Few Bearers of His Cross

Greetings Friends,

     Today's "thought" comes to you from the Christian devotional classic, "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a' Kempis (1380-1471).  His name means "Thomas of (or from) Kempen" - a small town in eastern Germany, just a few miles from the border of Holland. His God-given gifts which come through to us in his writing consist in his wisdom, keen insight into human nature, and ability to say a lot in very few words (a gift I missed out on)!

     In terms of personal transformation he taught: "The acknowledgment of our weakness is the first step in repairing our loss."   In terms of spiritual leadership he stressed: The loftier the building, the deeper the foundation must be laid."  In terms of the self he said as we all can: Who has a harder fight than he who is striving to overcome himself."  And in terms of Jesus words in John 14:7 he assured us: "Without the Way, there is no going, Without the Truth, there is no knowing, Without the Life, there is no living."   This selection is entitled"Few Bearers of His Cross."  Enjoy.

     "Jesus now has many lovers of the heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of His Cross. He has many who desire consolation, but few who desire tribulation. He finds many companions at His table, but few of His abstinence. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to endure anything for Him, or with Him.

     Many follow Jesus unto the breaking of bread, but few unto the drinking of the cup of His sufferings. Many reverence His miracles, but few follow the shame or disgrace of His Cross. Many love Jesus so long as no adversities befall them.  Many praise and bless Him so long as they receive consolations from Him.  But if Jesus hide (the sense of His presence) and leave them but a little while, they turn to complaining or into much dejection of mind.

     But they who love Jesus for the sake of Jesus, and not for some special comfort they can receive from Him, bless Him in all tribulations and anguish of heart as well as in the state of highest comfort.  Even if He was never willing to give them comfort, they would, even then, 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 ever seeking consolations? Do they not show themselves to be rather lovers of themselves than of Christ, who are always and only thinking of their own profit and advantage?  Where shall one be found who is willing to serve God for nothing?" 

     Now, here, I do need to confess I am one who enjoys and cherishes the comforts and consolations of Jesus when they come.  I believe we all do.  Even Mr. A'Kempis did, as he confessed elsewhere.  That's not really his point. His point is that if that's all we seek; if we only seek, love, praise, and thank Jesus when we are receiving those things, and we cease doing so, or walk away in bitter anger and disillusionment when the opposite comes (whether it be for a short or extended time) we must question what we are seeking, who we are loving, why we are praising, and why difficulties would make us stop giving Him thanks.

     If we love Jesus only when the blessings are flowing, and not when the struggles come; if we cherish and adore Him only for what He gives, and not for the sake of who He is (the Lamb worthy of all glory and honor and power - Revelation 4:6-5:14) we must truly question if it's Jesus that we love.  If a child only "loves" his father when his father was giving him gifts, and is indifferent or does nothing but complain when he withholds those gifts, what would it say about the object of that child's "love"? 

     You see, a pure love for Jesus mixed with "NO self-interest or self-love"  may be an ideal that we can never fully achieve so long as the principle of sin still clings to us in this life. Yet, that ideal can be placed before us, and should be placed before us (as a'Kempis does here), to serve as a means of grace which helps us move away from the all too common tendency to love so conditionally the Lord who loves His children so unconditionally. Only you can know the reaction a'Kempis' words caused inside you, but I must confess they lead me to say, "Sorry Lord, please change my heart." 

Thankful for His Grace, Pastor Jeff

God's Greatest Gift

Greetings All,

This week's 'thought' has to do with trusting God in all situations. It is found in James S. Bell Jr. and Tracy Macon Sumner's book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Christian Prayers and Devotions." The quote itself comes from Thomas A'Kempis classic work, "The Imitation of Christ."

As a little extra I have also included a prayer from Charles de Foucauld, a word of encouragement by D. Nicholas, and an ever timely reminder from A. W. Tozer. Enjoy.

"God's promises are like the stars; the darker the night the brighter they shine."

D. Nicholas

"Lord, grant us faith, the faith that removes the mask from the world and manifests God in all things. The faith that shows us Christ where our eyes see only a person. The faith that shows us the Savior where we feel only pain.

Lord, grant us the faith that inspires us to undertake everything that you want -- without hesitation, without shame, without fear and without retreating. Grant us the faith that knows how to go through life with calm, peace and profound joy -- a faith that makes the soul completely indifferent to everything that is not you."

Charles de Foucauld's

"The Lord is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trust in Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out into songs of thanksgiving."

(Psalm 28:7)

"In what or whom can we place our trust in this life? What or who is the greatest comfort we can find on this earth? Is it not our Lord and God, whose mercies we can't even count? Have we ever fared well without Him? And how could anything go badly when He is there? I would rather be poor with my God than rich without Him. I would rather wander the earth with Him than possess heaven without Him. Where He is, there is heaven; where He is not, there is only death and hell.

I want more of Him. I sigh and pray as I cry out to Him, for there is no one but my God who I can fully trust to help me in all my needs. He is my hope, my confidence, my consoler. He is absolutely faithful to meet my every need. (If God has not supplied it, it is because I did not have need of it.)

People seek after their own interests. My God, however, places my salvation and my care first and makes all things work out for my benefit. Though He exposes me to various testings and hardships, the God who proves His love daily to His loved ones, in one thousand ways, makes those things work for my good.

That is why I place all my hope in Him and make the Lord God my refuge. I cast all my troubles and anguish on Him, knowing that I have found everything but Him to be weak and untrustworthy. If my God does not help me Himself, having many friends or powerful helpers does no good. Neither will wise counselors give useful answers, nor will the books of learned men console me, nor will gold or silver win my freedom, nor will any place shelter me -- secret and beautiful as it may be -- if God Himself doesn't help, comfort, console, instruct and guard me. That is because everything that seems made for my peace and happiness is nothing (and truly offers no happiness) if He isn't in them."

Thomas A'Kempis

Sometimes we forget that the greatest gift God can ever give is the gift of Himself. There is nothing we need more than His Spirit to fill us, His presence to empower and cheer us, His joy to strengthen us, and His acceptance to calm and give needed rest to the anxious soul. That's why A. W. Tozer could rightly say: "When religion has said its last word, there is little we need other than God Himself."

With prayers that faith may enable you to see the invisible presence of Him who never leaves your side,

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