Do You Sense Your Separateness? (Part I)

Greetings Reader.

In this world, we have been told, we will not merely "have" but we will "know" affliction, suffering, and the affects of our sins and the sins of others. Yet, we've also been told, Christ overcame the world, and it is our faith which gives us the victory we long for. How goes it with your soul today with respect to this struggle? Are your longings being satisfied through Christ?

I have for some weeks desired to venture into Matthew 13, yet I have not known how to introduce the chapter and the, perhaps uncommon, view on this chapter that I have come to realize. Thus, this entry serves as an introduction to the topic of one's separateness and one's awareness of being separated. Do you, reader, if you are in Christ, do you know your separateness? Do you feel or sense your separateness? Do you live in light of this sense of separateness daily? If you do not, and you profess Christ, then you must ask yourself why you do not know your separateness? If you do not profess Christ, then not knowing your separateness is the most natural position for you to experience.

What follows, in this post, is a section from a classic, but rarely discovered, book by a man named John Arndt. His work "True Christianity" was the most likely book to be found on the table of early American settlers along with their Bible. In fact, True Christianity's first "published in American" edition was done by Ben Franklin, at the request of these early American Christian colonists. This edition was needed because these believers had so used the copies brought from Europe and beyond that they were worn out. If you have never read True Christianity (book one) by John Arndt, you owe it to yourself before the end of your earthly life to do so. You will learn, at a minimum, what a rich heritage of belief many who settled this country held, and you will see also how far we have moved from that heritage.

Subsequent posts will explore the concept of separateness as known through Jesus' words recorded in Matthew 13.

May you know, live, God's riches in Christ this day.

Carl


“He Who Does Not Live in Christ, but Gives His Heart to the World, Has Only the Outward Letter of the Scriptures, but He Does Not Experience Their Power, or Eat the Hidden Manna”

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” (Rev 2:17)

“By this Scripture we are taught that no man can taste the inward sweetness of heavenly joy and comfort in the hidden Word, who does not first vanquish his own flesh and the world, with all its pomp and lust, and the devil himself. But those that crucify their flesh daily, with all its desires and lusts, by serious contrition and repentance, who die daily to themselves and to the world, and to whom this life is a cross and affliction; these are divinely fed with the heavenly manna, and drink the wine of the joy of paradise. Those, on the other hand, that love the pleasures of this world rather than those of heaven, render themselves altogether unfit to taste the hidden manna, preserved for him alone that overcomes. The reason is because like things (according to the proverb) rejoice in their like; and things of a contrary nature to not unite with one another. Since, therefore, the Word of God is spiritual, it is no wonder that worldly minds take no pleasure in it. For as the body receives no strength from the food which the stomach does not digest; so the soul receives no strength from the divine Word, unless it is entirely converted into itself, that is, into its own life and nature.”

John Arndt, True Christianity, Book I, Chapter 36.

The One Thing Needful

Beloved of God in Christ Jesus,

How goes it with your soul this day?

Christian, does this question sound strange to your ears? When your eyes read such a question, does your mind immediately bear you witness that the question speaks of an alien or distant reality too far away from your heart to have any familiarity of spirit? If so, then, "How goes it with your soul just now?" Why is there such distance in this instant? What road have you been traveling? Where does your heart venture? Does it not seem for the Christian that a question on “how your soul is” should be most natural? Perhaps we choose to avoid what is most real to us. Perhaps we simply do not know.

Each of us, if truly in Christ, must feel the inward tearing of our hearts, deep inward sadness, yet at times inexpressible joys. Our Lord did. Do you find it odd that you, as one in Him, should share similarity to Him in this regard? Are you familiar with the deep sorrows and joys that you find are yours with God alone? No human can carry the weight of these sorrows for you. They are God's, and He delights to hear you concerning them. He delights to receive them from you and give you His rest and peace in return. In like fashion, no human can truly receive your God-ward glorious praises and thanks! These, also, are God's, and He delights to hear you concerning them. By offering such to God, you are drawn more into His presence.

Why do we think it strange if we find no comfort in or from the world when we are not of the world? And, as sad as it is to say (yet I must acknowledge it), why do we think it strange to find no comfort in or from those in Christ with us, given that we share the same Lord? Is it because they have not the nature, capacity, nor interest for what is most alive within us? Can it be that “That” alone is God's, thus it is only for God and me to share and know? I must exist as an individual with God in this way. Do I? Do you?

Can you begin to comprehend the weight of Jesus' hidden relation to His Father? Jesus knew what was in man, and He committed Himself to the Father only. He lived at His deepest level separate with His Father. Do you yet see that you too, Christian, like Christ, in this way, are to walk in His steps? Beloved, do you know God as your life in your solitude, in your hidden-ness, that region of your interior where your deepest sorrows and greatest joys abide?

Whether or not the above description is my experience alone or one shared with you, I want to encourage you this day (and hopefully often) to ask yourself the question "What is the one thing needful?" For by allowing God to move in your life to reveal to and in you the answer, you will, I wager, see where life is found. God must show you the answer Himself. It is a work He delights in doing. Yours is to ask, to seek.

Christian, How goes it with your soul this day? What is the one thing needful?

“Divinity’s indwelling power sustained Him till nature was dead.”

(Joseph Swain, 1761-96)

A Reading By Carl Bogatzky

Carl Bogatzky lived in the 1500s. Below is the reading for November 19, which is taken from his devotional The Golden Treasury. Numerous editions of the devotional exist. Lines from an unidentified hymn conclude the reading. Enjoy.

The Lord is not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being. Acts 17. 27,28. Even the very hairs on your head are all numbered. Luke 7. 7.

Oh the close and tender love of the Lord over his people. Nothing is so mean, but it is under the providence of God, since even the least can either hurt or profit the soul. And how sweet is it to observe his footsteps, even in the minutest things, and to be satisfied that we may trust our greater and lesser concerns to his care! O Lord, grant that I may never swerve from, nor do anything without thee; but that my goings in and goings out may be always done in thy presence, as if I had to do with none but thee; nay, as if we both lived together alone in the world. Oh that I could transact all my affairs with thee alone, and in all places look upon thee as if thou only a God for me. Let me carefully mark the inward workings of thy grace, and the outward tokens of thy providence, so as daily to have a true sense of thy gracious presence in everything, more or less important, and thereby to be ever strengthened in faith, and kept in a composed state of mind; considering that nothing happens by mere chance, but all is wisely ordered by thy providential care to our good; firmly believing, if anything goes contrary to expectation, that something better will follow in its stead, if we can only can be quiet and wait the time.

God that must stoop to view the skies,
And bow to see what angels do,
Down to our earth he cast his eyes,
And bends his footsteps downwards too.

He overrules all mortal things,
And manages our mean affairs,
On humble souls the King of kings
Bestows his counsels and his cares.

A Hymn of Paul Gerhardt

Many of you may have only become aware of Paul Gerhardt through the mention of his name, and that of his wife Mary, by reading the previous blog post. I wanted to share with you a hymn of his that he read Mary, at her request, during the last moments of her earthly life. I trust your reading of it will not only convey Gerhardt's excellence with hymn writing, but also encourage you to consider if these word would so strengthen you at your final moments of earthly life. May the truths reflected in this hymn find home in your heart.


"Thou blessed Shepherd hail!
Whose hands all pierced and riven,
Are with the holy roses filled,
Whose sweetness gladdens heaven.
The bleeding prints of nails,
Which tore them on the tree,
These are the roses which Thy hands
Bear, blooming still for me.

Wide open are Thy hands,
Paying with more than gold
The awful debt of guilty men,
Forever and of old--
Ah, let me grasp those hands,
That we may never part,
And let the power of their blood,
Sustain my fainting heart.

Wide open are Thine arms,
A fallen world to embrace,
To take to love and endless rest,
Our whole forsaken race.
Lord, I am sad and poor,
But boundless is Thy grace;
Give me the soul-transforming joy,
For which I seek Thy face.

Draw all my mind and heart,
Up to Thy throne on high,
And let Thy sacred cross exalt
My spirit to the sky.
O, let me die with Thee,
Thy bleeding heart beside;
Let sin which lives and reigns in me,
With Thee be crucified.

To these Thy loving hands,
Whose pangs were wrought by me,
My trembling lips I fain would press,
To all eternity;
To these Thy mighty hands
My spirit I resign,
Living, I live alone to Thee,
Dying, alone am Thine."


(from Pictures from the Life of Paul Gerhardt)

A Moment of Reflection

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ,

May you this day enjoy true communion with the triune God.

I have pondered what to write of late. My heart and mind have been centered on God's love toward me, in me, and through me back to Him and to others, His love resident in others, His love active throughout the world throughout all time, and what God’s active love in a particular individual looks like as it sifts and separates the old earth-bound self from all that is of grace from God (the new self, Christ in me/in you). This manner of thought and reflection has been part of my life daily for many years, especially as it pertains to the difference between lust (hidden or open) and love, and still I stand amazed at God's love, confess I fall short of acknowledging and giving His love through my life to others, and I continually struggle to get my mind and heart around His love towards fallen and sinful humanity. The more I see and think I comprehend, the greater the wonder of it all.

I have comforted myself recently by recognizing that if I could one day say “I comprehend (in fullness or in complacency) God's love,” then I've the wrong view of it and take it in too human a form. It is by distinguishing God's love from any expression humanly that I begin to actually see and understand Him more. I am thus drawn deeper into communion with God as Trinity. For, as the scriptures say, the love of God is beyond understanding. His love is known experientially, not merely by the understanding. One must, as an individual, learn and know God's love personally.

Do we, you and I Christian, have some things wrong in our understanding about God, His love, and our relations with Him, our Christian lives lived before and with others, that at death we'll suddenly see (if given the grace and time for reflection at death), and seeing will we have such clarity of our lives that we'll spend our final moments in sadness and regret, wishing we had been different people than we know ourselves to be? Who will you inescapably acknowledge yourself to be when you transition into His presence? Who would you, today, like to see yourself as instead?

May I share with you the following account (the degree of fact or fiction I do not know) of a lady married to a pious man named Paul Gerhardt, who himself is (in fact) one of Germany's noblest hymn writers of all time, was a faithful preacher of God's word and shepherd of God's people, the life of which has inspired me to think and desire "living by conscience" as a rule, and whose story with his dear wife, even if represented with some fiction, is a life to which any Christian should feel deep kinship. From her death bed, Mary speaks:

"The picture of my life has never stood before me as it does now; it seems as if I had received clearer eyes, and could penetrate the darkness of my earthly pilgrimage, and see down into the very bottom of my heart and conscience. Ah! dear husband, this is not a cheering sight for me. I behold nothing but imperfections; I see that my sins are more than the sands on the seashore. Alas! how often have I comforted myself with false hopes! How often imagined that I had done well! How often have I reminded the Lord of my labors and toils, that he might reward me for them! But now all at once I see that I rested in a false peace."

Dearly beloved of God, consider these words from Mary, a pious woman with actual life struggles beyond what you and I will likely ever experience. May you this day quiet yourself before your God to whom you will stand, a moment when you will know as you are known by Him, and at least ponder where in your heart you possess the foundations of false peace. Casting those idols away, those grounds of false peace, you will have more of Christ and His peace, and you will spare yourself at death sorrowful reflections and regret.

Move toward God, dear Christian. Flee that which is of earth, that which perishes, that which cannot satisfy the soul.

Living from Conscience (Part III)

Dearly Beloved of the Lord,

If you are truly His, then the fullness of God is toward you every moment of all your earthly days. God delights in working good into your life continually. Why do we judge God as if this were not so? If God gave His son and secured your redemption and your eternal future with Him, will He not also ensure what you truly require during the remainder of this earthly journey is given? How go the issues of your heart toward God this day? Do you receive the items defining your day with a worldly eye, an earthly heart, a godless spirit, or do you see the items of your day with heavenly eyes, a heavenly heart, and a holy, thankful, spirit? One will lead to an increase of your flesh, thus distancing you from God and others. One will fuel your intimacy with God and interest in others.

Dear reader, reflect on this statement: "It is unchristian to doubt the omnipotence and mercy of God, and still more unchristian to say, 'I cannot bear it.'" (*) May what is of God in you allow this statement to sit on your mind and heart and show you what pertains to your peace. What remains of the flesh in you has already rejected such an invite and soon you will forget the offer. Remind yourself, dear Christian, to contemplate this statement often.

In concluding the topic "Living from Conscience" I can only state that the subject is extensive and beyond the scope of a few writings. The subject must be lived out during the remainder of your days. For conscience is itself a living thing. The more one engages God's word on the subject of living from conscience, the more one becomes connected to God's view on the nature of it—what it is in truth. This path facilitates a continual awakening of the mind and heart before God and others. The outcome is a continued "refreshing" of the understanding which the self gains, each time lifting the self to a new vista from which to see relationships of life not earlier seen nor understood.

God engages you in this process by drawing what is of Him in you back to Himself, thus separating you from the world. The process is one of becoming more like Him. If your heart prefers what is earthly, temporal and godless, you will experience severe tension and unrest at your core and you will follow the desire to self-protect and flee from the presence of God. The prophet Jonah demonstrates this for you. Yet God continually and in wisdom and love works for your good to separate from you what seeks to damn you. He continually works out His redemption in your life. Dear Christian, you have neither the wisdom nor power, nor concern for your own soul, as God does for you. Release yourself to His care for you this very moment, and live christianly by resting in His omnipotence and mercy always.

Dearly Loved of God,

Our beloved brother James in the third chapter of his letter writes, "...no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh."

Our beloved brother Paul in the first chapter of his first letter to Timothy writes, "As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm."

Christian reader, it may seem strange to employ the above passages in a discourse on living by conscience, yet allow me the following points. First, you know, dear reader, from which stream you live. Unto your self, before God, as testified to by others, what fruit does your mouth bear? What water pours forth? What spring, what source, is most true of you? Both James and Paul highlight the centrality of one’s thoughts, words and actions. You must possess, as Paul states, a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith or you will not edify. And if you are not edifying by your thoughts, words and deeds, you are straying and perhaps even feeding disputes.


Secondly, whatever the commandment is which Paul references, it results in love. True love, (Do you believe you have ever actually demonstrated this love to another human being? Is your idea of love too earthly and shy of heaven?), true love stems only from living with your heart pure, living with your conscience good, and can only be grounded in sincere faith. If you have not a clean conscience unto your self, before God, and before others, what love do you seek to give? All of us are inconsistent, sinning, creatures. We all have access to our Advocate. Yet, what is the beat of your heart on these things? Let your conscience speak to you on this matter.

Beloved of God, I leave you with the following. Examine, frequently, your mind, heart, words, deeds, passions, affections, directions and idle times. Invite God to examine you. Hear from Christ’s Body about your self. What water, what fruit, characterize your life? Do you edify? A pure (undivided) heart is necessary. Sincere faith is your ground. And a good conscience will serve you well. You must listen and follow.

With you in Christ



“Your days, like a tale that is told, pass away;
The lusts of earth that beset you are vain;
Too precious your time for such trifling and play:
Then employ it that glory at last you may gain.

From the stream of your life, so fleeting and strange,
Draw forth every day something good that may last;
From the trifles of earth turn away: they shall change,
And no blessing shall leave when the vision is past.

Awake! Seek they constant refreshment in God;
Sow the seed that will yield stores of joy to thy soul,
Redeeming the time both at home and abroad,
And thy peace shall endure, like a river shall roll.” **



* Credited to John Arndt, in Pictures from The Life of John Arndt.
** Golden Treasury, October 17, hymn writer not identified.

Living from Conscience (Part II)

Friend,

How goes it with you and God this day? Is He your undisputed source of life? Do you live this day as From Him, Though Him and Unto Him? He is your bread of life. He is your fount of living water. Honor Him as such. Feed on Him. Live from Him and with Him. Flee all other objects and desires that seek to be as God to your soul.

Beloved,

If you have not yet read Living from Conscience (Part I), visit and consider that post before venturing further. May it prompt you to imagine what your life, and that of Christ's Body as a community, could be like, if living from conscience were understood and faithfully pursued.

Dear Reader,

Your conscience is that final back-drop of self-witness in your life. So it is with all others, as well. Often hidden, though, the voice of conscience seems dead, chained, or faintly heard. The natural self hates conscience, seeks to remove it. What is fallen in you fears you living from your conscience. The fallen self passionately works to turn you away from your conscience. Conscience because of fallen-ness and sin is not free to most of us, not able to live joined to who we are in Christ and all we do, whether in private or public. It is as if one must first be thoughtful of having a conscience, then momentarily examine one’s life, instead of living continually from a platform of conscience. Living from Conscience, therefore, seems unlivable.

In respect to edification, the desire is to lift you, dear Christian, to see the path of life with God which He has given for you to travel. The natural disposition which you retain, that related to your fallen-ness, cannot see this without divine illumination effecting what is of God in you, nor does the natural disposition want this path. What remains "fallen" in you wants with all its natural strength to retain is own life of self-love and godlessness. What is of God in you craves the journey with and toward God, away from all that is natural, godless and temporal. God has given us His word to speak to us of such distinctions and to enlighten us to where we can see His life for us and see our way with Him. You must, dear Christian, feed on God’s word.

Having been built up to see and understand the way, we remain in need of being encouraged to move in concert with God's life and His ways for us, which is a movement internally in mind and heart "and" a movement externally in our relations with others because of our renewed mind and heart. We must "see" and we must "move." [Christian, you will see and you will move. The questions pertain to what you are seeing and how you are moving.] This seeing and moving is how God relates and the Christian life works. Godly movement, though, stems from humility and a yielded life, not duty void of love. Such movement is a grace-based consequence of those with eyes to see and hearts that truly desire God above all else.

Conscience serves as the personal witness of one's life to one's self: self testimony. The New Testament speaks of one's conscience regarding one's self, with respect to others, and with respect to God. It may be pure, good, weak, wounded, evil, defiled, seared or cleansed. It may testify of another person’s life. One may be convicted by it, yet may also corrupt it. One can subject one's self to it and subject one's self to the conscience of another. One can live for one's own conscience and live for the sake of another's conscience. In summary, one can live for the sake of a conscience without offence toward one's self, others and God. I submit, we as Christians should desire this life, that of living without offence toward God, self and others. It is presented in the New Testament as part of the structure for the Christian life. Sadly, it remains absent.

You see, beloved, the deep worth of understanding the centrality of conscience and living by conscience, letting conscience fulfill its role? Conscience is like a glass cube which one can remove from the heart and hold up to the rays of God's omniscient love and honestly examine before and with God and understand its cleanness. The presence of God's Spirit and His Word enable us to examine our conscience unto ourselves and with Him. Yet, we can also petition others to address our lives in good conscience. This speaks not only to how we live in relation to others, but it shows us and others our trust in God's work in their lives as they speak to us. We submit one to another in love. (See 2 Corinthians 4:2)

Christian, is the dynamic of Living from Conscience excluded from your life? Do you perceive it in the life of any you know? Do you ever hear of its reality in the life of those in your Christian fellowship? If so, God be praised! If not, and if you recognize its absence in your own life, begin to petition God to show you His way regarding Living from Conscience. Introduce this dynamic to others on the pilgrims way with you. Perhaps God would be pleased to ignite a holy passion for Him in your life, and those you meet, which would transform the life of Christ's Body on earth.

There remains yet more to uncover on Living from Conscience, and at least one future entry will speak to that. Yet, lest you be discouraged and turn away from considering before God how you are living in relation to your conscience, be aware that it is a moment for you recorded in time and eternity. God has given us His Son as the means of cleansing our conscience (Hebrews 9:14, 13:18). Relationally, we need this continually, for none of us will live from consciences as we should.

To the Honor of His Name,
A struggling Christian

Living from Conscience (Part I)

Beloved, how goes your conversations with God? Not your external and public displays of God talk, but your private and never to be made public acknowledgments and confessions with God as the only audience. If you were to be questioned by the world on “these” conversations, would you be found empty? If you were to be questioned by God regarding “these” conversations, would you also be found empty? If you were to question yourself, would you agree that you “should” be found empty? Christian reader, there will come a moment where the reality of your relation to God will be manifest to you for your agreement as to what your life before the God who loves you and redeemed you has been.

What say you to this? Why delay the day, the moment? The world need not question you with proper intent, for it cannot understand grace nor a godly passion. But you, dear reader, if you be of Christ, you can question your self continually and thus erase the delay whereby you will acknowledge before God who He has been to you, and your doing so will move you deeper into His presence and love. How does your conscience witness to you regarding this? What is your inner witness saying to you today about this issue just now?

Living from conscience seems remote to the Christian’s manner of life in our age, at least in my experience, yet (primarily) the apostle Paul, and Peter in addition, speak as if living from one’s conscience is an anticipated dynamic for your Christian life. How goes this with you? Can you identify one godly example in your life of someone you know who lives from a clear conscience before God, self and others? If not, why not? And you, dear reader, are you such a one?

Spend time with God and His word and you will see the range of relations associated with living from your conscience as this pertains to your self, others, and God. Subsequent blog writings will present these to you for your edification and encouragement. Until such time, petition God to move your heart and mind in such a way that you become curious before Him about who you are to Him, about your method of living, and about what He would desire that to become. You may begin with a simple faith prayer of “Lord, grant me a desire to live with a clear conscience before You and all others this day. Where my conscience is not clear, not clean, where it informs me that I have sinned against You or any other [or even my self], lead me to awareness, confession and reconciliation.”

Beloved of God, what thoughts and images come to you as you consider the whole of Christ’s Body, His Bride, the Church, living from a godly conscience? Do you see a different Body, a difference that inflames godly desires and passions? What stands as the chief hindrance to this for Christ’s Body, for you? That, we must all in honesty discern unto ourselves. Yet, the root most likely abides with self-love.

What follows is a hymn recorded in Carl H. von Bogatzky’s unique and prized devotional A Golden Treasury (12th ed.) from the October 4th reading. Bogatzky chose to not cite authors of the poems and hymns used in his devotional, thus we know not whom to credit. Still, the work is worth reflecting through. I can only imagine singing such a work aloud with others during a meeting of the Saints.

May you pursue God wholeheartedly. He has pursued you wholeheartedly. May you realize His goodness and presence.


Thy progress is so slow! Dost thou inquire
Where lies the fault? In thine own lofty mind.
At what is great and grand thou dost aspire;
To meekness’ tis too hard to be resign’d.

On towering heights too oft art speculating,
In thine own reason’s ways too prone to go,
On fruitless plans and schemes still calculating,
No wonder that thy progress is so slow.

It yet remains for God to send confusion
On plans by which thou hast deluded been:
Then shalt thou rise, when saved from thy delusion,
When meekness in thy heart, and love, are seen.

Eyes That See, And A Heart That Knows

Greetings Reader. If you have not fed directly from the Bread from Heaven, He who came down from Heaven to give life to the world, true life (which is knowing [relating foundationally from and with] God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ), then may you put yourself directly at His table before day's end. For even Heavenly crumbs gathered with true desire nourish the soul in ways earthly and natural feasts can never comprehend nor supply. Nature can only supply what perishes. Grace feeds that which is everlasting. What is truest of you, Christian, is that which is of God in you. Cherish, nurture, prize, and feed what is of God in your life.

Meditate on the following Psalms. As you read, discern in your heart and conscience who you are. Take note of God's gift of revealing you to your self. He is there to meet you.

Ps 106:1 Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Ps 107:1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Ps 106:13 They soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel, 14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. 15 And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.

24 Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His word, 25 But complained in their tents, and did not heed the voice of the LORD.

Ps 107:8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! 9 For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.

39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, 40 He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; 41 Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, and makes their families like a flock. 42 The righteous see it and rejoice, and all iniquity stops its mouth. 43 Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the loving kindness of the LORD.

Beloved in Christ, I have no counsel for you from the above passages. It is there if you have eyes to see and a knowing heart. God Himself is sufficient to guide your heart by His Spirit and Word. You may truly desire Him above all. Yet, perhaps you know in your heart that you do not desire Him above all but desire what is beneath Him and desire what He has created over that which is uncreated. God Himself will reveal that to an honest heart that is broken of its misplaced wants. When you leave this earth for Heaven and God Himself, you will carry no earthly prize with you.

Do not end this earthly day malnourished in soul because you chose to feed from earthly tables to the exclusion of Heavenly feasts. Your soul knows the difference.

God has given us all things . . .

Greetings reader,

My heart is torn with the following fact: that even though Peter in chapter one of his second letter states that God has given us (me) all things pertaining to life and godliness [piety and devoutness--a response to God characterized by a particular life disposition], and that because of God's redemptive work I have escaped the corruption in the world resulting from lust, I still find my life more characterized by corruptions stemming from the power of lust and less from a life hid with Christ in God. What is your own experience? Do you discern and lament what is of your flesh and yet see what God's desire is for you at the same moment? Do you discern His drawing you away from your self to Him? Has He opened your eyes of faith this way and do you see?

Looking at the outer display of your life reveals to some degree, but looking at your inner world (that of your heart and conscience) reveals much more. For the outward is merely a result of the inner. Look inward. Go to your core. God does. He knows, in truth, your mind and your heart. Join Him in His correct and loving evaluation of who and what you are at your core, not what you believe yourself to be. Fear not. For the journey into the center of one's heart is destine to lead to despair, unless one realizes that God is both already there drawing you to see and meet Him there and that God walks with you throughout the pilgrimage. Focus not on your own decay and ugliness, which you will surely see, but focus on His goodness and purity. For you have none of your own. His is yours. Thus, flee what is natural to your self by resting in what He's provided. This is the pilgrim’s journey from what is earthly and of self to what is heavenly and of God. The end is entering into God’s presence and the soul receiving the end of its salvation by means of purification. For what is earthly and fleshly will not enter into God’s kingdom.

As outlined in blog post two, do you see a natural and unwavering movement through the sequence outlined by Peter toward the fruit of love, or do you see yourself as (for all practical purposes) still in your sin? Who would not want nor choose true love? Only what is earthly and of the flesh. What does your life reveal about your relation to God? Again, look not merely at the outward manifestations of your moments, for from these we falsely claim self-righteousness, but look at the seat of your self-existence (your heart and conscience) and speak of that. Do you commune with God at that point? His home is there. That is your heart. Know God from that place continually, and even though you may see and know your fallenness and know that you are a contributor to the world’s corruption by means of lust, you will know more certainly that those things are not what truly define you. That which is from your Father, and He Himself, will be known to you as your true identity and refuge. From such a place can the pursuit of love and its fruits occur.

God's best for you this day,

Carl

Life, Godliness and Love

2 Peter 1 (v 2-7)“2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

Dear reader, perhaps as you read the above text you noticed that your extension of love comes at the end of the chain. Your love is the final link. Your love is a fruit. It is neither expected to exist prior to transformation, nor is your “being loving” an automatic guarantee.

Here's the series of linked items: God has given (once and for ever) all things that pertain to a Christian's life and devoutness or piety [godliness]; He did this by placing you [Believer] into a relationship with Himself; that "placement" is tied to His own glory and virtue; from this relationship and God's goodness you as a Christian partake in God’s work as described by His promises and you share through your relationship with Him the characteristics or qualities [or fruits] of His nature [in contrast with having access to only your nature]; this divine placement has moved you, Christian, from a position of worldly corruption stemming from lust to the position of participation in divine relations and actions. You have, so to speak, a new nature to live from.

Thus far, the chain links can be summarized as God has given you, Believer, a new life. This life is yours for the keeping. You should recognize this change and be aware of the differences. Life for you has been divinely redefined. A devote and pious life are the natural disposition of a proper awareness of this divine repositioning and the nature of having a new life. So far, we have been describing what Peter calls the basics of faith.

The chain continues. Once the platform above is in place and seen for what it is, the life consequence and passionate desires that should be natural to the new nature are described. Your movement in these directions are responses to what you, hopefully, find emerging in your mind and heart as God relates to you, and you relate to God, on the interior level of your life—your heart and conscience. Peter says in verse 5, because of these things comprising the foundations of your Christian faith (vs. 2-4), “add.” Believer, our post-conversion life needs to reveal movement in adding to, or growing in, our justified by God life: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, brotherly kindness and, finally, love. The fruit is love.

This type of love stems from understanding one’s faith and growing in that faith. Sure, you can, as we identified in the first blog post, squelch, retard or scorn such new life growth, but why? Why do I desire to reject my God given life for the alternative life of corruption by means of lust? If you have no desire for the goal of being loving, then likely it would do you well to revisit the faith elements that Peter states in verses 2-4. You must both understand these essentials and participate in them, for they are the soil or ground for all else. If the seeds of grace desire not to grow from your heart, then perhaps they are not truly there. If you find them, join God in their growth. Move toward love.

"All Things That Pertain To Life And Godliness"

“ 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:2-8)

Peter’s words above contain the phrase “His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” Such a statement about what God has done for us should certainly excite us, and it should lead to our edification and encouragement. God Himself has supplied the substance for true life and proper living. Given that God has graciously provided, I’m thus free from the weight of having to figure out what life should be and free from the burden of trying to actualize it. I’m to simply live it. My passions and energies (my being built up and delighting in life) are tied to living out God’s provisions.

Yet, why does it seem that we live our lives as if that statement had to be false or some remote fantasy that might possibly pertain to others but could never describe my very life? Well, the answers are many but here’s a few we can probably all relate to: (1) I don’t believe it. It can’t be true. (2) I don’t want to believe it. I don’t want it to be true. (3) I obviously don’t know God. (4) I don’t know God’s word. (5) I like “my” life. I want to keep “my” life. The list could go on.

If the statement God “has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness” is true, then one of the most tragic ways we can short-change ourselves in this life (and the next) is to disbelieve what God has said and to not participate in God’s provision. So, how does one make use of, experience, or live out, the “all things” referenced above? I’ll close with two points then return in more detail later.

First, one must have the desire. If grace is present in the heart, then God’s desire for your growth in His provision is there. God works in you on the heart level. You cannot manufacture this needed desire from the old self. Such a desire is contrary to the old nature. Artificially trying to want and live the Christian life is mission impossible and you’ll recognize this. It is imperative that one have the new life of Christ in them before any proper godly (God oriented) desire and movement can happen. Just as one cannot birth one’s self into God’s Kingdom, so one’s progress and enjoyment in a relation to God must stem from Him. Peter suggests examining one’s relationship to God in the same chapter, verse 10.

Second, one must have direction. Note the text. There are “two” directions. One is toward God. One is away from the corruptions of the world through lust. On the surface, these may seem like two ways of saying the same thing. Perhaps they are. Yet, one likely pertains to my object (God or the world/lust objects) and the other pertains to the consequences of relating to that object (my living). Thus, we have two directions: one an object of devotion; one a way of living. The first is “Here is where I’m going.” The second is “Here is how I’m going.”

Be sure you are living from the right foundation, the right source. Be encouraged in the fact that God has not only redeemed you to Himself through the atonement of His son (for His glory), but that God has provided all that is needed to experience true life that is pleasing to Him and beneficial to you while on your journey to be with Him eternally. While this life will be filled with trials and struggles that wear down and challenge the best of the saints, the promise that God has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness remains unquestionably true and available. May you know both God’s omnipotence and mercy. May you know Him.