Easter Sunday!

"He is Risen!"

          God, The Bible

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The Mind of Christ

     If a friend does something which puzzles us, we might ask what it was 

he "had in mind" in doing it.  It is in this sense that Paul uses the word 

mind in Philippians 2:5.  What was it that seemed important to Jesus?  

What principles did he cherish?  What objectives?  On what footing 

were his choices made?

     The revelation of the mind of Christ is presented here as the story of 

a great change.  It befits with one who was in the form of God (verse 6), 

that is, one who possessed inwardly and displayed outwardly the very 

nature of God himself.

     As is plain, verse 6 is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ before his 

incarnation...What a change is expressed in verse 8 when he who was in 

the form of God became obedient unto death Wesley put it justly when 

he wrote:

"Tis mystery all!  The immortal dies!"

     Mystery indeed, but at the same time the testimony of the Bible.  How 

it could happen we cannot know, that it did happen we are assured.

     There is great stress on the fact that this change came about by 

voluntary decision and in this we begin to enter into the "mind of 

Christ."  Verse 7 says he emptied himself, and verse 8, he humbled him-

self.  In each case the reflexive expression points to personal decision 

and action.

                     Alec Motyer, The Message of Philippians: Jesus Our Joy

Who is Alec Motyer?  Now retired Alec Motyer was formerly Principal 

of Trinity College, Bristol. He has extensive experience in parish 

ministry and is well known as a Bible expositor, of the Old Testament 

in particular. 

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Committing to God in Perfect trust

     ...the way to power lies through the realization of helplessness; that 

the way to victory lies through the admission of defeat; that the way to 

goodness lies through the confession and the acknowledgement of sin.  

Herein is an essential truth which runs through all life.  If a man is ill, 

the first necessity is that he should admit and recognize that he is ill, 

and that then he should seek for a cure in the right place.  The way to 

knowledge begins with the admission of ignorance.  The one man who 

can never learn is the man who thinks that he knows everything already.

     ...the way to independence lies through dependence, and the way to 

freedom lies through surrender.  If ever a man is to be independent of 

the chances and changes of life, that independence must come from his 

complete dependence on God.  If ever a man is to know true freedom, 

that freedom must come through complete surrender to God.

     ...the way to bliss which the world can neither give nor take away lies 

through the recognition of our own need, and the conviction that the need 

can be met, when we commit to God in perfect trust.

William Barclay, The Beatitudes and the Lord's prayer for Everyman

Who is William Barclay?  Barclay, 1907 to 1978, was an author, radio 

and television presenter and a minister of the Church of Scotland.  He 

was also a Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University 

of Glasgow in Scotland.  Barclay is best known for his 17 commentaries 

on the New Testament.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

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God's unfailing love

     "What can  you do when you've failed and denied what you believe?"  

This question and others like it came out of the heart of a person who 

had stumbled badly.  He felt he had no right to pray, and when he tried, 

he felt self-discrimination and condemnation.  We all deny our Lord in 

so many little ways, but what do you do when the denial contradicts 

everything you've stood for and believed?  Is there a way back?  How 

does the Lord deal with failures?

     The answer is vividly portrayed in the way Jesus Christ dealt with 

Simon Peter's denial.  Peter could not handle the anguish of his cowardly 

denial.  He had to block it out, try to forget; but his efforts were futile.  

Was that why he now could not bear to look Jesus in the eye?

     What adventure Peter had known following the Master!  He remem-

bered with self-affirmation how on the road to Caesarea Philippi he felt 

the spirit rush within him.  He had blurted out the conviction, "Thou art 

the Christ!"  He would never forget the tone of the Lord's voice when he 

told him that the church would be built on the rock of his faith.  A rock?  

The recollection reverberated with shock waves within him.  "A rock that 

cracked!" he said to himself.

     But the basic message of the story is this:  the Lord's love does not 

fail however much we fail him.  Peter had built his whole relationship 

with Jesus Christ on his assumed capacity to be adequate.  That's why he 

took his denial of the Lord so hard.  His strength, loyalty, and faithfulness 

were his self-generated assets of discipleship.  The fallacy in Peter's mind 

was this: he believed his relationship was dependent on his consistency 

in producing the qualities he thought had earned him the Lord's approval.

     Many of us face the same problem.  We project onto the Lord our own 

measured standard of acceptance.  Our whole understanding of him is 

based in a quid pro quo of bartered love.  He will love us as if we are 

good, moral, and diligent.  But we have turned the tables; we try to live 

so that he will love us, rather than living because he has already loved us.

Lloyd Ogilvie, Ask Him anything: God can handle your hardest questions

Who is Lloyd Ogilvie?  Lloyd John Ogilvie, is a Presbyterian minister, 

who served as Chaplain of the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2003.  Dr. 

Ogilvie, had a nationally syndicated weekly television show prior to 

serving the Senate called, "Let God Love You."  It aired for 17 years.   

Dr. Ogilvie felt his role as Chaplain was to act as an intercessor for 

Senators, be a trusted prayer partner and faith counselor.  He sought 

to keep the office as nonpolitical, nonsectarian, and nonpartisan.  

He provide spiritual leadership and support to the Senate through 

many significant events including the impeachment of President 

Clinton; the attacks on 911; the anthrax attack in the Senate; and 

the contested Presidential election in 2000.  Dr. Ogilvie has received 

numerous awards and authored 49 books.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Surrender and Trust

     A devoted Christian woman who conducted a large Bible class with zeal 

and success once came in trouble to her minister.  In her earlier years 

she had enjoyed much blessing in the inner chamber, in fellowship with 

the Lord and His Word.  But this had gradually been lost and, do what 

she would, she could not get it right.  The Lord had blessed her work, 

but the joy had gone out of her life.  The minister asked what she had 

done to regain the lost blessedness.  "I have done everything," said she, 

"that I can think of, but all in vain."

     He then questioned her about her experience in connection with her 

conversion.  She gave an immediate and clear answer: "At first I spared 

no pains in my attempt to become better, and to free myself from sin, 

but it was all useless.  At last I began to understand that I must lay aside 

all my efforts, and simply trust the Lord Jesus to bestow on me His life 

and peace, and He did it."

     "Why then," said the minister, "do you not try this again? As you go 

to your inner chamber, however cold and dark your heart may be, do not

try in your own might to force yourself into the right attitude.  Bow 

before Him and tell Him that He sees in what a sad state you are and 

that your only hope is in Him.  Trust Him with a childlike trust to have 

mercy upon you, and wait upon Him.  You have Nothing--He has 

everything.

                                                                  Andrew Murray, The Prayer Life 

Who is Andrew Murray?  Murray was a South African write, teacher 

and Christian pastor who lived from May 9, 1828 to January 18, 1917.  

Murray focused heavily on Missions and was one of the founders of 

the South African General Mission.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Glorifying God as our priority

Jesus in His prayers on earth, in His intercession in heaven in His 

promise of an answer to our prayers from there, makes this His first 

objective—the glory of His Father.  Is it so with us too?  Or are not, in 

large measure, self-interest and self-will the strongest motive urging 

us to pray?  Or, if we cannot see that this is the case, have we not to 

acknowledge that the distinct, conscious longing for the glory of the 

Father is not what animates our prayers?  And yet it must be so.

Not as if the believer does not at times desire it.  But he has to mourn 

that he has so little attained.  And he knows the reason of his failure too.  

It was, because the separation between the spirit of daily life and the 

spirit of the hour of prayer was too wide.  We begin to see that the 

desire for the glory of the Father is not something that we can awake and 

present to our Lord when we prepare ourselves to pray.  No!  It is only 

when the whole life, in all its parts, is given up to God's glory, that we 

can really pray to His glory too.  "Do all to the glory of God," and , "Ask 

all to the glory of God"--these twin commands are inseparable:  

obedience to the former is the secret grace for the latter.  A life to the 

glory of God is the condition of the prayers that Jesus can answer, "that 

the Father may be glorified."

                                  Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer

Who is Andrew Murray?  Murray was a South African write, teacher 

and Christian pastor who lived from May 9, 1828 to January 18, 1917.  

Murray focused heavily on Missions and was one of the founders of 

the South African General Mission.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Jesus' call to self-denial

     Self-denial conjures up in our minds all sorts of images of groveling and 

self-hatred.  We imagine that it most certainly means the rejection of 

our individuality and will probably  lead to various forms of 

self-mortification. 

     On the contrary, Jesus called us to self-denial without self-hatred.  

Self-denial is simply a way of coming to understand that we do not have 

to have our own way.  Our happiness is not dependent upon getting what 

we want. Self-denial does not mean the loss of our identity as some 

suppose.  Without our identity we could not even be subject to each 

other.  Did Jesus lose His identity when He set His face toward 

Golgotha?  Did Peter lose his identity when he responded to Jesus’ 

cross-bearing command, “Follow me” (John 21:19)?  Did Paul lose his 

identity when he committed himself to the One who had said, “I will 

show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:16)? 

Of course not.  We know that the opposite was true.  They found their 

identity in the act of self-denial. 

     Self-denial is not the same thing as self-contempt.  Self-contempt 

claims that we have no worth, and even if we did have worth we should 

reject it.  Self-denial declares that we are of infinite worth and shows us 

how to realize it.  Self-contempt denise the goodness of the creation; 

self-denial affirms that it was indeed good.  Jesus made the ability to 

love ourselves the prerequisite for our reaching out to others 

(Matt. 22:39). 

                                               Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

Who is Richard Foster? Foster is a Christian theologian, educator,

and author in the Quaker tradition. His best know work is the

Celebration of Discipline, which offers instruction on a variety of

inward and outward spiritual disciplines, such as, prayer, fasting,

simplicity, confession and worship. It was named by Christianity

Today as one of the top ten books of the twentieth century.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Our only legitimate goal

     If we are not our own, but the Lord's, it is clear to what purpose all 

our deeds must be directed.  We are not our own, therefore neither our 

reason nor our will should guide us in our thoughts and actions.  We are 

not our own, therefore we should not seek what is only expedient to the 

flesh.  We are not our own, therefore let us forget ourselves and our own 

interests as fast as possible.

     We are God's own; to him, therefore, let us live and die.  We are God's 

own; therefore, let his wisdom and will dominate all our actions.  We 

are god's own; therefore let every part of our existence be directed 

towards him as our only legitimate goals.

     Oh, how greatly we have advanced when we have learned not to be 

our own, not to be governed by our own reason, but to surrender our 

minds to God!  The most effective poison to lead us to ruin is to boast 

in ourselves, in our own wisdom and will power.  The only escape to 

safety is simply to follow the guidance of the Lord.

     Our first step should be to take leave of ourselves and to apply all 

of our powers to the service of the Lord.  The service of the Lord does

not only include implicit obedience, but also a willingness to put aside 

our sinful desires to surrender completely to the leadership of the 

Holy Spirit.

     The transformation of our lives by the Holy Spirit, which St. 

Paul calls the renewal of the mind, is  the real beginning of life but 

foreign to pagan philosophers.  The philosophers set up reason as 

the sole guide of life, of wisdom and conduct.  but Christian 

philosophy demands of us that we surrender our reason to the Holy 

Spirit.  This means that we no longer live of ourselves, but that 

Christ lives and reigns within us (Eph. 4:23; Gal. 2:20)

                     John Calvin, Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life

Who is John Calvin?  Calvin, 1509-1564, a theologian and reformer, 

was French by birth, but most of his productive years were in 

Geneva, Switzerland.  He was an early and prominent influence 

during the Protestant Reformation through his biblical 

commentaries, sermons, theological tracts.  He is regarded as the 

forefather of Presbyterianism.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Fasting from Criticalness

The Lord continues to deal with me about m critical spirit, convicting 

me that I have been wrong to judge any person or situation:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge 

others, you will be judeged, and with the measure you use, it will be 

measured to you.  (Matt 7:1-2; NIV)

One morning last week He gave me an assignment: for one day I was 

to go on a "fast" from criticism.  I was not to criticize anybody about 

anything.

Into my mind crowded all the usual objections.  "But then what happens 

to value judgments?  You Yourself, Lord, spoke of 'righteous judgement.'  

How could society operate without standards and limits?"

All such resistance was brushed aside.  "Just obey Me without question-

ing:  an absolute fast on any critical statements for this day."

As I pondered this assignment, I realized there was an even humorous 

side to this kind of fast.  What did the Lord want to show me?

The experiment

For the first half of the day, I simply felt a void, almost as if I had been 

wiped out as a person.  This was especially true at lunch with my 

husand, Len, my mother, son Jeff, and my secretary Jeannie Sevigny, 

present.  Several topics came up (school prayer, abortion, the ERA 

amendment) about which I had definite opinions.  I listened to the 

others and kept silent.  Barbed comments on the tip of my tongue 

about certain world leaders were suppressed.  In our talkative family 

no one seemed to notice.

Bemused, I noticed that my comments were not missed.  The federal 

government, the judicial system, and the institutional church could 

apparently  get along fine without my penetrating observations.  But still 

I didn't see what this fast on criticism was accomplishing--until 

mid-afternoon.

For several years, I had been praying for on talented young man whose 

life had gotten sidetracked.  Perhaps my prayers for him had been too 

negative.  That afternoon, a specific, positive vision for my life was 

dropped into my mind with God's unmistakable hallmark on it--joy.

Ideas began to flow in a way I had not experienced in years.  Now it was 

apparent what the Lord wanted me to see.  My critical nature had not 

corrected a single one of the multitudinous things I found fault with.  

What it had done was to stifle my own creativity--in prayer, in 

relationship, perhaps even in writing--ideas that He wanted to give me.

Last Sunday night in a Bible study group, I told of my Day's Fast 

experiment.  The response was startling.  Many admitted that 

criticalness was the chief problem in their offices, or in their marriages, 

or with their teenage children.

                                                                Catherine Marshall, A Closer Walk

Who is Catherine Marshall?  Catherine Marshall was the wife of famed, 

Presbyterian minister and preacher, Peter Marshall.  She came into the 

public after his death when she published a memoir about him, 

A Man Called Peter.  Catherine went onto write a large number of 

books and eventually became a publisher.  She lived from 1914 to 1983.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

God's Instrument

     No Christian should ever think or say that he is not fit to be God's 

instrument, for that in fact is what it means to be a Christian.  We may 

be humble about many things, but we may never decline to be used.  

John the Baptist told the people by the river Jordan, "I baptize you 

with water, for repentance, but the one who comes after me is mightier 

than I, and I am not fit to take off his shoes."  Then Jesus himself came 

to be baptized by him, and John tried to dissuade him, saying to him, 

"Do you come to me?  I need rather to be baptized by you."  Jesus 

replied, "Let it be so for the present; we do well to conform in this 

way with all that God requires."  So John baptized him whose shoes he 

was not fit to take off.

     The gospel is full of reassurances to us, some of them startling.  You 

are salt to the world!  You are light to all the world!  Even the hairs of  

your head have all been counted!  These words were exciting to those 

who heard them.  Things might be dark but they were to be the light of 

the world.  They were given a new sense of their value as persons.  

Especially was this true of women.  One can hardly describe the joy of 

the first disciples, who were given by Jesus such a sense of their 

significance in the world.  This same sense of significance has been 

given again and again to other people by disciples of Jesus.  Of these 

none was greater than Fancis of Assisi.  He might well have prayed:

 

     To those who have lost their way, let me restore it to them.

     To those who are aimless, let me bring purpose.

     To those who do not know who they are, let me teach them that they 

     are the children of God and can be used as His instruments in the 

     never-ending work of healing and redemption.

There are therefore two things for us to do.  The first is never to 

doubt that God can use us if we are willing to be used, no matter what 

our weaknesses.  The second is to see that God can use any other person 

who is willing to be used, whatever his weaknesses, and if need be, to 

assure him of this truth."

                                                         Alan Paton, Instrument of Thy Peace

Who is Alan Paton?  Alan Stewart Paton was an anglican priest educated 

at the University of Natal in South Africa.  He was an outspoken 

opponent of apartheid, and perhaps best know for his novel Cry, the 

Beloved Country.  He also wrote a series of meditations inspired by 

St. Francis of Assisi's familiar prayer on being an instrument of God's 

peace.  Paton lived from 1903 to 1988.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Holy Fellowship with Jesus

     But even if our conduct and conversation were more consistent with 

our faith, I would still have this third charge against us:  there is too 

little real communion with Jesus Christ.  If, by the grace of God, our 

conduct and conversation were consistent and our lives were 

unblemished, many of us are still sorely lacking in that area we call holy 

fellowship with Jesus.

     Men and women, let me ask you, How long has it been since you have 

had an intimate conversation with Jesus Christ?  Some of you may be 

able to say, "It was only this morning that I last spoke with him; I beheld 

his face with joy."  But I fear that the great majority of you will have to 

say, "It has been months since I have been with the Lord."

     What have you been doing with your life?  Is Christ living in your 

home and yet you have not spoken to him for months?  Do not let me 

condemn you or judge; only let your conscience speak:  Have we not all 

lived too much without Jesus?  Have we not grown contented with the 

world to the neglect of Christ?

Charles Spurgeon, Spiritual Revival, the Need of the Church (audio cd)

Who is Charles Spurgeon? Spurgeon was a baptist preacher in England

who lived from 1834 to 1892. He was an amazing preacher that is often

referred to as the "prince of preachers." He also founded a pastor's

college, an orphanage, and an institution to promote literacy.

Spurgeon was a strong Calvinist whose preaching often caused much

controversy.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Conduct and conversation

     In the first place, look at the conduct and conversation of too many

of us who profess to be children of God.

     It has become very popular to join the Church in our day. Many

people have recently joined the Church in our country. But are there

any fewer cheats than there used to be? Are there less frauds

committed? Do we find morality more extensive? Do we find vice

coming to an end? No, we do not. Our age is as immoral as any that

preceded it. There is still as much sin, though perhaps it is more cloaked

and hidden.

     It is well known that it is no guarantee of a man's honesty that he is

a member of the Church. The lives of too many of the men and women

of the Church give the world cause to wonder if there is godliness in any

of us. We reach after money, we cover, we follow the wicked ways of

this world, we oppress the poor and deny rights to the working class--

and yet we profess to be people of God! The Church lacks revival in the

lives of its members.

     Second, let us take a look at the conversation of many professing

Christians. Pay attention to the conversation of the average professing

Christian. You might spend from the first of January to the end of

December and never hear them speak about their faith. They will

scarcely even mention the name of Jesus Christ at all. On Sunday

afternoon what will they talk about at the dinner table? It will not

be about the minister's sermon, unless they want to point out some

faults.

     Do they ever talk about what Jesus said and did? What he suffered

for us? When we go to each other's houses, what will we talk about?

I have concluded this: you will not know how to get to heaven simply

by eavesdropping on the conversations of the members of the Church!

We talk too little about our Lord. Is this not the truth? Many of us

need to pray, "O Lord, revive your work in my soul, that my conver-

sation may be more Christ-like, seasoned with salt, and kept by the

Holy Spirit."

Charles Spurgeon, Spiritual Revival, the Need of the Church (audio cd)

Who is Charles Spurgeon? Spurgeon was a baptist preacher in England

who lived from 1834 to 1892. He was an amazing preacher that is often

referred to as the "prince of preachers." He also founded a pastor's

college, an orphanage, and an institution to promote literacy.

Spurgeon was a strong Calvinist whose preaching often caused much

controversy.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Temptations

     There is a vast difference between being tempted and yielding to it.  

And yet, if I know in advance that certain places will tempt me and I go 

there anyway, I am guilty of each temptation that comes my way.

     The way to deal with temptations is to look away from them and at 

the Lord.  if you are still subject to them, continue to resist.  There is 

no sin as long as you say no.

     For every great temptation there will be many small ones.  Wolves 

and bears are more dangerous than flies, but we are bothered most by 

the latter.  You may never murder anyone, but you will certainly 

become angry.  You may avoid adultery, but it is not easy to control 

your eyes.  You may never steal anything from your neighbor but you 

may covet it.

     Let these flies and gnats buzz around you.  Instead of fighting with 

them, do the very opposite of what the temptation is suggesting.  For 

instance, if you are tempted to be vain, think about the troubles of 

others.  If you are greedy, remember how death will take it all away 

from you, and then go give something away or pass up a profit.  Make 

the effort and you will be hardened against future temptations.

                                   Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life

Who is Francis de Sales? Saint Francis de Sales, August 21, 1567-

December 28, 1622, was Bishop of Geneva and a Roman Catholic saint. 

As an accomplished preacher he sought to bring Protestants back to 

Catholicism. He is mostly known for his writings on spiritual formation.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Obedience, the golden rule of spiritual undestanding

     The golden rule of understanding spiritually is not intellect, but

 obedience.  If a man wants scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity

 is his guide; but if he wants insights into what Jesus Christ teaches, 

he can only get it by obedience.  If things are dark to me, then I may be 

sure there is something I will not do.  Intellectual darkness comes 

through ignorance;  spiritual darkness comes because of something I do 

not intend to obey.

     No man ever receives a word from God without instantly being put 

to the test by it.  We disobey and then wonder why we don't go on 

spiritually.  "If when you come to the altar," said Jesus, "there you 

remember your brother hath ought against you... don't say another 

word to Me, but first go and put that thing right."  The teaching of Jesus 

hits us where we live.  We cannot stand as humbugs before Him for one 

second.  He educates us down to the scruple.  The Spirit of God unearths 

the spirit of self-vindication; he makes us sensitive to things we never 

thought of before.

     When Jesus brings a thing home by His word, don't shirk it.  If you 

do, you will become a religious humbug.  Watch the things you shrug 

your shoulders over, and you will know how you do not go on 

spiritually.  First go---at the risk of being thought fanatical you must 

obey what God tells you.

                                    Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Who is Oswald Chambers?  Chambers, born July 24th, 1874 in 

Aberdeen, Scotland, died November 15th 1917 in Egypt, became a 

Christian following a service conducted by renowned preacher, 

Charles Spurgeon.  We was Scottish Protestant Christian minister 

and teacher, best known as the author of the widely-read 

devotional My Utmost For His Highest.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

The prayer beneath

     Begin where you are.  Obey now:  Use what little obedience you are 

capable of, even if it be like a grain of mustard seed.  Begin where you 

are.  Live this present moment, this present hour as you now sit in your 

seats, in utter submission and openness toward Him.  Listen outwardly 

to these words, but within, behind the scenes, in the deeper levels of 

our lives where you are all alone with God the Living Eternal One, keep 

up a silent prayer, "Open Thou my life, Guide my thoughts where I dare 

not let them go.  Be Thou darest, Thy will be done."  Walk on the streets 

and chat with your friends.  But every moment behind the scenes be in 

prayer, offering yourselves in continuous obedience.  I find this internal 

continuous prayer life absolutely essential.  It can be carried on day and 

night, in the thick of business, in home and school.  Such a prayer of 

submission can be so simple.  It is well to use a single sentence, 

repeated over and over and over again, such as this:  "Be Thou my will.  

Be Thou my will."

                                                 Thomas R. Kelly, A Testament of Devotion

Who is Thomas R. Kelly? Kelly lived 1893 to January 17, 1941.

He was an American Quaker. He taught and wrote on the subject

of mysticism.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Finding a place

     The first problem is to find a place where the outer confusion can be

shut off, where the bright lights and the telephone cannot break in, and 

where even religious discussion is stilled.  The purpose is not to create, 

or make something happen, but to allow it to happen, and where it 

takes place is an individual matter.  Some people find it easy to quiet 

down in a church where the rule of silence is observed.  For others it 

may be one's own room, or in a  garden or near the water, or on a 

mountain top.

     ...there is manna in certain places that can draw a person in silence, 

for instance in a room which has known the silence and listening of 

many people.  This was the kind of power that Jacob felt when he 

awoke from dreaming  of the ladder to heaven and cried out, "Truly, 

Yahweh, is in this place and I never knew it!"  Then he was afraid and 

said, "How awe-inspiring this place is!  This is nothing less than a 

house of God; this is the gate of heaven!"  And he made a sacred 

monument of the stone on which he had lain and poured oil on top 

of it, and he named the place Bethel (Genesis 28:10-19).  We in the 

Western tradition are often reluctant to admit that there is reality 

behind an experience like this.

     ...Each of us can have a place like this, where stillness can take over 

and one becomes open to a reality beyond oneself.

                                           Morton T. Kelsey,  The Other Side of Silence

Who is Morton T. Kelsey?  Morton Kelsey died at the age of 84 in 2001.  

He was an Episcopalian priest who wrote dozens of books on spiritual 

formation.  Kelsey also helped develop the spiritual formation program 

at San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, California.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

The gift of interruptions

     A few years ago I met an old professor at the University of Notre 

Dame.  Looking back on his long life of teaching, he said with a funny 

wrinkle in his eyes:  "I have always been complaining that my work was 

constantly interrupted, until I slowly discovered that my interruptions 

were my work."

     That is the great conversion in our life:  to recognize and believe 

that the many unexpected events are not just disturbing interruptions 

of our projects, but the way in which God molds our hearts and pre-

pares us for his return.  Our great temptations are boredom and 

bitterness.  When our good plans are interrupted by poor weather, 

our well-organized careers by illness or bad luck, our peace of mind 

by inner turmoil, our hope for peace by a new war, our desire for a 

stable discernment by a constant changing of the guards, and our 

desire for immortality by real death, we are tempted to give in to a 

paralyzing boredom or to strike back in destructive bitterness.  But 

when we believe that patience can make our expectations grow, then 

fate can be converted into a vocation, wounds into a call for deeper 

understanding, and sadness into a  birthplace for joy.

                                                           Henri J. Nouwen, Out of Solitude

      Who is Henry Nouwen?  Nouwen, January 24, 1932 to September 

21, 1996 was a Dutch-born Catholic priest and write who authored 

40 books on the spiritual life.  Nouwen's books are widely read by 

both Protestants and Catholics.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Why and how to love God

     You have asked me to tell you why and how God is to be loved.  

God himself is the reason why.  Without limit is how.

     For the wise, that is answer enough.

     But now I will speak more elaborately, if less profoundly, for the 

benefit of less agile minds.

     There are two reasons for loving God.  First, there is no one more 

worthy of your love.  Second, no one can return more in response to 

your love.

     God deserves our love because he first loved us.  His love for us was

genuine because he sought nothing for himself.  See the object of his 

love: enemies.  For it, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled 

to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been recon-

ciled, shall we be saved through his life.  Paul writes to the Romans.   

God's love was unconditional.

     How much did he love?  The anwer is in John's Gospel:  "For God so 

loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever 

believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  The Son, speaking 

of himself, said, "The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for 

them."  We, the wicked, then, should love the Righteous One in return.

  

                                                          Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God

Who is Bernard of Clairvaux? Bernard, 1090 to August 20, 1153, was a

French abbot principally responsible for reforming the Cisterician

monastic order. Bernard was the first Cistercian monk placed on the

calendar of saints. He was canonized by Pope Alexander III, on January

18, 1174.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

The inadequacy of our love

     Faithful people understand how fully they need Jesus and his death 

on the cross.  Seeing his love, they desire to return what little they can.  

Those who know they are loved are better able to love.  The one who is 

forgiven more loves more.  Seeing the wounds of Christ, the believer 

says, I am faint with love.

     Who is it that remembers God?  It certainly is not a stubborn and 

rebellious generation.  Christ says to them, "Woe to you who are rich, 

for you have already received your comfort."  The ones who remember 

God are those who can say, I remember God, and was troubled:  I 

complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.  Our soul is Christ's bride 

and loves him ardently.  But even when she thinks she is completely in 

love, she feels that her love is inadequate, because she is loved so much.  

And that is true.  How could she love as much in return?  God loves 

with all his being.

                                                            Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God

Who is Bernard of Clairvaux?  Bernard, 1090 to August 20, 1153, was a 

French abbot principally responsible for reforming the Cisterician 

monastic order.  Bernard was the first Cistercian monk placed on the

calendar of saints.  He was canonized by Pope Alexander III, on January

18, 1174. 

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

At war with thoughts

     Someone will always praise good works.  It is more difficult to justify 

meditation and prayer.  You will face a difficult dilemma.  You will need 

to defend yourself against criticism from those who are more active on 

the social scene.  You will also have to fight with your own ideas.

     Perhaps you think, "I do not commit adultery or covet my neighbors 

property.  Therefore I must be OK."  You are forgetting that there are 

more than two or three categories of sin.  The possibilities for sin are 

vast.  Are you arrogant?  Angry?  Insincere?  What is the origin of these

 things?  You are required to be at war with the thoughts of your mind.  

It's like the frightening discovery of a robber in your home.  You resist 

him, fight with him.  In the same way your soul needs to return one blow 

for another in the combat with your own thoughts.

     How can you engage in this kind of contest between will and soul if 

you think you are already good enough?  Maybe you have two or three 

kinds of sin under control, but dozens more are still chewing on you 

and you have not even identified them.

     If you think the struggle is hopeless, you do God an injustice.  An 

older child can usually win a fight with a younger one.  It is an unfair 

contest.  But the soul, if it truly looks for God's help, is equal to the 

struggle.

     You are no match for yourself.  Only God can help you.  Yes, you can 

struggle.  You can put up a terrific fight against your own nature.  You 

can, as it were, trample down the weeds.  Uprooting them is something 

only God can do.  This is why we turn to Jesus.  

    Pseudo-Macarius, The Fifty Spiritual Homilies and the Great Letter

Who is Pseudo-Macarius? Pseudo-Macarius, also known as Macarius 

Symeon, lived 949 to 1022 A.D. He was born in Galatia, Phaphlagonia. 

He was educated to be and served as a courtier to emperors in 

Constantinople. At the age of 27 he retreated to a monastery. He

eventually became the abbot of St. Mammas Monastery in Constanti-

nople. The Eastern Orthodox later deemed Macarius Symeon a saint. 

He was a poet deeply steeped in a meditative practice of retiring 

inward, by ceasing to register the sense in order to gain experiential 

knowledge of God.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Deep prayer in a busy life

     This morning I put this question to John Eudes: "How can I really 

develop a deeper prayer life when I am back again at my busy work?  

I have the tendency to finish small and large jobs as soon as possible, 

and as long as I remain surrounded by unfinished tasks, my prayer is

nearly impossible since I use the time for prayer to wonder about the 

many things I still have to do.  It always seems that there is something 

more urgent and more important than prayer."

     John Eudes' answer was clear and simple:  "The only solution is a 

prayer schedule that you will never break without consulting your 

spiritual director.  Set a time that is reasonable, and once it is set, stick 

to it at all costs.  Make it your most important task.  Let everyone know 

that this is the only thing you will not change and pray at that time.  One 

hour in the morning before work and a half hour before you go to bed 

might be a good start.  Set the exact time and hold on to it.  Leave a 

party when that time approaches.  Simply make it an impossibility to 

do any type of work, even if it seems urgent, important, and crucial.  

When you remain faithful, you slowly discover that is is useless to 

think about your many problems since they won't be dealt with in that 

time anyhow.  Then you start saying to yourself during these free 

hours, 'Since I have nothing to do now, I might just as well pray!"  So 

praying becomes as important as eating and sleeping, and the time set 

free for it becomes a very liberating time to which you become 

attached in the good sense."

                                                       Henri J.  Nouwen, The Genesee Diary

Who is Henry Nouwen?  Nouwen, January 24, 1932 to September 

21, 1996 was a Dutch-born Catholic priest and writer who authored 

40 books on the spiritual life.  Nouwen's books are widely read by 

both Protestants and Catholics.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Secrets to Intimacy with God

Here are the secrets of intimacy with God:

• Renounce everything that does not lead to God.
• Become accustomed to a continual conversation with him in freedom and simplicity
• Speak to him every moment.
• Ask him to tell you what to do when you are not sure.
• Get busy with it when you plainly see what he requires of you.
• Offer your activity to him even before you do it.
• Give God thanks when you accomplish something,

The depth of your spirituality does not depend upon changing the

things you do, but in doing for God what you ordinarily do for yourself.

The biggest mistake is to think that a time of prayer is different from

any other time. It is all one. Prayer is experiencing the presence of

God. There should be no change when a time of formal prayer ends.

Continue with God. Praise and bless him with all your energy.

Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

Who is Brother Lawrence? Brother Lawrence, ca. 1614-February 1691,

is best known for his work "The Practice of the Presence of God."

Brother Lawrence was a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery. He

strove to wed the most mundane task with worship of God. He came

to a place of quiet surrender where whether he was working in the

kitchen or attending mass he felt the same prevailing presence of God.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

To See Jesus

     There was a man who wanted to go to Jerusalem.  He had no idea 

how to get there.  He asked someone he considered to be an authority.

     "You can't get there without a lot of hard work.  It is a dangerous 

trip.  There are many roads you can take, but people are getting 

robbed and killed on them all the time.  No one ever gets there.  There 

is only one safe way to travel to Jerusalem."

     The would-be pilgrim was excited.  "I don't care what troubles I 

suffer.  Tell me the way.  I will faithfully follow your instructions."

     "Here is the right road.  Be sure to follow my directions.  Don't let 

anything hinder you.  Allow no pleasurable distractions.  Keep moving. 

Think only that you want to be in Jerusalem.  Consider nothing else.  If 

you are beaten and robbed, scorned, and despised, do not fight back.  

Bear the pain and continue your journey.  Don't listen to questions or 

attempt to answer them.  If you are offered gifts, don't accept them.  

Always keep your mind on Jerusalem.  If you do this, you will reach 

your goal."

     Jerusalem  stands for the sight of Jesus, contemplation of the 

perfect love of God.  If you are on your way to this Jerusalem, carry two

things with you: humility and love.  Humility says, "I am nothing.  I have 

nothing."  Love says, "I only desire one thing--Jesus."  These two strings 

make good harmony on the harp of the soul when they are plucked by 

the talented finger of reason.  They resonate.  The more you are 

humble, the more you love.

                           Walter Hilton, Walter Hilton: The Scale of Perfection

Who is Walter Hilton? Walter Hilton died and 1396. He was an

English augustinian mystic. Little is known of his life. His writings

were widely read in England in the 15th century. To learn more

about Walter Hilton read here.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

On Praying Unceasingly

     The proper thing is for us always to think of God and to pray without

 ceasing.  If we are not able to achieve this, we can at least set special 

times for prayer each day.  At these designated moments, we can focus 

entirely on God.

     Here are some natural opportunities:

• when we wake in the morning
• before we begin our work
• before and after meals
• when we go to bed

     This is only a start, of course.  We should not think of these times of 

prayer as a ritual.  Neither do they mean we are freed from prayer at 

other hours of the day.  Think of these moments as nothing more 

than a discipline for your spiritual weakness.  It is a stimulation for 

your groggy soul.  There will be times when you are under stress, 

times when you will be aware of others in difficulty.  Immediately turn 

to God in prayer.  Offer prayers of thanks all through the day.

     When you pray, do not put any limits on God.  It is not your 

business to tell God how to answer your prayers.  This is no a time 

to bargain or to set conditions.  Before you tell God what you want or 

need, ask that his will be done.  This makes your will subordinate to 

his.

                                John Calvin, On Prayer: Conversation with God

Who is John Calvin?  Calvin, 1509-1564, a theologian and reformer, 

was French by birth, but most of his productive years were in 

Geneva, Switzerland.  He was an early and prominent influence 

during the Protestant Reformation through his biblical 

commentaries, sermons, theological tracts.  He is regarded as the 

forefather of Presbyterianism.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Freedom from Anxiety and Simplicity

     ...Freedom from anxiety is characterized by three inner attitudes.  If 

what we have we receive as a gift, and if what we have is to be cared for 

by God, and if what we have is available to others, then we will possess 

freedom from anxiety.  "This is the inward reality of simplicity."

      ...To receive what we have as a gift from God is the first inner atti-

tude of simplicity.  We work but we know that it is not our work that 

gives us what we have.  We live by grace even when it comes to 

"daily bread."  ...What we have is not the result of our labor, but of the 

gracious care of God.  When we are tempted to think that what we own 

is the result of our personal efforts, it takes only a little drought or a 

small accident to show us once again how radically dependent we are 

for everything.

     To know that it is God's business, and not ours, to care for what we 

have is the second inner attitude of simplicity.  God is able to protect 

what we possess.  We can trust Him...Simplicity means the freedom to 

trust God for these (and all) things.

     To have our goods available to others marks the third inner attitude 

of simplicity.  Martin Luther said somewhere.  "If our goods are not 

available to the community they are stolen goods."  The reason we find 

these words so difficult is our fear of our future...But if we truly believe 

that God is who Jesus said He is, then we do not need to be afraid. 

 

                                               Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

Who is Richard Foster?   Foster is a Christian theologian, educator, 

and author in the Quaker tradition.  His best know work is the 

Celebration of Discipline, which offers instruction on a variety of 

inward and outward spiritual disciplines, such as, prayer, fasting, 

simplicity, confession and worship.  It was named by Christianity 

Today as one of the top ten books of the twentieth century.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Peace from Presence

     God does not lay a great burden on us--

a little thinking of him,

a little adoration,

sometimes to pray for grace,

sometimes to offer him your sorrows,

sometimes to thank him for the good things he does.

     Lift up your heart to him even at meals and when you are in 

company.  The least little remembrance will always be acceptable 

to him.  You don't have to be loud.  He is nearer to us than you 

think.

     You don't have to be in church all the time in order to be with 

God.  We can make a chapel in our heart, where we can withdraw 

from time to time and converse with him in meekness, humility, 

and love.  Everyone has the capacity for such intimate conversation 

with God, some more, some less.  He knows what we can do.  Get 

started.  Maybe he is just waiting for one strong resolution on your 

part.  Have courage.

     I don't know what is to become of me.  Peace of soul descends on me 

even in my sleep.  I can't imagine what God has in mind for me, or for 

what purpose he keeps me.  I am in such a profound calm that I fear 

nothing.  What can frighten me when I am with God?  I try to stay with 

him, in his presence, as much as possible.

                      Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

Who is Brother Lawrence?  Brother Lawrence, ca. 1614-February 1691, 

is best known for his work "The Practice of the Presence of God."  

Brother Lawrence was a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery.  He 

strove to wed the most mundane task with worship of God.  He came 

to a place of quiet surrender where whether he was working in the 

kitchen or attending mass he felt the same prevailing presence of God.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Reconciliation and Yielding

     When two goats meet on a narrow bridge over deep water, what 

do they do?  The bridge is so narrow they can neither turn around 

nor pass each other.  If they fight, they may fall into the water and be 

drowned.

     They resolve the problem quite naturally.  One lies down and the 

other passes over.  Neither is injured.

     People can learn a similar tactic.  It is better to yield a little than to 

fall into raucous discord with others.  We turn too quickly to lawyers.  

When people desire to be reconciled and to reach an agreement, 

someone must yield, giving way to another.

     This is the way we were reconciled to God.  God waived his rights 

and controlled his wrath.  Christ mediated an agreement between us.  

Like all peacemakers, he suffered pain.  The one who separates two 

fighters receives the most blows.  For Christ, reconciliation led to the 

Cross where he died for us.

                                                                             Martin Luther, Table Talk

Who is Martin Luther?  Luther, November 10, 1483-February 18 1546, 

is principally remembered as the church reformer whose ideas 

initiated the Protestant Reformation.  Luther confronted many 

corruptions of the Catholic church of his era.  His theology challenged 

the authority of the papacy and many practices rooted in a works 

righteousness understanding of salvation.  Luther taught that salvation 

was a free gift of God received only through faith in Jesus Christ as 

our redeemer from sin.  Luther's influence shaped the course of 

Western civilization.

To visit the Lenten Meditations site, click here.

To visit The Practical Disciple, click here.

Made like Jesus

      "While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was 

       covered with leprosy.  When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to 

       the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can 

       make me clean."  (Luke 5:12)

     How is it that the lame and the blind, the lunatic and leper, the 

publican and sinner are helped by Christ?  It is because they have a real 

desire for the thing they seek.  They come to Christ in true faith. 

Christ's typical response is, "According to your faith will it be done

to  you."  This is still Christ's answer today.  As our faith is, so it shall be

done.  In this we can find the entire reason for falling short of salvation 

in Christ.  It is because we have no desire for it.

     "But," you ask, "don't all Christians desire to have Christ to be 

their Savior?"  Yes.  But here is the catch: many want this only for the 

next world.  They want Christ to help them into heaven when they die.  

This is not wanting Christ to be your Savior.  It must be had in this 

world.  If Christ saves you, it must be done in this life by changing and 

altering everything about you.  It means a new pattern of thinking and 

acting.  The change will be a as radical as when the blind see, the lame 

walk, and the mute speak. 

     Being saved is nothing other than being made like Jesus.  It is to 

gain his humility, meekness, and self-denial.  It means to take on his 

renunciation of the spirit and honors of this world.  It involves his love 

of God, his desire of doing God's will, and seeking only God's honor.  

To have these attitudes and perspectives born in your heart is to have 

salvation from Christ.

     If you don't want these things and are not able to plead for them 

with the same intensity of the sick who came to Christ, then you are

clearly unwilling to have Christ be your Savior.

                                                           William Law,  Mystical Writings

Who is William Law?  Law was an English cleric, educator, and

theological writer.  He was an instructor of John and Charles

Wesley.

Hooked on God

You cannot become smart enough to really know God.  God will 

reveal himself to us from within.  There is no need to go looking for him

or call for him.  He is as close as the door of your heart.  He is waiting 

there eager for you to open it.  He wants this more than you do.

Here is a way to tell when God has been born in you: everything 

will point to God.  Nothing will be a hindrance anymore.  Everywhere 

you look, you will see God.  It is like staring at the sun.  The image is 

burned into your eyes.  Regardless of where you look, you see the sun.

The flesh is strong and prominent here in this world.  This is its 

natural environment.  The spirit is a stranger here, an alien.  Its 

connections are in heaven.  The old acts of penance were an effort 

to weaken the dominance of the flesh a little.  The best way to 

restrain the flesh is genuine love. God waits for us to learn this love 

more than anything else.

It is like a fishhook.  The fish must take the bait.  If the fish

swallows it there will certainly be a catch.  It may twist and turn and 

leap from the water, but it is hooked.  The same thing is true for love.  

The person who is caught by it, is strongly bound.  None of the acts 

of penance and mortification of the flesh can approach its effectiveness.

With the love of God, people will be able to accept and endure 

whatever happens to them.  They will gently forgive the harm that is 

done to them.  There is nothing else in human experience that will 

bring you as close to God or form a more certain bond.  If you take this 

hook, everything about you belongs to God.  The more hooked you are 

on God, the more freedom you will experience.

                                 Meister Eckhart, Sermons, Writings, and Sayings

Who is Meister Eckhart?  Eckhart, 1260-1368, is the most common

reference to Eckhart von Hochheim.  Eckhart was a German theo-

logian, philosopher, and mystic. He was tried as a heretic by Pope

John XXII, but died before his verdict was received.

God's Wisdom in Curing Us

Physicians do not wrap injuries carelessly.  There is an art to 

binding wounds.  The bandages have beauty as well as function.  In 

the same way that  a cure can lead to health, Christ received sinners 

in order to heal and strengthen them.  In Christ, God took on our 

humanness, accommodating himself to our wounds.

Doctors sometimes apply the opposite of our condition--ice on a 

burn, moisture on dryness.  At other times similar things may be 

applied--a round wound gets a round bandage, a long cut gets a long 

bandage.  The same dressing is not applied to every area of the body.  

Similar things fit together.

Now see God's wisdom.  Determined to cure us, he applied himself.  

He is both the doctor and the medicine.  We fell by pride.  He applies 

humility as the cure.  We threw away our immortality in the Garden of 

Eden.  God uses his mortality to save us.  This is the doctor's practice of 

contraries.  Christ's virtues cure our vices.

We can also see similarities in God's spiritual medicine.  As a 

human, he freed humans.  As one capable of dying, he rescued the dying.

If we thought about it, we could come up with many more 

illustrations of Christian medicine working by contrary and similar 

properties.  The diligent will discover them, but those who must hurry 

away to finish something they have started, will not.

                                                               Augustine, On Christian Doctrine

Who is Augustine?  Augustine of Hippo, Nov. 13, 354 to August 28, 430, 

is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic church and the Anglican

Communion.  While he predated the reformation by many centuries,

many Protestants, particularly Calvinists, view him as a theological 

father to the Reformation particular because of his teachings on

salvation and divine grace.

The Standard Bearer

In combat, the standard bearer is not armed.  He is exposed to 

no less danger than the other soldiers, anyone else, but he cannot 

defend himself.  He is carrying the flag and must not allow it to leave 

his hands, even if he is getting cut to pieces.

Christians need to hold the cross of Jesus High.  It is our duty to 

suffer with Christ.  This is a duty with high honor.  Think about it!  If 

the standard-bearer lets the flag fall, the battle will be lost.  The other 

soldiers can retreat if they must and no one will notice.  They have no 

loss of honor.  But everyone is looking at the flag for inspiration.   

It must hold its ground.  This is a noble assignment.  The king gives 

great honor to anyone who accepts it.  It is a serious obligation. 

True humility consists in being satisfied with what we are asked to 

do.  Do your assigned task with good cheer.  Let others do their jobs.  

Some so us want to ask God for favors.  Do you call that humility?

     Spiritual progress has nothing to do with having the most answers 

to prayer, or with raptures, visions, and favors from the Lord.  We 

won't know the value of those things until we die.  The thing I have 

been describing  for right now.

     The Lord knows us as we really are.  He gives each of us work to 

do.  He understands what is most appropriate for us, what will be 

helpful to him, and what will be good for others.  Unless you fail to 

prepare yourself for your assignment, you can be sure it will be 

successful.

                                                     Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection

Who is Teresa of Avila?   Teresa of Avila, March 28, 1515-October 4, 

1582) was a major figure in the  Catholic reformation as a prominent 

Spanish mystic, writer and monastic reformer.  She was known for 

continual prayer and ecstatic visions.  Many later theologians were 

influenced greatly by her autobiography, The Way of Perfection, and 

the work, Interior Castle.  These works still inspire and provide 

spiritual guidance to Christians today.

Called to stand alone

     Through the call of Jesus men become individuals.  Willy-nilly, they

are compelled to decide and that decision can only be made by them-

selves.  It is no choice of their own that makes them individuals; it is 

the call of Christ who makes them individuals by calling them.  Every 

man is called separately, and must follow alone.  But men are 

frightened of solitude, and they try to protect themselves from it by 

merging themselves in the society of their fellow-men and in their 

material environment.  They become suddenly aware of their 

responsibilities  and duties, and are loath to part with them.  But all 

this is only a cloak to protect them from having to make a decision.  

They are unwilling to stand alone before Jesus and to be compelled 

to decide with their eyes fixed on him alone.  Yet neither father 

nor mother, neither wife nor child, neither nationality nor tradition, 

can protect a man at the moment of his call.  It is Christ's will that he 

should be thus isolated, and the he should fix his eyes solely upon him.

     At the very moment of their call, men find that they have already

broken with all the natural ties of life.  This is not their own doing, but 

his who calls them.  For Christ has delivered them from immediacy 

with the world, and brought them into immediacy with himself.  We 

cannot follow Christ unless we are prepared to accept and affirm that 

breach as a fait accompli.  It is no arbitrary choice on the disciple's 

part, but Christ himself, who compels him thus to break with his past.

                                      Deitrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Who is Deitrich Bonhoeffer? Bonhoeffer was a remarkable young

Lutheran pastor who worked against Hitler in Nazi Germany. He

was a part of an underground plot to assassinate Hitler and when it

was discovered he was imprisoned for the last 2 years of his life.

Bonhoeffer was executed at the age of 39 just 3 weeks before 

American troops liberated the Flossenburg extermination camp 

in which he was imprisoned. The tree he was hung from bears a sign

with just ten words upon it, "Deitrich Bonhoeffer, a witness to Jesus 

Christ among his brethren."

Unreserved Obedience To Christ

    "Meister Eckhart wrote:  'There are plenty to follow our Lord 

half-way, but not the other half.  They will give up possessions, 

friends, and honors, but it touches them too closely to disown 

themselves."  It is just this astonishing life which is willing to 

follow Him the other half, sincerely to disown itself, this life 

which intends complete obedience, without any reservations, 

that I would propose to you in all humility, in all boldness, in 

all seriousness.  I mean this literally, utterly, completely, and I 

mean it for you and for me--commit your lives in unreserved 

obedience to Him.

     If you don't realize the revolutionary explosiveness of this 

proposal you don't understand what I mean.  Only now and then 

comes a man or a woman who, like John Woolman or Francis of 

Assisi, is willing to be utterly obedient, to go the other half, to 

follow God's faintest whisper.  But when such a commitment 

comes in a human life, God Breaks through, miracles are wrought, 

world-renewing divine forces are release, history changes.  There is 

nothing more important now than to have the human race endowed 

with just such committed lives.  Now is no time to say, 'Lo, here.  

Lo, there.'  Now is the time to say, 'Thou art the man.  To this 

extraordinary life I call you--or he calls you man.'  To this extra-

ordinary life I call you--or he calls you through me--not as a lovely 

ideal, a charming pattern to aim at hopefully, but as a serious 

concrete program of life, to be lived here and now, in industrial 

America, by you and by me.

     ....The life that intends to be wholly obedient, wholly submissive, 

wholly listening, is astonishing in its completeness.  Its joys are 

ravishing, its peace profound, its humility the deepest its power 

world-shaking, its love enveloping, its simplicity that of a trusting 

child.  It is the life and power in which the prophets and apostles 

lived.  It is the life and power of Jesus of Nazareth, who knew that 

'when thine eye is single thy whole body is full of light'  (Luke 11:34)  

It is the life and power of the apostle Paul, who resolved not to 

know anything among men save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  It 

is the life and power of Saint Francis, that little poor man of God 

who came nearer to re-living the life of Jesus than has any other 

man on earth.  It is the life and power of George Fox and of Isaac 

and Mary Pennington.  It is the life and power and utter obedience 

of John Woolman who decided, he says, 'to place my whole trust in 

God,' to 'act on an inner Principle of Virtue, and pursue worldly 

business no farther than as Truth opened my way therein.' It is the 

life and power of myriads of unknown saints through the ages.  It 

is the life and power of some people now in this room who smile 

knowingly as I speak.  And it is a life and power that can break 

forth in this tottering Western culture and return the Church to its 

rightful life as a fellowship of creative, heaven-led souls.

                                       Thomas R. Kelly, A Testament of Devotion

Who is Thomas R. Kelly?  Kelly lived 1893 to January 17, 1941.

He was an American Quaker.  He taught and wrote on the subject

of mysticism.