Service to God and Others

Greetings All,

Today's "thought" speaks of spiritual disciplines. Yes, spiritual disciplines!  Those activities we train ourselves to do to grow spiritually.  Yet this message is not always popular.  In an age of comfort and ease, even people in the church often see spiritual disciplines as "legalistic," often thinking (or suggesting) that somehow growth just happens without any effort or self-discipline on our part. Something they  will state even though Paul tells us in Galatians 5:23 that self-discipline is a Fruit of the Spirit.  It's one of the traits of character that God's Spirit (if that Spirit dwells within us) works to produce and grow in us over time as an expression of godliness.

     
     So, today, I will let Donald Whitney speak on this topic from his excellent book entitled: "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life."  For those whose hearts have been reoriented by God to desire godliness, this book is very helpful. For he shows us that spiritual disciplines are not contrary to grace, but flow out of the grace God gives. They don't earn us merits with God, they evidence that God has changed our affections so that we desire the things He wants for us.  They show us that God is within us moving us to engage in those activities that will bring growth in godliness. This selection has to do with the Spiritual Discipline called Service to God and Others.  Enjoy.

     "Discipline without direction is drudgery... It is said of God's elect in Romans 8:29: "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son." God's eternal plan ensures that every Christian will ultimately conform to Christ-likeness.  We will be changed "when he appears" so that "we shall be like him" (I John 3:2). This is no vision. This is you, Christian, in a few years. So why all this talk about discipline? If God has predestined our conformity to Christ-likeness, where does the discipline come in?  Although God will grant us Christ-likeness when Jesus returns, until then He intends for us to grow toward that Christ-likeness.  We aren't merely to wait for holiness, we're to pursue it.  "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy," we're commanded in Hebrews 12:14, "for without holiness no one will see the Lord."  Which leads us to ask what every Christian should ask, "How then shall we pursue holiness? How can we be like Jesus Christ, the Son of God?"  We find the clear answer in I Timothy 4:7: "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness."

     ...There is little value in practicing Spiritual Disciplines apart from the single purpose that unites them (Colossians 2:20-23, I Timothy 4:8). That purpose is godliness... The Spiritual Disciplines are the God-given means we are to use in the Spirit-filled pursuit of Godliness. Godly people are disciplined people.  It has always been so. Call to mind some heroes of church history -- St. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Bunyan, Susanna Wesley, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Lady Huntingdon, Jonathan and Sarah Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, George Mueller -- they we all disciplined people.  Godliness comes through discipline.  We avail ourselves of the Spiritual Disciplines because they help grow us in Christ-likeness.

THE DISCIPLINE OF SERVING

     The Pony Express was a private express company that carried mail by an organized relay of horseback riders. The eastern end was in St. Joseph, Missouri, and western terminal was in Sacramento, California.  The cost of sending a letter by Pony Express was $2.50 an ounce.  If the weather and horses held out, and the Indians held off, that letter would complete the entire two-thousand-mile journey in a speedy ten days, as did the report of Lincoln's Inaugural Address.... Being a rider for the Pony Express was a tough job. You were expected to ride seventy-five to one hundred miles a day, changing horses every fifteen to twenty-five miles. Other than the mail, the only baggage you carried contained a few meager provisions... In case of danger, you also had a medical pack... In order to travel light and to increase speed of speed of mobility during Indian attacks, the men always rode with nothing but shirts, even during the fierce winter weather.  How would you recruit volunteers for this hazardous job?  An 1860 San Francisco newspaper printed this ad for the Pony Express: "WANTED: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18. Must be expert riders willing to risk daily. Orphans preferred."  Those were the honest facts of the service required, but the Pony Express NEVER had a shortage of riders [even though 20 employees lost their lives in the year and a half it was in existence until the telegraph wires replaced the need for riders].

     We also need to be honest with the facts about serving God.  Like the Pony Express, serving God is not a job for the casually interested. It's costly service. He asks for your life. He asks for service to Him to become a priority, not a pastime. He doesn't want servants who will give Him the leftovers of their life commitments. Serving God isn't a short-term responsibility either. Unlike the Pony Express, His kingdom will never go under, no matter how technological our world gets.  The mental picture we have of the Pony Express is probably much like the one imagined by the young men of 1860 who read that newspaper ad.  Scenes of excitement, camaraderie, and the thrill of adventure filled their heads as they swaggered over to the Express office to apply. Yet few of them envisioned how that excitement would only occasionally punctuate the routine of the long, hard hours and the loneliness of the work.

     The discipline of serving is like that. Although Christ's summons to service is the most spiritually grand and noble way to live a life, it is typically as pedestrian as washing someone's feet. Richard Foster puts it starkly: "In some ways we would prefer to hear Jesus' call to deny father and mother, houses and land for the sake of the Gospel, rather than His word to wash feet. Radical self-denial gives the feel of adventure. If we forsake all, we even have the chance of glorious martyrdom. But in service we are also banished to the mundane, the ordinary, the trivial." The ministry of serving may be as public as preaching or teaching, but more often it will be as sequestered as nursery duty. It may be as visible as singing a solo, but usually it will be as unnoticed as operating the sound equipment to amplify the solo. Serving may be as appreciated as a good testimony in the worship service, but typically it is as thankless as washing dishes after a church social. Most service, even that which seems the most glamorous, is like an iceberg. Only the eye of God sees the larger hidden part of it.

     Beyond the church walls, serving is baby-sitting for neighbors, taking meals to families in flux, running errands for the home-bound, providing transportation for the one whose car breaks down, feeding pets and watering plants for vacationers, and -- hardest of all -- having a servants heart in the home. Serving is as commonplace as the practical needs it meets. That's why serving must become a spiritual discipline. The flesh connives against hiddenness and sameness. Two of the deadliest of our sins -- sloth and pride -- loathe serving. The paint glazes over our eyes and puts chains on our hands and feet so we don't serve as we know we should or even want to.  If we don't discipline ourselves to serve for the sake of Christ and His kingdom (and for the purpose of Godliness), we'll serve only occasionally, or when it's convenient or self-serving...  However, those who want to train themselves for Christlike spirituality will find it one of the surest and most practical means of growth in grace."

     Tom Landry (former coach of the Dallas Cowboys for most of three decades) put it well when he said: "The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do in order to achieve what they always wanted to be."  That's true for us as Christians as well.  "Christians are called to do things they would naturally not be prone to do -- pursue spiritual disciplines -- in order that they might become what they've always wanted to be, that is, like Jesus Christ" (Whitney).  A mentor once told me (and I now have it taped to the wall in my house): "Character is making yourself do what you don't want to do because you know it will be good for you."  This can't happen without the fruit of the Spirit we call self-discipline. In an age that tends toward undisciplined living, his words go against the grain. Yet they are totally in line with the teaching of the New Testament (I Corinthians 9:23-27).  Self-discipline is a primary part in the pursuit of godliness.

In the Service of Christ, Pastor Jeff

Springs in the Valley

Greetings All!

     This week's "thought" comes to you from a devotional named, "Springs in the Valley," by L. B. Cowman (also the author of "Streams in the Desert" from which I quoted not long ago).

     
     I chose to share this particular selection because it displays such a profound understanding of God's personal intervention in our lives. In the age we live in, which loves formulas, and thinks we can duplicate the results of others simply by duplicating their methods, God often has a surprise for us.  For as many who have tried will testify, we can duplicate everything others do and still not get the same results.  Why? Because a sovereign God reigns over the universe who moves uniquely in each person, place, and situation -- a God who is intensely personal and isn't into cloning or copycat ministries.  In fact, the desire to duplicate the life and experience of others not only takes God's unique plan for each of us far too lightly, it also disavows the working of grace, and the richness of diversity within the Church -- the unique path to maturity that God has ordained for each individual believer.

     That's why I so enjoyed this entry.  It displays a profound understanding of God's unique care and work in the life of each believer.  If you have sought to do ministry at all, you have surely thought, or wrestled internally, with some of the things he speaks of here.  I know I have. 

     The only thing I might have changed would be the verse she uses for this entry.  She used Philippians 3:7, I would have used Matthew 20:1-16. Enjoy.

     "If God has called you to be really like Christ, He may draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility and put on you such demands of obedience that He will not allow you to follow other Christians, and in many ways will let other good people do things which He will not let you do.
     Other Christians, who seem very religious and useful, may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it. And if you attempt it you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

     Others may boast of themselves, of their work, of their success, of their writing, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. And if you begin to, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

     Others will be allowed to succeed in making money... but it is likely God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, and that is a helpless dependence on Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury.

     The Lord will let others be honored and put forward, but keep you hidden away in obscurity because He wants to produce in you some choice fragrant fruit for His coming glory. He will let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit for it, but you He will make to work and toil without knowing how much fruit your efforts are bearing. The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you... rebuking you for little words and feelings or for wasting time.

     God is an Infinite Sovereign! He has the right to do as He pleases with His own.  Settle it forever, then, that you are to deal directly with the Lord Jesus -- that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, chaining your hand, or closing your eyes in ways that He does not deal with others.  Then you will have found the vestibule of heaven.  Others may, you cannot."

     In the parable of the kingdom in Matthew 20 Jesus speaks of hiring workers to tend His field for a denarius a day (the typical work day being 12 and not 8 hours)!  Yet as the story goes on, we see one worker works 12 hours, one works 9 hours, one works 6 hours, one works 3 hours, and one works only 1 hour -- but they all get the same pay!   And when they complain about the "unfairness" of this policy, Jesus (speaking as the landowner) responds, "Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I'm generous."

     The "pay" is obviously salvation, and its the same for those who follow Christ all their lives as it is for the person who comes to Christ in the last hour, on their deathbed. It's something Jesus sees as displaying God's uncanny generosity, though some see it as God being "unfair."

     Yet the same phrase the landowner uses to refer to money could also refer to the way God moves through all the varied details of our individual lives: "Doesn't He have the right to do what He wants with my own..."  Doesn't God have the right to deal with each of His grace-chosen children as He chooses?  And when He does, should we complain that we are not being treated as "fairly" as others (whose lives we envy)?  Should we not rejoice that the path He leads us on is one He designed specifically for us, in light of our unique makeup and personality, and the special work He desires us to carry out for His glory?

     You see, it is true -- God is an Infinite Sovereign!   And because He is, and deals with each of us uniquely, it can be said: Other may do what He will not permit us to do. He may even call us to do some difficult thing that others are not called to do.  He has the right to do as He pleases with His own.  No clones or formulas, just a sovereign God who as the divine Potter does what He desires with each unique and individual lump of clay.

In the Name of Him who is in Control, Pastor Jeff

Loving the Unlovely

Greetings All,

     This week's 'thought' comes (once again) from Gary Thomas' book "Simply Sacred."  I send it out because it is profoundly insightful and challenging.
     It's a good way to measure if we are truly loving others or simply experiencing an inward emotional affirmation of something in them that pleases us -- and there is a big difference as I hope you will see! This entry is entitled "Loving the Unlovely."  Enjoy.

     "One of the cruelest remarks I've ever heard came from a man who left his wife for another woman: 'The truth is, I've never loved you.'  The remark is designed to say, 'The truth is, I've never found you lovable.' 

But put in a Christian context, it's a confession of the man's utter failure to be a Christian.  If he hasn't loved his wife, it is not his wife's fault, but his. Jesus calls us to love the unlovable -- even our enemies! -- so a man who says, 'I've never loved you' is a man saying, 'I've never acted like a Christian.'

     I regularly visit public libraries. One day I was walking toward the computer terminals when the smell of a homeless man became almost overpowering. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him hunched over a table, his tattered clothes and unkempt hair marking his lack of a permanent address.  I enjoy it when folks tell me how much God has 'used' me in their lives, but I shake my head when I think of the gospel missions in most cities dedicated to reaching individuals such as these.

     It's easy to be 'used' when you get to sit in front of a computer in your home and do something you enjoy. It's hardly sacrificial when I'm given well-furnished rooms in hotels and whisked across the country in airplanes (to speak at conferences).

     But we display Christian love in loving those most difficult to love, not the easiest. Jesus tells us that when we hold a banquet, we shouldn't invite our friends; they might invite us back and thus repay us. Instead, Jesus said, invite the lame, the paralyzed, the poor, the blind -- those who can't pay us back (Luke 14).

     That's what is so difficult about Jesus' call to love others. On one level, it's easy to love God, because God doesn't smell. God doesn't have bad breath. God doesn't reward kindness with evil. God doesn't make berating comments. Loving God is easy in this sense. But to love God through unlovely people? That's the challenge -- and that's our call.

     Today, think about the one person in your social sphere who is most difficult for you to love; this person may well be God's 'angel,' a messenger sent to help you become more like Christ."

     Obviously, it's not wrong to appreciate kindness, cleanliness, courtesy, helpfulness, humility, cheerfulness, respectfulness, beauty, and so on, in others.  But we should carefully question the extent of our 'love' if we find those things necessary in the other person in order to 'love' them.  For if we secretly demand such things in others before we can love them, what we are really saying is: "You've passed the test. You measure up to my personal standards. And, therefore, since I feel good and comfortable around you I will affirm, praise, protect, care for, and offer you my love." 

     Yet something about that should smell fishy. For although to many it may seem like love, it's really the opposite of love. In fact, upon further investigation, it's really selfishness to the extreme -- a selfishness that can evidence itself in a complete rejection of that person if they should ever stop exhibiting those qualities. It may even be a sign that we really don't know how to love at all.  Like the Pharisees Jesus rebuked so often, it could mean we merely found someone who "measured up" to our high and conditional standards of lovability and acceptability.

     How utterly different is the love of God who went out of His way to find people who didn't exhibit the qualities He desired in them (yes, that includes us!), but chose to love us anyway, despite our many flaws.  A God who sent His Son to "die for us while we were yet sinners"  (Romans 5:8) -- ungodly, undeserving, unloving, and spiritually unkempt -- with the "overpowering" smell of sin wafting all about us.

     Yes, my friends, God showed us His love even though we were people who were completely unlike anything that measured up to his preferred standards. It's little wonder, therefore, that He calls us to love the unlovely. He's simply calling us to love others as He loved (loves) us.

     So don't be fooled.  If you cannot bring yourself to love someone who doesn't measure up to your standards, it's not love, whatever else it may be called.

Just a little food for thought... Pastor Jeff

Living the Christian life with Zeal

Greetings All,

     This week's 'thought' comes to you from Daniel Bashta, who grew up on the mission field and has now settled outside Atlanta, Georgia.  He is best known for writing the contemporary worship song, "Like a Lion" -- sung by the David Crowder Band and others.
     This article is found in "Worship Leader Magazine" (September 2013) and deals with the need to live out the Christian life more zealously, wherever we may be. I found it challenging -- especially as one who grew up during the Jesus Movement of the 1960's and 70's, which he references, and could have voiced many of the same sentiments he expresses in this article.  Enjoy.

     "When I was a kid, I remember taking a trip in our old Chrysler wood-paneled minivan. My dad had this giant JVC boombox, the one with all the batteries, and he was playing a box set from this guy named Keith Green. It played for hours and was like nothing I had ever heard. At that age, I didn't really know the difference between worship music and Christian music. But something about this guy's voice completely haunted me. The CD would skip as we hit potholes in the road, but for hours I was captivated by the conviction in that voice.

     I also remember the first time I heard about the Jesus Movement and began to understand the musical connection. My dad and mom would tell me stories about how these hippies found Jesus in a radical way. Then my dad would introduce me to new sounds: Keith, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Phil Keaggy, Larry Norman.  It was a completely new world for me.

     The older I became, the more I realized what a phenomenon this Jesus Movement was -- and still is. Something was birthed that truly changed the world forever. A prophetic voice was unleashed over a generation that was unstoppable. Here was a generation that had indulged in the sea-change freedoms of their culture, yet were left longing for something more, something real. Then, all of a sudden, they collided with this man named Jesus and that collision left them with a desire to know him to the point that their desperation invaded every part of their existence.  Later, when I read 
Melody Green's 'No Compromise' for the first time, it revolutionized my world and left me with the realization that I had lost my faith in seeing the supernatural take place.
     Somewhere along the journey, I think our generation has fallen asleep and lost our astonishment and wonder. This was driven home by another book, Mike Yaconelli's 'Dangerous Wonder,' which left me ruined and convicted. He wrote: 'The most critical issue facing Christians today is not abortion, pornography, the disintegration of the family, moral absolutes, MTV, drugs, racism, sexuality or school prayer. The critical issue 
today is dullness. We have lost our astonishment. The Good News is no longer good news; it is okay news. Christianity is no longer life-changing, it is life-enhancing. Jesus doesn't change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore; he changes them into nice people.' 
     There is an epidemic happening that must be stopped. We have grown so worship-FULL that we no longer have a desperation for the true manifest presence of God. We have grown accustomed to our own productions and agendas. In our evolution of trying to become relevant we have become stagnant and powerless. We have lost our voice and the conviction of wild-eyed radicals. In a culture of mega-churches, mega-production, mega-glitz, mega-Christian brands and mega-egos, I believe we have to go back to the start. We have lost the plot... we have lost our first love.

     In all the madness and in all the chaos and confusion, I do believe there is a stirring and an uprising beginning to brew. There is an awakening that is taking place in this generation longing for stories that are fresh and new. Like them, I'm tired of reading old stories about this thing called the Jesus Movement. I'm ready to be the movement -- ready to be the real Jesus to our generation. I want the world to know that hope is alive and that the body of Jesus is full of dreamers. I want to create and leave a mark on generations to come. 'I repent,' said Keith Green, 'of ever having recorded one single song, and ever having performed one concert, if my music and more importantly my life, has not provoked you into godly jealousy or to sell out more completely to Jesus.' 
     So what will your life provoke? The greatest commandment and ultimate dream commands us to go!  There is no exception, there is no substitution. We are the Jesus movement; so now is the time. Move! Be hope; be love; be life. Be Jesus to the city, the nation, and to the world. Be the difference. For me that is the true Jesus Movement."

     Since I grew up in those times I can still remember how that movement affected me. Their passion and their willingness to be radical, or fanatical for Jesus, still remains in my mind. 
     Did they make mistakes? Yes.  Did their zeal sometimes lack wisdom? Yes.  Could people point to excesses? Yes. Did their behavior sometimes upset people by challenging the widely accepted norms of culture?  Yes.
     Yet isn't that the nature of being radical or fanatical?  Wasn't Jesus, as they correctly pointed out, a 'revolutionary' of sorts? Weren't many of his teachings radical? Didn't he call people to pretty extreme, sacrificial, 'out on a limb,' 'stretch faith to its limits' obedience and discipleship which shocked the middle and upper classes and challenged the status quo?  Weren't Jesus' demands so radical in many cases that people today still can't figure out how to soften them enough to make them fit into the middle class American dream?

     Far from zealous, people in many of today's churches are so balanced, well-adjusted and careful not to be seen as radical (or God forbid, fanatical) that they have become virtually invisible to the culture around them. They blend in without notice.
     They may speak the truth verbally, but have laid aside the willingness to leave all, sell all, and give up all to follow Jesus. In fact, as we look around, it seems the only people willing to be radical are those bent on violence, or determined to shock people with their crudeness and immorality.
     Bashta is surely right -- we could use a little more radicalness in our commitment and a return to our first, sold out love for Jesus. For it is hard to see how we could ever leave an imprint on future generations if we are not a bit more radical in our love for Jesus, and godliness, and our neighbors for whom He died.  As much as they unsettle the mature prim and proper us, a few wild-eyed radicals may be exactly what is needed.  After all, Christ's call is for us to be like liquid that is hot (to warm) or cold (to refresh) and not lukewarm which does neither.

May the God of Grace and Glory stir the hearts of this generation afresh, Pastor Jeff

Trusting God

Greetings All,

This week's 'thoughts' come from the book "Christian Prayers and Devotions," by James S. Bell Jr. and Tracy Macon Summer. Actually, it's full title is, "The Complete Idiots Guide to Christian Prayers and Devotions." Its title makes it sound like it's light on content, which is anything but true. It's a goldmine of collected prayers and devotions gathered from every age and various sources.

This weeks 'thoughts' come from various people, yet all address the same topic - Trusting God through the struggles, trials and hardships of life.

As with any really good advice on this topic, it comes from those who had their share of difficulties -- people who speak and write out of their own experiences with suffering. It's not advice from those who have lived a protected or pampered life. After all, it would be hard to hear advice on such a topic from one who has never been driven to the depths of soul struggle by the actual experience of intense pain, or physical and emotional affliction. I offer their words to you for your edification, exhortation and encouragement. I trust they will strengthen your resolve in Christ. Enjoy.

Philip Doddridge on Trust In Affliction:

"Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy." (James 1:2) God Himself has said: 'No matter what happens, always be thankful' (I Thess. 5:18). He also teaches us, His servants, to say, 'We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials' (Rom. 5:3).

True believers can be assured that afflictions are tokens of God's mercy, for, 'the Lord disciplines those he loves, and punishes those he accepts as His children' (Hebrews 12:6). So you can see your troubles as loving discipline, and then realize that God's love deserves our praise.

When you are going through difficult times, say to yourself, 'It is through these things that God is conforming me to the image of His Son. He is preparing me and training me for complete glory by removing the flaws in my character. He is making me a more gracious and patient person. He is working wisely to bring me nearer to Himself and to make me ready for His heavenly kingdom. Though His disciplines may not be pleasant, God certainly knows far better than I what I need. He knows exactly what I need in order to accomplish the very best in me and for me, and will graciously and lovingly accomplish just that. This tribulation will help me 'learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, as well as more confidence in Him. I will know beyond all doubt how much God loves me' (Rom. 3:3-5). God's love shines through my affliction like the sun through a cloud, sprinkling light upon the shade and mingling fruitfulness with my tears.'"

A Prayer by Thomas Arnold:

"Lord, preserve us this day and strengthen us to bear whatever you see fit to lay on us, whether pain, sickness, danger or distress; through Jesus Christ our Lord."

A diary entry written by Madame Elizabeth of France, while awaitng her death by Guillotine:

"I do not know, my God, what may happen to me today. I only know nothing will happen to me that you have not foreseen from all eternity, and that is sufficient, my God, to keep me in peace.

I adore your eternal designs. I submit to them with all my heart. I desire them all and accept them all. I make a sacrifice of everything. I unite this sacrifice to that of your dear Son, my Savior, begging you by His infinite merits, for patience in troubles, and the perfect submission which is due to you in all that you will and design for me."

A poem by Saint Columba missionary to the British Isles:

"Alone with none but Thee, my God,

I journey on my way.

What need I fear, when Thou art near,

O King of night and day?

More safe am I within Thy hand,

Than if an host dids't round me stand."

A Prayer of Ignatius of Loyola:

"Christ Jesus, when all is darkness and we feel our weakness and helplessness, give us the sense of your presence, your love, and your strength. Help us to have perfect trust in your protecting love and sustaining power, so that nothing may frighten or worry us, for, living close to you, we shall see your hand, your purpose and your will through all things. Amen."


Who could say more? In the Bonds of Christian fellowship,
Pastor Jeff

Loving Christ

Greetings All,

This week's 'thought' comes to you from Thomas A'Kempis, who was born in Holland in 1392 to devout parents (a blacksmith father and school teaching mother). He was converted through the influences of a wandering street-preacher/evangelist named Gerhard Goote (who sought to turn people back to God and the Bible). Goote's basic message was simple: "Turn away from sin, live like Jesus, and read God's Word." A'Kempis later joined a group that became known as "The Brother's of the Common Life," whose goal was to live humble, simple, unpretentious lives patterned after the early Christians (Acts 2:42-47) and after the life of Jesus Himself in the Gospels.

"The Imitation of Christ" (though written in the 1420's) displays great insight, love for Jesus, simplicity in application and wisdom that still rings true and challanges people today. It's one of the most well read books in Christian literature, has been translated into over 50 languages, and has Scripture woven throughout every page. Today's selection has to do with truly following Jesus for Jesus sake. Enjoy.

"Jesus has many lovers of the heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of His cross. He has many who desire consolation, but few tribulation. He finds many companions of His table, but few of His abstinence. All desire to rejoice with Him, few are willing to endure anything for Him, or with Him. Many follow Jesus into the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of His suffering. Many reverence His miracles, few follow the ignominy of His Cross. Many love Jesus so long as no adversities befall them, many praise and bless Him so long as they recieve consolations from Him; but if Jesus hide Himself and leave them but a little while, they fall either into complaining or into much dejection of mind.

Yet they who love Jesus for the sake of Jesus and not for some special comfort of their own, bless Him in all tribulations and anguish of heart, as well as in the state of highest comfort. Yes, even if He should never be willing to give them comfort, they notwithstanding would ever praise Him, and wish to be always giving thanks.

O how powerful is the pure love of Jesus, which is mixed with no self-interest or self-love! Are not all those to be called mercenary who are always seeking consolations? Do they not show themselves to be rather lovers of themselves than of Christ who are always thinking of their own profit and advantage? Where shall one be found who is willing to serve God for nothing? ... In the Cross is salvation, in the Cross is life, in the Cross is heavenly sweetness, in the Cross is strength of mind, in the Cross joy of spirit, in the Cross the height of virtue, in the Cross the perfection of sanctity. There is no salvation for the soul, nor hope of everlasting life, but in the Cross. Take up therefore the Cross and follow Jesus, and you shall go into eternal life."

Bound by our mutual desperate dependence on that Cross,

Pastor Jeff