When I Don't Desire God

Greetings!

For over a year I've been engaging numerous young people in conversations about God, church, and simply life in general.  In the process one major theme has repeatedly come up: Many young people are struggling to experience joy in God.  As a result some gave given up on God.  Many say their friends are depressed and struggle to find meaning and motivation in life.  I know there are various reasons for this, but I send out this week's "thought" because it offers at least one possible remedy for the problem.  It's found in John Piper's book, "When I Don't Desire God," the sequel to his best-selling book "Desiring God - The Confessions of a Christian Hedonist."  Both books are well-worth reading if you have not yet done so.  Enjoy.

     "One of the greatest witnesses I know of to the power of regular disciplined reading of the Bible for the sake of love-producing joy is George Mueller (1805-1898), who is famous for founding orphanages in Bristol, England, and for depending on God for meeting all his needs.  He asked the very question this book is asking: "In what way shall we attain to this settled happiness of soul? How shall we learn to enjoy God? How shall we obtain such an all-sufficient soul-satisfying portion in him as shall enable us to let go of the things of this world as vain and worthless in comparison? I answer: This happiness is to be obtained through the study of the Holy Scriptures. God has therein revealed Himself unto us in the face of Jesus Christ."  

     That's what we have seen so far in this book: Happiness in God comes from seeing God revealed to us in the face of Jesus Christ through the Scriptures.  Mueller says, "In them...we become acquainted with the character of God. Our eyes are divinely opened to see what a lovely Being God is!  And this good, gracious, loving, heavenly Father is ours -- our portion for time and for eternity."  Knowing God is the key to being happy in God.  "The more we know God," says Mueller, "the happier we are... When we became a little acquainted with God... our true happiness... commenced; and the more we become acquainted with him, the more happy we become.  What will make us exceedingly happy in heaven?  It will be the fuller knowledge of God."  Therefore the most crucial means of fighting for joy in God is to immerse oneself in the Scriptures where we see God in Christ most clearly.

     When Mueller was seventy-one years old, he spoke to younger believers: "Now...I would give a few hints to my younger fellow-believers as to the way in which to keep up spiritual enjoyment. It is absolutely needful... we should read regularly through the Scriptures, consecutively, and not just pick out here and there a chapter.  If we do, we remain spiritual dwarfs. I tell you so affectionately. For the first four years after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But when I regularly read on through the whole Bible with reference to my own heart and soul, I directly made progress. The my peace and joy continued more and more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my peace and joy have increased more and more.

     He would live and read his Bible for another twenty-one years. But he never changed his strategy for satisfaction in God. When he was seventy-six, he wrote the same thing he had learned for over fifty years: "I saw more clearly than ever, that the first and primary business to attend to every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord."  And the means stayed the same: "I saw that the most important hing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the word of God, and to meditation upon it... What is the food of the inner man?  Not prayer, but the word of God; and... not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds like water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.""

     In a society that tries to get us to question the uniqueness, validity, authority and divine origin of the Scriptures as being "God-breathed" revelation (II Timothy 3:16-17), it is not unusual to see people laying aside the priority of Bible reading, Scriptural meditation and Bible memorization.  Yet they do it to their own peril and the impoverishment of their own soul. They rob themselves of the possibility of the peace and joy that come from knowing God.  For as both Mueller and Piper note: "This happiness is to be obtained through the study of the Holy Scriptures...." "Happiness in God comes from seeing God revealed to us in the face of Jesus Christ through the Scriptures...."  "Knowing God is the key to being happy in God."  "The more we know God the happier we are."

     Did not Jesus essentially tell us the same thing regarding the soul-feeding and soul-satisfying function of God's Word in the Scriptures?  Is He not looking out for our greatest good -- our spiritual happiness, contentment and satisfaction in God -- when He says:  "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."  And as we know, by the word "live" he is not simply speaking of physical life as opposed to death, He's speaking of being alive inwardly, or thriving spiritually, of finding our soul-sustaining nourishment in the Scriptures.

     With prayers that you may seek to feast more earnestly and consistently upon the Word that was given to sustain your happiness in God, Pastor Jeff

The Practice of the Presence of God

Greetings!

This past weekend the men at my church got away on a "Men's Recon"  to a couple cabins in the Pocono Mountains to spend time in quiet contemplation with God.  In doing so we read Brother Lawrence's classic work, "The Practice of the Presence of God."  It was revitalizing time.   I had my own copy of the book which I bought many years ago, so I brought it with me - fragile as it is from being loaned out and read so many times. Over the years I have copied quotes into the many blank pages and spaces in it.  So today I wanted to share some of those quotes with you.  And if you have just a moment, let me know which one(s) hit home the most. Enjoy.

"Whatever we are doing, even if we are reading the Word or praying, we should stop for a few minutes -- as often as possible -- to praise God from the depths of our hearts, to enjoy Him there in secret. Since you believe that God is always with you no matter what you may be doing, why shouldn't you stop for a while to adore Him, to praise Him, to petition Him, to offer Him your heart, and to thank Him?"

Brother Lawrence

"There is nothing but God's grace. We walk upon it. We breathe it. We live by it and we die in it."

Robert Louis Stevenson

"You have no strength but what God gives you, and you can have all the strength that God can give." 

Andrew Murray

"Wonder is the basis of worship."

Thomas Carlyle

"Faith is not an effort, a striving, a ceaseless seeking, as so many earnest souls suppose, but rather, a letting go, an abandonment, an abiding rest in God that nothing, not even the soul's shortcomings can disturb." 

Unknown

"God never asks us to give up anything unless He intends to replace it with something better."

George Mueller

"He who would not die for Jesus will never truly live for Jesus; for to earnestly live for Him requires dying daily to the self-will that we may do His will."

"God insists that we ask, not because He needs to know our situation, but because we need the spiritual discipline of asking."

Catherine Marshall

"When God wants to do His great works, He trains somebody to be quiet enough and little enough, then uses that person."

Hudson Taylor

"Enter into the inner chamber of your mind, shut out all things except God and whatever might aid you in seeking God, and having barred the door of your inner chamber, seek Him." 

St. Anselm of Canterbury

"God creates out of nothing. Therefore, until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him." 

Martin Luther

"Joy is not happiness as much as it is gladness; it is the ecstasy of eternity in a soul that has made peace with God and is ready to do His will."

Unknown

"Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation."

Elton Trueblood

"Be patient with each other, there are no shortcuts to spirituality. The growing of fruit takes time."

Unknown

"The greatness of a man is not measured by his power or ability, but by the measure of his surrender to God."

Unknown

"The person who insists on seeing with perfect clarity before he follows Christ in the way, will never obey God's call to walk by faith. To Abraham God said, 'Leave your country and your people and your father's household, and go to the place I will (that is, in the future, far down the road) show you." 

"When, as a husband or wife, you are confronted with a very difficult choice, do what is best for your spouse and your children and God will honor it." 

"If you'd ever really gotten inside the mind of Jesus, ever had a single taste of His burning love, considerations of your own loss or gain would mean nothing."

Thomas A'Kempis

"It is possible to give without loving, but it is impossible to love without giving."

Richard Braumstein

"Though we do not have our Lord Jesus with us in bodily presence, we have our neighbor, who, for the ends of love and loving service, is as good as our Lord Himself."

Teresa of Avila

"To do so no more is the best repentance."

Martin Luther

"No one gives himself freely and willingly to God's service unless, having tasted His Fatherly love, he is drawn to love and worship Him in return." 

John Calvin

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

George Mueller's Secret

Greetings All,

      This week's "thought" comes from the well-known man of faith George Mueller of Bristol, England (1805-1898).  The testimony of his life is both amazing and inspiring, with many books being written about him.  For at one point in his life he decided to live entirely by faith, asking God alone, through prayer, to meet his financial needs. It was difficult at first, and with no fixed income he was sometimes down to his last penny before the Lord would supply his need, but God always did.  And soon he was not only able to support himself and his wife Susannah, but eventually build 5 orphan homes which housed over 10,000 orphans from 1834-1898.  And as if that were not enough to occupy his time, would minister in 42 countries (the last at age 87), and preach 3 times a week during this time.  Yet even with so many to take care of, he still stayed true to his conviction not to make his needs known to anyone but God in prayer.

















     
      In the last 68 years of his life (he lived to be 92), he obtained through prayer the equivalent of $7,200,000.00 and never asked anyone directly for any money.  In those last 68 years he never took a salary for his ministry but trusted God to put in people's hearts to send him what he needed. He never took out a loan and never went into debt. And neither he nor the orphans were ever hungry.  Much to his credit, and unlike many today, "George Mueller never prayed for a thing just because he wanted it, or even just because he felt it was greatly needed for God’s work. He would search the Scriptures to find if there was some promise that covered the case. Sometimes he would search the scriptures for days before he presented his petition to God. And then when he found the promise, with his open Bible before him, and his finger upon that promise, he would plead that promise, and so he received what he asked. He always prayed with an open Bible before him" (R. A. Torrey). The story of his life is indeed inspiring, with many accounts of God's miraculous provision and answers to prayer.

     This excerpt is what has been called "George Mueller's Secret," or his personal method of sustaining his inward joy and happiness in Christ amidst the many stresses and responsibilities laid upon him by virtue of overseeing such a large ministry.  I have often reflected back on it and sought to practice his method.  I pray it might be of help to you as well.  Enjoy.

     “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. What is that truth? I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord.  The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord; but how I might get my soul in  a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.  For I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world, and yet not being happy in the Lord, and not being strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in the right spirit.

       Before this time my practice had been, at least for ten years previously, as an habitual thing, to give myself to prayer after having dressed in the morning. Now, I saw that the most important thing was to give myself to the reading of God's Word, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord. I began therefore to meditate on the New Testament from the beginning, early in the morning. The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words of the Lord's blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God, searching as it were into every verse to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word, not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon, but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul.

     The result I have found to be almost invariably this, that after a few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that, though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less to prayer. When thus I have been for a while making confession or intercession or supplication, or have given thanks, I go on to the next words or verse, turning all, as I go on, into prayer for myself or others, as the Word may lead to it, but still continually keeping before me that food for my own soul is the object of my meditation. The result of this is that there is always a good deal of confession, thanksgiving, supplication, or intercession mingled with my meditation, and that my inner man almost invariably is even sensibly nourished and strengthened, and that by breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart.

The difference, then, between my former practice and my present on is this: formerly, when I rose, I began to pray as soon as possible, and generally spent all my time till breakfast in prayer, or almost all the time. At all events I almost invariably began with prayer.... But what was the result? I often spent a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, or even an hour on my knees before being conscious to myself of having derived comfort, encouragement, humbling of soul, etc.; and often, after having suffered much from my mind wandering for the first ten minutes, or quarter of an hour, or even half an hour, I only then really began to pray. I scarcely ever suffer now in this way. For my heart being nourished by the truth, being brought into experimental fellowship with God, I speak to my Father and to my Friend (vile though I am, and unworthy of it) about the things that He has brought before me in His precious Word. If often now astonishes me that I did not see this point sooner...

     And yet now, since God has taught me this point, it is as plain to me as anything that the first thing the child of God has to do morning by morning is to obtain food for his inner man. Now what is food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God; and here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water passes through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it and applying it to our hearts.  When we pray we speak to God. Now prayer, in order to be continued for any length of time in any other than a formal manner, requires, generally speaking, a measure of strength or godly desire, and the season therefore when this exercise of the soul can be most effectually performed is after the inner man has been nourished by meditation on the Word of God, where we find our Father speaking to us, to encourage us, to comfort us, to instruct us, to humble us, to reprove us. We may therefore profitably meditate with God's blessing though we are ever so weak spiritually; nay, the weaker we are, the more we need meditation for the strengthening of our inner man.

     Thus, there is far less to be feared from wandering of mind than if we give ourselves to prayer without having had time previously for meditation. I dwell so particularly on this point because of the immense spiritual profit and refreshment I am conscious of having derived from it myself, and I affectionately and solemnly beseech all my fellow believers to ponder this matter. By the blessing of God, I ascribe to this mode the help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through deeper trials, in various ways, than I have ever had before; and having now above fourteen years tried this way, I can most fully, in the fear of God, commend it.”

     It is my hope that this "secret" comes to be known far and wide, and that it might be used to encourage and challenge many to follow in his footsteps. Obviously, given all Mueller accomplished in his life, no one can say, "It was easy for him  back then, life wasn't as busy then as we are today."  For when I think of all that he did, I find it hard to comprehend how he managed to do it all!  Of course, the answer surely lies (to some degree) in the secret he shares above.  You may seek to try it and see!

In the Service of Jesus,  Pastor Jeff

Amy Carmichael

Greetings All,

 This week's"thought" comes to you from the well-known missionary to India, Amy Carmichael (1867-1951).  And since her life-story is as inspiring as the thought I shall reference at the end, I would like to share a little about her life before I share the excerpt from her book, simply entitled: "If"
     It is less than 100 pages long and contains only one small thought or reflection on Christ's love on each page. The first is: "If I have not compassion on my fellow-servant, even as the Lord had pity on me, then I know nothing of Calvary love."  With much blank space left on each page, I have sometimes used that space to write further thoughts on her reflections of Christ's love. (Should you desire to read more of Amy's life, the book, "A Chance to Die," by Elizabeth Elliot, is a superb biographical account of her life and work.)  Enjoy.

Here is her fascinating story:
     Amy Carmichael was born in 1867 into a well-to-do North Ireland Christian family.  In her teen years, she was educated at a Wesleyan Methodist boarding school; and at age 13, while still in boarding school, she accepted Christ as Savior.  When she was age 18, her father died, leaving the family in difficult financial circumstances as he had given a large personal loan that was not repaid.  The family moved to Belfast.  There she became involved in visiting in the slums, and seeing the terrible conditions under which many women and girls worked in the factories, she began a ministry with these women.  It was a work based on faith in God alone, and He met the needs in most remarkable ways. She later developed a similar ministry in Manchester, with her mother at her side...

     In 1892, at the age of twenty-four, Amy received her "Macedonian Call" and went as a missionary to Japan.  But there she met with disappointments. The Japanese language seemed impossible to her, and the missionary community was not the picture of harmony she had envisioned.  Likewise, her health was also a problem.  After 15 months as a missionary, Amy became convinced that Japan was not where God wanted her...

     She arrived in Madras in November of 1895, a discouraged, confused, and ill young Irish woman.  She was 28 years old.  Soon after her arrival, she contracted Dengue Fever, which laid her low for a period of time.  She was sent to a more healthful place to recuperate.  In that community she saw that the church was very "active" but there were no changed lives.  She detested the meetings with the other missionary ladies -- drinking tea and gossiping and showing very little concern for the eternal souls of those about them. She felt so alone.

     The following lines are so appropriate concerning the missionary community in Bangalore:

Onward Christian soldiers,

Sitting on the mats;

Nice and warm and cozy

 Like little pussycats...

     Amy just did not fit into the stiff, staid, missionary community of Bangalore and subsequently went to the very south end of India to live with another missionary family.  The Walkers were a godly family that really understood the Hindu religion and the tremendous need of reaching out...  For several years Amy, along with a daughter of the Walkers and several Christian Indian ladies, began an itinerant ministry through the villages in the south tip of India.  They were dubbed the "starry cluster," for the Indians recognized the sincerity and light that shown forth from them.  The members of the band had no salary, simply looking to God to supply their needs.  Their attitude was "How much can I do without that I may have more to give?"  It was during this period of time that she took on the habit of wearing Indian dress, which she continued throughout her lifetime.

     A life-changing experience took place in 1901.  A little five-year-old girl, named "Pearl Eyes" by Amy, was brought to her by an Indian woman.  The child had been sold by the mother to the temple and there was being prepared and taught all the degradation of temple prostitution. Twice she had run away only to be caught, carried back, beaten, and subjected to the terrible perversion of that Hindu temple.
     Finally, as she was running away again at night, she met with this understanding woman who brought her to Amy.  Amy gathered the little child up into her lap and picked up a rag doll and gave it to the child to play with.  It was then that she truly understood the evil of the temple practice.  Little Pearl Eyes talked freely as she played with the doll.  She told Amy things that they did to her in the temple, demonstrating them using the doll.  The date was March 7, 1901.  Amy never forgot that day nor the child's story.  It was terrible beyond imagination.  This was the beginning of her rescue of these children who had been dedicated to the temple gods.

     This incident led to the founding of the Dohnavur Fellowship.  Over the years literally thousands of temple children have been rescued and other ministries established there at the Dohnavur Fellowship in South India.  In 1918, they began to rescue baby boys, for they likewise were dedicated to the temple gods and goddesses.  Other areas of the work over the years were added such as hospital, schools, printing, etc.  Amy was not understood by many of the missionaries in India.  She was also greatly resented by the Hindu priests and was frequently taken to court on charges of being a kidnapper.
     Amy was greatly influenced by the life of George Mueller and ordered her work on the same basis, never asking for financial help except as she winged her petitions to the God of all grace.  In 1931 (at 64 years of age) Amy had a fall that left her an invalid for the remainder of her life, and she seldom left her bed.  It was during this period of her life that she was most prolific in writing -- the profits of which were used to help fund the work.  Occasionally someone would wheel her in a type of wheelchair out onto a veranda where her children would gather outside and greet her and sing to her.
     It's interesting that most of the children who are there do not know their birth dates, so they reckon on the day they arrived at the Dohnavur home, and call it the "coming day." That becomes their birthday. On the coming day there is a special occasion with special treats and new clothing; and they honor the individual in some way.
     Temple prostitution played a major part of Hinduism. This practice was known by the British who governed India and had been spoken against, but nothing ever happened. However, through the "campaigning" of Amy and some other concerned people, temple prostitution was banned toward the end of Amy's life. From the time Amy set foot on Indian soil to the day she died in 1951, she never returned to her homeland.  She went 55 years without a furlough, passing away at 84 years of age.  Somewhere, in an unmarked tomb on the compound at Dohnavur, Amy was buried.  She didn't want a marker placed over her grave.  She simply wanted to remain a part of the Dohnavur Fellowship she had started.

     Amy's thought from her book "If," which in many ways describes how she continued on in her ministry, is as follows:

     "Sometimes when we are distressed by past failure, and tormented by fear of failure in the future, we should again set our faces toward Jerusalem. Nothing helps so much as to give some familiar Scripture time to enter into us and become part of our being. The words "grace for grace" have been a help to me since I read in a little book by Bishop Moule something that opened their meaning. (Till then I had not understood them.)

     He says: The word "for" means "instead."  "The image is of a perpetual succession of supply; a displacement ever going on... The picture before us is as of a river. Stand on the banks and contemplate the flow of waters.  A minute passes, and another.  Is it the same stream still?  Yes.  But is it the same water?  No. The liquid mass that passed you a few seconds ago fills now another section of the channel. New water has displaced it, or if you please, replaced it -- water for water, or water instead of water.  And so hour by hour, and year by year, and century by century, the process holds; one stream, other waters -- living, not stagnant, because always in the great identity there is perpetual exchange. Grace takes the place of grace [and love takes the place of love]; ever new, ever old, ever the same, ever fresh and young. Old grace, new grace, hour by hour, year by year, through Christ."

     "Grace for grace."  Same God, same inexhaustible Source, same infinite flow of undeserved favor, yet ever fresh supplies of grace for every situation.  Our God is an infinite and inexhaustible supply of fresh, cool, springs of living water, always ready to refresh, renew, empower and restore. "To Him who is able to do exceedingly more than all we can ask or imagine, according to His power at work in us, to Him be glory in the church, and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21).  In His Service, Pastor Jeff

8.14.2012

Greetings All,

I haven't written for a while since I took some time to go up to New England and do some needed repairs around my mother's house, as well as do some sightseeing, and relax this last week by doing a building project around my own home. So, now that I'm back, these should be coming weekly!

This week's 'thought' is actually comprised of a few smaller 'thoughts.' Sometimes it's better that way. If one doesn't speak to where you are at, another might. My hope is that at least one will! They come from various authors and sources -- only the authors name is given. Enjoy.

From a sermon on Matthew 6:34: "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own." "No man even sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourself so. If you find yourself so loaded, at least remember this: It is your own doing, not God's. He begs you to leave the future to Him and mind the present. Each day has enough troubles of it's own." George MacDonald

"Our heavenly Father never takes anything from His children unless He means to give them something better." George Mueller

"Do not be angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be." Thomas A'Kempis

"Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind -- that thing is sin to you." Susannah Wesley

"Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God, trusts God; and he that trusts God, obeys God." Charles Spurgeon

"Soul winners are not soul winners because of what they know, but because of Whom they know, how well they know him, and how much they long for others to know him." Dawson Trotman (founder of 'The Navigators')

"A young teen who was constantly getting into trouble always apologized when his parents confronted him. No matter how much he hurt them with his previous wrongdoing, he would turn around and do something else wrong -- knowing he would be forgiven. Finally, his dad took him out to the garage for a talk. Dad picked up a hammer and pounded a nail into the garage wall. Then he gave his son the hammer and told him to pull out the nail. The boy shrugged, grabbed the hammer, and yanked out the nail. 'That's like forgiveness, son. When you do something wrong, it's like pounding in a nail. Forgiveness is when you pull the nail out.' 'Okay, I get it,' said the boy.

'Now take the hammer and pull out the nail hole,' his dad said. 'That's impossible,' the boy said, 'I can't pull out the hole.' Exactly. As King David's life proves, sin carries consequences. Even though David was forgiven, his adultery and murder of Uriah left scars and led to family problems years down the road (II Sam. 12:10). This sobering truth can serve as a warning for our lives. Because of David's sin with Bathsheba, Samuel declared to David: "The sword shall never depart from your house, because you despised me and took for yourself the wife of Uriah the Hittite." The best way to avoid the lingering damage of sin is to live a life of obedience to God. Our sins can be forgiven and washed away, but their consequences are often ours to pay." Dave Branon

With prayers that more of God's wisdom might come to you through the words of His servants, Pastor Jeff