Jesus

Greetings All!

     These past few weeks I was reading (and re-reading) testimonies written by people who are joining the church where I pastor.  I always find such personal accounts of God's work in people's lives to be fascinating and encouraging. Simply tracing the threads of God's providential and redemptive work in the lives of others encourages me in my own life!  In fact, they made me decide I would send out something different today -- my own testimony which I condensed into the form of a short poem and read at my ordination service in 1987.  And please keep in mind I do not claim any gifting as a poet, it was simply a shorter way of sharing what would have been much longer if I shared it in a different format.

     You will quickly discern I grew up in a rural place (actually, next to my grandfather's farm and sizable expanses of open land).  And although I do use metaphors in the poem, I want you to know the references to the dream of a cross "on a distant hill" and an encounter with an "angel" actually happened. 

     










     I have always loved Francis Thompson's extraordinary poem about God's pursuit of him, called, "The Hound of Heaven" (in my opinion, a must read).  In so many ways his experience mimicked my own as I hit my teens and early 20's: God's abundant kindnesses were excused away by my sin-hardened heart.  God's repeated mercies were met by my firmly entrenched resistance.  And God's unrelenting pursuit of me was countered by me running in the opposite direction.  Until one day, that is, when -- tired and burdened by the guilt of all my sin -- His grace conquered my resistance, and the sweet persistence of His loving overtures led to the divine conquest of my soul.  You also may have seen (or do see) that same process taking place in your own soul, hopefully with the same eventuality of conquest and surrender finishing off the story.  The following stanzas take you from my first memories of childhood to the time I entered the pastorate 31 years ago.  The poem is simply entitled, "Jesus."

JESUS

You sought me when my days were young; 

Your love reached out through everyone.

Such gifts you gave, so rare and sweet; 

Ten thousand clues laid at my feet,

Yet still our paths did never meet.

You called to me from peaceful woods, 

From morning dews which glistening stood;

In fields where flow'rs Your radiance shown, 

And wildlife's whispers in clear tones, 

Called out to make your glory known.

You called to me so many ways - 

In dreams at night of ancient days, 

Where on a distant hill there stood,

A silhouetted cross of wood.

And in the hush mine eyes did see, 

A figure hanging there... for me

I ran not knowing what to do, 

But still your angels did pursue.

I shunned your love, I knew Your creed - 

It was for sinners You did bleed!

My plans were set, I had no need,

My eyes were set on lust and greed.

I turned my back on all You'd shown, 

Excused away the love I'd known.

To me You'd been so kind and real, 

But yet my heart refused to yield.

So many kindnesses You'd shown, 

And yet my heart had turned to stone.

I sought life's thrills to fill the void, 

There was no pleasure not employed.  

For self I lived and breathed and slept, 

Until in broken shame I wept, 

To see the vigil You had kept.

"Such love," I said, "it cannot be,

That condescends to one like me!

If anything I'd earned Your rage;

Eternal wrath the sinner's wage."

But You in loving mercy shown,

With greater love than ere' I'd known.

You touched and turned me Lord to You,

With love unfathomable but true.

You caused my hardened heart to see, 

No greater joy could ere' there be,

Than loving You who first loved me.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff 

Simply Sacred

Greetings All!

This week's "thought" comes to you from Gary Thomas, and is taken from his book, "Simply Sacred."

     As I was reading through the book, this particular entry caught my attention.  Why?  Because I can sometimes be disappointed at the way things are going in this world.  All it takes is glancing at the days headlines -- "Man kills another over parking spot dispute...,"  "Suicide bomber kills 13 and injures 24 at Baghdad ice cream shop..."  "Brother who drugs and rapes sister gets probation..."     The values, the priorities, the political rants, the greed, the language, the unreasonableness, the selfishness, the lack of respect, love and common sense... it can tend to bring one down.

     That's why I chose this entry.  It helps us look at all that from a different perspective.  A redemptive perspective. A perspective that reminds us that Jesus' call is for us as His followers to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16).  And what we sometimes forget is this: Salt is the most desired where the food is the most bland, and light is the most cherished when our surroundings are the darkest and our path littered with dangerous obstacles.

     Gary's entry for today reinforces this biblical idea, and in doing so helps turn our disillusionment with this world into a motivation to carry out Christ's mission for us. That of being salt and light. Enjoy.

Defiant Beauty

     "Years ago on a trip through southwestern Washington [state], I traveled through miles and miles of tree farms...  Interspersed among these tree farms were occasional stretches of clear-cut logging projects. The land looked devastated, broken, and abused. Even knowing that the land would come back after planting new trees, it's still a bit sad to see such brutal scarring of a forest.

     Yet, as I passed another clear-cut stretch, my eye caught something that almost made me pull off the road.  There, in a devastated patch of land, stood a startlingly beautiful maple tree, in full autumn colors. Somehow, the loggers had missed it.

     The contrast could not have been more stark -- or more beautiful. Beauty surrounded by beauty begins, after a time, to seem mediocre. But beauty in the midst of chaos or ugliness stuns us. It seizes our attention. In a barren and broken stretch of land, this tree captured my imagination and told another story. Had it stood in the midst of New Hampshire's White Mountains during autumn, it likely would have been missed -- one stunning tree in a forest of thousands of other stunning trees.  Here, however, in a broken, hurting land, this glorious tree proclaimed a transcendent truth.

     In the deepest part of us, we truly yearn for such "defiant beauty." In a world where people choose self-centered lives, where ugly things happen, where sin seems to spread unchecked, where daily assaults take their toll, we can point to the defiant beauty of a selfless life, seeking first the kingdom of God, putting others first, and even sacrificing (if need be) -- all to proclaim a transcendent truth much greater than ourselves.

     I invite you to develop this defiant beauty..., the kind that has shone through all generations of the church. At your office, in your house, at school, during walks through the malls, or visits to friends houses, let's carry the defiant beauty of our Savior's love and hope to a sin-stained world."

     The apostle Paul put forth this same truth in Romans 12:9-21; I Corinthians 13:1-13; II Corinthians 5:11-6:13; Galatians 5:16-26, and elsewhere.  There will always be things in the world that will tend to bring us down. Yet, it is in the face of all such things that we have the opportunity to add the most flavor, or shine most brightly.  Love in the face of hate, caring in the face or indifference, sacrifice in place of selfishness, generosity in the face of greed -- can not help but be noticed.

     Like that one, solitary, beautiful maple tree decked out in its autumn splendor, in the midst of a clear cut swath of destruction, we can make a difference. We can hide our light under a basket of self-protection, or lose our flavor by associating only with those who live and believe just like we do.  Or, we can do what Jesus called us to do and go out into the world, without being a part of the world, and seek to be His ambassadors of love and reconciliation.  Negative situations can discourage us, or they can be what Jesus and Paul both suggested they could be -- our renewed motivation for mission!  Determine that it may always be the latter, for Jesus sake.

Make it your goal today to be the light that shines into some dark situation, Pastor Jeff

Solitude is the furnace of transformation

Greetings All,

     Today's "thought" is about the need for times of solitude in our lives. In our busy society, where our schedules tend to dictate nearly every moment, it becomes difficult to carve out times for solitude. Yet (and I do know I speak as an introvert) they are necessary for our spiritual formation.
     I once worked in a wilderness program up in Northern Canada dealing with inner city Chicago teens. It was rugged. One of the exercises was to drop the teens off on a small deserted Island in the middle of a huge lake, for three days, with very minimal supplies. They would need to build their own shelter, find their own food, etc.  I would check in on the boys daily (morning and evening). After they had gone the entire three days, I returned by canoe to pick up each teen. Most did well, but one boy in particular simply could not bear the three days of silence, alone time, and the complete lack of the things he normally used to distract himself from himself and the thoughts that would run through his head. What the author calls, the "confusing ideas, disturbing images, wild fantasies, and weird associations that jump about in one's mind like monkeys in banana tree," when we enter into solitude.  Normally he was able to block them out with music, activities, conversations, and such, but not this time.

     This thought comes to you from a book I have looked back to often since purchasing it in seminary way back in 1982.  It's called, "The Way of the Heart" by Henri Nouwen.  In a society that places very little value on the traditions of Christian contemplation, Christ-focused meditation, or purposefully prolonged times of prayerful solitude, his words act as a good counter-balance.  He shares some of the benefits of such disciplines, so I won't.  Yet I must say that when I have set aside such times, I have benefited greatly from them.  One seven day long stint in the Dominican Republic (combined with fasting) helped guide me into my future calling, and another seven day stint (with the support of my very gracious wife Nancy who realized my need to get away and be with God) saved me from leaving the pastorate back in 1992.  Enjoy.

The Furnace of Transformation

     "Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self. Jesus himself entered into this furnace in the wilderness. There he was tempted with the three compulsions of the world: to be relevant (“turn stones into loaves”), to be spectacular (“throw yourself down”), and to be powerful (” I will give you all these kingdoms”). There he affirmed God as the only source of his identity (“You must worship the Lord your God and serve him alone”). Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter – the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self.

     This might sound rather forbidding. It might even evoke images of medieval ascetical pursuits from which Luther and Calvin have happily saved us. But once we have given these fantasies their due and let them wander off, we will see that we are dealing here with that holy place where ministry and spirituality embrace each other. It is the place called solitude... We say to each other that we need some solitude in our lives. What we really are thinking of, however, is a time and a place for ourselves in which we are not bothered by other people, can think our own thoughts, express our own complaints, and do our own thing, whatever it may be. For us, solitude most often means privacy… In short, we think of solitude as a place where we gather new strength to continue the ongoing competition in life… [Yet] solitude is not a private therapeutic place. Rather, it is the place of conversion, the place where the old self dies and the new self is born, the place where the emergence of the new man and the new woman occurs…

     In solitude I get rid of my scaffolding. I have no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just me – naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken – nothing. It is this nothingness that I have to face in my solitude, a nothingness so dreadful that everything in me wants to run to my friends, my work, and my distractions, so that I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am worth something. But that is not all. As soon as I decide to stay in my solitude, confusing ideas, disturbing images, wild fantasies, and weird associations jump about in my mind like monkeys in banana tree. Anger and greed begin to show their ugly faces. I give long and hostile speeches to my enemies and dream lustful dreams in which I am wealthy, influential, and very attractive – or poor, ugly, and in need of immediate consolation. Thus, I try again to run from the dark abyss of my nothingness and restore my false self in all its vainglory.

     [Yet] the task is to persevere in my solitude, to stay in my cell until all my seductive visitors get tired of pounding on my door and leave me alone… The struggle is real because the danger is real. It is the danger of living the whole of our life as one long defense against the reality of our condition, one restless effort to convince ourselves of our virtuousness. Yet Jesus “did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). That is the struggle. It is the struggle to die to the false self. But this struggle is far, far beyond our own strength. Anyone who wants to fight his demons with his own weapons is a fool. The wisdom of the desert fathers is that the confrontation with our own frightening nothingness forces us to surrender ourselves totally and unconditionally to the Lord Jesus Christ. Alone, we cannot face “the mystery of iniquity” with impunity. Only Christ can overcome the powers of evil. Only in and through him can we survive the trials of our solitude… Only in the context of the great encounter with Jesus Christ himself can a real authentic struggle take place…

     We enter into solitude first of all to meet our Lord and to be with him and him alone. Our primary task in solitude, therefore, is not to pay undue attention to the many faces which assail us, but to keep the eyes of our mind and heart on him who is our divine Savior. Only in the context of grace can we face our sin; only in the place of healing do we dare to show our wounds; only with a single-minded attention to Christ can we give up our clinging fears and face our own true nature. As we come to realize that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us, that he is our true self, we can slowly let our compulsions melt away and begin to experience the freedom of the children of God."

     As with all things we read, merely being brought to think of the things spoken of is not enough. One benefits most by putting such suggestions into practice. As with the Word of God, it is the doers who receive the greatest benefit. I can believe with all my heart that exercise is good for the body, but if I don't get out and actually do it, it benefits me little.  Will you do a half day?  A day?  A few days? No phone, no Facebook, not Twitter, no texts, no movies, no magazines... just you and God alone in a forced time of solitude. There are few I've spoken with who have done it, who have not testified to the benefit of the time spent having to confront their compulsions, needs, insecurities, brokenness, and nothingness. For in confronting their own insignificance, they (like myself) have found it reinforces their dependence upon God and can bring us face to face with Jesus.

     With prayers that you will seriously consider this lost Christian discipline and schedule forced times of solitude,  Pastor Jeff

Practical Christianity

Greetings All!

After a couple weeks of vacation I returned to the office today. Part of what I had on my list to do was send out this insightful little "thought" regarding temptation and fighting sin.  It comes from a book entitled , "Practical Christianity," which contains helpful advice on the Christian life from over 80 well-respected Christian authors.

     This particular selection is from Adrian Rogers.  His advice is short and simple but wise.   Enjoy!

Filling Legitimate Desires Illegitimately

     "The devil is a pervert. He cannot create things himself. He can only take things God has created and twist them. We sin when we give in to the devil's temptations and try to fulfill legitimate God'-given desires in an illegitimate way. For example, food is a God-given necessity, but gluttony is a sin.

     Sex within a loving marriage is a God-given blessing, but adultery is sin. Having and enjoying material things is a God-given privilege, but pride, dishonesty, stealing, greed and selfishness are sins. When we are tempted, we need to figure out what legitimate desire the devil is trying to pervert. Then we need to find God's way to fulfill that desire legitimately. If we do that we will have no itch the devil can scratch.

     Rather than always trying not to sin, we ought to turn our focus in another direction -- on finding our satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ. I think parents, pastors, school teachers and youth workers make this mistake with young people. We try to keep our young people from doing wrong. If you've ever tried to take a bone away from a dog, you know that's a good way to get bit. The way to do it is to lay a piece of red meat in front of the dog. He will drop the bone in order to grab the meat. We need to show young people how they can get their needs legitimately fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they won't have to guard the bones."  

     It is helpful, as he points out, to remember that "sin" is often nothing more than seeking to meet legitimate needs in illegitimate ways.  It is to meet them prematurely, in excess, or outside the boundaries God has set for their enjoyment or exercise, The particular need is not evil, nor is the fulfillment of that need when met in a godly fashion.  The "sin" lies in the inappropriate way we go about seeking to meet holy, God-given and legitimate needs. For more often than not, the devil's temptation (or perversion) is to tempt us to partake before we should, consuming more than we should, in a way that violates how we should -- thereby dishonoring the wise and good purposes of God in creation.

In the Bonds of Gospel Fellowship, Pastor Jeff

The Wrath of God

Greetings All,

     This week's 'thought' comes to you from J. I Packer, and is found in his superb book, "Knowing God."
     It deals with a topic many people (believer and non-believer) struggle with -- the concept, or better yet, the reality of God's wrath. Packer, knowing the confusion people have in regard to this common biblical subject seeks to explain, clarify and clear up some of the common misconceptions with regard to it.

     I have also added a second helpful thought from A. W. Tozer.  Years ago I found them very helpful. I trust some of you might find them helpful as well. Enjoy.

The Wrath of God

     "The modern habit throughout the Christian church is to downplay this subject. Those who still believe in the wrath of God (and not all do) say little about it. To an age that has unashamedly sold itself to the god's of greed and pride and sex and self-will, the church mumbles on about God's kindness but says virtually nothing about His judgment.

     How often during the past year did you hear (or if you are a minister did you preach) on the wrath of God? How long is it, I wonder, since a Christian spoke straight about this topic on the radio, or television, or in one of those half-column sermonettes that appear in the national dailies or magazines.  And if they did so, how long would it be before they were asked to speak or write again. The fact is that the subject of divine wrath has become taboo, and modern society, and Christians by and large, have accepted the taboo and agreed never to even bring the subject up....

       [Yet] the theme of God's wrath is one about which the biblical writers felt no inhibitions whatever. Why then, should we?  Why, when the Bible is vocal about it, should we feel obliged to be silent?  What is it that makes us awkward and embarrassed when the subject comes up; that prompts us to soft-pedal it and hedge when asked about it? The root cause of our unhappiness seems to be a disquieting suspicion that idea of wrath is, in one way or another, unworthy of God.

     To some, for instance, wrath suggests a loss of self-control, an outburst of "seeing red" which is partly, if not wholly, irrational. To others it suggests the rage of conscious impotence, or wounded pride, or plain bad temper. Surely, it is said, it would be wrong to ascribe to God such attitudes as these.

     The reply is: Indeed it would.  But the Bible does not ask us to do this.  There seems to be here a misunderstanding of the anthropomorphic language of Scripture - that is, the biblical habit of describing God's attitudes and affections in terms ordinarily used for talking about human beings. But when Scripture speaks of God anthropomorphically, it does not imply that the limitations and imperfections which belong to the personal characteristics of us sinful creatures belong also to the corresponding qualities in our holy Creator. Rather it takes for granted that they do not.

     Thus, God's love, as the Bible views it, never leads Him to foolish, impulsive, immoral actions in the way that its human counterpart too often leads us.  And in the same way, God's wrath in the Bible is never the capricious, self-indulgent, irritable, morally ignoble thing that human anger so often is.  It is, instead, a right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil.  God is only angry where anger is called for.  Even among humans, there is such a thing as righteous indignation, though it is, perhaps, rarely found.  But all God's indignation is righteous.

     Would a God who took as much pleasure in evil as he did in good be a good God? Would a God who did not react adversely to evil in His world be morally perfect?  Surely not.  Yet it is precisely this adverse reaction to evil, which is a necessary part of moral perfection, that the Bible has in view when it speaks of God's wrath."

It might also help to know that God's "wrath" is often devoid of "anger" altogether. It is, rather, a very intentional and "calm" determination to "give people over" (let them have) the sin they want (along with the consequences of that sin). Paul speaks of this when he tells us that "the wrath of God is being poured out" -- not in fire from heaven, or cataclysmic disasters -- but in simply letting people have the sinful things they want (see Romans 1:18-32, and especially verses 24, 26, and 28). In this sense His wrath is a "calm" form of judgment upon people who stubbornly persist in their sin and rebellion.

     A. W. Tozer's words from his book "The Knowledge of the Holy," are also helpful here.  There he states:

     "Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because He is holy, His attributes are holy. That is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy.

     God is holy and He has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of His universe. Sin's temporary presence in the world only serves to accent this. Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral sickness that must end ultimately in death. The formation of the language itself suggests this, the English word holy deriving from the Anglo-Saxon halig, or hal, meaning "well, whole."

     Since God's first concern for His universe is its moral health, that is, its holiness, whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure.  To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it. When He arises to put down iniquity and save the world from irreparable moral collapse, He is said to be angry. Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation.  The holiness of God, the wrath of God, and the health of the creation are inseparably united. God's wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hates the polio that takes the life of her child."

     I hope -- if nothing else -- you may have gained insight into what God's wrath is; why it is a necessary aspect of His being as God, and thus be less hesitant to affirm it, speak of it, or explain it to others.

To the end that we might worship God as He is and must ever be, Pastor Jeff

Feeling like God is Distant and Withdrawn

Greetings All,     

 

This week's 'thought' comes to you from a man known as St. John of the Cross. They are various thoughts found in his most famous work, "The Dark Night of the Soul" (using revised and updated language).  More of this selection can be found in "Devotional Classics," by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith.

John lived between 1542 and 1591, and worked tirelessly for reform within the Catholic Church. In fact, this work was written during a time in his life when he had been arrested by fellow Carmelite monks who opposed his attempts at reform.  A biographer writes of this time: "On the night of 2 December 1577, a group of Carmelites opposed to reform broke into John’s dwelling in Avila, and took him prisoner....  He was jailed in the monastery, where he was kept under a brutal regimen that included public lashing before the community at least weekly, and severe isolation in a tiny stifling cell measuring ten feet by six feet, barely large enough for his body. Except when rarely permitted an oil lamp, he had to stand on a bench to read his breviary by the light through the hole into the adjoining room. He had no change of clothing and a penitential diet of water, bread and scraps of salt fish.  During this imprisonment, he composed a great part of his most famous poem Spiritual Canticle (Dark Night of the Soul) as well as a few shorter poems."  

     If you are going through a time when you've been struggling to understand why God feels so distant and withdrawn, I trust that his words (which show immense wisdom and insight) might challenge you to consider the truth he seeks to convey: That God's purpose in your life, is, out of His love for you, to use those dark, dry, spiritually numb or difficult times to purify your soul.  Enjoy.

I. God's purpose: To Purify the Soul.
"At a certain point in the spiritual journey God will draw a person from the beginning stage [of their Christian walk] to a more advanced stage... At this time such souls will likely experience what is called 'the dark night of the soul.'  The 'dark night' is when those person's lose all the pleasure that they once experienced in their devotional life. This happens because God wants to purify them and move them on to greater heights.

      After a soul has been converted by God, that soul is nurtured and caressed by the Spirit. Like a loving mother, God cares for and comforts the infant soul by feeding it spiritual milk. Such souls will find great delight in this stage. They will begin praying with great urgency and perseverance. They will engage in all kinds of religious activities because of the joy they experience in them. But there will come a time when God will bid them to grow deeper. He will remove the previous pleasure and consolation from the soul in order to teach the soul virtue and prevent it from developing vice -- the vice of being proud, coveting, misusing or idolizing the consolation God gives, thus explaining why God must take his consolations away to purify the soul."  

II. The Seven Sins God Seeks to Cleanse from the Soul through the Dark Night

1.) Secret Pride.   Beginners in the spiritual life are apt to become very diligent in their exercises. The danger for them will be to become satisfied with their religious works and with themselves.... Such persons become too spiritual. They like to speak of 'spiritual things' all the time. They would prefer to teach rather than be taught. They condemn others who are not as spiritual as they are... The devil knows that all their works and virtues will become valueless and, if unchecked, will become vices. Pride makes them begin to do these spiritual exercises to be esteemed by others. They want others to realize how spiritual they are. They will also begin to fear confession of their sins to another for it would ruin their image. They will beg for God to take away their imperfections, but...do not realize that if God were to take away their imperfections from them, they would probably become prouder and more presumptuous still. But those who are at this time moving in God's way will counter this pride with humility. They will learn to think very little of themselves and their religious works and instead focus on how great and deserving God is and how little they can do for Him. 

2.) Spiritual Greed.  These beginners begin reading many books and performing many acts of piety in an attempt to gain more and more spiritual consolation. Their hearts grow attached to the feelings they get from their devotional life. They focus on the effect, and not on the substance of devotion... Yet those who are on the right path will set their eyes on God and not on outward things or inner experiences. They will enter the dark night of the soul and find all of these things removed. They will have all pleasure taken away so that the soul may be purified. For a soul will never grow until it is able to let go of the need it has for such things. 

3.) Spiritual Luxury. A soul which is deep in prayer may experience profound temptations and find itself powerless to prevent them...   The first cause is the physical pleasure the body takes in spiritual things. The lower part of our nature, the flesh, is sometimes stirred up during times of devotion. But it cannot possess (or hold on to) the experience, and so, it begins to stir up what it can possess -- namely, the impure and sensual.   The second cause is the devil. In order to disturb and disquiet the soul, the devil will try to stir up impurity within the soul, hoping that it will give heed to these temptations. The soul will begin to fear these temptations, and if they persist, it may even give up on prayer all together.  The third cause is an inordinate fear of impure thoughts. Some souls are so tender and frail that they cannot stand such thoughts and live in great fear of them. This fear itself can be their downfall. But when the soul enters the dark night, all these things are put under control... In the dark night God takes away all sensory pleasure, and the soul is purified in the absence of it. 

4.) Spiritual Wrath. When the soul begins to enjoy the benefits of the spiritual life, and then has them taken away, it becomes angry and embittered... When their delight comes to an end, these persons are very anxious and frustrated, just as an infant is angry when it is taken away from its mother's breast. There is no sin in this natural disappointment, but if it is left to itself, it may become a dangerous vice. There are some who become angry with themselves at this point, thinking that their loss of joy is a result of something they have done or have neglected to do. They will fuss and fret and do all they can to recover this consolation. They will strive to become saints in a day! They will make all kinds of resolutions to be more spiritual, but the greater the resolution, the greater is the fall. Their problem is that they lack the patience that waits for whatever God would give them and when God chooses to give it to them. They must learn the spiritual meekness which comes about in the dark night.

5.) Spiritual Gluttony. Many souls become addicted to the spiritual sweetness of the devotional life and strive to obtain more and more of it. They pass beyond the limits of moderation and nearly kill themselves in spiritual exercises. They will often try to subdue their flesh with great acts of submission, lengthy fasts, and painful penances. But note: These are one-sided penances; they do not come from God... They do these things, not for God, but for themselves. And for this reason they will grow weary in them.... The problem is this: When they have received no pleasure for their devotions, they think they have not accomplished anything. This is a grave error, and it judges God unfairly. For the truth is that the feelings we receive from our devotional life are the least of its benefits. The invisible and unfelt grace of God is much greater, and it is beyond our comprehension... For true spirituality consists in perseverance, patience, and humility. The sin of spiritual gluttony will prompt them to read more books and say more prayers, but God in his wisdom, will deny them any consolation because he knows that to feed this desire will create an inordinate appetite and breed innumerable evils. The Lord heals such souls through the aridity [often the lengthy aridity] of the dark night. 

6.) Spiritual Envy. People who fancy themselves as spiritual are quite often not pleased to hear about the spiritual growth of others. Their chief concern is to be praised themselves, and thus they are not pleased when such attention is given to others. They prefer to be thought of as the most spiritual of all. This too can be cured by the dark night, where they see their spiritual poverty revealed to them through the lack of all spiritual help, interest and consolation. 

7.) Spiritual Sloth.  Spiritual sloth happens when pleasure is removed from the spiritual life and such souls become weary with spiritual exercises because they yield no consolation. Thus they abandon them. They become angry because they are called to do that which does not fit their [perceived] needs... Such souls are too weak to bear the crosses they are given to help us grow -- crosses we face in the dark night of the soul.

Let it suffice to say that God perceives the imperfections within us, and because of his love for us, urges us to grow up. His love is not content to leave us in our weakness, and for this reason he takes us into a dark night. He weans us from all of the pleasures by giving us dry times and inward darkness.... Through the dark night pride becomes humility, greed becomes simplicity, wrath becomes contentment, luxury becomes peace, gluttony becomes moderation, envy becomes joy, and sloth becomes strength.  No soul will ever grow deep in the spiritual life unless God works passively in that soul by means of the dark night."

         John's words bring me back to different junctures in my own spiritual walk where I learned the same lessons -- most often while going through times of spiritual dryness or numbness when God felt a million miles away.
          In those times God taught me the lesson he speaks of: That in the spiritual life we can often do all the right things, for all the wrong reasons, and thus turn a virtue into a vice.
          And though we detest times of spiritual coldness, it seems that in many cases it is not until we trudge through the spiritual wastelands of the dry and arid desert, or walk alone through a night so dark it seems akin to death itself, that we realize we were pursuing the pleasures God gives (or better yet, the pleasures that spiritual pride and greed and luxury and gluttony can give) more than we were pursuing God Himself.
        It seems every believer must at some point learn to desire God more than the gifts He gives, lest we be guilty of using the Christian faith to commit spiritual idolatry! 

With you in the struggle to grow, Pastor Jeff