’m really praying in this way, for him to go away and actually weigh
up the words of Rawat against Jesus, to compare and contrast and actually go:

“okay, Rawat is speaking words of peace, but look
at how Jesus’ says that he is the source of Peace”

because the Austrian man proclaims to be a Christian, who knows the Lord,
my hope and prayer is that he will truly hold Jesus as Lord of his heart.

maybe God will convict or nudge him in such a way to recognise and discern
what is and isn’t of Him. because i was not getting the sense that this conference
and these words of Rawat were of God. and since coming home and researching
more about Prem Rawat, and his Peace Education and Knowledge (PEAK), i am even
more concerned by Rawat’s teaching on aspiring to self-knowledge and inner peace.

while i left the Austrian man not feeling of my own accord
that the conversation achieved much, it did make me wonder
whether God ordained that conversation for him or for me.

did God give me that opportunity, to train me in my boldness for proclaiming Jesus?
did God give me that encounter, to refine my discernment of His word and truth?

regardless, i left that conversation more convinced of the power of God’s Word.

if i had not known Jesus words, i would not have been able to provide a defense (a reason)
for my source of peace in that moment when presented with an alternative word on peace.

the other thing God was teaching me in that encounter, was to pay attention to the
discernment he has given me. He was really confirming this spiritual gifting to my heart.

discernment has been something God has been refining in me over time.

i have a very real sense of discernment when i’m in certain places and meet certain people,
i can very much tell whether there is good or evil, light or darkness at play in the spiritual realm.

this has been refined in me overtime, through being exposed to places of Darkness.
the antennas of discernment go up when i experience heaviness or weightiness.

(interestingly, Rawat is from India, a place where i experienced this Darkness and heaviness.
there is a lot of spiritual warfare present in India, where many gods and spirits are welcomed
as guests into the homes of Indians, and where these prominent beliefs that self-knowledge
and consciousness can be attained are celebrated, encouraged and prevalent in the culture)

with discernment, also comes responsibility. i do need to be cautious to also
discern the difference between my own intuition and spiritual discernment.

it’s heard to explain, but here are my attempts to:

usually when there is evil spirits at work, i sense a lot of darkness and torment.

usually when there is slight distortion of truth, whether in teaching or conversation,
i usually feel as thought my mind becomes a machine, mentally turning heavy cogs in
a wheel, trying to understand the problem or slight variation from truth that i perceived.

all of this to say, the latter example was what was happening while speaking to the Austrian man,
my mental machine was trying to understand what didn’t quite sit right about this “inner peace” talk.

the entire encounter was really a confirmation
that i do have this gift of discernment.

this gift that God has asked me to steward
is not just for me though, it’s also for Other.

and this thinking overlaps with my last post
on stewarding the Self, for the sake of God and Other.

i haven’t really contemplated or understood before how i am
to steward this gift of discernment for the sake of Other,
but i think today God gave me a clear example of someone
who needed gentle correction and nudging towards the Word.

he was a proclaimed Christian. he should not be subscribing
to non-Christian ethos around a theology of peace.

unfortunately, it’s that plain and simple.

i did actually ask him, whether he felt he had truly experienced
“inner peace” and the “inner happiness” that Rawat teaches on.

he said yes.

it made me feel sad for this man, because i know that if that
peace and joy is not from Christ, then it is a counterfeit.

it may provide temporary benefit, but not eternal salvation.

there are many other spirits and belief systems at play in this world,
that love to promise that peace and joy and knowledge is possible.

but these are empty promises offering temporary illusions.

there is only one Teacher, one source of Peace and Joy and Truth,
that we should be turning to if we want everlasting life:

“but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that i have said to you”

[John 14:26]

God the Father sends us His Spirit, to be our Teacher (“to teach us in all things”)

this means that our knowledge of the truth is not even reliant or dependant on our
memorisation and remembrance of scripture. God knows the frailty of our memories.

we can trust that the Spirit will teach us and instruct us in any given moment, if we seek Him.

when we seek direction and instruction
when we seek to give an answer or explain
when we seek peace and truth

we can rest in the Spirit, for:

“when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own
authority, but whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

[John 16:13]

and this is something we can all be discerning in:
if we listen to speakers, teachers, what authority are they claiming?

by what merit is Prem Rawat claiming to be an authority on inner peace and self-knowledge?

Jesus speaks on His Father’s authority.

Paul speaks to how it is the Father who ” may grant you to be strengthened with power
through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…”

[ephesians 3:16-17]

when we walk with Jesus, we do not walk by our own strength and might. we depend, just as
Jesus depended, on our Father. He has given us His Spirit, a power that is not our own.

far grater than inner peace, is this invitation to be strengthened with power in our inner being,
with the Spirit of the Living God making a home within us, with Christ dwelling in our hearts.

this is the knowledge, the power, the hope that we can hold fast to as Christians.

the inner Self, the inner being as Paul calls it,
is what teachers like Rawat are appealing to.

but while Rawat speaks to us being able to refine inner strength,
as Christians, we understand that our strength is not our own.

similarly, while Rawat speaks to finding inner peace within ourselves,
Jesus’ speaks to peace as His, a gift from Him, as a fruit of the Spirit in us.

“peace i leave with you; my peace i give to you. not as the world gives
do i give to you. let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid”

[John 14:27]

while Prem Rawat and this Austrian man subscribe to the belief that
inner peace is possible, and that it is the solution to the world’s troubles,
Jesus calls our attention to himself. He declares that peace is found
in him, and that it comes from him. any peace we are to experience
in this world, in the face of troubles, comes from Him, our Overcomer.

while Prem Rawat and this Austrian man practice self-knowledge
techniques and meditation to obtain inner peace, we are invited
to meditate on the Word, and to be still in the knowledge of God.

ultimately, the danger with teachings such as Rawat’s
is the dilution of arguably religious/spiritual teachings
into a form that no longer holds power or hope.

Rawat stands behind the universal message that
the experience of personal peace is possible.

a love of peace is not wrong, but Rawat does not offer
a theology of peace that leads to everlasting life and hope.

only Jesus can offer that.

when Judgement comes, Rawat will have to give an answer of his own,
and stand before the Living God, giving an account of his life,
and explaining why he pointed people inwards instead of to God.

(more on this: i was deeply concerned when researching this conference that this Austrian man was
attending, to discover that this is an exclusive, closed community, in that a prerequisite to
attendance is “anyone who has been taught the techniques of Self-Knowledge is welcome”

is this not a red flag, discernment bell, of it’s own accord, to a cultish system? beware of
prerequisites like this when it comes to spiritual promises of hope, peace, joy, life, knowledge.

beware of promotion of self-knowledge, even if there are claims of non-religion. for this is
often Hinduism camouflaged, as Hindus believe self-knowledge is the ultimate goal in life).

there has been a lot that God has been teaching me,
from just one random encounter this morning.

similar to last week’s blog post, on paying attention to the way God has made us,
i hope today’s post is a reminder to pay attention when God gives us opportunities.

He will give us opportunities, to be bold and brave in our God-given Self; to not
allow the perception of Other to prevent us from speaking Life and Truth to Other.

but He will also give us opportunities to understand and love Other, through
relationships, through conversations; with no agenda other than to Love Other.

i honestly did not have an agenda with this Austrian man,
and i got the sense that he didn’t have an agenda either.

it was a mutual, passing conversation as we were walking,
where we were each able to share something of our Self.

i hope the Austrian man was also able recognises that God was behind our meeting.
that God was orchestrating our encounter, and had something to say to both of us.

and so to finish, let me ask you a question
i used to love asking Other, that i have
recently been trying to ask myself more:

“what has God been teaching you lately?”

are you willing and able to listen, to lean in:

to the opportunities He places before you,
to the people He places around you,
to the gifting He has placed in you?

let us be discerning, and obedient.


Xxx

.

relevant blogs:

there is so much more Apologetic angles i could go in relation
to this post, but i have touched a few of these concepts before:

– Biblical meditation vs Eastern meditation
– Discernment in the face of spiritual Darkness
– Deconstructing “prophets” of religions claiming non-religion
– Confronting alternate belief systems, e.g. esoteric Christianity, Gnosticism

(final end note, and thought rambling, reflecting on my past posts of this nature.
God seems to also provide me with interactions and exposure to beliefs at play
in this world, which usher forth a need for discernment as Christians. there are
many subtle messages, well-meaning movements, attractive programs out there. but
many only lead down paths of destructions, camouflaged as paths of righteousness.
unfortunately, because other religions are not monotheistic, they can sometimes claim
to be religion-neutral. for example, Hindus, because of their belief in many gods, may
claim to be Christian, when these religions cannot co-exist in the eyes of God. God is
very clear that we are to have no other gods before Him. beware of anyone or anything
that elevates itself, it’s knowledge, it’s power, it’s peace, it’s teaching, above God’s.)