No Hurry

One barrier to full intimacy with the Savior is hurriedness. Intimacy may not be rushed. To meet with the Son of God takes time.

We can't dash into His presence and choke down spiritual inwardness before we hurry to our one o'clock appointment. Inwardness is time-consuming, open only to minds willing to sample spirituality in small bites, savoring each one.

Intimacy with Christ comes from entering His presence with inner peace rather than bursting into His presence from the hassles of life.

A relaxed contemplation of the indwelling Christ allows for an inner communion impossible to achieve while oppressed by busyness and care.

Holy living is not abrupt living.

No one who hurries into the presence of God is content to remain for long.

Those who hurry in, hurry out.

(Calvin Miller)

Don’t be Offended!

"And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."

It is sometimes very difficult not to be offended in Jesus Christ.

The offenses may be circumstantial.

I find myself in a prison-house – a narrow sphere, a sick chamber, an unpopular position – when I had hoped for wide opportunities. Yes, but He knows what is best for me. My environment is of His determining. He means it to intensify my faith, to draw me into nearer communion with Himself, to ripen my power. In the dungeon, my soul should prosper.

The offense may be mental.

I am haunted by perplexities, questions, which I cannot solve. I had hoped that, when I gave myself to Him, my sky would always be clear; but often it is overspread by mist and cloud. Yet let me believe that, if difficulties remain, it is that I may learn to trust Him all the more implicitly – to trust and not be afraid. Yes, and by my intellectual conflicts, I am trained to be a tutor to other storm-driven men.

The offense may be spiritual.

I had fancied that within His fold I should never feel the biting winds of temptation; but it is best as it is. His grace is magnified. My own character is matured. His Heaven is sweeter at the close of the day. There I shall look back on the turnings and trials of the way, and shall sing the praises of my Guide.

So, let come what will come, His will is welcome; and I shall refuse to be offended in my loving Lord.

(Luke 7:23) (Alexander Smellie: Streams in the Desert)

The Martyr Watchers

The Communists were vicious to ministers.

One minister's family was captured in Inchon, Korea, and the communist leaders put them on what they called a "People's Trial." The accusers would say, "One man is guilty of causing this kind of sin, and for that kind of sin it is proper that he be punished." The only response then given would be a chorus of voices agreeing, "Yah, Yah!"

This time they dug a large hole, putting the pastor, his wife, and several of his children in.

The leader then spoke, "Mister, all these years you misled the people with the superstition of the Bible. Now if you will publicly disclaim it before these people, and repent of this misdemeanor, then you, your wife, and your children will be freed. But if you persist in your superstitions, all of your family is going to be buried alive. Make a decision!"

All of his children then blurted, "Oh Daddy! Daddy! Think of us! Daddy!"

Think of it. If you were in his place, what would you do? I am the father of three children, and would almost feel like going to hell rather than see my children killed. This father was shaken. He lifted up his hands and said, "Yes, yes, I"ll do it. I am going to denounce...my..."

But before he could finish his sentence his wife nudged him, saying, "Daddy! Say NO!"

"Hush children," she said. "Tonight we are going to have supper with the King of kings, the Lord of lords!" She led them in singing "In the Sweet By and By," her husband and children following, while the Communists began to bury them. Soon the children were buried, but until the soil came up to their necks they sang, and all the people watched.

God did not deliver them, but almost all of those people who watched this execution became Christians, many now members of my church. Through their suffering the grace of redemption flowed.

God gave his only begotten Son to be crucified on the cross so that this world could be saved and redeemed. That is God"s uppermost goal – the redemption of souls.

So when you desire divine healing, or an answer from above, always focus through the lenses of the uppermost goal, the redeeming of souls.

If you see that your suffering brings about more redemption than your healing, then do not ask for deliverance, but ask God to give you strength to persevere.

(Dr. David Yonggi Cho: The Book of Jesus)

Who is Jesus to Me?

Jesus is the Word to be spoken

Jesus is the truth to be told

Jesus is the way to be walked

Jesus is the light to be lit

Jesus is the life to be lived

Jesus is the love to be loved

Jesus is the joy to be shared

Jesus is the peace to be given

Jesus is the hungry to be fed

Jesus is the thirst to be satiated

Jesus is the naked to be clothed

Jesus is the homeless to be taken in

Jesus is the sick to be healed

Jesus is the lonely to be loved

Jesus is the unwanted to be wanted

Jesus is the leper to wash his wounds

Jesus is the beggar to give him a smile

Jesus is the drunkard to listen to him

Jesus is the mentally ill to protect him

Jesus is the little one to embrace him

Jesus is the blind to lead him

Jesus is the dumb to speak for him

Jesus is the crippled to walk with him

Jesus is the drug addict to befriend him

Jesus is the prostitute to remove from danger and befriend her

Jesus is the prisoner to be visited

Jesus is the old to be served

To me:

Jesus is my God

Jesus is my spouse

Jesus is my life

Jesus is my only love

Jesus is my all in all

Jesus is my everything

Jesus, I love with my whole heart, with my whole being. I have given Him all, even my sins, and He has espoused me to Himself in all tenderness and love.

(Mother Teresa)

Who is Your Master?

The Christian attitude toward work is truly revolutionary.

Think what it would do to the economy and the entire fabric of life if the question were asked daily, in the kitchen, in the office, the schoolroom, the plant:

"Who is your master?"

And the answer were given:

"Christ is my Master, whose slave I am."

It would transform in a stroke not only the worker's attitude toward the boss, but his attitude toward those who work with him.

No longer would he be scheming ways to outdo them, cheat them, gain preference over them in the employer's eyes.

He would not be seeking ways to evade work that he doesn't like and letting George do it.

It would change his attitude toward the work itself because he would do it not for show, not for promotion or bonuses or compliments or the free trip to Las Vegas, but with single-mindedness, for Christ.

It would change the quality of the work, for he has a Master who sees what no other overseer could spot: not only every detail of the work done, but the intentions of the heart.

The workman would know that the work, no matter how demeaning it might otherwise be, however routine, how humble, really does matter.

It will be noticed.






(Discipline: The Glad Surrender, Elisabeth Elliot)

Unsettled

Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel.

I suppose the moral is that you should be thankful

when the Lord empties you from vessel to vessel;

changes your circumstances,

upsets your comfort.

The art of winemaking involves stages. Wine must be moved from vessel to vessel along the way. Each stage of winemaking requires a vessel of different size, shape, and construction. Each stage accomplishes something different
for the final product—the wine that is becoming. At each stage, the dregs have settled to the bottom and must be strained out to prevent the ruin of the wine. The stage at which a wine must be emptied from one vessel to another is not a static and predictable period. Only the winemaker can tell.

Learn the ways of the Winemaker. Don’t be discouraged or frightened when the shape of your life and the construction of your days seem to be changing. God will not let you sit on your dregs. Unlike Moab, you will not stay in the same place. You will not be locked into your immaturity, retaining the same aroma as in your youth. He is ripening you, fermenting you, enriching you.
Rejoice! You are being emptied from vessel to vessel.

God is making you into a better vintage wine

(Jeremiah 48:11) (Meet Me on the Mountain:William J. Peterson) (http://www.prayinglife.org/Articles/articlepdfs/B-FromVesseltoVessel.pdf)

St. Patrick's Prayer

I arise today:








Through God's strength to pilot me

God's might to uphold me

God's wisdom to guide me

God's eye to look before me

God's ear to hear me

God's word to speak for me

God's hand to guard me

God's way to lie before me

God's shield to protect me

God's host to save me

From snares of demons

From temptations of vices

From everyone who shall wish me ill

Afar and anear

Alone and in multitude.

(click here to see all of St. Patrick's "Breastplate" Prayer)