Give us today our daily bread. Mat 6:11
In an effort to simplify, I sold my snazzy yellow truck and bought a bicycle. Afterwards, I prayed several times, “Shall I buy another car now; perhaps something basic for transportation?” The same answer from the Lord kept convicting me: “If you want to, sure go ahead. Or you can trust Me and receive the blessing of My provision.” Those are hard words on self-sufficient ears. For 30 years when I wanted to go somewhere I never depended on supernatural intervention, I jumped in my car and went.
It started with the biographies of Hudson Taylor and George Miller, two men who took God literally about the source of daily bread. So I launched my own experiment with transportation. Whenever there was a need, I brought it to Father. It was a thrill to watch Him provide and with bonus blessings to-boot. For example, an arranged ride left me waiting in front of the church. Just then, a family confrontation exploded around a dear friend and he fled randomly to the church. There I was, sitting on the curb. We prayed; he healed. With a car, I would have missed that divine appointment. Then my ride came and we got to our destination to find them behind schedule so we were right on time.
This afternoon I realized there is an important meeting tomorrow. Out came the usual doubt-filled prayer, “Well Lord, I guess this is Your sign I need to get wheels of my own so I’m not stuck like this. But if you can do something, please do.” Not ten minutes after the amen, I discovered a message from my wife: “If you need my car tomorrow, you can use it because I’m working from home.”
My experiment has resulted in either A) I do not really need the trip or, B) a means of transportation is available. Which all makes me wonder, what other areas of life have I missed seeing Father’s provision?
Prayer: Father, show me new ways I can trust You.
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matt 10:39
The spring sun warmed the soil after a rain-shower. Moisture seeped into the husk of a domant seed. Within hours, a graceful pale-green stock pushed through rich loam. His delicate whiskers twitching, a young mole sniffed along the ground in the night. His pink eraser-of-a-nose came upon the newborn plant and he chomped it off. A misty sun rose to find the mole still nibbling tender shoots. In mid-bite, a hawk snapped him into steely talons. She flew her prey toward a nest of downy eyas frantic with hunger. However, in her absence, a falconer collected the chicks to train for professional hunting. He whisked them into the city where his freckled son belted out, “I get the big one, I get the big one.”
It would seem for every creature including man that “the full exertion of all their faculties and all their energies is required to preserve their own existence and provide for that of their infant offspring” (A. R. Wallace). It is the way of the food chain. Then Jesus invites us to step out of nature and forgo the struggle for physical life. He asks us to trade up to spiritual life. This tests our utmost limits. Everything we know, everything we see says self-preserve. To lose my life, sacrifice for others, and scorn personal advancement requires something outside my natural self. It requires I be more than animal; I must be spirit in composition. What is more, my spirit must be infused with the Holy Spirit or I will never get past mere physical preservation.
So the question at hand is, “Am I of the stuff of heaven?” I pray with all my heart that I am. Yet I intertwine with this earthly existence until there is indeed a struggle for real life. It is a struggle that seeks to extend the food chain one-step beyond the human organism at the top. The true culmination is where, by grace, my flesh succumbs to my spirit.
Prayer: Oh, Lord Jesus, help me lose my life that I might gain spiritual life in You.
But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. Phil 2:17
I am not bound to win
But I am bound to be true.
I am not bound to succeed,
But I am bound to live up to what light I have. Abraham Lincoln
I recently spearheaded a new outreach ministry. I bathed it in prayed, received outside training, wrote a prospectus, and waited for months on the Lord’s timing. When I felt He said go for it, I launched with zeal. The whole thing dried up within a week. What a lot of wasted calories. However, the Lord is turning my head to view the effort differently.
God says His ways are not my ways (Isa 55:8-9). One look at the cross makes that clear. By all rights, Jesus’ death on the cross was squandered potential. Yet in the spiritual realm it was the most clever coup d'état of all time. God purchased our forgiveness, stripped the enemy of power, swept millions into paradise, and extended a hand of friendship to the lowest of the low—quite impressive for a failure.
Re-evaluating my failed project in light of the cross reveals a grand spiritual success. Father was glorified by one obedient to Him; and this was obedience undiluted by earthly success. Had this thing blossomed, my deceitful heart would have sought the affirmation of the numbers gathered about me. It is a dangerous thing when we serve the growth of a ministry. Instead, by His grace, I have the affirmation of serving only Jesus. How wonderfully freeing it is to escape slavery to results and live instead for the Spirit of Jesus. I confess I need my at-a-boys like others, but there is only one voice that will fully satisfy.
Prayer: Jesus, I long to hear You say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
T-Shirt Test
A few years ago the scientific journal Nature Genetics raised international interest when it reported the findings of a study that proved women can detect and respond to their preferences of odor in men. Male volunteers slept in the same T-shirt for two nights and then turned in the shirt. Next, women rated the shirts according to familiarity, intensity, pleasantness, and spiciness. The findings revealed that women’s preferences parallel their genetic groupings. In other words, to a woman, a man may smell good while to another woman the same man smells offensive, depending on genetic makeup.
The whole business sounds rather disgusting to me but it highlights a truth we are going to focus on today: That which is a fragrance to one person may be a stench to another. I am going to tell you a story that has a wonderful fragrance to some people but to others, it causes a stench. First, let’s turn to our theme passage for today:
2 Cor 2:14-16
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.
Now the story:
A father wanted to demonstrate to his children why Jesus came to save us. This father put a ladder beside the house and got up on the roof. Then he told the kids that the game was that each of them had to come up to the roof with him, but they could not touch the ladder. So the kids struggled and debated until the youngest said, “Daddy, this is not fair and we can’t do it.” The father only encouraged them to keep thinking and trying harder. Finally the youngest said, “Daddy, please come down the ladder.” And the father did so. She said, “Daddy, please bend down.” The father did so and the girl jumped up on his back. Then she asked, “Daddy, please climb back up the ladder.” As the father climbed the other children caught on and took their turns at getting a ride to the roof on dad’s back without touching the ladder.
This wise father then explained to his kids that the reason they played this game was it demonstrated how none of us are able to get into heaven on our own strength. We can never pay for our own sins and trying to be good enough to qualify for heaven is like trying to jump up to the roof from the ground; no one is that good. So God sent Jesus to the earth so all of us, from the strongest to the weakest, from the most holy to the most sinful, could climb onto the back of Jesus and get a free ride into heaven. With Jesus, it is easy for anyone to come up to God; without Jesus, it is impossible.
Sweet or Stink?
When you hear that story, does is create a sweet fragrance in your mind or an awful stench? If at some point in your life you gave your heart to Christ, you said to Him, “I am a sinner and I need You,” than this story probably brings a wonderful smell to you. You can identify with the fragrant truth that you have been given a free ride on Jesus’ back and are now fully accepted by God. So this story makes you nod your head in agreement and smile inside.
However, if you have never thought about how we are all pathetically lost without Jesus or about yielding your life to Him, then this story probably has no sent whatsoever. It does not really make sense to you and causes no reaction.
If you once considered Christ but decided you don’t need or want Him, than this story is probably a real stinker to you. It may even make you angry when you hear stories like this. The whole idea of being dependent on Jesus or the claims that He is the only way, probably sounds narrow and ignorant. I know I once held that attitude. I did not want to do the homework of researching the voracity of Christ or His sayings because I did not want to submit my life under the authority of anyone else. So before I yielded my prideful heart, the Gospel meant nothing to me. The Apostle Paul said:
1 Cor 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Jesus Himself warned us that some would have a very negative reaction to the Gospel:
Matt 10:25
The student shares the teacher's fate. The servant shares the master's fate. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, how much more will it happen to you, the members of the household.
I am so glad I finally got off my horse and bowed to Jesus. Now I understand my previous negative reaction and the reaction of some around me. This reminds me of the time I was flying on Southwest Air and I had selected a window seat and started reading my Bible. An elderly couple came and took the two seats beside me. As soon as the man looked across his wife and saw my Bible, he started talking loud and said, “Oh look here. What do we have here but a gol darn Bible thumper. Oh jeeze.”
I got really mad but I resolved not to say anything back. I remember trying to go on reading but wouldn’t you know it, the very passage I had turned to was something like love your neighbor and pray for those who persecute you. So I started praying for them and soon my heart softened toward the old couple, especially the poor wife who had to put up with her husband’s embarrassments. The Lord put it in my head to offer them my drink coupons and when I did that, the wife thanked my profusely. The husband just muttered something about how he used to give his coupons away when he traveled for business.
What I had forgotten during that encounter was that the old man was not cursing me but rather Jesus whom I represented. Now that I am saved, my old nature wants to be angry with those how will not accept Jesus. I am quick to make much of verses like:
Matt 7:6
Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.
Matt 10:14
If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet…
But I am slow to get my arms around verses like:
Matt 5:44
…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…
Matt 7:1
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
Reasons for Patience
I am going to give you two reasons why we need to be patient and loving with unbelievers. The first reason is that not one of us is any better than many unbelievers. Every Christian on the planet is a low-down, scum guzzling, gutter slopping sinner. I do not just mean before we were saved, I mean now. We have heard preachers say things like this before and we think, “I’m sitting here in church for goodness sakes. How can I be sinning right now?” But we fail to grasp the perfection and unapproachable holiness of God. None of us, even sitting here in church, can come into such an awesome and righteous God’s presence without melting into a puddle of carbon.
1 Tim 6:15-16
God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.
That verse needs to be amended to say, “whom no one has seen or can see without Jesus.” We do not need Jesus to save us from just our past, we desperately need Him right now in this very moment. So not one of us can afford to be prideful to say we have it together and the unsaved do not. When we Christians slander the gays, or the democrats, or the republicans, or Hare Krishna we only reveal we do not fully grasp our own desperate need for Jesus.
Reason number two for patience toward unbelievers is hell. If they do not change their minds between now and death, they will spend eternity in hell. We often do not want to consider hell. There are a lot more sermons about heaven then there are about hell, yet Jesus spoke about hell more than heaven. Let me read you a few verses to see what we know about hell.
Hell
Jesus said to those in Capernaum:
Matt 11:24
But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.
So we know there are different degrees of judgment.
REV 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened…15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Matt 25:41
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
MT 13:40 As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mark 9:47-48
It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where
"'their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched.'
Review:
Hell is not figurative
There are different degrees of hell
It was prepared for the devil and his demons
Everything that causes sin is there
It has fire
There is weeping
Those in hell gnash their teeth
It is never ending
(worst of all) It is completely separated from God
When we think about even the most hardened unbeliever spending eternity in that place, the only right emotion is pity; not anger, or hatred, or repulsion, but pity. None of us is without sin, we all deserve to be exiled to hell because of our continual choices of self over God, and yet:
John 3:16
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.
I have eternal life, you have eternal life—paradise with Jesus where we will be completed and everything made right; an eternity of bliss. How could we feel for the unbeliever anything accept what God feels? He is about to loose millions of His children through their own prideful condemnation. That thought should make us sick down to the basement of our hearts as it does God.
Nuclear Reaction
If you and I are living boldly for Christ, we are going to be the fragrance of life to some and the stench of death to others. We cannot help that. That is how Jesus affects humans. A nuclear reaction occurs when a carbon moderator such as graphite mixes with uranium. When you combine the carbon moderator of Jesus with the uranium of men, there is going to be an extreme reaction. It only remains to be seen if the reaction will turn out to be a spiritual energy-producing power plant or an eternally destructive bomb. We cannot control the reactions of others, but we can control our own reaction and our reaction to others. Born-again Christians are called to humble, grateful, joyous celebration of our own condition while maintaining a pitying, compassionate, loving bereavement over the condition of the world.
Call to Action
Let me ask the question again: Are these words the fragrance of life to you or are they the stench of death? Have you given your heart to Jesus? You may be thinking, I hope I have—especially after hearing about hell today—but I’m not 100 percent sure. How can I be sure? I would never presume to give my answer to that question that holds all the difference for eternity for you. I can only tell you what the Bible says.
Rom 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
At the wonderful Pritzl and Roe concert on Monday they were making fun of churches who ask people to bow their heads and close their eyes then raise a hand if they want to accept Christ. I will confess I have used that technique once or twice but I agree with the musicians. Never do we read in the Bible where Jesus spoke to the multitudes and said, “Now with every head bowed and every eye closed, raise your hand if you want to be a follower. I see that hand.” And do you know how many times the Bible tells of someone praying the sinner’s prayer to receive Christ? Zero, yet that is the most common practice in modern evangelical churches. I am not saying these things cannot bring you to Christ. God sees into the heart. But if we are going to follow the Bible then we have got to do things in Bible ways.
Do you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead? Then according to this verse we just read and others like it, if you will confess that believe to someone else you will be saved. You can confess it in front of a church, or to your best friend. If you have come to the conclusion that you need Jesus, I pray you will let us or someone know of your decision today. In the New Testament, the subject of baptism is brought up over 60 times. The way converts in the time of Jesus made their confession of belief was through baptism. If you want to seal your decision to follow Jesus, I could recommend nothing better.
Prayer
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal… Phil 3:13-14a
A fellow pastor plopped heavily into my guest chair. The laugh lines melted from his eyes and he let out that sigh that says here comes something deep. “After 30 years in my Christian walk, I don’t feel any different. I’m still battling the same old habits.” That struck a cord of agreement in my own life. It set me thinking, could it be we are no higher up on the mountain?
It is scary to look back down at our failures. Before Jesus, we had to look back; it was the epoch of looking back. The law required strict record keeping of slips and gains. I had to continually watch over my shoulder for mistakes. I was nervous and sick from my guilt. Everything depended on my ability to climb God’s impossibly holy mountain. When a flawed human is forced to live looking back on his mistakes, it is a dismal existence.
Jesus paid a dear price to keep us from the fright of looking back. How blessed I am to live in the age of looking forward. All hope, eternal treasure, and beauty are in front of me—at the top of the mountain. All I have to do from waking till sleeping each day is look forward. Because of the substitution on the cross, the failures of my past are non-existent. They have been erased from the annals of time. And whatever mistakes I make between now and heaven will also crumble into oblivion the instant the present becomes the past. Now I look down the mountain and there is nothing but a few bright successes and many blank voids where my sins used to be. Actually, it is a rather boring view. Up ahead, now that is a wondrous landscape. It is steep, but in the most treacherous places are bright colors of future success. The top is crowned with spikes of yellow-white beams shooting off the paradise wherein my Favorite dwells.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Keep me looking forward to You.
Intro - GPS
I have a new gadget for my laptop computer. It is a Bluetooth wireless GPS. It communicates up to satellites to keep track of precisely where it is and then uses wireless Bluetooth protocol to relay that information to my computer. By setting this little device on the dash of the car, the computer points with a map program to show right where I am and the correct route to my destination. We used this on our trips to Southern Calif. and Washington. It was great because as we drove along, a gentle voice on the laptop would tell us, “Turn right in 0.1 mile.” Whenever we took a wrong turn, the voice said, “Off route, off route!” Dani commented how nice it would be if she had a GPS for her life. Every time she made a wrong decision, a voice would tell her, “Off route.”
Romans 7:7 to 8:4
Today we are studying in Romans Chapters seven and eight and we will discover that what Dani wished for—a Global Positioning System for life—is already invented and ready for use.
Rom 7:7-8:4
7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."
8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Road Maps
I want to laugh every time I read that, for two reasons: first, because I so identify with what Paul is saying, “The evil I do not want to do- this I keep on doing,” and second because of the humorous way he repeats the irony of the situation, “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…” What makes this passage so confusing is Paul’s detailed analysis using legalese to describe the interaction between the law and the human nature. To help us understand his meaning, I have re-written the passage as though it applies to reading a map. The law is very much like a road map. It is a great reference tool if you know how to read it and where you are, but if you are direction-challenged like me, a map sometimes adds confusion and makes you even more lost. So permit me to re-read this passage with a few changes:
Rom 7:5-8:4 (Re-write)
7 What shall we say, then? Is the map wrong? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known how lost I was except through the map. For I would not have known I was not at First and Elm Streets if the map had not said, "Here is where First and Elm intersect."
8 But disorientation, seizing the opportunity afforded by the map, produced in me an acute awareness of how lost I was. For apart from the map, locating yourself is impossible. 9 Once I was happy without a map; but when the map came, disorientation sprang to life and I was lost. 10 I found that the very directions that were intended to bring guidance actually brought confusion. 11 For disorientation, seizing the opportunity afforded by the map, confused me more, and through the map got me really lost. 12 So then, the map is accurate, and the directions are accurate, true and good.
13 Did that which is good, then, cause me to be lost? By no means! But in order that lost might be recognized as lost, it produced disorientation in me through what was good, so that through the map I might realize how utterly lost I was.
14 We know that the map is right; but I am wrong, sold as a slave to disorientation. 15 I do not understand where I am going. For where I want to go, I do not go, but where I hate to go, I go. 16 And if I go where I do not want to go, I agree that the map is right. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who go there, but it is disorientation living in me. 18 I know that no sense of direction lives in me, that is, in my clueless nature. For I have the desire to go where I need to go, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For where I go, is not where I want to go; no, the wrong place to which I do not want to go-this is where I keep going. 20 Now if I go where I do not want to go, it is no longer I who go there, but it is disorientation living in me that goes there.
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to go where I need to go, disorientation is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in going to good places; 23 but I see another law at work in my sense of direction, waging war against the law of my good intentions and making me a prisoner of the disorientation at work within my brain. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from wandering the streets forever? 25 Thanks be to God-for the GPS, or Global Positioning System!
8:1 Therefore, there is now no embarrassment for those who are using a GPS, 2 because through the GPS the law of exact orientation set me free from the law of lost and confused. 3 For what the map was powerless to do in that it was weakened by my total lack of a sense of direction, engineers did by sending satellites into space to replace my sense of direction. And so they abolished disorientation in confused men, 4 in order that the exacting directions of the map might be fully followed by us, who do not navigate according to the disorientated nature but according to the GPS.
Remain Connected
I hope my silly analogy helps us understand what Paul is getting at. The GPS represents the Spirit—the Holy Spirit. Paul says we live according to the Spirit, and down in 8:26 he says it is the Spirit Who intercedes for us. So just as the GPS talks to the satellite then relays the data on to the computer, the Spirit is always connected to God interceding for us and then relaying the information on to us. The Bluetooth protocol between the GPS and the computer represents prayer. Prayer is our vital connection through which we have a Voice that lets us know when we are off route. Paul said:
1 Thess 5:17
pray continually
However, like the Bluetooth communications between the GPS and the computer, prayer needs to travel both directions. We need to learn to listen to the Spirit as much as we talk to Him.
According to Acts 2:38 we receive the Spirit when we first accept Christ:
Acts 2:38-39
Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call.
We have the gift of the Spirit but it takes practice to learn His language and His agenda. One of the amazing realities of becoming a Christian is that we participate in God’s agenda. Jesus said:
John 15:15
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
This is what Paul meant when he said:
Rom 7:6
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
The New Way of the Spirit
Under the new way of the Spirit we do not obey rote laws out of guilt but we gladly follow Jesus because we are part of His agenda. Through the Bible and the Holy Spirit, we are given insight to understand how sinning is a part of Satan’s dark kingdom and has no place in our new home. On top of learning the Spirit’s agenda, we also learn His language through prayer.
Classical Influences
The single event in my Christian walk that launched the most growth was when I began learning to pray bi-directionally. I did a lot of research into this and I would like to share a few excerpts from classical Christian writers.
Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471)
The Inward Conversation of Christ with the Faithful Soul
I WILL hear what the Lord God will speak in me.
Blessed is the soul who hears the Lord speaking within her, who receives the word of consolation from His lips. Blessed are the ears that catch the accents of divine whispering, and pay no heed to the murmurings of this world. Blessed indeed are the ears that listen, not to the voice which sounds without, but to the truth which teaches within. Blessed are the eyes which are closed to exterior things and are fixed upon those which are interior. Blessed are they who penetrate inwardly, who try daily to prepare themselves more and more to understand mysteries. Blessed are they who long to give their time to God, and who cut themselves off from the hindrances of the world.
Consider these things, my soul, and close the door of your senses, so that you can hear what the Lord your God speaks within you. "I am your salvation," says your Beloved. "I am your peace and your life. Remain with Me and you will find peace. Dismiss all passing things and seek the eternal. What are all temporal things but snares? And what help will all creatures be able to give you if you are deserted by the Creator?" Leave all these things, therefore, and make yourself pleasing and faithful to your Creator so that you may attain to true happiness.
Brother Lawrence (1605-1691)
Brother Lawrence, was a monk on 17th century France and the one who coined the phrase “Practicing the presence of God.”
I have ceased all forms of devotion and set prayers except those which my state requires. I make it my priority to persevere in His holy presence, wherein I maintain a simple attention and a fond regard for God, which I may call an actual presence of God. Or, to put it another way, it is an habitual, silent, and private conversation of the soul with God. This gives me much joy and contentment. In short, I am sure, beyond all doubt, that my soul has been with God above these past thirty years.
Jeanne Guyon (1647-1717)
I like this author because she breaks the concept of continual prayer down into clear practical language.
I especially address those of you who are very simple… You may think you are the one person most incapable of this abiding experience of Christ; but in fact you are the one most suited to know Him well.
You see, the only way to be perfect is to walk in the presence of God. The only way you can live in His presence in uninterrupted fellowship is by means of prayer, but very special kind of prayer. It is a prayer that leads you into the presence of God and keeps you there at all times; a prayer that can be experienced under any conditions, any place, and any time. A prayer that does not interfere with your outward activities or your daily routine.
Turn to the Scripture; choose some passage that is simple and fairly practical. Next, come to the Lord. Come quietly and humbly. There, before Him, read a small portion of the passage you have opened to. Be careful as you read. Take in fully, gently and carefully what you are reading. Taste it and digest it as you read.
The mind has a very strong tendency to stray away from the Lord. Therefore, make use of the scripture to quiet your mind. First, read a passage. Once you sense the Lord’s presence, pause. You have paused so that you may set your mind on the Spirit. Turn your heart to the presence of God. How is this done? You turn to Him by faith. By faith you believe you have come into the presence of God. Once your heart has been turned inwardly to the Lord, you will have an impression of His presence. You will be able to notice His presence more acutely because your outer senses have now become calm and quiet. Your attention is no longer on outward things or on the surface thoughts of your mind; instead, sweetly and silently, your mind becomes occupied with what you have read and by that touch of His presence.”
Leanne Payne (Current) Book: Listening Prayer
We begin with the practice of the presence of God. To learn to acknowledge always the God who is really there—immanently with and within us as well as transcendent over and above us—is a way of praying continually as the scriptures exhort us to do. When we do this the eyes and ears of our hearts are opened to receive the word He always speaks. We enter a path of listening obedience we could not find through striving (for example, keeping the law perfectly), a path of freedom where we joyfully realize and acknowledge Jesus as Lord and carry out His will.
But the acknowledgement that God is always with us—even when we are least aware of it in our sensory being—requires discipline. To acknowledge the Unseen Real requires a concentrated effort of our wills at first.
The practice of the presence, then, is simply the discipline of calling to mind the truth that God is with us. When we do this consistently, we are given the miracle of seeing by faith. We begin to see and hear with the eyes and ears of our hearts.
My personal spiritual life made a big jump when I began trying to keep an inner dialogue with the Holy Spirit. Notice I say “began trying;” I am still very imperfect at this but I wanted to share the results of my meager attempts at practicing the presence of God. It brings huge joy and peace no matter what is going on externally. The difference between living according to legalistic rules, and living under the new way of the Spirit—listening for Him—is like the difference between living as a slave in a dark prison and living as an informed son in the free clear air.
Praise God that Dani’s wish for a spiritual GPS is available to us through constant dialogue with the Holy Spirit.
Prayer
Father we praise You for the incredible privilege of serving in the new way of the Spirit; of walking moment by moment with You. As we learn to push away the things of the world and quiet our hearts, we ask that we might hear You loud and clear. Please sing Your love into our inner spirit.
Give us today our daily bread. Mat 6:11
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