Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I enjoyed some quiet time at the dental office early this morning. I was thankful for all the good things that our loving Father has bestowed upon us. It is His grace that we have teeth to eat and taste buds to enjoyed food. No matter your diet is Eden buffet (fruits and vegetables) or Noah’s feast (all you can eat meat of different kinds), God equips us with the sensations and ability to enjoy them all. Of course, life is more than eating. We are thankful for the way He designs and creates our body so that we can enjoy the pleasures of life within His plan. Praise the Lord!
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple… any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26-27, 33). If the closest relationships of life clash with the claims of Jesus Christ, He says it must be instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person, Our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a difference between devotion to a Person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause; He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted love-slave of the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not devoted to Jesus Christ. No man on earth has this passionate love to the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has imparted it to him. We may admire Him, we may respect Him and reverence Him, but we cannot love Him. The only Lover of the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and He sheds abroad the very love of God in our hearts. Whenever the Holy Spirit sees a chance of glorifying Jesus, He will take your heart, your nerves, your whole personality, and simply make you blaze and glow with devotion to Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is stamped by 'moral spontaneous originality,' consequently the disciple is open to the same charge that Jesus Christ was – that He was not consistent to the religious law and practice of His time. But Jesus Christ was always consistent to God, and the Christian must be consistent to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to hard and binding doctrines. Men pour them selves into religious doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their prejudices before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.
It is hard to differentiate our devotion to Christ but not to a set of laws or doctrines. We understand the concept but hard to put it to practice. We tend to operate within a system of principles. We learn the teaching of Christ from the Bible. We put His teaching into our lives as guiding principles. We follow His commands and obey His commissions as our purpose of life. We thought those commitments expressed our devotion to Christ. What else do we need to do in devoting ourselves passionately to Christ? I guess it is the motivation behind all these activities. We don’t follow His principles and pursue His cause for their own sake, or for the sake of showing off our devout life like the Pharisees. We do all these for the love of Christ. We really don’t know how to love Christ. It is the work of the Holy Spirit who teaches us how to love. This love for Christ is beyond those big principles or great missions for His Kingdom. It is expressed through the daily chores or little things that you do for the love of Christ. Brother Lawrence felt the presence of God in cleaning his kitchen for the love of Christ. There is definitely no law or principles in binding him to do so. It was a “natural” out flow of a “supernatural” experience from within a person’s inner sanctuary. It is for that love of Christ many Christians were willing to die for Christ. Indeed, martyrdom is an expression of a passionate love and devotion to a Person, and to us it is Christ Jesus our Lord.
Love you because our love for Christ,
Lawrence
Showing posts with label meditating in my office after dental appointment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditating in my office after dental appointment. Show all posts
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Devotional 020609
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I did not sleep well last night. It could either be my serious reading before bed or concern about my dental appointment in the morning. My mind was so active with different pieces of images flashing in and out. I wished I were meditating on the words of God in my dream instead. Just like the way our Lord encouraged Joshua, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night…” (Joshua 1:8). I wished my mind were active in reading the Words of God. In this way, I would be conscious of His presence even in my sleep, and my mind would do unceasing prayer in my dream. Right?
Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? (Psalm 25:12) What are you haunted by? You will say - By nothing, but we are all haunted by something, generally by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our experience. The Psalmist says we are to be haunted by God. The abiding consciousness of the life is to be God, not thinking about Him. The whole of our life inside and out is to be absolutely haunted by the presence of God. A child's consciousness is so mother-haunted that although the child is not consciously thinking of its mother, yet when calamity arises, the relationship that abides is that of the mother. So we are to live and move and have our being in God, to look at everything in relation to God, because the abiding consciousness of God pushes itself to the front all the time.
If we are haunted by God, nothing else can get in, no cares, no tribulation, no anxieties. We see now why Our Lord so emphasized the sin of worry. How can we dare be so utterly unbelieving when God is round about us? To be haunted by God is to have an effective barricade against all the onslaughts of the enemy.
"His soul shall dwell at ease." In tribulation, misunderstanding, slander, in the midst of all these things, if our life is hidden with Christ in God, He will keep us at ease. We rob ourselves of the marvelous revelation of this abiding companionship of God. "God is our Refuge" - nothing can come through that shelter.
Indeed, we need to kick the habit of worry and fear. It is so human that our immediate respond to problem was either fear or worry. We seldom react by casting it to God as Paul suggested us to do, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:6-7). Somehow we need to train our mind to react in the Biblical way. This is what spiritual discipline comes into picture. We can train our brain to handle stress or anxiety in a positive manner. Yes, we still need to encounter or solve our problems at work or at home. But we don’t need to consume so much energy to worry the uncontrollable future. Let our brain remind us that we are not God. But we do have the Holy Spirit stand by within us to guide us through our difficult times. Our attitude should put God in the highest priority of which He deserves in our lives. If not, we will suffer in our own consequence of trying to play God, though we said we believed in God.
Have mercy on us O Lord! We cast ourselves into our own fear and worry instead of into your hands. Help us to stay focus on You no matter how big or small our problem may be in life today. Amen.
Love you in Christ,Lawrence
Good morning. I did not sleep well last night. It could either be my serious reading before bed or concern about my dental appointment in the morning. My mind was so active with different pieces of images flashing in and out. I wished I were meditating on the words of God in my dream instead. Just like the way our Lord encouraged Joshua, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night…” (Joshua 1:8). I wished my mind were active in reading the Words of God. In this way, I would be conscious of His presence even in my sleep, and my mind would do unceasing prayer in my dream. Right?
Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? (Psalm 25:12) What are you haunted by? You will say - By nothing, but we are all haunted by something, generally by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our experience. The Psalmist says we are to be haunted by God. The abiding consciousness of the life is to be God, not thinking about Him. The whole of our life inside and out is to be absolutely haunted by the presence of God. A child's consciousness is so mother-haunted that although the child is not consciously thinking of its mother, yet when calamity arises, the relationship that abides is that of the mother. So we are to live and move and have our being in God, to look at everything in relation to God, because the abiding consciousness of God pushes itself to the front all the time.
If we are haunted by God, nothing else can get in, no cares, no tribulation, no anxieties. We see now why Our Lord so emphasized the sin of worry. How can we dare be so utterly unbelieving when God is round about us? To be haunted by God is to have an effective barricade against all the onslaughts of the enemy.
"His soul shall dwell at ease." In tribulation, misunderstanding, slander, in the midst of all these things, if our life is hidden with Christ in God, He will keep us at ease. We rob ourselves of the marvelous revelation of this abiding companionship of God. "God is our Refuge" - nothing can come through that shelter.
Indeed, we need to kick the habit of worry and fear. It is so human that our immediate respond to problem was either fear or worry. We seldom react by casting it to God as Paul suggested us to do, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:6-7). Somehow we need to train our mind to react in the Biblical way. This is what spiritual discipline comes into picture. We can train our brain to handle stress or anxiety in a positive manner. Yes, we still need to encounter or solve our problems at work or at home. But we don’t need to consume so much energy to worry the uncontrollable future. Let our brain remind us that we are not God. But we do have the Holy Spirit stand by within us to guide us through our difficult times. Our attitude should put God in the highest priority of which He deserves in our lives. If not, we will suffer in our own consequence of trying to play God, though we said we believed in God.
Have mercy on us O Lord! We cast ourselves into our own fear and worry instead of into your hands. Help us to stay focus on You no matter how big or small our problem may be in life today. Amen.
Love you in Christ,Lawrence
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Devotional 070309
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good Afternoon. We thank God for rain. I think my allergy will be better after the cleansing of rain. Praise the Lord! Lately, a message has been capturing my attention ever since last Thursday. It was a testimony shared by a brother who went to visit a Muslim community in China. The unity of this community had impressed him so much that he wondered why we Christians could not share the same unity in Christ. It is a fact that Christians some how do not get along even though we said we shared the same faith and love in Christ. That's why we have so many different denominations. What divides us? Do we share the same Holy Spirit who lives within us? Yes, we do. Then, why can’t we unite as one family? Muslim believes all Muslims belong to one family. This family tie is so strong that they can risk their lives for other Muslims if they are under attack or danger. Why can’t we do the same? The devotion we read today may give us some insight.
"As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead" (Mark 9:9). Say nothing until the Son of man is risen in you - until the life of the risen Christ so dominates you that you understand what the historic Christ taught. When you get to the right state on the inside, the word that Jesus has spoken is so plain that you are amazed you did not see it before. You could not understand it before; you were not in the place in disposition where the Word of Christ could be borne in you.
Our Lord does not hide these things; they are unbearable until we get into a mature condition of spiritual life. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now." There must be communion with His risen life before a particular word can be borne by us. Do we know anything about the impartation of the risen life of Jesus? The evidence that we do is that His word is becoming interpretable to us. God cannot reveal anything to us if we have not His Spirit. An stubborn outlook will effectually hinder God from revealing anything to us. If we have made up our minds about a doctrine or theology, the light of God will come no more to us on that line, we cannot get it. This insensitive stage of mind will end immediately when His resurrection life has its way with us.
"Tell no man…" - so many do tell what they saw on the mount of transfiguration. They have had the vision and they testify to it, but their life does not register with such vision, because the risen life of Christ is not in them yet. I wonder when He is going to be formed in you and in me?
Church history tells us that Protestant churches had been arguing among themselves who were more “correct or dogmatic” than others in their theology, to a point of persecuting one another and dividing the Body of Christ. As a result, Protestant Church has so many different denominations among us. If we have the life of Christ within us, why couldn’t we get along with one another? Unless our theological arguments did not really come out of the risen life of Christ, but was an expression of our self-righteous spirit of pride. Knowledge divides and love unites.
I am the first one to repent when I made such statement. I need to remind myself from time to time not falling into this snare of Satan. Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand” (Matt 12:25). If Christians continued to fall into this trap of self-righteousness, we will not be able to stand against the satanic force that swift through the Christian world today. If we all shared the risen life of Christ, let’s listen carefully to the prayer of Christ before He went to the cross, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:20-22). As we entered into the Easter week, let’s be reminded of the fact that Jesus went to the cross for the sake of our union with God and with one another. Remember. The New Commandment from Christ is to "love one another."
Love you because of His command,
Lawrence
Good Afternoon. We thank God for rain. I think my allergy will be better after the cleansing of rain. Praise the Lord! Lately, a message has been capturing my attention ever since last Thursday. It was a testimony shared by a brother who went to visit a Muslim community in China. The unity of this community had impressed him so much that he wondered why we Christians could not share the same unity in Christ. It is a fact that Christians some how do not get along even though we said we shared the same faith and love in Christ. That's why we have so many different denominations. What divides us? Do we share the same Holy Spirit who lives within us? Yes, we do. Then, why can’t we unite as one family? Muslim believes all Muslims belong to one family. This family tie is so strong that they can risk their lives for other Muslims if they are under attack or danger. Why can’t we do the same? The devotion we read today may give us some insight.
"As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead" (Mark 9:9). Say nothing until the Son of man is risen in you - until the life of the risen Christ so dominates you that you understand what the historic Christ taught. When you get to the right state on the inside, the word that Jesus has spoken is so plain that you are amazed you did not see it before. You could not understand it before; you were not in the place in disposition where the Word of Christ could be borne in you.
Our Lord does not hide these things; they are unbearable until we get into a mature condition of spiritual life. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now." There must be communion with His risen life before a particular word can be borne by us. Do we know anything about the impartation of the risen life of Jesus? The evidence that we do is that His word is becoming interpretable to us. God cannot reveal anything to us if we have not His Spirit. An stubborn outlook will effectually hinder God from revealing anything to us. If we have made up our minds about a doctrine or theology, the light of God will come no more to us on that line, we cannot get it. This insensitive stage of mind will end immediately when His resurrection life has its way with us.
"Tell no man…" - so many do tell what they saw on the mount of transfiguration. They have had the vision and they testify to it, but their life does not register with such vision, because the risen life of Christ is not in them yet. I wonder when He is going to be formed in you and in me?
Church history tells us that Protestant churches had been arguing among themselves who were more “correct or dogmatic” than others in their theology, to a point of persecuting one another and dividing the Body of Christ. As a result, Protestant Church has so many different denominations among us. If we have the life of Christ within us, why couldn’t we get along with one another? Unless our theological arguments did not really come out of the risen life of Christ, but was an expression of our self-righteous spirit of pride. Knowledge divides and love unites.
I am the first one to repent when I made such statement. I need to remind myself from time to time not falling into this snare of Satan. Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand” (Matt 12:25). If Christians continued to fall into this trap of self-righteousness, we will not be able to stand against the satanic force that swift through the Christian world today. If we all shared the risen life of Christ, let’s listen carefully to the prayer of Christ before He went to the cross, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:20-22). As we entered into the Easter week, let’s be reminded of the fact that Jesus went to the cross for the sake of our union with God and with one another. Remember. The New Commandment from Christ is to "love one another."
Love you because of His command,
Lawrence
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