tradition – Disciple Up

Disciple Up # 286
Positive & Negative Energy
By Louie Marsh, 11-29-2022

Dear Louie Marsh,

My name is Xavier. I am emailing you as I been meaning to bounce some ideas off you and wanting to hear some truth and depth to them. First, I apologize for how long it took to get this going as I am a double major student, step-father/father (however you want to put it haha), and I am playing basketball professionally in Armenia away from my family. I listen to your podcast when I feel I need encouragement or guidance. Recently though I been finding myself more in tune with who I am needed to become and willing to accept the challenges. I am 28 years old and excited with my journey in the Lord so far.

My subject title “Positive and Negative” came a few months back when I was with my sister in law and heard she doesn’t believe in negative energy or negative forces but says positive energy is real. She isn’t one to believe in the Word. But she isn’t one to just ignore it. I feel that the childhood her and my wife were brought into was a blinded truth and left in darkness. I have been working with my wife on her own discipleship but this is besides the point haha.

Anyway, I am curious, what is there that proves negative energy/forces do exist? Where am I able to show this? Explain more in depth how they work. In a sense of how one knows it’s a positive or negative influence upon them. I have tried to show with actions and not words as this side of the family is much more about the actions. But I believe if having words with my actions align then the course of light will dim on them more and allow them to find a truth by following the light.

I believe, after just listening to your stewardship part 5 on children, ministry, and weakness, that my gift is to help with action. I am a huge go getter in terms of achieving. I have had many downfalls but I’ve had many successions. For one addiction. Two being patient. These are just a couple of downfalls I have very strongly yet lead to even greater achievements. Which aren’t even my accolades.

I hope this is something you’re willing to share and talk about. I apologize again for my long await and for the word email.

Feel free to email me and just know I’m always listening!

Peace be with you.

Thank you,

Dear Xavier,

Thanks so much for writing – twice in one week! That’s a big encouragement! Oh, by the way, this is my personal email address. It’s just easier to answer from here so that’s what I usually do.

Sorry it’s taking me so long to get back to you but things around here are keeping me busy. As a Father, husband and basketball player I’m sure you know all about that. So this e-mail will just focus on your question about positive and negative energy and I’ll cover some of the rest in another one. I’m also thinking about making this a subject of a podcast soon.

You asked: “Anyway, I am curious, what is there that proves negative energy/forces do exist? Where am I able to show this? Explain more in depth how they work. In a sense of how one knows it’s a positive or negative influence upon them. I have tried to show with actions and not words as this side of the family is much more about the actions. But I believe if having words with my actions align then the course of light will dim on them more and allow them to find a truth by following the light.”

Notice I put parts of what you wrote in bold, because you are really asking two (at least) different questions here. The first one is does positive or negative energy exist? That’s a good question since so many people just assume they do in fact exist. When you talk to them about it they’ll reference times when they felt positive or negative energy from someone or something as proof of this. But is it true?

My answer is a hard no. There’s nothing in the Bible nor science to prove or even suggest that people can somehow transmit any kind of energy between us. You’ll notice that unlike our current culture the Bible doesn’t talk about positive or negative at all. The Bible focuses us on what’s true and false. This is critical because the truth can often feel (and even be) negative, while what’s false often feels very, very good, at least at first (ask anyone addicted to anything).

So how do we explain these feelings? For example when you stand up before a crowd to perform, as you do in basketball and I work before crowds when I speak, you often feel approval and support, or disapproval and a lack of support. Many people will say that’s positive or negative energy that’s being transmitted to them. Many musicians often say they are carried along by the positive energy of their audience, or they can be brought down by the negative energy they feel.

So what’s happening if science and the Bible are right and there’s no energy moving around here? It’s very simple actually. You can get a good reading on whether or not the people in the audience are in favor of you or not by their body language and what they say of course. Then you react to this and if you’re feeling support that opens up your adrenal glands and you feel that sudden surge of energy. If you were receiving other people’s energy you wouldn’t feel so drained after a performance. But most of the time we do because we are drawing upon our adrenal reserves and once those are exhausted we need rest.

There’s no positive or negative energy involved at all. Just the human reaction to being supported or not supported. It’s really quite simple when you look at it from a factual point of view.

Now that doesn’t mean you can’t and shouldn’t be a good influence on others (your second question). I do want to be a good witness to others and to be as supportive of them as I can be. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if I’m succeeding at that or not. I think the best way to know for sure is to either watch them closely and see how they respond to your efforts or just ask them! That way you’ll know for sure what they think.

So I hope this has helped you a bit. Let me know if I’ve missed the point or have been unclear. I’d like to know what you think of all this.

God bless you and keep on walking with Jesus!

but test everything; hold fast what is good. – 1 Thess. 5:21

Disciple Up #194
Tradition & Change
By Louie Marsh, 1-13-2021

Intro. Tradition and me

Let’s begin with this…

We stay because Anatevka is our home… And how do we keep our balance?

That I can tell you in one word… Tradition.”

(Chorus)

Tradition, tradition… tradition

(Tevye)

“Because of our traditions, we’ve kept our balance for many, many years.

Here in Anatevka we have traditions for everything…

how to eat, how to sleep, even, how to wear clothes.

For instance, we always keep our heads covered and always wear a little prayer shawl…

This shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, how did this tradition start?

I’ll tell you – I don’t know. But it’s a tradition…

Because of our traditions, everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do.”

– -By Joseph Stein

My history with Tradition: High School and College days, early ministry and gradual changes, probably brought about by finally winning some and making some progress.

Great Historical Example:

The year was 1492, a mere 37 years after Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type. Already, the new technology of printing books was threatening old ways. The Benedictine abbot Johannes Trithemius published a book entitled In Praise of Scribes, in which he defended the use of pen, ink, and vellum. “Printed books will never be the equivalent of handwritten codices,” he argued. Ironically, Trithemius took his book to a printer in Mainz and had it published for wider distribution.

Like Trithemius, evangelical Christians have been both media conservationists and media innovators. We love our leather-bound Bibles, yet eagerly use Biblegateway.com‘s full text-search capabilities to compare 20 English translations.

Positive Uses of Tradition in Scripture:

“²Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.” (1 Corinthians 11:2, ESV)

“⁶Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.” (2 Thessalonians 3:6, ESV)

Negative Uses of Tradition in Scripture:

“¹³thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”” (Mark 7:13, ESV)

“²“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” ³He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ⁵But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” ⁶he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.” (Matthew 15:2–6, ESV)

“¹⁴And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.” (Galatians 1:14, ESV)

“⁸See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8, ESV)

Biggest change in my life – I’m able today to view tradition from a much more balanced and mature and objective position.

Please Get In Touch!

Email – louie@discipleup.org