Seeking Christ II: Can We Find Our Way?

By David A Jamadar

Seeking Christ II is a "how to" book hopefully helping us to understand some of the practices that we can employ to move closer to our Holy Father. Mostly based on the experiences of the author, it starts with trying to understand why we should even want to get to know Christ, then it discusses what the Bible calls "flesh" and the "old man," referred to in these pages as the ego. Most of the book describes methods or practices which suggest how we may move into relationship with Christ as we align ourselves with our Holy Father. Discussed are a powerful prayer of surrender, what it means to be "born again," how one may "see" with the "eye of the heart," and how we may function as optimal conduits for the gifts of the Spirit. Brief descriptions of surrender, mindfulness, and divine reading and the idea of hearing from God are included. Finally, some ideas are presented that have stymied and continue to challenge the author, ending with a summary of the author's understanding one perspective of who we truly are (the new man) and how we may optimize our efforts to be receptive to the wishes of our Holy Father as we function as a conduit for the gifts of the Spirit.

The author was encouraged to write this book by an encounter with the Holy Spirit over a week-long period of time and has included some testimonies and other interactions scattered throughout the text. The author has tried to offer a Biblical scriptural basis for his conclusions obtained mostly through study and prayer but also through interaction with the Holy Spirit. This book is offered in prayer with the hope that something in these pages may help the reader develop a stronger, intimate, and more loving relationship with our Holy Father.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9798887512068

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Seeking Christ II

Can We Find Our Way?

David A Jamadar

ISBN 979-8-88751-204-4 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88751-206-8 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by David A Jamadar

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

All scriptures, unless otherwise stated, are taken from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Endorsement

Acknowledgment

Introduction

Getting Started

The Pesky Ego

A Prayer of Surrender

A Couple of Mystical Concepts

Surrender, Mindfulness, and Divine Reading

Relationship: Speaking to and Hearing from God

Odds and Ends

Putting It All Together

About the Author

Endorsement

This is a book about Christian spirituality, written by a genuine and brave seeker—David Jamadar. In expressing my admiration for his work, I must also confess my bias: David is my older brother.

The canonical gospels encourage asking, seeking, and knocking, assuring all persons that everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and for everyone who knocks the door will be opened and promising that the Divine will…give good things to those who ask God! (Matthew 7:7–8, 11). This guidance is also found in the gospel of Thomas, with some nuances: Jesus said, ‘Let one who seeks not stop seeking until one finds. When one finds, one will be troubled. When one is troubled, one will marvel and will reign over all…When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you will dwell in poverty (vain), and you are poverty (vanity)' (Thomas, Logion 2 and 3).

Spirituality may be thought of as a fundamental aspect of what it means to be fully human. It necessarily also includes the lived experiences, which actualize these aspects of human existence. In Christian traditions, it involves transformation, new life, and being fully alive—vivified. Gloria Dei est vivens homo (The glory of God is the alive human) (Irenaeus of Lyons, second-century church father) In Against Heresies (4.20.7), Irenaeus wrote: For the glory of God is a living man (vivens homo); but the life of man comes from the vision of God…the revelation of the Father which comes through the Word gives life to those who see God. This mystical insight speaks to the inherent dignity of all humanity, fulfilled in and through truly life-giving relationships with God, all others, and all creation. (Matthew 22: 36-40) Indeed, Christian spirituality is premised on the ontological reality that in God we live and move and have our being', that ‘we are God's offspring. (Acts 17:28). Thus, for some, God is experienced as the ground of being itself, being itself and the basis of all things (Paul Tillich, Exodus 4, I Am Who I Am). Every (other) being is in being itself and has the inherent capacity and power to participate in the ground of being.

Christian mystic Meister Eckhart's insight is that for a person to be born in Christ also requires a breakthrough of the person into themselves, into their own true being. In Sermon 46, Eckhart says, Whoever would enter God's ground, His inmost part must first enter his own ground, his inmost part, for none can know God who does not first know himself. In this we see resonances with Logion 3 of the gospel of Thomas. Thus, for Eckhart, we all have a depth of being that intersects with the Divine. As he put it, God's ground is my ground, and my ground is God's ground. His mystical ontological insight is that God is not out there somewhere beyond us but rather already and always present within. That human awareness of and responsiveness to this inner divine presence is obstructed by habitual attachments. He says that the way to experience union with God, which is the birthright and potential of every person, is to strip away these attachments. For him, even our methods for achieving this ascent of the person are themselves attachments that, no matter how helpful, must also in the end be stripped away. Indeed, even all our cherished images, ideas, or experiences of and about God must in due course be recognized as attachments and transcended for union with God beyond God. In the Christian tradition, this is very much about the fullness of humanity and all creation finding and expressing themselves in and through the ground of all things in love.

This publication documents with sincerity David's unfolding journey with God. It documents his subjective experiences, experimentations, reflections, and insights including mystical experiences that he shares with candor as he seeks understanding and explanations grounded in and linked to his own phenomenological and experientially oriented biblical exegesis, which critically can also be considered eisegesis. What shines through the entire work is an inspired and earnest context of asking, seeking, knocking, and a courage to embrace being troubled. This leads to repeated experiences of marvel as grace and gift are received through his ever-deepening intimacy with the divine Holy Spirit. In a real sense, his is what one may call a biblical spirituality, a spirituality that draws on the stories, teachings, revelations and the example of the life and death-resurrection of Jesus for its convictions about the spiritual path and the meaning of human life and purpose.

For anyone who wants to travel, discover, and learn with a fellow sojourner, this is a wonderfully enlightening read. It invites the reader to pause, taste for themselves, and choose what is offered. One may be surprised, challenged, and inspired, and—like David—caught up in the embrace of dancing with the Divine. Interwoven through his story is his own mystical reading and hermeneutic of scripture, which reveals its healing and life-giving power. Text becomes a mediator of meaning for David, which takes place within him and provides doors and gates—expressions he uses—to insights and levels of consciousness. Jesus is both model (as paradigm) and enabler (who affects through the Holy Spirit transformation of the person, which he witnesses to). It's a process of ‘Christification' in which he, like Paul, finds truth in Christ. In Paul's words, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), for all of you who were baptised into Christ have been clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:26–27); for in Christ all the fulness of the deity lives (Colossians 2:9). In him all things hold together (Colossians 1: 16–17).

I would encourage everyone to read what is shared in these pages. Many will find inspiration. For those who are called, this is an invitation into a deeper life in the Spirit. For this we owe David a debt of gratitude, as this is another offering of his for the building up of the kingdom of God.

—Peter Jamadar

Polina, I am so proud of the young lady you are becoming. For Polina (sixteen years) and her mother Svetlana, Masha (ten years) and her mother Anastasia, Ksenia (seven years) and her mother Tatiana, Sophia (thirteen years) and her mother Nataliya, and Daniel (seven years) and his parents Irina and Alex for helping me understand a little of what courage, determination, and loyalty truly mean in the face of the indescribable horror in Ukraine.

Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:14 KJV)

It seems that effort is required, and we must want to find our way.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

Help is available, and I am learning within reach—if we would but accept it.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

We must transmit or reflect the light, not look to our environment to find it.

Acknowledgment

I am grateful to my brothers Peter and Richard for their ideas, criticisms, and encouragement. I am indebted to my friends Venkat and Roromu for their discussions and support. I am thankful for Karen B. and the team at Christian Faith Publishing for transforming the manuscript into something readable. Last and most importantly, to the Holy Spirit for His hands-on interaction and direction as I grappled with ideas and concepts that were not always mainstream. Without your contributions, help, and encouragement, I would have been unable to complete this book.

Introduction

I had just completed my first ever book, Seeking Christ: Testimonies, Thoughts, and a Dash of Dogma, and I was exhausted. I had been working on it for more than four years, and it had been a struggle. It was at the publishers, which was a different kind of struggle, and I was done; I did not want to write again. I heard from the Holy Spirit that I needed to write another book, prompting me to tell the Holy Spirit that I did not think that I was able to write at this time. I heard the same thing again and I responded by saying that the first book was not even published yet and I was not ready to write anything more. I heard the same thing yet again, and I said to the Holy Spirit that I did not understand and anyway, I had nothing more to add and why did I need to write another book? I heard from the Holy Spirit that in the first book, I did not write about how someone may find God. I said to the Holy Spirit that all I knew was contained in the first book; I had nothing more to add and anyway, people are smart and they would figure out how to find their way. I decided that I was not going to write this second book. I had a week of vacation coming up, and I was going to relax and do nothing productive. If you have ever written a book, you will understand that it requires a certain mindset, motivation, and momentum to start and to keep going until completion. I had lost my focus, and I was not ready to write again—perhaps ever again. I was just not in the appropriate frame of mind. However, the Holy Spirit seemed to have another plan.

The first night of my vacation, I was woken up in the middle of the night with ideas for a new book, which I wrote on the pad at my bedside—something I have learned to do as this is one way that the Holy Spirit communicates with me. This went on for the whole vacation, at the end of which I had written twenty-five pages of notes. It seemed that the Holy Spirit was serious about my writing a second book—this book. It would take me many months of study and prayer to put it all together, and later the Holy Spirit would give me a deadline, but that is a testimony for later.

How do we get closer to Christ? Are there specific things that we should do? Are there certain methods that work better than others? With what attitude, should we approach this process? How important is our intention and determination? All of the methods described in these pages, suggestions to help us get closer to our Holy Father, which include fasting and attending church, are practices that in my experience have been shown to move us into an awareness of God and into a relationship with our Creator. These few practices described within are only those that I have encountered in my limited experience but seem to facilitate in us a change into the new man (Ephesians 4:24) and help us to renew our minds (Romans 12:2). This change, this repentance, seems to be what is required of us as we make the choice to seek Christ even as we live our lives in the natural world.

Please understand that what follows comes with my perspectives and biases but, I believe, with some Holy Spirit insights. It seems that these methods, techniques, or practices described here—perhaps any method which includes attending church as a practice to bring us closer into a relationship with our Holy Father—is just a method. It seems that our intent and desire are more important than any practice. However, these practices may provide the opportunity for us to be receptive and open to a relationship with our Creator. I am finding that different methods may reinforce each other, suggesting that there is probably no single best practice. I believe that we must understand and use each method appropriately by way of trust and surrender as we step forward and seek Christ.

What I write here may be considered controversial, but I have had so many positive interactions with the Holy Spirit that I believe that there is some value in what follows. I feel a sense of urgency about this which I do not understand, but I have tried my best to honor this. I pray that someone, somewhere finds something in these pages that takes them a step closer into a more intimate and loving relationship with our Holy Father.

Chapter 1

Getting Started

How to begin? Where to start? How to begin this book? Where to start seeking Christ? Sometimes getting started is the most difficult thing for us, the hardest to initiate. Once we get going, things seem to flow a little better, and of course, there is the end to a book; but our journey toward Christ does not seem to have an end, and we have to realize this at the start. It is a walk with a wonderful companion, with indescribable experiences, but with no end in sight. The absence of a specific destination takes the pressure off, leaving it up to us to take action as we are led by the Holy Spirit. Who would not want to do this? But it seems that it is the first step that is always difficult. How do we start on our walk?

We live in the natural world where we and our environment change with time. Challenges like aging, accidents, illnesses like cancer and, eventually, death are inevitable. This is our journey in the natural world, and we have to learn how to negotiate and deal with all these interactions and occurrences that we encounter throughout our lives. Perhaps this is what the following scripture means: For each one shall bear his own load (Galatians 6:5). But it seems that in addition to living life in the natural world, we must find our way to Christ. We seek Christ not to get something worldly for ourselves, but instead so that we may give something back according to the wishes of our Holy Father: Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8).

With a background of a committed spiritual practice, I believe that our inclination is to move closer into a relationship with our Holy Father. We know this is happening when there is a demonstration in our lives of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23), a state of existence where we are less attached to our ego (we can freely give), and we can allow love to flow through us. Perhaps this is what Jesus is hinting at when He says, You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39), and Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends (John 15:13). Could it be that when we exist in a state where we freely give, we may be an example to others, shining like a light, as we get closer to our Holy Father? Let your light so shine before men (Matthew 5:16).

It seems that on our own, we are not able to develop a relationship with God for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). So, what do we do? How may we find guidance to move in the correct direction? Thomas asked this question to Jesus, who responded, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). It seems that the example of Jesus's life would be a good place to start. Thankfully, help has been provided for us—something that is reassuring to me.

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 things that I said to you. (John 14:26)

And we should trust this helper, this spirit of God. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 4:6). It seems that we can find our way toward God through Jesus Christ with help from the Holy Spirit. I have used God, Holy Father, Creator, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit interchangeably throughout this book to mean God our Creator, and I hope that the reader can have patience with me.

Please understand that this is one individual's perspective, and of course, it can only be one of potentially many pathways. I will try to present to you, from my experience and study, what I have learned and how I have started to move along the path, some of the difficulties that I have encountered, and some of what I have experienced along the way. I am learning that these different experiences that we may encounter are nothing more than signposts, many of which, I believe, indicate that we are moving in the correct direction along our unique pathway to develop a relationship with our Holy Father through Jesus Christ by way of the Holy Spirit.

A first step

So, what is this first step? What do we need to do to get started on our journey? It seems to me that the first step is the desire to take the step. We must want to do this. We must want to get closer to our Lord Jesus Christ. Without this desire, for many of us, we probably cannot develop the impetus to get started. Seeking Christ is a little like repentance; we must want to repent, then we must take an action that demonstrates (both to ourselves and God) our desire to repent as just wanting to repent without doing something about it is not enough (metanoia [repent]—a change of mind, a change of direction). Similarly, we must want to get to know our Lord Jesus Christ, then we must take some action. Just wanting to know Christ is not enough. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:22). So, how do we know that we want to know Christ, and what are these actions that we may take?

How do we know?

I believe that this is an individual desire and different for each of us, so what I write will not be exhaustive, and I ask for the reader's patience with me. When we want to know Christ more, we may find ourselves asking questions, usually of people who we believe should know. The interesting thing is that the answers that we often get may not satisfy us. We seem to want to ask more questions. I find myself asking why? and how? a lot. The other thing we may find is that we may change our normal routines and inclinations. For example, we may find that we prefer to look at different movies, perhaps those with less violence. We may start to read spiritual books. We may read the Bible or read about the Bible and feel the desire to read more. We may find ourselves interested in spiritual music, and we may want to listen to spiritual music at home. We may want to sing about things of God. We may go to church more often and enjoy it. We may pay attention to the sermon in church instead of being distracted by the activity in church. We may talk to our friends about God. We may want to make new friends who talk about things of God. We may listen to one of those Jesus people and find what they are saying is somewhat interesting. It seems that this interest, this desire to know Christ, is present in all of us, but the circumstances in our natural lives have pushed this faint desire so far out of our consciousness that we may not be aware that it even exists within us.

What actions may we take?

This is what this book is about, and in the following chapters, I will do my best to present to you as simply as I can those actions that have worked for me as well as a few that have worked for my brothers and sisters in Christ. Please understand that this is only one person's perspective and, therefore, cannot be exhaustive. To start, we can look at how one may begin the journey. If you have read this far, it seems that you too may have this desire, which is a good place to start, or to continue as you walk toward a relationship with God.

Why do this?

Why should we want to do this? Why should we want to get to know Christ more? When my brother Richard asked me this question, I realized that I did not have a good answer for him. Did I even know why I wanted to follow Christ? The correct answers would probably be something like to go to heaven, to have eternal life, to have our sins forgiven, to be at peace, to have no worries. But why was I trying to follow Christ?

When I dug deep, I realized that I was doing this because I believed that it was the right thing to do. When I told him this, my brother said, Good luck with having anyone want to listen to what you have to say. I guess doing the right thing is not a compelling reason in the natural world to generate interest. I had the experience of being a conduit for at least six of the gifts of the Holy Spirit—up to and including laying on of hands and being a conduit for healing—surely I had something to offer. Would no one want to hear what I had